#maryyap

[marycooksandeats]

Wireless Festival: 2/3

THE 1975

[marycooksandeats]

Wireless Festival: 1/3

THE 1975

Hey everyone! Here are the videos I took of the band on my camera. It’s not the best quality but it sure is better than nothing.

Also, ya’ll better get ready.. because..

1. My annoying voice is on all of my videos’ background and I really and truly am sorry you’ll have to hear it. I wasn’t able to stop myself from doing so, I was singing my heart out with matching laughter, tears and some wrong lyrics if I say so myself.

2. All of these videos are shaky because duh, I was literally shaking from the fact that what was happening in that moment was incredibly unreal to me.

3. I love them so much and my fandom is real.

These videos don’t give justice on how much this band means to me, how they and they’re music made me feel that everything’s going to be alright.  I’m so thankful I got to witness them live.

xx

[marycooksandeats]

Guess Who’s Home?

June 14, 2017; Wednesday

Hi everyone! It’s kinda late but I’m finally back in the Philippines! 45 days late to be exact! Yup, I know it’s been quite a while since I wrote anything in here but life got in the way and to be quite frank, I’ve been extremely lazy since I got back.

It has been about a couple of weeks since I left the City of London. If I say so myself, I have been feeling rather mixed, like I’m not even exaggerating-  I felt all the emotions all at once which resulted to having to answer everybody’s questions of “How are you feeling?” with “Meh”s and “I’m not sure.” Well, I think, this is what everybody feels whenever they leave a place where they came to love. Sure, Britain has it’s ups and downs just like any other place but I honestly fell in love with it no matter how hard it was for me to be on my own. I entered that city without knowing literally anybody, however my dad has a college best friend living there but they haven’t seen each other for 7 years till that time, but yeah me in particular- none. If you’d known me before, going out wasn’t in my parents’ vocabulary so it was a shock to everyone that they let me go to London, let alone live there for a year without anyone. Ironic isn’t it?

To be honest with you, living in London was the loneliest and happiest I’ve ever been in my life so far. Oh please, don’t you start with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my home country so much and I’m proud to be Filipino but I wanted to see what was out there in the world and I’ve fallen in love with it. As I’m writing this, my heart aches a bit remembering what I was doing this exact time a year ago and I miss it so much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back and live there again but I sure hope I can do so one day.

As my friend once said the feeling of arriving home after a year of living in London feels like all the things that happened there was just only a dream and she ain’t wrong. The moment I felt the Philippine air brushed my cheeks and on my thick ass coat (I was wearing it to avoid additional charges on my baggage and yes, it was hot as fuck) I felt like I’ve just woken up from a very deep sleep that involved adventures I didn’t expect I’d be doing. What a bliss that life was. Sure, I was so conscious on everything being so expensive (an understatement) and converting every single thing I did, bought, ate and wore in Philippine peso it was mad. I know, I know, you don’t have to slap my face figuratively with that look of “YOU WANTED TO LIVE IN ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES ON EARTH AND YOU’RE COMPLAINING?!” Yes I am. Just like any other normal human being that’s not a celebrity. I tried to. I really did try my best not to complain but well, I guess I can slap my face with that look too. Living in London was not all that glamorous as many of my relatives/friends expected me to be in. No shit it wasn’t, I’m not a celebrity aren’t I? So why the heck I should live of of my parents’ money and not spend it wisely? RIGHT? RIGHT.

So here we go, guys! The next few blogs will be about my life in London for 1 year which I will be forever grateful for.

Well, cheerio for now!

[marycooksandeats]

A Chef’s Escapade: Foraging

February 6, 2017; Monday

FORAGING  [fawr-i-jing, for-] noun 1.    the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter (wild food).                                

The culinary class went off for a field trip to go foraging in East London today! Specifically in a cemetery that was closed down since 1966. Yes, you heard me right, a cemetery... called: Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. * Click here for more * Not as creepy as you think, by the way. Well besides that, thank goodness the rain was kind enough to sleep today and gave us a chance to discover the beauty of what lies underneath all the soil or else we’d be tasting all that fresh leaves and flowers with a hint of mud. I’m not even kidding.

Location: SOUTHERN GROVE, MILE END, LONDON E3 4PX

So these 4 kinds of plants/branches were dried up for a certain amount of time and you can actually put some hot water into it and drink it like tea! who knew! Mine was a touch of silver birch and juniper which wasn’t bad but I probably wouldn’t drink it again.

Okay, I gotta be honest, this whole situation was creeping me out a bit but you know what? It wasn’t as bad as it sounded! The tour was really interesting and helpful for us chefs (and for those who aren’t either - as long as you’re interested in nature and what lies underneath all it’s beauty, open to new things and experiences, I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy this tour. )

meet our tour guides!!

Kenneth Greenway

Very accommodating and absolutely passionate about what he does! Kudos to you Kenneth and many thanks again!

And his adorable 14 year old dog, Quinn!! This pup was too adorable and very accommodating just like his owner, by the way! Also, tried to lead the whole class which way to go as best as he could! 10/10 assistant tour guide pup (also very photogenic) * look at how he posed for me! LOOK AT HIM!!!! AHHHHH *melts my heart*

Alrighty then! Let’s get to it! These were all the plants that we’ve encountered and mostly tasted, straight from the ground. The information I’ve placed is just some bits I’ve learned throughout the tour so it’s not too thorough.

FUN FACT TIME!!!

1. PILEWORT / LESSER CELANDINE - Heart-shaped leaves, as you can see! - Both leaves and root are edible - Tasted lovely! It had that bean sprout flavour which was really nice and I felt a hint of sweetness to it as well (probably my most favourite of all) - Don’t confuse it with the Hemlock which grows on June-July cause its poisonous!!

2. COW PARSLEY

- Great for salad leaves - Comes from the carrot family

3. MUGWORT

- Good for brewing beers - Great for teas as well

4. GORSE

- Kenneth made us exhale deeply on the flower since it releases its natural smell in contact with warm air. It took a while since it was quite cold but eventually it release a coconut smell - Flowers all year round

5. ACHILLEA / YARROW

- Can be found anywhere in the UK, mostly grows in backyards, lawns etc. - Great for salads and teas

6. JUNIPER BERRIES - One of my favourites as well and the only one I was familiar with since we’ve used it in the kitchen a few times - Green berries are the ones not ripe yet and are only a year old - Black berries are the ripe ones that take 18 months to  2 years to ripen - Cooking trick: place in spice bags

7. SWEET VIOLET

- Perfect for cakes and other desserts - Smells fantastic too

8. STICKY WILLOW / GOOSE GRASS / CLEAVERS

- Has hairy texture so dip in hot water to lighten it’s taste - Great for vinaigrettes

9. CROW’S GARLIC

- Our crowd favourite! - Smelled absolutely wonderful with garlic - It’s slender leaves are used like chives - It’s bulb grows in summer

10. LADY’S SMOCK / CUCKOO FLOWER

- Probably the most interesting plant of all that day in my opinion - Has a hot-peppery-food flavour - GUESS WHAT?! It absolutely tasted like WASABI

11. WOODLAND WILDFLOWER / WOOD AVENS / HERB BENNET

- Root is the only edible part - Great with apples - They’re like cloves

12. BRAMBLE

- This plant bears blackberries in the summer - While it’s not summer yet, it has young unopened bamboo shoots which are nutty in taste - Careful with the thorns!

13. STINGING NETTLE

- THIS STINGS! Either grab it quickly or wear gloves - It’s branches were also an antihistamine when you break it and rub on the place you got stung - I know because I was reckless enough to get stung and Kenneth had to help but it was a very good learning experience for everyone though. - Also, the stinging feeling on my finger lasted until the next day which was a bummer. It was a really weird feeling. - To eat this, roll like you would with a basil - Cook it like spinach - Cooking trick: Add it in the last 5 minutes of your potato soup

14. ONION WEED / THREE-CORNERED LEEK

- It’s like a pickled onion without the pickling liquid

15. LORDS & LADIES / CUCKOO PINTS

- 2 words: POISONOUS / DEADLY

16. RIBWORT PLANTAIN

- Texture is quite hairy - Great for vinaigrettes and smoothies

17. SALAD BURNET

- Tasted like cucumber! I was very amazed.

18. WILD STRAWBERRY / ALPHINE

- The plant where ruby strawberries grow in the summer - Tastes sweet - Grows in the light and shade

19. WILD ROCKET

- Tastes sweet - Has yellow flowers

20. WILD CARROT

- Flowers in the summer - As it is still in winter, this is it’s skeletal frame which I think is beautiful

21. HOGWEED

- Young and unopened are great - Cook it like asparagus

22. PRIMROSE LEAVES

- Quite bitter in taste - The inner plant is best for eating raw

There you go! Some fun facts about our foraging trip. Sadly, the mushrooms had a bad year in 2016 which was why we weren’t able to see any, except for our chef!

Foraging that day was such a fun learning experience, not to mention a memorable one for me when my finger got stung. Nonetheless it’s such a vast topic to encounter and having an introduction about it by going out there and doing it ourselves made me appreciate nature even more than I already had before.

Thank you chefs and to Kenneth, Quinn and Soanes Centre team!

Cheerio!

[marycooksandeats]

HEY YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE.

HI! HELLO! Whoever you are reading this. 

I just want to say, thank you! I appreciate it. I know no one really cares about this but making blogs is one of the reasons I can escape the stress of life and live out my dreams to be a writer. Now, I know I don’t really write good ones but heck, I love doing it and it makes me happy so fuck it.

Anywaaaaay, LIFE UPDATE!!!

This last couple of months have been a whirlwind. I mean. I can’t even describe it. 

3 MONTHS AGO.

1. I moved to London, England. 

2. Visited Scotland- now one of my favorite places. and Liverpool. 

3. Started a course of (Level 3) Higher International Culinary Diploma at Westminster Kingsway College- Victoria Centre 

4. Living out my dreams in London. (I still can’t even believe it. Honestly. I’m so scared yet excited at the same time.)

5. Currently doing good (?) at school. I mean I’m trying as hard as I can. Like really hard, plus the homesickness and loneliness here makes it easier to study more. LOL.

6. It’s hard making friends honestly, I mean I have some but who I am kidding, I don’t belong to the groups at school. I know I shouldn’t try to fit in but it saddening to not feel welcome plus homesickness is making me a bit depressed. So.. I’m trying.

7. Got a chance to visit ITALY for a class field trip and it was such an awesome experience!

8. I have a project due in 5 days, a national exam in 15 days. Another project due after exams.  SO I’M STRESSING OUT. WHAT DO YOU THINK. TRYING TO KEEP IT TOGETHER HERE. 

I’ve been dying to talk to someone besides my family you know, it’s been so hard here lately, don’t worry- I’m extremely grateful to God for this opportunity to be here. It’s just so hard to feel not alone sometimes and have no one to talk about it. And knowing myself, I’d rather keep it to myself than burden other people. Even if it means crying most days. God I miss my friends back home. 

Anyhow, no more drama okay. I just want to let you know that this next blog coming up is my school project: Unit 308 and it’s all about our Italy trip and I just want to put it here since we could do whatever we want with this project and I decided a blog would be nice (cause I’m not so good with videos too so yep!)

I’m letting you know because I’m a bit of O.C. and I want my London/Scotland/Liverpool food trips to be done first but I’m going to do my project so I have to do the Italy trip. Ok.. 

Hope people will like it~ I mean my chefs mostly since they’re grading it. LOL. 

CHEERIO!! (I’m gonna say it now since I’m trying hard to fit in, remember? haha)

[marycooksandeats]

Soulful Seoul 4/4: Last tour day

October 26,2015; Monday

DAY 4: LAST DAY IN KOREA!!!! BUMMER. 

We went to Lotte World for about 4 hours then we had to hurry up to catch our flight back to Philippines. 

We actually rode this one and it was not bad. As a lover of theme parks and extreme rides, I would probably not ride this one if there were more there but since Lotte World is like a children’s theme park which was beautiful, by the way. Maybe I just got a bit old for it. 

Pork with Veggies, Potatoes and Rice, Dinner Roll and Kimchi

You were so lovely and beautiful, Seoul. I’m truly gonna miss you and your street food and amazing palaces. When I get a chance, I will definitely come back soon. Thank you for being wonderful. Big thanks to our tour guide as well who brought us to the best food places she knew. TRULY GONNA MISS KOREAN FOOD. NO DOUBT. 

[marycooksandeats]

Soulful Seoul 3/4: City Tour

October 25, 2016; Sunday

DAY 3: KYONGBOK PALACE via Presidential Blue House, Hongdae Street, Trick Eye Museum and Seoul Tower.

The palace was beautiful. Every inch of it. 

We were also lucky enough to witness a wedding shoot (minutes before their wedding ceremony- which was also being prepared when we were looking around.)

HAD. BY FAR, THE. BEST. GINSENG SOUP. EVER. EVER. EVER.

KOREAN GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP Chicken was absolutely off the bone, i mean you can even bite the bone and it falls apart!!!!! ginseng soup is filled with lots of nutrients as they say that is very good for the body... and soul. Stuffed with glutinous rice and it was so scrumptious and all of us had 1 chicken each. Tried my best to finish it but I couldn’t. I almost did though, but not quite. 

KOREAN ICE CREAM

I have soooo many pictures I wish I could show you but I can’t cause there’s too many!!! The artists are so so so amazing, let me tell you!! 

BUFFET FOR DINNER AT TODAI RESTAURANT!

baby octopus!!!!

I found it very cool they’re selling large sweet potatoes by the elevator going up to Seoul Tower. And there was actually a lot of people buying it. 

Love you, Seoul. 

[marycooksandeats]

Soulful Seoul 2/4: Kimchi making, Everland and more.

October 24, 2015; Saturday

DAY 2: We got taught on how to make kimchis, proceeded to EVERLAND theme park which I haven’t had a lot of photos off since I was out riding a bunch of rides. wohoo. 

*left: our tour guide, right: kimchi school teacher

                                              E V E R L A N D

Pork Katsu with Rice, Cabbage Salad, katsu sauce and Pickled turnip

LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE SLEEPING LITTLE CUTIE ORANGUTAN!!!! 

right after Everland, we had to hurry and eat as fast as we could here because we went to go see the NANTA SHOW (Seoul’s famous cooking/singing show) which was awesome! I got really inspired by it too. Sadly we weren’t allowed to take photos/videos, like really the searched all bags and had a special baggage center for cameras!!! 

Korean Barbeque

HODUGWAJA or KOREAN WALNUT CAKE W/ RED BEAN FILLING

After we got dropped off at our hotel, my big brother and I with our new friend went to eat at Korean Dessert place, Korean Dessert Cafe

WE JUST HAD TO EAT THE FAMOUS KOREAN DESSERT!!!

Mango Cheese Snowflake Sherbet

WOW. DEFINITELY PACKED WITH FLAVORS DANCING IN MY MOUTH.  A TRULY MUST TRY WHEN YOU’RE IN SOUTH KOREA. 

Sweet Potato and Cheese Toast

It was good but as for me, it was not my favorite though

It was an awesome day!! Too tired to think of adjectives to describe this day! We had way too much fun!