Simply Belle

An old friend of mine from college named Au recently introduced this wonderful and healthy dish during the recent get-together of our group in Manila. It is called Dinengdeng, Ilocos specialty ( I think). It is so easy to make and it’s main ingredients are vegetables. I am more of a veggie person so naturally I became interested in the dish and immediately emailed her to ask for the recipe. She responded right away and graciously shared the recipe with me.

This dish may look unappetizing for most of you but for me it is heavenly even though I overcooked the squash. I didn’t realize squash cooks faster but it somehow enhanced the sauce, making the dish taste even better. Believe it or not, I had it 4 days in a row

In my recipe of Dinendeng, I used spinach, opo, slices of ginger, tomatoes, yellow orange squash, and bitter melon (ampalaya). My friend Au doesn’t recommend adding ampalaya to the recipe but I thought I would try it anyway because I love it so much. To cut down the bitterness, I soaked the sliced ampalaya first in salty water for some time and it did the trick.

I ate this much four days in a row with only half a cup of rice. Who says half a cup of rice is not enough?

The dish below prepared by Au was the one I was trying to achieve. But for some reasons, mine came out quite a bit darker, probably due to the type of bagoong I used. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with its taste. I mainly gorged on the veggies.

Those who are interested, here is the recipe my friend sent me:

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The day before my daughter A went back to the university for summer class, we took a walk to the park with our respective camera in tow. I was using the DSLR Sony A100 while she was using a point and shoot camera that her sister gave her for a present. It was more of a leisurely walk because we often stopped when something struck our fancy like a dandelion flower. It never occurred to me that dandelion flower would make a good subject for photography. She must see something that I don’t. She would take pictures of almost anything. I noticed that she didn’t mind taking pictures against the light for artistry. Here is one of hers with the ducks.

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Jessica Sanchez is from Southern California, and was born to a filipino mother and mexican father. She started singing at the age of 2. Her influences include Celine Dion, Christina Aguillera, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey.

During the first season of America Got Talent, she earned the wild spot impressing all three judges. Brandy, the international pop star and one of the judges raved about her and made a remark, “You’re going to be huge, I promise!” She was 9 years old in this video.  She may be 13 years old now and sounding even better. You can check out her myspace site here

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I just recently received a present from my daughter S for her Mother’s Day gift to me. She was trying to save some money so she sent it third class. Third class parcel usually arrives within a week or so. I was so excited when I opened the package, wondering what she got me this time. In the past, she usually gave me good quality cosmetics- things I don’t normally buy because they are expensive. One good thing about this daughter, she is very good at budgeting her money and she saves up for those special occasions.

Inside the package, there was a card she made herself that says:

“Happy Mother’s Day. This present is something you can wear in the Philippines. The dress can be worn multiple ways. I have included a small card that contains directions. I hope you like it. Love, S.”

And you know what she gave me? A sexy black dress which can be worn several ways. Ha ha…I didn’t think my daughter would approve of me wearing this dress but apparently I was wrong.

I modeled the dress at night so the pictures weren’t as good even with flash.

my favorite variation

least favorite.

second favorite

third favorite

So it appears that I have four new black dresses. How cool is that? Too bad the dress doesn’t have a magical power to change into different color for every style because I would love to have it in green, red, and white.

Now, I am thinking where in the province I could appropriately wear this outfit. To Virac Palengke? Nah! To nang Hilda’s sari sari store? Nay! To the beach? I don’t think so! To the church? Certainly not, priest would shoo me away. To the vesper ball? Hmmm, that’s an idea.

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Lately, I have been craving for this dish that my niece fixes for me whenever I go home to the province. I never asked for the recipe because I didn’t think that I would one day prepare it myself here. I was wrong.

Last Sunday, we (8 of us) went to Phoenix to do some oriental shopping. I was surprised to see good quality taro roots just like in the picture below. I immediately grabbed a plastic and picked about 6 medium roots and thought of making kalo-ko to satisfy my craving.

Here it is:

In between Kaloko is filled with the flesh that I pryed out of the taro roots (split lengthwise) using a small spoon. I made sure I carved it out carefully so as not to puncture the shell to put the filling in. I flavored the filling with 1/2 can of coconut cream, 2 cups of sugar (or more depending on your taste), and anise for flavoring. Pandan leaves work just as good for flavoring. My niece suggested that I add salt. No salt for me, thank you.

Then I filled in the shell with the filling about 3/4 full. I poured 1/4 can of coconut milk into the pan and placed each kaloko in. I poured the remaining 3/4 can of coconut cream into the pan and another cup of sugar or more depending on your taste. Cook slow for 45 minutes or until the juice becomes sticky. Cool and enjoy. (For this recipe, I opened 2 cans of coconut cream but only used 1 1/2.) I ended up throwing the other half. I know I am wasteful but I don’t foresee myself using the leftover milk in my cooking in a week or two.

It was sooooo good!

Below is the picture of the taro roots that I lifted from this site

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Me: Lexi, how do I look in this dress?

Lexi: You look good mommy, you look like a teacher.

Hmmm, whatever she meant by it, I will take it as a compliment. The skirt I am wearing is a wrap-around skirt that I bought 10 years ago in Oahu. I thought I would wear it today for this mother’s day ocassion to look more motherly (not teacherly, Lexi). One time, we went to church, and I was wearing a formal long black skirt, a white blouse, and a black blazer. Stephanie thought I looked like a mormon mother. Ha! ha! Whatever.

Today, we had a mother’s day celebration at my friend’s salon in town. Her salon is closed on a Sunday so we kept the place to ourselves. She brought a long table and placed it in the middle of the room. Everyone brought a dish or two. I brought several dishes plus a box of ziploc bags for leftover to take home. Ha ha, I came prepared, you know. Sure enough, none of them thought of bringing the bags.

After eating, Merlinda, (far left) the owner of the salon, thought about giving each girl a makeover. The girls were so thrilled about the idea and so were the mothers. I actually didn’t mind driving back home to get the make up for their glamour look. I guess I was just as excited as the girls.

Here they are in no particular order who are likewise called Merlinda’s Angels.

I tried applying her make-up but she opted to do it herself because she was afraid that she might end up looking like a clown. She thinks that when it concerns about make up and hair, mommy doesn’t know anything.

GG is showcasing her long layers. Her mother (next to Merlinda in the group photo above) applied her make-up including the girl below.

The youngest one, D, has beautiful thick black straight hair. All she needed was a light make up.

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This concerns to the US residents only:

You might have been already notified in the mail regarding the NALC’s (National Association of Letter Carriers) Stamp Out Hunger annual food drive this Saturday, May 10, 2008. I would like to make an appeal to all of you to please go through your pantry and pick out the ones that you don’t need and donate them to help family in need in your community. We want to collect as much food as possible because this is the year that many families are struggling with the recession that our country is facing.

Please set the goods next to your mailbox and your carrier will pick them up when delivering mail. It has to be non-perishable items like canned goods, noodles, cereals, etc. Money is also appreciated but has to be handed out to the carrier personally or you can deliver it to the post office yourself. Someone will be there to assist you.

Your community needs you….please help this Saturday, May 10, 2008. I will be one of the carriers who will be picking up the food.

Oh, my contribution is already in the paper bag for my husband to set out on Saturday.

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fire pit

Last Sunday, we had a cook out at our friend’s ranch in celebration of her husband’s and a friend, F’s birthday. I always love going to this ranch because it is private, huge, and quite a ways from town. We can laugh, giggle, dance, sing, and drink to our heart’s content and not worry about disturbing anyone. A good respite after a hard day at work. I stayed mostly outside, frolic around the area, and watch birds flew by. We also built a fire in the evening to warm us because it was getting chilly. Boy, it was fun sitting by the fire and reminisced old times. A few friends had a glass or two of margarita and I matched it with a good cup of coffee for myself, which I haven’t had in a while because I am a green tea drinker.

My husband and I came in two cars because he doesn’t like to linger at a party. Whereas, I do, now that I don’t have kids at home to care for anymore. It is not that I like not having my kids at home; of course I miss my girls but it is such a nice feeling that I can hang around much longer now when there is a gathering as opposed to rushing home like in the old days.

The horse in the stable at a far corner was such a nice treat. We all went down to spend some time with Chico and gave him something to eat. Very very friendly creature! He seemed thrilled to see us because he seldom gets to see new people and sad to see us go. I wonder if the owner R ever takes him out for a run. Horses are made to run and ride.

I rescued the birthday girl as soon I noticed her red cheeks and half-closed eyes. She had a tad bit too much of margarita already and was dozing on and off on the chair. She was alert and wide awake in the car though and maintained an enjoyable conversation with me on our trip back home. I watched her from my car as she proceeded to her house to make sure she was okay. She looked in control and didn’t stagger at all. Happy birthday dear F! I am so glad you had a blast on your birthday.

The birthday celebrant in charge of the barbecuing while the host was busy taking pictures.

Delicious barbecued shrimp and chicken wings

I wasn’t sure what my friend, M, was doing here with her arms spread out like that. Doing the chanting, maybe…hehe. You see those two old houses in the background? Those are not livable anymore and soon to be demolished. Currently, they serve as shelter for wild animals, like elks, cats (9 to be exact), and probably javalinas, too. R, the owner, spread hays inside for the elks to munch on and water bowls to drink from.

friends sharing stories by the campire. the problem with being the photographer, you are not included in any pictures.

Chico, the horse.

L, G-G, and F, the birthday girl.

G-G patting the horse.

mother and daughter

pretty 12 year-old G- G

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