Mount Hekla in Iceland.

banana cake

A photo of my second Banana cake.

This banana cake recipe is something i found on the internet.  My first attempt at making a banana cake was a success.  I gave my neighbor some of it and she loved it.  My second attempt using the same recipe wasnt that much successful and I think it must be partly because I forgot to add the 3 tbsp of milk during the mixing.  Or that I didn't put enough sugar in it.  It wasnt as fluffy (yet firm) as before but still as delicious anyway.  So the link to that website is here.  http://bakericious.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/soft-and-moist-banana-cake.html 
 but ive also copied and pasted the recipe in here for your convenience.  this recipe is not mine but it's wonderful!


Ingredients: ( for one 8" x 3.5" x 3" & one 9" x 4" x 3")
250g salted butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar (I will reduce the sugar depending on what type of banana that I used and how ripe the bananas are, normally 180g to 200g)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 del monte bananas, sometimes I put more)
2 cups plain flour (220g sift together with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp baking powder)

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.
3. Add mashed banana into the mixture and mix well.
4. Finally add in sifted flour and mix well and pour into a cake tin.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the top layer turns brown after 15 minutes, cover it with a piece of aluminium foil.
6. Cool cakes in the pan then remove. Use a sharp knife to slice and serve

the eagle has landed

on the 29th of April, 2013 :)

ARGAO - a refreshing journey

To Mr. Jotham of Argao Tourism...thank you very much for showing us genuine hospitality and the provincial charm of your hometown.  

ube halaya

I love UBE!!!  So i went on google and found a simple recipe for ube halaya.  

Ingredients:

a kilo of Ube
1 big can of condensed milk
1 big can of evaporated milk
a teaspoon of vanilla
half cup or more of butter

First off you boil the ube, then take the skin off and then mash it or grate it.
Then you get a wok, heat it up and put the butter in and the condensed milk.  Put in the ube and the vanilla and lastly when everything has become all sticky pour in the evaporated milk.  It tastes so good.

My version lacked ube or it had too much milk in it.  So I suggest to go easy on the milk and check for the consistency of the ube.  It should have a clay like consistency so that when you refrigerate it, it becomes solid.  Mine wasn't solid enough but still very good and if you put it in the freezer, it turns into ube flavored icecream!

Great for putting in your sliced bread, halo halo or just enjoying it by itself.  Love the taste and the color of the finished product.  The grittiness is also welcome.  :)

strawberry jam cookies

macaroons

This is one of the easiest desserts to make.  All that's needed are:  

Desicated coconut
Condensed milk
1 cup sugar
1 egg
A teaspoon of vanilla

Mix all of these ingredients together and place one teaspoonful into paper molds.  Put inside the oven on minimum heat (I always use minimum heat) and bake for 6-8 minutes or when it has become golden brown in color.  Take out of the oven and enjoy!

busted flat

I was driving my mother to work yesterday when all of a sudden the car was making a flopping noise at the back and the car slanted a little bit downwards to the right.  I stopped the car to the right side of the road only occupying one lane so the traffic can still flow at the other lane.  When we got out of the car to check the damage, this is what we saw.  There's only been a few times when I felt helpless, this is one of those.  And this has happened twice to me.  The first time was different.  My father was still alive and I was only like 2 meters away from the house, so no trouble for me.  This second time was so much of a hassle.  I dont know how to change a tire!  cannot even lift one!  My mother was just as helpless.  
We sat in the car for the first few minutes trying to figure out what we would be doing.  I called up the mechanic from the service center but he didnt answer the phone.  My mother called up my aunt and asked her to send my cousin over to help us.  After these calls my mother and myself got into a little spat as she was blaming me for causing this.  I was driving too fast she said.  This is not the first time I get into trouble with this car.  And I get the major events of this car.  First was when a jeepney drove past me and hit the side mirror, we went to the LTO for that.  Wasn't my fault at all and the jeepney driver has had a little bit of alcohol before he went out to drive.  My mother ended up paying for most of the bill as the driver couldnt really pay for the damages.  Second was when the car overheated on my mother's birthday last year and because of this the mechanic gave it a major overhaul.  I dont know what it means but he replaced lots of parts at the front.  Third was when I was driving it and I noticed it was going to overheat again.  I brought it to the service center and they found that the waterpump was leaking and needed to be replaced, I ended up paying for it to shut my mother up.  I couldnt believe it.  It's always me.  I always get to be the one to handle these stresses.  It's not the car itself breaking down that's stressful, it's listening to my mother nag about it!  hihihi  
It's not my fault!  This is my plea, most of the time.  I mean, how can I have caused it?  If we talk about long term bad habit leading to the breaking down of the parts..  I come home on vacations for 2 months each year for the last 2 years and I dont use the car everyday.  If i do use it, i stay in the city.  i dont go to offroad adventures with the car.  It just so happens that everytime it breaks down, Im the one behind the wheel.  
My arguments why I couldnt have caused this flat tire and why my road speed didn't cause it: My mother thinks that because I was driving too fast, the tire got busted and it's probably more damaged because of this.  First of all, we're in the highway, you can't drive 30 kph in the highway, there are other vehicles behind you.  Second, I know I wasn't driving too fast because there was a car in front of me.  I wanted to get past him but just waited anyway thinking maybe he'll pick up his speed.  Third, I didn't use the car the week before this happened except for one time when I used it to drive myself to the review center.  Fourth, this is what cars and other things in general do..they break down, get stolen, lose their strength over time..they don't last forever.  I dont know Im just saying.  Maybe if one can learn to accept the nature of things, then it would be easier to just move on instead of nagging about it.  Like I said it was just a little spat.  We made up after a few minutes.
The highway police patrolling the area came to our rescue.  My cousin Neil arrived and then left to get a block of wood to put the jack on to give it more height and then came back with three pieces of wood but it was really no use anymore because the police had helped change the tire.  So he gave me a high five and then left.  The police were very nice to us.  I was so happy about this.  :)
It was kinda embarrassing because we were stuck there for over an hour and you can see the traffic jam behind us..  it was over one kilometer long.  Some of the drivers of the vehicles that pass by would give us an angry look.  Yea.  Well, sorry grumpy old man.  It's not like I wished for this to happen to me.  Yea.  you should just give yourself a bath, you look like you smell hehe.  But really I felt sorry, but like I said, we didnt wish for it to happen.  Some people must have been late for work on that day.  :(
Kudos to the SRP police for their help.  It was really appreciated.  I really don't like the police, they made a bad impression on me when I was 16.  But this time, this group has vindicated their profession , their image in my eyes.  I have a fresh new look at the police now.  At that time, I felt like I was with heroes.  

*the tire has been retired since yesterday.  there is a big cut on the side after the incident.  the mechanics said that it was probably a cut from running against or in and around a curb or something, maybe metal scraps on the road, things like that.    my mother had bought two new tires for her car as she wants to ensure her safety in it.  i think she had been convinced that it's not really my fault.  i just always happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

mindanao, the land of promise

my boyfriend is on his way to me now.  im excited!  we will be going to davao.  go to an island called samal.  on a road trip to bukidnon.  travel to cagayan de oro.  on the road again to iligan city and then back to cagayan to catch a fight to cebu.  im very excited about these travels.  im also getting married if everything is in order, documents etc.  im very scared of this.  for so many reasons.  i think it's weird that i should feel this way.  it's not supposed to be like this and i didnt dream of my wedding to be like this.  i imagined myself getting married and happy and excited about it from the planning all the way to the altar.  i love my fiance.  ok whatever.  im just soo happy to be going to mindanao with my fiance and enjoying the time there with him.  i just hope that the peace situation is okay and that the roads will be accessible (low pressure area readings in recent days).

an overview of the activities i have planned to do in mindanao:

we will be visiting 4 cities.  davao (davao), malaybalay (bukidnon), cagayan de oro city (misamis oriental), and iligan city (lanao del norte).

1. in davao we will go to samal island, see the bats as they fly out of their caves and get some tan on the white beaches of the island.  
2. in mainland davao, we will go to the crocodile farm.  we will be there by 4pm when the animal show will start.  you get to pet the animals during the show. some of them are known to be dangerous creatures like the snakes.
3. early morning travel to bukidnon passing by provincial sceneries.  go up the dahilayan park where we will ride the longest dual zipline at almost 1km long.  also gonna try the pendulum drop.
4. travel to iligan city after half a day at the dahilayan park.  we will visit the maria christina falls.  a beautiful and big waterfall.  then go to visit tinago falls, which means hidden falls in english.  
5. on our last day we will get on a white water rafting adventure for half a day before rounding up the trip.  we will need to check in for our flight back to cebu around noon.

ive been to these places before except for samal island and dahilayan park.  i want to show to my fiance the beauty and diversity of the nature here in the philippines.  even if i had been to different places in the philippines, i dont really feel like its redundant to see similar sites or tourist attractions.  one place is often always so different and unique from another.  unique in so many ways, could be the food, the way of living, the language, the nature, the belief, the way people look and the manner carry themselves in their everyday life.  im proud of this place.  this is my home.  im sure iceland is nice, nature and such; but nothing can compare to the warmth of the people here.  that's why i'll always choose to live here.  

feline etymology

Here is a photo of one of the cats who lives inside the compound where I used to live in Jeddah.

I don't know how exactly we started but maybe it was one of those days when he was just passing by and I happened to be there in the backyard and took notice of him.  I probably gave him some attention then, that's why he stayed.  That really isn't a very sweet, touching story but I honestly don't remember our first meeting.  

I named this cat Tomas.  Everytime he comes to the villa, I call out to him "Tomas" and after a few more meetings, I actually thought that he had accepted that name.  I give him some food or milk when he comes over.   I've never really been a cat person but I've had some moments with Tomas where I rub his fur or just give him the pleasure of watching me do some chores in the house (in the villa).  I called him Tomas after the one and only cat that we had ever had in our house.  

The original Tomas was an orphaned cat in the street that a family friend's nephew took into their house.  They live 2 cities away from us.  The little boy who was only 4 or 5 at that time was actually allergic to cats.  So they came to our house with the cat and asked if the cat can stay with us.  And he did.  After a few months, the cat was no longer with us.   The original Tomas was named after the mayor of Cebu City at that time when he arrived in our house.  A big tempered, individual (with lots of pimple scars on his face) who managed the city.  (I can't help it with the pimple scars thing..call me shallow but I find it funny just to mention it).  In fairness to him, he was an effective leader and has a clear vision for the future of the city. 

The compound Tomas is selfish and he's always out somewhere except for the mealtimes.  He's a social butterfly.  I don't know what happened or what I had done to him when one day he no longer came to visit the villa.  For months he was gone.  Everytime I come back to the compound after a vacation, I get to stay in a new villa (against my will, but that'show it is).  So it seemed that my relationship with Tomas has ended.  We had a new adopted cat in the new villa that we had stayed in and we called him Rhitu, one of the senior flight attendants in Jeddah who is the actual owner of the cat.  That Rhitu was sooo lazy and walks proudly.. almost flirty.  Thus because of the latter characteristic, Rhitu was the perfect name for him.  We learned later on that his name is actually Ken, but who cares, he responds to his new name anyway.

A few months later, I was walking in the compound and saw Tomas.  I recognized him from the black spot he has on his nose.  I called out to him, with his name..Tomas.  He just ignored me.  So out went all of my memories with him, he had probably forgotten me faster than I had thought.  He's a great cat and we had a great time together.  At that particular period.  He probably has a new family now.  He's moved on.  Cats are great at moving on, something we can all learn from.  Cats can go from one name to another and loving each moment the whole time.  The let you love them and they love you back while you are sharing the time together, but after that time is up it's a new life again for the both of you.  They understand it very well, they are always living for the moment.  That's pretty conservative thinking for an animal with nine lives to spare.  Lucky.