Mama Bet’s Cookbook: Holidays 2011

Happy New Year!!!

Pardon me as I rake the ashes of 2011, because I wasn’t really contented about how the past year went for me. It has brought me a lot of frustrations. About academics, I wasn’t able to graduate on time and my thesis got extended. Regarding my social life, me and some of my close friends began to grow apart as some inevitable circumstances came. Those things had great effect on me, especially on my temper. I became too sensitive, sulky and low-hearted. It was like the melancholic and choleric side of me joint forces to make me miserable.

My despair has not only caused trouble to myself, but also to those people I hold dear in my heart. Because I acted like it’s the end of the world for me, I also disappointed those I consider so special. I stopped showing them how blessed I am to have them around. Instead, I built a wall without them in it and drove them away. I shut myself from ways of reaching out to them, which in turn made them feel that I didn’t want them in my life. I didn’t mean to hurt them. It’s just that I still didn’t know how to deal with setbacks constructively. I’m still groping even now.

Bad times may be part of our yearly happenings, but there also are pleasant ones. I can say with a smile on my face, that I somehow found a silver lining in my gray 2011 sky. There are a great number of things that made me thankful about the past year. I got to dine at different restaurants. That’s something since I’m a big foodie. I got to meet new cool friends (You know who you are). My blog gained a lot of followers and visitors. My boyfriend and I celebrated our four years of being together. Lastly, I got to finish all my major and minor subjects apart from thesis.

I can’t believe another year has passed again. I don’t usually feel this giddy about new years, because knowing myself I’m very pessimistic; but you know what, I have a very positive impression about 2012. The moment our clock struck 12, I instantly felt that this year is going to be a good one for me. I pray that it’s God’s way of telling me that I am finally going to start getting hold of my dreams this year. I also hope that this unusual optimism that I have in me now will eventually turn into something beneficial for me and my loved ones’ future. God willing!

I’ve already let my views out about 2011. Now, let me discuss about how my family and I celebrated the holidays at home, particularly the food my Mom prepared for us. And by the way before I proceed, it was Mousy and Caramel’s first time to be with us this recent Christmas. I wasn’t able to take a picture of Caramel with Santa and Snowman because she keeps on moving. I could only take blur photos of her, too bad.

Christmas Eve Celebration

We had the delicious Blueberry Cheesecake, Mango Delight, Swiss Deli Ham, a whole lot of Lasagna, Queso de Bola, some fruits and this non-alcoholic beverage called Ma. December 24 was such a happy day especially for me, because my boyfriend came and had dinner with us. Actually he was also there to get the Chocolate Cake we prepared as a gift for him and his family. The last time he visited was two years ago. I didn’t want him to visit me here, because I’m afraid my parents wouldn’t like his presence at home. But I think they feel better about him now.

Anyway, let’s talk about the food again. It was Mom’s first time to make a Blueberry Cheesecake, but it really tasted so heavenly. It didn’t feel like it was her first time to do so. My friends Lerr and Regine got to try it, and they said it’s perfect! Mom used DariCreme Margarine and Crushed M.Y. San Grahams for the pie shells; Milkmaid Evap, Magnolia Butter, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Knox Gelatin for the filling; lastly, she used Cornstock Blueberries for the important topping. She refrigerated the pie shells overnight, and then added the filling the next day.

Mom used Chiffon Cake from Bread Factory, Evap & Condensed Milk, and of course ripe mangoes for the Mango Delight. She sliced the chiffon cake thinly, and layered it with the milk and mangoes consecutively. She prepared it the Mango Float style, except that she didn’t use Graham crackers. I’m not a fan of it though, because I don’t like mangoes and chiffon cakes but my boyfriend tried it, and he loved it big time. The Lasagna was a special one because she added some Swiss Deli Sausages in it. I ate a lot of this dish, since I’m a huge lover of pasta.

New Year’s Eve Celebration

For the New Year’s Eve celebration or Media Noche, Mom prepared a 2.9kg medium-sized turkey for the main course. We also had Ham, but I didn’t take a photo of it anymore. Because our Turbo Broiler is just very small, she only cooked the half first. She barbecued the other half the next day. Mom marinated the turkey in soy sauce, calamansi juice, salt, garlic, lemon grass, pepper and rosemary seeds. The latter made the dish smell so good while being cooked. Next year, I plan to buy some ingredients that will make our next Turkey dish taste even better.

We also had Chicken Sotanghon which is also very tasty and siksik, because it’s filled with vegetables like carrots, sweet peas, cauliflower and spring onions. It’s also filled with my favorite chicken meat, liver and heart. Oh, so yummy! The Chocolate Cake was a special one because Mom even used Anchor butter instead of DariCreme. She also used Goya EasyMelt Buttons for the ganache frosting instead of Dutche Chocolate Bar. Mom also bought us a lot of chocolates. That 250g Ritter Sport Alpine Milk Chocolate bar in a nice sky blue wrap was all mine.

I’m posting that photo of our favorite Gardenia bread and Guava Jelly spread, because the latter has always been a significant part of our dining table during Christmas season. It reminds my Mom of how they used to celebrate the holidays back then when grandfather was still alive. Mom said Grandpa wouldn’t miss a chance of buying them Guava Jelly every Christmas. This memory of my Grandpa has remained seared in my Mom’s mind, and now she’s passing the tradition to us, her children. We’ll surely continue doing it until we’ll have a family of our own.

Top 10 Resolutions for 2012:

Be closer to my God and family.

Be optimistic.

Be less moody.

Be aggressive in looking for opportunities.

Be a confident woman of style and substance.

Be a responsible spender.

Be adventurous in learning new stuff.

Be less OC.

Be a great lover to my friends and special someone.

Be charitable to people in need.

Again, Happy New Year everyone!!!

 

TAG: 10 Things I Love

I have been tagged by my blogger friend to do this very interesting entry. Thank you Tessa! I was supposed to do this yesterday, but my thesis work got me busy. Enough of that! I actually remember writing a post like this before through A Few of My Favorite Things and The Mystic Collection. I yakked about all tangible materials in those posts. I don't wanna come off as a material girl so instead of talking about them again and again here in my niche, let me share you 10 intangible & valuable things I hold dear in my heart, mind and soul.

That sounded so dramatic. Right, folks? Here goes my list in no particular order:

University of the Philippines

In UP, I've learned how to work under pressure, not to mention poise under pressure. Teachers bombard us with a lot of paper works and stuff, and I thank God I was able to survive them somehow. In this institution, I've gained the confidence I never had before especially in dealing with difficult situations in academic and real life. I've gained strength because of the circumstances I've been through. Most of all, I gained new true friends here.

BA Communication ARTS (BACA)

That image above is our official logo. I love learning about communication -- from the theories to the practices. Communication really is my passion. My favorite communication subjects are Intercultural Communication, Public Relations & Advertising, Organizational Communication and Ethics in Communication. I would like to quote what our professor told our class before, "You might think communication arts is easy, but it's not." Very well-said, Sir!

Writing

Writing my thoughts out are one of those activities that ultimately makes me sane. I love to express myself through writing although I'm a Speech Comm major. That's how I spend most of my solitary moments alongside listening to my favorite music. I love doing it more than anything else. I write poems, journals, essays and even stories. But my stories are so weak. They're not like the good ones. You wouldn't want to read them.

Music

Music is my sanctuary. I consider it a safe place in this troubling world. Just like writing or blogging, it also makes me sane from all kinds of pressure that I experience every single day. Without it, I’d probably have an extensive degree of exhaustion every time I deal with some mind-boggling trials. It’s my preferred companion whenever I want to rest my mind, body and soul. I listen to 80% rock and 20% smooth music.

Simplicity

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful." That is a beautiful quote I found while searching for SIMPLICITY images. I was not born with a golden spoon. Now everything is handed to me on a silver platter. I am just a simple and average girl, but I feel happy just living my simple life. I love everything simple, from fashion to lifestyle. I don't know why, but I really feel intimidated with anything extravagant.

Art

With art, I can have great ideas when it comes to fashion, food, lifestyle and even in writing. Art is just everywhere, and I love it. I was really honored when I got the chance to enroll in one of the famous subjects we have at school -- Arts and Humanities. I talked about it in an entry just last year, December 2010. It gained 424 page views, so far. If you want to read it, here's the link -- Creative Juice: My Intense Devotion for Art.

Thoughts

I love to think. When in my deepest and wildest thoughts, I don't want anyone to disturb me. For me, thinking is a lot like dreaming. When someone or something interrupts, it's like going back to sleep to continue your dream. I admit that I get weird sometimes, but of course I don't show it to people. Thinking helps me come in contact with myself. With my thoughts, I can talk to myself. I'd rather do it than talk to senseless people.

Serenity

Because I mostly have troubled thoughts, I love to compose myself by going to places that invite calmness and peace of mind. Serenity for me is bliss. I don't like going to places that are too crowded and noisy. I actually think I'm a little enochlophobic (fear of being in crowds). That explains why I'd rather eat at restaurants than fastfood chains. I just get easily irritated with people moving back and forth when I'm concentrating on something (like eating).

Desires

I have a lot of desires from the materials I want to have, to the things I want to achieve and all that jazz. I want to graduate with flying colors soon. I want to have stable job when I graduate. I want to have a position in an advertising or marketing firm. You know, things like that. Those desires help me strive hard. They inspire me to do good in crafts that can help me get what I've always wanted to have and hold. I certainly hope I can get the desires of my heart someday!

Adventure

Adventure means fun. It is a kind that gives us natural high. It has that certain factor that yields excitement and amusement. When I say adventure, it doesn't only mean going on extreme activities like trekking, bungee jumping, wall-climbing or white water rafting. Adventure can also happen even in choosing what we wear, what we eat, and most especially, what we want to become. By taking risks, I also learn even if it means failing. That's how we grow, right?

How about you, what are those ten things that you love? I'm tagging Ate Gemma, Lavinia, Sergei, Jesse, Shimea and Maxine. Care to do this tag too?

All images in this post are not intended for copyright infringement.

day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event

The most remarkable events I've attended happened in high school. I was a very active participant of academic activities way back then. I became a member of our school paper and I eventually rose to being the editor-in-chief. I also took part into science clubs like Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs (PSYSC) where I became the VP for Internal affairs in its Regional Executive Council. Those organizations have a lot of events to offer. I've been a delegate for journalism competitions commonly known as schools press conference, quiz shows and training camps. I just love representing our school!

I badly miss those scholastic days. I miss meeting different kinds of people through those memorable events I've been into. I'd like to talk more about my experiences in all those events, but I think this entry is not the perfect post to talk about it in details. Besides, I'm only tasked to share a song that reminds me of AN event. Those experiences I want to reminisce with you deserve another blog post, what do you think? So without further ado, here's At the Beginning which makes me greatly nostalgic over those youth science camps I've joined in.

At the Beginning - Richard Marx & Donna Lewis

I just want to share a few words about those science camps. At the Beginning used to be out camp song before. I don't know if it still is until now. What's fun and interesting about those camps is the sense of camaraderie and belongingness you acquire from your group mates during the whole course of the adventure. You learn the essence of teamwork and group trust through series of races and activities. I don't know if you feel it too, but I always had that feeling of unique attachment whenever I bump into other campers even after the event.

Well, I sure hope I still get to experience them one more time. Just listening to our camp song again made that longing grow even fonder. Fudge! Have you tried joining camps too?

The video used in this post is not intended for copyright infringement.

Bookworm Adventure

I've recorded this beautiful quote from one of my favorite movies, Inkheart, and I would like to share it to you. Aunt Elinor said, "Books are adventure. they can murder, mayhem and passion. They love everyone who opens them." What I love about books is that, they show me a different perspective of the world through words. Books are able to talk to us about a great variety of subjects. That is why I'd rather read books, than talk to people who know nothing but senseless matters.

I may not be that bookish but that doesn't mean I don't read. In fact, whenever I get hold of good books, I can't stop but read them until my eyes get tired and eventually droop shut. It's like my intense passion to learn about life's lessons tempt me to persist in searching for a wider range of knowledge, and most importantly, experience.

So as not to spoil this entry, let me again share this list I have. It's all about some of the quotable quotes I've read from some of my favorite books. I'll be giving you five quotes from five books. These are the passages that taught me insights on the things I have yet to come to grips with. Here it goes:

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

(Mitch Albom)

"Fairness does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young."

"Holding anger is a poison. it eats you from inside."

"We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."

"Silence is worse hen you know it won't be broken."

"When your time came, it came, and that was that. You might say something smart on your way out, but you might just easily say something stupid."

For One More Day

(Mitch Albom)

"I don't know what is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make, but it carries a certain taste of memory."

"Any boy who wouldn't come to the front door was a boy not worth dating."

"Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things. But usually, they're just in some kind of pain. They need to work it out."

"You need to keep people close. You need to give them access to your heart."

"The more you defend a lie, the angrier you become."

All I Really Need To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten

(Robert Fulghum)

"Merchants are fine folks. They give us choices and keep us informed on the important holidays."

"Nature so works it that everybody gets a turn at getting what they deserve in one way or another."

"Sometimes you can get what you want and what you need at the same time."

"Don't sell yourself short. You may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think."

"It's not true that what counts is the thought not the gift. People who think good thoughts give good gifts."

The Alchemist

(Paulo Coelho)

"Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."

"If you start promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it."

"We make a lot of detours, but we're always heading for the same destination."

"When two people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the present become unimportant."

"When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too."

Sophie's World

(Jostein Gaardner)

"When we do no wrong, it is because we don't know any better."

"Both extremes are an expression of a warped way of life."

"Man can only achieve happiness by using all his abilities and capabilities."

"Wisest is she who knows she doesn't know."

"Without the constant interplay of opposites, the world would cease to exist."

Books tell us many things that we usually find hard to say in reality. It would not be possible if not because of its noteworthy author. I admire them for knowing how to express the right words. I know that they've experienced many circumstances for them to know about different things in life. I wish I'm like a book so that I would know many ideas. In that way, I don't have to grope.

Those I included in the list are just a few of my favorite passages. I am still in constant search of books that can teach me noble things. I know one. It's the Bible. I've never really read it from cover to cover. And it made me so guilty just confessing it. Solemn music in the background.

Can somebody tell me what good books are included in the world's greatest books? Those are the books I'm looking for.

All images in this post are not intended for copyright infringement.

So Much Adventure

Adventure means fun. It is a kind that gives us natural high. It has that certain factor that yields excitement and amusement. In a sense, it does make us feel young. No wonder why everybody loves it. So do I.

I am talking about the popular extreme sports. You may not see it on the surface, but I also appreciate sports.

Especially the risky ones. If only I could get involved with those things. But I think everything will fall into place when I graduate. I just have to strive and wait.

Too much for that noble detour, it would indeed be great if we delve on adventure through extreme sports. I guess everyone knows how far these sports have come. Before, it had rarely been practiced because of danger. But time revealed its essence. There is of course a down side. Only a few can afford it.

There are a lot of adventure spots in the country. They offer different sports that make one's visit remarkable. As far as I know, CamSur Watersports Complex has been the hottest recently because of wake boarding.

Celebrities and other wealthy people have their stay there. And it seems that it has become a way to elevate their status. Kidding aside. Isolated cases. I'm not saying everyone.

Zip line adventure is also a must do sport. I think there are a lot of spots who have this kind of sports to offer. Though I've never tried it, I still think it's fun. You get to scream your lungs out as you slide along a zip from end to end. This is a sport that requires you the strength to fight your fear of heights.

What I'm looking forward to try soon is wall climbing. I heard Outland Adventure has this. I just don't know how much it does cost, but I don't care much about it. I can always save up for it. I can't wait to try it. Who wants to come with me? Let's climb!

I also want to try bungee jumping. It's really extreme but I like it. I do want to feel what it's like to jump from the highest peak. I think it does feel good. You'll feel your burdens slowly coming out of you as you jump. This sports suits to all those who have too much angst and distress. This as way to let go of all those negative vibe. How about that?

Have you heard about a bride and her groom who went bungee jumping in their wedding ceremony? Cool! it was actually featured on the news.

White Water Rafting also goes along well with people who have oozing love for adventure. It's like fighting with huge rocks and waves at the same time. It's a dangerous one, so don't be that complacent when you try it out. But it's fun, just like any other extreme sports. You just have to be tough.

As of the moment, there is still a one out of three chance that I can do wahtever I like. My family is in a tight budget. These luxury sports are quite unfriendly with our pockets. But it's not yet too soon though. I certainly hope so.