Lovely Moms Café

No matter how good our in-laws are and how much we know that they love us, it will always be a different scenario when you live with them.

After almost four years of living in our own place, my husband and I have decided to move back in to my mother-in-law’s house.  My father-in-law died two weeks ago and it breaks our heart to see my MIL living on her own.  She’s a woman of strength but the soft side in me keeps on telling me to live with her and make her happy.  The kids will have more time with their Nonna and she will love every minute being with the kids.  I also want the kids to make the most out of the time they spend with their Nonna and invest every minute in building memories that will last for their lifetime.

My parents have taught us the value of loving, appreciating, caring for and looking after old people.  It is a value that I make sure to pass on to my children.  The feeling of security that we can give to my MIL by living in with her again is something that I think is very important in her old age.  My MIL will be turning ninety soon…still strong…and every minute with her must be treated important and precious.

The biggest sacrifice that I and my husband will do this time is giving up our own privacy.  It is still different that we have a place we call our own.  But the love and happiness we can give my MIL this time is something that is of utmost weight than anything else.  Some people might not understand that that is the primordial consideration of our moving back in.  No other reason…other advantages come in as a bonus.

I will definitely miss my place.  I, hubby and kids love our place so much!  Things will be different…but hoping and praying that everything will be for the better.

Ivana with best friend Nikita

Social skills and emotional development are very important aspects of our kids’ personality and upbringing.  The way they mingle with others say a lot about their individuality as well as family background.

My daughter Ivana is a shy little girl.  At age five,  I can tell that she is an eloquent person but needs a bit of push when it comes to socializing with not-so-familiar faces or people she just met.  Her confidence though bounces back as she becomes comfortable with the person after a short period of time.  On the other hand, my three year old son can easily utter “Hi, hello, how are you?  Good?” in a very confident manner even with strangers (that is, if he’s in the mood).

Kids’ personalities vary in the same way that we, adults, are all different.  It is noteworthy though that social and emotional skills should be developed and nurtured during their early years.

One of the most exciting milestones for our kids is the day they start school.  This is where their social skills will start to develop.  This is when they learn how to express their emotions in various ways.  They need to learn how to cope up with a bigger world, that is, outside home.  They will realize that they need to be independent and be able to do things on their own, or ask others for help if needed, away from home and family.

What are the ways to help improve our kids’ social and emotional skills and make sure that they are on the right track?

*Encourage and support your kid and let her know that you are always there to help her if there are things that she thinks she needs your help.

*Make your child responsible at home by giving her chores that she can do all by herself without your assistance.  Of course she may need instructions from you at the beginning.  Once she realize that she can do things on her own and her help is appreciated, that will give her a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

*Involve your kids in play group.  A play group could be a bunch of kids from neighborhood or kids of your parent-friends.  This is a good socialization not only for your kids but for yourself as well.

*Teach your kids the value of friendship.  Loving and caring for friends can be expressed in simple gestures like sharing toys and spending time to play and have fun together.  Teaching your kids that keeping healthy and happy relationship with their friends is very important makes them more sensitive to others’ needs and feelings.

Bear in mind that in everything that our children experience, it is always the parental and family support, love and understanding that mold them into beautiful and strong persons that we want them to be.  As they say, the key to raising a responsible, smart and loving child is to shower him with love – unconditional love, that is.

I love chicken wings especially the ‘wingette’ (not the tip part) which have more meat in it.  This recipe brings more enjoyment in eating my favorite chicken wings because of its delicious marinade.  This is a simple marinade recipe that can be prepared several hours or even a day before cooking.

Ingredients for the marinade: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 shallot finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves 1/2 cup tomato sauce; 1 tbsp dried oregano; few drops of chili sauce; 2 tbsp brown sugar; salt and finely ground black pepper; 12 pieces of chicken wings

Procedure: Preheat the oven to 180C.  Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  Marinade the chicken wings for a couple of hours before cooking or even over night.  Oil a baking tray and arrange the chicken wings skin-side down.  Place in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Turn the wings over and cook for further 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Tip: I first cook the chicken wings for few minutes in a grill pan or barbecue grill.  I love the smoky taste that the grilling process gives to the chicken.  Then, after a couple of minutes, I put the chicken on the tray and straight to the oven.  The grilling also seals the flavor and liquid in the chicken, thus, making it juicy and not dry.

Dip: The used marinade can be made into a topping sauce for this recipe.  Simply put the marinade in a small sauce pan and add 1/3 cup of chicken stock.  Stir continuously in low heat.  Put in a teaspoon of thick cream and stir to blend.  This is a beautiful sauce.  The chicken wings in the photos have sauce in it, less the cream though.  This is because hubby is on diet and I preferred to do that to reduce calorie and fat intake.

If you want a thick dip instead of sauce, a mixture of sour cream, a tablespoon of lemon juice, crumbled feta or any soft cheese, and chives and black pepper make perfect dipping sauce for this.  Bon apetit!

(Ideas for this recipe were derived from ‘The Cooking Book’ by Brigitte Hafner.)

It’s the start again of another month. I am really hoping that this will be a more productive month than last month.  It was unimaginable how my responsibilities as a mother to my kids and wife to my husband made me on my feet most hours of the day.  That includes running around the household to finish the never-ending chores.  Being outside the household makes no difference; it cannot be an escape.  My multi-tasking as a grocery-shopper, driver, post woman, bill payer and a lot more makes my time everyday flies.

I think I deserve a break.  But do moms really get a break?  Lucky are those who can afford to get helpers at home.  Oftentimes, I wonder why here in this beautiful country house helpers are not common unlike in the Philippines.  Back home it is affordable to get helpers and even personal drivers.  And now I am dreaming…wishful thinking.  But life now is different.  Things change…even the direction of lives we’re heading to.  I think few years back, when destiny brought me here, my life’s direction has completely changed.  A very active, responsible and extremely challenging life.

Perhaps, for now, a good mug of my favorite coffee with lots of cream will do me a favor of few minutes of break.

A healthy choice for veggie lovers...

I have seen this a couple of weeks ago on my favorite cooking show.  That one of Giada in Food Channel.  I got very interested in this because I love green peas and I love the witlof with which she served the dip.  The thing is, I am not really fond of sundried tomatoes.  But still, I gave it a go.

Ingredients:  A cup of sundried tomatoes marinated in olive oil; 2 cups of frozen peas (blunched); 2 cloves of garlic; half cup of olive oil; salt and pepper; chili flakes (optional)

Procedure:  Put all the ingredients in the food processor and blend it until all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Make sure that it still has a coarse texture.  We don’t want the ingredients pureed.  Serve with veggies like witlof spears, baby cos/ baby romaine lettuce, seeded cucumbers or any veggies you like.

I served mine with witlof spears.  I love the sweet taste of green peas combined with the salty-sour taste of sundried tomatoes.  But since the witlof spears have a  bit of bitter taste, it may not be the ideal choice for those who do not like bitter veggies.  I recommend baby cos/ baby romaine lettuce as it is a bit sweet and very juicy.

This dip is ideal for dinner or cocktail parties.

Finger-licking good 'red wine adobo'

If you are a real Filipino you must love adobo.  Who is not familiar with adobo?  Whether you are in the Philippines or in other countries around the globe, Filipinos have to have adobo on their table once in a blue moon.  This is like a Pinoy ‘trademark’.  My friend in Las Vegas told me about the adobo they ordered in one of the restaurants there.  Yes, sure, it was yummy…but nothing can beat the home made adobo that we cook in our own version.

I have tasted and cooked different versions of adobo.  I love my mom’s version of adobo with dried banana flowers.  I miss it so much.  I promise that as soon as I find banana flowers here in Sydney I will definitely cook that version.  My brother-in-law’s version of adobo is worth the wait; he cooks it for an hour or so.  He cooks the meat first with the golden brown garlic then the rest of the cooking process lasts for an hour.  This adobo is one of the best I have ever tasted.  I love the garlicky taste.  This version has no sauce because it is cooked until it gets dry.

I came up with my own version of adobo.  This is spare ribs adobo with red wine vinegar.  What makes it different is the vinegar itself and the red wine.  The blend of the red wine vinegar and red wine with the flavors of garlic, a bit of sugar, soy sauce, black pepper corns and bay leaves is simply a piece of heaven in my palate.  The very tender pork spare ribs and the adobo sauce are finger-licking good.

Procedure: Brown spare ribs (1kg) in a bit of oil to seal the juice and flavor of the meat.  When done, set aside in a plate.  Put the garlic in the same pan and cook until brown.  Put in half cup of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce (or just enough to make the sauce salty).  Put in a bit of sugar, black pepper corns and bay leaves.  Cook until the meat is tender.  Pour in the red wine vinegar – the amount will depend on your taste, so aim for that taste that pleases your palate.  Pour in 2 table spoons of red wine.  Simmer until the sauce is reduced and sticky.  Serve with steamed jasmine rice.