Are you kidding me????

One piece of pandan leaf for $ 1.99 (P 90) !!!

Back in the home country, we grow these in our backyards. It doesn't cost  a cent. You didn't even have to buy a seedling. There's always some well-meaning relative or friend who would have been only too glad to share. Those who don't have backyards get it from their neighbours.

It is when I see how insanely expensive Australia can be that I fleetingly entertain doubts about my decision to move here. Nothing here comes for free. I miss free tanglads, malunggays, avocados, silis.

Aaarghhs, some things you just find so hard to let go. But as they say in Australia, you just have to suck it up, baby!

Mixed Berries Cheesecake

I've been keeping a few blocks of cream cheese in the fridge because I was planning to make cheesecake. But on the day I set out to do it, the website I got my recipe from was inaccessible. I tried to search for other recipes but nothing matched the ingredients I bought. Bugger! And then life caught up with me, I totally forgot about my cheesecake.

But last Friday, hubby was off from work and made this...

Perfect on the first try!

My serving. I actually had two.

And I will probably finish off everything tomorrow :)

500 Cupcakes

If you've been reading this blog in 2008, you will remember how Vince told me not to bake from the box anymore :) Read story here.

We've been baking a lot after that episode. And I have tried really baking from scratch to impress my little man :P

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this book from our company's book sale.

500 Cupcakes and Muffins-- Awesome!! We can try one recipe a day for over a year :) :) :)

I bet Vince will love this Classic Chocolate Buttercream Cupcakes.


...and this Cookies and Cream cupcakes.

And tadaaaaah...Blueberry Cheesecake cupcakes!!

 

  

I can't wait for the long weekend!

A different kind of toy

Like most kids, my boys, Rafa and Vince have a gazillion toys between them. We rarely buy them but they are lucky to have generous relatives and friends who shower them with toys on every special occasion. But because we have a tiny house, it is a constant struggle to organize these toys. Our solution is to put them in boxes, keep them in the cupboard and alternately take out these boxes so the boys don't get bored playing with the same toys over and over again.

There are days when we just hide them altogether, like when we had Rafa's bday party a couple of weeks ago. However, the ingenious little tot, found a way to amuse himself.

 He took some bottles of Coke from the kitchen.

 Lined them up like this at the same time practising his numbers counting- one, chooo (two), T (three), Fo (four), ayve (five), ix (six) and the rest was eeeechhhh.

 and drove his bike straight through.

then he'd start all over again.

You might have noticed some Skyflakes in the photo. Yes, he played with those, too. Stacking them inside his bike's trunk and dumping them everywhere.

After an hour, he sat down and ate some of the Skyflakes. : P

Notes:

1. Our kids know the rules on drinking Coke.

2. My boys would gladly pick Skyflakes over the Australian icon Timtams. They are very pinoy at heart :)



Harmony Day

Today, our company celebrated Harmony Day.

This is an excerpt from the internal communication sent out to staff:


“Australia has a rich history of multiculturalism, and proudly celebrates this cultural diversity each year on 21st March through Harmony Day. This event is managed by the Australian government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), and is an opportunity to celebrate the different cultures that make Australia a great place to live, by embracing our differences and sharing our commonalities.


As individuals of different backgrounds and heritage we bring to the workplace an array of skill sets, ethics and values, specialisations and expertise, areas of interest, networks and experiences which contribute to the overall success of our organisation. We have embraced cultural diversity throughout our regional team and also recognised that the opportunities diversity introduces play a key role in our everyday business, and is indeed one of our strengths.”


At 12nn, we all headed to the break-out room for the International Food Fiesta where there was a table laden with food from various countries. It was also a charity event and with a gold coin($1 or $2), you get a “passport” that allows you to sample as much of the food as you can. Here are some photos:

 Lamb pastry from Greece and Taro chips from Samoa

 Baklava from Greece

Oatcakes from Scotland

Almond Biscuits from Malta

Bibingka from the Philippines. My Filipino co-worker asked her sister to make this.

and this was my plate.

My youngest son, Rafa, and I share the same birth month, March, with days exactly one week apart. This year, he turned two while I turned..aaargh, never mind! I stopped counting when I turned 25 :D

We had a joint celebration last Saturday at home with about 40 adults and kids showing up despite the heavy downpour. I am moved no-end that our friends went out of their way to bring beautiful gifts for Rafa and me, delicious food for everyone and stayed with us all afternoon with a few even staying until midnight. It was a day spent catching up with friends, non-stop laughter, singing, dancing and of course, eating!

The night before, hubby and I stayed up late. Me, wrapping almost a hundred dumplings and him, making these chocolate puddings.

Chocolate pudding made by hubby.

I abhore the taste of lamb but hubby made these barbeque lamb so tasty, I swear I'm loving lamb now.

There was so much food that the guests had to take home some and we're still eating left-overs three days after :-)


Side story:

Almost 3 years after we moved to Australia, I am happy to say that it's really becoming home now. And a big part of that is the fact that we have developed our own circle of friends here. Although busy with our own lives, it's just comforting to know that there's a whole bunch of people you can call out whenever you need help. Most importantly, there are people who are sharing the countless migrant (mis)adventures with -through good and bad times.

Since my birthday last year, we have started a small tradition to pool money together for whoever is celebrating their birthday so he/she can buy something nice- something which one wouldn't ordinarily buy or can't afford to buy. Last year, most of us girls wanted fancy bags while the men bought picnic gear or branded clothes.

For my birthday this year, I chose to buy the very thing I have wanted for a long time- a diamond ring. *Insert BIG grin here* With money from my friends, matched by hubby and me, i was able to buy a decent ring with some carats in it. I am one happy celebrant not only because I have a beautiful ring, but because this is from special people in my life.

A love affair with Shiitake

At work, I have a Malaysian colleague who loves to cook. She always has nice lunches and we often exchange stories about food from our home country. She's also a big fan of shiitake mushrooms, something  I like to eat but have never tried to cook. Let's just say that shiitake has always intimated me, I didn't have any clue how to use it. Haha How weird is that? 

Always helpful, Peilin explained how to prepare shiitake and even brought me a small pack so I can give it a try. But I never got to use it, I probably lost the pack when we moved to a new house. 

A couple of weeks ago, Peilin brought some dumplings that had shiitake in it and it tasted oh so heavenly. It was similar to the dumplings we often get from the Chinese restaurant. So finally, I decided to give shiitake a chance :) Brought a small pack last week and made some dumplings which tasted soooo good the hubby and the boys loved it. Pity I didn't take photos.

I had some shiitake left from last week's dumplings and decided to make braised pork with shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, oyster sauce and sesame oil.

This was today's lunch.

I googled shiitake and learned that it's a good anti-oxidant, has lots of Vitamin D and is good for the heart. WOW! 

I guess shiitake will now be a regular at my house :-)

Guilty

I was busy browsing through Facebook (yeah, i know i broke my promise) around lunch time yesterday when Vince started to complain that he was hungry.

I told him to get some biscuits and continue doing his worksheets while I got hooked with photos of acquaintances on FB. At around 1pm, Vince declared, "Mama, I'm really, really hungry now!"

I grumpily asked him what he wanted to eat. He replied, "Can I please have pancit canton?"

I dismissed a nonchalant, "Sure!" and went back to Facebook.

He then came up to me, gave me a hug and said, "You're the best mum in the whole wide world!"

Surprised, I asked why. His reply, "Just because...."

I hurriedly got up and guiltily dashed for the kitchen.

The Veggie Man

Every Friday is "show-and-tell" day at Vince's school. The kids are given a topic which they are to expound in front of the class and the classmates are encouraged to ask questions.

One Friday a few weeks back, they were told to bring vegetable people and explain how they made it. After a very serious discussion, father and son came up with this funny little fellow:

The body and limbs are carrots, the eyes and ears are corn bits, the nose is a nut and the mouth is a slice of sultana.

Vince said this guy was well-applauded in class. What remained of this went into our yummy stir fry that night.

Normal

food prepared by A

Things have settled a bit at home three weeks after the birth of Rafa. We have established our routines quite well...or until my sister C is here.

C is in charge of Vince for now, dropping him off at school, fetching him in the afternoon and bringing him to his after school classes so that I can concentrate on Rafa. Yeah, i know, Vince does have a classy yaya- a lawyer no less! Haha A, meanwhile is in charge of the kitchen when he's not working. L, our friend who's temporarily staying with us does the dishes from morning till night. I am so blessed to have all these support for now.

Mealtimes are big events in our home specially when A is cooking. He's experimenting all the time so I always look forward to the next dish. I am just worried, though, that I will be putting on weight. Haaaay!

I am loving time spent at home and am now seriously thinking of resigning from work if I can't arrange to work part-time. Let's wait and see...

Buttercup..err cake!

The little boy asked that we bake again so we scoured the grocery for our next baking project. And lo, we found a box of butter cake mix! This cake is a regular in my son's lunch box as he often winds up getting it when we drop a visit at our favorite bake shop.

As soon as we took the cake out of the oven, the little boy asked if we can bake again to which i readily answered, "Yes!" as I tried to remember where I hid the banana-honey muffin mix.

Apparently, he had other things in mind, "But next time Mama, not from the box anymore, okay?"

Ulk!

Blueberry Muffins

I have promised the little one that we'll try our hand at baking and the perfect opportunity came last Sunday when at the grocery, I found some boxes of blueberry muffin mix. :P

We hurriedly went home, set out the utensils and proceeded to follow the instructions on the box. It was so easy, we were done in less than five minutes!

I know, I cheated by using a ready mix but hey, the little boy had fun! Hehe!

Our little baker concentrating on the task at hand.

The batter set in the pretty little silicon moulds, ready for the oven.

A dozen yummy muffins.

3 little muffins waiting home for Papa who had to work last Sunday.

Happy Birthday to the Man of the House

This week, A turned another year older. Since his big day fell on a weekday, we just bought roast chicken and ice cream for dinner. Afterwhich, we headed to our room to....fold the loads of laundry he did the prior weekend. Hehe! Ang sweet no? This was probably the simplest birthday he has had. This is also the most significant, with him starting something new this year.

But yesterday, we decided to invite some friends over and have a proper celebration. A, who has, since our arrival in Australia, re-discovered his love for cooking (he really doesn't have much of a choice, wala ng helpers dito hehe), cooked a mean feast of kare-kare, pinakbet, pancit and breaded pork ribs. I, of course, had to dish out my 'famous' lumpia shanghai. hehe We had a great time bonding with our good friends here. And what a treat it was that, S, who was our college classmate was able to join us. It was a reunion of sorts. We haven' t seen her since our college graduation. And she was a bit amused that A and I ended up together :-)

First Sundays

Every first Sunday of the month, Filipinos sponsor the 12noon mass here in the Catholic church which is just a five minute walk from our house. The church is usually full during this time ,with Pinoys flocking this part of the globe.

I remember so well the day we arrived Sydney. We just dropped off our things and hurried to catch the first sunday mass. I had goosebumps all over as I sang to the Tagalog religious songs being played. And when "Bayan Ko" was sang at the recessional, the tears were falling down already. I had to stiffle a giggle as hubby loudly sang with much gusto, even putting a hand on his chest, throwing me a knowing glance. Haha!

After mass, free lunch is served at the convent's social hall - a rather welcome treat for those who badly miss Pinoy food. This is also a good time to meet fellow Pinoys who are living around the area and of course, a good venue to remind kids of their roots. I've been told that on special ocassions, lechon (roast pig) is also served. Wow! I am now counting the days to the next big event. I terribly miss lechon already!

Wooohooo!

We went to the market this afternoon and I was very happy to see Durian!!! Although it's quite expensive at $3.50 per kilo (wag na kasi mag-convert!), we still bought one and hurriedly went home to eat.

It didn't have the normal smell of Philippine durian. It did not even smell until you open the fruit. And it actually tasted better, sweeter and there was none of the bitter after taste we had back home.

I am just so happy to have found out that they sell durian here. Babaw no? :)

Tiangge

Thursday is 'tiangge' day in our suburb. At a clearing among the rows of stores beside a big mall, booths are set up that sell various international goodies. Last Thursday, we sampled spanish cuisine. Today, we did Malaysian. Then we walked to the nearby pinoy store to buy chicharon and pandesal. Next Thursday, I might try Japanese food.

The best thing about it is there is a free show everytime. Last Thursday was a string quartet. Today, it was a band. Other times, students from nearby schools perform mini shows.

Yeah, one of life's cheap thrills.

random

I have been busy again because I am starting work at another company. Just to update you with what I've been doing the past days...

• Thank God for technology, i was able to see my relatives through webcam last Saturday. They were attending my Lola's burial and they all trooped to the house so that we can see each other.

• We went to Burkinhead Point last Saturday to do a little shopping at the factory outlets of well-known products. We were able to get branded shoes and clothes at very low prices. While there, we had lunch at the wharf with a charming view of the yachts in front of us. Haay, wish ko lang, someday we'd be able to own one. Hehe

• On my first day at work, I was asked to join a meeting for a new project the company is looking at. I was hired to fix some mess in that company, which I should say is very challenging. This is just a temporary job though, but the boss told me this afternoon that she will get a justification to make me permanent. Hmn..let's wait and see.

I am pleased to see that the pantry is always stocked with fresh fruits (grapes, oranges, apples,pears,bananas YEY) milk, coffee and even beer huh! I had to remind myself to slow down on the grapes, though.

• It's getting colder everyday. We should probably get another heater soon. It is an effort to walk to the bus station. But my son, as usual is still clad in his sandos.

More updates soon...

Sariwa

My apologies for the lame title. Hehe

One good thing about Australia is the abundance of fresh food everywhere. In the groceries, maglalaway ka sa rows and rows of fresh fruits, veggies and meat. I am now able to meet face to face all the food that I only get to read about in books and magazines. I relish going through the shelves one by one to memorize the names and sometimes, if the budget permits, we sample the new things we find.

One of my favorite fruits is grapes and boy, how I love the seedless grapes here. I can even finish a kilo all by myself! Nahubog na gani ko ug kinaon Hehe! Although we are miles away from the Phils, we still get to eat Pinoy food--kare2, pinakbet, chicken/pork adobo, tilapia..name it, Australia has it! Some items come in weird sizes though. Like the small and irregular shaped squash, the giant eggplants and pepper to name a few.

Sometimes, when we get a little sentimental, we go to the nearby Filipino store to get a quick fix from our favorite chicharon, sardines, pandesal or the instant noodle brands that we have grown accustomed to.

The other night, we passed by the fresh food market and bought a cartful of fruits and veggies. I was amused to see the loaded cart make it's way to our unit's doorstep. Yeah, you can actually bring the pushcarts to your home! Hubby made fresh fruit salad, pinoy style. He just had to put strawberries on top for aesthetics.

Yummy, eh?

cherished memories

Before we flew to Sydney, we spent a few days with our family and friends in the province.




May 24 was my papa's birthday. Our close relatives gathered mainly to celebrate his special day and partly to send us off. Mama, Fran and I cooked our specialties while A and papa went to see a mechanic to fix a glitch in our car. Vince, meanwhile, had the time of his life playing with his cousins. We had a very special dinner and then kwentuhan na until 2am!

Papa's bday cake

Nabitin yata sa kwentuhan so it was then agreed that we will visit my uncle's farm the following day to grill native chicken. And so, at 9am, my cousin Em roused everyone up so that we can all proceed with the day's activity.

When we reached the farm at 12nn, fresh buko was already harvested and made ready for us. And of course, the grilled chicken that we have pined for since our last visit there in December.

What bliss to be eating such sumptous food in the company of the people you love!

At Home with our folks

Dear V,

Maximizing the long weekend, we took a four-hour drive to visit your grandparents in their homes.

First stop was at Lolo Nick’s and Lola Day’s. Coincidentally, Tita Karen and Tito Dodo put together a party for the nephews/nieces (your cousins Kuya Clyde, Ate Pepet, Kuya Macmac and Kuya In-in) who graduated from different levels. Perfect timing since mama and papa were really craving for lechon. Haha

We are specially proud of Kuya Macmac who graduated valedictorian from elementary and is a recipient of many awards for the different national math contests he joined. Sadly though, he was absent during the celebration because he was in manila competing in yet another contest.

Most of our relatives were present. ‘Lam mo naman, everybody is just looking for an excuse to get together…You played with your cousins nonstop till 12mn. And the folks had a grand time when you volunteered to entertain them by dancing to “LOW”. Aba, aba! San ka nga ba nagmana? *wink*

Papa and I joined the aunts and uncles having a lively discussion. My belly ached with the endless exchange of funny anecdotes. We had a good laugh as Tito Em ribbed Lolo Sar that we will visit his farm again so that we can grill some of the native chickens he’s growing. Tito Em insisted that it was payback time because when the uncles were younger, they’d also make lambing to Lolo Platon (your great grandpa) for chickens.

Next stop was at Lolo Zosing’s and Lola Cande’s fish pond. I specially loved this trip because we got to do some of the things papa grew up with. The 3 of us rode the bamboo raft from one end of the pond to the other. Papa expertly maneuvered the raft with a bamboo pole while you sat still and clung to the bamboos for dear life. Hehe But you were beaming, enjoying every single minute of it. Mama was the official photographer trying to get some nice shots while struggling so hard not to fall off from the other end of the raft. When we got to the other side of the pond, Lolo Zosing had already asked someone to pick buko from the planted coconuts. Yum! Yum!

Later in the afternoon, papa showed us how as a teenager, he’d spend his summers in the pond, weaving nipa roof for extra income. Monday was Tita An’s birthday so Lola Cande prepared food for lunch. You and Papa then rolled out the nets to catch crabs and luckily, you got 3 large ones and some shrimps. Papa and I feasted on the sinfully-delicious, cholesterol-laden alegue (crab fat) but you refused to join us. Hmn…you don’t know what you’re missing. After lunch, you rested on the hammock Tito Vios put up under the tree while Mama and Papa lounged on the hut’s veranda enjoying the cool breeze.

It was a happy and memorable visit despite some problems that a few members of the clan are facing. But we do have a tough family. In God’s time, we will all get through our trials.

Let us be thankful for the gift of each other and our ready sense of humor because despite the odds, we are still one happy bunch.