Apropos of Nothing

This is actually more of a testimonial rather than a blog entry.  The reason is that our foodie-in-training (my brother Karlo — aka Poy) wants me to testify in virtual court that he indeed cooked the food in question. He seems to be encountering some disbelief from his friends that he has kitchen skills.

Well, yes, Poy did cook the Thai-style paella. And he worked at it for FOUR HOURS. Despite the simplicity of the recipe, both he and I are complete ignoramuses when it comes to cooking paella. The recipe looked simple enough but what threw us both on a spin is this instruction — "Add rice and mix thoroughly with oil in the pan." Rice in oil? in pan? Our main question was would it cook properly? Both of us grew up with rice cookers and that cooking rice involves a lot of water. The paellera is also quite thin compared to a rice cooker and we fear that the rice will burn. So, the two disbelievers decided to keep the rice moving (endless mixing for a total of 1.5 hours). We figured that it will cook longer because there’s less water involved and it’s uncovered.  I was ok with it — I was not the one doing the mixing anyway.

By the time Poy’s arm started to strain and his voice crack, I have figured out a safe alternative — go back to basics.  Use the rice cooker and just assemble the lot in the paellera. Of course we had to prepare a fresh batch of stock and other ingredients but we are at a point of no return.

All’s well that ends well. The rice cooker trick worked. The rice was fragrant with the bagoong, coconut milk and chicken stock. It was a sight to behold after assembly in the paellera — topped with ripe mangoes, strips of scrambled egg, mussels, chicken strips and fresh basil. We were quite hungry at this time but we are not about to chow down without the pictures taken. This dish — more than anything else we have attempted so far — deserves to be remembered.

So, yes, Poy did cook this dish — with a little help from the rice cooker

(I got the recipe from FOOD magazine, June 2005)

Nothing beats steaming Arroz Caldo on a rainy day. It’s like a warm blanket on a chilly morning.

Pinoy Cook’s recipe asked for chicken liver, gizzard and premature eggs but I forgot to buy it from the Saturday Market. Premature eggs are not penoy.  These are unlaid eggs which have not yet developed a shell.  It’s the best surprise when you cut open a chicken. It’s still mostly egg yolk — thus the yellow color. It’s very creamy and more flavorful than the usual egg.

Since I did not have the exotic chicken parts, we ended up with a rather tame arroz caldo made of shredded chicken breasts (boneless). Still, it was VERY GOOD ARROZ CALDO — according to Poy and me. (Michael’s dissenting opinion — he’d rather have Goto than Arroz Caldo. I suspect he was turned-off by my heavy hand with the ginger. He also says he wants a yellow Arroz Caldo like in KFC.)

Have you ever had a day like this?

The car’s clutch system got "kabag". The stick won’t move and the pedal’s way too loose. We can’t reverse and we can’t go forward.  Michael had to dial 911-TATAY and spend 4 hours fixing whatever it is.

I thought we were just consuming a lot of cold water yesterday. All the water in the fridge is lukewarm. Then I noticed that our Atlantic Express has not yet developed an igloo two days after Poy defrosted it. We turned-off the unit and heard an insistent hissing sound — the sound of escaping freon. Had to march-off the meats into our neighbor’s freezer.

The screw on top of the newly installed faucet got loose and almost made it to the drainage. The "pivot part" (horizontal part for turning) came off and I just stared at it wonderingly. Michael hurriedly screwed it back on.

Keyboard won’t power ON. Did it finally get tired of my endless attempts at  "Dahil Sa Iyo"? The power regulator’s ON.  I tried it direct to the socket — nothing happens. I checked the light switch — yes, there is electricity. Poy fiddled with it. Michael just glanced at it and said that if I can find the receipt — it’s still on warranty. He’s right — the handyman’s overburdened already.

I remember that this is the second time that I had several mechanical/electrical things going undone all within one day. Good thing that the car was the first to go. We had to stay inside for the rest of the day. This day reminds me too much of Final Destination (ngeeeh).

   Heaven is a place where huggabas are given and received freely.  Where smiles are true and everything is amusing. Where laughter has no time to echo because it is followed too near by the next laugh. Where cheez whiz is gourmet food and you can while away an hour watching Tom & Jerry. Yes, there were disagreements and clashes of will but everything’s right at the end of the day.

I spent the last four days with my nephew Sean and niece Camille.  Now, I have an inkling why Sheryl chose to leave behind a good career and how Ferlie can actually go on a one-year sabbatical playing nanny to her nephews.

I just had the best vacation ever.