Illusive vs Elusive

Illusive - deceptive; illusory

 

Elusive - difficult to find or achieve

 

 

When I wrote my last post, I thought the word that I was looking for was "illusive".

I was attending mass last Saturday when all of a sudden, I thought of the word, elusive!

I was so antsy, I wanted to go to my car where I kept my phone and immediately correct the word.

But I checked the meaning of illusive and thought that it was more apt than elusive.

I am trying to equate my happiness with food.

It seems illusory now.... The reason why I would cook a certain food or eat at a certain restaurant  is because in my way of thinking.... Food will make me happy.

Food will bring back the "sparkol" in my eyes.

It is decpetive in a way.... 

Then I would feel bad afterwards because what I thought would make me happy....

Did not make me happy.

So, yes.... It still is... The Illusive Sparkol.

The Illusive Sparkol

I can't seem to find my "sparkol" (Sparkle).  

It is the extra oomph or glint in my eyes whenever I think or eat my favorite food, or sometimes, just food in general.

I was talking to Mona last Sunday and told her I have no appetite.  It was such an unsual occurrence.  She suggested I see a doctor! (Insert sarcasm)

My FB friends thought I was really sick because I posted something like this:

I think I'm sick! Mona said I should see a doctor. 

Wala ako gana kumain!

I cooked beef caldereta, pork adobo, ginataang langka with alimasag and adobong pusit. 

I just put them all in the fridge. I even have Raffles Sour cream and cheddar, I don't want to eat it.(But I'm not giving it away, ha?)

That is so not Lia!  The bag of Raffles potato chips has not been touched yet up to now.

What is wrong with me?  I tried dining out....  Trying to find the "sparkol".

PD and I had lunch at Ooma, Rockwell the other day.  They do not have some of our favorites from their Megamall branch, though.

Kani Salad

 

Maki with oysters

 

Soft shell crab tempura

 

Ebi and kani taco maki

 

Chicken teriyaki.

 

I loved their bottomless iced tea but it was not sugar free.  I probably had about 5 glasses of tea.

 

The day before, our lunch date was at Ryu, SM Jazz.

Gyoza

 

Ebi Tempura and Chahan rice.

 

Stir-fried vegetables.

 

After lunch, I had a haircut at Park Jun's in Glorietta then met my Ate at Via Mare, Landmark for a quick snack.

Puto Bumbong

 

Ginumis

 

Yesterday, my "Uber" dates (FGM and Vinnie) and I went to Uptown Mall.  We had lunch at Morganfield's.

 

My order was the Hickory Smoked Barbecue Ribs.

 

The meat was "falling off the bone".

 

The lunch meal came with Soup of the day...

Chicken Gumbo

 

Or house salad.

 

And bottomless soda.

 

Our dessert was Molten Lava Cake.

 

I was in my crazy mode and asked them to take my silly photo!

 

Merienda was at Pink's, Shangrila, Fort.

 

 

I was so excited! When it first opened, I went on the 3rd day only to be disappointed because it was closed.  They ran out of hotdogs!

It brought a bit of a Sparkol to my eyes.

 

My order was the Legend of Hollywood.

 

It was ok.  An ordinary hotdog sandwich cost 280 pesos.  If you are on a budget, Sabrett's would hit the spot just the same.

The franchise was brought in by the owners of Wildflour and Farmacy Ice Cream.

 

Still on the hunt for the illusive sparkol, I met up with Pinky and Dodai at Uptown Mall today!  2 days in a row for me!

We had merienda at Paper Moon Cafe.

 

Pinky had the Matcha Crepe and cappucino.

 

Dodai ordered the Vanilla Crepe and cafe americano.

 

I just ordered the decaf Cafe Mocha.  

 

I was saving space for ramen at Ippudo!

 

Shiromaku Motoaji was what I ordered.

 

After my first sip of the soup, I realized I made a mistake!

The last time I was there, it was served in a red bowl!  I told the waiter about my mistake and asked him if I could just add garlic oil and charge it to my bill.

He did not allow it.  Instead, he replaced it with a serving of Akamaru Shinaji!

 

I was so embarrassed but the waiter assured me I should not be!

Wow! That's what I call, service!

So after eating all of that this week, did I get my sparkol back?

I do not know.  

What I ate was delicious but did it make me happy?  Did it make me ecstatic? Did I jump for joy?

They say, the eyes are the window to the soul.

Look at my eyes and tell me what you see.

My photos in the past told you a different story.

So.... I am still.... Finding Sparkol!

Pizza Stone

I have a pizza obsession and will not stop experimenting until I get it right. I have been researching every night which keeps me up until 4 in the morning. 

I remember my friend, Chef Bibo, who used to own a cafe, said that she used a pizza stone to get that brick oven effect.

Last weekend, there was a sale in Crate and Barrel and I was able to buy one!

 

Lucky me, it was not even on display but Jing encouraged me to ask. 

I used my  Pizza From Scratch recipe.  I let the dough rise for 30 minutes before using it.

My favorite toppings are shrimps, mushrooms and anchovies, just like Shakey's Friday Special.

 

I divided the risen dough into 2 thin discs.

 

For each pizza, I used  1/3 cup of the Marinara Sauce, 60 grams grated mozzarella cheese and my toppings.

I marinated the shrimps in a little olive oil, 1/8 t. sugar and 1/8 t. salt.

Now for the hard part...... I dusted the pizza paddle with flour so the dough will not stick to it.

 

I had a difficult time transferring the pizza from the paddle to the stone.

 

5 minutes into baking, my oven suddenly shut off!

 

What happened?!?! I think it was because I pre-heated it for an hour at 500 degrees!

I let the pizza cook for a few more minutes then got it out of the oven.

It looked good!

 

Cheese was stringy and I loved how it tasted!

 

I waited for a few minutes and tried switching on my oven again.  It worked!  

I baked my 2nd pizza but the oven was not as hot as when I baked the first pizza but still, it was ok.

 

The next next time I make pizza, I will just set the temperature at 450.  

Hopefully, my oven will not malfunction again.

Welcome Home, Debbie!

Debbie and family are in Manila for a couple of weeks. They are based in the USA now.  We had a small gathering to welcome them home at Cristina's house.

Her boys are quite tall.

Pinky brought her nephew and niece who just arrived from the USA, as well.   They will be here until the end of summer break.

 

The kids from abroad were still adjusting to a different time zone.  

 

While they were sleeping in the den, the adults had dinner!

Chicharon

 

Chicharon Bulaklak

 

Pancit from Miko's office canteen.

 

Pinky made adobo with quail eggs.

 

I cooked Kare-Kare.

 

Mona cooked the Sinigang na Bangus

 

And Palitaw.

 

The hosts ordered bbq from Mama Jeng's.

 

Buko Pandan from Jodie.

 

Chocolates from Candy.

  

Earlier in the day, Carrie baked the cookies and brought it to dinner.

 

She helped me make the pizza from scratch for our merienda.

 

  

It was nice seeing you again, Debbie and Aloy! Thank you for the chocolates! Hahahahaha And thanks for not giving me vitamins! *wink*

The original group of brainy women! 

 

They were from a lower batch but were accelerated.  They skipped the 7th grade and became our classmates in High School. 

Thank Goodness that you became our batchmates! 

Lucky us!

Hope you enjoy your vacation here, Debbie, Aloy and the kids!