Oh come on! There's always room for Jello!

For memorial day, i wanted to make a cool dessert to ring in the summer.  a few months back,  I was at my cousins par-tay and came across classic Filipino gelatin. it instantly took me back to my childhood with the first bite.  it was like acid touching my tongue and me craving more. after 3 servings of nostalgia, my greedy a*s waddled over to my aunts social circle.  now these particular aunts were not the ones that shared recipes willingly.  those aunties had come and gone for the day. and being the foodie i am, i had no qualms interrupting their poker hour to find out how to make this delicious treat. although i knew i probably would be getting nowhere, i asked anyways. i began with, "auntie? what is the name of this dessert?"  their answers were predictable and one in the same. in thick accents that only first born generation filipinos like me could truly understand, they shrugged,  "i dunno. u go ask your auntie ober dare", as they motioned at my other aunt with their nose and eyebrows, "it's her ees-specialty", my other aunt added, "wait, its so eazy sarah jeen, you just add a littol beet ob jelly-tun & creem. dat's all" and my response, "well, what kind of gelatin?  and 'how much cream?" i received a  rebuttal of looks for the added questions. and with wrinkled foreheads, and in an even slower polite rate,  they continued to appease me, "...just... add... a..... littol... beet...... ob...... creem", long pause, "...and... a... littol.... beet.... ob....jelly-tun", longer pause, "stur" as all of them simultaneously made the universal sign for stirring a pot in circles as if all were on the same wavelength.  "and dare u go!" excited to get their recipe across, "u cum ober sum thyme and watch us cook.  we gonna show u, kay?!"  frustrated, i went home, furiously searching the internet and found a few prospects.  the actual Filipino jello recipe is "cathedrals window" or "stain glassed jello" made famous by goldilocks bakery of the P.I. and looks like the pic above.

I decided to go with a recipe not so complicated.  it looked shay-sheik and much easier.  i present  this foto of red layered milk jello.........promising, yes i know.. and i thought, why not add a bit of the recipe from the original ones i looked up?  wouldn't hurt to give it a whirl......

when i came down to it, i did exactly what my aunts told me. i literally took "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" out of my cupboard and adapted it to my style of filipino jello as of that very moment.  and partly because i couldn't be bothered with reading the "directions" in it's full capacity.  this is how it came out below. i minus'd a few ingredients and added a few others that the recipe didn't exactly call for. whoops! guess this is where intuitive cooking doesn't go.  i asked my family if they  wanted to try it.  my husband laughed with, "oh hell no!"  my sons response, "no!  i'm good" but my brave little daughter did a drive-by swiping her fingers in the goop licking and smacking them,  only to run away before i could offer her a bowl.

so yeah, not what i fully expected with the inversion. but i had a funny feeling something went wrong when i added a layer of coconut milk.  sorta looks like intestines of an animal.  think i'll read the "directions" on the Jello box next time.  this ones a do over, for schnizzle.  i am making it again just because i can and i am fiend out for the real deal holyfield. sayonara suckas! too be continued......

Posse up! Homies for life!

 Jeremy

Back when I was half smart and lived in the honors dorm, I met my next of kin away from home.  This is Jeremy showing off his red wing playoff look. He use to mock my "I will cut you cause I'm from Wayne-Westland" attitude, but I never cared simply because he was so damn like-able.  The instant we met, I coined him "my wittle Jeremy" cause I always felt the need to nurture him, as did the rest of our Goddard circle, like God gave me an instant little brother when I came to college.   Talk about one of the most malleable and interesting personalities I've known.  Jeremy is one of those people that can solve world problems with his brilliant ideas.  I am still waiting for him to come up with a solution to the U.S. deficit here.  He always introduced me by saying "This is Sarah. My Filipino! I got her from collecting enough bazooka gum wrappers.  So back off sucka!" lol, I use to love when he ran interference.  We'd do our own little Sarah and Jeremy thing.  I'd take him to my all inclusive Filipino parties forcing dry roasted pig down his throat and he'd take me to his old stomping grounds in Marine City and we'd listen  to Jimmy Hendrix all the while.  We'd go to the REC I.M center to work out and shoot hoops. He'd show up sporting his appropriate Jeremy workout attire which, if my memory serves me correctly, were pieces consisting of light blue shorts, lime green tank tops, red or blue striped socks hiked up to the knee, & 2 inch tennis wristbands.  Oh yes, and a white head band that said sweetness across the forehead.  Quite the intimidator if you didn't know him.  He'd boss up with the rest of the ball players on court, dribble circles around me rockin his snazzy outfit and I'd shake my head laughing.  Then we'd go downstairs to lift weights.  He'd poke fun of all the roided douches by going in the mirror, grunting and flexing.  And I'd be in the corner thinking seriously? o.m.f.g., I love this damn kid!  Good times!  Funny thing is, he'd be more cut then the rest of them without even trying.  We eventually lived in the hood across the tracks and shared a bunk bed, but fought over the couch. I won!  He since has joined the peace core, and worked with children in African countries like Namibia selflessly giving of himself and raising money for their education. He also traveled the rest of God's green acre as an E.S.L. instructor. Now-a-days, he teaches in Korea, where he claims that kimchee is the cure all condiment. The last time Jeremy graced me with his presence, he gave me a Namibian bracelet made by a local.  Now I don't wear jewelry, but I thought this bracelet was the cat's meow.  Besides my wedding ring, it is still the only piece of jewelry I wear today... Shout out to my old and wise friend Jeremy! Wurd!

I'M BOW-SAY!

I'm bossy              

             Now that I've come into my mid 30's, I've come to realize some harsh realities about myself. (Surprise, surprise)  My quirks include but are not limited to,  Neurotic-ism,  slight O.C.D., slightly more anxiousness, even more bossiness and might as well throw in a splash of  controlling while I'm out here spilling my guts.  Guess that comes with the territory.  Among other things, my anger issues have pleasantly surfaced over the years.  I don't like these qualities dirty.  I prefer them shaken, not stirred with a twist of optimism.  And there ya have it, an "I'm bow-say!"- straight up...... Cheers!

             I guess getting older has a way of changing people.  I've come to realize and partly accept the fact that I am bossy.  And hey, nobodies perfect!  Let me explain myself.  You see, before I became a Flight Attendant and before my, "I've been single for the past 2 years and finding myself" crisis, people came across a more subdued, submissive, malleable me.  I mean people use to even clown on me and say I was too accomodating and to quit pussy footin around.  But as of right this moment, I still feel I am all those  nice things.  In spite of my unyielding regime getting its creep on.

         I use to get thoroughly agitated when my over analyzing sisters (god bless'em cause I know they always mean well) would talk their nonsense like, "Just wait until you get older Sarah Jane, your issues will come out."  They'd matter of factly throw  words out there like "therapy", "dysfunctional" and "Prozac" while stirring cream into their coffee and discussing the next Coach or Louis they were thinking of getting.  Now being the oober free spirit I was back in my 20's, I'd shrug it off.  I mean they couldn't possibly have any idea what they were thinking about, let alone know what they were saying.  What Jibberish!  Years later, what they said is still hard wired into my system.  Could they have been onto something at their ripe age?  damn it all to H-E- double hockey sticks.  I loath when they are semi right.

           I'd like to think that it's not my issues that have come out, but rather the fact that the older I get, the more I don't  put up with peoples SHITE.  So I stick up for myself more.  I practice at it. And seeing how I've always been a yes girl, (I partly blame my Filipino heritage on that one)  it is considered rude to say no in my culture.  Err!  And  being a yes girl hasn't always worked out growing up here in the west. No pun intended thank you! So I've had a lot of practice converting to NO-ism and.....yes! yes, yes! how liberating it feels!  Almost sets you free.

            So when someone is trying to get over on me I say, "back up!"  and Dr. Jekyll snaps on.  Might I add, I've had a great deal of time perfecting this here  Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde trick.  Works like a charm.  But the key is, you have to be good at switching it on & off. Especially in my line of work.  You have to be able to turn that switch off as easily as you turned it on.

            It comes quite a shock to those who come across my bossy side and I make no apology for that. Am I shameless?  eh, somewhat.  Do I care?  Of course.  I value the opinion of those I love.  However, I know full well I can't control how others perceive me.  I've come to accept my ill tempered weaknesses.  Do I work on them?  Everyday.  I give myself a million chances at life. I think working on qualities, weak and strong in order to make ourselves better is part of  living our best life as cliche' as that may sound.  I think that's what we all strive for. I'm still a nice, respectful person though!  I've met the masses from all walks of life so I can honestly say I genuinely feel  nicer and more respectful than many out there in today's world.  Well, Ok then, I'm wrapping it up for now .... So here's a toast ~ If my wrath comes out, so be it.  It's taken me a long time to accept the quirks of my ill natured tendencies and I'm not going to let anyone else sway me otherwise. Bottoms up! "Ching- Ching!"