Finally!!! After the easy breezy first book on my list came the medyo nakaka-nosebleed na second book! :D I actually planned it like that. I mean if you check my list you will notice that the books are quite diverse in genre. Some books are classic, some are "light", others inspirational or "religious". I want the "light" books to give me the break in between reading the "heavy" ones :)
Whoever recommended this book must be secretly mad at me! Aba e una, sobrang kapal at liliit ng sulat ha! Pangalawa, I had to consult my dictionary (thank God that I have the electronic one so I don't have to carry a thick dictionary around!) from time to time for words that I don't know! :D
I will not even attempt to summarize most especially analyze and/or do a book review for the fear of misinterpretation. Like what I said in my entry about Book 1, I believe that each person has his own interpretation of the book that he reads. The highlights for me may not necessarily be the highlights for other people. The "scenes" that left a mark on me may just be usual scenes for other readers.
In a nutshell, I would say that Anna Karenina is a story about love (moral or immoral), religion and one's ability/desire to analyze and understand things, among others. Since reading for me is an escape and an opportunity to have a "field trip", this book brought me to the different part of the globe and on a totally different timeline at that (days when carriage/horses are still used as mode of transportation!). The book also left me questioning, analyzing and challenging my views on the important aspects of my life.
I now know why this is considered a classic.
PS:
I would rather not give you even the gist of the story.
Aba noh, basahin nyo rin ang 940 pages na font 9 ata
para bawi bawi lang! :p
NEXT BOOK: Something light.... Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
Saturday, August 31, 2013
My FIRST EVER vegetarian week!
As I've mentioned in my previous blog entry, July 1st of this year marked my 6th year as a pescetarian. When I decided to give up eating meat, I originally intended to stop eating all kinds of meat including seafoods. However, Tita Tessa (gf of my Uncle Aries who's been a vegan for more than a decade now) advised me to have a "transition phase" thus the pescetarian diet.
Fast forward to July 2011, I again planned on giving up seafoods because I had an assumption that Indonesia will be very friendly with vegetarians since it is a Muslim country (I bought books including vegetarian cookbooks and researched information on the nutritional aspects of being one). Much to my disappointment, though most of the restaurants do not offer pork, chicken and beef are the highlights on the menu. Believe it or not, in my 2 years of stay here in Jakarta, I've only been to a vegetarian restaurant ONCE (not counting the vegetarian burrito that I normally buy in a food court nor the vegetarian meal given by a vegetarian parent). We (Angie and I) really planned our schedule just to try this vegetarian restaurant that is nearest to our place. Fortunately, Loving Hut did not disappoint! :) But we haven't had the chance to visit the place again because of our schedule (spell TRAFFIC in South Jakarta!).
I know that it is possible for me to cook my own food but I had so many reasons for not doing so, hehehe :D Since I anticipated that my schedule will still be a bit lighter after the Lebaran (Ramadhan) break plus I've discovered a grocery store that sells veggie meat, I decided to have a feel of how it is to be a vegetarian for a week.
After I attended the sunday service, I excitedly and hurriedly proceeded to Grand Lucky Superstore which is right across the building where the church is located! :) The week before I left for Manila for the Lebaran break, I've already "discovered" that they sell veggie meat / meat analog :) This is what my cart was filled with:
Syempre, hindi mawawala ang mga realizations ko! Hahaha! :D
1) Cooking is fun! I rarely cook that's why my close friends and family who know me so well really laugh at the idea of me cooking! :) pero hindi naman sa pagyayabang ha, nakapagluto naman na ako ng pininyahang manok, adobo at sinigang dati (as in dating dati pa! hahaha!) at sa awa ng Diyos e buhay pa naman mga tao sa bahay! :p Seriously though, I enjoyed cooking especially after tasting what I've prepared and realizing that I can create something :) I am actually considering learning how to bake, hmmm.....
2) Cooking requires passion, time and dedication. Since I am technically a non-cook, it usually takes me 1 hour to prepare my main meal for the day! That very simple spaghetti or the black pepper steak with broccoli shown above took me almost an hour EACH to prepare. For me to have a decent meal, I have to wake up at 5am to prepare/cook my food so I will be done by 6am to start preparing to go to work. I never realized na ang pagbabalat pala ng sibuyas, paghihiwa at paghuhugas ng mga gulay take so much time! But like what I said in number 1, it felt good to "create" something edible, hehehe :)
3) I know what I put in my mouth. Literally speaking, I do know what food I put inside my mouth. From the tiniest piece of garlic and onion to the amount of liquid aminos (vegan substitute for soysauce) and how the meat was prepared, I know all of those things! I am sure how healthy my foods are and I only have myself to blame if I end up eating unhealthy food!
4) I am grateful to the web and blogs who've been very generous with their recipes. I will be honest and say that I owe GOOGLE a lot! If I am not sure with what I am doing, I just google them and voila, it will lead the way! :D See the sandwich above? I got that recipe from Saab Magalona's blog and the sandwich was really good! (wheat bread, tomato, basil leaves and cream cheese). Most of the fruit and veggie smoothie recipes that I used came from simplegreensmoothies (via IG) but I normally tweak them based on what is available in our ref. Salamat sa internet! :)
5) I am inspired to share what I know. Though I admit that I don't know much about cooking, my overly-excited-cant-wait-to-broadcast-it-to-my-friends self just can't contain my "healthy" discoveries :) I have alreadybullied inspired my cousin, Ate Jenny, to buy her own blender so she can prepare her own fruit and veggie smoothies. At sosyal sya ha, 2 in 1 juicer/blender ang binili! Good job! :) Sa totoo lang, sa susunod naming potluck get-together (surprise bday party for someone, sshhh) e balak ko ng magdala ng sarili kong luto! Saan kaya ako kumukuha ng lakas ng loob ano?! :D
6) I can't wait to share it with my family (and future kids). O wag ma-excite, hindi po ako buntis! Hahaha! :D I am just excited with the idea that my future kids will be exposed to a healthy lifestyle. Ang swerte-swerte nila sa nanay nila!! Ah eh grabe po ang hangin dito! :D Pero seryoso na, naniniwala kasi ako na kapag ang bata ay nasanay o lumaki sa healthy lifestyle (food and physical activities) e hindi mo na kailangan na pilitin sila kapag medyo malaki na kasi yung healthy food na ang default nila kumbaga :)
I can't wait to learn and try out more recipes recommended by friends and/or found on the net. Please feel free to share any recipes that you have (preferably vegetarian recipes) :) Let us exchange recipes (ayan e kung may mapupulot kayo sa akin! Hahaha!) :D
I never imagined that I will say this but.... Happy cooking! :)
Fast forward to July 2011, I again planned on giving up seafoods because I had an assumption that Indonesia will be very friendly with vegetarians since it is a Muslim country (I bought books including vegetarian cookbooks and researched information on the nutritional aspects of being one). Much to my disappointment, though most of the restaurants do not offer pork, chicken and beef are the highlights on the menu. Believe it or not, in my 2 years of stay here in Jakarta, I've only been to a vegetarian restaurant ONCE (not counting the vegetarian burrito that I normally buy in a food court nor the vegetarian meal given by a vegetarian parent). We (Angie and I) really planned our schedule just to try this vegetarian restaurant that is nearest to our place. Fortunately, Loving Hut did not disappoint! :) But we haven't had the chance to visit the place again because of our schedule (spell TRAFFIC in South Jakarta!).
I know that it is possible for me to cook my own food but I had so many reasons for not doing so, hehehe :D Since I anticipated that my schedule will still be a bit lighter after the Lebaran (Ramadhan) break plus I've discovered a grocery store that sells veggie meat, I decided to have a feel of how it is to be a vegetarian for a week.
After I attended the sunday service, I excitedly and hurriedly proceeded to Grand Lucky Superstore which is right across the building where the church is located! :) The week before I left for Manila for the Lebaran break, I've already "discovered" that they sell veggie meat / meat analog :) This is what my cart was filled with:
1) Cooking is fun! I rarely cook that's why my close friends and family who know me so well really laugh at the idea of me cooking! :) pero hindi naman sa pagyayabang ha, nakapagluto naman na ako ng pininyahang manok, adobo at sinigang dati (as in dating dati pa! hahaha!) at sa awa ng Diyos e buhay pa naman mga tao sa bahay! :p Seriously though, I enjoyed cooking especially after tasting what I've prepared and realizing that I can create something :) I am actually considering learning how to bake, hmmm.....
2) Cooking requires passion, time and dedication. Since I am technically a non-cook, it usually takes me 1 hour to prepare my main meal for the day! That very simple spaghetti or the black pepper steak with broccoli shown above took me almost an hour EACH to prepare. For me to have a decent meal, I have to wake up at 5am to prepare/cook my food so I will be done by 6am to start preparing to go to work. I never realized na ang pagbabalat pala ng sibuyas, paghihiwa at paghuhugas ng mga gulay take so much time! But like what I said in number 1, it felt good to "create" something edible, hehehe :)
3) I know what I put in my mouth. Literally speaking, I do know what food I put inside my mouth. From the tiniest piece of garlic and onion to the amount of liquid aminos (vegan substitute for soysauce) and how the meat was prepared, I know all of those things! I am sure how healthy my foods are and I only have myself to blame if I end up eating unhealthy food!
4) I am grateful to the web and blogs who've been very generous with their recipes. I will be honest and say that I owe GOOGLE a lot! If I am not sure with what I am doing, I just google them and voila, it will lead the way! :D See the sandwich above? I got that recipe from Saab Magalona's blog and the sandwich was really good! (wheat bread, tomato, basil leaves and cream cheese). Most of the fruit and veggie smoothie recipes that I used came from simplegreensmoothies (via IG) but I normally tweak them based on what is available in our ref. Salamat sa internet! :)
5) I am inspired to share what I know. Though I admit that I don't know much about cooking, my overly-excited-cant-wait-to-broadcast-it-to-my-friends self just can't contain my "healthy" discoveries :) I have already
6) I can't wait to share it with my family (
I can't wait to learn and try out more recipes recommended by friends and/or found on the net. Please feel free to share any recipes that you have (preferably vegetarian recipes) :) Let us exchange recipes (ayan e kung may mapupulot kayo sa akin! Hahaha!) :D
I never imagined that I will say this but.... Happy cooking! :)
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