PlayDate with DollGirl.

Today, my DollGirl came home with me after school. I had planned that we were going to go to the beach, since she is a little girl after my own heart and loves the beach just as much, if not more, than I do! However, it was raining...and we got home later than I thought.

After school, I also have the job of cleaning the school (every extra bit of money helps when you are living in Hawai'i!)...and she so desperately wanted to help me clean. I had told her that if she stayed in my classroom and played while I cleaned, it would get done faster and we would have time to go to the beach...but she really wanted to help me and who am I to deny the help of child wanting to help me clean?! So I let her help me clean. And lets just say, that we did have a lot of fun cleaning...there were a lot of laughs, giggles, and teaching moments...but it also took an hour and fifteen minutes longer for me to finish cleaning. To be fair, I did clock out my normal cleaning time...and just had fun with cleaning with my DollGirl. She loves to clean...more like, she loves to be helpful in any way that she can. I mean, I did get her her own tool set and tool belt so that she can help her dad build and fix things! I also know that she likes being with people she loves and cares for and she loves to learn new things...and so I love that about her. One of the million things I love about her.

Her mom already told me that she was going to come by my house to pick her up at around 6:30ishy after giving the little brother a bath. DollGirl and I got to my house at 5:30. Her mom had sent Mac and Cheese for dinner...and we had to cook it and eat it fast since the little brother is severely allergic to cheese. She wanted to eat dinner at the beach...but I already knew that there was no way that we could have made it without rushing...and so I told her that while the mac and cheese was cooking, we could make berry/mango smoothies and drink it out on the roof top (another place that she enjoys going) as dessert...so we had to eat fast!

As the mac and cheese was cooking I had turned on the music...and I do have a microphone that I am guilty of dancing and lipsyncing to! And DollGirl and I danced and sang to "Five Little Monkeys" and "The Wheels on the Bus" and other kid songs! It was so fun and we laughed and laughed and laughed. While the smoothies were staying cool in the fridge awaiting for our excursion to the roof top, we ate the mac and cheese. I love having conversations with my DollGirl. She is so much fun to talk to. The memories that she remembers is amazing for someone who has only lived 4 years! She recalls so vividly!

On Monday, she had come with me to my favorite pet store and helped me pick out another Betta fish, since my BamBam Jr. died a month ago. I've had him for about 3 years and I was really sad to see him go...so I waited a month to get another one...but when I went to go out to get another one, DollGirl came with me and chose a 1/2 Moon Betta fish. Very gorgeous one...that we are still trying to pick a name for it! (When we decide on the name, he will have his own introducing post!) But she was telling me all the fish in detail that she saw at the fish store...and she was even able to point out the fish that I had!

But while we were eating our Mac and Cheese, she really wanted her smoothie too, and so I told her that if we drink it now, we couldn't go out on the rooftop to drink it...and she said that that was okay...and so we ate our mac and cheese and drank our smoothies...all the while laughing, talking, and singing to the music.

I love that girl, and I always have fun with her. I pray for her everyday. And I love her. I love her. I love her.

Painting and Yema.

Today was an early start for me. My landlady wanted to repaint my outside porch and since I like to paint (when my brother-in-law lets me!), it's therapeutic to me!, I offered my help and so since I wanted it to dry faster, I decided to start early this morning. I didn't take all that long...but I had to make sure that I was staying in for the rest of the day since I won't be able to walk on my porch with the wet paint!

I first painted going down the stairs...that took less than 10 minutes...but I did wait an hour or so to paint a second coat.

I had to move all my stuff down to the end of my porch and we're going to paint that section down there at a later date. This area literally took less that 25 minutes...it was quick. But like I mentioned earlier...a hour later I did paint a quick second coat since it started sprinkling rain when I was nearly 2/3 done!

 

I left the space directly in front of my door free, so that I can still go outside for just a little bit! *laughs* My landlady said that she would paint it when I am at work and so it won't bother me much. :) Not that it would have...but that's okay. :)

Since I was stuck in the house for the rest of the day, I had to find things to entertain myself...and I decided that I would make yema! I remember when I use to eat yema all the time when I was in the Philippines; it was one of my most favorite treat to have and Jyn and Joy taught me how to make it myself!

I know that there are several ways to make it...and since I didn't have any egg in the house, I decided to make it without eggs this time.

I melted the butter first...and it smelled like buttery goodness! :)

Then when the butter was all melted I poured the sweetened condense milk in...I had extra that I was saving the fridge that I also added...couldn't hurt, no?! If anything, more yema! Then I mixed the shit out of the thing F  O   R   E   V   E   R! I mean...it seemed like forever...! For nearly 30 minutes I had to stand there and mix, mix, mix, stir, stir, stir...over and over and over again and again and again...you get my point. I had forgotten how forever that can seem. You don't want the milk to get burned, so you have to constantly be moving that baby...so mix, stir, mix, stir for a L   O     N     G time.

When it was the right consistency, I dumped the blob of yumminess on a plate to cool. The smell brought back SO MUCH wonderful memories of me making this stuff in the Philippines with my two good friends Jyn and Joy. I can't think of yema without thinking of those two. I miss them so much...and we had such good times together. I miss them. 

As "the blob" was cooling down, I prepared a bowl of plain sugar and one with cinnamon and sugar.

And there is the finished product. Yes, they were absolutely as delicious as I remembered...yema balls. I rolled half in the sugar and the other have in the cinnamon/sugar...and which taste better?! Both...they both tasted yummy!

Mochi Waffles.

I love mochi. I love waffles. So, naturally, since Mrs. A gifted me a brand new waffle maker yesterday, I decided to make myself some mochi waffles. Oh goodness, I sooo love waffles! I love breakfast food actually. I can eat breakfast food all day long! :)

I remember seeing this video about making mochi waffles on facebook, and so I decided to look it up again and use it in my first making of mochi waffles.

I have been wanting to try this for some time already and so was so excited to try this out! I did everything that it said to do, but I didn't put it back in the microwave for the extra 30 seconds, I didn't think that it was needed and it was SUPER sticky already. And I have to admit that although I really really wanted to have it with ice cream and whip cream, I just used syrup and butter. :)

 

So, this was how my first one turned out. I like my waffles more crunchy, and it said that it will also cook itself and be more crunchy after you take it out, but I realized that it wasn't crunchy enough for me, so I left it in the waffle for a minute longer and it turned out perfect!

So, using this batch I was able to make 4 good sized waffles.



The one on the bottom left was the perfect one for me. So as you can see I experimented with the length of time that I kept the waffle in the maker. I did keep it on medium heat though and left it on for 8 minutes. And yes, it was sooo good! And dare I say it, but it didn't need the butter and barely any syrup it was super sweet enough and it reminded me of the Filipino dessert karioka, which I made here (minus the coconut though!) But it was so ono! If...or more like WHEN I make these again, I think that I would use a different recipe though. It was really sweet and sticky and hard to eat with a fork since it kept sticking. And I saw other recipes using 1/2 sweet rice flour and 1/2 regular white flour, so I might try that one. But in all seriousness, you need to try this, it's sooo good! And maybe next time I will use the ice cream and whip cream AND raspberries! :)

Day 14 of 30 Days of Gratitude.

Day #14: What sight are you grateful for today?

Well, I woke up early this morning, and so I ran/jogged/walked the Lanikai loop and stopped and stayed at the beach afterwards and this was like at 5:30 in the morning...and I was able to see the sunrise. So I would have to say I am grateful for the sunrise at the beach is the sight that I am grateful for for today. I hope that I never take for granted that I am able to witness such a beautiful sight. I love the ocean...and at that time there is next to no one there, and it's so calm but not quiet. It's nature quiet. I hope one day you will know what that means. The birds were just waking up so they were calling to each other, the ocean waves were kissing the shore, and the morning calm stillness was surrounding me as I watched the sky grow lighter and lighter as the sun rose. It wasn't as pink as I've seen it before..but it was just as beautiful. And I am so grateful for being able to see that today.

Karioka

Calzone.

I was sad because 4 of my kids were absent because they were sick! I know that it was a junk weekend...but it couldn't have been THAT junkie that they would get sick! Well, I hope that I will see them all on Wednesday! 

Today was board meeting, and Karlie had asked us to make a wish list of our classroom for this month! She said to go fully at it...and not worry about cost or anything...but we had to be reasonable about the thing that we wanted...

...and because I am just the way that I am, I like to really think about what I needed, or wanted, or the things that I could just make myself. 

But at the end, I think the total of the things that I wanted was around $1, 500...and I don't think that was bad at all...considering that my classroom has not had a makeover in YEARS! Even years before the one before me started! And she started YEARS ago! For the most part, we have awesome parents that have donated a lot of things, so that has helped, but there are things that I wanted for the children...and so I'm glad that we were allowed to make our wish list...

When I got home, I was HUNGRY! So I decided to make myself a calzone thingy...

I know, I went a little camera happy here...but I can't even begin to tell you how YUMMY! it was! I, obviously, was not able to eat the whole thing, so I have enough for lunch tomorrow and I'm excited about that. :) It was really yummy, I'm telling you. :)

Orzo.

When I went to go see The Lion King, I had to go straight to town after work so that I wouldn't miss the show. My goodness, I sure did NOT want to miss that magical moment...but my sister knew that I would be way too excited to eat dinner. So she made this dish and even though I insisted that I wasn't hungry because I was just way excited, she convinced me to at least eat while I was getting ready. She knew that the show was going to be long and that I will eventually get hungry.

Let me tell you, I am so glad that I listened to my Ate ko, because this simple dish was so amazingly good that I asked her to give me the recipe! I literally was stuffing this in my mouth on the way out of the door it was so yummy! *laughs*

I usually hate cooking dinner for only myself because it's never fun to make myself a "wholesome" dinner when it's just me. And for me, its a lot harder because usually the stores don't sell their food in just one serving size. *laughs* Literally this recipe called for only 1/2 cup orzo and 1/2 cup white rice...so you would think,  oh, only 1 cup yeah right! *laughs* It was a lot of food, and if I had to estimate depending on how much food your family eats, but I think this could feed a family of at least 4 with some leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I actually do not know what this is called...I just know that I had no idea what orzo was...but guess what you can find it in the pasta section in Safeway. :) But here is the ingredients/recipe if you so choose to want to try this yummy dish. I got it from my sister and I tweaked just a little bit.

1/2 cup orzo

1/2 cup white rice

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves/pieces garlic, minced

2 cups chicken (or any kine) broth

Whatever vegetables you want to use 

(I used zucinni and asparagus 

(I seriously NEVER thought I would willing buy those two vegetables! *laughs*))

1)  Sauteed onion in 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil on med/low til onion is see throughish

2)  Add orzo and turn heat to medium and stir until orzo is golden brown

3)  Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute

4)  Add rice and chicken (any kine) broth

5)  Increase temp to high and bring to a boil, uncovered

6)  Reduce heat to low (2), cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice/orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed.

7)  Depending on what your vegetables are, add them 5-10 minutes before it's finished

8)  Remove from heat and leave alone for 5 minutes

9) Fluff with fork (taste to season) and enjoy!

Actually, the way that my sister and I cook is by "eyeballing" it...so everything that is written is an estimate. That is the directions my sister gave me. I ended up adding 1/2 cup of broth more when I added the vegetables...and I just placed the vegetables on top of the orzo/rice and so it practically just got steamed. And I really don't like mushy vegetables, so I didn't steam it all that long either.

My problem whenever I cook, is that I cook SO MUCH! And so look at that! I got leftovers...which I don't mind because it's sooo yummy! Plus, I'm going to let Amanda know that she can bring some to school for lunch if she wants too. Oh yeah, and it didn't take that long to make...if anything the longest part is the simmering part. So I would say that it took me like 12 (if that) minutes to prep everything...then when I was waiting for the rice/orzo to simmer I cut up my vegetables. So, it's pretty quick to make...I like that.

I am often accused of being childish. I prefer to interpret that as child-like. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish. I still listen to instinctual urges. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. I never water my garden without soaking myself. It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work. ~Leo F. Buscaglia, Bus 9 to Paradise

Easy Bake Ravioli.

So, yesterday my housemate was prepping ahead a time a dinner she was making for her boyfriend...and the house smelled so good...and it good me missing cooking. I use to have fun cooking and baking...and then I just stopped. I don't even know why...well, I do...I'm single and it sucks cooking just for one person. But I do miss cooking for my family...baking...just making the house smell SUPER yummy...so today, I decided to try something. I'm pretty sure that some person out there in the world has tried something like this...but I remember long ago talking to my sister about this and then seeing some ideas online and so this is my take one the Easy Bake Ravioli.

First I preheated the oven to 410 degrees. I just gestimated on this actually. I actually wanted to do it on 400, however I remember in the past when I cooked with this particular oven it didn't get as hot as it said it did, so I just always add a few more degrees.

I got one bag of 5 Cheese ravioli...and I think I like this dish because I didn't even defrost or precook the ravioli! *laughs*...and since I like red sauce AND white sauce (but if I had to choose only one, I would always choose white sauce!) together, I decided to use both of them. I also decided to add green onion an cilantro. Don't ask me how much I put in there...I just like guessed. *laughs* Then I just layered the dish. One layer of uncooked ravioli...spatter some red sauce (I used Vodka Safeway Select) and some white sauce (Alfredo Safeway Select)...then I put some shredded cheese on that and then some of the cilantro and green onion mix.

I was able to do three layers of that...if you are trying this at home...just do as many layers as you want. I do this all by trial and error and by eye, I guess you can say. *laughs*

So, this is what it looked like when I was finished doing all the layers. I think that it took me less than I want to say 15 minutes...probably not even that. But it looks so yummy already!!

So I covered the whole thing in foil and set the alarm for 30 minutes. I then took the time to read. I love to read...and I feel like I rarely ever have time to read anymore! But yeah, I read...because I hate waiting...and I was already starvin' like Marvin...and so reading helped passed the time. After the 30 minutes was up...I took the foil off and then baked it for another 15 minutes and took it out of the oven.

Then the hardest part....I hate getting my tongue burned, so I set my timer for 20 and allowed it to cool for 20 minutes...again, I took this time as "me time" and read even more. I'm telling you...it really did make the time go by faster! :) Doesn't it look super yummy though?!

After 20 minutes of cooling time (which you can skip by the way if you like to burn your tongue...:)), I was able to get some...I thought that it would at least stay together more...but it didn't...but it wasn't too soupy...just very saucy and YUMMY! Oh yes, it was yummy! Very easy to make and very yummy to eat. 

And guess what?! I didn't even burn my tongue! :)