Sometimes I wonder if I see me correctly,
I wonder whether I know me better
or is it others who see the real me?
Mirror, mirror, tell me
do I not see me clearly?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISSY!
THIS BLOG’S MOST read posts featured a character inspired by the presidential sister and former presidential daughter Ms. Kris Aquino. On her birthday, I am reposting some of the most commented and shared articles with “Krissy” as either the guest interviewer or the interviewee. We begin this blog with a post from last year at the height of the Corona Impeachment trial: …
Faith that transcends gender
It’s rare that I get to have meaningful conversations that do not involve work when at the office but today, I was lucky enough to have some downtime with very interesting people.
A friend shared with us that he had prayed to God to give him a sign if being gay is really a sin. So what will happen if he finds out that it is, we asked. And this is where we hit an impasse. I can barely imagine how hard it must be to think and worry every day that being true to yourself is also the same reason that can separate you from God.
The earlier conversation will probably stay with me as I find my own faith. You see, while I have always strongly believed in God and prayer, I have always been more a social reformist than a religious practitioner. The battle inside myself is about reconciling the loving God that wants the best for his children and the laws of his church. Faith, they say, is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. My faith believes in a God that has no prejudice and one that allowed things to happen because he has a grand plan for everything.
I shared what I had seen on TV last night about a church that was run and made up of LGBT folks. Amongst the stories was about a gay who wanted to become a priest but couldn’t because the whole neighbourhood knew that he was gay since childhood, he was depressed until someone told him about the church. There was also an interview with one of their priests who highlighted the dilemma that as the Catholic Church continues to not accept LGBTs, this would lead to more and more LGBTs losing their faith.
Thanks to Google, I found out that what was featured is the Metropolitan Community Church Philippines. On their website, they said “…is a church where Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgenders are accepted and loved. This is the church where you can be who and what you are without pretending to be who you are not just to please people. God is already pleased with those who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior….” I believe God works in mysterious ways perhaps, I was meant to share what I had watched at the same moment that a friend is asking for a sign. Perhaps, you’re on your own spiritual journey and what I shared here might help you.
Perhaps, one day, we will all find enlightenment.
Photo credited to Martin Marcinski (http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcinski/)
Penne & Veggie Salad
Are you like me who finds it hard to choose vegetables over other food? I actually enjoy eating vegetables once I get through the first bite but it’s the putting it on your plate that’s the problem for me. Thus, I cheat myself by mixing my veggies into seemingly more mainstream food.
Here’s a recipe that I came up with by scourging through our vegetable chiller and salvaging produce. The inspiration for the dish is the Greek and the Mediterranean salad.
Ingredients:
400g cooked Penne
150g ripe grape tomatoes, halved
1 large white onion, strips or diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 green bell pepper, strips
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 handful fresh dill
1 handful parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced
100g feta cheese, crumbled
salt & pepper to taste
Get a big bowl and combine all ingredients. To ensure flavors are consistent, toss well after adding one ingredient. Add additional veggies or add/lessen portions based on what you like or not. Serve hot or cold.
Healthy but goes down easy! 
My Penne fascination
Because of watching a lot of Food Network and Lifestyle Channel, Hubby and me are finding ourselves experimenting a lot in the kitchen lately.
Tonight’s inspiration: Cooking Light’s Bacon Mac
I used Penne Pasta, skipped the hot sauce, replaced green onion with one whole white onion, cut down the Cheddar cheese to 3/4 cup and added 1/2 cup of Monterey jack cheese and 3/4 cup of Romano cheese. Also, to make the sauce more flavorful, I used the same pan where I cooked the bacon for the milk and flour over medium heat step. It’s the first time I used the turbo broiler and I didn’t have any baking pans so I used spare lyaneras. Don’t forget to take it out of the broiler after the set time or do it a few minutes shorter and leave it in, the cheese on top ended up a bit too burnt with the second batch.
As evidenced by the half-empty container, I absolutely enjoyed the dish. Cheesy, salty, flavorful!
