starshadow_rivaulx | what's been cooking?

Recap time! Will be consulting the microblogs to fill everyone in on the details of the past days.

Feb-27 The second to last day of February was a wonderful case of a schedule going exactly as planned. Took Ramon to Makati Med for his pre-checkup blood tests, and per usual, we had breakfast at Jollibee. Truth be told, if I had my way, I'd much rather have breakfast at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, but alas - nourishing breakfasts seldom come cheap. *sigh* But surely as a monthly indulgence...ah, well. I defer to hubby's wishes on the matter, and hope that at some point, CBTL will be a do-able option.

The recyclables event was sponsored by Forbes Park this month, and I made Php 16.50 out of all the plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles that our eco-aides sometimes refuse to take unless we give the them away. Myra's Junk Shop is the official affiliate; I wonder where they are located. Probably somewhere in Malibay, one of those "General XYZ" streets that cross Evangelista.

The lady sales agent that Ramon got acquainted with during the last recyclables event was present at this one, and since we were among the early arrivals, we were given an umbrella. Just in time for the heat of summer - and believe me, with the heat in Manila? Umbrellas are a necessity in summer, as much as they are in the monsoon season. Sunblock all you want, but at least an umbrella can give you shade when it's already 90F in the shade when you walk out. And that doesn't even take into account the reflected heat bouncing off the sidewalks. Eurgh.

Besides, sunblock *melts* in the tropics.

From Forbes, we pulled into Park Square One, and waited for SM Makati to open. Didn't have to wait long - about ten minutes or so - and then I paid the credit card bill. It's pretty much a milestone, I'm down to the last three payments and then Ramon and I can say goodbye to the last of the hospital bills. Once I pay the last one off, I'm going to buy a lotto ticket. Just for the fun of it. *grin*

Barely remembered to get a new battery for the calculator Ma bought in the States decades ago. It's a Canon, and it has this nifty checkbook balancing function, as well as two memory functions for tracking credit card charges. *shiver* Have not used these high-tech functions, ever, but as a calculator, it's a lovely thing and good to have around.

Then Glorietta 4 for the third week running, to catch The International. We were early, though, so Starbucks and Taters had the benefit of our patronage while we were waiting. Next time, it will be Burger King or Wendy's. For the first time ever, we were able to take advantage of the food trays provided by the theatre management, and I happily noshed through fish and chips for the early part of the movie.

I enjoyed "The International". As one who barely squeaked through a course in Economics, I found the concept of a bank using its funds for world domination through debt management, quite interesting. It had one of those endings where you have to stay through the ending credits to get closure, though - which means we'll be getting the DVD at some point, so I can watch through them again. There were some bits I didn't catch.

Feb-28 Stay at home day, which meant that I didn't do much worth mentioning. Updated the logbooks (actually, planners) for my cash and charges. Got Bluetooth working on the Linux Mint, and am now able to transfer files to and from my Sony Ericsson in a snap. I was pleasantly surprised that the experience was much easier than with Ubuntu. Now that I think about it, my entire day appears to have been eaten up by trying to catch up with as much online life as I could - though I am rethinking about just how much catching-up is a rational amount. Not to worry that I was glued in front of the monitor all those hours; what with the cats wanting this and that, and having to go to the bathroom and all. *grin*

Found time to watch cooking shows. Caught some old Jamie Oliver episodes and a couple of Giada di Laurentiis episodes, and was promptly seized with a desire to fix up something for lunch. I love cooking, I just have to muster the will for the planning of it sometimes. I love watching cooking shows too; Rachael Ray (but not the talk show version, the pure cooking version suits me best), Jamie Oliver, sometimes Giada. I also like the Barefoot Contessa. Have just discovered Partyline with The Hearty Boys, and I think I'll keep watching.

I have promised myself that the next time I get to go abroad, it is going to be a food trip. Just a few light souvenirs, but mostly food and walking about the city. Of course there has to be walking. How else will I work off all that good stuff? But before the walkabout and fooding, I'd need at least a day or two for nothing but sleeping. (Can you tell this is going to be a solo trip? I'd never be able to do this traveling with someone.)

I also managed to work on my knitting. Discovered to my surprise that I only need two inches more of knitting to finish up my first handwarmer! This tells me that one ball of yarn = one handwarmer, using 4.5mm circulars. This also tells me that I now have a quick and easy project for gifting come Christmas. But once I finish this project, I'm going to try something with a simple cable to it. Have to check my Ravelry project list...there's a bonnet or two there that should be fun to try.

Mar-01 Another stay at home day, the highlight of which was the penne pasta that I cooked up. Really simple, it's not hard to cook up some pasta if you're hovering near the microwave slicing up bone-in ham; opening tins of mushrooms, Campbell's cream of chicken soup, and solid tuna in oil. Drain the pasta, and in the serving bowl, stir up the ham, et cetera. Add the pasta, add some milk, eyeballing the consistency of the future sauce, fold everything together, layer some cheese slices on top to cover the pasta, pop back into the microwave and zap for two minutes. Serve hot, and try not to eat everything yourself. *huge ebil grin*

As you can see, I am of the "throw everything in the pot" school of cooking. I eyeball all sorts of measurements, I experiment with whatever's in the kitchen cabinets. I can be having a chicken quietly roasting in the turbo broiler, then suddenly baste it with sesame seed oil for a light Oriental touch. Things like that.

Set up the matrix for all the movies Ramon wants recorded, and the first movies of March were entered into the DVR timer schedule. I'll have to enter the movies scheduled for the next two days, since we'll be doing Ramon's monthly check-up tomorrow.

So that takes care of the catching-up. I've got a replay of Oliver's Twist on the TV, and he's in a chocolate store. This requires attention!

what's been cooking?

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