Silly Kid+Sleepy Mom= Laughter

My kid is in fourth grade and he is learning about singular and plural forms of nouns. I did not enroll him to any tutoring lessons, with the hope that we both can pull through the year without any tutor. (Okay, it was me, trying to be a supermom again!). Everyday, when I get home, I wake him up and we go through his homework. He is really getting good at knowing how each different category of nouns form their unique plural ways. We were about to sleep when he started to brag about the new knowledge. He told me to give out a noun in its singular form and then he would give me the plural form of that noun. We went on and on and I was really starting to get sleepy that time. I asked for the plural form of chicken, he giggled and blurted out, "Easy. Bucket!". And then both of us laughed and decided it is, indeed, time to sleep.

Oh, he did not stopped and gave an excuse that the reason for that is because when you order so many pieces of chicken at KFC, you say you are ordering a bucket!

A Cookbook Giveaway

I have not remembered entering into any blogging contests or giveaways. But I could not pass on the chance of getting a limited edition Nestle's Centennial Celebration cookbook. So when I read that the Purple Fairy is giving out a copy, I did not think twice and I immediately started to fathom what good food can be concocted using that cookbook.



So, mommies and foodies, what are you waiting for. Head on to the Security Blanket and join the fun. You can click here for the contest details.

FTF: Healthy Doughnuts

Who wouldn't want to take a bite of a freshly fried doughnut? But what if I told you that my doughnuts are made with a special ingredient, would you dare? I have been a fan of doughnuts (especially when served with free-flowing coffee!) ever since. So I could definitely tell you that I have noticed how their size and quality have dropped over the years. And this is the reason why I started to look for the best donut recipe. I wanted my kid to savor doughnuts the way it should.

So what is the special ingredient, you might wonder. The lowly potato has been boiled and then mashed and mixed in with the other ingredients. I have read on somewhere that adding in potato flour to the dough will give it a soft and moist finish product. I could not find any potato flour or starch in the market so what I did was mash a medium sized potato and mix it to the other ingredients. The result was great! You could not even tell that there was potato on these doughnuts. The kid loved it and that makes me a happy mom.

Ingredients:
1 medium sized potato, baked and mashed,
2 cups bread flour + some more for kneading
1 cup milk warmed
5 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups oil for frying + 2 tablespoons to be added to the dough

1. Put the yeast in the warmed milk. Make sure that the milk is not hot as this could "kill" the yeast. If the milk is too cold then it will not bloom. If you are going to use a cooking thermometer, milk should be warmed anywhere in between 80 to 95 F.
2. Poke the potato and then bake in the oven or pop in the microwave for 4 minutes. Once this is cooled, mash then set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix flour, potato, sugar and salt.
4. Add milk-yeast mixture and about 2tablespoons of oil. Mix until well blended.
5. Rest dough for about five minutes.
6. Generously sprinkle flour on the kneading surface and then roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut dough using cookie cutters. To make the hole, I use the cap of a bottle.
8. Heat oil to 375 F then fry doughnuts.

Our family enjoyed the doughnuts with chocolate and honey glaze. But they are great as they are, plain and simple. But for me, this is best served with home brewed Batangas coffee.

Wordless Wednesday : Tatlong Unggoy!

Tatlong Unggoy translates to Three monkeys in English. May I present to you: Dada Monkey, Mama Monkey and Baby Monkey! My kid said that these three monkeys represent us.

Mom-Me Time No. 9: Photo Editing

I have always been awed by how people manipulated their images on Photoshop. To be honest I have not tried out using the software myself. I get intimidated with all the icons that I am seeing on its interface. But I really wanted to have something done on two images. I have asked a friend and he said it can be easily done in Photoshop. Another confession, I don't have the software installed in my laptop yet. So, what I actually did was to figure out if there was an online version of it or something similar. Luckily I was able to find one. After reading on some tutorials, I tried to figure out how to use it. After about two hours,I was able to do what I want with two images. The images on the left show the edited versions and those on the right were the originals. I hope you will notice their difference. *wink*





It is always nice knowing you have not lose your creative side even with all the lunacies of being a mother and a wife. And this is what I consider my Mom-Me time for the week. I wonder what do you think about my Mom-Me time?

3D Movies

Who among you have not enjoyed watching a 3D movie? Movie houses had been packed to the roofs by fans trooping in to Who among you have not enjoyed watching a 3D movie? Movie houses had been packed to the roofs by fans trooping in to watch what was deemed to be the end to two great series of movies, Transformers and Harry Potter. I have very high regards to these two movies specially on the first one. And to be honest, it was really good! A very good ending indeed for a fine series. I hope I will be able to say the same for the other one but I haven't watched it yet. Jian had his monthly mastery exam on the day we were supposed to watch Harry Potter so we have to postpone it for this coming weekend. I was saddened that the Philippines have had our very first 3D movie but we were not able to catch it in theaters. I mean, we were able to watch it but not in 3D. RPG Metanoia was shown last Christmas as part of the Metro Manila Film Festival. I wonder if Star Cinema is not thinking of re-releasing them anytime soon?

Personalized Shirts

It is not everyday that birthdays are celebrated. For someone who is in the pink of health, it is a time to give thanks for the healthy year. For someone who is stricken with a terminal illness, it is a time to give thanks because you get to live another day or year for that matter. My mom's sickness taught us how to be thankful not just for birthdays but for each day we get to wake up alive. When she was sick, there were times that we celebrated birthdays in her hospital room. We would dress up the room and bring in all the food there. We would gladly share the food not just with the hospital's staff, but with other cancer patients as well. Not too long, we would see other families doing they same thing. Some families even exerted great effort making sure they are wearing breast cancer t shirts. It is a great way to show support and empathy to their patients. We were wondering then where they were getting those shirts. Not until recently, while checking out another friends' Facebook profile, I was able to bump into the Facebook page of a design your own shirt company, CafePress.com. The possibilities are endless when you create your own item. It made me think that if mom was still alive, she will be elated to see us wearing personalized shirts on her birthday. It would be nice to capture that moment on pictures, too. However, mom is no longer here. I will have to think of creating personalized shirt for another person, then.

I have been to a lot of Oncology Departments of different hospitals during the times that my mom herself was a cancer patient. She battled Primitive Neuro Ectodermal Tumor, a type of cancer that attacks the bones of the afflicted. She had been in and out those rooms in the UP-PGH Cancer Institute for almost six years. During those years, not only are we able to create good relationships with the hospital's staff and the doctors, but we also manage to make friends with other cancer inflicted patients and their families. I have seen how cancer makes their body weak, but not their souls and the will of these people. There were families that went to visit their patient wearing breast cancer t-shirts. Long before there have been statement shirts, they were already wearing shirts that echoed their support to their cancer stricken patients. We were wondering then where they were getting those shirts. Not until recently, while checking out another friends' Facebook profile, I was able to bump into the facebook page of a design your own shirt company, CafePress.com. The possibilities are endless when you create your own item. My son will be celebrating his birthday in two weeks time and I am thinking of giving him a unique item as a gift, something personalized. I am thinking of either a shirt or perhaps an apron, something that will show support on his love for cooking. I do hope it will get delivered on time. Knowing Hubby, he will surely ask me where I got the item from.

Mom-Me Time No. 8: Foot Spa

Do you know that the your feet could be your most overworked part of the body? Imagine moving from one location to another without the use of your most trusted appendages. For the last couple of weeks, my feet (as well as my calves!) feels tired with all the heels and the walking perhaps. I have been telling Hubby about how my lower appendages felt tired and that the usual exercises not relieving the stress. It's a good thing that Hubby treated me to a footspa. We went to this really nice salon in the heart of Valenzuela. The owner of the salon was one of his friends. After about an hour of cleaning and massaging, I could feel that my lower extremities are smiling and thanking heaven Hubby for the treat. Perhaps, in the future I could go for an all out whole body massage. Hmm, might tell Hubby my body is envy of the treat and is requesting for a massage, too. Oh, well, I hope he will give in to that.

I wonder how you Mommies out there spend your time alone. Go ahead click

Mom-Me Time No. 7 : My First

I received an invitation from RJ's Mom to join in her hosted meme, Mom-Me time. The idea is that mommies have to share their my-time-alone time for the week (forgive the redundancy!, you know what I mean) I cannot pass on an opportunity like this specially if it involves having time for myself. Oh, well, I then contemplated on what I have done for the week that I can say my time alone. I supposed all mom's would agree that it is really hard to find time all for ourselves. As I read on the mechanics of the meme, mommies can also post on how they would plan to have their Me-time if given the luxury.

For me,I would definitely appreciate an hour at the tub, specially if it is milk or lemon infused water that I am soaking at. Ah, precious bath time. When I was still single, my bath time is a hurry if it is less than 20 minutes. After being a Mom, it is a luxury if my bath time is at 20 minutes. Perhaps, being pampered at a saloon is also a great time for myself. Oh, you know what? This list could go on and on and on. This is a good meme, I will have the reason to having a Me-Time afterall.

Happy 4th of July

A few years ago, 4th of July was celebrated all throughout the Philippines with a blast. Yes, it was originally celebrated as Independence Day until August 4, 1964 when historians urged that it be changed to June 12, 1898. looking back at our history, some may agree that it was indeed the correct date of our independence. The Spaniards never recognized that we are free from them when our flag was raised in Kawit, Cavite. They even transferred us as their colony to the Americans via the Treaty of Paris. To be honest, my mind has been bugged by our so called Independence even when I was just a kid. During my elementary grades, we were thought about how we won our freedom when the Katipuneros waved our flag to the tune of Marcha Filipina Magdalo (which later became Marcha Nacional Filipina). I was also taught then that July 4th is the Filipino-American Friendship Day. Is the United States really an ally of our country? Oh, this could perhaps launched a debate, but I will leave it up to your opinion. Personally, I have gained some blogging friends over the last week thru an online community called Voiceboks. Most of them are based in the US, so I could personally say that I have allies in the United States! (LOL!) Right now, I will just content myself in greeting Happy 4th of July day to everyone, whatever your opinions maybe. Anyway, everybody deserves a happy day not just on this day but everyday.

FTF: My First Birthday Cake

This is a long overdue post. The cake on the photo has been consumed on my husband's niece birthday last May 12. This is my very first attempt in making an entire cake with everything on it. I enjoyed creating the cake, and everone enjoyed consuming the cake afterwards. It was a red velvet and chocolate cake covered with strawberry buttercream frosting. I know, I know, it's not perfectly frosted. You may see some bumps here and there, but hey, it's my first attempt in frosting an entire cake. After that day, I made myself the official cake baker of the family. I pledged to create cakes on everyone's special day (and I am hoping I can keep up with the promise!)



So, what do you think about my cake?

Messy Go Round: My Mister Suave

I was browsing through some of my son's old photos and found this one really interesting. It was taken two years ago, the same time when he was going gaga over clay doughs. I don't know what comes up on his mind (must have been the song Mister Suave?). What's more interesting is that he was rolling into laughters right now when the picture was shown to him. Hmm, something to keep for the years ahead. I even told him I will show it to whoever her girlfriend will be.

I am sharing this at Sweet Keanna's Messy Go Round weekly meme.



Now, I am off to visit the other messy entries!