meal, me, and more

Although I don't get to talk intimately with hubby's business partners (especially the foreigners), I'm touched everytime they remember the family with pasalubongs. The Germans and the Japanese are the most thoughtful based on hubby's engagements but the Chinese, of course, will not drop out my list. Last week, Umezawa sensei visited the project site here. Since the financial "transactions" with hubby's group are done, he just bought some sweets for the team. Actually, only Doc Berns, hubby, and the plant owner received the token. The goodies' box was beautifully wrapped in Japanese paper. The package was so neatly arranged that I didn't want to touch it. Haha!!! I labeled it "from all over Japan" since every pack has a Japanese province/city on it. The ones visible here (pix on top) would be Tokyo, Okinawa, and Kyoto. The taste? Hmmm... most of these cuties taste like our local "hopia". The others are like "tikoy", th

God, I just need to vent! Hubby's leaving for Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand. He'll be there for a project site visit and will be back after 10 days. We're meeting in Bangkok on Oct. 31 and staying there until Nov. 4. Still, I feel so lonely. Lonely, I think, is an understatement. It's been years since we got married but I still get this empty feeling whenever he leaves out of the country. Well, I simply hate it! Why can't I wait for Oct. 31 when it's just a few days away? Why can't I feel the excitement of spending some time for a vacation to a foreign land? Why can't I just look forward to celebrating my birthday? God, good thing my babies are with me. Grrr!!! I'm going mad! Hahaha!!!

I should be accomplishing my two final papers for my Master's Degree courses, but look at what's keeping me awake at this wee hour (1 am). Tadahhhh!!! My virtual restaurant in Facebook - Cafe World ! I discover this is a lot more fun than Farmville which takes hours to cultivate and harvest. This one's more interactive (sorry to FV's fans). I just wish this wouldn't be a hindrance for me to finish this sem. What a stress reliever! Hehe...

I'm super proud of this recipe! This is the first time I cooked it, but I must say I pulled it off pretty well. The whole family, including the kids and the househelps (who have very diverse taste), loved it, too. It's pure experimentation. Haven't read anything about this recipe before coz I thought it needs to be roasted all the time. Well, I just found out I was wrong. Yeah, it took some time for me to get done, but it's OK. The taste justifies the means =) Ingredients: two baby back ribs (approximately 3/4 kg), cut into desired size 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup vinegar juice from 4 calamansi 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion, chopped peppercorns, freshly cracked 2 cups water 3 tbsp brown sugar 4 pcs bay leaf 1 tbsp oil Directions: Marinate the ribs in the first seven ingredients (from Worcestershire sauce to peppercorns) for at least an hour. After marinating, boil the ribs in low fire with the marinade and the water. Let the ribs absorb the l