A VEAL and A VIDEO...

I just thought I should give this blog entry a little twist... READ ON... and WATCH (note: TURN YOUR SPEAKERS ON).

COOKING METHODS THREE

THE DISHES

OSSO BUCO MILANESSE with GREMOLATA

POLENTA

ROASTED RACK OF PORK WITH RED WINE ROSEMARY SAUCE

POTATO PUMPKIN GNOCCHI

COQ AU VIN

BOUILLON POTATOES with PARMESAN and CILANTRO

PAN FRIED LAPU-LAPU FILLET with ARAGULA ONION RELISH

OVEN ROASTED TOMATO COMPOTE

WANNA SEE HOW IT ALL HAPPENED?

THEN WATCH THIS!
AGAIN, SPEAKERS ON!

HAHAHAHA!!! It was a fun day!

NO SCHOOL... SO WE LAUGH!

With the global recession grabbing all of us by the neck and with the perennial socio-political and economic chaos that has plagued our third-world country for eons, it is a phenomenon how Filipinos could saunter blissfully through life with smiles on their faces and with little worries (except may be how to get all the chores done before their favorite telenovela starts). According to a study, Filipinos are the second happiest and most optimistic people in Asia. Indeed, in the midst of any situation, we try to look for the lighter, funny side of it. We have the innate ability to stare adversity at the face and make fun of its outfit.
There is no denying that laughter has become an indispensible coping mechanism for most of us (but of course, second only to PRAYERS). Below are some quotes from famous personalities (and some random photos of happy times with friends and family) that emphasize the significance of constant levity in our lives.

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. ~Kurt Vonnegut

At the wedding of my nephew JR with wife, Pia

Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~Henry Ward Beecher

The Madagascar Four

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings

At our office Christmas party

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb

With my soul-sister Jig

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart

Subic with co-teachers

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle


Bread Baking Buddies

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. ~Victor Borge

My Pastry Arts Crew


A laugh is a smile that bursts. ~Mary H. Waldrip


FCA 55 Family!

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. ~Woody Allen

I made this video a year ago. It generated a lot of positive responses from its viewers on YouTube. So go ahead, watch and LAUGH!

(Perhaps many of you are wondering why aren't there any culinary entries/photos this week... Well, school is off today to make way for the graduation of the diploma students. So there.)

SINGLE AWARENESS DAY

Yes, it's that discriminatory time of the year that boosts profits for greeting cards, flower shops, restos and motels... Valentine's day. I could rant about how insignificant and overrated this pseudo-holiday but I would just be exposing my non-existent love life.
So, I will just have to adapt the attitude "if you can't beat them, join them.." Here are my best picks about some stuff about LOVE.

BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY FILM

My fave quotes from the film:

Harry Burns: You take someone to the airport, its clearly the beginning of the relationship. That's why I have never taken anyone to the airport at the beginning of a relationship.
Sally Albright: Why?
Harry Burns: Because eventually things move on and you dont take someone to the airport and I never wanted anyone to say to me, How come you never take me to the airport anymore?
Sally Albright: Its amazing. You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death.

MOST ROMANTICALLY POIGNANT LINES
FROM A NOVEL
from THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

click this to read novel

"It's clear to me now that I have been moving toward you and you toward me for a long time. Though neither of us was aware of the other before we met, there was a kind of mindless certainty humming blithely along beneath our ignorance that ensured we would come together. Like two solitary birds flying the great prairies by celestial reckoning, all these years and lifetimes we have been moving toward one another."

FAVORITE LOVE SONG

"LIKE A STAR"
Corrine Bailey Rae
click this to download song
click this to watch video on YOUTUBE

Wherever you are... you will always be my star...

NOT IN YOUR LIFE!

It's just a pity that you wouldn't be able to see me go through my morning rituals. I would nestle a mug of coffee in my hands and ascend towards a state of nothingness for the duration of my caffeine consumption. You would have had the chance to tease me for this oddity and we would both laugh about it… Too bad, there won't be any laughter for you.

After which, I would listen to the music that would best fit my mood at that moment. Had you been there, I would be humming along some blissfully romantic love song that would express how wonderful life is with you in it and how you bring out the best in me… Sadly, you won't be able to witness anything like that and there will be no music for you.

I doubt if anyone whom we mutually know would even tell you how I enjoy every minute that we spend time together because there was and there won't be such time anymore. You won't get to experience how to be loved and be cared for the way that only I know how. There won't be any show of special attention that only my passionate heart can provide. None of these will ever happen to you…. Not in your life!

It would've been good for you if I could include you in my prayers every hour of the day and only wish great things to come your way. But then, I guess you would just have to look out for yourself.

Nothing could be more sincere and intense than the devotion that I could willingly offer. Unfortunately, you would just have to settle for someone who is obviously less.

For a moment, try to imagine living without all these… without me. Then, imagine how I feel, right now, going through my own life … with the thought that I could never be loved by you.