Discernment is a foreign space, and hustling is hard to do

Thursday, January 20, 2022

 

Hi again, everyone! I'm going to put myself out there since this has been one of the biggest obstacles to my trying to find a new job here in a fairly new country.

I've always been a bit of a rebel in constant search of a cause, powered by the motto of "Work where you can do the most good." It's why I honed my writing skills and went into communications back when I lived outside of the USA. That said, some events in the last 10 years have spurred me to seriously reconsider the professional work I've done for commercial ventures. I have been trying to evaluate what my current skill sets and interests are, to see where and how I can provide assistance to people using these same skill sets and interests moving forward. However, up until now I have no real answers.

My first winter in the USA. Oh, how young and naive I was back then.

Here are my current roadblocks...

Cooking Musings: Onions

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

As many of you may (or may not) be aware, I like being in full control of my circumstances and environment. This is because in my experience, many things beyond my control have not gone very well for me.

Many of you also know this extends to my failed attempts to grow plants. Where others have been plantitas and plantitos, I have not been successful except where spring onions are concerned.

I saw this onion hiding among my pile of onions just now. It's growing beautifully and reminds me that some things just do better, grow better, ARE better when left well enough alone, outside of my scope of control. 

(That said, I also worry that taking it out of its hiding place might kill it. I'm also wondering if it prefers to be called Oliver or Abby Vedalia.)

I am still in the thick preparing our meals for the next few days, but I will just relax and maybe just go with the flow, kind of like my onion buddy.



I just have a lot to unpack about the "United" States

Monday, October 4, 2021

Ever since migrating to the United States, I am seeing that US society does not allow people who live in it to express the problems they are experiencing at all, altogether. In Asia, where I am from, there is admittedly a stigma against showing that you're falling apart. However (and this is particularly true for the Philippines which is considered the most Westernised of all Asian countries), the social structures there are communal in nature, meaning they are organically built towards people supporting each other. The US government's broken healthcare system, which I work with in my day hob, uses a clear-cut government definition of "immediate" or "nuclear" family versus "extended family," and siblings immediately become the latter once a person turns 18 because apparently "immediate/nuclear family" is just your grandparents, your parents, your spouse and your biological children if you have any. This is an important discovery for me because I noticed in the news that while highly individualist societies like the one here in the US may lead the global coronavirus vaccine production, the people in it are also consistently anti-mask use (folks in the US keep rallying against mask usage much harder than Asians do).



Photo of a woman at the supermarket, taken during the coronavirus (SaRs-COV2) pandemic. Courtesy of Freepik.


Given how highly individualist US society, it's expected to just pick yourself up by your bootstraps, grin and bear every single hardship. In that path lies disaster because humans are social beings, and our mental health both depends on and influences the societies we live in. If many of us are experiencing mental health issues or some form of mental instability, it doesn't just affect us, but it also affects other people, even those not immediately around us! Now the goal isn't just to fix yourself, but to be able to understand and help each other through our mental health issues or mental instability. Unfortunately the method of help needed isn't so clear-cut, and in fact it could lead us to hurting each other in the process even without meaning to do so.

I've begun reading into these a lot more because...

[Repost] BAKERY FAIR PHILIPPINES 2013 serves trends, techniques and treats

Saturday, March 27, 2021





 


The only large-scale event in the Philippines dedicated to baking and baking technology has returned with fresh, piping-hot goodness! BAKERY FAIR PHILIPPINES 2013, the 7th International Exhibition on Bakery, Confectionery and Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, opened on Thursday, February 21, 2013 to great fanfare at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.


Running until Saturday, February 23, the Bakery Fair was originally designed to provide a forum where suppliers, small- and large-scale bakers, and buyers of baked goods as well as baking implements and equipment can all meet on common ground and share information, ideas and products. In each year it has been held, it has sought to improve in the quality of exhibitors and learning experiences for bakery operations, trade visitors and baking enthusiasts alike. Its goals have always been to invigorate the baking and foodservice industry, and to provide professional competence and better service for global competitiveness. Now on its 7th biennial year, it has been held on the first quarter every two years to showcase upcoming trends and advances in baking technology.


Bakery Fair Philippines has seen unprecedented growth ever since 2001, with 2013 seeing 165 exhibitors in more than 400 booths showcasing and taking up 10,000 square meters of space of the World Trade Center. Out of these, the exhibitors which took the spotlight this year include: Bakels Philippines, Inc., which hosted the seminar “Innovation. Health. Indulgence.” on Friday, February 22 ; San Miguel Mills, Inc. / Magnolia Foodservice, Inc., which presented a live demonstration by renowned chef Heny Sison on Saturday, February 23; Sonlie International, which launched its new products; Philippine Foremost Milling Corporation, which presented its new offerings; Lowtemp Corporation; New Honglee Tinsmith Corp.; Philippine Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Corp.; World Class Concepts Corp.; Sinmag Bakery Machine Corp.; Middleby Worldwide; Besterm International Corp.; Handyware Philippines, Inc.; and Cosmic Chemical Corporation. Attendees were able to buy the ingredients, tools, equipment and products from these exhibitors at huge discounts from the usual market price.


Visitors learned more about new techniques, styles and even methods for running baking-related businesses from demonstrations and seminars held live on stage. A special team from Vietnam made fascinating cake art out of whipping cream to the delight of attendees, while the much-awaited Taiwan Baking School Seminars attracted audiences for three days. McCormick Philippines Inc. also took to the stage with a baking demonstration by well-known pastry chef Penk Ching of Pastry Bin/Pastry Alliance of the Philippines. There were also numerous exhibits, a highlight of which was the Flour Pavilion, launched in coordination with the U.S. Wheat Associates, PAFMIL and CHAMP Flour, with the support of local flour millers.


The excitement simmered during the Bakery Fair with numerous competitions taking place. Exhibitors took advantage of the sizes of their booths with assorted custom designs for the on-site booth design competition. The Cakefest competition, held in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, brought out a display of fun, innovative Cake Art representing various local sights, food and culture inspired by the theme “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” also by exhibitors in the center aisle of the World Trade Center Exhibition Hall. But the most awaited of them all was the two-day Bakers Cup Philippines 2013 Bread-Making Competition Finals, where amateur and professional bakers ranging from 18 to 55 years old vied for the top prize. Thursday allowed fans of siopao and mantou to compete and showcase the versatility of steamed buns, as well as express their creativity in producing various artistic pieces using steamed bread in the newly launched Steamed Bun Competition category, opened in collaboration with Angel Yeast. Meanwhile, Friday saw contenders bring out various baguettes, rolls, sandwich loaves and a free-style bread showpiece made with California Raisins for the Original Bread Competition category.


Bakery Fair Philippines 2013 is a non-profit event in Metro Manila, Philippines organized by the Filipino-Chinese Bakery Association, Inc., with the participation of its members and allied industry players. This event is supported by the International Federation of Chinese Bakery and Confectionery Association, the Philippine Society of Baking, Bacolod-Negros Occidental Bakers Association, Davao Bakers Club, Philippine Federation of Bakers Association Inc., and the U.S. Wheat Associates. For comprehensive information on the Bakery Fair Philippines 2013, visit www.bakeryfair.org/2013. For more updates, “like” the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BakeryFairPhilippines and follow the official Twitter account at www.twitter.com/bakeryfairPH.

Bad dreams or bad vision?

Sunday, February 7, 2021

 I write this at 5:30 am Central Time on Sunday, 7th February, in the middle of a snowy winter night. I let Mahal keep sleeping because he has been up for most of the night (I slept early) and his loud snores are helping to ground me. But I still cannot shake off the lingering cold feeling of night terror.

You see, I dreamed I was driving myself to my childhood weekend/summer home in a dark-coloured car, accompanied by friends who I have long since lost touch. This house is located in a subdivision hidden from the main road by a factory which was said to have produced fireworks once but may have long since been closed, and also a farm with a modest amount of chickens. 

I remember showing off that bungalow in its pristine state, with its terrace balcony intact and its gate gleaming white, before the sewing factory that rented it in the early-aughts of the 2000s made unauthorized additions that my long-departed great-grandfather, the architect who designed it, would never approve of. But when I demanded entry, presenting my house keys and a copy of the deed to the house that I inherited from my parents (which I also currently keep a digitised version of), the guard outside told me that it was being renovated and turned into a bedspace for lease to expatriates from a Northeast Asian country.

I turned around to find my cousins' house across ours, hoping to find relief and a return to normalcy by checking that they were still our neighbours. Upon closer inspection, their bungalow (a matched pair to our own) also bore scaffolding; even their home, which they have lived in all their lives, was being repurposed for the same outcome. The next thing I know, my mum and her driver drove by, warning me to leave because of some militarised presence that had taken over both properties. I still don't understand why they both left me on my own seeing as: (1) I was all pale and shaken, and (2) Mum and I share many traumatic experiences related to the Philippine military and the Philippine National Police.


I remember sitting shotgun with another friend who said she could alternate driving with me; it seemed like she owned the vehicle anyway. What followed next was a bit of a wild goose chase: we were trying to drive out of the winding roads behind the fireworks factory that hid the compound where my family once lived in, but we kept getting stuck in traffic jams. It was getting dark and the road was so dimly lit that even switching our headlights on would not stop us from bumping into the walls leading out of the subdivision. 

Suddenly my perspective switched to me sitting at the back seat of the same car, with the friend who was driving as well as my other companions ditching me. My blood ran cold and my body froze in horror as the gates of another cousin's house opened to reveal a series of men in white barong. One of them rushed into the driveway and introduced himself as Antonio Parlade Jr., an Army general whose very recent claim to fame was tagging Filipino celebrities and citizens alike who either disagree with or protest against the Duterte administration as "Communist rebels," a process known as red-tagging that gives the already disproportionately powerful Philippine military and national police further ammunition to literally shoot down all forms of dissent. 

I would be laughing, because now that I've reviewed photo and video footage of him in reality, I realise his features and voice do not match the Parlade in my dreams, who resembles a character from a strange live-action shoot-em-up arcade game that my spouse and I were watching a let's play video of minutes before I went to bed at midnight; said character was a Spaghetti Western's caricature of a Native American and they gave him the name "Shooting Beaver."  But the last time I was attacked this way in real life (nearly ten years ago now, wouldn't you know it?), I screamed in frozen terror. 

I last remember just forcing myself to calm my shallow breaths deeply, and asking in the lowest voice I could muster, "Magandang gabi po, ano pong nangyayari?" He replied, "Mawalang-galang na po, ako po si Antonio Parlade, sumama po kayo sa akin sa presinto upang magpaliwanag." He was using language distinctly recognisable to any citizen who knows how the police work in the Philippines, which is alternately ridiculous and terrifying at the same time. 

What did he want me to explain — why I was trying to re-enter my childhood home? why I was trying to run away from the one force that has wreaked chaos and terror into my family in the last ten years? What was there to explain? Surely he of all people would know. After all, he, like current PNP chief Debold Sinas, were there to apprehend me, right?

I blinked my way awake, my body still frozen and my blood still cold. I was trying to gnash my teeth, but I soon realised I am still wearing my retainers, a holdover from my TMJ oral surgery in 2019. I was very relieved to hear my husband snoring beside me, his silhouette and physicality bringing me back to the present. I am safe, I am with him. 

I think I will minimise my dissent for now, as it might put my family in danger. 


[Published Post] Keeping Clean Against COVID-19

Tuesday, October 20, 2020


What researchers know so far is that COVID-19 spreads through invisible droplets that come from sneezing, coughing, and talking. Instead of travelling through air over long distances, these droplets either fall to the ground or onto surfaces like tables, chairs, cups, plates, utensils, doorknobs, light switches, faucets, appliance buttons, and clothes. Some researchers have discovered that these droplets are “stable” on surfaces, meaning that the virus can live in them between several hours to three whole days. Because of this, scientists are studying whether people have fallen ill by touching contaminated objects, and then touching their face (CDC says they haven’t, but COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving virus so this may change).


Like everybody, I’m worried by how quickly COVID-19 seems to spread; in fact, the World Health Organization shares that about 3.4% of the reported 4.5 million COVID-19 cases have died (around 297,000 deaths), as opposed to the less than 1% who have died because of seasonal flu. I took inspiration from Vietnam, a country where people have been exceptional in applying many of the above measures and incorporating them in the catchy English-language “Gian Co Vy” music video, in keeping my household free from the virus. 

Image courtesy of Freepik.


Let me share with you some tips below the cut:

Food Story (Or, a Cooking Apprentice Blog)

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

People close to me know I enjoy eating. 

A lot. 

Like you wouldn't believe. 

My older relatives call me food gremlin or food monster at home sometimes. 

My mum always enjoys reminding me that she had to go through a C-section to give birth to me because she was eating so much through my pregnancy. 

In fact, what ultimately forced inspired me to learn how to cook was because neither I nor the people around me could keep up with my appetite! Mum has a great story where I, barely a year into life outside the womb, cleverly managed to roll my wheeled crib over to the dining table to snatch pieces of freshly-cooked, piping-hot food from the plates that she or her younger sisters placed them on. 10/10 would do again honestly, but apparently that's terrible behaviour in a restaurant. 😂

I'm not going to put up some disclaimer saying that I'm thin, because I am overweight. Not obese, but definitely not able to fit into my shorts or my jackets as well as I used to. For someone of my height (5 ft 2.5 in, or 160.02 cm) I am, and with this pandemic raging, I've actually gained more weight. To wit, in May 2019 I weighed 135 lbs (61.24 kg) in the mornings, but since May of this year, I weighed 145 lbs. Yikes.

I have been dabbling in yoga and Ring Fit Adventure, but I only find the bandwidth to do so for less than 30 minutes every day between household chores, job hunting paid work, (volunteer!) social media management work, and now this return to writing. But with my coordination, constitution and eyesight being relatively poor since birth, my body can hardly keep up with even beginner yoga stances and a fair number of actions.

Anyway, I am proud of showing off the few things I have cooked. I have my favourites among them, but to be honest, any homecooked meal I make is an accomplishment since I am still getting used to chopping and using the knife faster. I prefer to create full meals because I grew up with these. By contrast, my husband prefers the ease of one-pot meals which don't always provide the best nutrition, but at least he enjoys much of the food I make. 

For starters, I am especially proud to be able to cook omelettes with patience. The fluffy, yellow beauty of this baby below and of others long since eaten are worth the wait. While this was inspired by Gordon Ramsay, I actually began cooking omelettes because I wanted to have breakfast in peace with a husband who equates runny yolks of eggs sunny-side up and poached eggs with food poisoning. ðŸ˜‚


Some fun facts about this next album: 

  1. I am surprisingly patient in cooking my food, where in most other pursuits I just throw my hands up and let go.
  2. For some reason, all my food has a brownish tint, I'm not sure. 
  3. That said, I need to improve my plating and photography skills.
  4. This is mostly food inspired by existing recipes. I actually prefer just reading the words in a recipe while I'm cooking, even if it already provides the visual I need to follow in order to prepare or cook the meal properly.
  5. Related to the previous item, I actually like freestyling and substituting some ingredients when I cook.
  6. These dishes were all cooked in the space of three (3) months. 


This next post was an experiment that just fell into place by some miracle. While it's still not the same as actually enjoying the Jollibee Burger Steak of my childhood, it is more than delightful to the palate. At the very least, my spouse approves of it! 


Speaking of my American spouse, I was OVERJOYED when we bought an Instant Pot during our first summer as husband and wife. I've made so much use of it across the seasons! This dish was a request from him since he's predictably got a more Western palate. I have used it to make Filipino dishes like kare-kare and sinigang, as well as a pre-roaster for lechon kawali and crispy pata. 

 

Between the two of us, I'm the one who's trying to find new ways to incorporate healthy ingredients into our daily meals. Being from the Philippines, I've been exposed to many different types of cuisines and cooking styles, as well as different dietary adjustments. I really enjoy seafood and vegetables, and I believe that variety is the spice of life. Here's some of my favourite dishes! 

 

This next dish is a special one, and also a bit controversial (sorry Italy, I love you but you didn't even come up with savoury noodles first). Filipinos like me normally enjoy our spaghetti on the sweet side, and use ketchup a lot since tomatoes aren't native to our country; think Neapolitan spaghetti or pasta here please. My mother, though, elevates this to have more than the prerequisite hotdog-as-sausage meat filling by adding boiled eggs to the mix! This is literally the dish of my childhood, and with the coronavirus pandemic officially announced on my birthday in 2020, I knew I had to make this dish as self-care. At least my husband had no complaints, ha. 

 

And now for a drink break! Another pandemic trend is dalgona coffee, popularized by the hallyu (Korean pop culture) wave. With everyone stuck at home missing their favourite desserts and caffeine potions, we all had to make do with cafe.  


 

 

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