I Came, I Read (a cookbook), I Cooked (bistek)

I am a fan of clichés , better get used to it.

One of my top worries moving to Fort.5 was how we were going to eat for our dinners. Back in SanLo, we were close to everything: the grocery store and all the takeout places. I walk home and reach home early enough to FRY my food (yup, except for the occasional Picadillo, which is the only viand I can prepare, I lived on processed meat , boiled noodles, and bread!). It’s not because I’m lazy. It’s because (1) I haven’t had time to practice my “hidden” cooking talent and (2) My small electric stove just couldn’t handle that much.. I once tried to cook “sinigang na baboy” (that’s pork in tamarind broth) and had to wait TWO HOURS for the meat to soften. There goes my carbon footprint and electric bill!

Now, Pepi can’t eat fried food (1) because of his health and (2) he’s just a picky eater. My dad likes either Pinoy fare or high end cuisine, which I cannot prepare and cannot afford. So back in San Lo, we were basically independent when it came to meals. He goes out with friends or buys from the nearby Milky Way Café (mmmm…)

Moving to Fort.5 is like being in the middle of nowhere. We’re like a 15-20 minute walk from the main entrance and one jeep ride away from the nearest fast food place. Also, the house amortization prevents me to indulge in eating out… so I will have to learn how to cook real food if I really care about mine and Pepi’s health.

Good news: I got myself a nice La Germania range (a white one - LPG 2-burner + 1 electric hotplate + oven, 12 months to pay, yes!) I first got a 2 burner La Germania cook top (cheaper and I’ve always wanted to have a built-in cook top) – only to find out that it will cost more to install it than to just buy the full range with the baking oven. So good bye cook top, hello range!

I am determined to learn how to cook and be able to feed Pepi (and Sam, whenever he’s here) decent meals. The Bistek Tagalog (Sirloin Steak, Filipino Style, page 46 of the Periplus Mini Cookbook “Home Style Filipino Cooking, P129.00, Powerbooks) recipe looked simple enough so at 7pm this evening, I was cutting onions and sirloin beef.

I think I squeezed in too much of the calamansi (Philippine lemon) that I was ashamed to have my dad taste it (in my opinion it was more of a Kalamanstek instead of Bistek! I just thought that the 12 pcs the cookbook mentioned wasn’t enough for the marinade) … but Voila! Pepi ate 2 cups of rice and almost cleaned out the bowl if I hadn’t told him that I have to save some for my baon!

I don’t know if he was being polite or what. But there you have it, my first cooking adventure at Fort.5. Took me just an hour to prepare and an hour to clean up. I can get used to this.