Malu Fernandez & Kris Aquino: two peas in a pod, part 2

didn't i say in my entry of august 19, that karma is a bitch? well, here's an update relative to that post:

• about a couple of weeks ago, Malu Fernandez issued another apology. i've read it, and i don't have an opinion on it... but the most important thing was what a lot people have been waiting for her to do - resign. and she did. the same day she made the "sincere" apology. she made a mistake, she faced the consequences (altho a tad late), and she paid for it. hopefully, she will now find peace.

• anytime soon, one of Kris Aquino's show, Deal or No Deal, is ending. kaput. they're giving all sorts of reason to its demise, but i don't really care. what i know is that, none of her shows are doing well in the ratings game. not surprising at all. a lot of people are getting tired of, and turned-off by her antics. she should get off her high horse, face reality, and stop believing her own press. perhaps this would be a wake up call, but i highly doubt it.

to borrow a phrase from Janelle of BB6, "bye-bye, bitches!"

oven-roasted pork belly aka lechon sa hurno, a variation of lechon kawali

last week, i was looking at food blogs, specifically Filipino food blogs, and they made me long for home. my mom's cooking, the local goodies, the fruits...

when i went to the strip district about 3 weekends ago, i bought two slabs of pork belly from the asian store, thinking of using them for adobo or binagoongan. the asian store is the only place i know where i can get them. never seen pork belly sold in our local grocery stores. anyway, i saw a recipe for lechon kawali, and i got excited. if i like lechon kawali, hubby loves it. but i hate frying. i don't like oil splatters, specially the amount of cleaning that comes after. then i saw the oven-roasted lechon recipe of Sassy in her pinoycook website, and bingo! i searched some more for other recipes, and i finally did a variation, and came up with my own version.

i boiled the slab in water with sea salt, peppercorns, quartered onion, crushed garlic, and about a quarter cup of vinegar - for about 2 hours. after boiling, i air-dried it for another 2 hours, rubbed it with olive oil, and popped it in the oven at 300 degF until lightly browned. i let it rest until after i picked hubby from the train station at 6pm. when i got back, i broiled it until the skin showed blisterings. i let it rest for about 10 minutes before i served it.

hubby's grin at the sight of the lechon was more than enough consolation for all the labor i put into my first ever lechon. unfortunately, my son is not a big fan of fatty foods so he got himself a bowl of cereals and a couple of bananas for his dinner.

meanwhile, hubby and myself enjoyed the artery-clogging dinner very much, and finished it off with a slice each of chocolate cream cake.

ok. please pass the lipitor now, honey...

honorable mention to the Filipino food blogs i visit all the time. my source, not only of recipes, but much inspiration in the kitchen. you are invaluable to someone like me, who is not an expert.

pinoy cook
Market Manila
purplegirl's kitchen

thank you!

they come in 3s...

this is a happy Sunday for me. i am a huge sports fan, and though i don't play any sports, i enjoy watching it. and today, my favorites didn't fail me.

1st, football season officially started today. the Steelers played their season opener in Cleveland against the Browns. they started strong, and finished strong. they totally smoked the Browns 34-7, with Roethlisberger throwing a career-high 4 TD passes! a good start to, hopefully, a very good season. congratulations to the players and the new coaching staff headed by Mike Tomlin. go Steelers!!!

2nd, as i predicted, Tiger Woods wins the BMW Championship, and is now leading in the Fedex Cup points standing. it was very close, especially in the front nine, where Baddeley and Stricker tied him for first in several holes. Tiger played flawless golf, made birdies when it matters most, and set another tournament scoring record. he is a fierce competitor but never forgets to have fun, and that is one of the things that sets him apart from the rest of the field. give him five more years, and he will be setting more records that will set him apart, this time, from the golfing legends he so admires. next week will be the final leg of the Fedex Cup, the Tour Championship. should he win there, he will set another record, this time, as the Fedex Cup's first winner.

3rd, another history-making event, this time, at the US Open. Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets for the finals. this is Federer's fourth straight US Open championship, and is the first man to win four consecutive since Bill Tilden in the 1920s. he is now just 2 grand slams shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14. there is no doubt he will tie it and surpassed it in the next two years.

for me, Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time, as Tiger is in golf, and Michael Jordan is in basketball. i consider myself lucky and privileged to have witnessed these guys play, and excel in their respective sport.

i told you, they come in 3s...

gut feel

i should have listened to my gut. then i would have spared myself the unecessary tension...

after i came back from a short trip to the grocery store, i was alternately watching the us open semis between federer and davydenko on cbs, and the bmw championship, the 3rd leg of the fedex cup playoffs, on nbc.

tiger is in 2nd place going into tomorrow's final round. still a good thing because he is really playing well.

federer, meanwhile, won the first two sets, but was down 0-3 in the third set. that didn't even make me nervous, and that's no disrespect to davydenko. i just know that federer will come through, and he did. he broke back several times altho he seemed to have a hard time holding his own serve. but he came through, 7-5.

i felt really good about those two results, and so i thought, "they come in threes..." i just know in my gut one of the Donatos will win the PoV.

...and she came through, as always, for herself and her dad. Dani won the PoV. she is now the Veto Princess. (Janelle is the Queen)

this is a good night.

uggghhh...

i'm on pins and needles...
i need to find something to do for the next 90 minutes...

oh, lordy...
my tummy hurts...
i feel like throwing up...

i need to calm down...
it's just a game...
it's just a show...

I CAN'T!!!

news

i'm already tired of hearing news about the war. but there's just no way you can avoid it... there seems to be no end or resolution to it. the US should have not been there in the first place...

the Iraq war has so far, cost the American people (not the government because those are taxpayers' money) $449 billion. staggering amount considering a lot of social services were being cut left and right in every single city and town in America just to fund this war.

to add insult to injury, there was a report this evening at nbc nightly news about an Iraqi who used to be the Iraqi government's watchdog. he recently resigned his position, and fled to the US because of threats to his life. all the threats were due to investigations his office conducted on the rampant and widespread corruption within their government. the corruption is so bad, he is calling for the US government to stop supporting the Maliki administration.

how could something like this happen to the most powerful, most influential country in the world? mind-boggling...

meanwhile, there have been 3,760 casualties since the war started on march 19, 2003.

staggering numbers indeed...

the good, the bad, and the ugly... bb8

the good - today was my court date at 10am at the courthouse for my speeding violation. i arrived at the parking lot the same time as the magistrate and another man, who was also going to the courthouse. when we got there, we signed up, and waited in the waiting area with about 8 other people. the magistrate started hearing cases just before 10, and the proceedings were fast as he was already in his 3rd case by the time 10am came. i thought to myself, that is a good sign, and it was. i didn't imagine it to be that painless altho i wasn't really nervous. to make the long short, all 4 points assessed for my violation was waived, which is my(our) biggest concern since that would have affected our insurance rate - AND - the fine was also lowered. a check for the refund will be sent by mail. i think the entire proceeding was over in 10 minutes. so that's the good.

the bad - something happened that i was not very happy about, and only aggravated me more. i won't go into details here. i'd rather keep it to myself...

the bad - re bb8... Zach won HoH. that sucked since Dani almost won...

the ugly - still on bb8... Zach nominated Dick & Dani for eviction. he totally turned against them... it was actually a good strategic move on Z's part. it's just that it just sucks when you're at the receiving end of a betrayal...

only hope is for one of the Ds to win the PoV because that is where the real power lies. the PoV winner holds the power to send someone packing.

in all these years that i have been watching BB, not once did my favorite houseguest win. they all got screwed... i hope my luck changes this season and see one of the Ds win.