The Pull of the Kitchen and School

Today is the start of school works for me. The papers I have to write suddenly all showed up at my doorstep and requires immediate time for conceptualizing and writing. One from previous semester, a couple for the recent subjects that I have. Not to mention the time I need to digest my statistics subject.

One at a time, I should do. First on the list is...

1. The paper on reading
2. paper on grammars
3. copy and paste thing on acquisition

Another set to do would be the exercises, homeworks for the stat class.

For extra stuff, restart of a love affair with the photocopy center.

But one thing that I have to prep is printing out the stuff for P tomorrow and the Acquisition cut and paste. But of course I should read the latter one first.

Not bad for a student/mom, huh. Did I mention that on top of all that, I still have to find green onion at the market tomorrow and bring my kid to the playground and think up the meals as well?

Can I just hang myself? Better get started.

Korean Kitchen, Maangchi etc.

Some foods that I'd like to be able to try to cook soon. At Korean Kitchen, Tofu Kanjang Jorim and Tuna Pancakes. Then, Sweet Spicy Chicken from Maangchi.

With my loaded class schedule this weeks to follow, I wonder when I'll get around to trying these yums.

Oh! On a note to house stuff, the boys finally got what they had been campaigning for the longest time, a kitten/cat. Hmm..how will the house be tomorrow?

Nyt off now.

Knee-deep

Almost, that is. I'm almost knee-deep in school work. With no structured study time, I am going to be swamped with all the readings that I have to. I love the work it entails but excuses, excuses.

Oftentimes, I have to research something and I end up finding resources for teaching little ones. The subjects that I took this semester are all that I am interested in, except for one. I am now thinking that it was a mistake to put stress on myself and take the fun out of studying. It will eat up a lot of my time, and to think that I am not sure if I will still continue next semester. I have yet to polish off the two diplomas that I was working on before I plunge headlong onto the next step. Can I make it? Will I survive without risking my other subjects?

I need help. I might as well drop the subject.

Notes from today

Got a lot of stuff to log in today but this will truly remind me of the diary that I used to keep for the longest part of my life; the simple recall of how I spent the day.

Some notes to jot today is the soy milk that I tried to make today. 3 cups of soybean to 5 cups of soaked soybean plus 10-15 cups of water yielding more than half pot (smaller one of my pots) of milk. I did the grind, boil and strain (and boil once more) this time unlike last time where I grind, strain and boil.

The pot is now sitting on the floor of my bedroom. I am keeping a close watch on it since the ants may attack it. Bless them.

Upon looking for the proper ratio between the soy bean and water to use, I stumbled on soy yoghurt. Oh no! Another mission for me to accomplish after I have figured out the proper ratio and coagulant for the tofu. Tofu, then yogurt. I may try that one time with the use of a dairy yogurt and my yogurt maker. (I can finally make use of the y-maker after bringing it over and keeping it for almost a year.)

Shelfing the idea for now, I have yet to turn my attention on the schedule of classes that I need to iron out, after enrolling again this summer.

Phew! Seems like a long summer ahead again.

Night.

World Digital Lbrary, Relaunched!

The world digital library launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Here's the local paper's article link.

I already stumbled on this site a few months ago, under .net at that time. I have no idea if it was connected to UN at that time though. Here it is now at a new site. Hopefully, it will also grow and that the local university here will have something to share also.

Pig Out Days

Eating frequently doesn't really happen everyday as I may want it to. Usually, too busy or something to eat,and even skip meals altogother.

These past few days, I had been increasing the frequency of food intake. A week age when most of the stores are closed for the lent season, we we're basically stuck at home with some food needing to be cooked. Flour, egg, and other baking stuff had me baking and baking. Can't remember what exactly. Another craze in my kitchen nowadays is the soy beans. I finally gave the "kong ja bang" a try and Hubby liked it to my surprise and relief. Along with that dish is the tofu and soy milk that I personally liked to try for the longest time. I was able to make both, on trial amount (as previously mentioned here.)

Now what else have I done so far?

Hmm..Thursday, I tried to bake a patty made from soybean leftover. Didn't turn out well. Good thing I also did a banana bread saved from the banana in the freezer (and another one from my Pops) because of the long and frequent power outage these week. Not very sweet one but it was well received by everyone. ;)

Friday, with the continued power outage, we all went to the town's library. We had the ride fixed and had dinner at my fave chix house. Hmm..that means pig out time. Ah, I would prefer to say "chicken out time." After consuming an extra serving of rice at the resto, I still have some rice to eat with the leftover chix that I packed home.

Next day, the we almost everyone weren't feeling well. I don't think it was bcoz of anything that we've eaten yesterday. For me, it's more of a cold caught after staying in an airconditioned room. I sure am a weakling in such rooms since last Wednesday at the school library. My baby finally caught it though, along with a fever. Tsk, tsk. Off for the fever medicine now.

Since everyone's feeling sick this weekend, we're turning on to fruits, juices and rice soup. Discovered a 24 hours rice chicken soup house around the corner and just perfect for the circumstances, as well as the rainy weather since Friday. Got a litre of pineapple juice

Little one requested orange, apple and banana. I added some apple juice. It's time for his dinner.

A regular in the house when we get tired of the rice
or when hubby prefers to eat his spicy noodles.

The trial tofu, looks solid except for the unbecoming shape due to the very limited amount that I tried to make. Ah, the vinegar taste used as a coagulant was also quite strong.

More on the tofu thing, I am still searching for the right coagulating agent. There are still more agents to search for in the market. The epsom salt, kalamansi, and a couple more of chemical compunds that I have yet to fix in my mind. I find the coagulation process pretty interesting. It's a chemical process that yields good tasting food that is healthy. Just imagine a liquid turning into solid with the addition of such agents. Hmm...a lesson in the lab/kitchen.

Soybean Galore!

This is not an attempt to teach how to make soymilk and tofu. It is merely a record of things that I've learned as I finally tried my hand in making this fave tofu. The milk produced was just a bit since it was just a side-trial and the main target was the tofu.

The tofu is still "solidifying" right now so the I am waiting for the final verdict.

So what did I do? Here it is. Without pictures though. I have yet to get myself familiar to be confident enough to take time to take pictures while actually making it.

1. I soaked to 2 cups of soybeans last night. Rinsed it this morning and left it in the fridge for the remaining part of the day coz I had to go out this afternoon. (10 P.M.-9:30 AM, 10 a.m. - 9 pm in fridge). After the soybeans "grew," I divided it in two parts; one part for the Kong Jang and one part for the tofu. So that makes it just about 1 C of soybean for the tofu.

2. Around 9 pm, I started to grind the soybeans using the blender. Measuring 1 C of soaked soybean and 3 C of H20.

3. Strained the blended stuff into a pot using my son's unused nappy. (The nappy was not really used, just bought it but ended up using disposable. I took it out of storage, rinsed and microwaved for 3-5 minutes under med high to sterilize.)

4. After all the stuff are in the pot, I had it boiling for 10 minutes and forgot not to put the lid on. It ended up spilling over a little. That I should keep in mind NOT to do next time.

5. Ten minutes low fire while stirring, then bring to total boil. Turned off. (I tried to set aside some part for the soy milk but ended up with a mere less than a cup.)

6. I let it settle for a while to lower the temp a bit before spooning in 6 T or so of vinegar. I tried it 2 T at a time. It didn't look like it was doing the magic. Read somewhere that it coagulates with 1 C of vinegar is to 500 ml of soymilk (I am liking the term coagulate, reminds me of laboratory works back in college.)

7. After waiting for about 10 minutes, hoping that it would still coagulate more, I finally poured it in the waiting cloth-covered plastic tray mold. (Ah! My mold was way too big for the final tofu. Must try more soybeans next time. Maybe about 4 C of soybean to soak if I want to fill it up well.)

8. And now I must stop. Time to check how my tofu is doing. Is it a pass or fail for my first try?

Hmm...since it was just so little, it didn't "solidify" very well. I have yet to try the perfect ratio of soy milk and vinegar. Really just got to get some more reading on that last ratio part. That is quite crucial in producing the proper texture of the final tofu.

Getting late, I'm saving those thoughts about improving my tofu for the next day. ;)

Rediscoverthe power of Pics

The mango muffin that didn't double.


My dream mango pie, still a dream to work on.

A whole bowl of Mangoes just for P.

The mangoes crammed in the fridge, to keep them for few days longer.


It's almost empty. Should I fell relief that we didn't have a lot of it rot and uneaten or sad that there aren't left anymore? ;)
My Mom mentioned that there might be another basket full of mangoes coming in a few weeks but we're almost hesitant to get some. Hubby had a stomachache coz of mangoes last time. His consumption will be lesser. And between me and my son, I don't think we can manage to eat as much as the father can. hahaha!

At least I hope I can still have some more to try my mango pie again. Try and try until the mangoes and stove gas ran out. Tsk,tsk,tsk.