Looking back 2010

January – I spend 2 weeks vacation in CDO to celebrate my sister’s 18^th birthday.

February – Receive a Php XX,000 Performace Bonus from my repective company.

March – I bought my first Nikon d5000 DSLR.

April – Spent our holy week with my sister in Ocean Park, Star City and Batangas.

May – Car hunting month

June – Found a dealer for the second hand car and car financing. Got so busy with processing all car documents, securing driver’s license and ownership transfer.

July – Finally got my first car and experienced my first ride. A 2001 Toyota Echo Verso. I named it “Toniok”. Stands for Toyota ni Niok.

August – Driving lessons. Primera speed! Lol

September – Cruiseship job hunting

October – Passed the principal interview to one of the cruiseline company I applied. Last week of the month was my kuya’s wedding and celebrated a mini family reunion with 2 of my Aunts and cousins.

November – Started to work on documenting all requirements for my cruise ship employment and attended Basic Safety Training which took me 8 days to be off from work. And of course! Received my early 13^th month pay.

December – Celebrated Etrade’s Gangsta Christmas Party. Batangas road trip on the 24^th and spend noche Buena @ my kuya’s new home sweet home with his wife.

Another 365 days passed. 2010 was bit of a highlight of my financial achievements. In my 26 years. Thank you God for all these blessings!

Spaghetti With Fresh Tomato Sauce and Basil

Ingredients

About 20 ripe plum tomatoes

About 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish the dish
Pinch of crushed red pepper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbs. unsalted butter 1 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about half a cup)

6 to 8 fresh basil leaves well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and cut thinly crosswise into a chiffonade

1 lb. spaghetti, either high-quality dry or homemade

To peel the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. Ease about 5 tomatoes in the pot and cook. Let boil for about 15 seconds and then promptly move them to the waiting ice water (do this with the remaining tomatoes). Pull off the skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the skin sticks, try a vegetable peeler using a gentle sawing motion. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.

To cook the tomatoes: In a wide pan, heat the 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated).

Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. Refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze it for longer storage.

To serve: Bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta liquid to adjust it). Take the pan off the heat and toss the butter, basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue) and serve immediately.

(c/o from one of my favorite chefs: Anthony Bourdain)

Beef Nacho Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons  olive oil

1/2 pound  pre-sliced sweet peppers (about 1/2-inch-wide strips)

1 pound  lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon  garlic salt

1 pack Tacos/Toasted Bread/pizza dough

1 jar (16 ounces)  medium-hot salsa/tomato salsa from scratch

3 cups  shredded taco-cheese blend/Quickmelt/parmesan cheese

1 can (2.2 ounces)  sliced black olives, drained (about 1/4 cup)

3 large  scallions, trimmed and sliced

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peppers, ground beef and garlic salt; cook, stirring to break up clumps of beef, until the peppers are soft and beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from skillet.

3. Remove dough from pack. Cut the dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide slices, then cut each slice into quarters.

4. In large bowl, toss together dough pieces and salsa. Add cooked meat mixture, 2 cups of the taco-cheese blend and olives. Scrape mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup taco-cheese blend over the top.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle scallions evenly over the top. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 502, Total Fat 25 g, Saturated Fat 9 g, Cholesterol 51 mg, Sodium 1181 mg, Carbohydrate 40 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 31 g.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

So true! The difference between men and women

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Loser, and Shit for Brains.

EATING OUT
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.


(c/o chuvaness)

My December 25, 2010.. My Christmas

Christmas is a season for reuniting and of course celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas is not only a tradition but a very special occasion where we acknowledge God's presence through sharing our love towards our family, friends, and colleagues and even to strangers.

Well, here are my adventures on how I was able to start my Christmas. December 23^rd @ work, I started receiving gifts from my respective bosses. Then we took  our midnight lunch at the RJ’s Bulaluhan for 4^th time na walang sawa kaming kumakain dun dahil sobrang sarap ng package 1 nila serving Fried tilapia, seafood chopsuey, Pork Sisig, Chicken Teriyaki and Special Bulalo! Busog! First stop: Just as I came out from work, I took 3 hours drive to Batangas but bumped a bit of my time at Fantasy Land. Nice view, pero di kami nakapasok kasi wala budget pambayad ng entrance. picture tripping lang.

Next Stop, around 9pm on the 24^th, we headed our way to batangas city to Kuya’s home sweet home. From there, we celebrated our noche Buena together with Ate Glenda(Kuya’s Wife).  

Kahitpapano, masaya ang pasko ni Niok. Sana pansamantalang maging miymbro muna ako ng SMP pero ok lang.. ok lanag talaga (bitter?) lol.. di nga pero ok lang.. walang pakialaman.. lol..

Looking forward nanaman in Welcoming 2011 with a Big Bang!