Tuesday, March 31, 2020

I Went Grocery Shopping with Mask and Gloves this Morning

My Dungeness Crab and Huge Mangoes Purchase
Toilet Paper, Paper Towel and Napkins ( only one per person)
Today after staying home for 2 weeks, I decided to go to the Grocery Store!
I am tired of ordering groceries on line( right now it is a 2-day wait for delivery) and substitution. Moreover I need to buy toilet Paper and Paper Towel which is available today( only one per person).

The last couple of weeks, I could buy groceries on line and have it delivered within 5 hours. This week, there is a waiting time of two days and a delivery and service charges of 10% plus an optional driver's tip.

Today, Instead of ordering our Tuesday Taco via Door Dash, I decided to stop by the Tres Hermanos restaurant which was open only for To Go or Take Out ( No Dine In).  It saves me door dash fees.

Macrine's Caretaker had an extra mask in her car, and she insisted I used it while grocery shopping with gloves on. There were around 20 shoppers in Food Maxx  this morning and only me and Asian Lady were using Face Mask.( see photo above).

David is still working in the airport( TSA). They are not using Face Mask at work( only gloves). I am scared he will be bring the virus to us. I hope this will not happened.

I do not encouraged you to go out unless it is necessary. So Please Stay at Home and Save Lives.

As I am writing this I saw on the News on TV that the WH Task Force is discussing whether to require the use of mask by the public. I will let you know of the Task Force Decision.

Meanwhile, enjoy this video :
Getting Ready to Go to the Grocery Store Today with My Mask

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Paintings of the Chateau Du Mer Beach House

The above paintings of the Chateau Du Mer Beach House in Amoingon, Boac Marinduque, Philippines are a courtesy of the Late Rene Nieva-Macrine's first cousin. The technique varies from Impressionism, Dadaism, Expressionism, Cubism,watercolor, sponge dabbed, etc..

Do you have a Favorite?  For more information visit the link below:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g1026955-d1159553-i33236474-Chateau_Du_Mer_Beach_Resort-Marinduque_Island_Mimaropa.html

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The Rare Flora and Fauna of the Philippines

This is one of the best documentary on the beauty, flora and fauna of the Philippines that I have viewed.-Untamed Philippines

Two Episodes of this documentary are now available at the National Geographic Channel. Enjoy!

 https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/tv/untamed-philippines/


https://youtu.be/4rxc_qiEWvI

Meanwhile, enjoy this video Of Yong Nieva visiting and singing to Macrine, 4 years ago at Chateau Du Mer, Marinduque
https://www.facebook.com/david.b.katague/videos/10206320460666763/

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Trump's Wonder Cure Drugs for Covid-19


I received the following letter today from a PAASE member, detailing the dangers of Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine approved by FDA for malaria but not for corona virus as Trump falsely proclaimed in TV the other day.  Dr Fauci clarified that Trump announcement was not true. Here's the letter for your information.
  
"Trump is wrong! It is not meant for prophylaxis or prevention. It should be reserved for high-risk COVID + cases admitted in hospital, and is part of many protocols (together with Azithromycin). 

People circulating this, including their recommended prophylactic dose for adults and children, are dangerous and must be stopped:

The Vibermongerers and Viberquackdocs are even posting the dose: “Start Chloroquine 500 mg one tablet per week as a prophylaxis for covid for adults. For kids take in syrup form and equivalent to 8.3 mg per week dose. Prophylaxis can be continued for 6 to 8 weeks.” NO baseline screening (retina, heart, liver, G6PD)! Dangerous!

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine belong to the quinolone family. Although their therapeutic and toxic doses differ, they are related drugs with similar clinical indications for use and similar manifestations of retinal toxicity.

Shown to cause severe hypoglycemia including loss of consciousness that could be life-threatening in patients treated with or without antidiabetic medications; patients should be warned about risk of hypoglycemia and associated clinical signs and symptoms; patients presenting with clinical symptoms suggestive of hypoglycemia during treatment with chloroquine should have blood glucose level checked and treatment reviewed as necessary.

Cases of cardiomyopathy resulting in cardiac failure, in some cases with fatal outcome, QT interval prolongation, torsades de pointes, and ventricular arrhythmias reported; Caution with hepatic disease, alcoholism, and coadministration with other hepatotoxic drugs; Caution with history of auditory damage; May provoke seizures in patients with history of epilepsy. 

May cause hemolysis in glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency; blood monitoring may be needed as hemolytic anemia may occur, in particular in association with other drugs that cause hemolysis. 

  • Chloroquine
  • Antimalarial w/ antiviral activity
  • interferes w/ viral entry by changing acidification inside of cell
  • inhibits SARS-CoV2 co-receptor
  • immune modulating activity (we don’t know yet if that’s good or bad for COVID-19)
  • Inexpensive, long track record
  • In vitro has similar effectiveness against SARS-CoV2 as Remdesivir
  • Reported to improve pneumonia, viral clearance, and disease course from China cases (but we don’t have RCT trial data or robust cases of this)
  • Requires higher dose than for malaria: 500mg BID
  • Limited supply in the US

  • Hydroxychloroquine: related to chloroquine
  • Preferred as alternative: can increase PO dose, has decreased drug interactions, and is more widely tolerated
  • May be more potent against SARS-CoV2 than chloroquine (in vitro studies)

Personal Note: As a retired FDA Chemistry Team Leader in the Division Of Anti-Infective Drug Products, I am familiar of the side effects and dangers of Chloroquine if a proper dosage is not given to the patients. What works in the Lab(in vitro studies) do not necessary translate as safe and effective to humans!

Thursday, March 19, 2020

First Day of Spring in Northern California


Greetings from my real estate broker!

Hi David,

With the damp and cold ushered out for the year, enjoy the lively colors, flowery fragrances, and gentle warmth of the Spring season.
 
Best wishes for a wonderful season!


Inside and Outside today-first day of Spring in Northern California. Let us enjoy the day and forget about the depressing news of this current Covid-19 ( not a Chinese virus)  Pandemic.  Let us pray it will end soon!

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

New and Old Photos from My Album

New and Old Photos from My Album

Ditas and Carenna, 2020
It is time to forget the corona virus pandemic and stock market collapse for a few minutes and enjoy the following old and new photos from my Album! 

Ditas and Governor Gauvin Newsom, 2020
Yosemite National Park, Winter, 2020
Homemade Chili Relleno with Cholula Hot Sauce
A Carenna and Ditas Blanket
Macrine Eating Breakfast with Caretaker's Assistance, 2020
Macrine's High School Graduation-She is  Seating First on the Right-Front Row


Meanwhile, enjoy this short video of the wedding of Amiel and Erika, May, 1019 with CDM as the venue
https://www.facebook.com/sixpmstudio/videos/vb.1480526228910802/2322644764691231/?type=2&theater

Friday, March 13, 2020

My Fifty Favorite Quotes on Cooking and Culinary Arts

  Let us take a break from the depressing corona virus news and Dow's plunging to a new low for a minute and talk about cooking!!
Lengua Tacos-I enjoy eating but not cooking

I did not cooked for almost 56 years. My wife did all the cooking and I did wash all the dishes. My wife was an excellent cook and the kitchen was her territory. In 2013, she was diagnosed with Parkinson,so I have no choice but to take over the kitchen duties. At first, I did not enjoy it. However after a few days, I found that I enjoy cooking. I started creating and modifying old recipes. I also experimented on new spices and sauces. 

This is some of Macrine's collection of cookbooks. They are getting obsolete, as far as I am concerned. When I need a recipe, I go to You Tube/Internet

Today, I cook and wash the dishes. Thanks the Lord I do not have to clean the house and do the yard work. Needless to say my wife likes my cooking most of the time. Here are some of my favorite dishes and recipes:

https://myfavoritepinoydishes.blogspot.com/

Here are some of my favorite Philippines Dishes:

https://hubpages.com/food/my-favorite-philippine-dishes

Here are 50 of my favorite quotes on cooking and culinary arts from the famous and the not so famous personalities of this decade.

 The 50 Best Cooking Quotes of all Time

1. “It’s not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it’s about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then you’ll be a great cook.” – Thomas Keller
2. “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” – WC Fields
3. “If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn’t have given us grandmothers.” – Linda Henley
4.  “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” – Julia Child
5. “Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” – Harriet Van Horne
6. “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf
7. “I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.” – Madam Benoit
8. “Cheese–milk’s leap towards immortality.” – Clifton Fadiman
9. “There is no such thing as a little garlic.” – AnonymousAppetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain
10. “The way you make an omelet reveals your character.” – Anthony Bourdain
11. “Great food is like great sex. The more you have, the more you want.” – Gael Greene
12. “Great cooking is about being inspired by the simple things around you–fresh markets, various spices. It doesn’t necessarily have to look fancy.” – G. Garvin
13. “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” – Sophia Loren
14. “Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.” – Alice May Brock
15. “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” – Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
16. “Cooking is the art of adjustment.” – Jacques Pepin
17. “Food, glorious food!” – Lionel Bart
18. “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” – George Bernard Shaw
19. “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” – Michael Pollan
20. “Condiments are like old friends—highly thought of, but often taken for granted.” – Marilyn Kaytor
21. “Cookery is a wholly unselfish art: All good cooks, like all great artists, must have an audience worth cooking for.” – Andre Simon
22. “Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.” – Russian proverb
23. “Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.” – Don KardongJulia and Jacques Cooking at Home book
24. “A chocolate in the mouth is worth two on the plate.” – Anonymous
25. “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” – Julia Child
26. “All sorrows are less with bread.” – Don Quixote
27. “‎A well-made loaf of French bread will leave a thousand crumbs strewn across the table.” – Anonymous
28. “I can’t stand people that do not take food seriously.” – Oscar Wilde
29. “The secret of good seafood stuffing is in starting with cubes of stale bread, rather than breadcrumbs.” – Anonymous
30. “Most seafoods should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” – Jeff Smith
31. “Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.” – Marcel Boulestin
32. “Cuisine has become too complicated — this is about subject, verb, adjective: duck, turnips, sauce.” – Alain Ducasse
33. “Life is too short for self-hatred and celery sticks.” – Marilyn Wann
Beard on Bread book by James Beard34. “A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.” – James Beard
35. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” – Adelle Davis
36. “Fish, to taste right, must swim three times — in water, in butter and in wine.” – Polish Proverb
37. “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.” – Julia Child
38. “Banish the onion from the kitchen and the pleasure flies with it.” – Elizabeth Robbins Pennell
39. “When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.” – Laiko Bahrs
40. “The greatest dishes are very simple.” – Auguste Escoffier
41.”Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” – Federico Fellini
42. “Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s a grain. It’s like, like, grits, but with high self-esteem.” – James Patterson
43. “We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” – David Mamet
44.”Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.” – Jo Brand
45.”The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living.” – Dione Lucas
46.”Fat gives things flavor.” – Julia ChildThe Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs
47.”I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.” – Erma Bombeck
48. “Cooking is an observation-based process that you can’t do if you’re so completely focused on a recipe.” – Alton Brown
49. “I think every woman should have a blowtorch.” – Julia Child
50. “Food should be fun.” – Thomas Keller

Do you have a favorite culinary or cooking quote?

My favorite quotes are numbers: 5, 10, 12, 20, 30, 41,45, 46 and 48.  

Source:   https://8womendream.com/dream-guest-post/the-50-best-cooking-quotes-of-all-time 

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Signs of Spring in Northern California


Inside Orchids on Our Picture Window
Lets take a break from the corona virus news dominating the whole world and enjoy flowers as a sign of spring. The following photos are from my garden here in the US as well as in the Philippines.

Geraniums in Front Entrance

Camelias on Side Yard
Orange Ice Plant in Front Yard

Fressia on Side Yard
Terrestial Orchid on Side Yard
Spring Planting


The last three photos are my orchid and hibiscus from the Gardens of Chateau DU Mer in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of my recent purchase of mangoes: