Whew! I love morning rush! An eight-to-fiver working mom without a helper, how's that???? Quite challenging, isn't? Well, this is really the dare for a homemaker. Buti na lang malapit lang ang office ko, I can manage. I have no travel time so I can do more household chores without being so late in the office.
But....where is she, my helper? Mmmmm..... after the holiday she advised me that she will come back on Sunday. Fine!!!! Oh my goodness ,anong petsa na???? Wala pa rin sya today. She's not feeling well daw. Sick leave lang ang peg. I am a considerate employer and I value the health of my employee so I allow her to have a good rest. And these are the consequences. Always in a hurry! I have to do every single detail in the house. In all the chores, managing kitchen is my priority.
Preparing breakfast and baon for my grade-schoolers should be enjoyable and easy messy. I dropped by to the nearest wet market and shop for my cooking needs. Here are my picks!
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| Calamansi |
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| Garlic and Onion |
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| Tamarind |
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| Green Gulay |
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| Gulay pa din |
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| Fresh Maya-maya |
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| Fresh Shrimp |
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| Fresh Squid |
I love fresh foods. Most of my buy this week are sea foods. Shall I say, "Meatless Week" for my kiddos. As much as possible I avoid using
umami when cooking. We can cook delicious servings without using MSG. An effort can replace the pleasant savory taste of mono sodium glutamate can add to our food. And the following are my efforts as replacement for umami.
1. I used
clay pot when boiling the tamarind fruit to extract the sour taste for perfect sinigang. I added a pinch of salt while boiling to mix the salty and soury taste. It's better to cook sinigang at clay pot to avoid the chemical reaction. Clay pot is so cheap.
2.
Onion and garlic are must-have in my kitchen. The more onion and garlic in the recipe the more it became tasty.
3. When marinating, I used
calamansi. It's cheaper than lemon. But it brings different taste enhancer to cooking. That's why it is also a must-have.
4.
Veggies are the best! When I'm cooking sinigang, the more the veggies the more savory taste.
5. Chili, ginger, tomato and pepper can be added too for other menu.
Spice up your life!
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| My Family's Favorite: sinigang na Maya-maya |
My boys joined me in my cooking at our little kitchen. While preparing the ingredient, M and R are throwing jokes and knock knocks. It became our another bonding moment. The big boy also assisted me in cooking. He did the paghahalo-halo and tikim tikim portion. Haha! While the little boys are preparing the tables for a perfect dine-in at home.
I have to cook a recipe for a day because I have limited time. Init-init na lang. My son M keep asking me if I added "magic sarap" to my sinigang. I said "No son, I added "
effort sarap". He enjoyed the vegetables. He ate everything, even the onions. And telling me, "Mom, masarap pala talaga ang "effort sarap". Woooowww! a heart-melting comment. M is my number two fan. He never fail to appreciate all my endeavors. I am exerting my best for R to be influenced in eating veggies. He's a typical boy who likes fried :-( . But I taught them to eat what is on the table. Kids are really different!
I also prepared pang-baon for school, for frying. It's one of my kid's favorite.
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| Marinated Boneless Bangus, ready for frying! |
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| Adobo sa Gata-Pusit |
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| Pancit Canton |
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| Fried Small Lapu-lapu |
On the other hand, I enjoyed doing all the household chores however it lessen my "me-time". I can't do my exercise. Waaahhh! This is bad, I'm missing my "tight abs goal". My abs are getting fluffy again. I can't focus on my diet scheme because of foods in front of me all the time. Napapakain ako ng mga luto ko. Hihi! I hope my helper is feeling better now. A pile of laundry is waiting for her.
Oh, I love this career! I thank God for the strength.I'm looking forward and excited for my next cooking.
It's my pleasure to be domesticated!
