thehiddenchef: Ampalaya with Beef

I have a sweet inclination in the kitchen. I just developed it recently. It is a task so fulfilling because I guess it has to do with FOOD. It makes me feel like im becoming more of a WOMAN and funny but it is so liberating. Hahaha

I just downloaded a nice app in my android fone about Filipino recipes. The first time I tried it, it was a little different because this time it was a success. Remember my leche flunk? I mean leche flan. LOL Back to the app, it was very helpful and I was more than thankful because the menus are great though the number of choices available are just really few. The ingredients were easy to find and affordable (I can even see them in our kitchen without having the fuzz to buy), because again they are all Filipino cuisines.

I made Ampalaya with Beef for my boyfriend and I was all smiles because I knew it would be a success and the boyfee really liked it!

Now for my note’s sake, I decided to just blog about every cooking moments of my life because I am not a pro and chances are, I will just soon forget how the magic is done. Well, I cooked the Ampalaya some time ago so I have to open the menu/ app again for a review on what I did.

This infamous vegetable (I know a lot don’t like Ampalaya ;p) has substances that help control blood sugar. This is just perfect for me coming from a family with diabetic grandparents. And the rest? All I can say is its really bitter!

In the app, the menu was categorized under “Mga Ginisang Gulay” because both boifee and I love vegetables. I know that Ampalaya or bitter gourd isn’t the most desirable vegetable there is and I remember when I was a kid they’re at the bottom of my “what’s-not-to-eat-food” list. Oh well, it changed when I was in my freshman year in college when a classmate of mine boasted her mom’s Ampalaya cooking. It was indeed good! I don’t know, I find it bitter 24 years ago and it doesn’t change up till now. Oh well, the mind has a world of its own. I now liked it! So much about the history, let’s get it on!

By the way, I am a starter in the kitchen but I am a hell of deviant when it comes to measurements. Lol I remember purchasing ¼ of beef, the ampalaya (but of course!), onion, garlic and all that spice. You know what I mean right?

Boyfriend and I were on a debate whether we slice 2 whole ampalayas or not. I ended up slicing one big whole and half. Now to make sure I don’t serve a super bitter ampalaya, I washed it with water (before slicing it into small pieces, I cut them half lengthwise first) and I put generous amount of salt all over using my hands. I let it stay for quite some time. I put water again and squeezed it like a stress ball just to make sure the bitter taste will somehow lessen.

Now in a separate bowl, I added soy sauce, salt and pepper. The app says to put oyster sauce too but we didn’t have Oyster sauce. You will let all the goodness sip through the beef so don’t be stupid and let it stay for a while. I’ll say 10-15 minutes.

Now in a pan, saute garlic and onion. Add the marinated beef followed with a glass of water. Cover the pan. Go grab that book you’ve been meaning to read because this thing will take forever. Haha In other words, you wait till the beef soften.

Once you think that the beef is good to go, add the sliced ampalaya. Let it stay for about 3 minutes. I personally don’t like the vegetable overcooked. Add corn starch and Magic Sarap and stir. In my case, the boifee wants to taste the pepper most of the time so I added more pepper in this stage. You will know that the corn starch has done its purpose if the sauce has thickened already.

 tadaaahhh!!!

I've been Facebooked!

Talking about making your dreams a reality, my cousin just finished a series of “Facebooked: the Musical” play. He was sort of the artistic director of the said play showcasing pure Cebuano talents. It was indeed a very nice musical play. It is very original, the songs they composed are just plainly awesome that I sing some of them at home and of course, the play centers around FACEBOOK. Just like LOVE, Facebook is a very profound word. For the life of me, I cant put any words that best describes this social networking site. It is all over. I just can’t imagine meeting someone without a Facebook. It’s like a disgrace if you don’t own any profile in this site. And mind you, my dad has his profile… which is of course being opened and managed by my mom. He doesn’t do Facebook but he has an account. See my point? And oh, it is noteworthy that those titos and titas I’ve known when I was still a mere child are on my friend list too. Oh well, I can talk about Facebook for hours- the transformation, how I started, what it had done to me and to my friends… oh well everything and it may not still be enough because just like the intricacies of the word LOVE, Facebook is as intricate as it can be.

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. Just like a perfect brew of caffeine it is downright addicting. I wanted to scroll and scroll and check and check even when there is nothing important to check. I wanted to check if the area I go to has Wi-Fi and I would instantly go to Facebook. I like Facebook but you see, I hate it too. It is really a waste of time. It is indeed a waste of time. I cant imagine I threw my Saturday away facing my phone browsing through Facebook. I am ridiculous and I admit that but I like Facebook. I mean Facebook has been there for ages and it indeed connects people but sometimes we get too tied with it and we lose time in return.

I wanna be a better person. Instead of looking at my own profile (that’s what I do most of the time when I am in logged in to FB) or other people’s profile, I must limit myself. There is a world out there. How I wish I can just deactivate my Facebook. Because most of the time, I feel like FB is just a show. And it promotes envy, or you tend to post things that will look as if your life is fabulous when its really not! (ha! Reality bites). How I wish I’d post less stuff and how I’d wish I can do more than just FB.

I wanna be a better person so for now on, I will linger on more helpful stuff instead of FB. I will blog more and express myself more through writing. I will research more helpful articles and read more instead of Facebooking. I will IG more when I need to post pics. I will get a life and FB less.

From this day on, I will try my best to limit Facebook for not more than 5 hours in a week. I will keep a mental tracker. I like how I try to improve myself. LOL And I know I can pull this off!

dreams and reality

Been really busy for these past few months. But hey, I am not complaining. In fact I’m loving it—as of yet.

Recalling my aunt’s reaction on my career change, she was amused by me. Why? Because I took a 360 degree turn from a call center agent to a pre-school teacher. I think that is awesome and she thought of the same too. I am just happy that she is happy for me. But seriously, it wasn’t at all easy. It was a leap of faith I knew I had to take and its one of the few defining moments of my life. Again, it wasn’t easy. But it taught me a lot about faith, courage, and humility, a series of letting go and most especially chasing dreams. In our economy right now, having a day job isn’t that appealing. Pocket-wise? It is plainly ridiculous letting go of a bigger pay check in exchange of a “normal life”. But believe me, it drains my emotions of having to see so little coming back to my pay check. Then again, I would say to myself that this is just a phase. I just wondered how long it will last. But I know I am strong so I gotta be firm now more than ever. Other than the salary, everything is really new to me. And I am keeping a journal about my life as a pre-school teacher (especially it’s my first year). Other than blogging, I am planning on doing a scrapbook about my journey. A scrapbook about how I lived my dream. I just thought it will be awesome!

Aside from all the changes that I wanted to keep a personal record on, I am also looking forward to a year full of chances, opportunities, hopes and wisdom to help me become a better person.

Before I will end this entry, there is one perk about my dream job—the feeling of being loved and adored by my kids is more than enough to keep me afloat (despite of the money problems lol). My student Shem was just so sweet when he came to the door this Friday morning and feeling so excited. He ran to me and gave me flowers!!!! Awww he is the sweetest and one of the precious moments that I wouldn’t trade for anything.