Movie food

Two nights ago, I finally watched Steel Magnolias for the first time. It's one of the most well-known movies about female friendship, but I found it rather meh. Maybe it was because I was multitasking and not really paying attention? When I IMDBed it after watching (yes, I routinely do that), I discovered that I'd managed to miss an important plot point or two. 

Anyway, what did pique my attention was Truvy (Dolly Parton) saying

[...] you don't need a recipe. It's just a cup of flour, a cup of sugar and a cup of fruit cocktail with the syrup [...]

and all of a sudden I found myself channeling Liz Lemon and "want[ing] to go to there."

I decided to attempt making Truvy's Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa last night, but didn't have any fruit cocktail handy. I did, however, have fruit cocktail syrup in my freezer that was left over from the last time I made fruit salad. The Filipino in me couldn't bear to just throw it away and I'd been looking for a way to use it. How's that for serendipity?

Why 5/8 cup? I wish I could say that there were complicated computations involved, but that's just the amount I happened to have. I added the baking powder so it wouldn't be too compact. I'd read some warnings that this would be very sweet --- the flour doesn't stand a chance against all that sugar and syrup --- so I was surprised that I didn't find it so yesterday, but had to revise my opinion today. Go figure. The whipped cream helps to cut the sweetness. In the movie, Truvy suggested using ice cream which made me go "Eh?" but I get it now.

I think the first time a movie inspired me to cook was when I watched Fried Green Tomatoes when I was 10 or 11 and you should be able to deduce what I made. Coincidentally, earlier this month, I prepared fried tomatoes again for I think the 2nd or 3rd time in my life, but still not green ones.

As for the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, it's also a well-known celebration of female friendship and I know that I really liked it when I watched it eons ago, but can't really remember more than that. I think it may be time for a rewatch.

My napkin drawer

Lambi tissue, toilet paper, etc. have codes which you can input on their website and then use to order various items. I got these table and picnic napkins in exchange for 14 codes.

When I was a kid, I'd always see various similar promos on cereal boxes and the like from the US, but of course couldn't participate. Also, in those pre-internet days, you'd have to cut out proof of purchase stamps and mail them in.

Yay, for free stuff!

Just like home

Magnum was recently launched in The Philippines with loads of social media hype and even a Phillywood-style premiere (methinks that last part was overkill). When I saw a 2-for-1 sale at the nearby grocery, I figured why not.

For obvious reasons, most things cost more in Sweden than they do in The Philippines, so I'm amused by the fact that I paid about PHP 44 for this and it came in a box whereas back home, it retails for PHP 50 to 60 and comes in a regular wrapper. Let's face it, that box is an additional expense although the wrapper is probably better for the environment.

Let's talk about hair

As a kid, I was somewhat envious of some of the kids at school who had complicated hairstyles day in and day out. I think the most advanced one my mom and aunt could manage was a ponytail and a plain braid respectively, but I love them heaps just the same. :p

Anyway, left to my own devices, it took years for little Eina to realize that you were supposed to comb your hair. Ha, imagine that! I could have been the Tangled poster child.

Also, I have stubborn, uncooperative hair. I was once forced to return a hairstyling set I'd ordered over the home shopping channel because my hair refused to hold a curl no matter how long I kept it twirled around the curling iron or how much ozone damage I caused with the hairspray.

Anyway, long story short...tried my hand at a French braid tonight. It could be neater, but it's passable. As Kai-Lan has taught us, "you'll get better if you try, try, try."

P.S. I got my hair permed 2 or 3 times while in elementary school because of Andrea Zuckerman from the original 90210.

Chef D' Einalo

Was missing Chef D' Angelo's Shrimp and Spinach Pasta, so I thought I'd give it a stab. Needs a little tweaking, but not bad for my first attempt.

This dish was one of the many contributors to my extra college poundage. After ordering it numerous times, I one day discovered (or maybe I'd just repressed it?) that an order was meant for sharing and not as a single serving. Oops!

[Photo taken at 1827.]

Who am I kidding?!

Of course, there was eating involved.

It's not everyday I see corn in a cup in Stockholm. Used to buy this at the canteen back in high school. Only they use grated cheese here whereas the school canteen used that orange cheese powder.

Pity had to throw it away with about a third left so I could get on the bus, but it was either that or wait 30 minutes in the cold for the next bus.

[Photo taken at 2012.]

Down pesto memory lane

The coffee shop/restaurant where I first ate pesto and whose pesto was "just right" as far as I was concerned --- why do many restos in the Philippines go crazy with the oil? --- went the way of the dodo once Starbucks set up shop nearby.

I hold no grudge against Starbucks though since I can make my own pesto, but not my own frappuccino.

If you want to make your own pesto, just google Giada de Laurentiis' recipe.

A skeleton in my closet

Back in grade school, Baywatch and 90210 aired on Friday nights and come Monday, we'd be chatting about the latest episodes at school. If we'd had a water cooler, we'd have talked about those programs while standing around it.

The height of Baywatch and 90210 fever coincided with the period when power outages frequently occurred in the Philippines and I remember how we'd sit on the trunk lid of the old Chevrolet Vega (try doing that on a Toyota) during a Friday night blackout and how I'd fervently hope that the lights would come back on before my shows started --- or at the very least before they ended --- so that I wouldn't be out of the loop on Monday.

I also remember a Friday evening when I read --- or tried to read --- Pilgrim's Progress only to fall asleep. I cried when I woke up much later and discovered that I'd slept through the programs. This was long before the internet and series DVDs, when missing the airing of an episode meant that you would probably never get to watch it. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever bothered to finish reading Pilgrim's Progress, which I was incidentally only reading because of Little Women.

I think Shauni and Eddie were probably the first television couple I ever rooted for --- not counting animated ones. Just to be clear, we're talking about pre-Pamela-Anderson Baywatch here --- oh, the horror!

If you're wondering whether I bought the DVD, I didn't. Although come to think of it, maybe I should have. Just for old times' sake.

[Photo taken at 1629.]