Thyme-and-honey Pork steak with Sauteed banana heart with lentils and tofu.

Sauteed Banana Heart 

Ingredients


Banana heart, 1 piece, chopped and rinsed in salt and water
Lentils, about 1/2 cup
Tofu, 1 slab, cut into cubes
Garlic, about 5 cloves, chopped
Onion, 1 piece, chopped
Red bell pepper, cut into strips
Soy sauce, 5 tbsp
Honey, 5 tbsp
Salt
Pepper
Chili flakes
Cumin, 1 tbsp
Dried Thyme, 1 tbsp
Water


1. In a casserole, boil the lentils until tender.


2. In a wok, fry the onion, garlic, and tofu.

3. Season with soy sauce, honey, thyme, and cumin


4. Add in the lentils (including the water they were boiled from) and the banana heart.  Simmer until tender.


5. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.


6. Garnish with slivers of red bell pepper




For the Pork Steak


Ingredients


Steak rub
Garlic, minced
Honey, 3 tbsp
Soy sauce
Thyme
Salt
Pepper

1. Prepare the steak rub by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.


2. Rub on both sides of the pork, or for best results marinate overnight.


3. Fry in low heat on a wok.

DIY Paving for the Undecided

I'm now contemplating on my latest DIY project slash mini-distraction: landscaping our ancestral house in the province.  Right now, the garden is as empty as a blank page, save for the concrete hollowblock fence for which the decades-old santan bushes had to be uprooted.  Now, there are no plants or trees.  There are no garden structures--no pergolas, gazebos, not even a lousy wooden bench.  I did say it's empty as a blank page.  I'm not even sure how to go about it: plant first then build the structures, or the other way around.

The thing with landscaping projects is that they're literally back-breaking work.  


You're dealing with bricks and stones after all.  Even if you opt for managably-sized pebbles and gravel, they're still a whole lot to deal with.  I know this for a fact because I've been buying DIY books on landscaping and home improvements at Book Sale, and it says right there: paving your patio and driveways is not a one-man/one-woman job.  Which means even the most enthusiastic DIY-ers would need a helping hand, or hands, preferrably.  


The pictures on the book, by the way, also include women, not just men, them working side by side in glorious gender equality with their shovels and trowels, pickaxes and hammers, them lifting and positioning heavy flagstones and bricks and other driveway pavers, in their nice work outfits and workgloves, and they make it look easy.  But what if Edge is in no mood to lift a finger?

Mr. Keillor

The last book I read--a novel, not a DIY how-to--"Love Me" by Garisson Keillor says something about young people buying old mansions, taking care of them to great pains, renovating them to no end, and then split up because the pressure had been too much.  Then they go find another partner and live in a different city in a more-or-less low-maintenance dwelling, but soon afterwards, having never undergone a renovation, they find that they miss the original lover.  That's about as much as I remembered from it.  Maybe I got it all wrong, and I must find the book to quote from it properly.  


In the meantime, I must decide whether it's bamboo or brick.

Why Wedding Venues Must Be Picture-Perfect

The other day I was watching Rachel Getting Married starring Anne Hathaway, directed by Jonathan Demme, and it occured to me that from now on whenever I'd think of wedding scenes in films, I'd always fall back on this particular film for reference.  

Anne Hathaway, by the way, isn't Rachel.  At best, she's the younger sister, the designated black sheep of the family, briefly released from rehab so she can attend the event.  Which is what sets the tension in the story.  Prodigal daughter arrives, unnerves everyone, upsets the balance, and in a brief scene, mounts a guy she has seen for the first time, who turns out to be the best man.  I think.

But back to the wedding plans.  Those guys make it look easy.  I don't remember seeing any wedding coordinator in the film, but somehow they've managed among themselves to set up a tent, hire a band, conduct rehearsals, decorate the venue, decide on seating plans (using tokens and trinkets and toys), etc.  

And to emphasize the whole hands-on virtue of the affair, bride and groom, attired in aprons over their tux and gown, serve platters of foods for their guests.  Oh wow!  The entire film is like a 120 minute audio-visual guide on how to prepare for a wedding, family drama and issues included.  If you're wedded already, chances are you'd be saying to yourself, gee, I wish this is how we did it.


 

* * * 
While I'm a fan of DIY, I'd prefer it if there was a coordinator.  Being wedded is stressful enough, so let an expert problematize the details, like wine glass curvature and allergen-free desserts. 

One other thing I realized about venues becoming very, very crucial for the couple's big event: technology.  Or to be exact, Wi-Fi, iPhones, and Facebook.  In the old days of the camera, we had to wait for the photos to be developed, and if we're lucky, bride and groom sends us a copy.       

Now, everyone is armed with digicams, iPads, and those super duper DSLR cameras  with super duper lens.  Suddenly, everyone is a photographer.  And what's more is that we can upload those pictures on Facebook right away for others to see.  

Therefore, it's not enough for the venue to be grand and spectacular and romantic; it should be a knockout as well.  After all, those perfect gardens will be forming the backdrop for your pics.  No wonder luxury venues for weddings--undoubtedly the most important milestone in our lives--are still the harried, finicky couple's best option.  (See estate weddings.)

In Rachel Getting Married, the reception was held at the family home, which goes to show you can organize a grand event in your own residence and still be elegant at it, and not appear a cheapskate.  Sure, I'm all for it.  But then I remember that's just the movies, where things look easy, and gourmet food appears out of nowhwere, and the bride and groom wait on tables without a hassle.

* * *

The Ten Best wedding scenes in films (Oddly enough, Rachel Getting Married  is not included). 

Omelet for the Vegetarian in You

Told you there'd be more omelet recipes.  This one is Edge's doing, a healthy vegetarian omelet.  (You can never go wrong with malunggay, you know.)  Hopefully, you're the lacto-ovo-vegetarian kind, because brother, we must put eggs in the omelet.

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 red bell pepper, slivered

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, sliced,

2 tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup malunggay leaves

cheese, diced

salt & pepper

1. In a wok, fry the onion and garlic.  

2. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, cheese, and malunggay leaves.

3. Set aside on a plate.

3. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk the egg, seasoning it with salt and pepper.

4. Fry the egg, swirling the pan so the mixture spreads thinly.

5. Scoop the ingredients atop the egg, and fold.

6. And there you go.

Enjoy!  :)

Bad Barbecue

Omelet via Microwave

For those times the gas range ran out of gas, and you need breakfast badly (who doesn't?):


A microwaved omelet.


Ingredients


2 Onions, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 of a head of Cabbage, sliced
1 egg
Salt
Pepper
Chili flakes
Cooking oil, 1 tsp


1. In a Pyrex dish, put the oil, onions, and tomatoes.  
2. Pop into the oven for a minute and a half.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk an egg and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.  Top with cabbage slices.
4. Take the Pyrex out of the oven and add the whisked egg.
5. Cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Enjoy!


Wow, it's been a looong while since I last updated this so-called recipe blog, and my come-back entry is... omelet?  Sure.  Why not?