MERRY OLDIE: THE SWEET MANOLIAS’ HOKA CRAZE

Cheska introduced Hoka to the Sweet Magnolias; (a name we call our group). Her friend in Singapore enticed her to get one. Fortunately, her husband was in Singapore at the time so he brought it home. She liked it so much that she went to the Hoka store at Ayala Mall while it was on introductory promo. 

When Tess learned about it, she immediately went to Ayala Malls and initially got 2 pairs, then she went right back for more. 

Not to be outdone, Carol and Claire also went to the store and came home with two pairs each. Dolly was teasing Carol having a Hoka addiction for she kept on buying, now she has 6 pairs. 

What about the rest of the group? Well, my daughter got me my first Hoka. I arrived in Singapore in April last year and my orange rincon was waiting for me, to my extreme delight. Since we were already there Jim urged me to buy. another pair and I did. 

Upon learning about this, my children were laughing they said that “there is also peer pressure among adults”. I didn’t mind them for I knew that they were just happy for me. 

But my husband is indulgent; when we got back home, he ordered two more pairs for me, the Bondi 8 and the Clifton 9 were great choices. So far, these two models are my favorites because of their comfort, cushion and stability. But the Rincon is also good because it is the lightest of the Hokas. 

Juliet was lucky for her sister in the US sent her 2 pairs, then her daughter also in the US sent her a pair as well. Upon hearing this, het family went to the store one shopping weekend and the family bought 8 pairs that made Juliet’s Hokas 4. Her sister asked if she wants more and she said, enough already. 

Celine has a lot of rubber shoes but she was not immune to the pressure as well that she bought a couple of pairs. Today, Joy just got back from Japan where her daughter bought her a Clifton 9 and a rincon 3. 

Neither Dolly nor Mel are immune, or maybe they just wanted to show that they are one with the group so they bought a pair each. 

But “Tess has the mostest”. I really lost count; a dozen maybe or even more. She earlier joined two KLM marathons in the Netherlands and in both, she wore Hoka

Soon after Tess gave away all her other shoes since she only wants to wear hoka, except an Asics because it was pink and she is comfortable in it. 

Her friend in Rotterdam who also got hooked with Hoka started ordering online but was hiding it from her husband who may think it was too much. She made sure she was home when the items arrived.

 Her fourth pair arrived when Tess’ friend was out. Upon getting home, her husband handed her the packaged and said: “here’s your 4th hoka”. See, no matter how much we hide, husbands are not fools to know what’s going on, but I guess they are tolerant because they love us and want us to be happy. “ Happy wife, happy life”, right? 

MERRY OLDIE 2: A day in the life if a senior citizen

About a year ago we took up the suggestion of Aira, Carol’s daughter by programming our daily walking outfit and adapted a color for each day. We were excited to see our photos looking nice with our monochromatic color scheme. 

Thereafter, majorly of us had to complete our wardrobes with all the colors of the rainbow and more, we even went to the extent of buying all shades of favorite colors. . We did not stick to a definite shade, if it’s a blue day, all shades of blue is fine. 

We made a color calendar for the month, we standardized three days within a week as follows:

Mondays- blue to mimic blue Mondays; 

Wednesdays- pink since we followed Leni’s lead and

Fridays- black, as in black Friday. 

Due to many conversations in our group chat, some of us lose their color calendar and they would start asking: “what’s tomorrow’s color. Tess even took pains by posting her selfie wearing the color of the day before she starts jogging as early as 4 or thereabouts. That made no mistaking what shirt to wear. 

It also encouraged us not to miss walking if our fave color is scheduled. Juliet won’t miss an orange day, her favorite. 

Lately however, this practice seems to grow old on us; it prevented us from using what we felt like wearing for the day, it cramps our style and fashion sense. As Claire said: “we must bring out our authentic selves”. 

I put out a survey in our group chat to know who wants a reprieve from this so-called “uniform” and unanimously it was carried. Therefore for the month of August we will wear whatever took our fancy. Next month, we can always revert back to the color calendar it we so desire.

Here we are today, walking happily in our color choices. 

Merry Oldie

A day in the life of a retiree.

I am loving my life like a senior citizen should. Waking up at dawn to get ready for my walk with neighbors and friends is what makes me get up early, my ikigai as they say.

My walk practically defines my day since we share our concerns and challenges, retelling our activities the day before, telling jokes that open to laughter and banter. Soon we complete our goal of 10,000 steps without noticing that we are done.

Sometimes we detour to buy plantain from a homeowner that offers a great variety at a good price or pass by a street to check on plants that interest us

When I get home, Jim and I share our morning walk stories over breakfast that sets a good mood that prevails the whole day. What more is there to ask for? We appreciate these simple things that make our day

What really delays us is our picture taking. Fortunately, Jim takes great photos that we always look for him when it is light enough to get a good shot. We choose nice views or backgrounds for our photos. We never run out of nice backgrounds for in this community, homeowners take care of their home's curve appeal.

In the absence of Tess, who stays in her other home in the Netherlands every quarter, I post the daily photos on facebook with a quote, a prayer or a brief detail of what was shared during the walk.

The latest photo above was taken close to my home.

SWEET MAGNOLIAS’ VALENTINE NIGHT

​Valentine has been celebrated centuries ago and went on passed the turn of the millennium. It is a consequential moment to think not only of our significant other but of people close to our hearts. It is a time to showcase our love, gratitude and appreciation to those dear to us. 

Certainly, Dolly did just that; she did no limit her attention towards her “Love” alone but set this day to glorify friendship; she invited us all to an awesome dinner at her lovely home. 

“Wait, there’s more”, (Dolly would often say when retelling stories), she invited a quartet from the UP Madrigal Singers. They entertained us throughout the night with their melodious repertoire making the night so enjoyable. 

Not to be outdone, the Magnolias have great singers too, but only Celine and Joy were confident enough to sing. 

Celine belted “Just Tell Me You Love Me” in her smooth and southing voice. 

Followed by Joy in her rendition of 

“Isang Linggong Pagibig”

This was when we missed Claire, our very own Disney Princess, who could have shown her prowess in anything Disney. 

The rest of us were just

Dinner was a wonderful affairs with sumptuous food and dessert galore. After dinner we continued sipping sake from Joy’s Japanese husband while we listened to the sentimental OPM love songs. 

The quartet concluded the night with one of the best renditions of “The Prayer” I’ve ever heard. It got them a resounding round of applause from all of us. 

We thank Dolly for the invite that made our valentine one of the best ever.  We fully appreciate the welcoming attention of Vener, as well as her brother Chito and his understatedly beautiful wife Princess, who was so nice and sweet. 

Happy Valentines Day everyone! 

MISO SOUP WITH WAKAME

​Today I’ll share with you my version of miso wakame soup 

I got interested in cooking simple Japanese food from my friend, Joy. As we cover ground walking everyday; I often ask her what meals she cooks for her Japanese husband. 

She shared some salad and soup recipes and I thought I’ll make miso wakame soup since she gave me 

Miso with dashi 

and dried wakame 

Since Joy doesn’t measure, she said: 

“put enough water for the number of servings you want and boil, grab a handful of wakame, when it’s done, put miso and turn off heat. Add some herbs if you like”. 

I searched on line for more info; I even ordered miso wakame soup when we dined at a reputable Japanese restaurant to familiarize myself with the taste. Here is a photo of the miso wakame soup I ordered at Sensei restaurant. 

When the opportunity came up, I prepared the soup and here is my version. 

                         Ingredients 

6 cups water 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1/4 cup chopped white part spring onions 

1/4 cup chopped green part spring onions 

2 tbsps dried wakame 

3 heaping tbsp miso with dashi; if miso available has no dashi then add a tablespoon of the dashi powder 

2 tbsps soy sauce 

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds 

1 tbsp sesame oil 

Tofu cut in 1/2 inch cubes

                        Procedure 

In a pot boil 6 cups water 

In a separate ceramic serving pot that could stand high heat like the sukiyaki bowl I used;

Put oil and white onions and cook until translucent 

Add the water and let it boil awhile 

Add the wakame and stir until they open 

Add the tofu, when they float turn off heat 

Add miso and soy sauce; this is when you can add dashi powder if your miso has no dashi. 

Sprinkle green onions and toasted sesame seeds 

Drizzle sesame oil 

Adjust to taste 

And this dish is done. 

When I made this I paired it with tataki salad and we had a meal. 

BOQUERONES EN VINAGRE: Spanish Anchovies in Vinegar

​My family loves anchovies, in fact our favorite pasta sauce is anchovies slightly cooked in olive oil with garlic slices and sprinkled with grated Parmesan. 

Boquerones en vinagre is one of the most popular tapas in Spain; it is claimed that the best known Boquerones is served in a restaurant, Rincon de la Victoria in Malaga, Spain. 

This recipe is an adaptation from the Andalucian Cuisine with a tweak; more infused garnish is added, a departure from the original authentic recipe. This is a photo of my version. 

The most important part is cleaning the anchovies; removing the head and tail, deboning and taking off the guts. I am lucky to find anchovies already cleaned. Wash with baking soda and rinsed well. 

Freeze for two days to ensure that bacteria is totally eliminated. 

After two days, defrost in the refrigerator, once defrosted, soak in ice water for an hour in the refrigerator. 

                     Ingredients 

1/2 kilo anchovies cleaned and deboned 

150 ml white wine vinegar 

50.  ml. regular vinegar 

100  ml ice cold water 

30.   gms salt 

Soak the anchovies with the liquid mixture, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. Notice that the fish will turn white. 

                    Garnishes

6 cloves garlic sliced thinly 

6-8 pcs olives cut in rings 

1-2 tbsps slightly crushed capers 

3-4 pcs bottled sun dried tomatoes sliced in strips 

 Set aside

Arrange the anchovies in a glass serving container 

Add the garnishes 

Pour olive oil enough to cover the ingredients 

Cover and put in refrigerator for 12 hours before serving so oil infuses with the garlic, olives, capers and sun dried tomatoes. 

Eat with crusty bread. I found it great to put a piece each of anchovy, garlic, olives, capers and sun dried tomatoes on a piece of bread and when you bite, all the juices of the garnishes blend together in the mouth. Wow, it is the yummiest! 

TATAKI TUNA SALAD:MY VERSION

​

I enjoyed my tataki tuna salad today and I am sharing my version.

                          Ingredients 

1/2 kilo fresh tuna 

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds 

1 tbsp crushed black pepper 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tbsp olive oil 

Sprinkle salt lightly on all sides of the tuna cubes 

Combine toasted sesame seeds with crushed pepper 

Coat all sides of tuna with the mixture 

Put 1 tbsp olive oil in a heated skillet 

Sear all sides of tuna quickly 

Notice that tuna turns opaque, no longer pink on the outside but the inside is still pink. 

Slice the tuna and set aside. 

                            Dressing 

1 tbsp & 1 tsp lemon juice 

Zest of 1 lemon 

4 tbsps mayonnaise 

2 tbsps kikoman soy sauce 

1/2 tsp wasabi 

Adjust to taste 

Mix dressing well until the mayo is fully incorporated 

Meanwhile 

Slice half of an onion in thin slices like half moon 

Soak this in lemon juice to soften pungency 

Cut lettuce in serving sizes

I only had romaine but adding lollo rosa lettuce will add color. You can also add other leaves like spinach or rocket should you wish to. 

In a serving platter, arrange a bed of lettuce

Put on top the tuna slices

Scatter the slices of onions on top 

Drizzle the dressing on top around the salad

Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds 

Drizzle several drops of sesame oil 

And this dish is done