Well Done! Congratulations!

잘 했어요! 축하합니다 

That was MyGirl's message to Sister Deer.   Sister Deer had sent pictures of the puff pastry she made from scratch while in Korea.  Not only did she make them from scratch, but apparently, she also made them from memory.  

When I showed MyGirl the pictures and told her that Sister Deer was in Korea, she took a break from her Japanese homework and shifted her mind to Korean for me.  She installed the Korean keyboard on my iPad and typed a "secret" message for Sister Deer.

Sister Deer is the real pastry chef in the family.  Her recipe is simpler that the one I had in my drafts since 2011 (below).   Her version uses an equal amount of butter and flour plus a third of that weight in ice cold water. OK, I admit, that's not too difficult to remember but given my teflon-brain, I figure it is best to write her recipe down.  Eventually I will try one of these two recipes.

QUICKEST PUFF PASTRY

Makes about 11⁄2 pounds of dough

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
20 tablespoons cold unsalted (2 sticks/8 ozs plus 1/2 stick/2 ozs) butter, cut into  ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons/1.2 stick kept separate)
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold tap water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary (I used 7 tbsps)

Method:

1. Place flour in work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each.

2. Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball  — do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.

3. Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to 
make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.

4. Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, 
then  ROLL UP dough from one of the 4-inch ends. Make sure the end of the roll is under the dough. Press the roll of dough out into an approximately 6- inch square, using the palms of your hands or a rolling pin. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.


Notes

STORAGE: Keep the dough refrigerated and use it within 2 to 3 days. Or freeze the dough for up to a month and defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before using.

Cheaper by the Dozen

I've been training to serve as back up for someone that supports New Zealand transactions.  This means I've had to be at the office at least an hour earlier than normal since NZ is two hours ahead of Sydney.  Arriving earlier means that I can also leave the office earlier.   

I usually head straight home after work, but with Thursdays having extended business hours at the mall, I decided to pass by last Thursday to see if I could catch the stores open.  Sadly the grocer where the fruits are cheaper was already closed but the local IGA grocery store was still open.  

There were several stacks of eggs at the store entrance.  They had a special price if one picked up two dozen, and an even bigger discount if one got four dozen.  I remembered that we were down to our last dozen eggs and figured if I wanted to make egg tarts this weekend, I'd better get eggs.  I picked up four dozen eggs and a couple other things then headed for home.

When I arrived home, guess what I found?

EGGS!  Four trays of eggs.

Yes, great chickens think alike.  Obviously MacGyver had been in the area and decided to pick up eggs as well.  Just like me, he didn't go for the two dozen option and went all out with the discount for four dozen. 

Back to reality now, what was I to do with nine dozen eggs?

I proceeded to boil some of the eggs.  Only ten could fit in the pan but that was still ten less eggs to worry about.  I looked at the eight trays of eggs and I could imagine the requests for leche flan, brazo de mercedes, and the like.   I only wanted to make egg tarts.  I wasn't planning on leche flan nor brazo de mercedes,  I had to figure out how to 'get rid' of some of the eggs. 

I checked the time and tried to call the store to ask if I could return the eggs.  There was no answer but I figured it was worth the effort to see whether I could return or exchange the eggs.  I just did not want to have all those eggs in the house.

I dashed back to the store and got there right before 7PM.  It was practically closed.  I explained my situation to the lady who had served me at the check-out earlier and asked if I could return or swap the eggs.   I mentioned there was an item on the shelf that was the same price as the eggs. Fortunately, she obliged.

So now, in exchange for four dozen eggs, RD has a new glass container to bring his food to school.

And because I was so keen on testing out a particular recipe, we had egg tarts for dessert last night.

Polvoron Time

I picked up a bag of powdered milk from Woolies 

and decided to make polvoron.

MyGirl wrapped up a few to bring to school

and a couple for me to bring to the office.

The polvoron mold I used was a rather dodgy one and I ended up with a blister on my thumb.

I promptly sent out a message to my siblings asking them to help me find a wooden mold

similar to the one my grandaunt used for making her delicious polvoron.

Siblings from all over the world were very supportive.

I had willing eBay bidders.

Mindy sent me several links to other ways of making polvoron without the conventional mold.

One video was particularly promising.  It led me to check out other videos.  

Mindy said she'd try making polvoron this way and keep me posted.

The eBay bidding ends Sunday night EST.

I wanted to see for myself how easy or feasible it would be to make polvoron the unconventional way so I mixed up a batch of cookies and cream polvoron yesterday.

MyGirl helped mold them using mini-muffin cups and the tamper.

We put them in the fridge before taking them out of the mold.

They turned out all right.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, her cousins were also busy making polvoron.

We made about five dozen polvoron using the polvoron mold but only two dozen using the mini-muffin pans. I'm guessing Mindy and company ended up with about a dozen giant muffin-sized ones.

Cathedral Windows

For many today will simply be the 22nd of February.

For me and my family, it marks a special day of prayer.

Stay with me, Lord

Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina after Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have

You present so that I do not forget You.

You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak

and I need Your strength,

that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life,

and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light,

and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice

and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You

very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is,

I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes;

death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength,

so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You.

It is getting late and death approaches,

I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.

O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,

so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,

the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You,

if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it,

but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart,

Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth

and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen.

I Remember You

I mentioned to MacGyver a few weeks back that we were running out of dishwasher soap. He said he had recently bought a box of Finish dishwashing tablets from the Reject Shop.  We looked around the house but we could not find the box.  After a while, we gave up the search.   We returned to the store where he had gotten the first box but found that particular Reject Shop branch was closing so they had very limited items left in the shelf.  I proceeded to the other branch located at the opposite end of the mall and got a new box of Finish.  

Last week, when I got home, MacGyver said he'd passed by the Reject Shop and the lady at the counter recognised him.  She asked if he had (for)gotten a box of Finish from the other Reject Shop branch several weeks back.  He mentioned that he did buy a box but could not find it at home.  Apparently, this lady was the one that had punched up MacGyver's purchases the last time in the other branch.  She had set aside the forgotten bag and when she transferred from the closed branch, she transferred MacGyver's purchase too.  It took them a couple of minutes to retrieve the bag but it was worth the wait. Now we have a spare box of Finish at home.

Doesn't this story restore your faith in humanity.  There are many honest, helpful people out there.

Eats Shoots and Leaves

“A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife annual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.” 

MyGirl has a growing collection of pandas.

Last July, she had a pencil case and two stuffed pandas.

Knowing that she loved pandas, I could not resist getting this outfit for her.

It's a pajama set for the winter.

Her panda family has increased since Christmas. 

Pandas are so cute.

Up, Up, and Away!

Works of art such as these never cease to amaze me.

I saw this one at the dental clinic last January.

It reminded me of this awesome piece I saw at a Makati gallery back in 2006.
(A Snoopy-loving officemate who shares my birthday was able to get some pictures of this tree for me before the artwork disappeared from the gallery.)

Mary Untier of Knots

I was recently introduced to Our Lady Untier of Knots.

Mother gave me a picture. London Eye gave me a novena booklet.

In your hands there is no 'knot' that may not be untied.

The painting depicts the Blessed Mother in heaven among angels.

She is untying the knots in a ribbon that is held for her by an angel on her left.

After untying the knots, Mary passes the untied ribbon to another angel on her right.

Mary crushes the head of the serpent with her foot.

An extra detail of the painting, not found in all of the images I have seen, has the archangel Raphael accompanying Tobias to the meeting with his wife Sarah as found in the book of Tobit.

Not Quite a Blue Moon

A full moon comes every month. 

Tonight was one of those nights.

The 2nd full moon in a month with 2 full moons is the more common definition of a blue moon.  It could also be the 3rd full moon in an astronomical season with 4 full moons , instead of the normal 3. Apparently there is a different name for the full moon each month (at least in America).

The below is taken from an article from The Sun

January – Wolf Moon

January’s full moon was named for the howling of wolves that would often be heard outside Native American villages in January.

This year, the full Wolf Moon took place on January 12 at 11.33am.

February – Snow Moon

February is the month known to be the most snowy in North America.

This year, the full Snow Moon takes place on February 11 at 12.32am.

March – Worm Moon

As the temperature begins to warm in March, the ground begins to thaw and earthworms begin to rear their heads.

This year, the Full Worm moon takes place on March 12 at 2.53pm.

April – Pink Moon

In April, the weather is warmer and flowers start to appear.

This moon name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox – one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring.

This year, the full Pink Moon takes place on April 11 at 7.08am.

May – Flower Moon

The May full moon was given  this name as this is when flowers are in full bloom.

This year, the full Flower Moon takes place on May 10 at 10.42pm.

A strawberry moon over London marking the Summer Solstice   

June – Strawberry Moon

Strawberry picking season is at its peak in June.

This year, the full Strawberry Moon takes place on June 9 at 2.09pm.

July – Buck Moon

In July, bucks begin to grow antlers covered in velvety hair.

This year, the full Buck Moon takes place on July 9 at 5.06am.

August – Sturgeon Moon

Fishing tribes named the August moon for the sturgeon – as they were most readily caught during this month.

This year, the full Sturgeon Moon takes place on August 7 at at 7.10pm.

September – Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon most commonly occurs in September, but the name goes to the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which can fall during October once or twice every decade.

The name was given to the September moon by Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested.

This year the full Harvest Moon takes place on September 6 at 8.02am.

October – Hunter’s Moon

The name was given as hunters were able to ride easily over the fields and animals are more easily spotted.

This year, the full Hunter’s Moon takes place on October 5 at 7.40pm.

November – Beaver Moon

In November, beavers are busy preparing themselves for winter – and tribes would make time to set beaver traps in the hope of securing a store of warm fur.

This year, the full Beaver Moon takes place on November 4 at 5.22am.

December – Cold Moon

Needless to say, December was named after the cold, winter weather.

It is the month when winter takes a firm hold and temperatures plummet.

This moon is sometimes also called the Long Night Moon – as the winter nights are longer and the moon spends more time above the horizon opposite a low sun.

This year, the full Cold Moon takes place on December 3 at 3.46pm.

I Accept

Does anyone read the Terms and Conditions when downloading apps?

The kids laugh at me when I do.

But tonight, it was their turn to laugh.

I saw the full moon and lots of stars in the sky on my way home.

There was a particularly bright one shining and I wondered what it was.

I had read that there would be a triple treat for sky watchers tonight

but aside from the full moon, I could not remember what they were supposed to be.

(Apparently it was a full moon, an eclipse and a comet, if you happened to be in America.)

I downloaded the Sky Map app hoping to identify the bright star.

(It might have been Uranus but I'm not sure.)

The TERMS OF SERVICE flashed in my screen awaiting me to hit ACCEPT.

I read through it and had to take a screenshot so I could share it. 

Summary

Sky Map comes with no warranties! If you choose to use it to navigate the high seas and you hit an iceberg, it's your responsibility.  If you tell your kids that the bright thing in the sky is Jupiter and it turns out to be a UFO and you are subsequently kidnapped by aliens -- not our responsibility. If your kids subsequently fail their science homework -- not our responsibility.  If it wipes all the data in your phone, including the photos of the UFO that were going to make you rich -- not our responsibility.  If it causes your phone to tear a hole in the fabric of space and time, OK -- that one is on us.  Any other calamities not listed above  -- not our responsibility. Don't use it while driving or carrying scissors.

 Boring legalese version follows.

The Long and Short of It

London Eye went to the parlor on Friday and came back with a fabulous haircut.

It made me wonder whether it was time to have my hair cut as well.

I knew that it was already the requisite 10" for donation.

I was all set to have my hair chopped off on Saturday

but hesitated since it was Chinese New Year and all.

I figured I'd play it safe and keep my long hair for an extra day.

On Sunday, Z said if I was going to have my hair cut,

she would join me and cut her hair as well.

Just how long was Z's hair at this point?

Check it out! 

(Her hair was certainly a lot longer than mine.)

I  took a selfie with Mother before Z and I headed off for our haircut.

Here we are with our new looks.

Here is a 'before' picture with London Eye. 

I wanted to make sure to get an 'after' shot.

White King in Our Hearts and Homes

We grew up with this particular White King.

This is more than just a cookie jar.

This is part of Father's legacy.

I want to make sure that this legacy lives on, even if only in our hearts and homes. 

So one of the things I did when I arrived home was to make a custard pie aka an egg pie. This was not to be just any egg pie.  It was one that used a recipe from the RFM Test Kitchen.

The memories are vague but I do believe there was a time we would accompany Father to his office at Pioneer so that we could attend summer classes at the Test Kitchen. Before and after class, we would hang around his office. 

He had a White King cookie jar in his office as well. Uusually there were cookies inside the cookie jar and he'd let us have some while we waited.  When Father was done with his work for the day, he'd have moved the pile of papers he'd signed from his IN tray to his OUT tray, pack up his attache case, then we'd head for home.

Yes, good memories.

Let's make more good memories while we can.

CUSTARD PIE

Filling :

1 1/3 c condensed milk (1 14 oz. can)

1 1/3 c water

4 pcs eggs (or 8 egg yolks)

1 t vanilla

1/2 t  dayap or calamansi rind

Procedure :  

• Combine condensed milk and water.  
• Add eggs, vanilla and dayap rind.  Blend well.  
• Set aside and prepare pastry.

Pastry :

1 1/4 c all purpose flour, sifted

1 t baking powder (opt)

1/3 c shortening or margarine

4 - 5 T cold water

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 450 F
• Sift flour and baking powder together.
• Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two dull knives until particles are the size of peas.
• Add water a tablespoon at a time tossing with a fork until mixture is moist enough to hold together.  Form dough into a ball.  
• Wrap in cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (optional)
• Flatten out on a floured surface and roll out to fit a 9-inch pie plate.  Flute the edges.
• Pour prepared filling into pastry lined pie plate.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350F and bake for additional 10-15 minutes until done.