To the Beach before summer ends...

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”
--Anonymous

(Isn't it always a warm feeling to walk down memory lane as far as our childhood? Especially beach memories. Having lived south of Luzon, we frequent the beach too when I was a little kid. )

Anyway, we were in Italy (Lignano) for a week, reason why my son has 'burnt' skin. =) We went there along with my mil and bil and his family. We rented two apartments in a Villa which conveniently has a pool and is a short walking distance from the beach.

My want to have my older son breath some fresh sea breeze took us to a trip 8 hours away from home. My mama always said that kids with bronchitis benefit well from breathing salt air. So it was a vacation and therapy of sorts in one trip.

I collect shells from the beaches I go to...seems my daughter has the same interest as mine. Unfortunately, the shells there were small and scarce. Daughter asked why is it so and I just said, perhaps, the harsh waves had crushed them into sand already...

Though it isn't that bad, as Anne Morrow Lindbergh said “One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.”

Dawty during our first day there, color is still light...

He's the one suffering from bronchitis since 2006, it has affected his built a lot, he is thin for his age even if he has an appetite like mine.

Simply enjoying the water.

Trying to build a sandcastle. Youngest son, was so fond of playing with the sand, he stayed longer hours by the shore more than he did on water. All the more when he drank some saltwater lol.

Looking for some place to pick up sand and throw at us. (ala baywatch!)

Twa's a fun summer memory...glad that I saw my kids' smiles.

dNeero Conversations

Obama and Biden:


Cain and Palin:


Dneerites ask:

Sunburned...

My little son does have brown skin, but this is what happens when he stays too long under the sun.

----Taken on July 30, 08.

----- 10 days later... =D

Repost: Umami, the 5th taste

Our tongue has been used to foods that are sweet, salty, bitter, sour and also spicy. We even learned that our tongue has different areas of taste maps. Technically, there were only 4 (spicy being a sensation) but a fifth taste emerged, referred to as Umami, Japanese for 'beautiful flavor' or 'good taste.'

Umami taste can be found in many foods such as walnuts, grapes, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweed and parmesan cheese. But the most common we are familiar of is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) or Vetsin. It is also in soy sauce, fish sauce and ketchup.

In 1907, Professor Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University started his experiments regarding the taste apart from the 4 common flavors known to man. He knew that umami can be tasted in dashi stock (soup out of kelp which is used as base for many Japanese dishes). Prof. Ikeda extracted glutamic acid (glutamate) from the konbu broth, crystallized it and called it 'umami,' coined from the Japanese word umai (delicious).

(photo and other info courtesy of http://www.glutamate.org/media/discovery_of_glutamate.asp)

Contrary to popular belief, MSG is not unhealthy or full of chemicals, glutamate is in fact an amino acid which plays an important role in the body's metabolism. MSG enhances the flavor of food, so if raw food contains saltiness and you added MSG, it becomes saltier naturally. No need for salt which contains 1/3 more of sodium, a mineral linked to certain health risks.

Nutritionists recommend that we eat foods that are low on fat and sodium, that means less salt...so next time you cook consider omitting salt, don't worry that food will taste bland, all you need is a dash of MSG!

Note: I have read and heard other people saying otherwise, so if you are or if you know a nutrition expert, please do ask!

First schoolday

My daughter is officially a school kid! ;-) Still fresh from the beach and with sun burnt skin, she attended the first day of school as a grade 1 student.

She eagerly awaited for this day as she can already write and read and do minor additions and subtractions. I just hope she continue to like learning new things.

Some friends, asked what she is holding at the top photo (the big pink-princess cone) . It is actually a school cone (Schultüte) which contains school things, sweets, toys and other stuff that kids like. It has become a tradition for the parents or grandparents to prepare one for their kids/grandkids when he/she begins school. With this, kids awayit schoolday eagerly and with excitement knowing that there are lots of fun stuff in their 'tüte' (literally means bag).

On another note, I just can't help noticing how my little girl like stuff with Princesses and Barbie on it.....tsk tsk! Well, I remember being brand concious isn't much odf an issue to me as a kid, I just hope my little girl enjoys school and learns well plus learns how to value her stuff...