bahAI kubo by Maria Concepcion Pidelo-Ona
F-O-O-D Buying and Cooking Secrets for Busy Moms
No time to shop? Only got a few minutes to cook? Do it the F-O-O-D Way!
F-freeze, O-order, O-one shop, one-dish and D-delegate.
Busy, working moms Suzanne Umemura, earthquake engineering expert and mom to two small preschool kids and a newborn and Connie Ona, freelance magazine writer and mom to a second grader reveal that these are their secrets to keeping their family healthy and have lesser stress in their households after a hard, long day at work.
F-Freeze food
When planning and cooking meals, make big dishes and stretch these out for 2 days. Freeze leftovers and "re-package" in a different form such as making into an omelette, soup or adding canned sauces. Serve these for breakfast or just microwave on days when "I hate to hang out in the kitchen."
Buy and freeze fish that has been cleaned, deboned or cut. Cook it simple -- grill, fry or broil.
Buy frozen cut veggies or when you have time on weekends, cut vegetables you will need for dishes needed for weekday meals, freeze and label. For meats, buy cut meats and chicken, marinate and freeze. Meats needed for noodle and pasta dishes can be prepared ahead of time by sauteeing before putting in the freezer.
O-Order
Do online food shopping by browsing the catalogues of these big online netshops:
www.netgrocer.com
www.theflyingpig.com
www.costco.com
or if in Japan, visit online stores of shopping giants Aeon Jusco and Apita. Ordering is easy and food is delivered fresh and fast to your door. Online food shops have a recurring order system and items you regularly order are stored in the store's computer so you need not input information everytime you order. Pricey? As more and more people discover the convenience of shopping online for food, prices become more and more reasonably competitive across stores and most importantly, they give generous discounts for bulk orders.
O-One shop and one-dish meals
Shop for food only once-a-week to give you more time for family commitments and me time. If an ingredient is missing, don't stress out, find a substitute or do without it.
Make one-dish meals such as soups, curries, stews and pasta dishes.
To bring some excitement to usual family dinners, cook once a week a new recipe or something exotic from a tried and tested source of information such as a work colleague or a favorite recipe website.
D-Delegate
Never be afraid to delegate. This makes it easier for you to focus on your cooking after a long day at the office. Involve family members in dish washing, preparing the table for dinner and hollering out, "Dinner is ready!"
For a busy mom's peace of mind, a good measure to check if the family is getting their weekly dose of healthy food is when they get to finish their weekly ration of fresh fruit and vegetables. So, practice doing F-O-O-D weekly and mommy's role in the kitchen can be easier and stress-free.
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Hopeless Romantiks! by Jackie Murphy
My true love... miles away from me... A TRUE STORY (part 2)
Ayaw namin magpaawat. Araw-araw long distance, oras-oras chat sa Facebook hanggang naisipan naming magkita nang personal, meaning: face to face sa computer. So we finally agreed to closely communicate more through video calls getting ready for Skype.
Kinagabihan pa lang natatagalan na ako sa oras. Di mapakali, di makatulog nang maayos, excited eh. Andun pa kaya ang magkabilang dimples niya? Di kaya siya madismaya at magulat sa pagmumukha ko ngayon? Kinakabahan na na-e-excite na di ko mawari ang pakiramdam ko nung mga panahong yun.
Super-aga kaya akong nagising nung araw na yun! Maaga pa lang nag-ayos na ako. Nung una hindi ko nagustuhan ang ginawa kong ayos sa buhok ko (sobrang wavy like the 80s). Binasa at blinower ko ulit. Sunod naman sobrang unat at tigas (sa dami ba naman ng spray net na ibinuga eh). After trying another hairstyle medyo um-okey nang konti. Gumamit pa ako ng mouth freshener, nagpabango at nagsuklay ng kilay. I just want to look my best on our first screen meeting. Pinaghan-daan ko talaga: “First impression is lasting,” `ika nga! Nag-practice din akong mag-ngiti-ngiti sa harap ng salamin para yung anggulong yun ang una kong ipapakita sa kanya. I also checked on my best modulated voice. Naghagilap ng mga linyang pwedeng gamitin to start an interesting conversation. "How are you?", "Ang cute mo naman!” ang mga nauna kong usual starters na naisip. Biglang parang nanindig ang balahibo ko naasiwa at nakornihan. Alam ko namang gasgas na gasgas na ang mga linyang yun kaya isip uli ako ng iba. Di pa rin ako mapakali. Ang tagal ng oras. Halos mangawit na ako sa kaaantay sa Skype biglang may nag-text yun pala nagda-download pa. Lumipas pa ang isang oras, nang may marinig akong tawag, sa wakas... eto na! Maryosep, nanginginig ang daliri ko palibhasa pasmado halos magkamali pa ako sa button na iki-click. At noong makita ko siya: I was stunned. I was breathless. I was falling in love... AGAIN!
Before I knew it I found myself saying: "How are you? Ang cute mo naman!" Parang di ko narinig ang sarili ko sa nabigkas ko na yun. Bigla akong natauhan parang gusto kong habulin ang mga nabitawan kong salita. Too late! Wala na akong magagawa andun na, eh. Dedmahin ba daw! Buti na lang a very modest "Thank you," ang sagot niya. I was not so sure kung pinaghandaan din niya ang first meeting naming yun kagaya ng paghahanda ko. Napaka-simple niya pero very gorgeous ang dating at halos maupos akong parang kandila sa kanyang “killer smile” and yes, nandoon pa rin ang magkakambal niyang dimples! I couldn’t be wrong: tuluyan na niyang nabihag ang puso ko. Very light but down-to-earth conversation ang naging takbo ng usapan namin. Hanggat nang ako’y makatiyempo naging medyo seryoso ako and candidly offered: “Pwede bang maging tayo ulit?” Halos maputol ang hininga ko sa isasagot niya. Tumingin siya sa akin...matagal... ngumiti... sabay sabing: “Sige...tayo na ulit!” Yes! Yes! Yes! Muntik nang mahulog ang computer ko kung saan ito nakapatong sa sobrang tuwa ko at ang microphone tumabingi na animoy antena ng natapa-kang tipaklong. Ang pinakamahalaga ay... naging “Kami na ulit.” Yatta!!! (I made it!)
Paano ba nagsimula ang “love story” namin noon? We were in high school then. I was 4th year siya naman 1st year. Isa siya sa mga hinaha-ngaang mukha sa campus namin noon. Tahimik, masayahin at mabait. Ako naman kalog, palakaibigan at seryoso sa pag-aaral. Dahil talagang mahal namin ang isa’t isa, we became lovers. Kilala siya ng family ko, kilala din ako ng family niya. Dahil ako ang unang naging kasintahan niya, siyempre ako rin ang “first kiss” niya. Na madalas niyang itanong sa akin kung siya din daw ba ang “first kiss” ko... “Ano kamo?” Nagbibingi-bingihang sagot ko sa kanya palagi. Naging masaya ang takbo ng relationship namin and there were times noon, mag-cut classes kami makapasyal lang sa paborito naming beach... just to have a date. Akalain mo, sa tinagal-tagal ng panahon, tandang-tanda pa niya hanggang ngayon ang exact place kung saan ang pinaka-unang date namin - sensiya na tao lang... pilitin ko man di ko talaga matandaan. Palibhasa high school, ramdam namin ang pagtingin at pagmamahal sa isa`t isa pero inaamin ko hindi masyadong seryoso ang tingin ko sa aming relasyon dahil ang babata pa namin noon. Nagpatuloy ang aming relasyon ng halos 10 buwan. Naging maayos at masaya ang aming pagtitinginan pero minsan andun yung nasasaktan ko pala siya tuwing may nakikita siyang kausap o kasama kong iba. Naging dahilan para magdamdam at magtampo siya sa akin at yun na rin ang naging daan para magsimulang maging matamlay kami sa isa’t isa. Nagpatuloy ito hanggang nauwi sa di inaasahang di namin pagpapansinan.
March came, Graduation Day, hindi na rin kami nabigyan ng isa pang pagkakataon para makapag-usap hanggat tuluyan nang naputol ang aming communication. No letters, no goodbyes, nothing. (Kanashi-katta desu. It was so sad).
(to be continued...)
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