Off The Beaten Pat | A full-time mom's journey and celebration of life on all of its trails

The Great Xiamen Adventure: A Homecoming

My mother-in-law had been wanting to bring the entire family to China, to her and our father-in-law’s hometown in Xiamen for a while now saying it would be more meaningful for the family than any other trip. But truth be told, I only started to feel excited about going when I realized I would be setting foot on the very land where my own late paternal grandfather, beloved and dearest to me, was born and raised. There is even the possibility that I could see the house he had built for his relatives by the sea and meet family.

Mount Kanlaon

Here in Negros
We don’t have much high-rises
Our buildings don’t look
Like they could even touch the sky

Ensaymada: A labor of love

Yesterday, October 5, 2023, as the world celebrated Teacher’s Day and in remembrance of my late Tito Gary’s would-have-been 70^th birthday, I learned how to make ensaymada from his daughter and her husband. My cousins Andine and Ryan Villacorta using their father’s recipe, which is an heirloom recipe that he also inherited from his late paternal grandmother, Consuelo Araneta continued his ensaymada business after his death.

Katsudon

It is raining the entire day and this lazy bed weather is perfect for a nice bowl of Katsudon, piping hot with the perfect doneness of breaded pork, topped with still runny scrambled egg, scallions and whatever magic that goes into this beloved Japanese dish. For me, this is the penultimate comfort food that eating it just comforts my soul.

A Cake For All Seasons

Cakes are usually enjoyed fresh from the bakery, at cafes and restaurants, at dining halls and venues or at birthday parties so imagine my surprise when my hubby came home from the airport after a flight from Manila carrying a large box of cake. I couldn’t believe he would buy a cake on purpose as pasalubong because it would be cumbersome for him to be hand-carrying it and putting it on the overhead bin. Also there is a risk of the cake spilling out when other passengers open the bin excitedly upon disembarkation in my opinion. But he said it was a present from a friend who mentioned that this particular cake is really famous for its very delicious taste.

Desert Rose

A flower so common
A flower so wild
Yet so very special
When held by a child
Who smiles and says
This is for you
You made my day
I love you too
So although this flower
Can’t compare to a rose
I would still prefer one
To a hundred of those

Sunset

The world has never been more clear
As when the sun is about to set
It basks all things in a crystalline glow
Just in case we might forget
The dewy grass, the silhouette
Of things gone by
Of things not yet

The Zumba Life

It’s been awhile since I last joined our neighborhood Zumba session and there are many new faces now. Unlike me who usually joins them only twice a week at most, they meet thrice, on Mondays at the residence of one of the members, Tita Grace Roth and on Wednesdays and Fridays at the spacious abode of Tita Shirley Napagao who is responsible for the inception of the group and the appointment of our Zumba instructor Znet Morales.

Purple Yam Cake

I have been craving for this confection for a while now. Particularly the one from my childhood, the old-fashioned kind, simple and nondescript. We would often bring this cake during excursions or serve it at kiddie parties, not as the main cake itself but as a dessert, although sometimes it could be the main cake. It is also served at buffets in bite-sized portions.

Land of Sugarcane

I live in the land of Sugarcane
Of cinnamon and cream
I live in a land where chocolate
Recalls a lovely dream
I wake in the land of Sugarcane
And everywhere there’s cheese
Where Feta, Brie and Emmental
And Gouda’s sure to please