5 STEPS TO MAKE CARAMELIZED SUGAR FOR UPSIDE DOWN PINEAPPLE CAKE

STEP 1 - Pour sugar on a baking tin and cook directly on top of a gas stove

STEP 2 - Melt sugar using low heat if you're a first timer

STEP 3 - Add butter so as not to harden the sugar

STEP 4 - Stir continuously until sugar and butter is melted
into a not so liquid consistency

STEP 5 - Add desired toppings

This is the Butter Cake Mixture use in the Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Pour batter mixture on top of the caramelized sugar and bake

The final product. Yummy!

I got this technique from my cooking class teacher, 

Mrs. Monina Jodit of Bacolod City National High School.

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COOKING LESSON

I recently enrolled in a General Cookery class with a friend of mine in our city. The class is being held every Saturday at the Bacolod City National High School and is conducted by Mrs. Monina P. Judit. Every year the BCNHS offers various special classes such as General Cookery, Cosmetology, Dressmaking, Driving and Automotive. The whole course costs P250 and will take us around 15 Saturdays, more or less. Quite cheap and we have to contribute every Saturday for the food ingredients for P50 or more.

So far, I learned how to make the chiffon cake, white cloud (gelatin), morcon, mango cake, butter icing and tuna fettuccine. I am not an expert in the kitchen so attending Mrs. Judit's class is an eye-opener for me. Especially for the baking session since I own an oven and a mixer but I haven't make use of them fully. I did try to bake a cake and some muffins based on a recipe book but I lack the technique, so I find the cooking class really helpful. For one, I don't know what a soft peak and a hard peak for beating eggs is until now.  

Me, sifting the flour mixture

Our group's finish product - Chiffon Cake

Morcon

Our group's Baked Tuna Fettuccine

Our finished Mango Cake ready for chilling
and with my daughter Ceci 

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HOBBY EXPO 2012

SUPER FRIENDS

MY FAVORITE STAR WARS COLLECTIBLES

THE HOBBY EXPO SIGN AT ROBINSON'S PLACE

PREDATORS' COLLECTION ITEMS

BARBIE DOLLS IN DIFFERENT FILIPINIANA COSTUMES

PJ & MANANG YAN-YAN IN FRONT OF THE SUPER FRIENDS

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TWILIGHT

I've been reading the Twilight series lately. I’m done with Twilight and New Moon, and now I’m starting with Eclipse. It helps that I’ve seen the first two movie flicks. It is easy to picture out the characters, Forks, the Swan and Cullen’s house.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read my last novel and the Twilight Series (thanks to my daughter Michelle, she was able to get hold of all four books of Stephenie Meyer) proves to be an entertainment during Sunday afternoons when it gets boring.

I admire Stephenie Meyer’s imagination and I wonder where she got her inspiration to write these books. Vampires and werewolves, well, one can do research about them but to weave it into a love story with a human. How is it possible? Bella’s character certainly is a product of psychological studies on human behavior.

Ms. Meyer succeeded in making the novels suspenseful but less of a horror. That’s what I like about her books since I don’t like horror stories. I don’t even have nightmares about vampires and werewolves. The movies even have the same effect. Not horrific and very much entertaining.

I like Alice Cullen’s character, she’s so into Bella and ever supportive to her brother Edward. Training oneself not to be affected by the smell of human blood, become a vegetarian of sort in the vampire world and be able to merge with humans on a daily basis, Carlisle Cullen is one most admirable vampire there is.

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La Salle Bacolod Fun Run, Walk, Bike 2012

I recently joined the opening salvo of my college alma mater, the University of St. La Salle Bacolod, in celebration of her 60th anniversary.  We made to choose on walking, running or biking on separate locations that ended at the football field of the university.

I chose run since I've been doing walking for quite sometime now and I'd like to test my endurance on running. Well, I ended up doing the half run, half walk thing. We started at the New Government Center of Bacolod City and had to navigate the sea of participants that joined in. It was fun, especially when you're running with people you know from the university. 

with Arlene and Joemarie of the USLS Alumni Association

running buddies

the throng of runners mostly students from USLS

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MAY 2012

The month of May 2012 proved to be a month of outings for me and my kids. Our company celebrated summer at the Northland Resort in Manapla, then,  I was fortunate to be invited by my friend Grace to join their company outing at the mountains of Patag in Silay City, and the promised Manila trip for my daughter Michelle courtesy of her father. Such is the life of a solo parent ^^

My children with their cousins and Mama Mel during our company outing

Ceci & PJ celebrating their 11th and 9th birthday ^^

My beautiful friend Grace during our Patag outing

Lucky me, joining the weekend outing of the
Sagay Central Bacolod staff and their families. 

Happy to have met Bro. Bo Sanchez personally with my daughter Michelle.
 Its SOP that he signs books/autographs and pose for souvenir
pictures after the feast at the PICC every Sunday.

View of Rizal Park and Luneta on the 22nd floor of the
Manila Pavilion. Awesome!

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

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Tree Planting at Don Salvador Benedicto

I was fortunate to have been invited by a friend of mine to go on a tree planting activity in the mountains of Don Salvador Benedicto. I have nothing to do over the weekend so I immediately said yes and happily joined the group of teachers from Fr. Gratian Murray Integrated School of Brgy. Granada. We left Bacolod City in the early morning with teachers from other government schools of the city.


I planted three (3) saplings of mahogany tree and I am so delighted to have done my share of preserving nature in the mountains of Negros. 

CHOOSING MY SAPLINGS

CAN YOU SEE THE TREE I PLANTED?

THE HILL WHERE WE PLANTED OUR TREES
I WONDER IF THE 1,000 SAPLINGS PROVIDED FOR
THIS ACTIVITY WERE ALL PLANTED...HMMMMM

MY FRIEND MARILYN CHOOSING HER TREE

AFTER THE TREE PLANTING ACTIVITY, PICTURE TAKING AT THE
 PINE TREE FARM WHERE WE ATE OUR LUNCH WITH MARILYN AND LYZA

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