Baby Cakes

The invitation said 11AM. We were running late.

Two days after arriving in the US, my mother and I were still battling with jetlag. But by some miracle and lots of understanding from my sister assigned to pick us up, we made it to the surprise baby shower for my sister-in-law, M.

My sister-in-law is on her eighth month and the party was just the thing she needed to give her that boost that everything will be alright. Though, this will be her 2nd child, the five year gap with the first birth experience is enough to blur the memory.

I marveled at the length that her best friend went to ensure that everything was perfect. From the orange themed décor and the group crafting activities



the mini-sandwiches; the oh so pretty cake



& cupcakes;



down to the toffee candy party favors given out to each guests.



Memories of past baby showers filled my mind as I looked on at her young guests—mothers in their early thirties. I listened as they gave tips to M on the latest baby trends; advances in breastfeeding techniques and eco-friendly baby wear.

I glanced at the presents all wrapped up in baby finery.



The birth of a child is considered a welcome gift by many when it is planned. But there is the sad reality of unwanted conceptions too. Sigh…

Shaking myself from that melancholy thought, I look on at my sister-in-law’s round & taunt stomach, and prayed there would be far more greater number of babies born to a welcoming and nurturing world.

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Baby Cake

1 father, mature and a pillar of strength
1 mother, soft to the touch and nurturing
1 pure and condition-free love (no substitutions)
A set of doting grandparents (great to add but, if not available, is optional)
A sprinkling of caring relatives and friends

In a bowl of love, mix well the first two ingredients. Set aside to develop in a warm and positive environment. After nine months, present to doting grandparents. A sprinkling of affection from caring relatives and friends will mean endless smiles and giggles.

May at times cause heartburns if taken too seriously. Best accompanied with prayers to ensure a lifetime of joy.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

It had been 37 years since we were thrown together by fate to share our first college years in a poorly equipped state university in what then was a small Philippine city. Most of my classmates have spread their wings and settled down in different parts of the world— mostly in the US. Of the three major reunions set, this was the first time that it was held in the US. This time around, 15 college classmates (out of about 30 or so) came together once more to celebrate friendship. The same faces, albeit with a few added pounds, white strands of hair, and life lines here and there; the same funny stories that continue to be a box office hit, retold a zillion times; and, the same tight connection that could not be easily severed or forgotten.

It is this same tight connection that embolden each to reveal poignant experiences at every reunion: initially about our growing families, our work and our interests. And as we move to the present, our stories have evolved into deeper and thought provoking insights on spirituality, the hurdles passed or continue to experience, on growing old—menopause, health issues, empty nesting, and on views of what now is really important to us.

And it is this same tight connection that moves us to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of each other. To accept, to forgive, to continue to love.

8 ~ 8 ~8 ~ 8 ~8 ~ 8 ~8 ~ 8 ~8 ~ 8 ~8 ~ 8 ~

My classmates and I never seem to tire of listening again and again about how so-and-so got drunk for the first time; or, how some of us cheated on a Spanish quiz; or, about the infamous trek up a mountain. Of course, we relived the moments with songs— ABBA, the BeeGees, Motown; and, dances of our college days--- twelve steps; swing; hassle; salsa; the bump.
But there were also newness to our get-together— some brought their siblings; some, their spouses; others, their kids ; and, still some, their best friends. Their presence and interaction widen further the circle of connection. They too felt the camaraderie and immediately felt at ease.

And our reunion would not be complete without the FOOD. Over the years, some of us have honed our cooking skills while others have stocked up on knowledge on contact numbers of delicious take-out restaurants.

What follows below is a breakfast pudding recipe prepared by a classmate who now lives in Virginia. Simple and easy. But the end result: impressive, delicious and not to be forgotten for a long while.

M’s Overnight Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients
• 1 (16 ounce) package Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
• 10 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups cubed bread (about ¾ of a loaf of bread)
• ¼ cup diced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. In large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt; stir well.
2. Distribute the bread evenly in a buttered 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the sausage, the onion and any other optional ingredient. Distribute the shredded cheese then pour egg mixture evenly over casserole.



3. Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.



Footnotes
• may be assembled ahead and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.
• You may substitute the sausage for any other preferred sausages or cold cuts like (just remember to crumble or cube before frying) :
o Ham
o Spam
o Luncheon Meat
• You might want to add the following optional ingredients:
o 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
o 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
o 1/2 cup thin-sliced green onion
o 1/2 cup broccoli flowerlets or asparagus

Different Strokes

11AM, Wednesday. Two more days to go and counting every hour until I see 3 of 4 of my second set of siblings.

Intrigued?

For ten years, I was the eldest of three girls. Being close in age, it was natural that we did everything together. Visits to the doctors, children’s parties, same school, even sharing the same room. It was also natural that we had our differences. Maybe we developed cabin fever from all that closeness. But we always managed to work things out (with the usual parental interventions: “ Say sorry and shake hands— or else”).

Then things changed. My mother (with the help of my dad) started bringing home the rest of my siblings— the 2nd set— at rapid succession. Being so much older, I was put in charge. Not of two but this time of six siblings. There were advantages to this position. Being that I like to play teacher, my student population saw an increase in number of pupils. But as my pupils grew older, it was difficult to order them to come to class.

Life at home had been lively with three girls but imagine how much livelier it became with two boys and two more girls. There were competitions on who got more of the chocolates; there were fights and threats of death (I’m going to kill you); there were arguments on who should use the phone first and for how long. The list is long.

Now that we are much older, we manage to laugh about the past. From time to time, we do argue and debate and hold fast to our opinions and beliefs. But this time, there is a respect born out of understanding and tolerance. It also helps that we continue to adhere to my parents’ rule when it comes to decision on any family issue: majority wins.

The clock ticks away.

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My siblings and I will always have different opinions on and ways of doing things—including how to cook salmon. But once tried, you will agree that the following recipes are all winners.

My Brother’s Baked Salmon in Olive Oil

3 lbs or 1.5 kilos of salmon (preferably with skin)
2- 4 sprigs of rosemary (about 2 T rosemary leaves)
1/2 c parsley, chopped (preferably the curly leaf type)
1/2 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 t pepper corn, crushed
1/2 T salt
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 c olive oil
1 large onion, chopped ( about 1 cup)

First, prepare the marinade.
In a bowl, mix 1 T of rosemary leaves, the chopped parsley, crushed garlic & pepper corn & salt with the soy sauce and olive oil.

Second, pour the marinade over the salmon and gently turn the salmon over in the marinate so the salmon is completely coated with the marinate. (Optional: Marinate for about 30mins to an hour in the fridge.)



Third, lay out the chopped onions in a baking dish-- depending on the cut of the salmon, a rectangular dish would do nicely. When done, gently, put down the salmon on top of the onions. Pour the marinate on the salmon and sprinkle the remaining 1 T of rosemary leaves.



Bake in a 400 pre-heated oven for 18 minutes or until salmon is done. You can test for doneness if the flesh comes out flaky when poked by a fork.



Serves 6 to 8 persons.


My Sister’s Salad with Baked Salmon

Baked Salmon
2 salmon steaks (250 grams)
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ med-size onion, chopped
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Oil a baking pan and arrange the halved cherry tomatoes.



Scatter the garlic and onions and lay the two salmon steaks on top. Add the rosemary leaves over the fish. Drizzle more olive oil on the fish.



Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Collect the resulting sauce and add to the dressing. Break up the salmon into bite-size pieces.



Dressing:



Put equal parts of juice from one lemon, whole grain mustard (or prepared mustard) and resulting sauce from baked salmon (eg: ¼ c lemon, ¼ c mustard, ¼ c salmon sauce) in a bottle.



Put the lid on and shake.

The Salad

A bag of mixed Salad greens
A small bundle of asparagus, trimmed and steamed
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered (optional)

Plating:
Place the mixed greens and asparagus in a large salad bowl. Top with the salmon and the rest of the contents of the baking pan (tomatoes, etc). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.



Serves 3-4 persons.

My Very Own Pan-Fried Salmon with Roasted Veggies

1 salmon Fillet (500 grams)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Pan fry with olive oil until done. Keep warm in the oven.

Pan Roasted Veggies with Italian Vinegarette
Marinade:
¼ c Olive Oil
1/8 c Balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp each oregano, basil and whatever herbs you have in your cupboard
Shake well in a bottle and pour over pan roasted veggies.

Marinate the following sliced Veggies overnight or at least a hour before roasting.
2 large Tomatoes
2 cups Mushrooms, sliced
1 Eggplants or zucchini, sliced
1 Onion, cut into rings
You could roast in the oven, over coal or in a pan.

Plate your salmon and add the pan roasted veggies on the side.



Serves 2-3 persons.

Coming Full Circle

It was 7AM on a Monday morning when I found myself in the kitchen with my sister and her 5 year old daughter. My sister thought it would be a good idea to teach her daughter the rudiments of preparing hot cakes for breakfast. Out came the bowls, measuring cups and measuring spoons. Out came the flour, the salt, the eggs and milk. And in the center of it all was my mother’s hot cake recipe pulled out from my sister’s recipe notebook. My niece being a take-charge person, soon had flour on the kitchen counter after sifting the dry ingredients together.

Memories of similar scenes came rushing through my mind. I see my mother first preparing and then teaching us the same hot cakes recipe. Then I see myself teaching my daughter. Flash forward and I see my sister teaching her daughter.

I brought this up to my sister and we both smiled at how our lives had come somewhat full circle because of a recipe.



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Before the flooding of the market with hotcake mixes and fast food chains serving breakfast pancakes, every mother had her own hot cake recipe. Even the syrup that came with it was made from scratch. Sure, commercial mixes are breezy to make but they would contain preservatives so as to last long on the grocery shelves. Plus, there’s nothing like hot cakes made from scratch to build fond memories on.

My Mom’s Hotcake Recipe

2 c all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c melted butter or margarine or cooking oil
1 1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla

Sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.



Mix sugar with eggs; then add milk, melted butter or oil and vanilla.



Add wet mixture to flour mixture. Stir until blended but somewhat lumpy.

Pour about ¼ c of this batter in a heated non-stick pan that had initially been oiled. You may also use butter.
When you see lots of bubbles bursting on the surface, turn pancake to cook on the other side.



Serve with butter, your favorite syrup and some slice fruits on the side.

Never Too Young To Party

“ring a ring a roses
a pocket full of posies
one two three we all full down.”

It was the start of a new school year. My sister thought it would be fun to invite her daughter’s classmates to an after school party at their home. Her daughter had excitedly participated in the planning: what food to serve and what games to play. And like a professional events coordinator, I took note of all her requests and made sure to check my and her mother’s ideas with her.

She had personally taped down the names her friends on the invitation cards;



did a food taste on which hotdog to serve;



and, gave specific instructions on what to greetings to put on the cake.



We went through the list of games and my niece even tested them out to make sure her friends could actually carry out the instructions.

Finally it was party time. They were nine little girls coming together to celebrate their 1st week of school. Wide-eyed, full of expectations and bundles of energy. Nine girls made sure my sister and I were kept on our toes for two full hours.

And when the last guest had been picked up, you couldn’t wipe the big smile off the face of my niece as she thanked me with a tight hug. That is all the reward I need.

; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; ) ; )

If you are planning any party involving children age 5 to 7, here are some tips I would like to pass along to ensure that you don't "fall down" at the end.

• Keep everything simple. This is specially critical if you plan to carry out everything yourself: decorator; caterer; game master; clean-up crew.

• Inform the parent about the party least the child forgets to show the invitation.

• Check with the child how he/she feels about the party. What would she/he like to happen during the party.

• Decorate your gate with colored balloons or other festive decor to make it easy for the guests to spot your house.

• Keep your menu simple. Children this age look forward to the games and the party favors. For this particular party, we had:
o Hotdogs in buns
o Assorted tetra-pack juices
o Cup-cakes

• Make sure your prizes and party favors are suitable for the children:
o Soap bubbles
o Trinkets: rings, bracelets, necklaces
o Puzzles and mazes
o Colored pens
o Little books
o Noise makers

• Prepare lots of games. You will be surprise how quickly each game is completed and the kids will be on your neck if you don’t have anything else for them to do.



• At this age, most children do not quite understand the concept of winners and losers. So be sure to give out prizes to everyone that participates. (And even to those who don’t join)

• Keep your party area safe. Tape down electrical lines like extension cords; remove any furniture that could harm the child; put out of reach hot appliances (electric water pots, etc).



• Have something prepared for the grown-up who might stay. A bowl of fruits, coffee/tea service, and some biscuits or grown-up sandwiches.



And most importantly enjoy being a kid again!