Saudi Sexpat Stories: Tales from the Kingdom

As this may very well be my last blog for the month and the year (since we are flying out to good ol’ Manila tomorrow - yahoo!) and in keeping with the merriment of the season, I wanted my final (?) post to be as light as possible.  Hmmm…what to write, what to write….

Aha! I think I have it… Read on…

If this dish were served to you, what would you think it was?

Well, that’s just what I did yesterday.  These were the replies I got from my three (Keith included) very blunt and heartless honest boys with ever-discriminating tastes:

Keith: “Ano yan, tokwa?”

Luigi: “Ma, is that bread pudding?”

Rafa (no comment) - Na-speechless ata!

Keith (again): “Parang puto”

Wrong, wrong and wrong again! What is the matter with you guys??? Can’t you even recognize an albino leche flan when you see one?

Yup, with utmost pardon to the Cuencas (whose traditional leche flan recipe I unwittingly “murdered” - sorry Weng!), this was my first try at making this much-loved Pinoy dessert.  I must say I even surprised myself! How could something so seemingly simple turn out looking so bad?

First off, I completely forgot to make the caramel topping (duh!) - which explains why my flan was as dry as the Arabian desert!  Next, although the recipe specifically said to “avoid bubbles” (which I thought I did - even skimming off the little bubbles on top of the flan mixture before steaming it), the texture of my finished product ended up looking like Swiss cheese more than anything else. What’s more, after cutting the flan, I found out bubbles galore - guess only bubble wrap had more bubbles than my leche flan!

There’s a redeeming factor to this kitchen misadventure, though… I’m happy to say, despite its sorry looks, my flan tasted great! In fact, the boys literally cleared the whole thing off the serving plate - as in, ubos lahat in one sitting! Buti na lang… at least this tale’s got a happy ending naman pala. Hehehe!

Lesson learned (to paraphrase the “great” Melanie Marquez): “Don’t judge my brother flan, because he it is not a book”.  In other words, to taste it is to believe it (or something like that!).

Enjoy the holidays, everyone! Till my next kitchen (mis)adventure!

 What better way to spread the magic of Christmas than by sharing this email from our cousin Geraldine.

Just click on THE MAGIC GOPHER and enjoy!

Amazing, isn’t it?

A few days ago, I was expecting that, by this time, we would have finished packing our stuff for our trip back home to Manila soon.  Guess fate had other plans as I am nowhere near that… Instead, all of us (Keith included), have been bitten by some nasty bug (i.e., viral infection) that have caused us to feel under the weather for the past week - it started with Rafa, then Luigi and Marga followed suit, I “fell for it” two nights ago while Keith succumbed to it last night! Hay, what’s a girl like me got to do???

Inspired by cousin-in-law Weng, I tried thinking happy and positive thoughts  to help me through but unfortunately, at this point, some paracetamol and a strong dose of antibiotics are admittedly my best friends as I struggle to overcome this most recent bout with sickness. Right now, I still feel a bit feverish and have a hard time swallowing (like knives are stuck to my throat everytime).  What’s more, last time I checked, my tonsils have swollen so much that the middle part looks like a plump little sausage - gross!

Thank God the kids have recovered quite well though - their respective episodes not lasting more than 3 days at the most. I sincerely pray their immune systems are strong enough to fight off another onslaught.

Please help me storm the heavens with your prayers as we really need to get well very soon!

Before this greeting gets “avalanched” in the hustle and bustle of the season (especially true for us as we gear up for our upcoming Paskong Pinoy - yipee! ), allow me to be one of the very first to wish you a very blessed Christmas and an equally blissful and meaningful new year!

No matter how you say it … be it Joyeaux Noel, Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad, the thought remains the same: from our family to yours, may the good Lord’s love, peace and joy always be with you and those you hold dear and near.

Maligayang Pasko!

Received this holiday tag from Nell.  In the spirit of the season, am joining in since the supposed goal of the activity is “to foster camarederie and be acquainted with other bloggers we have still not met”.  Participants will be assigned a blogger whom he/she has to send a wish or prayer to (via e-cards) on Christmas.  The mechanics are simple:

[1] Fill up and submit the details of this form.
[2] Copy and post the rules to your blog. Include the “backward list” (a record of how the tag reached you) and add your name.
[3] Recruit for participants. Be sure to get their consent. Should they agree to join, add them to your “forward list” (bloggers you’ve convinced to join). Remind them to do item #1.

*** Participants will be accepted until December 16 (Phil. time) only. On December 17, the organizer will email to you the details of your Ronito/Ronita. Send him/her a Christmas greeting via E-cards preferably on December 25. Should time be a constraint, you can send it earlier. ***

Here’s my backward link list: iRonnie , jeff, bluepanjeet, thess, sardonicnell, pinky

Ann, Weng, Keith, Rina … sali na and have a merrier Christmas!

Call me naïve but when I saw this while shopping for Marga’s winter wear at M&S (taking advantage of the last days of the sale lang po!), I was thrilled! Admittedly, this is the first time I’ve seen anything like it. It’s a good thing that unlike other stores, the clothes you buy in M&S come with their own hangers.

Kudos go to the “great minds” behind this invention. For mommies like me with “oh-so-limited” storage space, this is truly a find!

The final blessing in the mass last weekend struck me: “May you remain steadfast in faith, joyful in hope and unwavering in love all the days of your life…”. Quite a tall order! 

It got me thinking as to how possibly I could do this or if this were at all possible. 

Looked up “steadfast” and it meant “unwavering, unfaltering, unswerving”…From past experiences, I know how very easily I get swayed by my own feelings and circumstances beyond my control that remaining firm in my faith, especially where we are right now, seems very difficult.  Indeed, being an OFW family in a place where freedom of religion is virtually non-existent and where our source of income can be terminated on a whim places us in a very precarious state.  How do I remain unfaltering in an environment that is uncertain and constantly evolving? 

The next item on the ticket, “joyful in hope”, also looks overwhelming.  For me, especially, this signifies staying happy and blissful as we wait for developments to unfold in our lives.  Being the perpetual worrywart that I am, especially in the area of health (i.e., lymph nodes = serious sickness), I tend to give in to pessimism and despair most of the time… I know, you’re thinking that two-thirds into the blessing and I am still not into the groove at all!   

Lastly, how do I remain “unwavering in love” when the “domestic” part of my “diva-ness” seem to get the better of me every time? How do I show my untiring love to my family in the face of messy beds, dirty laundry, a dusty house and yet more and more chores? How do I let my husband and children feel that I will forever love them despite my nagging “constant reminders” and short fuse incessant quirks? 

Hmmm…looks like I’m seriously stumped! Then it dawned on me what the very nature of a blessing is - that something is given to you (whether deserved or otherwise is beside the point) by a “higher power”, to enable you to meet the challenges of life head on - unflinching, resolute and steady - all the while exhibiting the three virtues of faith, hope and love. 

Holy guacamole! I think I’ve got it! I may be far from being perfect but I am comforted by the fact that I can claim this blessing as my own with Him leading the way.  After all, in this crazy, ever-changing world, how ever could I go wrong with the “big guy upstairs” - the only constant, never-changing factor in life – by my side?  

Have a great week ahead, everyone! And may this three-fold blessing be yours too!

Growing up, our family wasn’t really big on seafood, save perhaps for the occasional sinigang na hipon, daing na bangus or the piniritong hasa-hasa or galunggong. To make matters worse, Keith’s family was also the same way so this perhaps explains why it took some time before we actually became “adventurous” enough to test the uncharted waters of seafood eating. 

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when, during grocery shopping yesterday, dear hubby suddenly requested that I cook some crabs at home! Me oh my! Na-tense ako, admittedly!  For the life of me, I couldn’t even tell the difference between an alimango and an alimasag, let alone cook some!

However, since blue crabs are plentiful and relatively inexpensive in this part of the world, I gamely took on the “crab challenge”.  Bahala na si Batman, ‘ika nga – hahaha! After all, I’m willing to try anything (except the really “exotic” delights like crickets, camel meat or cow brains) once. 

So whatever came out of my first foray into crab cooking? Let these pictures tell you the story of how my “Ginataang Alimasag” turned out.  Suffice it to say that it wasn’t as hard as I had imagined it to be and best of all, it tasted pretty good!

These babies are ready for their (coconut) milk bath…   

The finished product: 

Ready for the final close-up!