Corn Costume

Wahvu was chosen to represent his class for the Vegetable Costume Parade Contest in celebration of the Nutrition Month. This is his first time to join a contest such as this, as knowing his temperament, Wahvu has no patience or tolerance with standing too long and wearing hats or anything on his head. I can just imagine how he would act on the contest day.

Honestly, I really wanted to decline his adviser's offer but Wahvu insisted that he will compete and get an award. Seeing the fiery determination in my son's eyes was enough to get me going into competition as well!

He originally wanted to wear an onion costume (one of his favorite vegetables -- he will eat any dish as long as it has onions), but as per teacher's instructions, he will be joining as a corn. Good thing corn is his favorite too, and this made Wahvu more excited!

I searched online for ideas on how to make a corn costume but there's very little data about it. 

Or maybe it's just sweet luck that I found nothing. Time for me and my husband to get crafty and creative for Wahvu's sake.

The materials we will use:

These are the styrofoams we bought from National Bookstore. Hubby cut these in half and then into smaller sizes to be used as corn kernels. Costs less than 20 pesos per cylinder.

The yellow cloth is for wrapping the corn kernels. It costs 30 pesos per yard.

For the head gear: an old bonnet, and a small coil of yellow plastic rope (also called as straw ropes) that costs 16 pesos.

The corn husks. My mother, who knows a lot about sewing, sewed the green cloths together, and even made arm holes on it.

We used chip board under the cloth to make the husks sturdy.

The pattern for the husks.

Hopefully Wahvu will get an award on the contest day!


* UPDATE:  To see the finished corn costume, please click here.

Rainy Day Bestseller: Champorado!

I really try to avoid browsing Facebook on a rainy day because I know I'll surely get hungry with all the food photos I'll see. Hot soups and spicy dishes, Nilagang Baka, Sinigang na Baboy, Tinola, Arrozcaldo -- these are all over FB!


But one dish has stayed on my mind: Champorado. Everyone's status updates have that word. Tsampurado in Tagalog, I start to hunger for that sweet and warm chocolate rice porridge served with crispy tuyo. Forget about staying in bed the whole day! I need to cook and eat this too!

Luckily I have all the ingredients needed for the recipe.

It's wise to stock up on these during the rainy season.

Comfort Food Champorado

1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 cup glutinous rice (malagkit) - you can also use plain white rice or brown rice

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups water (for boiling rice)

1 cup water (for diluting cocoa powder)


Pour 3 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil.
Add the malagkit and allow water to re-boil for a few minutes.

Dilute the cocoa powder in 1 cup warm water then pour in the pot. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking into the pot.

Tip: I always use a non-stick pot for cooking champorado to save time and energy for frequent stirring. Just leave the pot covered while it's boiling and set the fire to a low setting. (I give it 10 to 15 minutes for the rice to cook). Guaranteed no spills, and no burnt rice on the pot. 

When the malagkit is cooked (about 12 to 18 minutes of cooking with constant stirring), add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes or until the texture becomes thick.

Serve hot with a swirl of condensed or evaporated milk on top.

Don't forget the fish! Fry the tuyo in oil until crispy.

Crispy tuyo is very good to eat since you don't have to worry about choking on fish bones. My kid bites the tail first because it tastes like chicharon!

Yummy! Enjoy!

Oh wow! I'm lactose intolerant that's why I didn't put milk on the champorado. Ha-ha! But my sweets - hubby and kid - love putting condensed milk on theirs. Sugar high!

July is Nutrition Month

July is a busy month for us in Wahvu's school. It is the celebration of Nutrition Month, and every week they have different activities scheduled for each day for all the students to participate in.

One of these activities included Vegetable Clay Making.

I was very surprised to see this in Wahvu's bag! Honestly I thought these are not his, and  it embarrassed me to realize that I underestimated our son's talent. Whew!

Very nice indeed! (That's proud momma speaking here)

Wahvu said this is his portrait and he's kicking a soccer ball here.

Teacher Ruby wrote Wahvu's name (Louis Juan is his real name) here, as this is his entry to the Vegetable Clay Making.

Wahvu's work for the Vegetable Face Making.

Looking forward to the end of the month for the Awarding and Vegetable Costume Parade Contest, where Wahvu is a participant too!