Thanksgiving 2019

The young lady came home for Thanksgiving week. She worked from home the whole time except on Thursday and Friday.

For Thanksgiving Day, thank goodness we didn't get invitations to decline. Hehehhe

For our Thanksgiving feast, I made each of my family's favorite dish.

For the young lady, I made her Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette), pork barbecue for the boy, and all-veggie stew and vegan corn bread for the mister.

And for me?

I made a 2-layer vegan chocolate cake. The young lady made the frosting, and decorated it too. We used Nora Taylor's recipe. This one. For the chocolate buttercream frosting, we only used about 3 cups of powdered sugar.

The cake was unbelievably good. It's a keeper.

For this year, we are thankful for our bountiful harvest from our 3 garden plots. I saved some of the plants, and transplanted them into pots to bring indoors. I have some purple bell peppers, 2 sweet potato plants, and rosemary.  

We're also thankful for our blessings, for good health, and for all of our relationships that has remained true.

Yna went back to NY on Sunday afternoon. I also made 3 varieties of bread for her to take and to give away, only if she wanted to.

I made her Vegan Spanish bread, Vegan Ube Ensaymada, and a Turkey Sausage-Egg Soft Breakfast Buns. I honestly didn't know that if I switched ingredients to completely vegan, there wouldn't be any difference, taste and texturewise. (I can't share recipes. Sorry.)

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Vegan Spanish bread. I had to find ways to omit any animal products in my baked goods, and I am so happy I did. I didn't know that there wouldn't be any difference -- taste and texture-wise. This new and best option for plant eaters, the dough, in my opinion, is way easier to handle than with the one with eggs and cow's milk. This is mister and human cubs approved. #askgoogleforrecipe #foryoureyesonly #spanishbread #filipinobread #veganfilipinobread #veganbread #homemadebread #morepaninfrederickmd #homebaker

A post shared by LiLi (@missnalupa) on Nov 28, 2019 at 6:50am PST

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New at Jay's Cat Cafe, oatmilk latte and Vegan Ube Ensaymada. They're sooooo good! #foryoureyesonly #invitesonly #dairyfree #eggfree #vegan #veganfilipinobread 🤭😁

A post shared by LiLi (@missnalupa) on Nov 9, 2019 at 8:18am PST

Yumazing!

I am baking another batch of Vegan Ube Macapuno Ensaymada tonight. Still waiting for the second proofing.

I also asked Yna if she has bread left from Sunday. She said she's taking it tomorrow on the plane for an international flight to Asia.

Lucky pan (bread)!

... and after Thanksgiving, the Christmas rush has officially began.

Hi!

It's been awhile. I have been enjoying my own company for these past months. I have been reading, and watching movies.

I tried and attempted to write a blog post, but I don't know what to write about. So, I didn't force it.

~~~~~~~~

I was cleaning my email today, and saw a note I sent myself in 2011. It was a conversation I had with the 11 year old boy.

We were at the park, about 3 miles away from our house. I asked the boy when we passed by a flock of ducks by the creek. I asked him what's "itik" in English, and in a flash he said, "bird poop". Oh well, at least he tried. 

Itik [ee-tik] - duck
Iti [i-ti] - bird poop

Close enough.

The Unsocial Butterfly

Coming to America in 1998 was a leap of faith. We didn't have friends and relatives in Maryland. All we knew was that the mister had a job, and that's the only thing we were sure of.

I honestly didn't want to go with the mister right away and wanted to stay for another 6 months since I enjoyed my job as a college art instructor at a local university in our city. I was struggling as a new teacher, but I was up for the challenge.

But I had no choice and resigned before the new school year started in 1998. It would be too selfish and inconsiderate of me not to come with him when it would be his first time coming to this part of the world too. I guess it would be exciting as well to experience new things together.

I haven't connected with any of the people I met in Virginia, despite the fact that we were invited to a few parties there. We've always only spoken at those get-togethers, and I only speak to a few of them. 

For many months, it was mainly the mister, our little girl, and me.

Despite being invited to a few parties in Virginia, I have yet to form a bond with any of the people I met there. I only speak with a few of them, and our interactions have always been limited to these events.

During the first few months, it felt like we were groping in the dark. We didn't even know where to buy mongo beans. Finding ingredients for our Filipino dishes was a dilemma. We didn't even know that mongo is mung bean in America and is sold in all American groceries in the grain aisle.

Imagine eating fried fish without Silver Swan soy sauce mixed with Datu Puti white vinegar as a dipping sauce. That meal came up short!

We celebrated our first white Christmas and New Year together, just the 3 of us. The neighborhood we lived in was eerily quiet—a polar  opposite of how the holidays were celebrated in the Philippines.

That was sad!

In the coming months, the feeling turned homey and comfortable. That was because there were more Filipino families in the company. Many of them became our neighbors.

I felt adjusted because we weren't alone. Not anymore.

Those were the days when we were fresh off the boat.

Two decades later, a number of those Filipinos left the company. Some moved to different states. Some of them I lost contact with, but a number of them have remained friends with us.

Four weeks ago, I don't know why, but I was overjoyed when I saw several of Leo and the mister's former colleagues, together with their wives, who came for Tita Mila's funeral services. I genuinely admired them for being there.

You know those people who make time to sympathize when a former colleague and a friend is in mourning? That's admirable. These people can just send their messages over the phone or through emails, but no, they didn't. They allotted their precious time to be there.

Janet, Fe, and I
(the wives of  the mister's former colleagues
on August 16 after Tita Mila's funeral service)

These are people that I have not seen for years. When they were with the company, I used to see them in company events twice a year.

I was so glad we had a chance to chit-chat, and most of all I am extremely happy where they are in their lives now.

Some of those Filipino families that we met earlier in America have become very close to each other and created a close-knit group. However, the mister and I created our own group. It's just him and me and our kids.

This is maybe because I can honestly say that I immensely love my own company and that I am okay not being in a group. I love being at home lost in a book, enjoying a movie, alone in my garden, or studying and taking notes for new recipes to try. I honestly don't feel bad when I am not invited to parties. That means I don't have to make and bake food to bring, and I don't have to find something to wear.

I think I am a floater. I can enjoy the company of others, and I hope they also love mine, but I am not necessarily an active member of a barkadahan (clique).

Like a butterfly, yet it is quite content without socializing.

But early this week, I learned that I became an honorary member of a core group. I didn't apply. They just embraced me, and it caught me by surprise.

Hihihihi. 

This is a first.