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September first. In the West, it means the start of a new school year. In the Philippines, it means the beginning of the longest Christmas season in the world. Department stores and supermarkets will soon be holding year-end sales (if they haven’t already) to give way to Christmas stuff. Christmas carols will be played to wear down the buyer and give in to the urge to buy something Christmassy. The power of suggestion.
Continue reading 'The first day of the first ‘ber’ month' →
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(Yesterday’s column)
When I read a couple of weeks ago that the incidence of dengue in Caloocan City had risen by 500 percent, I was shocked. That was were I grew up and, even back then, the mosquito situation was already bad. The story goes that when I was a toddler, my father required the nanny [...]
Continue reading 'Citronella versus dengue' →
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Cheese is essentially concentrated milk and it is rich in calcium and protein. It is also a good source of phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. Some quarters say, however, that the fat content of cheese makes it a health hazard and cheese packaging should contain warnings in the same way that cigarette packs do. Right, something like “Cheese kills!” The prudent thing to do is to choose low-fat cheeses. Or, better yet, to observe moderation in eating cheese, as with most everything else.
These muffins are best eaten right out of the oven while the cheeses are all gooey and melty. If you want to pack them for your kids’ school recess, I suggest a well insulated lunch bag.
Continue reading 'Herb and cheese muffins' →
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There is a section in my food Web log about the packed school lunches that I prepare for my daughters. For over two years, I have been trying to document the school lunches with the goal of encouraging mothers to pay more attention to what their children eat. I cook early in the morning, take [...]
Continue reading 'Choices mothers make' →
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We needed to replenish the stock of vegetables in the house so I went to the supermarket yesterday. Typhoon Frank lashed across the country over the weekend and resulted in massive blackouts so a lot of food items were on sale. You know how it is — food items need to be kept at a [...]
Continue reading 'Hard to resist Ghirardelli baking chocolates at 70% off' →
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When I submitted today’s column, I hadn’t really made up my mind about whether to ditch Splenda or not (if you’re new here, read the related entry). But a few hours after the deadline, Speedy and I had a discussion. It appears that he had been receiving warnings from friends too about Splenda. So even [...]
Continue reading 'End of love affair with Splenda' →
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Early yesterday morning, Speedy received a text message from his sister, Susan, saying that their mother had been rushed to the hospital and was in ICU. She had a mild heart attack, was out of danger but her vital signs were being monitored. We weren’t able to get too many details until we got to [...]
Continue reading 'Plus one point for living in the suburb' →
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One of the biggest attractions of the new house is the large kitchen. The biggest attraction of the large kitchen is the center island with granite top that is simply ideal for kneading dough to make bread. Buying the house was a done deal weeks before I went into surgery last month. When I was [...]
Continue reading 'I can have my cake and eat it too' →
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The school year began a week ago for a lot of kids. Mine won’t go back to school until Friday. And that’s a good thing, really, since I’ve been out of commission for the past so many days. If your kids are like mine, then the school year opening also means no more sleeping late [...]
Continue reading 'Back to school' →
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The TV in the living room is on. Sam keeps it on even when she’s on her computer doing whatever. She hates the sound of silence. Kids…
Anyway, she called my attention when there was this announcement that actor Rudy Fernandez has died after years of fighting cancer. Being a celebrity, his cancer treatments, the ups [...]
Continue reading 'How long and hard will you fight for your life?' →
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