10 in 10

I am angry.  Angry at myself for not being able to keep up to a fitness routine.

About the same time last year, I started adding exercise and a healthy diet into my daily routine with the goal of eventually adopting a healthy lifestyle.  I did very well and weight loss just followed the course as if it was a pleasant side effect.  I went from 136 pounds to 123 pounds.  My target weight was 125.  I challenged myself to another 5 pounds and I thought it would just easily come off.

But usually, there comes a point when you reach a plateau.  And if you want to lose more, you'll have to change something even further.  I didn't do that.  What's worse is I stopped working at maintaining and keeping my weight at that level.  Now I find my lifestyle slowly reverting back to what it used to be--one without exercise, one that involves a lot of eating--thoughtless, incautious eating, lack of hydration and inadequate sleep.

It is fair to say that I have not been taking care of my body and my health and I am now seeing the not-so-pleasant results. The last reading on my scale shows 128 pounds. If this reads 130, which could be anytime soon, then I'm surely freaking out!

Now, I am throwing myself a new challenge--lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. I know I can do this. I did it last year. Yet the bigger challenge is what comes after that--maintaining the healthy lifestyle and keeping the weight off.

So help me God...

The Rage

Dear Chelo,

I cannot thank you enough for being so generous with sharing your expertise in the kitchen.  Your "Rage Chicken" is unbelievably delicious!  It's a killer! And you are right about it being very close in taste to the San Pedro lechon manok that we both so love.

I added a few things to your recipe, not because the recipe is lacking--it's not, but because I always just want to put my own twist in every recipe that I try.

Here's what I added/modified:

• Used cornish game hen instead of the regular chicken (it's what I had available and I always buy game hen because it seems that it has less fat)
• Used fresh rosemary (only because I have so much of them growing in the backyard)
• Substituted half of the oyster sauce with Mama Sita's Barbeque marinade (because I love the sweet-savory taste of this marinade)
• Added a little bit of honey (only because I put honey in pretty much everything)
• Marinated the chicken overnight
• Added melted butter to the marinade that I used to baste the chicken (because I want to fry the skin a little bit)

The result?  Such tender, juicy and very tasty roasted chicken!  I'm glad I cooked two at once.  Otherwise, we won't have anything left for lunch tomorrow.

I kept the other chicken longer in the oven because I wanted a slightly overcooked, perfectly caramelized skin.  It was so good! And you were right--just one slice and look at all that juice!

We ended up eating dinner a little late today because I didn't get home from work until 6.  But the wait was definitely worth it.  I paired the chicken with steamed rice and slightly sauteed broccoli with shrimp, and dinner was perfect!  Our hungry stomachs didn't just get filled, they were pleasantly satisfied.

Again--many, many, many, many thanks!

Your big fan,
Liza

What Will Become Of Him?

I often ask the husband, "what do you think Lucas will become when he grows up?" I guess we won't really know until it happens or is about to happen.

When I was growing up, my ambitions kept changing.  I once wanted to be a doctor, then a therapist, then a singer.  Then I thought, maybe having a business of my own will be best, so I thought I should go to Business School. But then before I went to college, I decided I want to become a lawyer.  So I took up Accountancy with the intention of proceeding to Corporate Law.  But even as I went to take my entrance exams at Silliman University, I couldn't make up my mind and decided to take both Accountancy and Physical Therapy exams.  When it was time to make up my mind, I decided I still want to take up Accountancy, then become  a lawyer.

I finished Accountancy and became a CPA. But when it was time to proceed to Law, I decided I didn't want to go to school anymore. I wanted to have a job and start earning money. And so that's how my career in Finance began.

I still wonder what Lucas will become.  Will he be an Architect?

Or a Builder?

Will he be a Doctor?

A Scientist?

Or maybe a Chef?

Will he be a Sailor?

Or a Construction Worker?

A Musician?

Or an Adventure-seeker?

Whatever he will become, I know it in my heart that I will be proud of him.  I will support his passions and I will dream his dreams.  I only hope that he looks out for himself and will aim only for the good.  And I also hope that I will live long enough to see a bright future ahead of him unfold.

***

Photos:  Lucas, 2 years and 8 months old. Taken at Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, CA.

A Quick Fix

I came home today realizing that we ran out of bread.  We can't run out of bread because we have to have bread for breakfast in the morning. I don't have time to cook breakfast on work days.

But we were heading to church for Ash Wednesday service and after mass, I had to make dinner--fast!  So there was no time to run to the groceries for bread.

Luckily, we had three pieces of very ripe, perfectly speckled bananas--perfect for banana muffins!  The rest of the ingredients were not a problem--I always have a supply of flour, sugar, eggs and butter in my kitchen.

I call this "Banana Cran-Choc-Nut Muffins" because they're banana muffins with cranberries, chocolate chips and walnuts.  This took less than 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.  Super quick and super easy!

Now, this piece, I'm afraid, will not live to see the morning...

Here's the recipe for those of you who would like to try making them:

You need:

3 large ripe bananas (mashed)

120 gram melted butter

105 grams sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs lightly beaten

150 grams all-purpose flour

75 grams cake flour (if you don't have cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

60 grams (or two handsful) semi-sweet chocolate chips

60 grams (or two handsful) dried cranberries or craisins

30 grams (a handful) chopped walnuts or pecans (you can put more if you want more nuts)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C. Line muffin pan with muffin liners or paper cups.

2.  Mix the dry ingredients (second set of ingredients above), including the chocolate chips, cranberries and nuts. Mixing the chocolate chips, fruits and nuts with the flour is a trick that I use so that when you mix the dry and the wet ingredients later on, they won't sink in the bottom of the batter.  Aha! ;-)

3. Mix well the wet ingredients (first set of ingredients above) in a separate bowl and then pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Mix well.

4. Scoop the batter into the lined muffin pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the muffin.

You can do this all by hand.  No mixer needed.  Enjoy!!!

Why I Bake

Basic Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband says me baking is "seasonal".  Unlike cooking, which I do almost everyday, I would find myself baking for a week or two weeks straight.  And then I'd stop and not bake for months. Then I'd do it again.  It really just depends on my mood.  Sometimes it comes out of inspirations from something we eat at a restaurant or when a colleague brings something to share at work.  But when I really like something, I find myself trying the hardest to learn about how to make it myself. 

Foccacia

In our family, I was probably the least interested in baking among us women.  My mother baked a lot and she was still is so good at it.  We always had home-baked chiffon or angel food cake at home (I remember getting tired of it once), we never bought birthday cakes--my mom would just make them.  And at one time, she even took orders for wedding cakes.  Now she's learning how to make fondant wedding cakes. Sadly, ready-to-roll fondant is not readily available back home.  You really have to make it from scratch.

My sister was the one who took that after her. She baked a lot too!  I remember her rainbow cake, which was layers of cake with different flavors in each layer and filled with mixed fruit.  It was so time-consuming to make, but so good and never lasted more than a day. It was not only very colorful, but it certainly was yummy!  We would eat it all in one sitting.

Tiramisu

As for me, I didn't cook nor bake back home.  I knew how to cook, but I would only do so when I didn't have a choice--like back in college when my brother and I shared an apartment and I had to cook for the both of us. When I came to the US, cooking became a must. I had to do it.

But now that I have a family of my own, I have a different appreciation for cooking.  I have learned to love doing it and I continuously challenge myself to try dishes that are not so easy to make.  My husband would often say that my mom is such a good cook, but I am an adventurous cook--willing and able to try anything just to come up with something new.  I like that he noticed.

Ube Macapuno Cake

But other than cooking, I have also learned to love baking.  And my mom couldn't be any prouder.  When I post a photo of something I baked, she would call me and say "Gwapaha sa imong cake, Dai uy!"  I hope one day she will get to taste them and realize that they're not only "gwapa", but they also taste good.  After all, she got me into this. When she came to visit us here a few years ago, she couldn't believe I didn't have any pans and baking tools.  She then bought me majority of what I have now--a mixer, baking pans, sifter, measuring cups and spoons, spatula and some liners.  Without them, I would not even have anything to get started with.

After my mom left, I also stopped baking. I didn't think I was good with it. Besides, I thought "why spend all this time baking when I can just grab anything I want from the bakery or grocery store, and they're very inexpensive?" But I find that doing it myself and doing it from scratch has given me a sense of fulfillment that I don't get from cooking.  It allows me to make adjustments and substitutions so the finished product tastes just the way I and my family like it.  It allows me to be creative.  It allows me to feel that I'm a real housewife, the woman of the house. It allows me to be myself.

Almond Red Velvet Roll

I started getting serious about baking right before Halloween last year and until now I still love doing it. There is so much more I haven't tried and I want to try them all.  Yes, I failed so many times but the more I do it, the more successful I've been at first try.

I'm not sure I have proven my husband wrong--that baking for me is "seasonal".  But it's been months now and I still don't feel like stopping.  I guess the trick that did it for me is not to do it all the time.  Give it a few days after the last cake is gone.  I allow myself to miss it and then I'll feel like baking again.

Lately

I can't believe this is my first post for the year.  Wow, the months have definitely gone by fast.  Almost a quarter of the year has come and gone.

***

Lately, I've been thinking.  I spend too much of my spare time Facebooking.  Yet I feel that I don't really get much from Facebook other than updates from my family and friends who I often talk to anyway.  I learn about what people do and like.  I post photos and tell people what I think.  But what do they really care?  My husband once told me that he thinks most people go to Facebook not to connect with friends, but to brag about themselves and what they have.  As someone who visits Facebook at least twice a day, I look at myself and realize there is some truth to what my husband says.  I, and I'm sure many others, go to Facebook to show off.  Show off what I have, what I know and what I can do.  Show off our beautiful kids and how amazing we think they are.  Show off where we went, what we eat, who we're with and what we buy.  Show off the gifts we give and the gifts we take.

Don't get me wrong--there is absolutely nothing wrong with showing off.  Some people work so hard for what they have and what they have become, they have every right in the world to be proud of it.  Besides, I'll always be first to say that if you've got it, flaunt it!

Lately, I've made a realization that Facebook is so successful because it provides people an avenue to feel good about themselves.

***

At the start of the year, I committed to myself to read more.  Unlike Facebook, I find that reading makes me more aware. And when I am aware, I am more confident--something that I need so bad to be successful for what I do. But where have I been with my readings?  I asked the husband to buy us the autobiography of Steve Jobs (we are both fans) right after it came out.  Until now, I've probably only flipped a page or two.  It's in my bedside now, looking miserable and accumulating dust.

I've ordered business year-end reports and a subscription to the Law Technology magazine (my line of work is in the Law and Software industry).  I've read one issue on a long flight.  The rest of the issues are starting to pile up in my office--still waiting to be touched.

Lately, I have renewed my commitment to myself to start doing more reading.  And maybe write to my blog more often.

***

Lately, I've been feeling more and more excited about our upcoming trip home.  Finally, I will experience Cebu and my beloved Bohol again.  What is more exciting about this trip is that all of us are coming home at the same time, including my brother, my sister and their families.  I can hardly wait!

***

Lately, I've been feeling uncertain about my job.  I still love what I do.  But there has been way too many changes at work, that I feel like everything is brand new.  To me, with brand new comes uncertainty.  I thought at one time I've seen what my future is like at this company.  But now I think that future has changed.  It could be better though, but again it is uncertain.

***

Lately, I've been troubled by the news of a good friend's troubled marriage--something I never saw coming.  I thought they would forever remain a couple.  I had always been jealous about how close and loving they were, and about how good they were with their kids.  I still can't believe what's happening is happening and when I think about their kids, the younger one is Lucas' age, my heart bleeds.

***

Lately, I've been feeling so much love from people around me, my husband most especially.  He has always been kind and giving, but lately he has been very sweet, gentle, considerate and attentive.  I don't know if it's the air that the love month brings, but I sure hope it continues.  My life with him has been wonderful, and it only gets better everyday.

***

Lately, God has given me so many reasons to be grateful!