Kanlaon

Last night, self made menudo (Using Memories of Philippine Kitchens, but substituting canned tomatoes for the fresh called for in recipe –  apologies oh esteemed chefs Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan!) and it came out pretty good, if self says so herself.

The night before, self made a pasta dish out of fettucine noodles, fresh tomatoes, fresh Italian parsley, fresh oregano (from her garden) and dollops of olive oil and sea salt.  Dee-lish!

So now self is trying to plan what to cook for tonight, and also for Saturday, when her Half Moon Bay Gourmet Club meets, and she has to think of something that goes with champagne, crostini, cream of asparagus soup, and scallops.  She was going to bring pasta, but at the last minute found a recipe for creamy clam chowder that looks good, and maybe people will not mind having two soups on the menu . . .

But for tonight, self consulted www.campbellkitchen.com, and from there clicked on Savings Center, and from there clicked on “Best Budget-Friendly Meals,” and let her mind rove over Swanson Hearty Lasagna Soup, and Campbell’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie, and . . .

Easy Chicken Pot Pie!  Did self not catch sight of several frozen ready-to-serve chicken pot pies in the freezer at Costco, just the other week?  Perfect!  Now all self has to do is mosey over to the Mountain View Costco!

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

*   *   *

3:13 p.m. :  Self has returned from Costco.  There she found a most delectable looking item in the frozen foods section:  No, not the Marie Callender chicken pot pies ($10.99 for 8), but the Martha Stewart chicken slab pies ($4.99 for 2)!!!  The Marie Callender was a better deal, but the Martha Stewart was cheaper!  And besides, Martha Stewart is Martha Stewart.  So self picked up the chicken slab pies (Self suggests a name change:  slab pies just do not possess the requisite je ne sais quois) and while standing in line at the check-out (Geez, anyone who thinks California is belly-up should stand in line at the Mountain View Costco.), self was approached by a (white) couple who expressed great interest in aforementioned chicken slab pies (Self mentions their race only to prove definitively that the appeal of Martha Stewart chicken slab pies crosses all racial boundaries)

“Wow, those look good!” male half of couple said.  He picked up self’s item and showed it to his wife.

“Oh, yeah, those look good!” wife agreed.

“Have you tried this before?” man asked self.

Self cannot tell a lie:  “No, but it was only $4-something!”

When self returned home, she listened to a message from uncle in Daly City who requested that self busy herself with correcting a mis-spelling in the name of august forebear, Mariano V. xxxxxxxx, who is listed in official documents (to wit, signed Malolos Constitution) as “Marciano.”  Sigh.  When in doubt, self’s first resort is to call hubby, over there in his glass box of an office in the East Bay.  When hubby comes on the line, self presents to him the problem.

“You say it’s a mistake on the Malolos Constitution?”

Yup, in a nutshell, that is apparently the case.

“Well, it’s too late.  You can’t correct a historical document.”

Self:  “You sure about that?”

Hubby:  “Yes!  Even the U.S. Constitution has mis-spellings!  If you look at it, you’ll notice   Pennsylvania is spelled with only one N.”

!!@@##

Now, how would hubby have known such a thing?  Gee, he is such a font of knowledge!  Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.