tissues and eggplant.

here it goes again.

i'm currently grossly sick. dripping nostrils, sinus headache, fever, chills, achey and worst of all, no appetite. this is pretty much absurd considering i'm in the restaurant industry and tonight is the food tasting for a new menu i plan to launch next week. if only my friends with appetites bigger than life were around to taste, i would have no problems at all.

i'm blaming my sickness on my lack of sleep and my change in diet. my lenten sacrifice for this year is meat. all forms of animals with 4 legs and 2 legs, leaving me with the option of eating only those that have fins and grow in dirt. the first year i did this it was a pretty daunting task, but the succeeding years haven't been so bad. so those who are super carnivorous are probably wondering what i fill my stomach with through lent, so here goes my rundown:

• cucumbers and cherry tomatoes drenched in ranch dressing
• 4 cheese pizza (mozz, parm, fontina and blue) from this bar that serves alcohol with a side of weed, hold the weed, just give me the pizza
• shrimp fried rice
• lots and lots of sashimi
• relleno talong and rice with banana ketchup (don't hate, it's helllllla good)
• lots and lots of fruit with yogurt
• homemade pasta tossed with butter and parmesan or fresh pesto
• grilled cheese sandwiches
• $3 mac and cheese (it's super expensive here, but when i want it, i buy it)

that pretty much sums up my diet through lent. it's not gourmet, then again i don't really eat gourmet even when it's not lent, but i i eat what i want, and this is enough for me. what'd people give up for lent?

my heart is made of food.

the last month of life has been one crazy mix of events, some of which make sense, and some of which leave me saying, "huh?".

valentine's day just passed last week and even with an early start on my "search" for that special one to buy me flowers, dinner and a new pair of sally's, i ended my search early so i could focus on making sure everyone else's valentine's day dinner didn't suck. i'd like to think that my crew did a great job with it.

valentine's day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. it's the one day where people spend money to enjoy time with the ones they love, the ones they want to love, and the ones they hope will love them. if not for love, they're probably just hoping for some booty.

i spent weeks pulling my hair out on what would be the perfect valentine's dinner. i tend to base my menu selections on the things i know my loved ones like to eat, and (if i didn't know already) asked many of them what would be an ideal valentine's day meal for them. this is my one chance to cook what i truly enjoy cooking and using flavor combinations that i would like, rather than what everyone else would like. i give myself this one day. consider it a valentine's day gift to myself considering the search came up with nothing. 90 people fed, full and feeling loved. awesome.

here's the rundown in amateur pictures of the featured items of the night:

dynamite oysters

roasted pork cheeks with garlic noodles

wagyu beef medallions with roasted red pepper coulis and shiromiso

this is what my crew looked like after a busy night of service.

p.s. i'm still thinking about my last meal. i'm getting closer to figuring it out, but it just gets more and more difficult every time i eat something amazing. patience, i'll get there.

julie and julia

new year, new start.

i write this as i watch julie and julia. i wish i had seen this movie so much sooner, but as usual, cebu opted to not show it in the theaters. bad move cebu, baaaaad move.

i have to say, this movie is inspiring. watch closely at how the characters respond to every bite of food they take. their facial expressions, their descriptions, their incredible appetites, and the way they can make all food look so amazingly unctuous makes me want to be best friends with them and invite them to dinner.

this movie is the perfect example that if you love what you do, it's not work. i feel like i can relate to this movie in more ways than one.

stay tuned. i'll be blogging much more often this year. i've rearranged my priorities.