A Summer Journey experience to remember

July 16, 2008

I went to see the Journey band's Revelation Concert at Crickett Amphitheatre, Chula Vista (about 15 miles south of San Diego), California last night July 15^th, 2008. What a night of melodic Rock music that was! Totally awesome night of music performance.

I went along with High School friend Charles Balmaceda and his wife Vicky and their friends James and Edith Dariano.

I grew up listening to this kind of mellow Rock music in the 80s, along with the Eagles, Styx, and Led Zeppelin. I would regularly hear Journey hit song titles like Faithfully, Open Arms, Lights, Separate Ways, Don't Stop Believing playing on the radio during my high school and were also played by student rock groups during my College years at Saint Louis University with shows like Vision Link. Who could forget Journey songs with that distinctive and signature Steve Perry tenor voice? I took it for granted that these popular songs were sang by the Journey band.

Fast forward 22 years later.

I stumbled upon Journey music again, after a chat with an online friend in UK. She mentioned something about their new Filipino lead singer named Arnel Pineda and Journey band making it big during their European tour last April 2008. That sparked my curiosity.

A quick search in You Tube with keywords "Journey, Arnel Pineda, Tour, 2008" returned video troves of how an awesome singer this fellow Pinoy is and how he sang beautifully, powerful, strong, angelic, soulful, with good and long range voice.

Before his Journey discovery by Journey's lead guitarist Neal Schon, Arnel and his group The ZOO band played cover music from popular rock bands like Aerosmith, Survivor, Toto, Boston, Led Zepellin, Bon Jovi, Queen, Styx to name a few. The guy is really talented.

Its one thing to watch Journey in You Tube, or in their Revelation DVD's recorded concert in Las Vegas last March 2008. Being in a 2008 Journey concert gave me another dimension: 19,480 Journey fans singing along with Journey music to their heart's content, the vibration of their music beating against your face and chest. its an experience like no other.

We were seated in the Orchestra area just below the stage speakers were located and wow, the sound was loud and the music was crisp clear.

I couldn't control my emotions while listening to live Journey songs, I just had to stand up from my chair, raise my hands, sing along or cheer after each song! Heck everybody was in the upbeat mood, singing along, jumping , dancing, and cheering. It just gave me the goose bumps to hear Arnel's dynamic voice, Neil Schon's Electric Guitar, Jonathan Cain's keyboards, Deen Castonovo's drums, and Ross Valory's Bass Guitar to the tunes of Faithfully, Open Arms, AfterAll These Years. It was crazy.

I wished Deen Castonovo sang the song titled Mother, Father which he did in the CD. Steve Perry originally sang the song 15 years earlier. You can view that rendition of the song in their DVD if you happen to have it or search it in You Tube.

I heard classic Journey songs such as: Don't Stop Believin'(played during the final night of Sopranos show), Open Arms, Lights, Wheel in the Sky, Anyway You Want It; Loving, Touching, Squeezing; Separate Ways; Wildest Dreams; Send her my Love; as well as new Journey songs included in their Revelation CD: After All These Years (ballad), Never Walk Away , Change for the Better (a song about recovering from alcohol abuse), Neil Schon's Electric Guitar solo rendition titled The Journey (Revelation).

Arnel also does those jump stunts and launch off from Deen Castonovo's drum platform at appropriate points of their music renditions. Classic rocker indeed. Those jumps and sidekicks seem like slow motion scenes from the Matrix movie.

Friends , watch out for Arnel and Journey band when they hit Manila and the rest of the Philippines for a series of Concerts sometime in November 2008. they are also pass by Toronto's Molson Amphitheater on September 5, 2008 .

Well if you haven't yet, buy their Revelation CD (two CDs and a DVD).
Its well worth the purchase if you like melodic Rock music.

What a Summer to remember. Thanks Journey.

-Julius

Here's Journey band playing Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' at Cricket Amphitheatre,





Journey band playing Open Arms at Crickett Amphitheatre:

Click here or on the image below to view some of our pictures taken at Crickett Amphitheatre during the Journey concert.

Piña Colada Popsicles

Ackowlegement:
This popsicle recipe was provided by
Lazy Luau. Go to EBay and search for
her as a vendor to buy her popsicle molds
and printout of her recipe.

Here's a recipe for Piña Colada Popsicles.
Its definitely meant for kids.
For grown ups, I suppose you can add Bacardi Rhum
to give it some spirit.

Piña Colada Popsicles Recipe :

1 (5 ounce) can pineapple chunks in light syrup
1 (10.5) ounce can coconut milk
2 bananas, peeled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz it to create a puree consistency.
Pour mixture into popsicle molds. Freeze for a few hours usually 2 - 3 hours.
When ready, remove from molds and serve.

Popsicles for a hot summer day

Summer is upon us in our part of the world! The searing heat, the dry,
oven like puff of heat that fills the air has got to call for some way
to cool us down, specially my kids.

The abundance of summer fruits such strawberries, cantaloupes,
Watermelons, mango abound in the Market.

What better way to cool down from the Summer heat than to suck
on these frozen popsicles treats made with fresh fruits like a 5 yr old kid?

Lately, I've been buying boxes upon boxes of Otter Pops
from Cosco Warehouse market. These products are nothing
but plastic tubes, that contains sugar water and artifical flavoring like
orange, strawberry, cantaloupe, mint, lemon-lime, etc... fruit flavor.

My three kids, and together with their playmates
would place these popsicle products in the freezer
overnight then take them out the following day
and sip and suck these frozen cool treats with pleasure on
hot and thirst triggering Summer days.

To me, these popsicles are nothing but artificial flavor,
sugar which is something I prefer my kids or
their playmates not to get used to. Not healthy for their teeth, I must say.

Well, its time I made my own Popsicles that I had better control
of the ingredients put in these cold treats.

I'll be posting a series of Popsicle recipes for the days to come
as I make them.

Strawberry Banana Posicles will be the first recipe and provided below.

Acknowlegement:

I would like to acknowlege Lazy Luau (the vendor
whom I bought my popsicle molds at in EBay) for sharing her Popsicle recipes
where these Popsicle Recipes were based from.

Accoriding to her, she used these Pospicle recipes
while raising her two sons. Thanks :-) .

Strawberry Banana Popsicle

Ingredients:

-1 cup bananas
-1/2 cup plain yogurt
-1 -1 /2 cups fresh and ripe strawberries, leaves taken out, and quartered
-1 (13.5 ounce) can crushed pineapples
-2/3 cups evaporated milk

Preparation procedure
-Put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz them until smooth puree is attained.

-Fill popsicle molds and poke the mold's stick in the middle.

-Put the popsicle in the freezer upright and freeze for a few hours.

-Take out and enjoy!

Poem: You Are Gone by Justin Sinlao

I just wanted to share a poem written by my son Justin.
Justin wrote this poem as a tribute to his best friend McKinley.
McKinley lived in our neighborhood. They were so close to
each other like brothers, but then one day,
for some personal reason McKinley had to leave the
the neighborhood without a trace.

***************

You Are Gone
by Justin K. Sinlao

The flowers are blooming
And winter is gone
Summer has come
But you are gone

I wish you were here
I miss you so much
I think about you no matter what
Weather in my dreams
Or in my thought

I think about you
And how I miss you so much.

Coconut Shrimp and Cucumber salad over a Rice Pilaf

I got the inspiration for this dish from
Chef Dave Lieberman's Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Mango Basil salsa and
Lime Jasmin Rice recipe in Food Network website.

I didn't have ripe Mango, and my kids tolerate spicy foods poorly
so I was in a mood for modification of the original recipe.

I used cucmuber as a Salad side dish instead as a Salsa.
I deseeded the Korean Pepper to take away the spiciness of the dish.
I also added half a cup of Sprite to add a sweet tone to the dish.

My shrimps were already shelled and deveined so that was a real time saver.
I usually limit my cooking time 30 - 45 minutes
since my kids get impatient about waiting for dinner.

Here are the components of the dish:

Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serving Yield: four


-Coconut shrimp and its sauce

-cucumber salad side dish

-Rice Pilaf

Ingredients and Cooking Procedure for each component is provided below.


Coconut shrimp and its sauce ingredients:
-2 pounds shrimps, peeled and deveined
-2 peppers (I used Korean peppers) deseeded and chopped
-5 cloves of garlic, minced
-zest of one lime
-a bunch of basil leaves torned
-1/2 cup coconut milk
-1/2 cup Sprite or Mountain Dew soda (soft drink)
-2 tablespoon vegetable oil
-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 20 grinds from a pepper mill
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- ginger the size of a thumb, peeled and grated using a microplane



cucumber salad side dish ingredients:
-1 cucumber, unpeeled, cubed into small peices
-10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
-10 cilantro (wansuy) leaves, coarsely chopped
-2 lime juiced
-salt and ground pepper


Rice Pilaf ingredients:
- 3 tablespoon peanuts
- 1- 1/2 cups rice, washed and drained
- 4 cups Chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon of chopped butter
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 bunch onion greens (white and green portion) sliced thinly
- fresh ground pepper
- fresh thyme, 4 sprigs
- 2 cloves of garic, smashed and coarsely chopped

Cooking Procedure:

For the Shrimps, prepare and marinade for up to four hours:
In a mixing bowl combine the chopped peppers, minced grated ginger,
brown sugar, soy sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, Sprite, basil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
Blend and dissolve thoroughly. Add the shrimp to the bowl. cover the bowl with a plastic cling film,
put in the bowl into the refrigerator and marinate for up to four hours.


Prepare the salad side dish:
Combine the cubed cucumbers, basil leaves, cilantro, lime juice. Season with salt and pepper
to taste.


Prepare Rice Pilaf. (see procedure below)

When the shrimps are ready to be cooked, heat a skillet over high heat.
If using a regular skillet, put 2 tablespoon of oil on the pan.
use a tong to remove to remove the shrimps from the marinade and
place on the skillet being careful that they don't overlap.
Do NOT throw the marinade.

Turn the shrimps over to the other side when each side turns pinkish.
Do not cook longer than 5 minutes so they are tender. The last two minutes of cooking time, sprinkle
with minced garlic. toss the pan. Transfer the cooked shrimps on a plate.

In the same pan, add the marinade. Turn flame on stove on medium heat.
Let boil until the marinade is thick about 5 minutes.

To Serve do the following:

Put a mound of Rice Pilaf on the dish.
carefully lay the shrimps on top of the Rice Pilaf being conscious of presentation.
carefully pour the coconut sauce on top of the shrimps, rich and around the rice mound.
Use a spoon to put the cucumber salad at the side of the mound of rice Pilaf.


********
Rice Pilaf Cooking Procedure:

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan.Add the smashed garlic and stir often to prevent it from burning.
Add the chopped peanuts and stir often with a wooden spoon or else it will burn. When the peanuts has turned brown,
add the drained rice grains to the pan. Add the stick of butter. Stir occasionally until the rice has turned brown.
Stir in the Chicken Stock. Let it boil then lower the heat to low setting. Cover the pan (the steam is what is needed to cook the rice).
Add more liquid as needed to soften the rice.

Remove the rice from the heat source. sprinkle with chopped onion leaves. season with salt and pepper as needed.

Sinampalukang Manok

I planned on Cooking another classic Filipino Dish - Chicken Tinola
for lunch except that I was in the mood for some experimentation.

I tried this Sinamalukang Manok dish from Mama Sita Fourth
generation cookbook ISBN 971-91219-0-4. The dish's sauteed
tomatoes, Onions, garlic, and ginger compounded by the
acid flavor of tamarind gives me the impression that this dish
originated from the Tagalog region.

As usual, I modified the recipe and provided below. It is a nice departure
from Chicken tinola that I was accustomed to eating from
my childhood days up to the present.

Here's my take on Sinampalukang Manok:

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp cooking oil
4 lbs. mixture of Chicken Thighs and Chicken wings
1 piece tomato chopped
2 (thumb sized) Ginger julienned
1 piece Onion chopped
4 tablespoon garlic minced
4 tbsp Tamarind base (Sinigang Mix) Powder
1 cup Green beans (AKA Baguio beans, French beans) cut 3 inches length
2 cups Chayote (Sayote) Squash cubed
2 cups Sili leaves or any green leafy vegetable
3 cups water
Patis (Asian Fish Sauce) to taste

Directions:
1. Cut the Chicken thighs to serving pieces using a butchers knife. Season the cut up chicken thighs and wings with salt and ground pepper.

2. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat cooking oil. Heat oil until it barely starts to smoke.

3. Fry the chicken pieces in batches. Turn the chicken pieces over using a tong. Transfer them to a plate when cooked.

4. In the same pot, saute garlic until sightly brown (burned garlic tastes bitter). Add the chopped onions until it turns opaque followed by the ginger.

5. Add the chopped tomato and saute until it start to thicken as in a paste.

6. Returned the cooked chicken pieces to the pot.

7. Add the water to the pot. Adjust the water by adding some more such
that the chicken pieces are barely covered.

8. Season the dish with Fish sauce.

9. Add the tamarind base powder.

10. Cover the pot, simmer in low heat for another 10 minutes.

11. Uncover the pot, and add the Chayote, green bean cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

12. Turn off the heat and add the Sili leaves.

13. Serve warm with freshly cooked steamed rice.

Busy workperson’s Pochero

-Dish modification by Julius Sinlao

Pochero, is a Filipino stew dish with definite Spanish influence. With a rich combination of vegetables such as carrots, potato, cabbage, ‘saba’ banana, chopped onions, minced garlic, and meat such as brisket beef, and Chorizo de Bilbao (One of Spain's most popular cooking chorizo sausages) this dish is a definite delight after a tiring day at work.

I followed PinoyCook.net Pochero recipe. Click here to view the Recipe. I modified Connie Veneracion’s recipe to utilize the 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. I also decreased the ingredients size in order to accommodate the dish in a Slow cooker. I titled it “Busy workperson’s Pochero” because it utilizes a slow cooker,and could be convenient and tasty dish for (who else) the busy person.

Prepare the dish 30 minutes before leaving for work. Let it sit in the slow cooker at low setting all day. By the time you arrive home from work, the dish is ready to be served.

I’m forced to rewrite the whole cooking procedure since I decreased the ingredient amount; omitted an ingredient or two , and modified some of her procedures. Here’s my take on PinoyCook.net’s Pochero:

Serving: five

Ingredients:

5 ounces (2 sticks) of Chorizo de Bilbao

3 pounds brisket steak

1 white medium onion chopped

2 tablespoon garlic

2 plump tomatoes chopped

2 carrots coarsely chopped

1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste

1 - 15 ounce can tomato sauce

4 bay (laurel) leaves

4 pieces Saba Banana sliced 2 inch

Cabbage coarsely sliced

Salt and ground pepper for seasoning

Cooking Procedure:

1. In a frying pan, heat cooking until it is barely starts to smoke (not profusely smoking).

2. Sear the Brisket steak on the frying pan to seal in the juices in the meat. About 4 minutes each side.

3. Let the steak rest on a draining grate or a plate for about 5 to 10 minutes to allow it to cool down and allow the juices to circulate in the steak.

4. Cut the brisket to 1 inch cube.

5. Cut the vegetables to desired size.

6. In the slow cooker, place the vegetable and meat in layers, those longer to cook a the bottom most in this order:

· Bottom most layer: potato cubes

· Carrots

· Chopped onions and minced garlic

· Chopped tomatoes

· Saba bananas

· Brisket cubes

· Sliced Chorizo sausages

· Tomato paste

· Top most layer: Tomato sauce

7. Pour in the tomato paste and tomato sauce.

8. Add a cup of water.

9. Season with salt and ground pepper.

10. Cover the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to low setting. Connect the slow cooker to a timer. Program the timer to run for eight hours. Plug in the timer to an electrical outlet.

11. Fast forward to late afternoon/early evening. Steam or boil the string beans and sliced cabbage in a pot or steamer to tenderize it.

12. Using a slotted spoon transfer the contents of the slow cooker in a wide bowl.

13. Combine the softened string beans and cabbage in the Pochero dish.

14. Serve the dish while it is hot.