NYC with Edson

August 18, 2007

New York

American Museum of Natural History, Rose Center, Chinatown

(click photo to view album)

It was a Saturday so I get to join the boys' outing. We had planned to meet up with Steven for brunch at a dimsum place in Chinatown but we ran late (waiting for a realtor & her client) so we decided to cancel brunch and go straight to AMNH.

I don't even remember how many times I've been to the AMNH but I can definitely say that I only saw a few sections during each of my previous trips. After today, I remember why I never get to see the entire thing in one day. There really was a lot - too much for a day - and in fact, after a couple of hours going through 2 floors, we were pooped. We then just walked briskly through the rest of the exhibits and the Rose Center so that our entrance fee is sulit.

It was almost 6 when we got to Chinatown and I asked the boys to just hear mass first before having dinner. By 7, we were famished and our Hop Kee dinner tasted even better than usual. We got to see some sort of Festival in Little Italy. Apparently, the streets get barricaded and are off limits to vehicles on Saturday nights.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

We prepared this dish last Sunday lunch, the recipe is from my friend Irene.

Sammie did a great job wrapping up the asparagus stalks with bacon, they were all firmly wrapped and don't fall apart even if you cut it across the middle.

We're still a bit off with the oven settings and as you can see, the asparagus tips are overcooked. Nevertheless, these were yummy!

Link to Irene's Original Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Green Asparagus Slices of Bacon
• Pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Teriyaki Sauce (Kikkoman)

Steps:

1. Hold 1 asparagus on both ends and bend gently until it snaps. Throw away the bottom portion, and use the remaining one as a guide to cut the rest of the asparagus bundle.



2. Take 3-4 asparagus together, wrap 1 slice of bacon around it in a spiral manner until it covers 3/4 of your asparagus. Do it for the remaining asparagus.



3. Line bacon wrapped asparagus on a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Brush with teriyaki sauce (optional).



4. Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until bacon is brown and crispy.

Pork Liempo

We had broiled pork belly tonight and it was good! It smelled (and tasted) so good that it was all gone before we even thought of taking pictures.

Marinade (portions are estimates):
- 10 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (mushroom based)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- dash of Mc Cormick montreal steak seasoning
- 4 tbsp vinegar

1. Marinade pork belly in mixture for at least 1 hr.
2. Set the turbo broiler to 350F and cook until golden brown. You would have to turn the belly slices over halfway through the process to brown both sides. Depending on the thickness of the slices, this should take between 20 - 30 minutes.

Wax on, wax off

Last weekend, I persuaded the hubby to give our car the long overdue waxing that it needed. Two (or was it three ?) hours later, our Subaru was shining. Really shining. And it passed the bottle-slide-test too. Hubby placed the bottle of wax on the roof and watch it slide down. Nice.

Notice the "Reserved" signs reflected on the bumper, that's actually painted on the parking slot.
I took a lot of pictures thinking that we'd better enjoy this moment as much as we can because given the time that it took us to finish the 3 stage Meguiar's waxing process, I don't see how I can persuade hubby to do this again soon.

p.s. : he did enjoy himself very much on the last and final stage, it's that part where you can actually see the shiny coat appear when you use the orbital buffer.

Related link: Popcorns pics entry

Chopsuey

I know that veggies are good for the body and still, I am a carnivore 98% of the time. The only veggies that I eat are salads and the occasional ones that would stray onto my spoon because they're too small to weed out.

Hubby and I were shopping for groceries at our neighborhood Asian store when I saw a pack of Ginisa Mix (from Manila) on a shelf. The picture looked so yummy that I decided to try and cook some for dinner that night.

This is the first time that we've cooked this dish and frankly, I don't even know if this is supposed to look this way. Leave me a message and let me know if there's anything we missed or did wrong.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb Shrimp


• 1 small bunch of Broccoli


• Straw mushrooms (half can)


• Quail Eggs (half can)


• Baby Corn (half can)


• Snow peas


• chopped garlic


• sliced onions


• olive oil

Cornstarch mixture:

• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed w/ 1 cup water


• 1 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)


• 1/2 tsp chicken powder (for flavor)

Steps:

1. Blanch shrimp in salted boiling water for 1 minute, drain.


2. Blanch broccoli in boiling water


3. In a skillet / wok, saute garlic in a little oil.


4. Add the onions


5. When the onions are caramelized, add all the other ingredients.


6. Stir the veggies around a little and add the cornstarch mixture.


7. Cook until the sauce thickens, do not overcook the vegetables.

Dreams

We were at a party yesterday and a friend told me that he dreamt of me a few days ago. In his dream, my verdeng papel was just approved and I was pregnant. His wife then told me that when he woke up, he turned to her and said , "Hun, nasa kanila na ang lahat...".

I didn't know what to say. [Later, I'd find out that hubby had the same reaction.]

On one hand, I was glad to hear the good news but the timing just doesn't seem right - not at the time, anyway. We've always made our baby plans clear from the start. We'd like to have children some day but if the timing were up to us, we'd wait a year or two before we start on that path. Now, my friend's dream alarmed me because getting the verde thingie while I was pregnant in his dream implies one of two things:
(a) that it'll be a year or two before we get our verde thingie
(b) or that we'll get pregnant soon.

Scary, no ?

Some time later, it hit me - why question these gifts ? It would be nice, right ? More than nice, in fact, so now, I'm quite amused. We're still scared but we're also excited at what the future might bring. One thing's for sure, it's gonna be one heck of a roller coaster ride

Happy at 4

I just realized that it's been 4 months and 4 days since we got married. Time flies, huh ?

A lot of things have come up since we moved here and I'm glad that I don't have to deal with these issues on my own. I've always been a very independent person and I used to despise look down on those who can't seem to make any decisions on their own. I'm a changed woman now As much as I value my independence, I also value the support that my husband gives me. Most of all, I'm glad that I'm married to a very wonderful guy who is totally in synch with me and the world that we live in.

I love and appreciate ...

... that he'd wake up in the middle of the night to tuck me in because I always kick off the blankets when I sleep.

... that even though he couldn't get a full night's sleep sometimes because I had invaded his space and taken over the entire bed, he'd still smile at me in the morning.

... that on those days when he'd wake up before me, I'd wake up to the smell of breakfast cooking.

... that whenever we're eating out, he'd order something he doesn't like because he thinks that I love it.

... that even though he's used to good food at home, he doesn't complain and make any demands that I play cook and make him something good to eat.

I love that he is who he is.