Bea's Merry Little Christmas

Most likely because of the world economic crisis we're experiencing now, or maybe it's just me... it doesn't really feel so Christmassy this Yule season. Even Makati's Central Business District (CBD) is not decked out as the years past. Usually after Halloween business offices in the area start rolling out holiday decors... not this year. Save for a handful of buildings, it's just Ayala Avenue that's pretty much into the season, courtesy of Makati City taxpayer's money hee hee (or should I say hmph!?).

My daughter came home from school singing holiday tunes last week. She told me that they watched Hi 5 Christmas Special in school that morning and that she'd like to have a snowman in the house. Told her she has her little tree from last year and we'll just put it up again for this year. Like furnitures, we do not have our family Christmas tree yet since we will be moving to the new house pretty soon. Thinking of just getting some styropore from National Bookstore so we can make her own snowman. The other day my mom called me at my mobile just to say that she talked to her apo (grandchild) and Bea told her lola she didn't have a tree yet. Yesterday morning, my "official" day off, I finally got around to putting up some decor at the house for some Christmas feel and waited for Bea to get home so she can be the one to dress up her little Christmas tree. Getting off the car, she already saw the wreath on the door and her stocking by the window, and I could hear her giggling excitedly from outside, shouting "wow, I love it!" Asked her to wait until after her afternoon ballet to decorate the tree together.

While she was napping, I took the opportunity to go to National Bookstore for some gift tags and an Elmo book for her school exchange gift, and then went to South Supermarket to get some pancit malabon (a noodle dish from Malabon City, Philippines) and fresh lumpia (shredded fresh veggies wrapped in pancake or rice paper wrapper) for the hubby's sister. When I got home my sister-in-law was already there chatting with the little one who was just waiting for the driver to bring her to the club for ballet. SIL and I went to Verdana, she wanted to see the house, and we went house hopping after. The cuddle pup was already home when we got back, eagerly waiting for us.

We decorated her little Christmas tree. After wrapping all her present for her classmates, she then signed her name on the gift tags...all 15 of them! She can now write her name without having to copy from a "pattern" or an adult spelling it out for her. Just wrote a post-it note to her teacher, requesting that she be allowed to personally give out the presents today. Nursery party is on the 17th, after their Quarterly Evaluations. She will start getting presents from Santa Claus on the 16th. A tradition we started last year. Just a little something until the “big” day. Simple stuff like lollypop, jellyace, juices, items less than PhP30.00. Last year it was so funny, Santa “forgot” to get something to put in her stocking… she received a box of Champorado (chocolate rice porridge)! At first she was just staring at it, probably thinking "What's up with this guy?" Then we were all like "Oh, wow! You got champorado from Santa! Wow! That’s so yummy!” And she went “Wow! Champorado! I love champorado!” LOL. Last year, she got a big Play-Doh set. She said this year she’d like to get a “bigggggg” (that’s how she said it) Bratz doll from Santa.

I have not done any shopping yet, the presents for her classmates were supposed to be her giveaways for her 3rd birthday (couldn't find Precious Moments party stuff, so I changed the motif to Disney Princess…after getting those activity books. Hey, they were on sale!). Won’t be doing much shopping this year though. Budget’s pretty tight. Our priority is the house. Just a little something for everyone. Now I’m slowly beginning to feel Christmassy. The little one's excitement rubbing off on me.

Setting up her tree yesterday

This was from last Christmas

Tomato Soup

I just love Cibo’s Pappa Al Pomodoro or simply known as Tomato Soup (Tuscan style). On one of our many potlucks at my in-laws’ home, my brother-in-law, suggested that I just prepare soup as there were other viands already. I’m like, what kind of soup shall I make? I was thinking…then Cibo’s tomato soup came into mind. So I got ingredients from Makati Supermart and cooked my first ever tomato soup. I cooked it the way I like it and they liked it...well that's what they said (I don't know if they were just being polite or something). I would serve it every now and then, since. The way I do it:

2 kilo ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced
3 heads large garlic, finely chopped
3 heads large red onion, finely chopped
1 medium-sized can Del Monte tomato paste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2.5 liters Beef or Chicken stock (your choice really, I like beef. If you don’t have the real thing you can use those commercial broths instead, like Knorr cubes)
Fresh Basil leaves, hand-shred
Dried Basil leaves (McCormick)
Bread croutons
Salt
Pepper (McCormick Peppermill)

Heat soup pot over medium-low heat. Add in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stir occasionally. Put in the tomatoes, crushing it a bit, then season with salt, pepper and a little dried basil leaves. Add the broth and increase heat. Bring to boil. And you’re done. (You may add or hold some ingredients as you wish. Like if you want it more tomato-ey add more tomatoes or tomato paste. Or more broth if you find it too tomato-ey. Ouido, remember?)

Serve in soup bowls, preferably the shallow ones. Top with parmesan cheese, bread croutons, fresh basil. Let them adjust taste, just pass around salt and pepper.

Fast and easy, huh? Serves 18 or more. Hey, It’s a big family. So I am used to cooking for a group. Just do the math, if you’re cooking for a smaller group.

*image from liketocook.com. Will post own photo once I cook it again.

The Ouido Chef

I am not the professional chef in the family. My brother is. He graduated from Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila and is currently working at Heat Restaurant of EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. But I enjoy cooking as much as I love eating. Got it from my lola, I believe. Tip from Ima: when you’re eating something, look at it, “feel” it, savor it… so you’d know how to cook it. I’d prepare food for my relatives every now and then but I started real food preparation when I got married. The hubby's family is sooo into food! Home cooked and resto stuff. Thank goodness for helpers, cause as much as I enjoy cooking, I am not too thrilled on doing some “pre-cooking” process… chopping onion and garlic!

My cousin also suggested, when we were talking about me blogging, I should share some cooking recipes. It’s taking me a while to write about it because like I said I’m not really a culinarian and when I cook, I don’t really follow recipe books. I get ideas from them, yes, but I’m more the cook-by-taste-bud kind. No exact amount of this and no exact quantity of that. Know what I mean? It really depends on who I am feeding. Like if it were for Chuck, it should not be too salty or sour. If it were for my mom, she’s so into salty, sour and spicy stuff. That kind of thing. So when I start sharing my recipes on-line, I’ll be mentioning brands and other stuff, but don’t expect me to put the “exact” quantity of ALL ingredients. I will just explain it as it is, no fancy, technical culinarian terms. If you have questions, just feel free to get in touch with me.

Beginning To Look More & More Like A House

Hey, everyone! House construction's coming along great. Roof undersheeting will be ready by Wednesday, Stone 2000 will be delivering the materials for installation of CPAC Monier roof tiles within the week and will start working on it as soon as possible. The Vignet uPVC windows are now being fabricated and will be installed most likely by January of next year. Long holiday for construction workers will start on December 22, I think. So these coming days, we'll try to finish as much work as we can. 


Progress photos as of 07 December 2008:

Coolness!

Split or Window type AC? Now this is another debatable topic. “Go split” you’d say. And who wouldn’t? It is said to be quieter than its predecessor, the window type, since its condenser and compressor are separated from the evaporator and blower. It’s very sleek, aesthetically appealing and you do not need a big “window” for it. Just a teeny hole for the copper wiring. Downside is the lowest Horse Power available in the market is 1.0 and it’s pricier than the window type. The window type is the tried and tested kind, less expensive and you can get one with 0.5 HP.

The husband and I have been discussing about the kind of air conditioning unit we’ll be using in our new home. We have to decide on this before the second coat application of our exterior wall paint. As I really do not want to see those uneven map-like thingies on our walls. I specifically told our architect and the contractor that no pipe or wiring should be seen, including the AC drain, so they’re all embedded. For the Master’s bedroom we will be using 1.5 HP split type, as there’s really no place for a window kind in this part of the house. The exterior wall finishing on this area, facing the corner, will be the “highlight’ of the entire house, with slate cladding, picture window, etc. The floor area in Bea’s room and the guest room is not big, so a 0.75 HP window type unit per room will suffice. For the attic, which will be the family room, a 2.0 HP split type is recommended. And as he would want to have the ground floor air conditioned as well, a free standing (floor mounted) split should be used as the area is big. This free standing unit will be placed in the pocket-door closet, initially intended for storage, in the living room.

Last Friday the surveyor from Carrier arrived and checked out the house and gave some recommendations, we weren’t at the site then. Originally, we wanted all outside units for the splits to be at the rear area of the house. The surveyor said it’s too far from the indoor unit, thus may result into early conking out of the AC’s. He would like to put the them on our precious highlighted area! No way! So I’m meeting with him again with our contractor on Saturday, to check out other possible location for the condenser/compressor.

Of course, I did some googleizing about air conditioners. I checked out chat rooms and blogs as well. They're practically the same in energy efficiency and maintenance. The big difference is really just the look and the price. Choosing the right AC unit is not really that hard. Just think about what you need, the space, etc. The best thing is really to have the surveyor come to the place where you'd want it installed, so they can make proper suggestions. They usually do this for free, just coordinate with your local vendor. We usually get our appliances from Abenson. http://www.learnaboutairconditioning.com/ gave me an in-depth information on this topic.

Man's Bestie

Our dog Napoleon turned 2 last November 26. Originally a present to my pa-in-law from the hubby's sister, this Labrador Retriever has been in our care since he was 3 months old, since we used to stay at my in-laws’ home. When Pa passed away, Nappy (as we fondly call him) moved with us to the townhouse. He stays with us inside the house, but we tie him up because we really wouldn’t want any accident with Bea, as you can see he’s very muscular and when standing on his four legs, he’s big (thanks to Eukanuba). Like any other lab, he is very playful and energetic and has literally dragged his handlers several times when he’s “chasing” or excited about something. This guy is very gentle and affectionate to humans though and he still has his “puppy-eyed” look even if he’s an adult dog already, even his vet at Animal House Alabang, Zapote (his cousin Cappuccino, my brother-in-law's German Shepherd, goes to the same clinic) says he still acts like a puppy. To know more about dogs check out http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/.

Caring for this breed is quite easy, a bit expensive though…bigger dog--bigger stomach to fill, bigger coat to shampoo, vaccine and meds (monthly maintenance) volume depends on dog’s weight. I’m not complaining, just stating facts in case you’re looking into bringing home one. Here are some of the stuff nappy uses to stay healthy and gorgeous-looking:

*Eukanuba Adult Large Breed Formula (Dry), we alternate Lamb & Rice and Chicken
*Lambert Kay’s Fresh ’N Clean Oatmeal and Baking Soda Shampoo
*Virbac’s Enzymatic Toothpaste in Vanila Mint Flavor
*Pedigree Denta Stix
*Heartgard – for prevention of heartworm disease
*Frontline drops or spray for flea and tick control (best way to prevent this is not to let your pet “socialize” with flea-infested animals.

We usually get the “personal hygiene” stuff from Animal House, but for food and other things, they’re cheaper at Canine Depot (near the terminal at ATC). A regular visit to the vet should be observed. More importantly, a loving home will do wonders for any pet.

Bea and Nap

Maki-baka!

On my way home from the house construction site yesterday we came across an amusing sight... a herd of cows taking a leisurely walk along Daang Hari, slowing down other motorists. It was like a scene from Gary Larson's "The Far Side."



For the non-filipino speaking readers, "baka" is the filipino word for cow. Now you might be thinking, are they moving to the province? Technically, the answer is yes. As the village we're building in is an Ayala Land (Community Innovations Inc.) project in Molino-Bacoor, Cavite. No longer part of NCR (National Capital Region). It's not that far though. It's like 10 minutes away from Alabang commercial area via Daang Hari, just behind Ayala Alabang Village. It's that strip of road connecting Alabang and Molino. Should you wish to view all Ayala Land developments click on www.ayalaland.com.ph.