Long, Happy, Productive Weekend

My weekend started on Thursday night as I took a day-off from work on Friday.

Birthday Celebration of Louie and Teena at Pancakes on the Rocks. Dessert at Max Brenner near Wynyard Station. Our (husband and I) first time to eat Max Brenner at this branch. More photos here.

Friday was spent going to the bank, shopping for home stuff and a little of groceries for the pantry. Afternoon til evening was spent cooking, afternoon napping, watching Heroes, cleaning the home and doing laundry.

Saturday was busy. Morning appointment at the clinic for my first Hepa-B vaccine (as part of my pre-pregnancy prep), furniture shopping and doing household chores at home. We're very happy to have found and ordered a bed frame, two bedside tables, a tallboy and a sofabed. We also bought a small bookshelf and a his-and-her camping chair. Can't wait for our stuff to be delivered.

Sunday was a bit busy too as I was able to unpack two small luggages and a box, did laundry and cook. It was also the Husband's first time to have work on a Sunday here (read: OT) so I was left by my lonesome watching old movies while sorting out our stuff. To end my long weekend, I rewarded myself with a warm bubble bath.

As I end this entry, I'm waiting for Husband to arrive home so we can end the night by watching an episode of a Koreanovela we're currently watching.

How was your weekend?
weekend-snapshot

Cooking Journal Week 3

Sunday (2/11/08): Ginisang Ampalaya and Spring Roll for lunch.

Tuesday (4/11/08): Ginisang Sayote and Carrots and Fried Chicken.

Wednesday (5/11/08): Tortang Talong.

Friday (7/11/08): Fat-burning Soup. Italian Spaghetti and Spring Rolls (Lumpiang Shanghai)

Saturday (8/11/08): Barrumundi Fillets.

Litratong Pinoy: Maalaala Mo Kaya?

Ito ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy na may temang

MAALAALA MO KAYA?

...sana sa pagtanda namin maalaala pa rin ng aking asawa kung saan nagsimula ang lahat.

...one of my hopes is that when we're old and gray, my husband will still remember where it all started.

Recipe: Binagoongan

I'm not an expert when it comes to writing recipes and even if I read a recipe, I never follow it to the dot especially the measurements. I always base the taste of whatever I'm cooking on how my my tastebuds react, in other words, "to taste" has always been my concept. So bear with me on my first try at writing a recipe. Measurements of ingredients below are estimates of how much I put into the Binagoongan I cooked last week.

This is for you Zita, for urging me to write my recipe for Binagoongan. My Binagoongan is nothing special, I just put together the recipe that was handed down to me by my mum and some tips I read online.

Here's my ingredients:

1/2 kilo of pork, cut into cubes
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onions, chopped

1 tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons of shrimp paste (bagoong)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1 tablespoon Canola Oil (you may also use Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil)
1/2 cup of water

Optional:

* 1 piece eggplant, sliced into cubes (I always want a vegetable or two present in our every meal and eggplant seemed to be the safest [in terms of taste] vegetable to mix with the Binagoongan.

* Chili (Pulang Sili) or Hot Sauce - for those who want their Binagoongan spicy. When I cooked the Binagoongan last week, I didn't have Chili at home so I added a tablespoon of Hot Sauce instead.

1. Boil pork until water evaporates and produces its own oil.

2. Fry the pork til golden brown then set it aside.

3. Saute onion, garlic, tomato and chili with Canola Oil, then mix in the pork.

4. Add shrimp paste (bagoong), stir for 5-7 minutes.

5. Pour in the vinegar and add sugar.

6. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serves 3 to 4 people. Best served when hot.