Streetfood Hack: Manong Fish Ball's Famous Sauce

When I was young, I have a very sensitive tummy. As much as I want to eat lots of street food, I was always the type who would be sent to the doctors the next day for eating isaw, fish balls, squid balls, dirty ice cream, barbecue, halo-halo or ice scramble from your nearest carinderia or "tulak-tulak".

Back then, I just wanted to hack their recipe for the sauce or the marinade. For years, I was able to make the barbecue marinade, the "dirty" mami, dinuguan, and all those yummy food that I so wanted to eat, but doesn't have the stomach to endure them. I mean, they're not that bad and all, it's just that I have the most sensitive stomach growing up. Though I'm still not sure if it was really the street dirt that has always got me sick then, or if it's really that sensitive tummy that has always been the culprit.

Years later, my tummy toughened up and there's this missing piece in my collection of street food hacks--manong fish ball's sauce. So much trial and error, but I just seem to get it right. Until now. I stumbled upon a recipe online. I tried it at first but it was not as good as manong's. A couple of tries and some tweaks later, I was finally able to get it right! And now, I am happy to share to you my "lamon triumph". Haha!

So without further ado, here is my food hack of manong fish ball's sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups water
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tbsp white vinegar
7 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp patis
1 medium sized onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red chili or siling labuyo, finely chopped (you can add more if you want OR skip it, if you have kids who would eat them)
salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients, except onion, garlic, chili, salt, pepper and chili powder, in a saucepan. Mix them together until everything is dissolved BEFORE you start cooking it.
2. Once dissolved, place the mixture on medium heat until it boils.
3. Add garlic, onion and chopped red chili and stir the mixture until it thickens.
4. Once you reach the desired consistency of the sauce, add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste. Place heat on low. Bring to a boil.
5. Enjoy with kikiam, fish balls, chicken balls or squid balls.

My daughter has never had street food ever, but she loved it so much, I am cooking this once more this weekend for the whole fam.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did. :)

My Lazy Corn Cupcakes

I have been under the weather lately and has been pretty sluggish in doing stuff at home. Renee asked me if I could make her corn cupcakes.

Since I have been suffering from asthma and super heavy colds since last Monday, I can barely breathe. I had to make a lazy version for the meantime and not something from scratch. That said, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but thank you, Sharon Cuneta! Haha!

Yes, I made a "lazy cupcakes" using Sharon's cupcake mix, corn kernels and cheese.

Here's how I made them:

Ingredients:

2 x 200g packs of Celebrations by Sharon Party Cupcake Mix
1 x 425g can of Corn Kernels (I used SM Bonus' kernels. I got them free at a yellow tag promo pack at SM. I don't know what to do with them until now. Haha!)
1/3 cup cheese
1 cup milk (instead of water)
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs

1. Drain the can of corn kernels. Set aside.
2. Whisk eggs, cheese and milk until frothy. Add the melted butter and cupcake mix until smooth, without lumps.
3. Fold corn kernels in the mixture.
4. Cook as per package instructions:
 - Preheat oven at 350 F/ 177 C
 - Line cupcake molds with liners.
 - Fill up cupcake tins until 3/4 full.
 - Bake for 15-18 minutes or until done.
 - Once cooked, set aside and cool.

OR if using stove & steamer:
 - Boil water in steamer.
 - Steam for 10 minutes or until done.
 - Once done, set aside and cool.

Makes about 20-24 medium sized cupcakes. Aaaand there you go! Enjoy. :)

Sorry, I'm Not Sorry... Bullying is NEVER Okay.

Earlier today, my family and I went to the mall to have some family time, taking advantage of the holiday (Eid al-Adha). We were also looking for costumes so the kids could have something to wear when they go trick or treating. By the time we were done, my hubby and I thought of grabbing something to eat at McDonalds.

After eating, my four-year-old daughter, Renee, asked us if she could play at the fast food's play area. Since she's already done with her meal, we let her played for a bit so we could rest a bit from taking care of the kids and for her to enjoy McDonald's free play place. We sat near the play area in case of a commotion.

A while later, the kids became sooo rowdy and my kid's reaction was to ask her new-found playmates if they could use their "inside voice" so that the people around them wouldn't be disturbed. One of the kids was not happy about Renee's request. The six-year-old-looking-boy kept on following my kid, shouting at her. My kid kept walking away from him, but he followed her. Renee stopped. The kid suddenly held my kids neck! WHAT THE EFF?!

My husband and I were shocked, and our reaction was to get his attention. We both shouted at him,"HEY!", so he would leave our daughter alone. I called out my kid and in the process, I was also lecturing the little boy. I said, "Sasakalin mo anak ko?! San mo natutunan yan?! (You're going to choke my daughter? Where did you learn that?!)"

My reaction to the situation caught another father's attention. He called one of the play area kids (his daughter, I assume), and told her that they'll be leaving. I noticed that earlier, he also made another girl (about his age) cry. What is wrong with you, kid?

Look, kid, I'm sorry if something mean happened to you when you were younger, that has caused you to be all aggro towards other people. But pick on somebody your own size! You're lucky that the Aryanne you encountered there was not the old version. If that were the old me, I would have dragged you to where the hell your parents were seated and I would lecture you about aggression and picking on smaller children. How dare you, you little prick?!

To his parents, WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU? I called on your son and told him off with a loud voice, so I could also get your attention. You weren't there. I was hoping for a parental showdown of some sort with you people earlier. No one came. No parents, no guardian, not even a yaya (nanny)!

I may have embarrassed him by telling him off in public, knowing that he's not my kid, but I am not sorry that I protected my four-year-old daughter from your six-year-old (seven-ish) son, who was about to choke her.

Sorry, I am not sorry.

A Little Piece of Sunshine: Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Butter Cream Frosting

It has been a bit gloomy on this side of the world for a few weeks now. Though I love the gloomy weather, there are times when I would long for the sunshine. As do my four-year-old daughter, who wishes for a sunny weather.

I can't just magically pull out the sun out of its hiding so I thought I'd make something as yellow and refreshing as the sunlight for my lovely daughters... Lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling and buttercream frosting based on Martha Stewart's recipe... though I tweaked it a bit. :)

If you may have noticed on my previous posts, I just looooove baking for my little ones. And now, I am sharing with you my bit of sunshine!

I started with the lemon curd. This way, the curd filling will cool off as I make my cupcakes as well as my frosting.

You'll need:

2 medium-sized lemons, juiced and grated for zest (make sure you avoid the white pith)
1 cup caster sugar (or you can also use confectioner's sugar, though caster is finer)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, 2 yolks
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, unsalted

Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, whisk (or in my case, I used a fork!) sugar with the eggs. Cook under low heat.
2. Gradually combine the butter, zest, vanilla, butter and salt, while continually whisking until it thickens.
3. Strain through a sieve into a bowl.
4. Let it sit. Once cooled under room temperature, chill in freezer for a few minutes for easy piping.

Clockwise from top: lemon cupcake mix, buttercream frosting,
and lemon curd.

Now on to the cupcakes. For these, you will need the following:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 1/2 lemons
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 tbsp vinegar mixed with fresh milk to fill 1/2 cup)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line tins with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time so it would incorporate evenly.
4. Add in zest and vanilla.
5. Finally, add the flour, half by half, alternating with milk and lemon juice, until everything is mixed.
6. Fill each cupcake mold up to 3/4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Once cooked, let them cool.
8. Scoop each cupcake in the middle, using a spoon (as seen in the photo) for the filling.

Aaaaand finally, while I wait for the cupcakes to cool, we'll make the buttercream frosting!

For a basic buttercream frosting, you would need:

1 cup caster or confectioners sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened (not melted)
1/4 tsp vanilla
2-4 tsp milk

Procedure:

1. Mix sugar, butter and vanilla.
2. Gradually add milk. 2 teaspoons first, then add a teaspoon at a time, until you reach frosting consistency.
3. Mix until there are no more lumps.

Assembling the cupcakes

1. Once the cupcakes are cooled, create a small crater inside each of them. Use a small spoon to scoop them. Make sure it won't reach the bottom of the cupcakes or the curd will flow out.
2. Pipe lemon curd filling on to each cupcake until it reaches the surface.
3. Pipe buttercream frosting on top of the cupcake. I made mine as such in the photo, surrounding the lemon curd filling. Make sure your cupcake is entirely cool and your lemon curd chilled, or your buttercream frosting would melt. You may also top them with lemon zest, if you wish.

And there you go! A little piece of sunshine, thanks to this zesty, lemony treat.

Enjoy! :)

It's Not COOL To Be Mean To Kids

I was scrolling through my Facebook page and I notice this article from New York Daily News about this woman who steals a foul ball from a child at a baseball game. Poor kid.

The 2011 video of Juan Miranda's foul ball was seen by people all across America at an MLB game between Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Minute Maid, and has already gone viral. Too bad, it's already too late. I mean, it's 2013 already!

In the video, you could hear the announcers noticed the Kris Jenner lookalike snatched the ball from the little girl.

"She took it right from her! That was BEYOND wrong!" One announcer says.

At first, I thought she was there to help out the kid to catch the ball. The woman was not able to catch the ball and she noticed that the child caught it. She quickly snatched it right from the kid's hands and waves it to her friends, with some high fives to boot.

Poor little girl just walked back to her seat devastated.

Bitch, you think you're so cool now, huh?

You can see the video of it in YouTube entitled, "Evil woman steals ball from little girl".

I know. She's soooo mean! If that were my kid, I swear, I'm gonna go all crazy on her. Ugh. I still feel bad at the sight of the sad kid. I could just imagine her sadness, that she might not want to go to any baseball games anymore. :(

So yea, being mean to kids: NOT COOL. Picture yourself in the kid's shoes. Would you want them to be mean to you?

What about you parents out there? Are you as furious as I was when you saw the clip? Sound off below.

My Lucky September

To some, September is like "hell month". But I beg to differ. September 2013 has been very kind to me. I just couldn't contain myself, that I just had to share the experience with you all. :)

This month was just... awesome. I couldn't describe it any other way.

I won! 

First of all, I won Bebengisms.com's Birthday Cyber Party. I got tons of giveaways that my four-year-old was sooooo giddy to see our table full of cool stuff.

Told you she was so giddy!

Renee's achievement.

Since I have been homeschooling my four-year-old, Renee, I have been given the task to teach my child her ABCs, math, writing, reading, and even science. I have started teaching her stuff back in January and am proud to say that she has progressed pretty well for a homeschooled child.

She has finally learned as much as basic two-digit addition and subtraction, how to read, how to write, the colors of the rainbow, shapes and polygons, traffic colors (traffic signals and "walk"/"don't walk" signs), and things about the human body. Oh and the piano as well, since her father's a musician, I thought it'd be fitting to start her up with piano. Not bad eh?

CVC words, phonemes and simple addition/subtraction.

Teeny hands playing "Mary Had A Little Lamb".
(I labeled the keyboard so she could remember the keys.
It works!)

The long wait is over.

As I have told you before, my husband and I have decided to move to Canada for good. A couple of weeks back, we finally received our family's Canadian visa. We will be moving to the great White North by spring next year, thanks to my uncle (mom's bro) who was gracious enough to sponsor my family so we can move there.

Destination: The Great White North

We have been waiting for this moment since that day we sent our papers back October last year. And now, it's finally here! It's bittersweet, though. I mean, we will be leaving our lives here to start a new one in a strange country. We'll be leaving our families behind--our siblings and parents, friends and relatives. All that to start anew across the globe. But then again, our plan is to eventually bring the whole family there anyway. At least, this is the start, yes?

Our future there still seems bleak. No idea of what's gonna happen. I mean, we sure have a Plan A and a Plan B. But we all know things don't always turn out as planned. Chances are, we might come up with new plans when we get there. Ah well, as they say, we'll cross that bridge when we finally get there.

For now, I guess, we'll just keep on hoping for the best. Until that day we fly to the land of bacon and maple syrup--no not milk and honey!

29 Things You Need to Know About Me

For Bebengisms Birthday Cyber Party

A domestic queen I know, has just turned 29 a few days back and her little princess is turning 5 soon (they celebrate the same birth month!). She is the woman behind the super-kikay and very fun to read (and informative) mommy blog, Bebengisms.com. Believe me, she almost hasn't changed a bit since the last time I saw her back in high school! I remember I got a grad photo from her back then with a dedication. I was suppose to post it, when I realize that most of my high school memories were taken that fateful day that Ondoy flooded almost the whole metro. :(

I have been an avid reader of her blog. It's just so exciting to read and very relatable, especially to stay-at-home-mothers just like me. You see, she's almost my age. We went to the same high school (she's a year ahead of me) and with her blog, I realized that we share many common mommy moments. Our kids--her little Pia and my first-born, Renee are almost the same age. Both talk as if they're grown-ups trapped inside some pre-schooler's body. We both had to hold up the fort while the men of our households are away (though, hands-down, she's way better in this part. Her hubby's a military man and is working outside of the metro, and she's THE man--er woman of the house while he's out). Oh and did I mention that she's a fellow Somerholic??? Hihihi.

Anyhoos, since she's celebrating her 29th, I wanna share with you 29 things about me... and 5 things about each of my darling princesses.

Let's start with me first.

Two-kid carry. One of my daily "amazona" tasks. Haha!

1. I was a premature baby, born 8 months.

2. I was told I only lasted about an hour in the incubator because the nurses feared that I might kick the wirings inside the incubator.

3. I'm a quarter Spanish (maternal grandmother), a quarter Chinese (maternal grandfather), and half (and proud!) Filipino.

4. I came from a military family--both grandfathers served in the USAFFE back in WW2 and my mother is a reservist, which why...

5. I was inspired to join the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course (COCC) back in high school, and was eventually a CAT officer in my senior year. I was then a company commander.

6. I have always, ALWAYS been an animal lover.

7. I once owned 2 lovebirds, 3 dogs, 2 cats, a "dagang costa" and a tank of fishes. Believe it or not, they were all my pets AT THE SAME TIME.

8. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, because...

9. I grew up with a bunch of guy friends--most of them are cousins. That said,

10. People once thought I was gay and were all shocked when they started seeing me with a boyfriend.

11. I used to smoke and drink until I completely stopped back in 2006. Never took a puff nor sip ever since.

12. I taught myself to play the guitar and piano.

13. I'm an insomniac.

14. I'm a coffee lover.

15. Since I was a kid, I always name my pets with people's names because I just want to see their reaction when they realize that I'm talking about our pets. It's only now that I started naming them with cartoon characters' names because my kid told me so. Haha!

16. I used to be in a band... BUT 

17. Before I got in a band, I was once a choir girl.

18. I once aspired to become an actress (don't we all do???).

19. I love, LOVE drawing.

20. I met my husband through a then-officemate. That guy is now my brother-in-law, who is also my husband's bandmate since the beginning of time.

21. I'm a big fan of TV series and rock music.

22. I have a crazy photographic memory.

23. Though I seem to be a toughie, I am such a cryer too.

24. I look like my brother's fiancee. People tend to think she's my sibling, not my lil bro. Hahaha!

25. I usually cut my own hair, and my kids' and hubby's. (Last time I was in a salon was back in January, after four long years of just cutting it myself. And now, I am back to trimming it by myself again! Real-life version of Zohan. Haha!) 

26. I haven't had a salon mani-pedi in years, in the fear of having a murdered cuticle again (I always come home with an injured toe, no matter who/where I get a mani-pedi from).

27. If you haven't seen my blog yet, or haven't seen my Facebook photos, you should know that I looooove cooking!

28. Due to some medical issues I had years ago, I didn't really expect I'll have kids. Am I lucky or what? :)

29. The best--and craziest job I have ever had is being a MOMMY. :)

Now, to my kiddies:

Me and my mini-me, Renee.

Renee:

1. Ren was born via c-section back in March 2009. The first grandchild on both sides--mine and my husband's. She's named Renee Angeli. Renee meaning reborn (French) and Angeli, (variation of "Angel", heaven's messenger). She was given the second name as a tribute to a sibling we lost, when my mother suffered a miscarriage back when I was in high school.

2. Renee would rather eat monggo, fish and seafoods, than have hotdogs and spaghetti.

3. She skipped Nursery when she applied for school this year, and was accepted Kinder 2 at a Catholic School in Marikina. Unfortunately, due to our plans of migrating, she had to skip this year. Kids in Canada go to school at age 5.

4. Unlike most kids, Renee is fascinated by movies like Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Phantom of the Opera.

5. When we go out, people often speak to her in English, thinking she's Korean or Chinese.

Me and my little Allie-pot.

Allie:

1. Allie was a breech baby (suhi), and was delivered via c-section last year, May 2012. She was given the name Rachel (meaning lamb) and second name Allison (meaning noble one).

2. Allie started walking at exactly one year old. She took her first steps just last May, her birth month.

3. Her first word was "de-de" (milk)... not "Ma-ma" nor "Da-da".

4. She's been exclusively breastfed since birth.

5. She loves to play with our four cats. Takes after Mommy. :)

Soooo that's it. I know. It's suuuuuuuper long eh? I think this is like the first time I have ever opened up about myself in cyberspace. Well, yea, aside from my blog, this is THE first time ever that I have told the world things about me that only few people know. It actually felt pretty good, and I owe it all to you, Ate Denise!

Belated happy birthday, Ate Denise. Again. Hehe! And advance happy birthday to your little Bebeng, pretty little Sophia.

Cheers to more good reads at Bebengisms! :)