The Year We Stayed Home

Nobody could have imagined that 2020 would be anything like the year that has passed.    

We knew that something was amiss at the start of the year.  The virus in China was big news but at the time it seemed to be akin to the news about the Australian bushfires, Indonesian floods, or Philippine volcanic eruption.  We prayed for the people directly affected and hoped that the disaster and its aftermath would end soon.  However COVID-19 proved to be much more serious than anyone could have imagined.

When we were first mandated to work from home in March, we thought it was going to be a temporary thing. It soon became clear that temporary was not just 'a couple of weeks' but more like 'several months,' and as the year comes to a close,  there is still no clear end in sight.

RD and MyGirl did online classes for most of the year.  RD hardly stepped out of the house and actually stayed indoors for over a month during the height of the lockdown.  MyGirl did her regular walks around the block and in the nearby areas.  MacGyver did not have the work from home option so he was out more than most of us.

The lockdown and empty shelves were not something we expected.   Thank goodness things moved slowly away from that extreme.  There was a gradual easing of the restrictions.  Shops re-opened and mass services resumed.  For the church, at the onset they allowed 10 people inside the church, then 50, then 130.  By the 3rd week of Advent, they had increased the number to 250.  

We were looking forward to hearing mass in person on Christmas Day.  Then boom!  There were 18 cases reported at the Northern Beaches.  They changed the restrictions to limit the number of visitors in a household to 10.  That meant that we could not have our usual Christmas Day gathering in one house.

Not only did we have split operations at the office, we needed to have split operations at home for our Christmas gatherings.  The adults were in one house and the kids were in another.

Christmas and New Year's are only a week apart, and yet in that short span of time, the restrictions changes.  The government further reduced the number of visitors for New Year's Eve to five.  That meant that even the split gathering we had done on Christmas Eve would not be allowed for New Year's.

Ever since we arrived here, we have always spent New Year's Eve with the extended family.  Back in Manila, New Year's Eve was always spent at Project 7.  This is the first year we will be spending a relatively quiet New Year's Eve on our own.

Despite all that has happened, we are still thankful for the year that has passed.  It seems surreal to think that for a time people were mandated to wear masks or forced to stay at home, that we stopped shaking hands and walking side-by-side with friends, that we could no longer share an umbrella with a stranger or offer to carry someone else's grocer.  I still find it strange not being able to help the elderly cross the street or offer assistance to someone else's child if they fell down.   

2020 has made us all stop and appreciate many things that we have taken for granted.  It has made us more aware of the people around us and reminded us that truly no man is an island.  

Hopefully 2021 will be a better year for everyone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Precious Commodities

I caught Mother and Slash-M on Skype last Tuesday.  It was the first day of my leave so I was just chilling and trying to get some things done in the kitchen.  

Z and Liana popped into the screen so I called MyGirl over so that we could take a screenshot with our daughters.   When I sent it out to the family, my caption indicated "with our bunso daughters" (bunso  means youngest.)  Z is the youngest of Mother's eight daughters but Liana and MyGirl are unica hijas (only girls).  

Mindy's reaction was that daughters are precious commodities in our family.  It is true, all the girls in MyGirl's generation on our side of the family are unica hijas.  

I hope the cousins are able to form tight bonds with each other or are able to find good 'sisters' among their girlfriends because I don't know how it is to be an unica hija but I am 100% sure that having a good sister is definitely a blessing.

A Dash of Love

 "The most indispensable ingredient of all good home cooking : love for those you are cooking for."  

                            -Sophia Loren

MJ came over for RD's birthday today.  RD had planned out what they were going to cook and bake for dinner.  We were going to have fettuccine carbonara and coffee cloud.

MJ brought flowers (and the "00" flour for the pasta).  

MyGirl and I sat on the stools behind the counter and took front row seats to watch the two of them make pasta from scratch, make coffee cloud, then prepare the carbonara sauce. 

Dinner was served at 7PM.  The kransky followed at 7:20PM because we forgot to cook them while the sauce was being prepared.

We all enjoyed the company and the food.

Thanks for coming over, MJ!

Beautiful fettuccine nests waiting to get cooked.

Flowers on the foreground.

You can see what was left of the coffee cloud (on the left)

and the flour (on the right).

We had one happy birthday boy.

Ube Leche Flan Cake

Ube Leche Flan Cake.  The name on its own is enough to make you want to grab a fork.

We have been making leche flan in the instant pot ever since I had discovered how easy it was to make it there.  It is so easy that every time MacGyver gets several trays of eggs, he always hints that he would love to see those eggs converted to leche flan.

I try not to make it too often so we have not had leche flan in a while.  Then I saw the someone post pictures of ube leche flan cake on FB.  Hhmmmm...although I dislike getting my hands all purple when handling ube extract, I was sure that MacGyver would love it if I tried to make this.  

After going through several recipes, I concluded that it might not be too difficult to make.  Our initial test run in November was a success that I wanted to make it for Christmas.

The reviews were quite good but the ultimate compliment came from GI.  

At lunch today, as RD was looking for dessert, we said that we had brought home some biko and cassava cake from the Christmas dinner gathering.   

GI called out, "Is there any ube leche flan left?"

I replied, "No.  Dad had the last slice last night."

GI replied, "It was soooo good."

RD relayed, "Yeah, last night when Kuya tasted it he said that it was better than the leche flan from the other night."

GI added, "And then I asked who made it?  Tita MiSquared?" 

I have to say, I was tickled pink. (Thank you GI.  You have made my Christmas.)  The term "pumapalakpak ang tainga"  came to mind when I heard the story because MiSquared is our resident expert cook and dessert maker.  To be placed in her ranks is an honour.  

Ube Leche Flan Cake
 (use 8" or 9" round pan) 

Caramel Layer

3/4 c sugar
1/2 c water

Leche Flan

6 egg yolks
1 c condensed milk
1/2 c cream
1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla extract

Cake

4 egg yolks 
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c oil
1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla extract
2 t ube extract
1 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt 

4 egg whites
1/2 t vinegar
1/3 c sugar

Instructions 

1. Make the caramel layer.  Choose one of the two options.

  a. Use the microwave.  Place sugar and water in oven-safe and microwave safe container. Microwave for 2 to 4 minutes until light amber in colour.  (Check after 2 minutes and set timer 30 seconds at a time to ensure caramel does not burn. Remove from microwave before caramel gets too dark because it will continue to cook as it cools.)

  b. Use stove top.  Place sugar in round pan that can be heated over the stove.  (No need to add water.)  Heat the sugar in the pan over low heat until the sugar melts. Swirl pan to distribute melting sugar. Remove pan from heat when sugar turns golden brown.  Allow to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F.

3. Make the flan layer

  Combine egg yolks and condensed milk in a medium bowl. Add cream, milk, and vanilla. 
  Set aside.

4.  Make the ube chiffon cake layer

  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yolks and sugar until the colour is lighter and mixture is bubbly.   Add the oil, milk, vanilla extract and ube extract. Stir well. Sift flour and baking powder into the egg mixture.   Whisk to beat until lump-free and smooth.  Set aside.

  In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until frothy.  Add vinegar and beat until soft peaks form.  Add sugar 2 T at a time and continue to beat until egg whites form stiff peaks. 

  Fold in about 1/4 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and combine to lighten the batter.  Fold in the rest in two or three additions until the mixture is uniform in colour.

5. Assemble the cake

  Pour in the flan over the caramel.
  Gently pour the cake batter over the flan.
  Tap pan lightly against the counter.

6.  Bake the cake.  Choose one of the two options.

 a) Place the cake in a water bath and bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown.  

 b) Bake for 25 minutes until cake is set and springy to touch.

7.  Serve the cake

  To unmold, gently run a knife along the edge of the pan.  
  Place a rimmed serving plate on top of the cake pan and quickly invert the cake onto the plate.  
  Allow to cool.  Chill before serving. 

Warm Hugs and Hot Chocolate for Christmas

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!

Still a Bit Puzzled

Growing up, my siblings and I would complete puzzles for fun.  The activity provided us children with some bonding time and I suppose it gave our parents some peace and quiet.  

Fortunately, Mother would be nice enough to get the puzzles framed when we were done.  These framed puzzles would then be put up on the wall like certificates of completion.

We had a lot of nice puzzles.  (If you search on "puzzled" in the blog, you will find them.)

During one of the garage sales here, I picked up this puzzle because I just found it so adorable.  Plus, I wanted to replace a picture that was hanging in the downstairs bathroom wall that came with the place when we purchased the house.

Then COVID-19 hit and as you may know, we ended up doing puzzles at the height of the lockdown.  I found a puzzle of the world map on FB Marketplace and after it was completed, I wanted to put it up.  It would be a two-fold reminder of Cebu Avenue  since we had a big world map in the study room and we had lots of puzzles around the house.

We purchased a second hand frame for it but the glass broke as we attempted to frame the puzzle.  MacGyver got a plastic roll and we cut up a rectangle to act as a pseudo frame cover.  After a bit of tucking and taping, we managed to put up the map.

Unfortunately, since the plastic cover was not rigid, the plastic would sag and the puzzle would lean forward.  We would smoothen out the puzzle once in a while to make sure the pieces would stay in place, but at a certain point, several puzzle pieces got displaced and if we wanted to retrieve the fallen piece to complete the puzzle, we'd have to disassemble the whole thing.  At about the same time, I chanced upon a Christmas themed puzzle on Marketplace.  

I fell in love with this puzzle despite the missing piece.   This was the picture that was posted on FB.   Fortunately the missing piece is not smack in the middle of the puzzle.

 I reported to the office on the 15th of December and met up with the seller during my lunch break.  Even if I knew we were unlikely to complete the puzzle this Christmas season, I figured with a Christmas puzzle in the same size as the map puzzle (50 cm x 70 cm), we could have different puzzles on the wall at different times of the year.  With this in mind, I was resolved to buy a decent frame for the puzzle.

I found one at K-Mart the next weekend.  I was hoping to install the puzzle in the new frame during the week and surprise MacGyver before coming home from work, but as it turns out, I was the one surprised at how difficult it was to disassemble the old frame.  

In the end, MacGyver and MyGirl worked on the installation.  

I could not resist taking some photos of them as they worked.   These are special father-and-daughter moments.

There were two pictures stuck on the wall.  The old frame was hung against these two picture frames which we thought were glued to the wall because the wall had been painted AROUND them.

MacGyver managed to pry the pictures out and install a hook on the wall to hang the new frame.

So now we have a better view of the world.

The Only Apple Pie Recipe You Need

I had to see it to believe it.  I wanted to know if it was true.  Was Natasha Kravchuk telling the truth?  Was this really the only apple pie recipe I needed?   

I followed the recipe, and I must say, it was the most impressive apple pie I have ever baked.

I highly recommend natashaskitchen.com.  

Double Pie Crust Recipe

2 1/2 c flour

1/2 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1 c cold butter cut into cubes

7-8 T ice cold water

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Cut in butter.  Mixture should be dry and powdery.

Add 7 T of water.  If dough sticks together when a piece of dough is placed between your fingertips, then there is enough water. 

Do not add too much water or the dough will be too sticky and it will be difficult to work with. 

Do not expect the dough to be smooth.

Do not knead the dough.  Do not overwork the dough.

Divide dough in half and flatten to form 2 disks.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

Apple Pie Filling

4T butter

1 1/2 T flour

2 T water

1/4 c sugar

6-7 Granny Smith apples (2 1/4 lbs)  peeled, halved and cored 

1 1/2 t cinnamon

Melt butter in a saucepan.

Whisk in flour and cook for about a minute.

Add water and sugar.  Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and allow to simmer about 3 minutes, whisking constantly.

Slice the apples thinly to make about 7 cups.

Sprinkle with cinnamon. Toss to combine.

Pour caramel sauce over apples and mix gently to coat.

Preheat oven to 425F

Roll out bottom crust on a lightly floured surface to a 12" diameter circle.

Transfer to a 9" pie plate.

Add apple mixture, mounding slightly at the center.

Be careful not to get any filling on the edges so crust can seal properly.

Roll out second crust to 11" diameter circle and cut into 10 even slices.

The odd numbered slices would cross over the even numbered slices to form a lattice pattern, starting with the ones in the middle, working towards the edge.

Crimp the edges over and seal.

Brush top with egg wash made of an egg beaten with 1 T of water.

Bake at 425F for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350F and continue baking for another 45 minutes until the apples are soft and the filling is bubbling through the vents.

Let rest for 1 hour before serving. 

(Sugar alert  : Compared to the original recipe, I halved the caramel sauce recipe and further reduced the sugar but kept the number of apples.  I mistakenly made the eggwash with a tablespoon of sugar instead of a tablespoon of water.  No wonder the top crust was extra yummy.)

The Empty Chair

The number of times I have reported to the office since the work from home arrangement started in 23 March can be counted in two hands.  Last Friday, I went to office and when I got home, the kids were like -- you went to the office, Mom?

RD : When I came down at about one, you weren't here.

MyGirl : I wanted to share a story with you at lunch but when I turned around, you weren't there and when I looked at your (work) table, there was no one there and the chair was pushed all the way in.

It is nice to know you are missed.  

(Of course, it could also be a sign that the kids are just so used to seeing me downstairs in front of the PC because I am working too long hours.) 

(These are the pictures I took yesterday.  I was practically alone on the double deck bus I rode to work, as well as at the office.)

The Crazy Clock Lady

Ever heard of the crazy cat lady?  Well, my kids call me the crazy clock lady.

Yes, yes, I know.  I have more clocks per square meter than most people.  

My latest acquisition is a cuckoo clock.  I had been on the lookout for a clock that rings out the hour of the day ever since that night (morning actually) that I had lost track of time and found out that it was  almost 1AM.  

I found this cuckoo clock on sale at FB MarketPlace on 01 November.  

It was a done deal after only a couple of messages.  She was upfront with the fact that it was not working, and when she discovered that the pendulum was missing, she gave me a $5 discount.  We met  up near the Town Hall Station exit on 02 November. (Special prayers and thanks to the Holy Souls in Purgatory for this transaction.)  The seller was a very nice lady who said they had purchased the clock thirty years ago when they were living in Germany.  Her advertisement indicated that the clock was in need of repair.  She said they'd moved several times and the clock had worked until their latest move but believed the clock could be fixed. 

I figured it would be a good project for me to work on.  I wanted to see if I could get the cuckoo clock to run as a possible replacement to the mantle clock that ticks so loudly my boss thinks there is a car making a left turn signal whenever we are on a call.

We brought the clock over to mumoffive's brother the following weekend.  He is the only one I know that has experience with cuckoo clocks.   He pulled the parts out of the box.  Checked out the clock and gave the chain a gentle tug.  He smiled and gave his initial assessment, "It looks like it's working!"  

He took down the picture frame hanging on their dining room wall and set up the clock and the weights.  He got the pendulum from their clock and installed it on my clock.   

Tick-tock-tick-tock, it went.  After a while it went, "Cuckoo!  Cuckoo!  Cuckoo!"

"It works!,"  he concluded.  "You just need to get a new pendulum."

When we got home, I set it up on the wall with a make-shift pendulum (the broken handle of a measuring stick, a piece of twist wire and a rubber band).  It cuckooed nicely but not quite at the right time.  As a result, MyGirl posted this on her FB wall. 

mum is on her third clock that dings on the hour/half-hour...

the first one works perfectly and dings once each hour, with a working pendulum and tells the time, as a clock should (as Kuya RD says)

the second one is a bit whack .. it dings the number of times the hour is (i.e. 9 times at 9 o'clock) and once on the half-hour but one time it rang about 102 times

the third one was set up today and just ran 4 times at 7:22 pm and 12 times at 8:02 pm

me:  "our first one is my favourite because it rings at the correct time on the hour (give or take a minute)"

mum: "but it doesn't read out the time (ding the number of times the hour is)"

me: "that's fine!!"

mum : "no, it's not fine!!!!"

RD added a comment

me : "Add the fact that we have 4 clocks downstairs"

*Sits on the couch*

"Actually ... we have 5"

RD replied to his comment

'Hey, Mum, what's the time?"  I ask, as she checks her watch.

That was not the only thing RD had to say.  The other day, I told RD, "Maybe I can learn how to fix clocks when I retire."  He gave me one of those looks and said, "Mom, with your track record, I think you can only become a clock collector."

Anyway, after much deliberation, I decided to purchase a new pendulum from a clock store instead of going for second hand one from eBay or Amazon.  It cost almost as much as the clock itself but I wanted the clock to have a proper pendulum.  

The new pendulum arrived yesterday so now it is happily ticking away.

(I admit, I am a little cuckoo!  - the crazy clock lady)

Just The Basics

 I went into Aldi after mass.  I didn't really need much.  I just needed the basics.

A loaf of bread ... a container of milk ... and a stick (actually 500 g is two sticks) of butter.

All Twisted Up

I chanced upon this Tasty video about After School Snacks Anyone Can Make the other night that included a recipe for pretzels,  Despite the long WFH hours, or more likely because of the long WFH hours, I decided to bake a batch last night.

I had written out keywords on the back of a Coles receipt to follow but essentially the instructions would have read something like this:

    (1 1/2 c warm water + 1 T sugar +  1 T salt) + 1 1/4 t yeast   - combine and let rest 5 mins

    4 1/2 c flour +  + 2 T oil + yeast mixture                                  - knead about 10 mins

    let rest in oiled bowl for 1 hour then divide into 8                   (I divided it into 12)

    roll into long rope then shape each piece into pretzels             - lay out on silicon mat

    boil water then add 2/3 c baking soda                                     (i used 1/2 c of baking soda)

    dip each pretzel into the boiling water, flip over once              about 20-30 secs

    brush pretzel tops with beaten egg (eggwash)                          sprinkle with salt

    bake in 400F oven for 10-12 minutes 

I usually just dip the uncooked pretzels in a pan with hot water and baking soda but this recipe called for the mixture to be boiling.   This is the first time I have tried it with boiling water and they turned out quite nicely.   Seems the baking soda bath is for the puff, the crust, and the browning.

It works for me.  As you can see, there is already one pretzel missing before I was able to take a picture.

Honeycomb-Shaped Shortbread

Last weekend, I made some lemon bars for our monthly last Saturday gathering.  We had given away most of the lemon bars so I had been wanting to make more during the week.  I decided to settle for just making the base of the lemon bars, which is essentially like shortbread.

I pulled out the honeycomb pans because shortbread is something I can make without worrying about the holes in the violet one.  These were gone in a flash.

For anyone interested, the shortbread recipe came from this lemon bars recipe.

Blessed

MacGyver took the day off to celebrate our anniversary.

We started the morning with mass at 8AM.

We ended the day with the kids treating us out for dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant.

Is it a Biscuit or a Scone?

I don't want to get into an argument as to whether I made biscuits or scones.   Are American biscuits equivalent to the British scones?   I live in Australia, so let's call these scones.

This basic scone recipe came from the August Fresh magazine from Woolies which I had picked up after we dropped off our Return and Earn bottles last Saturday.    I did not use a rolling pin to make these though.  I just patted the dough down, made several folds, then cut out the shapes. 

I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter and a doughnut cutter.  Not one bit of the dough was wasted.   I used the middle of the doughnut cutter to make the small circles then formed the scraps into one sad looking biscuit (not in photo) that got baked in another tray.  

In hind-sight, I would have been able to make the ten scones as per the recipe yield but they still would not have all fit into this pan.

A typical British scone would have

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup milk

.A typical American biscuit would have

• 250g plain flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable fat
• 230ml chilled buttermilk
• 50g butter, melted (optional)

This Woolies recipe I used had 2 c self-raising flour, 1 T sugar, 60 g butter, and 3/4 c milk.  I baked them for 12 minutes in  the toaster oven at 200C.  They came out quite nicely and they tasted pretty good.

The magazine had a couple of suggestions that I might try next time:

• Add 1/2 c blueberries and 1/4 c which chocolate chips before adding the milk 
• Add 2 T finely chopped chives and 1/4 c finely grated parmesan cheese to flour mixture 

It is a good base recipe.  Well done, Woolies!  

  

Testing Ensaymada Recipes

I had boiled some potatoes to make some ensyamada but at the last minute decided to try a simpler recipe last weekend.  Well, I thought it was going to be a simpler recipe, but in the end, I was kneading the dough for ages to get it to a half-decent point.

This one was meant to be Soft and Cheesy Ensaymada.   I must have done something wrong because although it was still soft, it was not fluffy.  The good news is that it was definitely yummy.  

After  manually kneading for over 45 minutes, I was just too tired to do the topping.  

MyGirl took over and did a wonderful job.

Just Two Tablespoons of Ube

One whole bottle of ube flavour went into my latest batch of ube-cheese pan de sal.  Apparently one bottle has approximately two tablespoons of ube flavour.

My previous attempts were mainly ube-coloured pan de sal and I had chanced upon a recipe that used 2 tablespoons of ube flavour which was certainly a lot more than my previous 1 teaspoon of ube flavour.  

I mixed and matched  recipes to come up with my own version, which I think is a fairly decent recipe.  This is our best batch of ube cheese pan de sal so far, but I still have to try the recipe several more times just to be sure.

If I had been paying attention and had cut my cheese properly, I think I would have been able to make  24 pieces.  At the onset I had divided the dough into 20 pieces but I sliced the cheese into 40 cubes.  After making six pieces, I noticed I had a lot more cheese cubes than I had dough pieces.  (Oops!)  Since there are four of us at home, I proceeded to make two more to have eight similar pieces.  Then I started placing two cubes of cheese per dough ball (and snacked on a couple of cheese cubes along the way).  I cut off some dough to form two additional single cheese pieces (which I figured MyGirl would like to share with Pogi Points).  So we ended up with 22 different sized pieces of bread.

 

Ube Cheese Pan de Sal  (makes 24)

1/4 c   warm water

2 1/4 t yeast

2 t       sugar

3-4 c   flour

1 c      warm milk

6 T      sugar

4 T      veg oil

2 T      ube flavour

1 t       salt

           cheddar cheese, divided into 24 cubes

1/2 c    bread crumbs

1. Mix yeast, 2 t sugar and warm water.  Let stand 3-5 minutes until bubbly.
2. In a large bowl, measure out 3 1/2 c flour, sugar and salt.  Make a well and add milk, oil, and ube flavour.
3. Add the yeast mixture and mix well.
4.  Use stand mixer or greased hands to knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 - 10 minutes). The dough will be sticky.  Add the extra flour as needed.   
5. Cover and let rise in oiled bowl until double in size (about an hour).
6. Punch down and divide into two.  Divide each piece into twelve to make 24 pieces in all.
7. Roll each piece into a ball.
8. Flatten dough ball and place a piece of cheese inside.  Fold the sides of the dough over the cheese to enclose.  Seal and reshape into a ball. 
9. Roll dough ball in bread crumbs and place onto lined baking sheet.
10. Arrange dough at least 1/2" apart.  Cover and let rise for 30 minutes to an hour.
11. Preheat oven to 160C (325F) while waiting for dough to rise.
12. Bake pan de sal for 20 minutes or until slightly browned. 

           

From A Distance

It is July now and much as we had hoped things would go back to normal, we have come to realise that for the meantime, this is the  new normal.

Cough or sneeze into your elbow.  Wash your hands regularly.  Use hand sanitiser. Maintain social distancing. 

There are a lot of reminder when you go outside.

If you are lucky enough to have your church open, you will find that there are strict guidelines to be followed.   In our parish, upon entry you have to sanitise your hands, flip the number counter, then sign in before you enter the church.  Then when you enter the church, you will find that every other pew is cordoned off, and in the pews where one is allowed to sit, there are strategically placed signs to encourage you to sit apart.

At the metro station, there are signs everywhere, mostly to remind you to "allow as much distance from others."

In case you are not sure how far you should be from the next person, there are some signs which illustrate what 1.5m looks like.

Sometimes, you will even find a hand sanitation station inside the mall.

There are signs on the floor to indicate where you should be so you are not too close to the store counter.

This is the trail of stickers on the floor on the way to Coles.  Yes, there are times when the lines get this long and people have to 

Lately there have been an increased number of cases in New South Wales, some have been reported in churches. After the priest gave us the blessing at mass, he reminded us, "Please sanitise your hands before you enter the church.  If you see hand sanitiser when you are outside, use it.  If you see hand sanitiser at the bank, use it.  If you see hand sanitiser at the entrance of a store, use it. If you come to a point that you feel you have had too much hand sanitiser, that means you have been out too long.  Go home."

Stay safe, everyone!

Little Star

MacGyver made us some chicken fajitas the other day and everyone was impressed with the dish.  He said he had found a Fajita seasoning packet at Aldi that he wanted to try.   

When I went to Aldi a few days later, I checked out the seasoning packets.  I was about to pick up a packet when I noticed the big difference between the health star rating* of the fajita and taco seasoning (0.5 stars) and the burrito seasoning (1.5 stars).

I flipped over the packet and discovered the secret to the yummy fajita MacGyver had prepared.

Top ingredient : SUGAR!

Clearly not all foods are created equal.    

*Health Star Rating - The Australian Government's initiative that assigns health ratings to packaged food and beverages.  This was established as a preventative measure in slowing or reversing the rate of overweight Australians. 

Ube-Coloured Pan de Sal

For some odd reason, ube pan de sal has become such a craze in Manila during this pandemic.    Naturally, I wanted to give it a go since MacGyver is such an ube fan.  

My first batch in May was pretty good.  I even packed two pieces to give to our GP (who is a Filipino) when I went in for a consult.  I handed them over to him in a ziploc bag with full disclosure that it didn't really taste like ube but it was a decent tasting pan de sal.

I had been thinking about making a second batch but hadn't gotten around to looking for the recipe. Then out of the blue, a friend sent me a link from pagkaingpinoy.com for the ube cheese pandesal recipe this morning.  I took it as a sign and started the breadmaking process before logging in for work thinking I could squeeze in the forming and baking during my lunch break. 

The dough rose beautifully.

Unfortunately, there was so much work to do that I did not get much of a lunchbreak and therefore  did not have time to work on the pan de sal.

I did manage to punch down the dough and divide them into 24 pieces this afternoon. I also cut 24 pieces of cheese to put inside the dough however, I wasn't able to form the pieces until after 5PM.

I was still busy working but I had already gotten this far and I there was no turning back.

I rolled the dough in breadcrumbs before attending a call.

Then baked them while I was in the middle of a meeting.

By the time my meeting ended, RD had already eaten two pieces.

(They still did not taste much like ube but they were still very yummy.) 

The Magic Number is 50

Pentecost brought a special blessing for us here.  The state declared that starting 31 May, churches would be allowed to have up to fifty people inside where previously only ten people were allowed.   

During the time that only ten people were allowed in the church, people had to sign up for the slots.  I didn't know where to find that sign up sheet and I didn't feel like slugging it out with the rest of the parish so I was happy to set my alarm to 6:55 AM and catch the 7 AM mass on Facebook.  I would visit the church once in while but not really aim to catch the mass.  However, when the government eased the restrictions and increased the number to fifty, I felt like I had a fighting chance of actually attending mass inside the church.

I decided MacGyver's birthday would be as good a day as any to wake up earlier and physically attend mass.  I set my alarm clock earlier because it is a good 20 minute walk to church and I had no idea how early one had to be to make it within the fifty limit.  I arrived at quarter to 7.  They had two bottles of hand sanitizer at the entrance and two sign up sheets.   I was number 47.

Over the course of the days, it was like a roll of the dice everyday.  Would I wake up in time? Would I be able to walk to the church fast enough?  Would I be within the allowed number to enter the church?

Today, I cut it really close.  I was number 50!

Room With a Zoom

We set an appointment to get together on Father's birthday in May.

Catching everyone at a reasonable time is always a challenge.  

Our two extremes are Arizona and Sydney but the real challenge is making sure that Mother was still awake considering that she wakes up at 3 AM and sleeps at 7PM.   

I was hoping for a 5 AM Arizona / 10PM Sydney schedule which seemed more reasonable for everyone however Mother requested 7PM Manila time because my suggested time translated to 8 PM Manila time which was already past what Mother called her "Shrek time."

Anyway, I sent off this screenshot a few days before our scheduled meeting but mentioned "just add 12 hours."  I usually know whether Sydney is two or three hours ahead of Manila.  At the moment, we are two hours ahead of Manila.

Before 9PM. we started the call using FB messenger.

I thought we were doing ok.  I took this photo and waited for Mother and Sister Deer to join.  

I went upstairs to enable the kids to greet their aunts and uncles but my connection got cut off.

While I was out, Mother and Sister Deer joined the call and I was left out in the cold.

Apparently, FB messenger only allowed eight (8) simultaneous connections.

(Yes, that was my ear in Slash-M's mobile.)

We learned our lesson and set another virtual family gathering for June.  We set it for the 2nd weekend in June.  This time, we would do it in Zoom.  Zoom allows more than eight simultaneous connections.  Perfect for large families such as ours. 

 

By the time June came around, the restrictions on the number of people visiting a household were revised.   Starting 01 June 2020, up to 20 visitors were allowed to visit a household.  That was a whole lot more people that could gather together in a long time. 

 

Family here decided we would get together for our previously regular Saturday dinner.  The last time we'd seen each other was in February.  However since there were more than 20 of us all together, it was arranged such that the adults would meet at one place and the "children" (young adults, really) would gather in another. 

 

So at the designated meeting time, I excused myself to joined the rest of my family for our Zoom call.

One of the major topics for this call was how to wear a surgical mask properly.  (Thank you, Eldest Sis for the online tutorial.)

For the moment, this is what our family picture look like.

It was good to see everyone!