Eight activity: Food activity " Pansit" dish

In my eighth activity, I decided to cook the famous filipino dish "Pancit". This dish is never absent whenever you go to a filipino birthday or new year's party. I remember growing up that my mom and sisters will always cook this particular dish in birthdays, christmas, and new years. The long stringy appearance of the noodles is suppose to signify " long life?" that is why it is always present in birthdays because you want to wish the celebrant happy and prosperous long life.


Filipino people prepared this dish in many different ways. The main ingredient of this dish is the noodle, of course. Some choose fresh noodles and some dried. Some also make them with yellow dried noodles mixed with rice noodles. The meat is basically the cook's choice. My family and I don't eat pork nor shrimp (which is the mostly the meat of choice for most filipino who consumed those type of meat) so we always substituted this with chicken or beef. The basic mixed vegetables are green beans, carrots, celery, and green peas but I love broccoli so much that my pansit will never be complete without it. The seasonings will depend on the cook's taste. Soy Sauce is one of the major part of it.I choose La Choy soy sause in all my cookings but pancit has a very mild flavor, so be sure not to go crazy with the soy sauce. This can also be a vegetarian dish by substituting any meat with tofu and place cut boiled eggs on top the finish product.
The first thing you do is stir fry the chicken and the vegetables. The noodles goes last since it don't take time to cooke them.

Below is the recipe.... As I mentioned above, you can change the meat or add or omit any vegetables you like. In this recipe, it called for cabbage. I substituted cabbage for brococcoli floweretes. It also called for oyster sauce which I don't use because I don't eat oyster so no oyster sauce added. Shrimp is also omitted.

Pancit recipe
1 package (16 ounces) Bihon rice noodles
1 package egg noodles (the yellow kind)
2 tbs vegetable oil
3 medium carrots, sliced thinly into 1-inch matchsticks
1/2 medium cabbage, sliced (substituted with broccoli)
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
2 cups pea pods, sliced diagonal
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce (optional, can be substituted with 1/4 cup soy sauce)
1 chicken breast, sliced small
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails off
lemon wedges or lemon pepper (these are definitely not optional)


This is the stir fried chicken and vegetables

In a large pot or wok, brown garlic and onions. Add the chicken (marinated with soysauce and lemon juice ahead of time). Stir fry until chicken is done. Add the vegetables except the broccoli flowerettes. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the celery and cook 3-5 minutes. Season with lemon pepper and a generous squeeze of lemon. Transfer mixture to a separate container.


Soak the noodles in water for about 5 minutes, or until soft. In a large pot, boil chicken broth, water and soy sauce. Add the rice noodles and lower the heat. Stir to keep the noodles from sticking. When the noodles are done, stir in the vegetable mixture.


Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Bon Appétit!

Seventh activity: Analyzing an object from Antique Roadshow (Unique Antiques episode)

 
What inspires me in this particular episode of Antique Road Show in PBS is the chair of a famous siamese twin Eng and Chang Bunker. The current owner of the chair is Chang Bunker's great grandaughter. It was passed on to her by her grandmother, Chang's daughter. The chair is in very good condition and it was appraised for 10,000-12,000 dollars but the owner said the chair will never be for sale. The chair itself is very interesting: it is one chair but it is built for two people such as for a conjoined twins, but what I found more interesting is the life story of this famous twin. Their story seemed very peculiar: a siamese twin born of poverty who toured the world, became famous, and even married and had a bunch of children! How interesting!! Lessoned learned? Do not let any dissability or being different stop you from living a fruitful life! :-)

Here's what I found about the twins:

Eng and Chang were born in Siam (recently Thailand)  in 1811. The term Siamese twins was coined as a reference to Eng and Chang.They were joined at the lower chest by a narrow band of flesh, which connected their livers. Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant, discovered the boys and became friends with their family. Hunter requested the Siam government to travel the twins abroad but was denied at first. The government finally grandted the twin to travel abroad with Hunter in 1829 at the age of 17. The twins achieved international fame shortly after leaving Siam. They were exhibited in circus shows around the world and toured the United States and Europe where they were examined by doctors and visited by royalties. They also toured with PT Barnum Circus until 1839. The twins decided to stop touring and settled down in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and became a farmer and rancher. They received their citizenship in 1839 but without a last name so they were listed as Eng and Chang, the siamese twins. In 1844 however, they petitioned the government for claiming a surname. They chose the last name Bunker and was granted. They were successful businessmen and ranchers in Wilkes County, North Carolina. They got married to the Yates girls, daughters of a local pastor, in 1843. Eng was said to have fathered six boys and five girls and Chang fathered seven girls and three boys. They lived until 1874.  Chang died first of Bronchitis and Eng followed soon after. They were 63 years old when they died.
 Below are the pictures of the chair and the owner in the Antique Roadshow and some of pictures of the twins and their family.


This lady is the owner of the chair. She is the great grandaughter of Chang Bunker. She states she acquired the chair through her grandmother, Chang Bunker's daughter. She said there is supposedly another chair just like it in Eng Bunker's household. Chang and Eng Bunker married two sisters Adelaide and Sarah Ann yates, daughter of a local preacher. They had a double wedding on April of 1843 in an attempt to put a stop in a scheduled separation surgery in Philadelphia. According to this lady, the two couple live next door to each other where they spent three days in each house at a time. The two couple had 21 children all together. WOW!!!
Anyway... This chair's estimated value is around $10,000-12,000.00 WOW!!!

 

This is a picture of Eng and Chang with thier wives



  

A nice family portrait of Eng andChang's family




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This is Eng and Chang Bunker



Eng and Chan sitting on the chair that is featured in the show

 



Another protrait of the Bunker family



Sixth Activity: My family's U.S. immigration history.



My family's immigration history to the US did not date back in the 1700s or 1800s. It is fairly recent. My family immigrated from the Philippines not because of any political reason but in search of a better life than my country can offer. Sounds familiar? Oh wait... isn't that the reason why the early settlers came here? well.. America trully is the land of opportunity.  

My family's history has a very humble beginning. My dad is the 10th child out of 13 siblings. His dad was a war veteran during the Philippine/Spanish war. He fought along side the Americans who was helping to liberate Philippines from the Spanish. My grandfather has 50 percent spanish blood but my grandmother is 100 percent filipino.



This is the portrait of my grandparents



Now my family: There are 10 children in my family (8 girls and 2 boys).My dad had a successful business in logging industry in the Philippines back in the 80's but a terrible car accident in 1989 left him virtually bankrupt. The doctors who treated him want to amputate his right leg but he insist on keeping it despite the cost. He sold his business and a lot of his properties to cover the hospital expenses because there is no such thing as health insurance in my country. He did not mind all of that as long as he get to keep his leg, and he did after 8 surgeries later.


This is a picture of my mom and dad. They moved back to the Philippines in 2005 and decided to stay there for good.

How did my family immigrated from the philippines to United States?
Esther is the first family member to immigrate here. She acquired her US citizen status through marriage. He married a 19yr old man from Bronx, NY when she was only 18. They had a grand wedding in the Phillipines at my parents expense because at 19 yrs old, he barely have enough money to buy a ticket to the philippines so my dad shoulder the cost. In my culture, especially in my religion, there is no such thing as living together without marriage. My dad did not approve of her fiance's plan to bring her to the US without marrying her first. His plan is to file fiance visa for her because he does not have the money to pay for a wedding in the Philippines. My dad arrange and paid for the wedding. Another thing to remember about my culture, the man is responsible for ALL the expenses in the wedding but my dad is understanding of his situation. To make the long story short, the wedding happened, she immigrated to the U.S. and arrived in Bronx, NY in 1986. They have a daughter together but they got married at such a young age that the marriage ended in divorce in 1990. My sister petitioned my mom for an immigrant visa in 1990 and she arrived in Bronx, NY in 1991.

This is Esther and her children

I was the third one in my family to immigrate in the US. Like my sister Esther, I also aquired my US citizenship through marriage. I married my husband, Charlie, of 20 years back in Oct of 1991 in the Philippines. I arrived in Houston in May of 1992. My husband and I have 2 children together 18 and 15. 

This is a picture of my family

My sister Joyce arrived in Dallas, TX in 1994. She also acquired her US citizenship status through marriage. Her and her husband been married for 15 yrs and have two kids together 16yr old and 6yrs old. 


This is Joyce and her 3 children.

The fourth to immigrate is my dad. I petitioned him for an immigrant visa on 1997 and arrived in Houston a year after. Since my mom lived with my sister Esther in New York, my dad moved to New York to live with my mom and my sister. They then moved to Massachussettes in year 2000.


This is my mom and dad with our other sister in the Philippines
They decide to stay there for good.

The last one to immigrate in my family is our youngest sister, Leocel. My mom petitioned her in 1995. She arrived in Massachussettes in 2003.


This is my sister Leocel, the last to immigrate and the tenth child in the family.

 This is what happnes when the sisters get together.. We go clubbing! tequilla and beer... oh my! :-)

         




Our trip to Massachussettes last summer to visit our sister Esther



Last year's visit to Massachussettes.




Our trip to Niagara Falls with the family



Activity 5: Oakwood Cemetary

Oakwood Cemetary existed as early as1846. Many famous people that helped shaped America, including Samuel Houton, are burried in this cemetary. Also buried in this cemetary are victims of the yellow-fever epidimic in 1867 which also claim Margaret Houston, wife of Sam Houston, at age 48.



This is a memorial statue Sam Houston.



 

This is Henderson King Yoakum's memorial statue. Yoakum was a good friend of Sam Houston. He was born on September 6, 1810. He is a historian in Caliborne County, Tennessee. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1832. On October 6, 1845, Yoakum established residence at Huntsville, Texas. He was instrumental in making Huntsville the county seat of Walker County. At the outbreak of the Mexican War, he volunteered as a private under Jone C. Hays and served at Monterrey as a lieutenant under James Gillaspie. He helped establish the Andrew Female College in Huntsville and in 1849 was appointed director of the state penitentiary in Huntsville. In 1853 he became "master mason" and then "high priest" of the Huntsville Lodge. In July of that year he moved to his country home, Shepherd's Valley, seven miles from Huntsville, where in 1855 he completed his two-volume History of Texas from Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846, for which Houston was said to have given him much of the information. In the fall of 1856 Yoakum went to Houston to deliver a Masonic address, attend to some courtroom duties, and visit his friend, Judge Peter Gray. While attending court he suffered a severe tubercular attack and was treated after being taken to Judge Gray's home, but weakened and died there on November 30, 1856



                                                                                   

This is the tombstones of husband and wife Mary and Charles Chandler who possibly died of yellow fever epedimic in1867. Mr. Chadler died in Oct 5 and his wife died in Oct 27 that same year.



Thomas Carothers, legislator, stock raiser, and superintendent of the State Prison at Huntsville, TX. It did not really specify what he died of. It just says he died while travelling home to Hunvtsville. Could He be one of the victims of yellow fever in 1867?




I can't find much information about this military man but the date of his death suspects me that he might be a victim of yellow fever as well.

This is the burial site of Baker family

 

Another family burial site. This is the Lindsey Family. Three boys are buried here ranging from 8 to 13 yrs old.





This is the writing on the back of the statue above which is a burial site of Powell Family. This is a very lovely place with sitting area and landscaping. It is pretty well maintained.



 

These are the burial sites of very young children next to each other so there is no doubt that they are brothers and sisters. Seems like the parents don't have luck with babies. I tried to do research what caused these children's death but no luck.

 



Fourth Activity: Sam and Margaret Houston's woodland home in Huntsville, TX

On Nov. 6, I decided to drive to Huntsville, TX to visit "Uncle Sam". During this trip, I visited his statue which is a famous national landmark, his homestead, and his burial site all in Huntsville, TX. I told a little bit of Sam Houston's story in my third activity blog. In this blog, I will give you a tour to Sam and Margaret Houston's beloved woodland home, The Steam Boat house where he died, and his entire property. The couple built this home in 1847. Sam wrote to one of his friends describing the woodland home as the "The bang up place". He also talked about the Huntsville weather in his letter as a "healthy" weather. Sam and Margaret lived here at the woodland home while Houston was a U.S. senator in 1846-1859. Four of their eight children were born in this home.


An important fact about Houston. Sam Houston was married three times. His first wife was named Eliza Allen. They were married January 22, 1829. Sam Houston's second wife was a Cherokee Indian woman whose name was Tiana Rodgers, also known as Diana Rodgers. They were married in the summer of 1830.
Margaret Moffette Lea was Sam Houston's third wife. They were married on May 9, 1840 when she was 21 yrs old and Houston, 47 yrs old (26 yrs age difference). The couple had 8 children which were raised in the woodland home in Huntsville, TX.


Let's begin the tour of the Houston property, shall we? Most of the photos here are taken through a glass door. You can see the displays through the glass doors and take photos, as you can see me doing. Just make sure to turn off your flash to get better pictures. The public is not allowed inside the rooms as to protect these delicate historic exhibits from being disturbed or destroyed.


                                            

This is the Woodland Home of Mr and Mrs Houston. It was completed on February of 1848. The house is a typical dogtrot house, consisting of two log rooms connected by a breezeway. Downstairs are the parlor and the master bedroom.  Upstairs is the children’s room separating the boys and girls room. The house was eventually sold in 1858 to help pay the debt of Houston’s
unsuccessful Governor race in 1857.



This is the parlor. The round marble table and the red setee is an original pieces of the couple's belongings.



This is master bedroom located downstairs. The bed is said to have belonged to Dwight Youkum, one of Sam's good friends.




This room is located downstairs. It is said to be the "grandmother's room". I guess it is reserve whenever grandma comes to visit the family?




This is the tea room that is connected to the master bedroom.



Follow me upstairs where the children's bedrooms are located. Watch out for this tight walkway. I guess it is designed for the kids.





This is the girls room. My question is... How did four girls fit in this tiny room?

 


This is the boys room. Again, how did the four boys fit in this room?




This is a picture of the Houston kids. All eight of them! :-)






This is the kitchen. It is separated from the main house which is typical of southern home. In the north, the heat is welcome inside the home during winter times so kitchens are built in the house but in the southern states, kitchen's are separated due to the hot and humid weather, especially during summer times.

 


This is the inside peak of the kitchen. Candle and soap making and laundry are also performed here. Kitchen is one of the most important and the busiest places on the farm.





This building is said to be Mr. Houston's Law office where he conducts his senatiorial businessess and to simply get away from his growing family. Kind of like his man cave? :-)





This is the inside peak of the law office. It says that only his trusted servant, by the name of Joshua, was allowed to touch things in this room.

 



This is a different house but on the same location. This house is called " The Steam Boat House". Below is the description and history of the house. This was the house where Houston died and the services of his funeral were held.




The connection of the Steam Boat house to Houston



This is a sample of Houston's funeral announcement




Close up of the announcement

 


This is the parlor located on the second floor of the steam boat house where Houston's body in the coffin was layed for public viewing




This is supposedly the room where Houston died. This room is located down below the parlor




This is the place where black smithing was done?  I made a 1 min video of the inside of this building but I did not download successfully.





That's me on this old wagon. Too bad I was not dress appropriately for this fancy ride :-)

 This experience overall was so much fun. It was great learning about one of the most famous figure in Texas history.