The Road to 40 Day 126/365: Fiesta Friday

It’s been a while since I last walked, and despite the looming dark rain clouds, I finally got the chance to get back to it this day.

The rainy season is upon us, and there have been stretches of days when we don’t see the sun all day. I’ve planned to walk around again for some time now, but I’ve always chosen sleep over walking these past weeks.

I took this chance after I took Vino to school. There’s a route that is a bit longer than the others, but I wanted to try it once.

I was surprised to see that it took 10 minutes from Vino’s school to the end of the street. I thought I would be faster, but I guess I was going to be walking for a long time.

I needed to prep a lot of things, but first, I had to clean up the fridge a bit for possible leftovers. I got the leftover rice and the beef and broccoli I cooked for Vino’s lunch the day before, and then I started working. 

Che arrived early because she had a stomachache, but I couldn’t offer anything for her to eat for lunch. She said she’d just grab something to eat. 

Meanwhile, I had a game plan for dinner. On the menu were brisket kaldereta, Korean fried cauliflower, tofu sisig, and kailan in oyster sauce and garlic. 

The last one was going to be easy enough, so that was going to be the last of my problems. I cut the cauliflower first, then cut the bell peppers for the sisig and the kaldereta. I thought I still had a bit of time, but it won’t be enough because I have to pick Vino up from school. 

I just left the tofu between my chopping boards to try to drain it out while Che cleaned up around the house.  

Once we got back, that’s when I started working. It was about 4pm, and I aimed to be ready by 7pm when the guests are expected to arrive. 

First was to cut the tofu into cubes and set it aside. Now the fried things are ready to go. Then, I seared the beef to start the kaldereta process. The video we watched called for the beef to be cooked in a slow cooker. Since I didn’t have that, I decided to put it in the pressure cooker.

While that was happening, I started to deep fry my tofu. Instead of just waiting for the tofu to be fried, I cut potatoes and carrots. I realized I had a misstep in draining the tofu because I should have put kitchen towels while draining them. As a result, it took a bit longer to fry.

I prepared the wet batter for the cauliflower, because it was going into the same oil that I fried the tofu in. 

I tried the brisket, but I felt it needed a bit more time in the pressure cooker. Once that was done, I took out the brisket and got the carrots and potatoes in. Che checked the flavor and made adjustments – fish sauce, some herbs, a bit of sugar and salt, and it was done. 

I then finished up the tofu sisig by cooking some shitake mushrooms and then making the sauce. So the tofu sisig would have different textures in a way – mushrooms have a soft, chewy texture, while I had small bits of tofu for a little crunch. 

Next, the KFC, as I call it. Basically, it’s down to the sauce, and then I just had to mix it up with the fried cauliflower. It was around 7:30 at this time, so thankfully, the guests were a bit late. 

I cleaned up a bit then took a quick shower before joining everyone at the dining table. 

Che initially said she was expecting eight people, but there were last-minute cancellations, so it was down to just four guests. So we decided not to push through with cooking kailan. 

Vino asked to eat in the room, and we allowed him to do so since he usually doesn’t participate in adult talks. And he just reconnected with a friend from Vietnam through Facetime, so they were catching up while playing. 

The group mostly talked shop, and I was there just to listen in and catch up with what’s going on with Che in the office. It was nice because there were different perspectives on some events that had a bit of closure on this night. 

I checked on Vino from time to time since Che had to entertain the guests. Around 11, I saw that he was lying in bed already. I decided to just lie beside him so he can sleep already, then I went back to the guests.

After downing four bottles of wine and a lot of the cauliflower and tofu, they were ready to call it a night. 

In true Filipino fashion, they helped clean up a bit before they headed out. I washed some of the dishes, but Che insisted that I do it tomorrow. Of course, I’d still need to wash it tomorrow, so I decided to just lessen the burden of future me by letting present me clean a bit. 

We soon went to bed, where Che didn’t have much energy left to watch anything. She has a brunch next day, but her afternoon is suddenly free because she was supposed to go with one of our guests, who said he’d rather sleep in.

It was music to Che’s ears, as she would be doing the same if she didn’t have brunch plans. 

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