New Update: Journey, Chapter 22

After the long wait, it's finally here! J

Juggling work in the office and my other interests, apart from writing, have been quite a struggle that it took a while to finish encoding this part.

The previous chapter ends with Kristina accepting her role as Liyanna. In Chapter 22, the story is in Kristina's P.O.V. Our protagonist will try to use her new position to help Commander Reno in his cause. New and not so new characters will make an appearance, official and secret meetings will be held, and more...

To learn more about it, click on the widget below and start reading.

Feel free to share your ideas and opinions about the story either in the Comment box below or in Wattpad's Comments and Reviews box at the bottom of the web page. Your views on the story matter and may influence certain events in the novel as a whole. Thanks! J

Vegetarian Chili

Last Thursday, 31st of October, Mamá visited her hometown leaving behind the whole family in Manila. With a limited budget for the weekend and after considering available resources and me, the sole pesco-vegetarian, I decided to cook a Sunday dish that everyone could eat.

If you like your food a little spicy, this one's for you. Bon appetit! :)

Vegetarian Chili 

Estimated Times

Vegetarian Chili

Preparation Time: 30 mins.

Cooking Time: 45-60 mins.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 medium onions

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 cup vegetable broth

1 large eggplant (cut in ½-inch cubes)

1-2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into ½-inch dice

9 oz. chickpeas, drained

9 oz. red kidney beans, drained

2 Tbsp. dried mixed herbs

Salt

Large handful flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Procedure

1. Cook the onions and garlic in olive oil, over low heat in a large nonstick pan for about 10 minutes, until the onions have wilted and softened.
2. Add the chili powder, cumin, and paprika and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes before stirring in the tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the eggplant, green bell peppers, red kidney beans, chickpeas, and dried mixed herbs to the pan. Add salt to taste.
4. Stir, bring back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes to the let the flavors infuse.
5. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Adapted from The Book of Chilies & Stews by Sara Davis

Journey: Chapters 19, 20 and 21 now available

Hello. J

I've been trying to catch up on my writing and ended up encoding most of what I've written so far. Phew! Anyway, I'm trying to make the most out of the free time I have left before I go back to the grind. Hehehe!
Find out the origin of the Black Guards' headquarters in Chapter 19:

The following chapters below are back to our female protagonist Kristina. Now that she's awake, things take a turn for...the better or worse? Here are some excerpts:

To read Liyanna Book I: The Realms of Ethair in Wattpad app, just type this code: 58366003

New Release: Journey, Chapter 18

Tropical Storm Maring had caused a lot of destruction in the Philippines this week. Everyone has been affected by the torrential rains last Tuesday.

At six in the morning, we woke up only to find that flood waters had already entered the ground floor. Jigger, one of our dogs, had run downstairs ahead of us and got disoriented after landing on water. Her head looking down and a foreleg raised. LOL! But she recovered quickly and seemed to enjoy playing in the flood like a little kid. She looked like she just took a bath when she came up to the second floor.

It would have been more amusing if we weren't so harassed in rescuing our things from the water. There was nothing we could do about the family car by then. Sadly, I was not able to help long after slipping down the wet stairs and injuring my foot. The fall was really bad. The whole house heard the impact when I landed on my rear. Thankfully, I didn't fracture anything. I have a nice bruise as souvenir, though.

With nothing to do and to distract myself from the pain, I finished Dragon Heir by Gem Higa in Wattpad. It won the Watty Awards last year, 2010. If you're into dragons and kick-ass heroines, I recommend this to you, dear reader. But beware, the author is currently making revisions to the story.

It's not the only thing I've been doing, though. I continued writing my story. After completing a chapter, it got me thinking of turning the novel into a series. I want to focus on specific issues in this book but there are certain things that keep on emerging as Journey progresses. After giving it much thought, I  finally decided that I would write book 2. I'm really nervous about this because the idea never really crossed my mind until now.

Now that it has a sequel, I've created another title for it. Journey is now part of Liyanna Series. So, if you wish to search for the novel in Wattpad, just type M.C. Babasa (author's name) or Liyanna Series. I'm still open for ideas in the series' title. So if you wish to make suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

To date, I've made certain changes in the overview, posted a Characters list for reference, and the newest is Chapter 18. It's in the point of view of Kristina's friend Mindy.

Journey: Chapter 15 is out!

Hullo, everyone.

I've just posted Chapter 15 of Journey in Wattpad.com. I wasn't able to put it up yesterday since I was out most of the day. It describes the role Merleina has been up to for ages.

What you see online has been encoded and edited in MS Word before it was uploaded in Wattpad. Sadly, I'll be busier very soon with office work. So, there will be less time for me to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to allocate at least an hour of my free time; alternately writing and encoding. The second hour for reading a book or ebook, the third for socializing offline and online, and so forth. Hehehe.

Wish me luck. J

Journey: A Novel

Hi, everyone.

I've signed up in Wattpad.com after reading one of its books, The Awakener by Amanda Strong. It's ideal for light reading. Its history is based on the Bible, so expect quotations or excerpts from the Good Book. But, the author made a good job of the characters not sounding overzealous with religion and I like how the guardian angels and demons were portrayed.
The book also inspired me to write a chapter of a novel I've been trying to complete (one of my projects this year), which became a turning point for me to finally commit with my first novel by uploading it in Wattpad.

I like to write the draft the traditional way - that is, in pen and paper. In my experience, it feels more personal than typing it directly on the computer. So, most of it is either still in my notebook or in my head. But I'll be uploading more chapters soon. :)

Read the book: Journey by M.C. Babasa or continue reading this post for the overview.

Journey 

by M.C. Babasa

Kristina
Her life has always been ordinary as far as psychics go, until she draws the attention of a mysterious stranger, who seems to know more about her than any other person.
But there are others who want something from her that only she possesses. 

Arturion
Impulsively, he offers friendship to Kristina. But when she falls ill, he must divulge his secret to help her.

Excerpt
He stood at least six feet tall, his dark hair and clothes dry in contrast to the weather. He held an umbrella which served more as a costume prop rather than carry out its initial purpose. The rain didn’t touch him not even his “prop”. It seemed to hit an invisible shield surrounding his person... 

Lenguas de Gato

Lenguas de Gato is the Spanish name for cat's tongue, named for its shape and size. It's crispness and rich buttery taste makes it a good complement for ice cream and coffee.

I found this recipe from my Abuelita's possessions, a collection of recipes from newspaper clippings from the fifties or sixties. I tried the recipe as an alternative for disposing egg whites left from leche flan. It's a lot easier than meringues and an ideal gift for special occasions.

Lenguas de Gato

Yields: about 5 dozen

Finished product: Lenguas de Gato

Ingredients

½ c. butter

⅔ c. sugar

1 c. sifted all-purpose flour (if eggs are large ones, use 1 ¼ c. flour)

¼ c. egg whites (2 egg whites)

½ tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add unbeaten egg whites little by little, beating well after each addition.
4. Add flour a little at a time. Then, salt and vanilla.
5. Place mixture in a piping bag with plain tip and drop in oblong form (2 ½ inches long) on a non-stick baking sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from sheets while hot.