Turmeric

I just learned today that turmeric, which is a common ingredient in most Indian and Arabic dishes, is actually what we know as luyang dilaw in the Philippines. When I was still working as a cashier, I would always see Indians and Arabic people buying them. Sold in plastic bottles and already in powdered form, I never suspected it was just luyang dilaw in processed form. I just knew it as turmeric and had no idea that there is actually a Tagalog term for it.

Luyang dilaw will always hold a special place in my heart. I will always associate it with the happiest times of my childhood years. We used to grow them in our backyard, courtesy of my father who has a green thumb. When we moved to Bantayan, my father realized that he could not find it in the market. One of the things he requested for my grandfather to bring back from his visit in Bogo were several bulbs of luyang dilaw for planting. My father had always loved cooking valenciana when we were still living in Manila. One of the ingredients that make this dish special is luyang dilaw. He would cook it during Sundays, which were his rest days. As a child, I was always left in awe when a fragrant platter of yellow-colored rice with pork, liver, pimientos, peas, and raisins is served at the table. Unfortunately, my father never got the chance to use the luyang dilaw he planted because we had such a rough time in Bantayan. With his unemployment, we barely had enough money to buy food then. And so, the turmeric plant in our backyard grew untouched all throughout its lifetime.

Rice with angel hair pasta

Ate Nancy was the one who taught me the basics of cooking. A friend and I rented one of her rooms when I started working in Fujairah seven years ago. Prior to my arrival in Fujairah, the only cooking methods I knew doing myself were frying and boiling. But thanks to her, my cooking skills have greatly improved. One of the recipes I will always associate with Ate Nancy was her rice cooked with angel hair pasta. I recently learned that there's a Greek version of this recipe. This rice meal was always accompanied by her chicken wings cooked in tomato paste and chili powder. Oh, those memories. It's just sad that I forgot to ask Ate Nancy for her chicken recipe and I've lost contact with her. I still know how to cook her rice recipe but it will never be the same without her chicken wings.

So, before these nostalgic musings overwhelm me, I'm posting the rice recipe here.

Rice with angel hair pasta

2 cups of uncooked rice (the long-grained variety is better)
1 cup of uncooked angel hair pasta, broken into inch-long pieces
1 tablespoon of butter
water (maybe 4 cups will do at first)
a pinch of salt

Rinse the rice. Mix all the ingredients in a cooking pot. Stir occassionally when the mixture comes to a boil. Add a little water if necessary but be careful about making it soggy. Turn the heat down when the rice is about to cook.

Korean rice rolls

For so long, I have wanted to make Korean rice rolls or kim bap but something always comes up that prevents me from doing so. It's been eons since I last ate some. Since we transferred to Talamban, I haven't got around to making them. First of all, the ingredients to making rice rolls are expensive. I used to keep some rice vinegar and sesame oil but when we moved, I somehow forgot to take them with me. And so, I have no choice but to buy all the ingredients which I expect will cost around 500 bucks. When I think of the number of kilos of rice I can buy with this money, my craving for rice rolls instantly crumbles. But then and again, it comes back and haunts me.

Making Korean rice rolls is actually very easy and fun at the same time. The first time I made it, I used malagkit rice in lieu of Japanese rice. The price of the Japanese rice is atrociously expensive by the way. A year ago, it costs around a hundred bucks per kilo. I have no idea how much it costs now. Anyway, malagkit rice tastes okay but its definitely a struggle rolling them into the nori sheets. Because they are so gooey, my rice rolls didn't look that pretty. Kim bap usually requires yellow radish, crab sticks, and bacon. I decided not to use these ingredients and settled for ham instead. All in all, my rice rolls turned out delicious despite of its meagre ingredients. I realized that I can substitute several of the usual ingredients but I can't omit sesame oil and rice vinegar. The combination of sesame oil and rice vinegar give kim bap its distinct and delicious taste. And of course, how could I forget the nori sheets? They wouldn't be called rice rolls if not for this very important ingredient.

Moringa pesto sauce

Pesto sauce made from malunggay leaves? Yes, I myself was a bit surprised and yet thrilled when I saw it featured in a tv show. The lowly yet nutrition-packed leaves we just pluck from our neighbor's backyard can be great alternative to the usual basil leaves used in pesto sauce. Pesto, by the way, is a sauce made from pounded basil leaves, cheese, nuts and olive oil, and added to pasta for an authentic Italian dish. Pasta with pesto sauce is actually much healthier than the usual spaghetti and carbonara we Filipinos are more familiar with. Basil leaves are not that popular here in the Philippines because we don't normally add them to our dishes. As expected, it is difficult to find them in supermarkets. Anyway, back to malunggay or moringa in English, I can't imagine how the taste will turn out if I try making a sauce out of this at home. But it's cheap and accessible. So, it won't be that heartbreaking if I make a disastrous meal. I'll post the recipe here if I get to make it.

Zombie

After five consecutive days of feeling like a zombie due to lack of sleep, I felt so happy for the first time in days as I was able to get a quality 5-hour sleep last night. Yesterday, I asked my sisters to buy unisome for me. However, the pharmacy nearest to our house does not sell them anymore so I was not able to take a sleeping pill. Having an insomnia really sucks because I can't focus on my work. And when I can't focus, the quality of my abstracts suffers. And I can't afford that. In my line of work, I have to be conscious of everything I write before I transmit it to our client. Otherwise, they might just decide to pull out the project and everyone will have to suffer.

So, what finally helped me to sleep? Here's what I took and did.

1. Two glasses of lukewarm milk.
2. A litany of prayers.
3. Several bouts of breathing exercises.