Cards [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

After leaving Hallmark for more than a decade, I still have some of the cards we worked on.  I kept some of the designs that gave the team the biggest headaches to remind myself of small victories.  The Manila office specialized in handmade cards in those days---we started receiving card designs from Hallmark (Kansas City) around the mid-90's.  Vendors utilized handmade paper and applied natural materials such as shells, twigs and dried flowers to embellish the cards. The card above was different because of the hand-sewn doll (to be used as pin or brooch) attached to the card.  The project was a nightmare!  The designer specifically wanted a curl on the doll's forehead and the blush should be perfect.  Because of the doll's size (about 3" tall), it was difficult to get a consistent curl or a perfect blush.  About 30,000 units of this card were shipped to the States---imagine the hair and sleep I lost on this one.*LOL*

I had a "thing" with a guy named Miguel many years ago, and here's what my friend who lives in California sent me for Valentine's Day!  

@ mirandablue

This V-Day card gave me a huge belly laugh!

Greeting cards with the sender's sincere sentiments can really brighten our day.  But with the advent of e-cards, it seems only a few people mail "real" cards these days.  I miss the thrill of receiving cards from friends.

Enjoy Photo Hunt

Punta Bulata: Kids at the beach

@ mirandablue

Two kids at the beach before sunset...picking up pebbles, shells and other treasures.  This scene evokes childhood memories---of an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the afternoons were filled with fragrance of roasted coffee, fried saba [banana] and burning leaves.

Posted for Watery Wednesday and Thursday 2 Questions

@ mirandablue

For Thursday 2 Questions - you are invited to answer and join.


1.  What are the smells of your childhood?

• i always associate the aroma of coffee with childhood. Probably because my grandmother roasted coffee and coffee was always brewing in her kitchen.  Burning leaves, freshly mown grass, Vicks VapoRub, fresh laundry (before the age of fabric conditioner, when towels and blankets smelled like  summer sun), baby powder.

2.  What was your favorite place when you were a child?

• i was always climbing trees---i loved hanging out on the branches of a guava or aratiles  tree (Jamaican cherry, Muntingia) in front of our house.  probably the reason why i love being on the roof top, or any elevated places. 

P.S.  I will be out of town for two days..will catch up when I get back.  Thank you for stopping by.

Alaala [Memory, Remembrance]

@ mirandablue

Maraming masaya at magandang alaala ang lugar na ito sa akin.  Alaala ng aking kabataan kasama si Lola, ang aking mga kapatid at pinsan.  Kabatwan ang tawag namin dito no'ng bata pa kami dahil nga mabato ang dalampasigan, at sa likod ng mga puno nandon ang naghahalikang bato o Kissing Rocks---paboritong tagpuan ng mga magsin-irog.  Ito ang baywalk ng aking kabataan.  Noong 2009 lang ako nakabalik ulit dito pagkatapos ng mahigit dalawang dekada.

Posted for Litratong Pinoy

@ mirandablue

I have happy and beautiful memories of this place.  Memories of my youth with our grandmother, my siblings and cousins.  We called this place kabatwan because of the rocky shore, and behind the trees are the kissing rocks---a favorite rendezvous for young lovers.  This was the baywalk of my childhood.  I've never returned to this place for more than two decades until in 2009 after we buried our grandmother.  

This song is perfect for reminiscing.

For Thursday Two Questions - you are invited to answer and join.

1)  What song comes to mind when you think about your childhood?

2)  Any special childhood memory you'd like to share?

Hard-to-find [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

Have you ever found yourself in a reflective, nostalgic mood and longing to hear the scratchy voice of Billie Holiday?  The scratchy sound of a 78 rpm vinyl record takes me back to different places in my childhood---at my grandmother's kitchen where she smoked her unfiltered Kool's and sang with Ella Fitzgerald; to my aunts' slumber parties where "forbidden" music was played on a 1930's Victrola...from Janis Joplin, Joan Baez to Bob Dylan.  On lazy afternoons, my mother listened to  Timi Yuro or Perry Como's For The Good Times from a turntable.  I miss the surface noise of vinyl and catch the warm subtleties of the human voice.

Vinyl records and Victrolas are hard-to-find nowadays except from a few quirky thrift shops in Cubao.  Even this vintage-looking jukebox at a diner is using CDs.

@ mirandablue

Posted for Photo-Hunt hosted by TN Chick

Biko with latik

@ mirandablue

My family doesn't celebrate All Souls' Day but like most Filipino families, we cook some native delicacies on or before November 1st.  When we were kids, my aunts and I had fun experimenting on kalamay (rice cake), espasol (we call it bayi-bayi), but-ong (glutinous rice wrapped in cone-shaped banana leaf and cooked in coconut milk), ibos (glutinous rice wrapped in woven coconut leaves and cooked in coconut milk), muasi (or palitaw--steamed ground glutinous rice topped with roasted sesame seeds and muscuvado).  Those were the days when glutinous rice was inexpensive and we had free supply from my grandfather.

My all-time All Souls' Day comfort food is Biko with latik (a residue of coconut milk).  About a week before All Souls' Day, I start having Biko cravings.  The aroma of boiling coconut cream gives me warm, fuzzy feelings---it brings me back to childhood with my grandfather slaving away in the kitchen cooking his favorite rice cake.  We seldom find my grandfather in the kitchen, it was my grandmother's domain. The only day Lolo was in the kitchen was during kalag-kalag, or All Souls' Day.  His ratio was 1:1 and his biko could stay fresh for a week without refrigeration. It is easy to cook but one needs powerful biceps to mix it.

@ mirandablue

I wanted to do my grandfather's biko and I needed sung-sung rice, an aromatic, glutinous rice.  And the price was shocking!  A few months ago, sung-sung was P72 a kilo---now it's P110 a kilo!  A tip from my mother:  malagkit rice should be new, laon is not good. But how should I know if it's new or not?  Leave it to the experts. So far, with sung-sung, I was never disappointed with quality and texture.  I also got muscovado sugar and mature coconut.  

Cook glutinous rice and set aside.  Cook undiluted coconut cream in low heat to extract oil and latik.  Latik should be golden brown.

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

Mix in the cooked glutinous rice, mix well.  Blend the muscovado sugar into the mixture.  Calamansi leaves were added to balance the sweetness and add a bit of zest.  Cooking biko on All Souls' Day somehow connects me to members of my family who already passed on. And it's my way of remembering Lolo, a foodie and a kind gentleman with a big heart.

@ mirandablue

Posted for Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

Lunch at Cafe Med

hummus and grilled pita

To escape to an exotic destination minus the travel brought me and a friend to Cafe Mediterranean, or Cafe Med as it is popularly known, for lunch. Cafe Med is famous for its kebabs, gyros, hummus and pizzas. I "discovered" this place during the shawarma boom (was that in the early 90's?) when there were kiosks everywhere you look. I was hypnotized by the scents of juicy beef being sliced and diced right before my eyes. In those days, Cafe Med was our payday dinner---a reward after 15 days of hard work.:p

We enjoyed the robust and clear flavors at Cafe Med, unfettered by complicated sauces and heavy dollops of cream and butter. My favorite appetizer as usual was hummus with grilled pita. And my main course was Tunisian fish fillet cream dory, a distinctly spicy dish with black olives, tomato sauce with herbs.

Posted for Food Trip Friday and Food Friday

BOTR and memories

Food and memories---there is a powerful connection between them. That's why the smell of freshly baked bread reminds me of my afternoon strolls to the local bakery when I was a teenager where the aroma of baked pandesal wafted throughout the neighborhood, and the texture of cheese brings me back to the cheese sticks I shared with my grandmother under her mosquito net. I am sure you have your own food nostalgia, too.

I had one of those recently when Franzia told me there's a BOTR (Bun on the Run) at Metrowalk. What??!! BOTR--our favorite take out every time we watched a movie at Greenbelt 1. I haven't eaten or seen a Bun on the Run in more than a decade. I loved their sausages, porkloin sandwich and chori burger. And I couldn't wait to have a BOTR once again.

As soon as our order was served, I remember the Greenbelt days [and nights] ten to twenty years back. Sundays when I would read books in National Bookstore for hours because I couldn't afford to buy them. Movies after midnight (it was called Midnight Workaholics) when Greenbelt extended showtime until 2 am. Saturday afternoons when I would sometimes fall asleep inside the theater after drinking The Bar disguised as Sprite. A couple of pervs I encountered in Greenbelt (and some I terrorized!), a couple of dates, the days when I skipped work and wallowed in comfortable sloth at the park by stalking the exotic birds at the Greenbelt aviary.

I breathed in the familiar aroma of pickles and onions, heard the ambient noise, and felt somebody's hand holding mine. I wished my sister was here to share this Bun on the Run moment with me and Franzia. Iinggitin ko na lang s'ya sa pictures.:p

I had Sausage with pickles and onions, Franzia ordered Porkloin Sandwich and Sally had Tuna Cheese with French Fries with garlic cream dip.

And yes, it was as good as I remembered.

Bun on the Run @ Metrowalk

Posted for Our Weekend Memoirs

Keepsakes [Ruby Tuesday]

It's funny that I found these keepsakes again after almost a decade. Moving forced me to sift through each piece of stuff I have collected all these years. These are the remnants of my Hallmark days when I kept a sample of the most problematic designs we worked on to remind myself of small victories. I also collected some of the funniest and the cutest designs.

This porcupine-in-love-with-a-cactus was my favorite, and I was thrilled when I found it at the bottom of a box. I love the text etched on the pot, "Ours is a strange and wonderful relationship".

Happy V-Day to you!

"If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old."

~ James Garfield

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

A Pagudpud weekend [OWM]

No, I did not go to Pagudpud recently. This photo was taken more than a decade ago when my friends and I went on a road trip to Pagudpud for our summer holiday. This particular beach is at Saud Beach Resort.

I feel nostalgic after I saw this photo and thought about the good times we had in that road trip. About two weeks ago, we got together again after 7 years. A bit older and wiser, and happier, I hope. Jo came home from Canada with her 2 kids after 7 years; Marcel joined us for dinner with her 7-year old daughter. We laughed and talked about old friends, children, my dog, our lives, our jobs and the future. It was great to break bread with you guys again.

Posted for Our Weekend Memoirs

Espresso yourself...

Black as the devil, Hot as hell, Pure as an angel, Sweet as love.

Surrendering to coffee is one of my life's pleasures, and sharing a cup of coffee with friends fills me with nostalgic sentiments. Sometimes a cup of coffee is more than just a cup of coffee. Its familiar taste and aroma can take one back to childhood, to a place of comfort where a mother, aunt or grandparent served up kindness along with a rich, steaming mug of barako.

I always believe that I was bottle-fed not with milk but with coffee when I was a baby. Coffee molecules stir up my blood, stimulate my mind, and warm my heart. And what's office and showbiz gossips would be like without cups of coffee being shared in the pantry?

I remember the air of quiet anticipation in my grandmother’s kitchen when I was a kid. Native coffee was brewing 24/7…aunts and uncles and their friends were having coffee at all times. Passionate debates took place at my grandmother’s dining table over mugs of hot, black coffee. Plans were concocted, ideas expounded, tempers cooled and fears were calmed. I loved the fever of it all---voices rose and dissolved into sounds of hot steaming liquid being drank, all punctuated by hums of conversations.

Lola Fanny served us kids with a lighter brew and not without a warning that strong coffee would stunt our growth. My brothers and younger cousins would add steamed rice into their coffee while my sister and I would dip pandesal into our mugs. The warmth and essence of my Lola’s espresso was one of my childhood’s flavorful indulgences.

Note: the photo is not mine

Food Friday: Cocido

A close relative of Pochero, Cocido is a Spanish tomato stew with pork, Spanish sausages and vegetables. This dish brings back memories of my grandmother's home-cooking---rich, comforting and straightforward. I have vivid memories in my grandmother's kitchen---the delicious smells of garlic, onions and ginger, of steam coming out from the pot, the delicate way she sliced vegetables, her vibrant laughter, a cigarette hanging from her lips, the graceful sway of her hips while cooking and humming a long-forgotten song. My mother told me that my grandmother learned her way in the kitchen from their family cook. She was a child-bride and when her husband (my grandfather who died when my mother was 8 months old) was napping or out of the house, my grandmother would tiptoe to the kitchen and observe the cook. As her interest in cooking grew, the old cook taught her how to appreciate and prepare great-tasting food that her family came to enjoy.

My bowl of cocido was served at Abe-Serendra where you can find home-cooked meals in a classier set-up and good value for money. The restaurant is always full and they don't accept reservations, so be there a bit early.

Posted for Food Friday

Tranquil Silliman

university campus

I first heard of Silliman when I was a little girl in Negros Occidental. A local girl who also went to my elementary school got a scholarship at Silliman. One summer break when she was home, I overheard neighbors whispering about her midriff top. Apparently, the sight of her belly button was shocking to the manangs at that time. I admired her midriff top, by the way, and the way she drove a motorbike around town, belly button bared, crazy hair flying, making people stop and stare. She was once a shy girl, the manangs lamented...Silliman was the reason for her transformation, they concluded with an eyebrow raised.

It was my first impression of Silliman---a bastion of liberal thinking, individualism, with some remnants of the hippie generation.:D I wanted to go to college there! Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want.

Rizal Centennial marker and university seal laid in 1960

Silliman University is located at the heart of Dumaguete, overlooking the sea. The 61-hectare campus was founded in 1901 by Protestant missionaries of the American Presbyterian Church through a gift from an American philanthropist named Dr. Horace Silliman. It is the first Protestant school in the Philippines and the oldest American university in Asia.

Silliman Hall, the oldest building on campus was constructed in 1903

the University Church, completed in 1949
Alumni Hall, built in 1950

The rooms on its second floor where we stayed are designated for alumni and guests, while the ground floor is occupied by the office of the Alumni Affairs.

Splendid Bell

Located in front of the Alumni Hall and mounted in 1918, this bell was a gift from children in America given through the New York Women's Foreign Mission Board.

Silliman University gives Dumaguete a vibrant and dynamic character despite the city’s laid back lifestyle. My lasting impressions of Silliman are the peaceful moments under the acacia trees, cool morning sea breezes at the beautiful Silliman Hall, warm smiles, and a memory of that fearless young lady on a motorbike---breaking free.

Misua Co for the soul

Misua Co

Misua soup was the very first edible food I cooked when I was about 11 years old. The ingredients were "gathered" from my grandmother’s sari-sari store and cooked at the backyard using my cooking set made of clay. I remember how my playmates and I got so excited while I sautéed the garlic and onions, and while the soup was simmering, we almost burned down our makeshift tent. I ended up with burned bangs and one girlfriend with a nasty burn on her arm. Misua is my favorite cold weather soup...it’s a no-fuss soup, fast and easy to prepare and cheap, too. And I’m still being teased at home that my specialty is Misua Soup with sardines, usually with a side comment that the fire station should be alerted when I’m cooking misua.:D

Admittedly, one misua that is better than mine is Mann Hann’s Misua Co---the best-tasting misua I’ve ever had. I can live on Misua Co---no kidding! It’s light, simple and tasty and doesn’t hurt the wallet (P145/bowl for 2 persons). Misua Co has ground pork, mushrooms and some leaf I don’t recognize (I’ll ask the next time I’m in Mann Hann). The Mann Hann I frequent are:

Mann Hann @ Lower Ground Level, Bldg A, SM-Megamall, Mandaluyong City
Mann Hann @ 2nd Floor, Market-Market, Global City, Taguig

almost gone :D

If you're interested in my "girl scout" version of Misua, here it is:

saute garlic, onion and tomatoes

tip from my mother: to extract the flavor, make sure tomatoes are thoroughly cooked

add sardines (in tomato sauce)

my tip: you can mix it gently or mash sardines if it's one of those days :D

let it simmer

option: ground pork loin instead of sardines

add water and bring to boil

add a dash of black pepper and mix in the misua noodles

my tip: misua absorbs water so its better to add a bit more water; i tend to add too much water that you can drown in my soup :D

salt to taste

option: a raw, beated egg can be added

garnish with spring onions

serve hot

Misua Co has dried mushrooms, ground pork, scallops and probably spinach. Bon Appetit!