Money on Paper has No Value..

 

I am not the most organized person in the world, unused plane tickets, expired train tickets, commuter checks, and now this void check. I tried to ask for the reissuance of this check but was told that there is no more account to charge to. I don't understand that, having worked for a bank, I know that what is deposited to an account unless collected willl still bein coffers of the issuing bank andi n the account of the issuer. So if the check is voided and uncollected, where will it be.

To some the value is probably just a pittance and it is just not the principle of it, it is a week or so worth of food on the table.  he he

Dear readers, can you enlighten me?

 

 

 

Signs and Symptoms of Inner Peace

The Pastor at the Cathedral shared this article-an original thought i think  in the Sunday Bulletin, which I didn't pay too much attention to until a friend pointed it to me. I am sharing it here for everybody to enjoy.

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious thread to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

 Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on great experiences.


• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.


• A loss of interest in judging other people.


• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.


• A loss of interest in conflict.


• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)


• Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.


• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.


• Frequent attacks of smiling.


• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.


• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Pili nut butterscotch brownies

Pili nut butterscotch brownies

Sorry, I didn't mean to drop this link here with nary a word. Ni ha ni ho as what we Pinoys, would say. I tried to make butterscoth bars over the weekend and I must have used a recipe for a different butterscoth as it didn't come out right. What I was aiming for are the Filipino holiday butterscotch bars.

I said holiday because I usually get this during the holidays with blocks of fruit cake. This is what I came up with, it reminds me of the shortbread biscuits that comes in those plaid-painted tin cans.

Recipe: Noodles, for Long Life

 It must be the Chinese influence, birthdays are always celebrated with noodles in my culture, for long life. Even with my friends from the West, I insist on it, that's an anathema to my faith. I'd like to think it is just the tradition of it all and not something that is superstitious, ha ha.

I love noodles, that's the Pinoy in me, I don't eat it with rice, mind you. Noodles, just like pasta is for just a vessel for flavors, single pan cooking method, which makes it convenient even if cooking for one. My freezer is loaded with mainstays like shrimp, pork, Chinese sausage (chorizo) and different kinds of fish cake, fish balls, etc.

Oh, a little note on the noodles, there are rice noodles - wash and let sit in the water for a few minutes; dry egg noodles that you boil in water just like pasta, fresh egg noodles- has to be pre-cooked too, otherwise it will be starchy.

So, the basic ingredients are:

onions, sliced thinly (I like to cut up the ingredients in the same way as the main ingredient, for convenience, mainly.)
garlic or ginger (I freeze my ginger, so it is easy to use a cheese grater instead of slicing)
cabbage thinly sliced (carrots, zuchini, beans, celery stalks will also work)
soy sauce
oyster sauce
broth or water - a cup
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

If you're using pork, I cook it first with a little water and salt, once the water is dry and the meat turns brown, the meat will secrete(w?) a little oil. Add olive oil, caramelize onions, add garlinc or ginger, the chorizo would have been added to to the pork, then the cabbage, or the veggie of your choice. Let it cook for a little bit, add broth or water, season to taste, then add noodles. Add any seafood last to avoid overcooking.

Some folks remove the vegges and the meat and top it to the noodles later. I don't I like everything mixed in so that the flavor is infused in the noodles.

You can garnish with parsley, slices of boiled egg.

Enjoy with lemon and soy sauce, toyomansi or ponzu in Japanese cuisine.

As mentioned earlier, this is a very versatile recipe, tofu can be added in place of meat or it can be an all vegetable recipe. The difference from Chinese and Japanese way of cooking is that broth is used here instead of just oil and sauce. Chinese cooking uses corn starch as a thickening agent. Black bean sauce or garlic sauce can be used as an option too. The options are endless.

Empty..

An existence without God can be empty. Branches without leaves, like being in the desert.  All of us have this hole that needs to be filled,. How we chose to fill it is up to us. Do we want to fill it with the living water of God's love?  The love that gives us contentment, inner peace. and that ability to take a rest and lift it all up to him. Or do we want to complete it with material things and worldly desires, where there is no the hole becomes a bottomless pit? There is no contentment, the desire for more is always present.

Green...

How Green Are you?

.

Have you ever been green with envy?

 Are you "green"? Really green, I mean.. not the kind coming out of a whole foods store, head held high for you holding a reusable bag of groceries with compostable cartons and utencils made of potato skins.  But where did you dispose those cartons, not in the regular garbage bins, I hope.. it will take years to go back to earth because of the oxidation.  Leaving your efforts in futility.

Being green is an effort, really. It is a lifestyle change. There is the conscious decision always, using the dishwasher, the kind of detergent, being sustainable, reuse, etc. Do you buy products that are imported that took a lot of effort to produce and transport to your location? The economics of it all has to be considered too.

In the olden days, these are not even choices, it is the way of life.

So, how green are you.

Rot..

I am such a  lounger, so coming back from Wednesday prayer night--a Lenten ceremony where parable of the blind man was reflected upon. While lounging, I was contemplating on how I can gently tell this friend of mine that he is not be morose and miserable when Lordy is doing everything to make our existence a joyful one. Can't come up with an answer, so I moved on.

Anyway, I was chatting on skype with a friend who is migrating to Canada with her family.  We were reminiscing momemnts of darkness. Wondering where our friend psychic friend is now.  I cautioned her to leave room for frustration and to let Lordy surprise her as to what is in store for her there..

Buzzzz, yahoo messenger my friend's sister rang.  Her sister wanted to talk to me, after making arrangements as to the whens, I did call immediately. The opening salvo was, "I have cancer and it is stage x,"  I was taken aback, not sure what to say.  Calling on to Lordy at the same time.  The only thing I can muster was, "but you are so young" and said, "Can I take that in, for a moment". She heard my deep breaths and thought I was smoking.

"Did you talk to Lordy?", I asked her. Of course, she did asking for more time.  We digressed and talk about high school life and googled our classmates. 

I don't know what to make of it-- talking to friends this afternoon about it, I gave in a little bit, felt my eyes welling a bit. Finished the bar of chocolate that I was hiding from myself. sigh..

The big "C" is like that rotten orange on the picture huh. That was a rotten orange that I dropped on the floor on the way to the garbazh. I thought, oh look at that even a rotten thing can have two sides to it.  The mold dust and a clear juice, we just had to make a choice of how we see it.

Hmmmmm...

Street Fare: Fishballs

Pinoy food, the Oakland Way.

You probably have seen TV shows featuring gastronomic studies of different areas of the Philippines, Bourdain and Zimmerman were the more popular ones. Street food is a regular feature of the major cities in the Philippines, no matter how sophisticated it is.  From the fried chicks, barbecued chicken intestines, adidas (chicken feet) and my favorite fishballs.  Of course we can only have it in school, where the thought of germies are temporarily overlooked.  Imagine small doughy balls with only a hint of fish flavor, fried in oil that has been used multiple times. After paying, one is given a small skewer (barbecue stick), stab the fish balls from the pan dip on a vinegary sauce, followed by a thicker sweet and sour sauce. 

It was good, not sure if it was really that tasty or the joy of partaking street fare that was more significant.

Those memories were parked in the binder called "youdth", remember, "Joe Pesci"? But I was discovering different Asian markets, I came across a bolltled fish ball sauce. Hmmmm, something must be done about that.  The search for fish balls ensued, I only found the Vietnamese variety.  It worked,  a bag served two big ones, it didn't taste as good though, perhaps it has only the native germies from my kitchen.

Believing Out Loud..Let the world know.

A friend forwarded this in an email, I thought I'd share it here..

Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off their web page. Poll is still open so you can vote:

Click here for the poll.

Ice cream to chase the blues away..

I have a sweet tooth to my detriment, not too much cakes but ice cream,particulary this brand Haagen Dazs. After four years or so of coffee flavor I am upgrading to more fruitti ones.

I don't often induldge but when I do ,it is serious a pint in one sitting. A friend once asked me if I drink from the jug, Isaid I don't--backwash. What I do is eat ice cream from a pint, then justify that I can't return it back to the freezer because I ate from it, a good justification to finish it all.

It's funny how we get trapped by the rules, it is almost mechanical, without any logic to it.  Is it because it is ingrained in our brains from when our cognition is still forming.

How about how we practice our faith? No matter how we desire to be holy, to be good, somehow something evil creeps in. The way we interpret and implement things can cause pain to others.  Adherence to the teachings and scriptures if not borne out of love is therefore not the preferred action. Nope, that is hardly my posit at all. But it makes sense.

Mine is always, it is between you and God, if you are justified with your actions, then it is good enough for me.

Life is complicated huh! A bowl of ice cream will certainly do the trick. Have one on me he he he.

A church dinner..

A couple of weeks ago, we had a sit down dinner at our church for the ministry members. An appreciation dinner for the one hundred or so people who help in the liturgy an everything else. It was wonderful, but because I am Pinoy with the right and left brain functioning all at once, my joy is in the procress, the preparation. There was no committee, just a group of friends all eager to help and do the work for the church.

It was fun to watch the concerted efforts during the set up and the clean up. It was like watching a performance on stage. The used glasses created an almost artful image here huh.

 

You can tell that I am an admirer of good pictures and an amateur camera clicker at that, so from time to time I have this urge to show some images that I enjoy, I hope you enjoy them too. But hey, ffeel ree to maka a comment. 

Oh! the food was prepared by Mj's food by design, a young company in Oakland. The menu was mixed green salad with craisins, sliced almonds, feta cheese with vinaigrette dressing, Mediterranean salad, grilled vegetables with balsamic vinegar, roast beef, chicken cacciatore, artisan bread, and for dessert berry cobbler with ice cream.