So anyway, since moving back to the Philippines in 1996, my brother and I have been discovering Filipino foods and awakening in our palate a love for the cuisine of our homeland. All sorts of pancit, kakanin, inihaw, seafood, seaweed: you name it, we’ll try it. The results are not always spectacular, but we’re always willing to stuff new things in our mouths!

It’s said that Kapampangans cook so well because they eat so well. Being the daughter of a Kapampangan who loved to cook, I guess I took up the spatula and the ladle as well. I started cooking when I moved to Yale in 2004, and I haven’t stopped since.

Cooking Filipino foods—especially the ones my brother and I love to eat—has become something of a mini-quest of mine. I love nilaga and tinola, and those are some of the things I tried learning to cook. Despite protestations from Paul regarding the necessity of saging na saba in nilagang baka, I’ve heard many approving sighs and happy moans from masticating mouths when it comes to my cooking.

So one day I tried caldereta, and it wasn’t half-bad!

The problem now is not how to cook caldereta, but how to cook just enough of it. I seem unable to cook for two, having gotten used to cooking larger batches of food for the transients and refugees that Yale always housed. So here’s my recipe for caldereta! Ingredients listed should be good enough to serve 2 people.

• ¼ kilo beef
• 2 bell peppers – red and/or green, chopped in squares
• 1 small carrot – peeled and chopped
• 1 piece chorizo – chopped and sautéed in olive oil with chopped garlic and onions till brown
• green olives – optional, they add a salty flavor
• 1 small can liver spread – use only half, otherwise the sauce will be too thick
• 3-5 medium sized potatoes – or you can use 1/4 kilo baby potatoes so you don’t need to chop
• 1 pack tomato sauce

Procedure:
1. Put beef in pot, fill with just enough water to cover meat. Boil over medium heat to tenderize. Once water is boiling, reduce heat. If you want to reduce fat, throw out water after boiling and add fresh water, then boil again. You’ll know the beef is tender enough when you can cut it easily with a spoon and a fork.

2. Once beef is ready, add potatoes and carrots to broth. Let it simmer till potatoes and carrots are tender.

3. Add tomato sauce, chorizo (with garlic and onions) and liver spread. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer, stir occasionally.

4. Once flavor is to your liking, add the olives. You can add the peppers just before serving if you want them crunchy, or let them simmer if you want them soft.

Simple sandwiches are not a bad thing. But simple need never be boring! A cheese sandwich, for instance, can have two kinds of cheese and a dash of something to liven it up: cayenne, chopped basil, a slice of tomato or cucumber. That isn’t so difficult.

The other day I discovered how to make my perfect cheese sandwich:

- 1 hamburger bun, sliced in half
- Edam cheese
- 3-4 slices of cucumber
- Olives, chopped in half
- Lady’s choice ham or chicken spread

• Arrange slices of Edam cheese on one half of burger bun. Option: Bury olive slices under the cheese.
• Toast for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove bun.
• Spread Lady’s Choice on the other side. Add cucumber slices.
• Close up and enjoy!

If you need meat, try adding sliced chorizo (sautéed in garlic, if you wish), liver spread, or Purefoods Ham Selections (any variant, they’re all good). Another option is to use cream cheese or Cheez Whiz instead of Lady’s Choice. You can also add sliced tomatoes. The possibilities are endless, and your appetite saved!

MERALCO, why oh why?

Nearly two months of wedded bliss, and everything’s fine. New house, new life, and many other new things, most of which use power. We’re people of many gadgets–who isn’t nowadays? My work requires me to be online almost all day, and Oneal and I have many interests online. In fact, we rely on the Internet for so many things: news, photos, communication with friends and family, even much of our charity work and 501st activity happens online. So you can understand the need for the multiple laptops, the phones, and the requisite power consumption.

Still, that’s not unusual. Neither are the aircon units (only used at night, but if during the day, only when we’re both home), the washing machine (chosen because it’s energy and water efficient), the lightbulbs (all CFL, mind you), the electric fans, and the kitchen appliances. So when we got our first electric bill in March, it was P2,082.40, and that seemed reasonable. After all, there’s two of us, and a three-bedroom townhouse.

Then just a few days ago, we got our new bill: P7,062.70

Granted, the first bill had been for 6 February to 6 March. Our lease on the townhouse started late January, and we moved in only after the wedding, so for about half of that billing period, we weren’t actually living here. But we were here at least every other day, and many of the days were spent installing various fixtures (aircon, water heater) and fixing the electrical wiring here and there. And when we moved in, we were pretty extravagant with the aircon use.

We expected a high electricity bill, but the P5,000 increase was preposterous! When we got the bill, my husband and I were looking over it, scrutinizing each charge, each item, each detail. Sure, our consumption had gone up from 201 kwh in February to 533 kwh in March. But it was ridiculous! We were thinking about power-saving strategies, like turning off the light in the hallway at night; getting those adapters with switches to make sure there’s no phantom power drain; reducing the use of the turbo roaster and the electric grill and the toaster; using the timer more religiously when we use the aircon; and reducing the usage of our secondary computers.

Then Oneal pointed out the distribution charge.

What was a charge of only P0.9953/kwh in February became P2.1998/kwh in March. What was a charge of only P200.06 in February became P1,172.49 in March. The generation charge also increased from 11.19% to 11.42%.

This is preposterous. Even when we were living in Cubao, where the house had 4 occupants and we had a total of 7 computers (1 desktop and 6 laptops/netbooks) and 2 aircons, our bill didn’t spike that high.

I hope Meralco realizes this atrocity isn’t going unnoticed, and that paying customers won’t take this lying down. Price hikes are understandable, but keep them reasonable! This is ridiculous! Join the protest on Facebook.