Confessions of the culinary-challenged
Fact: I don't know how to cook.
I'm a total spaz in the kitchen. Some people think it's an automatic skill - you just know how to do it. They think that you can watch someone do it, and you can do it. It's not like that for me. Over the years, I've tried several times, but believe me, all I can whip up until now are hotdogs and instant noodles. I have zero talent in cooking, that's all there is to it.
My friend Bevs taught me how to cook tinola before. I did fine, with her guiding me through the steps and all, but the next time I tried, I couldn't remember what to do.
My mom also taught me how to cook molo soup, since I'm an expert in molo wrapping. I was actually able to do the whole dish by myself, and it turned out great, but again, the next time I had to do it, I couldn't anymore.
Back in high school in Foods class, we were divided into small groups with our own little kitchens in the Food Lab. Each person in the group had a role to play, and I always rocked as Food Prep. That post entailed slicing and dicing, mixing and shopping, basically preparing the ingredients for cooking. But! I was never Cook. Never.
Once, Aleq and I were left in my house without any cooked food, except rice. My parents were out of town, and the maid left to go somewhere without cooking breakfast for us. So, we decided to cook spam. With us knowing zilch about cooking, the spam didn't turn out as tasty as it normally is. I think we almost burned it, haha.
Recently though, I decided that I really wanted to learn, and today, I had my first cooking lesson. I came prepared this time. I listed down all the ingredients and steps in a notebook so I won't forget after it's over. My mom, of course, was my chosen tutor. Although she was annoyed that I kept asking her for the measurements (she does it all by instinct, she never knows how much of an ingredient she puts in a dish), and that I was writing things down (she's one of those who think that I can just watch and learn), she still patiently explained to me each step. My bro, sis-in-law, nephew, and in-laws came over today, so mom and I prepared afternoon merienda. We made pancit and melon juice! They turned out great. I still think I need to do it over by myself, but I'm confident now that I can do it next time.
I realized that it's very satisfying to cook your own food. Today was a good beginning. It was so much fun.
Pancit! This has a mix of canton and sotanghon noodles. I only like sotanghon, but my parents bought canton by mistake so we used that too.
Melon juice! I enjoyed carving out the melon strips hehe. It's a cool summer drink.
Pancit
Ingredients
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 dashes of pepper
1/4 cup shrimp
1 chicken breast, boiled
1 cup chicken broth (from the boiled chicken breast)
1 Knorr chicken cube
1 Knorr shrimp cube
1 small carrot, sliced into thin strips
1 pack chicharo beans
1 pack sotanghon
1 pack canton
Steps
1. Sautee the onion, garlic, and chicken breast together.
2. After a few minutes, add the soy sauce, shrimp, chicken broth, chicken cube, shrimp cube, and a dash of pepper. Let it simmer for a while.
3. When it boils, add the sotanghon, plus another dash of pepper, carrot, chicharo beans, and then add the canton. Take it off the fire when the noodles are cooked thoroughly.
Melon juice
Ingredients
1 melon
sugar
water
ice
Steps
1. Grate the melon into strips. It's easier if you use a melon grater, and if you halve the melon into four slices before grating.
2. Put in the sugar, water and ice, then mix. One melon makes several pitchers already.
Note: These are hit and miss! Adjust the ingredients and measurements according to your preference.
I'm a total spaz in the kitchen. Some people think it's an automatic skill - you just know how to do it. They think that you can watch someone do it, and you can do it. It's not like that for me. Over the years, I've tried several times, but believe me, all I can whip up until now are hotdogs and instant noodles. I have zero talent in cooking, that's all there is to it.
My friend Bevs taught me how to cook tinola before. I did fine, with her guiding me through the steps and all, but the next time I tried, I couldn't remember what to do.
My mom also taught me how to cook molo soup, since I'm an expert in molo wrapping. I was actually able to do the whole dish by myself, and it turned out great, but again, the next time I had to do it, I couldn't anymore.
Back in high school in Foods class, we were divided into small groups with our own little kitchens in the Food Lab. Each person in the group had a role to play, and I always rocked as Food Prep. That post entailed slicing and dicing, mixing and shopping, basically preparing the ingredients for cooking. But! I was never Cook. Never.
Once, Aleq and I were left in my house without any cooked food, except rice. My parents were out of town, and the maid left to go somewhere without cooking breakfast for us. So, we decided to cook spam. With us knowing zilch about cooking, the spam didn't turn out as tasty as it normally is. I think we almost burned it, haha.
Recently though, I decided that I really wanted to learn, and today, I had my first cooking lesson. I came prepared this time. I listed down all the ingredients and steps in a notebook so I won't forget after it's over. My mom, of course, was my chosen tutor. Although she was annoyed that I kept asking her for the measurements (she does it all by instinct, she never knows how much of an ingredient she puts in a dish), and that I was writing things down (she's one of those who think that I can just watch and learn), she still patiently explained to me each step. My bro, sis-in-law, nephew, and in-laws came over today, so mom and I prepared afternoon merienda. We made pancit and melon juice! They turned out great. I still think I need to do it over by myself, but I'm confident now that I can do it next time.
I realized that it's very satisfying to cook your own food. Today was a good beginning. It was so much fun.
Pancit! This has a mix of canton and sotanghon noodles. I only like sotanghon, but my parents bought canton by mistake so we used that too.
Melon juice! I enjoyed carving out the melon strips hehe. It's a cool summer drink.
Pancit
Ingredients
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 dashes of pepper
1/4 cup shrimp
1 chicken breast, boiled
1 cup chicken broth (from the boiled chicken breast)
1 Knorr chicken cube
1 Knorr shrimp cube
1 small carrot, sliced into thin strips
1 pack chicharo beans
1 pack sotanghon
1 pack canton
Steps
1. Sautee the onion, garlic, and chicken breast together.
2. After a few minutes, add the soy sauce, shrimp, chicken broth, chicken cube, shrimp cube, and a dash of pepper. Let it simmer for a while.
3. When it boils, add the sotanghon, plus another dash of pepper, carrot, chicharo beans, and then add the canton. Take it off the fire when the noodles are cooked thoroughly.
Melon juice
Ingredients
1 melon
sugar
water
ice
Steps
1. Grate the melon into strips. It's easier if you use a melon grater, and if you halve the melon into four slices before grating.
2. Put in the sugar, water and ice, then mix. One melon makes several pitchers already.
Note: These are hit and miss! Adjust the ingredients and measurements according to your preference.