The Bessies Got Married!

Drew and I met at a training class for a call center company in December of 2006. At that time, I already had a boyfriend. I've been in class with him for almost a month but didn't really get to be acquainted with him until the pyrotechnics display at MOA in January of 2007, when my on-again-off-again boyfriend was off again. We didn't fall at first sight, in fact, I was even disgusted at his childish disposition after not being able to eat dinner on time on our first date. But we liked each other's company so much that we called each other bessy. None of us claimed that we're a couple, telling everyone we're just bestfriends. After a month of being bestfriends, we conceived Ella. Back then everyone thought it was just another whirlwind romance of kids who just played with fire. I thought so too and even prepared myself to be left alone.

Fast forward to 2012, we're still together and our relationship grew stronger than ever. We decided to get married on January 13, 2013 - our 6th anniversary, getting ourselves ad iPad and an iPod as engagement gifts. We intended to have a simple church wedding, but because of a series of quite unfortunate events, we bacame bankrupt. Drew wanted to still go through with a wedding and a civil wedding is the most practical one. We processed our papers and by January, our marriage license was ready.

In Mandaluyong, it's the judge's decision when they can marry a couple. And because we can't afford any delay in our marriage because we already filed leaves for it, we were advised to check Manila. In the morning of January 7, 2013, we woke up a bit late because Isabella had been experiencing very high fever for quite a while then. We entrusted her to my mom and without having taken a bath, we went to Manila City Hall to inquire about a wedding. To our surprise, the representative there said that we can get married anytime! So we did! Right then and there!

Maybe we're used to things happening in an instant. Maybe we're good at turning unplanned events into great beginnings. But one thing remains the same, Drew and I are meant to be. And we are confident that whatever happens, we're still gonna be together. So life, bring it on!!!


your every woman,

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My Choice

I don't buy updated clothes and shoes. I'll wear whatever is in my closet.

I prefer to get married on a mass wedding. It's ok if I don't get engagement ring or my dream wedding.

Luxury for me means buying Human Heart Nature toiletries or affordable make up to go with the collection I intend to gain profit from; having the time to do a completely DIY mani, pedi, hotoil, wax, and facial --not all at the same time and usually, once in a blue moon; attending medical check ups when any of us are sick and buying everything from the doctor's prescription.

I don't sport an expensive drink or ice cream.

I don't spend Christmas money on gifts and gadgets.

We don't frequently go to the movies or an expensive vacation out of town. Weekend family mall trips and grocery is the best we can have at the moment.

We didn't want to risk paying a huge amount monthly for a brand new car. Same reason we haven't bought a house yet.

I can't quit work to study or follow my passion of make-up artistry.

I may be working with a relatively bigger than average salary. I may have a husband who earns about the same thing. On the other hand, there's the rent, electricity, water, cable tv, internet and phone bills. Ella is already in school, I can't even enroll her to a school I think is best. Nor be there to tutor her in this early stage of her academic development.

Back in the day, I dreamed waay bigger than the state I currently am. Life is tough. I stumbled and even though I was able to get up, I'm crippled. I want to dream big again...At least, make sure that my kids get a better shot at life than I did and bessy and I get a problem-free retirement. Because of this, I make sure all extra money go to a home fund, a pension plan and a passbook. So when you see me wearing lint covered washed up clothes, having no ring on my finger, having the same chipped nail polish on my nails for several consecutive weeks, drinking free coffee from the office, not owning anything from Apple, not posting weekend getaways on Facebook, living in different houses every so often, and offering free make up sessions to practice what I've learned from Youtube...don't pity me. Just please respect the choices that I make because these are all part of a great plan.

your every woman,

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Lunch Date with College Friends + Binagoongang Tilapia

It's such a fine time to be with friends. I rarely have time to join reunions because of my hectic work schedule plus the fact that I seem to be the only mom in my circle (maagang lumandi! LOL). But when I do attend, it really makes me very happy! I can't imagine after 6 years of being out of school, this was the only time I learned about what truly happened with the rodent I trained for Theories of Learning (may he rest in peace...)! Aaaah...the things that unfold at reunions, priceless!

What I really like about this bunch is that, even though I've only been with them for 3 sems, they never made me feel out of place. Love you guys!

It was during this lunch date at Banana Leaf when their Tilapia dish was such a hit to Drew that he requested I dupe the recipe. Drew is not very fond of fish dishes, so once he requests, it's my pleasure to oblige!

Forgive me Banana Leaf because I do not know the actual name of the dish but I sure hope you won't mind me satisfying the cravings of my man by attempting to capture such dish in our very own binagoongang tilapia.

Ingredients:

1 kg Tilapia brushed with a little salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 heaping tablespoons Chinese bagoong (I used the one from Kamayan)

2 tbsp cane vinegar

1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup water

1 tbsp brown sugar

salt

1. Fry garlic until golden brown. Drain and set aside

2. Saute the Chinese bagoong in oil used to fry garlic with onions and tomatoes.

3. Add vinegar, cornstarch solution and brown sugar.

4. Cook in low fire until saucy consistency is achieved

5. Fry the Tilapia.

6. Pour bagoong sauce over fried tilapia and top with fried garlic.

I wonder what it would taste like if we replace cornstarch mixture with coconut milk? Try it and let me know ok?

your every woman,

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A Sweet Dupe: Chicboy's Turones Caramel Sauce

You know what? Before Chicboy came up with this turones dip, we've loved a similar concoction from a man selling kutsinta at the Boni MRT. He smothers his kutsinta with a thicker version of this caramel and it was sooo delicious. Drew's mom asked him how he made the sauce and he said, he simply had to boil a can of condensed milk. I don't know if cans have BPA, but there must be something unhealthy about boiling something inside a can, don't you think?

I can't say my version is the easiest way to do it because I've wasted about 3 cans of condensed milk just to get the desired result. And oh, the agony of having to wait for the condensed milk to turn brown!!! Might as well get them from Chicboy (They sell turones for P35 with a small serving of sauce and you can always ask for extra!).

Anyway, this is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 small can condensed milk

hot water

1. Place any kind of pan over low fire. Pour all the contents of condensed milk on it.

2. Heat the condensed milk while stirring constantly. If you feel that the sauce is getting too thick, pour around 1/4 cup of hot water on it. NOTE: Be sure that the water is really hot. I tried regular tap water and ended up getting hard caramel candy!

3. Continue with step 2 until you get the desired brown-ness of your caramel. After this, pour the last 1/4 cup of hot water, stir until somewhat saucy in consistency and turn off the heat on your stove.

4. Let it cool.

This is basically just burnt condensed milk, you know? So if you want the taste to be more milky, don't brown it too much. If you want more flavor, burn it some more. But more importantly, decide if you really want to make it, haha!

And for the presentation:

Will you marry me?

YOUR every woman,

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Crepe Out of Pancake Batter

Ella loves pancakes so much! I wanted to make her boring pancakes extra special by adding mangoes (her favorite fruit), whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. But then, I realized...these are the same ingredients of a crepe! I searched the Internet and found out that it is indeed possible to make crepe out of pancake batter! Here's how:

Ingredients for cream:

1 tetra pack of Nestle cream

1/2 of a small can of Alaska condensed milk

1. Mix and freeze.

Ingredients for crepe:

200g pancake mix (we use Maya)

egg

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk (can be powdered milk mixed with water)

2 tbsp cooking oil

1. Mix everything like you would to regular pancakes.

2. Heat a frying pan and add a drop of cooking oil.

3. Pour half a cup of the batter and flatten it circularly as it dries up into crepe. Cook it like regular pancakes but be extra careful because it's thinner. A non-stick frying pan would do best for this job, but we don't have one (*ehem* Christmas! *ehem*)

4. Keep repeating step 2 for succeeding crepes.

5. Refrigerate the crepes.

6. Once cold, layer one side with frozen cream, add mangoes, roll, and pour syrup over.

It's very easy! You should try it!

your every woman,

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