Pork Milanese
Posted on | September 30, 2009 | 2 Comments
This is my take on Giada’s Pork Milanese (breaded porkchops with Parmesan cheese).
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I had stale bread which I used to make breadcrumbs. (I just toasted the bread in the oven for a few minutes and pulsed it in my food processor until it resembled coarse breadcrumbs.) I mixed the breadcrumbs with a combination of freshly grated Parmesan and Asiago cheeses. (Love that combination!) Then, after I seasoned the pounded porkchops with salt and pepper, I dipped each one first in flour, then in egg, then in the breadcrumb mixture.
After frying them in a butter/vegetable oil mixture, I sprinkled the chops with lemon zest and fresh thyme and oregano.
Now, my family is multicultural and this dish is perfect in satisfying everybody’s palates. The way I served it, I call the meeting of three cultures. The dish is Italian and I served it two ways – as a sandwich (American-style) for Troy and with rice and roasted vegetables (kinda Filipino-style) for the rest of the family.
Repurposed Clothing: Oven Mitt
Posted on | September 29, 2009 | 1 Comment
My family takes recycling seriously. Every week, during trash day, we’re proud to see that we have more in our recycling bin than in our trash can.
We usually donate old clothes to the Salvation Army, but recently, I’ve decided to set some old clothes aside and think of ways to repurpose them. This is my first repurposed clothing project.
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I think this dress has lived a good life. It used to be Mica’s and (like all of Mica’s clothes) it got handed down to Rinoa. Now it’s too small for Rinoa to wear. I like the colors a lot so I decided to make an oven mitt out of it.
I had Mica help me with this project. (I’m trying to get my kids involved in different creative endeavors.) Using a sewing machine, I quilted one side of the oven mitt while she did the other side. We used one of her old shirts (again, which got handed down to Rinoa) for the inside lining. In between the two fabrics, we sandwiched an insulated and cotton batting. For the pattern, I just traced my old oven mitt on paper and cut the shape out.
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Here’s how it turned out. Not bad I think. Although it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. (According to Troy, “It didn’t look easy at all.”) Mica was proud to have helped – now she can say she made an oven mitt.
Don’t think I threw away the scraps that were left. I’m going to give new life to every bit of that fabric, and for the scraps, I’m planning on creating some cute, small, fun appliques that I can use in either my paper projects or other sewing projects. We’ll see how that turns out.
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I’ve read that old clothes are fast becoming a major household waste. They fill up our landfills, and most fabrics take hundreds of years to break down. What can we do to help?
- Buy good quality clothes made with eco-friendly fabrics instead of trying to save money on cheap clothes that wear out fast and harm the environment.
- Buy less clothes. When you go out shopping, think twice before you buy more clothes you don’t need.
- Donate your old clothes instead of throwing them in the trash. Of course, you first have to take good care of your clothes so you can hand them down to someone else.
- If your feeling crafty, try to give your old clothes new life by repurposing them – big daddy pants can be turned into small kiddie pants, fabrics from different clothes can be patched together and made into a quilt or something, small scraps of fabrics can be used for appliques, etc.
Let’s do our part in helping save the earth.
Back to Homeschool
Posted on | September 28, 2009 | 4 Comments
“If you’re fortunate, you live near an elementary school filled with excellent teachers who are dedicated to developing your child’s skills in reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and science. These teachers have small classes – no more than ten students – and can give each student plenty of attention. The elementary school sits next to a middle school that is safe (no drugs, guns, knives). This school also has small classes; the teachers train their students in logic, critical thinking, and advanced writing. Plenty of one-on-one instruction is offered, especially in writing. And in the distance (not too far away) is a high school that will take older students through world history, the classics of literature, the techniques of advanced writing, high-level mathematics and science, debate, art history, and music appreciation (not to mention vocational and technical training, resume preparation, and job hunting skills).” – from the Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise-Bauer and Jessie Wise
I’m not that fortunate. That’s why I homeschool.
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This is my second year homeschooling, with curricula (I have two) that are still based on The Well-Trained Mind. The book teaches classical education, which it defines as follows:
The lessons I’ve put together are rigorous and structured, and best of all, they push my kids to explore their full potential. Not to say that we don’t have fun. Our school days are both bloody and hilarious. (Just to make sure I don’t get in trouble with the law – bloody is just a figure of speech.)
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Mica is in 7th grade. Her subjects include Language Arts, History and Geography, Algebra I (designed for 9th grade students), Chemistry, Logic, Health, Computer, Latin, Spanish, Art, and Music. (I’ll share my methods and her works as we go along.)
Mica also ice skates. She’s preparing for her first competition this November and her first ice show this December. Aside from training with a private coach every week, she practices on the ice rink 6 hours a week.
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Rinoa already has a solid foundation to start first grade this fall. She’s actually technically not qualified to enter kindergarten yet because of her age, but so far, she’s breezing through her first grade subjects, especially math! I’m still staying with the program I’ve put together for her because I don’t want to rush her too much. (I will also share some of her works in future posts.)
Rinoa’s extra curricular activity is dance. She takes a combination class that teaches ballet, jazz, and tap. She will be having a recital next spring.
Of course, aside from ice skating and dancing, I teach both of them piano as part of their music program.
Well, wish me luck as I’m hoping to survive this schoolyear with my sanity intact – lol!
Ondoy’s Trail of Fury
Posted on | September 27, 2009 | 1 Comment
Yesterday, my mom called to let me know that because of a recent typhoon, our house in the Philippines got flooded. She was worried because she’s still in New York visiting my brother and the only person taking care of the house was her house maid. She was feeling helpless.
It wasn’t until my friend Rhea called that I realized how bad that typhoon hit my native country …
“On September 26, Manila and its neighboring provinces suffered one of nature’s worst beating. Typhoon Ondoy, international code name Ketsana, poured more than a month’s worth of rain in six hours, submerging most parts of the bustling metropolis, drowning at least a hundred people as of press time. My prayers to the victims, and may we emerge victorious and live by the lessons of this tragedy. (Photos by Reuters, Music: “Heaven On Earth” by Nicole Pasternak)” – From Glenn Omanio
My prayers to the victims as well, especially to my friends and family. I do hope the Filipinos emerge victorious.
Celebrating Rinoa
Posted on | September 24, 2009 | 8 Comments
A few weeks ago, we celebrated Rinoa’s 5th birthday. It’s interesting to note that this year, Rinoa was old enough to understand, for the first time, the concept of birthdays. She knew children get gifts on their birthdays – and she was excited. She’s been wanting this wooden kitchen set from Target, and one starry night, while we were outside on the driveway, she pointed to the brightest star she could find and made a wish.
A week after she made her wish, and just a few days before her birthday, this is what happened:
Rinoa: Mommy, I told the wishing star I wanted the kitchen set for my birthday. Does that mean you’re going to give me the kitchen set on my birthday?
Mommy: Well, if you made a wish, that’s between you and the wishing star. That doesn’t mean you will get a kitchen set from me.
Rinoa: Does that mean the wishing star will give me the kitchen set for my birthday?
Mommy: You just have to be patient and see if your wish will be granted.
Now, her concept of birthdays go beyond knowing she’ll get gifts. This is what she said the night before her birthday:
Rinoa: All of you have to hide tomorrow and surprise me.
Mommy: Why do we have to do that?
Rinoa: Because that’s what people do when it’s someone’s birthday. Everybody hides and when I come in and I don’t see anybody, I’ll say ‘Aawww, there’s nobody here and it’s my birthday!’ And then you’ll all come out and shout ‘Happy Birthday!’ and I will be happy.
Mommy: Where did you learn that?
Rinoa: I saw it on TV.
Mommy: Uh-huh.
Rinoa: So are you going to hide?
Mommy: No.
Rinoa: Aaawww. Why not?
Mommy: Because surprises don’t work that way. You can’t tell someone to surprise you on your birthday because then, you won’t be surprised anymore.
Rinoa: Ok.
Anyway, she did get surprised. The next morning, when she woke up and came downstairs, one of her gifts was already set up against a wall and waiting for her. (Not really hard to guess what it was.)
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| Just look at that big smile on her face. (The kitchen set, btw, was a pain to put together, according to Troy.) |
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| And here she is, opening more gifts. This one is from Mica. |
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| Mica got her a Tinkerbell doll and a new princess tiara, since she broke Rinoa’s old one. |
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| Rinoa chose to have cupcakes rather than one big birthday cake – so I baked her two kinds – a cloud cupcake (meringue frosting) with pink sprinkles and a fruit cupcake with mascarpone frosting. She’s making a wish here before she blows out the candles. |
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| Two of her friends, Zoe and Maddy, came to celebrate with us. |
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Hello Fall
Posted on | September 23, 2009 | No Comments
It’s officially fall – my favorite season of all. And to celebrate the beginning of the new season, I had the whole family work on an autumn wreath that now hangs on our front door.
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The autumn wreath was actually a kit. It was on sale (75% off) when I found it, and I thought it would be a great, quick fall project for the girls. Very simple to do if you don’t mind getting your hands sticky from using glue and floral tape. Mica says her favorite part of the project was attaching the acorns to the wreath, while Rinoa says her “most favorite parts were popping the (diecut) leaves out and chalking them”.
In tandem with teaching them about gratitude, I’m planning on having each member of my family write down on a tag something he/she is thankful for. This will be done every week at the start of November and will culminate on Thanksgiving Day. The gratitude tags will be pinned on the wreath as they are filled up and will be read out loud by whoever wrote them during Thanksgiving Dinner.
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Another quick fall project we did was the Halloween Tree. Much simpler than the Autumn Wreath. Also a kit. Also on sale. This will get them excited for Halloween – not that they need any push in that direction. The bags don’t have treats yet. We’ll be filling that up as Halloween draws nearer.
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And this is just a reflection the Halloween Tree and my lamp made on the window. I just thought it was cool. =)
Monster Sunflowers and Birds on Wires
Posted on | September 22, 2009 | No Comments
Boy, they (whoever they are) weren’t kidding when they named these plants Monster Sunflowers. Troy planted the seeds in between the bushes on the side of our house leading to our front porch and they grew to be at least 8 feet tall over the summer!
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| The leaves are freakishly gigantic – about 18 to 24 inches in length! (Reminds me of Jack in the Beanstalk.) |
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| I was so excited when the flowers started blooming – they look so refreshing. Each flower was about 24 inches in diameter. I thought they were a lovely way to greet guests. |
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| Then, just after a week or so after the sunflowers bloomed, the petals started drying out, the center of the flowers started bulging, and they became menacingly creepy – looming over those that walk our pathway. |
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Turns out, a sunflower is actually the head of hundreds of little flowers that crowd together – cool thought but still menacingly creepy. Would have been a nice decoration for halloween, if Troy hasn’t harvested the heads for sunflower seeds.
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I found this video shared in this blog. I thought it was awesome, so I decided to share it here as well. If you’re having a bad day, bet you’ll be smiling after watching this video.
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Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo. |
“Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.” – Jarbas Agnelli
Recreating Our Not So Big House
Posted on | September 21, 2009 | 1 Comment
My family lives in a small condo in a nice, quiet neighborhood. So quiet, in fact, that it can get really depressing during the winter. When we bought this place, Troy and I thought it would be the perfect transition from an apartment to a real house. We said we were just going to stay here for two years until we can relocate to that perfect place and find that perfect house. That was seven years ago.
I guess in the long, painful process of finding my place in this country, I’ve learned to be patient. I’ve accepted that you don’t always get what you want – at least, not right away. And while I’m not exactly where I want to be yet, I’ve decided to start living. I’ve been wanting to redesign our place – give it more character, infuse our personalities into it – but the thought that we’re going to move soon always hindered me from doing anything. What I didn’t realize is that the more I put things on hold, the more in limbo I feel.
I’ve always been a big believer of Sarah Susanka’s not so big house philosophy. And it’s this philosophy that guided me in recreating our living spaces – and in the process transformed our house into a home that provides a nourishing environment for my family’s creative spirits.
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| This is my before picture. It shows what the wall of our dining area looked like, and in the mirror reflection, you can see our unfinished media nook. |
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The first thing we did was line that dining area wall with bookshelves from Ikea. I love how this wall treatment reflects my childhood (I grew up in a house overflowing with books) and gives a glimpse of who we are from the books and stuff that fill the shelves.
The narrower column of shelves at the right end became cubbies for our art supplies. I made sure that Rinoa can easily grab the supplies that she uses often, like pencils, crayons, markers, and glue, so I placed them in the lower shelves. The bins at the bottom house materials for different types of crafts, like beads, stamps, polymer clay, etc. The higher shelves house the messier supplies like inks and paints. By having different art/craft supplies accessible to them, I’m hoping to encourage Mica’s and Rinoa’s creativity.
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Initially, I was going to get rid of the two old bookshelves and buffet table that used to stand on that dining area wall (as shown in the before photo). Then I found a good spot for them, and now I’m happy with where they are. (Except for that mirror, which I’m planning to replace.)
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I needed a way to visually separate the living area from the dining area without constricting the spaces, and this Expedit bookshelf, also from Ikea, was the perfect solution. It acts as a divider and provides more storage. I also replaced the curtains and I’m loving my color scheme.
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At the other end of the divider is my desk. By bringing my work space downstairs, the whole first floor becomes my studio that I can share with my family.
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I added a few cabinet and drawer inserts to the Expedit bookshelf. The cabinets act as the girls’ lockers for school. They love it. They have this rule that they can’t open the other’s locker, they can only open their own locker.
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I was running out of room but I managed to find a good place for my digital piano, right beside the Expedit bookshelf.
We’re not done transforming our space yet, but the changes we’ve made so far have already contributed in making our everyday lives richer. I’m definitely much happier. Our place reflects us. Now I’m not saying I don’t want to move anymore. I still do. But why wait? I’ve learned to work with what I have at the moment. I’ve learned to enjoy the journey.
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© 2006-2010 Johwey Redington.
Please don't steal my text or images, it's disrespectful and you'll be subjet to karma! If you want to use any of the images, please email me for a written permission. Thank you.
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