Banks: A Sweet-Sour Relationship

I have a love-hate relationship with banks.

On good days, I am given the red-carpet treatment—my name remembered and my needs solicitously attended to. On bad days, like yesterday, they forget to acknowledge my presence as I stood in front of the desk of a bank officer.

It would be alright, I guess if banks did not declare publicly that their clients are number 1 or kings and queens or always right. But they do— on teevee, on billboards, on flyers inserted in your monthly statements.

To make sense of what happened to me, I rationalize that with so much clients to deal with and possibly so much work to do due to job enrichment (another term for multi-tasking), bank employees don’t seem to have what it takes to delight the customer any more. Plus deeper relationships can no longer be nurtured as well when bank employees are regularly transferred from one branch to another.

After mulling over the sad state of my banking relationship, I came away with the thought that humility would have surely saved the day.

On my part, I have to learn to be humble and realize that I am just another number in the bank’s books. Getting all worked up is not worth the rise in blood pressure. And it’s the same for the bank employee. They too need to learn to be humble and remember that without the client, there would be no business. Without business, there would be no bank—no need for them.

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Relationships is a tricky matter. Whether personal, business or spiritual in nature, there is constant need for nurturing to keep it healthy.

But here is one dish that is delicious in it’s sweet-sour taste. It’s a constant crowd pleaser and a top seller in Chinese restaurants. Serving this will surely go a long way in nurturing your relationship with your family and friends.

Sweet-Sour Pork

500 grams pork (cut into 1 inch pieces)
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
Oil for deep frying

1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 large tomato, sliced diagonally
1 large green bell pepper, cored and sliced into squares
1 small can of pineapple tidbits ( about ½ cup)—reserve the juice
1 carrot, cut up into flowers or cubed

Sauce: (adjust to your taste as this depends on the type of vinegar and pineapple juice used)

3 teaspoon vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup pineapple juice (reserved from the pineapple tidbits)
¼ cup tomato sauce

Directions:

In a small pot, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Heat up until it simmers and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Marinate the cut-up pork in the light soy and salt for about 15 minutes. Later roll the pork in 2 tablespoons of flour. Then roll in the egg yolk. Lastly, roll in the last 2 tablespoons of floor. Set aside.

Heat up some oil in your pan—enough to submerge your pork. When the oil is hot enough, cook your pork in batches. Drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

Reduce the amount of oil in the pan to about 2 tablespoons. Saute the onions, garlic and tomatoes. Follow this up with the carrots, bell peppers and the pineapple tidbits.

Add the fried pork and the sweet-sour sauce. Stir until the sauce becomes thicker.

Serve with lots of steaming white rice!

If Only...

Did you know that you could start the process of renewing an expired US tourist visa online : http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhappo.html

And did you know that you could qualify to renew your expired visa without the usual hassle of logging along all your documents to prove that you do not intend to overstay your visit.

Best of all, you can even book your appointment via internet! Just register at : http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph or https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/

Gone are the days of lining up at the embassy gates at the crack of dawn just to ensure an interview. Gone are the days of standing in the heat of the sun or drenched in the rain. Gone are the mad, mad days of fixers and vendors and amateur ID photographers.

No need to bring a snack or a drink or even a small folding chair… the 1st waiting lounge in the embassy has all the comforts of an airport sans airconditioning. There is a restroom (and like all American establishments, there is toilet paper), a water fountain, and there are two food carts: American hotdogs on one and siopao on the other. There is even a Kodak photo kiosk in case your photo does not measure up to the requirements. And best of all, there is a souvenir shop to get a mug, a cap or a keychain that will remind you of your visit. Uncle Sam is an entrepreneur.

The 2nd waiting lounge where the short interview and fingerprinting is done is airconditioned with a flat screen teevee showing an American basketball game. But you can request for a cartoon channel if you have a child with you. They are so considerate.

As I could see, there was only one American embassy worker at the time of my visit. The security guards, number dispatchers, guides & ushers, even visa officers were Filipinos. I wondered where all the Americans where.

But some things still remain the same like:

• You must arrive early for the appointment
• Security is tight, tight, tight. Three stages! So much document and bag search.
• The same gay guy is still around to offer to hold on to your celphone for P150.00 (celphones and all electronic devises are prohibited inside the embassy). Your celphone is placed inside a plastic bag and promptly sealed with a knot.
• I am sure I have all my papers and life in order but there is tension as I wait my turn. Why is that? It’s not like I have to be in America or that I am a fugitive.
• I still do my crossword to kill time.
• there is a feeling of oneness of purpose as I hear some applicants bids each other good luck.

This time, I complete the whole visa request process in less than an hour. I am impressed.

The elation is soon replaced with disappointment as I make my way through a long line at the MRT station for my ride back home. The crowd is close to being unruly with some inserting themselves between the line with nary a care at the dagger looks thrown at them. The security guard is issuing instructions about moving on to another entrance but no one pays him heed. I realize that the Filipinos could do better if only we behaved the same way we do when we are in foreign territory.

Life in the Philippines would be more fun if only getting on the MRT was as easy as renewing an expired US visa.

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Besides hotdogs and apple pies, I wondered what best reminds me of the US of A. Aha! Pillsbury Brownie Mix in a Box. I remember loading up my bags for the return trip back to Manila with cartons of this American treat. It’s a relief that most groceries carry local versions that could give the Dough boy a run for his money.

Now if you have time on your hands and would like to proudly earn brownie points, try baking it from scratch using the following “you-could-eat-the-whole-thing” recipe courtesy of my sister turned US citizen. This is a brownie that is crispy on the top but slightly gooey on the inside.

M’s Brownies

6 eggs
2 ½ c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
¾ c cocoa
1 ½ t salt
1 ½ t baking soda
1 c butter, melted
1/2 c chopped nuts (more if you are a nut lover like me or none at all if you are like my sister and daughter)

Mix first 3 ingredients and set aside.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture.
Add the butter and the nuts (optional) and stir.
Bake for 45 mins at 325.



You might be tempted to over bake seeing that the brownie is a bit gooey but this sets up after it has cooled down.
So DON’T overcook or your brownie ends up dry and cake like.

Endless Possibilities

It started with the question over dinner with my kids: “Where shall we go for the Holy Week?”

Options were brought up, scrutinized and dropped… visit to China town (been there), Intramuros (done that), tour the lake towns of Laguna (traffic), Tagaytay and Baguio (NO! that’s where everyone goes)

Then I mentioned my grandma’s farmhouse in Leyte and my two kids sat up with interest. It’s been 5 years since their last visit and it was only right to renew ties with the relatives plus there was the chance to make a short visit to Samar. A quick check with the airfare prices proved that travel to Leyte via Tacloban was do-able and best of all affordable.

In the week that preceded our travel, I had bought a Leyte-Samar map and arranged for a van rental.



My daughter came up with our Samar itinerary and my son promised not to do any dangerous stuff that young men like to do on vacation—like swim, run or walk too far out into the unknown.

In the three and a half days together, I have discovered that:
• The San Juanico bridge can give the San Francisco Bridge stiff competition in awesomeness.



• There is so much beauty in our country. Samar may be labeled the poorest of the provinces but nature has endowed it with beautiful beaches and green landscape. Tourism possibilities seem endless.



• Europe has some of the most beautiful churches but are often times empty and sad. In contrast, Basey in Samar has a very old and dilapidated church whose bell tower is overrun with ferns and pews eaten away by termites.



But the fresh flowers



and the chorus of voices enacting the way of the cross attest that the faith is very much alive in this poor part of the country.



• There are so many delicacies made special in Leyte. Here are just a few:

 Batingkol- made from grated gabi and wrapped in banana leaves-- similar in taste as the binagol but less sweet.

 Binagol- made from grated gabi (talyan), eggs, sugar, peanuts and condensed milk and packed in a coconut shell



 Moron- made from glutinous rice, condensed milk, suar, margarin, cocoa powder, grated coconut and peanuts. This is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.



 Salvaro- a sweet kind of bread with bits of grated coconut



 Suman Tinipa- two types of glutinous rice is used and entwined in banana leaves.

• My kids are truly grown up by the way they shook the hands of relatives. I proudly listen to my son and daughter as they share their opinion on what’s happening in the world with uncles and aunts.

• My kids are still kids by the way they still enjoy being spoiled by their mother. “Can I have some ice cream mommy?”

• My mother and her siblings may have discovered the secret to eternal youth. Simple living and limit beer intake to 3 bottles--- after 3 bottles, no more limit (thanks Tita C for that advise)

• I never tire of the stories told and retold on my grandma’s porch.



The shared experience of growing up together in the most pitiful conditions made for a strong family unit. This has been tested time and again in sickness, in financial strains, and in the simplest need for an understanding presence.

• In order for the family ties to stay strong, there is a conscious need for children to know their roots.



• Age is just a number. It’s hard to believe that my mother and her siblings are in their 70s and 80s. Their laughter rings with youthful vigor.



• The cycle of life continues. My cousins are slowly taking on from their parents the responsibilities of running their family’s farm.



• Having and using a chamber pot (arinola) in the room needs getting used to. But it beats going to the toilet so many steps away in the dark with a “tuko” hovering over the door.



• Fear can hold you back from a beautiful experience. Am glad I gave in to my kids and went with them on a two hour trip around the most fascinating rock and islet formations along the shores of Marabut, Samar.



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Sometime ago, I took the challenge of preparing the tedious but delicious Suman Tinipa. If you have time on your hands and have eager assistants, do give in to this challenge. Don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you.

Suman Tinipa (recipe taken from "Saru-saro Kita! 100 nga mga Kaluto ha Leyte" )

1 1/4 kilos white glutinous rice (busag nga pilit)
1 1/4 kilos violet glutinous rice (tapul nga pilit)
3 cups thin coconut milk (lapsaw nga hatok)
3 cups thick coconut milk (tuno)
1 kilo brown sugar ( pula nga asukar)
2 T salt (asin)

For wrapping:
banana leaves (wilted to be more piable) (dahon han saging)
string (higot)

Procedure:
Soak the white and the violet rice separately for 30 minutes.

Cook the white rice with the thick coconut milk. When almost done, add salt.Remove from the stove when cooked. (You may use rice cooker)

Cook the violet rice with thin coconut milk. When almost done, add the sugar. (Add sugar only when the tice is almost done otherwise it will not get cooked)

Entwine the violet and white rice in the banana leaf. Roll.



Roll up the banana leaves and tie by twos.

Place in a pot and add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and steam until done-- about 40 minutes.

Abundance of Graces

“When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.” (the message of Jesus, the Divine Mercy, to St Faustina)


I love to feel the coolness upon waking up early in the morning. All the more made special with plans for a visit to a new place with good friends. It’s a great motivation to wake up at 4AM.

Let me backtrack a bit.

Two weeks prior to my adventure, preparations were being made to sponsor a talk on the Divine Mercy in our Parish. A good friend had enlisted some parishioners ( including myself) to help with the arrangements. Everything was set: the speaker, the venue and the date. All that remained was waiting for the actual date to arrive.

To help the core group get the strength to carry out the task, it was only fitting that we attend the 6:30AM mass the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy located in Marilao, Bulacan before our event. Hence, the reason for waking up so early.



And boy, did we get inspired! Imagine seeing the church in Marilao filled up with mass attendants at that time of the morning.



And visitors continued to come in the three hours we spent in the church grounds that included a separate contemplation chapel;



an open air chapel for our Lady of Fatima with a small water fall said to be miraculous;



a huge covered court that can accommodate a large crowd during special masses;



Some visitors came by busloads from far off provinces and some were small groups like ours wanting to spend time to contemplate the message given to St Faustina by Jesus, the Divine Mercy. And there were some who came by their lonesome self.



The cloudy and breezy weather made doing the way of the cross a comfortable experience. It’s as if the Divine Mercy opened a giant umbrella to spare us from the sun.



Of course, we could not resist the urge to buy some religious souvenirs to take back with us. Somehow no adventure is complete without some shopping element built into it.



Having filled ourselves with spiritual food for our souls, it became apparent that it was time to fill our hungry stomachs with the many delicacies that Marilao had to offer. It is only natural that Marilao would have a lot of rice-based delicacies given the many rice fields in the area.

Here are just two of the many outlets and just some of the delicacies offered:





Suman & macapuno preserve



Leche Flan, Ube Halaya & Bibingka



And no visit to Marilao would be complete without dropping by a very small and non-descript eatery, Aling Simeona’s, located near the St Michael the Archangel Church in the town proper.



No signage, hardly any parking and only one item on the menu: Marilao’s Special Pancit Palabok.



What possibly makes it so special is the crispy topping. Not the usual chicaron (pork crackling), but a mixture of flour and egg that is fried to golden, crispy perfection.



You will have to try it for yourselves to know what I am talking about. The four Raymundo sisters continue the cooking as taught to them by their Aunt Simeona. Four sisters who have spent their lives serving their church. Four sisters who could have made a fortune but knew that it would mean spending more time making money and less time with what matters to them—devotion to the Divine Mercy. As one of them remarked, they have more than enough already.

Should you find yourself in the area, give Cora a call at 0917 755 0449 to ask for directions and reserve one of the 5 tables in their home. A plateful of pansit will cost you P30. This goes so well with binanli- a knock-your-teeth-out kind of bland biscuit.

But best to hurry with your visit as progress is making itself felt with the traffic and fastfood outlets.

Before I knew it, I was dropped back home shortly before 2PM with my souvenirs, my sumans and my stories.

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The Raymundo sisters were gracious enough to welcome us not only to their tiny eatery but to their kitchen where the pancit was being prepared. Neat as a pin with a iron stove burning wood in the corner.

Only the best can come out of such a kitchen because the food is prepared with loving care as dictated by their hearts.



The recipe for Aling Simeona’s pancit is a secret but I do have a pancit recipe that I would like to share with you. Lovingly prepared, you'll be surprise at how much love comes back to you.

Seafood Pancit or Lenten Pancit

100 grams each cubed dory, shelled shrimps, and small squids sliced into rings
¼- ½ cup water
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 small carrot, sliced
A handful of sweet peas, “de-stringed”
A cup of chopped cabbage
250 grams of your favorite pancit or a combination of two kinds (canton, bihon, sotanghon, or miki)—you might want to soak the dried noodles before hand.
1- 2 T Oyster sauce
Salt and pepper

Saute the garlic and onions. Then quickly add one by one the dory, the shrimps and the squid. Add the carrot and the water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the oyster sauce. Add the sweet peas and the noodles. Mix well. If dry, add a bit of water. Place the chopped cabbage on top of the noodles and cover for about 2-3 minutes—just enough time for the cabbage to wilt a bit. Season with salt and pepper and mix the pancit one more time before serving.

Some calamansi and soy sauce would be nice to have on the side.

sorry, picture for this dish will be uploaded as soon as I cook this again