dinner from an almost empty kitchen

It's one of those days again! Almost out of many things and I make do with what's available. I am putting off going to the supermarket because I will be out of the country by next week and it would not do to have too many things stocked in the refrigerator.

Tonight I was wanting some soup because the day has been gray and rainy.

Mushroom Noodle Soup

I found:

Dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water to soften and then sliced - I kept a few tablespoons of the water for flavoring later on
2 small poor-looking carrots forgotten in the corner of the veggie bin
3 small bundles of egg noodles
1 medium onion, chopped
2 big cloves of garlic, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs for serving with later
A little canola oil
A splash of sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Then I:

Stir-fried the garlic and onion in the combined oils until translucent.
Added the carrots and stirred until coated.
Added the sliced mushrooms and mixed them all up until the mushrooms are glistening.
Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Added 3 cups of water. Added the mushroom juice I had set aside. Brought to a simmer.
Tasted the soup and adjusted by adding salt, pepper, or mushroom juice.
Just before it got to a boil I dropped the egg noodles.
Waited for 3-5 minutes while the noodles cooked.
Served myself a generous helping in a bowl topped with slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Lovely and filling!

What did you have for dinner tonight?

ramen-craving

I wanted Japanese food, especially ramen. So my sister and I hopped over to the neighborhood's fairly new Japanese restaurant called Ramen Cool.

the delicious red and orange sushi -- red for tuna and orange for salmon

the miso ramen

the beef ramen 

the wonderfully refreshing orange iced tea

a tiny break

Just finished five long data-gathering sessions in the past three days and tonight is my tiny break before I begin the data analysis and report-writing by early tomorrow.

For now I share some snapshots from the past few days when I managed to snatch a few minutes to myself from all the work.

my sister and i wore our happy shoes to add bright spots to grueling days

my friend dropped off fresh stock for the store. we hope to open shop sometime in the first half of February

last night i was able to cook for dinner and i adapted from my cousin's recipe of pork tenderloin with vegetables

How has the week been treating you? I'm dying for a full night of sleep!

a quick post before i go to bed

I practiced kendo yesterday (I realize it's already Sunday) and after three weeks of not practicing at all I was surprised that I didn't do too bad. I will have another post on my burst of thoughts about my practice but for now I would like to share the events after practice.

We received an unexpected invitation to the opening of Japanese noodle restaurant, Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss, co-owned by friends. Free dinner! Which also turned out to be delicious! I ordered the yakisoba and made short work of it. But what was more enjoyable was the laughter that peppered the conversations around the dinner table.

After dinner we didn't feel like going home yet so we went for coffee at Poco Deli and Peter Paul ordered cake which we shared and we had conversations about Sandman, John Constantine, the differences between men and women, people at kendo, graphic novels, and bits and pieces of random stuff.

As I write this post I am listening to a 70s playlist in my iTunes and I am singing along and tapping my feet and I have this excess of energy that is probably the strong Italian coffee plus the endorphins of a good practice. Will need to get this off my system or else I would not be able to sleep!

I will go and read something calming while tucked in bed to help the sleepy energies in taking over. Good night everyone!

off the routines

I haven't been feeling too well the past few days. I could use a few more hours of sleep, a lot more exercise and a lot less of stress.

I didn't practice kendo today because I just felt too blah and out of it that if I had practiced I would have cried at the slightest provocation.

Instead I read and studied and made notes and lists. I did some chores. I checked some recipes. I started cleaning and clearing my computer files. Then I stepped out to the mall to pay some bills in the payment center and to pick up a few items from the supermarket. I also went to the bookstore to get M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled -- a book highly recommended by my best friend when we chatted online recently and I was seeking her advice on something important. My mom went with me and we had some quiet time together.

When I got back home I started to prepare dinner -- pork marinated in lemon, pepper and soy sauce. Then fried with onions and sauced with more soy sauce. I matched it with potato-carrot salad.

My sister arrived from kendo practice at almost 8pm. Our friends Peter Paul and Dave showed up at almost 10pm bearing cupcakes and cinnamon rolls and immediately asking how I was feeling.

I certainly felt much better by the time everyone left at around 11pm. I was cheered up and I felt taken care of and I felt calmed all at the same time.

I will sleep now. It's really late. Will see you again tomorrow.

travel story : hong kong, day 2

This was on the 25th of October. Breakfast was at the hotel from the stash we bought from 7-eleven the night before.

I mapped out our walking path to Kowloon Park, with every intention of spending the whole morning there. An effective way to avoid shopping was to avoid going into the shopping malls. We were reserving whatever little we had for the street markets. Besides, we were never really patrons of popular (often expensive) branded products.

Kowloon Park turned out to be a very enjoyable and pleasant surprise. I love the idea of so much greenery and nature in the midst of a bustling city.

Lunch was at McDonald's because we wanted to try how its food tasted in other countries. In Hong Kong, everything was less salty and more flavorful. It also had more ice cream flavors. And bigger regular sizes.

We took a peek at Muji just to see if it sold the same stuff as back home. It sold a lot more.

We went inside the mall that sold only Chinese products and we almost drooled over the handmade tablecloths and pillow cases and bags - basically anything cloth and embroidered. But they were also very expensive.

We walked along the rest of Nathan Road from Kowloon Park to our hotel at Eaton, checking out all most of the Sasa, Watsons and Mannings stores. In the Philippines, Burt's Bees is exclusively sold in a high-end beauty store. In Hong Kong it is just part of the regular inventory of Watson's.

We took a quick rest in the hotel in the late afternoon before taking on the Temple Street Night Market. My sister dropped by 7-eleven to get a bowl of fish ball curry udon to tide her over.

Dinner was rice topped with chicken cooked in a claypot.

My biggest splurge for the trip was a leather covered blank notebook (HK$98) that I intend to make into a photo and text journal about this trip and all future trips to Hong Kong. The kanji means "Smooth Sailing".

The night was concluded along Kansu Street with a fortune teller who gave us only good predictions and an amulet. She also took a bit of our money. That was the only thing that went off the plan in that whole trip. It was a purely impulsive thing and I guess I was looking for a bit of magic amidst all the scrimping and emerging questions in my head (and heart) and all the other things that were hovering over me even as I tried to forget about them for a while.

She said I would get married next year and that I will have two sons and that I will not lack for money and my husband will be very tall. She also said I have an honest heart and that really, really made me think and wonder because one of the main things I am bothered about now had to do with it. Well, I did ask for some sort of message from the Universe. Maybe this is one.

where are the ghosts and the witches?

When I was still employed I would take a bit of trouble to celebrate Halloween in some way. It could be as simple as a movie marathon or a nice dinner or walking around the mall in some costume or watch the people who do walk around in costume. The point is, I celebrated it in one way or another.

Last year and this year I have become more domesticated and low-key. For starters, I will be cleaning the house today and will probably be starting on some overdue tasks for an on-going project. I will also probably run a couple of errands to the supermarket.

Yesterday I went to the new water spa place. It was my birthday gift to Mao and we spent about two hours trying out all the water massages and soaking in the herbal pools. We even took laps in the lapping pool (which made me start wondering about a membership of some form because the pool was perfect for working out).

Lunch was at Cafe Juanita where I made reservations a couple of days before so Mao can try out their super delicious buffet. The restaurant was not too full and therefore it was not too noisy and I got a good look at the latest redecorating done and there was an angel watching over us as we ate.

As we were nearing the end of lunch, I had become extremely sleepy from the spa and the food. The next order of the day was a nap back at my place.

By 5pm we were heading out again to check a few things out at the warehouse sale across the street then we went to Mao's house for a home-cooked birthday dinner treat by his mom. I finally got to meet his family and had long interesting conversations with his brothers. His mom cooked a really good dish of baby back ribs (and I got some for taking home when his mom offered it after dinner).

The rest of the evening was spent watching Transformers 3 on DVD and Kung Fu Panda 2. I fell asleep halfway through Kung Fu Panda 2.

I now read through what I have written and it reads like a very normal and sane day.

There is a part of me that wants to go tricking and treating. One way or another. There is a part of me that is as hungry as the ghosts that walk around this time of the year.

a quick sign off

I just came home from dinner and dessert. It's Mao's birthday and he treated the group at the banchetto in Metrowalk. Then we capped the night with dessert and coffee at Poco Deli, an Italian restaurant that serves the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted.

Will post more photos and stories tomorrow. Or rather, later today. Or maybe Monday if I get too busy doing Sunday stuff like family and water spa and lunch.

a quick good night

Got home from work at 10:30pm, about an hour later than anticipated. It was a great good thing though that I was working with Ms G who is simply one of the most reliable and pleasant people to work with. Normally she would recruit respondents for me but today I facilitated for her. We stuck together and cheered each other up through the near mishaps of the day because there were quite a number of details that were missed out on in preparation by the client.

We had a late dinner in a famous local chef's restaurant where I had a breakfast plate of sausages, egg and rice. And I could not resist the pavlova bites for dessert.

I wish I could write a bit more but I am just too tired. Will be back tomorrow morning (and I hope I can get up early to catch up on the house chores and to-dos that I had to miss out on today because of the work.)

Good night!

saturday night sweet spot

I love that perfect time on Saturday evenings -- that chunk of time right after the exhausting and grueling kendo practice and before sleeping in late on a Sunday morning. Every time I experience that satisfying joy of having completed and survived my kendo and then rewarding myself in one way or another during the evening with my friends. Then layer that with the thought that there is one whole free Sunday just right ahead. Bliss!

(My friend Peter Paul finds this funny because he said I run my own business so why I should I treasure the weekend as if I had to go to an office as an employee on weekdays. I don't think he realizes how much work I actually have to do to keep that business afloat while also squeezing time for my creative passion pursuits! Also, on weekends there are no client calls to dread. Hahaha!)

counting the good and happy

While Mr. Time is playing hide-and-seek with me and my to-do list, I will instead focus on the things I actually got done and which made me really pleased:

Had a full breakfast after missing on it for the past few days.

Scrambled egg, sharp cheddar slices, pan de sal bread. And coffee, of course :)

Finally cleaning my kitchen extension (yes, somehow I managed to create a kitchen extension in my tiny studio heehee). I've been meaning to do it for days and I finally did it! I scrubbed and disinfected and wiped and re-arranged.

Picking up my new checkbooks from the bank which I was supposed to do last week. However as I was stepping out from the lobby, the receptionist called me to tell me that the electricity bills have been delivered. So I picked up mine and got to pay it in the bank before I claimed my checkbooks - two birds with one stone!

Passing by the supermarket (which was right beside the bank building) and picked up items I missed from last night's trip : panko, arugula, fresh mushrooms, fresh fruits and bread.

Walking all the way both ways from home to the bank/supermarket and back again.

Successfully making spiced garlic pork sausage patties!!! Been craving for something like it while reading Cleaving and the ready made ones were too expensive so I hunted for recipes and adapted a few into my own. Had it for dinner with fresh tomatoes and arugula. ^_^

I used a whole head of garlic of half a kilo of ground pork. Chopped it into tiny bits.

Mixed the garlic in the pork with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, sage, chopped coriander, 1/3 cup red wine; Shaped them into patties before storing in the freezer 

Fried in just a tablespoon of olive oil until the edges are a bit crispy (I like 'em that way)

Matched with fresh tomatoes and arugula

Dinner! (Dipped the sausage in red cane vinegar - yum!)

looks like a long night

I am progressing with the business info book oh so slowly but (hopefully) surely.

Mao brought me dinner after finding out that I had none.

fresh salad greens with mandarin orange, kiwi and cheese with some creamy dressing

freshly grilled fresh salmon - this was super delicious!

Now he's playing at the PS3 while I resume slaving away. There is leftover salmon and I will probably have it for midnight snack -- I think I'll be a while on this particular project.

a very late dinner

Plain scrambled free-range egg 

Stir-fried chicken breast and onions flavored with thyme, soy sauce and sesame oil

I hardly noticed time passing by I was so immersed in what I was doing. First I did a short writing assignment in the morning. Then I went online and did some research on a few projects I'm working on and made notes. I had a late lunch then went back to the research. By 4pm I took a break from all the reading and writing and did some house chores. Then I paid some bills online. Continued with the research which morphed into studying and learning new tricks and finding out about new options for getting creative. It was 9pm when I realized I haven't had dinner (and my tummy was grumbling). So I made do with leftover ingredients because I won't be going to the supermarket until Saturday.

My shopping wish list just got longer tonight. But I am so happy to get a lot of studying and writing done. I haven't been that absorbed in a long time and actually enjoyed it.