BrainiaxMD's Brain Spaghetti

In my neverending pursuit of improvement of my culinary skills, I decided to tackle one of the more demanding disciplines of the game.. How to make Pasta!

Featured here is my third attempt at cooking spaghetti. It was really challenging the first time around, with mom helping me with most of it. From then on, it was all me! I kinda screwed up the second one, but I'm pleased to say that third time's the charm..


This is what the noodles looked like after i had chucked it out of the strainer, hence, Brain Spaghetti.. haha... =P


And here is the final product after admixing the sauce. (yes, admixing is a real word. Look it up at Dictionary.com :D) Mmmmm, tasty..

It was all pretty simple and straightforward. No fancy-ass pasta chef trickery here. Boiled a pack of Del Monte spaghetti is water with about a tablespoonful of salt thrown in. When noodles are of the right consistency, remove from the water and strain. While being strained, pour cold water over the noodles to quickly cool them (I forgot the culinary term for this technique). As for the sauce, saute 1 whole diced onion til it starts to brown. (I would have added garlic as well, but there wasn't any at the time. Dang!).
I then added around 5 chopped hotdogs and about 1/4kg pork giniling. After around 10 minutes, I added a pack of spaghetti sauce, and admixed slices of quickmelt cheese and ground black pepper. Let simmer for around 10-15 minutes and add to the noodles. Feeds a ravenously hungry family of 4. =D

Prrrrt!!! Travelling!!!

A couple of days ago, I really knocked myself out acting as a driver for my dad while we went around the metro. Man, we were everywhere! :P
Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. Here are the different stops we made during the course of the day...

1) Department of Foreign Affairs - Drove all the way to Roxas Blvd via EDSA and parked in front of the Astrodome. Took us about half an hour for our passport appearance then we were off to...

2) Valero Tower - from DFA, we travelled along the length of Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (aka Buendia) and managed to go round the block a few times, touching base with Makati Avenue and Dela Rosa before winding up at the right place. I swear, I really hate Makati's ever-changing traffic flow schemes!!! =( Grr!! We finally found the place . Dad got out to go about his business while I waited in line for the parking. I was able to eventually park but had barely killed the engine when dad suddenly came out from said building already. Oh well.. After consulting the ever-trusty map, we sped off to...

3) HP Service Center (Accelerando building) - Going out of Salcedo Village, we took Makati Avenue (I think) and made a right at Jupiter Street. Man, the parking space at that building is so small! As usual, dad hot out, taking my ailing Pocket PC with him while I sat it out waiting for any car to move and free up a space. In my rush after parking, I inadvertently locked my key inside!! After a brief outburst of panic and cursing m stupidity, I was able to collect myself and ask the help of the parking guard, who whipped out his handy "device" and told me that it was a pretty common occurrence there. Whew!! Needless to say, I was so relieved.. After that brief scare we scampered home to take a breather first..

4) Shangri-La Plaza Mall - It was lunchtime when we arrived home. After dumping our stuff, we decided to eat out at someplace that was "friendly territory" (with Makati being classified under hte VERY hostile list. hehe). and ended up at Pho Hoa there at the 6th floor of the Shang. Dad had one of the moodle soups while I tried the Vermicelli Bowl. Sulit!! It was like eating a big salad with noodles and large chunks of chicken and "lumpiang shanghai".

5) AFP Theatre (Camp Aguinaldo) - Our bellies filled with delicious Vietnamese food, we wandered arounf the mall a bit when one of dad's modelling buddies (guys who make those miniature plastic model kits like tanks) invited him to attend an exhibit in the said venue, featuring all their favorite grown-up model kits and beautiful (?) dioramas. I took EDSA and made a right at Santolan to enter Gate 6 (which apparently is the gate used by civilian guests). We arrived there only to walk into the middle of a speech being given by thte AFP chief of staff himself!! Good Lord! We thought it'd be a quiet little affair, and we weren't expecting that the AFP top brass would be on hand to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the AFP museum! After much initial unease, we were able to settle down and enjoy the place.

Whew!! Now that was one heck of a trip! I got lost in Makati, left my keys in the car, and saw the AFP Chief-of-Staff face to face!! Not bad for just one day... I wonder what the next day will bring?.. ;)

My own Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

Medyo kamukha ko daw ang the great Chow Yun Fat. Asteeeg...

But it also says that I look like Zhang Ziyi,,, :|

Rewired

Went to Makati a couple of days ago to retrieve my beloved iPAQ which I had dropped off at the HP service center last Tuesday. Finally, I was fully wired again!.. or so I thought...

Yesterday, while I was trying out my old headphones on the PPC, the sound quality was, er, a bit off.. No, actually it was terrible! Even though the external speakers were working just fine, blazing out tunes with surprising power for a gadget of that size, I think there might be something wrong with the connection to the audio jack. At first I thought it was just the old earphones, but then I tried hooking it up to our PC speakers or another pair or established working headphones which yielded the same result.. Now I have to take it back to the service center again.. Grr...

It's such a chore to go to the service center if you don't have a car. I had to get to the MRT Shaw station and ride the train to Buendia. This is followed by a lengthy walk under the sun to the service center located just after the Buendia onramp. Doesn't really sound like too much right? It just becomes such a hassle when you ride the trains 'coz lately those things are really PACKED even when I rode during the "off-peak" hours. Oh well.

Cool! now they say I am The Protector!

Your result for The LONG Scientific Personality Test...

ISFJ-The Protector

You scored 18% I to E, 53% N to S, 38% F to T,  and 16% J to P!

                       

The protector type is called such because you feel your life is best used to protect those you love from the pitfalls of life, to see to their safety and security. You belong to the larger group called guardians.  You find great satisfaction in assisting the downtrodden.  You are not talkative with strangers, but you can chat tirelessly with those you trust.  You have a good solid work ethic.  You are thorough and very likely frugal. You do not like to be in a place of authority, and will delegate poorly if forced into a lead position. You share your type with 10% of the population.
As a romantic partner, you are generous and gentle.  Occasionally you may be taken for granted because of this fact.  You are tireless in providing acts of service for your loved ones.  You run the risk of always being exhausted because you won't say no to your partner.  You are sensitive to criticism and will withdraw rather than fight back.  You wish to be appreciated for your loyalty and whole hearted nuturing.  Your values must be respected and you thrive on consideration and kindness.
Your group summary:  Guardians (SJ)
Your Type Summary:  ISFJ

                            Take The LONG Scientific Personality Test at HelloQuizzy                       

Nuts about fruits!!

Pati ba naman ito pinatulan ko na.. :P

FRUITS FOR THOUGHT
(taken from the side of a Fruitas cup)

Strawberry - a good refreshing cleanser for the whole body.

Orange - helps in cleaning up your digestive system
Melon - a gentle laxative that stimulates action on the kidneys.
Watermelon - stimulates the appetite while cleaning the bladder and kidney.
Apple - helps relieve indigestion, keep cholesterol stable and suppress the appetite.
Banana - an excellent aid in digestion.
Mango - gives energy, vitality, and promotes healthy skin
Papaya - an energy booster that stimulates the appetite and cleanses the internal organs
Pineapple - aids in the digestion of protein.
Grape - an excellent metabolism stimulator.

I love fruits. :D

Crocodile, anyone?...

Thanks to some friends of family, I was able to have my first taste of real crocodile meat. :) When I first heard about it, I didn't really know what to expect, so I just guessed it would be tough just like it's thick hide often used in bags and shoes. 

When the food was brought out, the first thing that came to mind was "fried breaded porkchop". The meat was indeed deep-fried, and had this golden-yellow color, with some pieces had considerable chunks of what appeared to be (and actually was) fat. Upon taking a bite, my cousin pointed out that it tasted like chicken, and he went on to tell me that the taste is apparently dependent upon the diet of the animal. Since we knew these crocs were really being fed chickens, this was right on the money. It was.. strange to say the least. Here I was eating something that looked like thick pork strips (complete with fat) which were surprisingly tender and tasted a lot like chicken! Despite their fearsome appearance, this shows that crocs can make for a really delicious meal! :P

I am The Fool daw...

Got this test from Ceres' blog...

You are The Fool

The Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. The bag on the staff indicates that he has all he need to do or be anything he wants, he has only to stop and unpack. He is on his way to a brand new beginning. But the card carries a little bark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming and fantasising and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Pasta-pastahan

Looking to try something out of the ordinary, we left the house last Sunday night to have dinner at the Shang. Guess where we wound up? :D

Green Tomato has a well-deserved reputation for making great pasta. What we ordered might be written off as just the usual fare: Carbonara, Bolognese, and Pepperoni with Garlic. I guess a pasta place really makes a name for itself when they can make even the usual humdrum stuff taste great! :D Oh yeah, dad also had a bowl of vegetable soup, which wasn't too shabby either.

UST A-MT 2003 Homepage!

http://amt2003.tripod.com/home.htm
The official homepage of UST MedTech Section A batch 2003