overheard

From ze hubby his morning, while preparing Ziv's breakfast of oatmeal porridge with pear puree and cinnamon:

Buti ka pa Ziv nakatikim ka na ng cinnamon. Nung bata ako ang natikman ko lang na spice paminta.

(You're lucky Ziv. You've tasted cinnamon already. When I was young, the only spice I got to taste was ground pepper.)

I think this is the beginning of the many "when I was young" spiels.

Ziv is nine months old!

Time flies!

I think I say that every month.

But time does fly! From a sleepy newborn, Ziv is now a nine-month-old infant who has got mad skills. He has amazing control of his hands and fingers now. I think even he is amazed. Sometimes I catch him just looking at one of his hands and lifting it up as if he's reaching for something. 

Aside from unbelievable manual dexterity, Ziv can also stand up with support now. Ever since he learned how to do that, he's been practicing every chance he gets. We usually hang out at his play zone so he gets lots of opportunity to practice. But with learning to stand up comes countless falls. He hates falling on his butt but he hates falling on his back even more. I think the impact scares him more than it hurts him. 

The increased activity makes me nervous sometimes because there are more chances of his hitting his head somewhere. But we've been lucky so far, thank God. No bumps yet. I think the worst injury we experienced was when his lip hit the armchair and it bled. I was so scared! Luckily, it stopped on its own and his two front teeth were intact.

It's awesome to watch Ziv grow. Ze hubby and I are really privileged to have been given front row seats in this most amazing show: the development of a human being.

Milestones are great but so are the everyday, ordinary things. Just watching him be this little person makes me happy.

sauteed ampalaya (bitter gourd)

As a kid, I didn't like ampalaya. What kid in her right mind would love this bitter veggie anyway? I cringed deep inside each time it was served at home because like any responsible parent, my mom made sure she made me and my siblings try it, kahit kaunti lang. And since I was eager to please, I obliged. I put on a brave face each time I took a spoonful of ampalaya. I tried my best to never let even a slight trace of disgust show on my face. Later on, I devised a way to eat it while minimizing discomfort: I didn't chew it. Ha!

But then there was this one time that my dad cooked his version of ginisang ampalaya. When I tasted it, there was very little hint of bitterness and lots of yumminess. That was when I learned to like the veggie. I didn't fear it anymore when it was served during mealtimes. So when I was old enough to cook, I did it my dad's way, which I am now sharing with you!

Ingredients

1 ampalaya (here in Singapore they only have small pieces of bitter gourd so I used three of those), sliced as thin as possible

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon patis

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Place the amplaya slices in a colander. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt then massage them until the juices come out. This will remove some of the gourd's bitterness and make it more palatable. After massaging, rinse in running water.

2. In a pan, saute the garlic and onion in a bit of cooking oil. Once the onion is transparent, add the tomatoes. Saute until soft.

3. Add the ampalaya and patis. Saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Add 1/4 cup water and cover to simmer.

4. The water should have reduced a bit. Add the beaten egg and stir (so you don't end up with an omelet!). Remove from heat and serve.

Here at home, I usually serve this with a fried item, like pork chop or fried fish, and of course, rice.

By the way, according to my dad, my sister makes a better version of this. Now, he always says it's her specialty, and I agree.

diptych #11

Reason I'm fat #20916

Is a double chocolate muffin. I recently declared it as one of my all-time favorites. It's chocolatey and not too sweet. I had it with instant coffee, which I realized is so wrong at many levels. Should've just paired it with black coffee or tea.

I've become complacent about my weight. I'm thinking, it's December anyway. 'Tis the season of face stuffing, as ze hubby said. And he's right. There's no other season more hedonistic than this; no better time to eat, drink and be merry. 

Nineteen days to go! Ho ho ho!

Christmas, soon

Writing on greeting cards while listening to Christmas songs. Is there any other way to do it?

It's December! Just 23 days to go before Christmas and 19 days before we fly back home. Ze hubby and I have celebrated the past three Christmases here in Singapore but this year we're going to his hometown of Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province. They're hosting this year's reunion of my mother-in-law's side of the family. It's going to be interesting, especially since it's the first time we'd be bringing Ziv to such a huge gathering.

After three years of spending the holidays quietly here, I'm not quite looking forward to all the chaos associated with Christmas in the Philippines especially the horrible traffic. I hope we don't get stuck on a road somewhere! What I'm excited about though are the family get-togethers, meet-ups with friends and the food! Oh the puto bumbong, the bibingka, the fiesta fare--all of them! I'm pretty sure I'll pack on some (or a lot) more pounds.

Anyway. Back to greeting-card-writing. Hope to send these ASAP!