how the christmas season was spent

The pinch of the Christmas celebration for me this year started nine days before the fateful day. December 15-16 were mostly spent at the malls for some shopping and a frantic search for my wife’s costume for their party slated the following Monday. Last December 16, we met my parents for lunch and some more shopping at SM Makati after attending the morning service at my wife’s church.

Hoping to impress upon my mother and father a good lunch, I took them to the Tsoko Nut at SM’s second floor where we ordered several treats including their Chicken Rolls, Diniguan, Pinoy Pork Steak and for Ikai, Spaghetti Hardinero, with a sampling of their guava juice good enough for four. Unfortunately though, the Tsoko Nut branch failed our expectations as service was grossly late. Our food was served some 40 minutes after being ordered and to top it all the rice was half-cooked, which was a no-no to my rice-loving father.

My baby’s yaya went off to the province for a two-week Christmas break last December 17 and since the 18th, my little family and I were temporary residents of Pateros. Until early next year, we will be living at my sister-in-law’s home near the San Jaoquin-Pasig-Pateros border where Ikai will be babysit by her titas and her lola. I would’ve preferred to stay in Makati but since we can’t find anyone we can trust to stay with our daughter, the most logical and practical solution was to relocate to Pasig/Pateros where at least there’ll be relatives to take care of Ikai.

Thus, it has been a trying two-weeks with my wife and I adjusting to the travel it takes (4 transfers via commute or it’s a Php 150 cab fare … if you manage to catch a cab, that is). Today, thanks to the non-stop rain, we managed to get to the office good enough for a half-day credit.

Then on the afternoon of the 23rd we went home to Laguna. Yes, my wish to spend Christmas at our Makati apartment failed to materialize and my wife and I, along with Ikai, spent Christmas Eve with my parents at good ole SPL.

Christmas Eve dinner on the 24th was a simple fare – sinahog (a kakanin made of malagkit or sticky rice sweetened with melted brown sugar), chicken-macaroni salad, beef asado, mocha cake, and good old PF ham.

My sisters called to wish us their holiday cheers and jeers.

Rochelle called towards midnight of the 24th while on her way to another check-up. Our Tita Zaret was with her and she also wished us her holiday cheer and discussed at length with moi, a proposal that will enable me to save money from the apartment rent.

Wheng called the next day, mid-morning of Christmas Day since she had a hard time getting through the previous night. She said she greeted Christmas Day at work and was looking forward to her one month vacation starting next week.

And speaking of Wheng, an additional Christmas cheer-me-upper was the arrival of two balikbayan boxes from Dubai. My sister said she sent them via cargo ship a month ago and they arrived just a few days before Christmas. I happily opened up the boxes and meticulously inspected each and every item trying to determine for whom this or that was for.

My father was disappointed that the magic videoke microphone was not part of the two boxes sent after seeing the songbook menu and immediately asked us to SMS Wheng to ask where the videoke system was. I obliged and we later learned that Wheng was bringing the videoke system with her, hand-carried, when she arrives on the 30th.

And what were the contents of the two boxes? Here goes the list – wool blankets, a BBQ grill, chocolates, kitchen cooking implements, toothpaste, more chocolates, several variants of “tester” parfums for men and women (Wheng worked in the perfume section of Dubai Duty Free for some time so had access to “testers”), purses and handbags, fat-free cookies (for me and my old man), more perfume, two basic baby cubes for Ikai, more chocolates, cooking pans, a plates and sauces organizer tray, more and more chocolates, tshirts, Wheng’s uniforms when she was an usherette at the 2007 Dubai Tennis Masters, the tennis tourneys’ souvenir program, a couple of dresses for Ikai, and more and more and more chocolates.

Among the gifts she sent, I personally am as excited as my Pop with the videoke system but was exceptionally thrilled with the Crocs. Though a bit tight on the entrada, the choco-brown Beach crocs looked good. Wheng even threw in a couple of accessories, one for each pair – an acoustic guitar on one, and an electric guitar on the other. Elvie and Ikai also received Crocs, or, in the case of Ikai, Croclets, from Wheng. Elvie got her Mary Janes, colored seafoam while Ikai’s Croclets are a pair of Kids Cayman, colored fuschia. One of Ikai’s shirts was actually a terno with the fuschia Crocs – a long-sleeved number with fushcia stripes and collar.

Another delight albeit apprehensively received by moi was the Dunhill Desire perfume (which I just learned is completely called Dunhill Desire Red) I saw and immediately assumed was for Men. The fragrance was distinctly male but the name “Desire” had given me second thoughts whether this scent was for women. A quick check on the web some minutes ago confirmed that this Dunhill fragrance at least, was for men and I have it.

Yesterday, the 25th, my family and I had to leave Laguna because today, the 26th, was not declared a holiday.

New Year celebrations will again be at SPL but will be a more joyous occasion since Wheng will be here for her month-long vacation. A few days after New Year, the entire family will be trekking to Baguio for a few days of vacationing.

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Aside from the Crocs (which immediately saw action today because of the rains and mercifully survived the flooded path to RCBC Plaza), and the Dunhill Desire Red (which will be put to good use immediately), another “gift” I look forward to using but first have to install first, is my new DVD writer. After more than three years since first yearning for a DVD ROM, I finally perked up some cash to finally buy one. I actually have been shopping since the middle of this month but after failing to find an available one ready for purchase at the PC shops at the malls, I got my new DVD writer via my wife’s suppliers.

My current CD writer will now find a new home in my wife’s office PC as it gives way to the new DVD writer.

Now, I can finally start amassing the newer games which only come out in DVD format. Top on my list is The Sims 2 :)

sweet tooth delight -- milk rice

Not satiated by the dinner earlier this evening, I now find myself, at 11:25pm, eating anew, this time with a dish of my own concocting which I just christened a few minutes ago as Milk Rice.

Look at the picture, isn't it quite delectable? Milk rice is a rice meal, a congee, a porridge of sorts and a dairy product all rolled into one. The best milk rice is sticky, sweet, and mouthful.

To create milk rice you will need:

• cooked steam rice
• powdered milk
• sugar
• water (preferably drinkable water)

First off, you put in the desired amount of rice you want in a bowl (yes, a bowl is the most preferred dish implement for this dish) depending on how hungry you are but don't fill your bowl. If you want to eat a lot, use a bigger bowl.

Then measure a desired amount of sugar. If you're diabetes-conscious, you can use artificial sweeteners but nothing beats the real thing. The amount of sugar you put depends on your sweet tooth. Mix the rice and sugar until sugar is evenly distributed.

You then liberally apply powdered milk on the rice-sugar mix. Again, the amount of powdered milk really depends on your taste. If you want it to be creamy and powdery then feel free to empty the entire content of a powdered milk foil pack. If you want it light and thin, then a few spoonfuls should be enough.

Mix the entire thing lightly then add water. Water is needed to completely mix the entire concoction. Just add enough water to make the mixture mud-like. You don't want too much water as it'll feel like you're eating rice with milk sauce but you wouldn't want your mixture lacking water or otherwise it'll seem that you're eating polvoron mixed with rice. The right amount of water makes the mixture mud-like and sticky.

For good measure, you may want to add a few more spoonfuls of powdered milk to top the mixture.

The perfect milk rice is sticky to eat. It is best not to thoroughly mix the entire thing so that pockets of milk powder will be retained and released when you munch the thing in your mouth. While eating, it is advised to lightly mix the vat in between spoonfuls to distribute milk and sugar evenly but then again, not to overdo it or you may end up with a milk soup especially if you put in a formidable amount of water.

For the longest time since I was old enough to reach my mother's cupboard, I've been making this strange food combination whenever there's no other food available or when I don't like what's being set on the dining table. It's quick and easy to make, and the ingredients are readily available. It provides carbo, calcium and an insulin intake and thus, for medical purposes (ehem, ehem), helps prevent osteoporosis.

The milk rice had its origins in my youth. Before milk rice, I used to eat rice with sugar (yes, just sugar) as a contra to the popular rice and salt (as in nagdidildil ng asin saying). Because eating sweetened rice can become a sore, one day I saw the powdered milk my mother brought and proceeded to add it to the milk and sugar mix. The texture was wrong somehow and that's where the water came in.

It will take you several tries to come up with the perfect milk rice but then again, I never measure the ingredients ... I just dump everything in a bowl, mix and presto -- instant satisfaction.

And what does the household think of my gastronomic delight? My mother doesn't like it, my father thinks I'm weird eating this dish, my sisters can only stare at me oddly and say "yukk" and my wife is absolutely bloody amazed I can eat this stuff.

I tried this dish with liquid evaporated milk but it just doesn't cut it. The powdered milk adds a new sensation to eating milk rice --- stickiness and sweetness rolled into one.