Michell cooking pinkabet, furniture shopping update, and air conditioners.....

So, after we finally hit the Daro produce market (on the wrong day, so only moldering scraps remained), we brought our ill-gotten booty back to the house where Michell was kind enough to cook me up some pinkabet. At first, when she told me what was on the menu, I thought she had said “peanutbutt,” which led to me wondering why we hadn’t gotten peanuts or pork butt. Once it was all sorted out, she started slicing and dicing while I grabbed the GoPro and took a short film of her culinary wizardry. As I might have mentioned before, I can’t really cook, so having someone who can in a relationship is pretty much a god send.

Pinkabit has a lot of vegetables in it, which is something my pathetic diet sorely needs. Seeing food more as a necessity than a pleasure, I often just wolf down carrenderia food while on the go, which is resplendent with MSG, animal proteins, fat and sugar. Carrenderias don’t have a whole lot of veggie dishes usually, and when they do, it’s usually just Baguio beans and maybe some chop suey that always looks like is has seen better days. I am also a big fan of eggs and BBQ chicken, which are cheap and easy to prepare (boil/microwave and chow). The pinkabet had eggplant, squash, beans and a bunch of other things tossed in. Michell was disappointed that we had forgotten the tomatoes and ampalaya, but since I am not a fan of either one, I didn’t lose too much sleep over it. She also lamented on not having shrimp paste (fermented shrimp goo with lots of salt) and scolded me for having “accidently” thrown it away when we moved from Candau-ay to Bunao. Yep, I don’t think I will live that one down anytime soon.

Magic Sarap – MSG Pixie Dust!!

The pinkabet was delicious and once it was ready, Michell dutifully reminded me of my dishwashing responsibilities. Being the liberated, progressive couple that we are, we try to split the chores, and I have acquiesced to being the washer of the dishes so long as she will be the cooker of the food things. It’s working out pretty good.

In more recent news, Michell is down and out with a very bad cold. I had just gotten over one, so I guess she was due. I can tell she’s really sick because she is refusing to eat rice. 🙂 It’s 7:00 PM right now and the poor lass is crashed out next to me on the futon as I type this entry up. She has to go to work at 3 AM, so she needs her rest. I am also testing out the electricity usage of our two small aircons. I got a nice Carrier from Lazada.com, and so far it seems to be using much less juice than the “Everest” unit that came with the house. I got the electric bill today, so now I know which meter is ours outside on the pole. The Carrier is using about .6 KW/h and the Everest is using about .8. Not much of a difference, but it adds up over time. In dollars, the Carrier is using about 11 cents an hour. Not too shabby. It’s been a wee bit cooler as of late, but the humidity is still kicking butt.

We are still on the lookout for furniture, needing a dining room set (table and chairs) and a sofa/living room ensemble. I found a custom shop that makes mahogany furniture today (dining room table and four chairs for 15,000 pesos – $350) and am also a considering rattan/wicker sofa/chair table thing for about the same price. Decisions, decisions……