My First Attempt to Cook Seriously

My mom is a great cook. My younger sister also has a talent in whipping any kind of dishes, particularly in baking homemade cookies. On the other hand, I considered myself as one of the worst cooks in the world. I tried to cook twice or thrice during my teen days and it ended up as a kitchen disaster. I recalled frying hotdog without removing its plastic (because I thought it’s similar to longganisa) and cooking gelatin that never formed. Due to those incidents, I promised to myself that I’ll never cook again.

I never thought that I’ll break that promise when I met my very loving boyfriend who really loves to eat and whose mom is also an excellent cook. He inspired me to learn how to cook and that’s one of my goals this year. So with the help of easy-to-follow recipe books and cooking blogs on the Internet, I’m now ready to start my cooking adventures! Here is the first ever recipe that I decided to make.

Tuna Sandwich adapted from Nestle Philippines Recipe

Preparation Time: 00:05
Cooking Time: 00:05
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup CARNATION Evap
1 cup water
2 tbsp flour
200 g tuna flakes (drained)
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan or kawali.
2. Cook stirring constantly until thick. Cool and use as filling for bread and crackers.

Note: I didn’t include the pickles because I don’t like its taste. I also made the flour 3 tbsp instead of 2 tbsp because after stirring for a few minutes I noticed that the mixture didn’t thicken.

Verdict: My first ever attempt to cook seriously is a success! I used the filling on toasted bread and it tastes like tuna carbonara sauce on bread. It’s yummy My mom and my sister also like it and they finished everything. By the way, pardon me for the low quality of my photos, they are just taken using my cellphone camera. I can’t wait for my next recipe

IBS Sufferer

I am an IBS sufferer for almost a year already. IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. According to the definition given by Wikipedia, it is a “functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits which are not associated with any abnormalities seen on routine clinical testing.” There are three types of IBS: IBS-D (diarrhea predominant), IBS-C (constipation predominant) and IBS-A (alternating diarrhea and constipation). I belong to the type IBS-D and let me tell you how much this disorder affects my daily life.

First of all, I can no longer eat the same foods that I used to love eating According to my gastroentorologist, as much as possible I should avoid eating food with dairy contents (e.g. milk, cheese, butter, etc) and drinking citric juices (e.g. lemonade, pineapple, calamansi, etc) and carbonated drinks. Those foods and drinks can easily trigger my stomach to switch into diarrhea mode. So I have two choices, it’s either I will eat my favorite carbonara and chocolate ice cream and later suffer from EXTREME diarrhea or I will just ignore eating my forbidden foods and have a happy stomach the whole day. Finally, I developed a fear of traveling in far places especially if public toilets are rare. I also developed a fear of getting stuck in a traffic jam because if my diarrhea suddenly attacks, then it would not be possible for me to get out of the vehicle to find the nearest toilet. In other words, because of IBS I become so obsess to toilets!

For the first few months that I’ve been suffering from IBS, I really had a difficult time adjusting to my recommended diet and to my modified lifestyle. Every time I get a diarrhea attack I can’t help but to cry because of the pain I’m experiencing. As time passes by, I already learn how to overcome my IBS. As the doctor said, IBS can’t be treated but you can do something to control the symptoms. In my case, I just avoid all the forbidden foods and my stomach will be perfectly fine. There are still some time when I suddenly have diarrhea regardless of all precautions I take, in those cases, I just take my prescribed emergency medicines (Duspatalin, Spasmo Canulase, Estomax) and after a while my stomach is back to normal. It is also good to know that my family and most especially my boyfriend understand my situation, for without their utmost care I can’t possibly survive the emotional stress caused by having IBS.

First Anniversary Celebration

Last Friday (July 27), CC (my honey) and I celebrated our first anniversary as a couple at the nearest Tokyo Tokyo restaurant in my place. Supposed to be our dinner date should take place at Tasty Dumpling Restaurant which is our favorite Chinese restaurant in Binondo because they serve the largest and the most tender pork chop we’ve ever tasted! Unfortunately, I had a terrible stomach pain that morning (diarrhea included) so I preferred eating at the nearest restaurant in my house just in case I have the need to go to the loo right after eating Regardless of my terrible gastro condition, CC and I were still able to enjoy our anniversary dinner date and it was one of our happiest moments ever. The dinner date itself was simple but it was really unforgettable Do you still remember the first time you and your boyfriend/girlfriend celebrated your anniversary together?

My First Blog Post

I love reading the blogs of people from all walks of life and from various nationalities. I find it very amusing on how people manage to share their daily life experiences through their blogs and made them available to millions of readers worldwide. I started reading my friends’ blogs last year through Friendster. I become so addicted to it that I began searching the Net for various blog sites and started reading other people’s blogs even though I don’t even know who they are. But one thing is for sure, I really learn a lot of things by simply taking a glimpse to a person’s inner thoughts and emotions through his blog. There are also some blogs that will make you smile even to your saddest days because of their humorous contents.

 

Inspired by the blogs that I’ve read, I decided to create my own blog to share to the whole world. I’ll call my blog Pink Chinita Doll because I’m half Filipino-half Chinese and I love everything that is in pink. This blog will serve as a medium for me to share my current thoughts and experiences to blog readers. I hope you will enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy reading your blogs. Blog readers, welcome to my humble blog! Oops, don’t forget to leave your comments