You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.

My darling capybaras – or more formally – dear friends:

It's a long weekend, that won't be too long for the people here at
Adphoto. Work came in for Saturday and Sunday (we're happy to be
working!). Nonetheless, Monday is a holiday so for those of you
stuck in Manila, we must celebrate ;) Besides, why would you want
to miss out on all the fun?

PERTINENT DETAILS

CAPYBARA* NIGHT II: May Day, mayday! (or will it be May Day Melee?
Time will tell, but if you trust us, you can bring a friend ;) )
1 May 2006 (monday)

ADPHOTO
(Address removed)

RSVP: Monday morning at 11 – (email and phone number removed)

Start: Staggered, depending on your personality type. ;)

Dinner served at 7:30

Expect to finish by 10:30

What the heck is a capybara? Think of a guinea pig, make it 3 ft
tall. That's a Capybara. Think of an experimental dish, you're the
test subject… you're a capybara! ;)

—-

Following the success of the last CBN we've decided to do a follow up.

DINNER MENU

Starters:

Pumpkin – Curry soup & Pappadams (tried and tested, we just need
to look for a new blender. The last one crashed on my foot,
cementing one of our new HSE house rules. Wear shoes when cooking,
the other one would be – cook beside a fire extinguisher :) – I'm
kidding! I'm kidding! *<:o) )

Main Course:

Chicken with Prosciutto (bacon), Cherry tomatoes, and Asparagus.
I honestly don't know what it's called, and can't find the recipe
(hence, mayday). I saw it on Discovery Channel though, Jamie Oliver
rocks!!!! It looks simple, easy and mouth-watering. For those of
you who live alone (and drink a lot!) it might be worthwhile for
you to come and experiment with us. It's a one person dish and all
you need is a stove and a can of wine or a glass of beer. We'll
figure out the recipe and you can check it out on Claire's blog
(Happy eclair, I don't know her surname) or Sacha's wiki (sacha
chua of course) (don't know where they are, google it or click
here. Unless someone wants to help me document capybara night, and
we can put up a capybara blog.

Hybrid Risotto
I don't know if it's the real deal, but I promise you it tastes
great and is easy enough to make alone. (Might actually be a
risotto/ pilaf hybrid). Same risotto we've served in the last
couple of years of CN (carnivore night).

Dessert
c/o The Shy Ones (they're bringing the goods)

—-

Here's the thing. THIS IS NOT MASS MAIL…. well not really. Okay,
it's well thought out mass mail.

If you got this invite from me, please know that I've carefully
considered the guest list, and I'm pretty sure you'll get along
with the people who are coming. (if you don't live in the
Philippines, then I thought you might find this funny, or get an
idea for your next party) If you have a funny friend you'd like to
bring, pass the message on. Ask them to email me for security
clearance and psychological test. If they pass, we'll give them a
sticker (e.g. Hi I'm Pedro, what's yours? ;) ).

If you got this invite from a friend of mine (or a friend of a
friend) then they think highly enough of you to bring you along (I
was kidding about the sticker and the psych test, but email me
anyway so I know who you are. Remember to behave and bring your
sense of humor. You are not gatecrashing, you are welcome! Read on!

Brilliant (or hungry) Marcelle who BTW requested to hold the CBN
follow-up, suggested that guests pitch in with the dinner
production so it becomes cost effective for the host (me) and so we
can hold it more often (Yay!). Following this month's raid at the
Bombproof store, and getting axed with taxes, I heartily agree. :)

So how does it work?

CAPYBARA SORTER

just for dinner (be here by 7 if you want to be a Capybara)
There are those among us who are either really shy or really busy.
It's okay, you don't have to be there while we attempt to cook.
Dinner will be served at 7.30pm. You can bring us ready-made
appetizers, salad, something to drink or dessert. It's just fair.
:) For those of you who feel like they'd fall under this category.
Please reply to this email with SHY CAPYBARA under the subject
category. It would be wonderful to see you still don't worry.

coming to cook for dinner
And learn a new dish too! Be here by 5:30 pm. Please reply to this
email with CAPYBARA CHEF under the subject category. We will email
you which ingredient to bring. If you can't make it to that time,
SMS us EARLY (number removed) so we can go into crisis-resolution
mode and swing by the supermarket. (Kinda hard to make a chicken
recipe without the chicken)

coming to shop
All aboard! We're taking a field trip to the nearest supermarket
and deli. Bring Php. 200 – 300, we'll all pitch in for dinner (the
more, the many-er! ;) ) Please be here by 3 pm. We need to get
organized. Please reply to this email with SHOPPING CAPYBARA under
the subject category. See you here

requiring Environmental/ Behavioral Enrichment
Find yourself pacing lately? Or engaging in stereotypical/ self
destructive behaviors (plucking hair/ nail-biting). Come and be
enriched. I'll make you a puzzle feeder for dinner. ;) some ideas

Either that or you just really miss me, which is fine. :) Yeah,
yeah, you can come to the house as early as you want (after 10
am… otherwise you'll meet a grumpy monkey.) Bring your favorite
DVD (Marcelle, nothing too cheesy), your favorite set of clothes,
or a board/bored game. We'll figure out what to do with you when
you get here.

Whew! That was a long invite….

Anyway, looking forward to seeing you here!

Warmest regards,

Kathy Chua
Head Capybara

You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.

Happy April Fools! :)

I hope you weren't victim to some completely masterminded prank
today. Shame you guys are just too far away *sigh* It would have been
great to celebrate (Although Tor, your frog still gets me every time,
so yeah… we have sporadic April fools each time I accidentally find
it…). April 1 should be a national holiday. Normal people should
get a chance to do crazy stuff at least once a year.

We had our first-ever Capybara night, called such because I was in
need of a few guinea pigs for recipe testing/ food critique. (We need
more willing victims *oops* critics, any volunteers). Guests were
somewhat wary before coming, realizing that it WAS April fools. Shame
it fell on a Saturday, the office people weren't here, and I had a few
things planned too!

USELESS TRIVIA: Did you know that Argentinians love Capybara meat so
much that they've petitioned for the Vatican to consider it as fish
so they could have it during the lenten season. The Vatican approved
the petition. Although Capybaras are large rodents that can swim, I
can't see how they might resemble Flounder or Halibut.

Anyway, it was a completely respectable dinner (with Zucchini Curry
soup and garlic pappadums to start). First time in 11 years that I
actually hosted a dinner where I got to sit and talk to the guests
while they were eating. *YAY* and where I'd actually read a cookbook
*double yay*

Looks like it might be a mainstay event like Carnivore Night (all
occasion meat fest -similar to a Braai/ Barbecue). Crucial because
it's actually this night which determines whether I should serve a
particular dish at CN. (Tired of steak, plus I'd like to sit down and
see my guests before dinner is over). )

Anyway Chicken Beaujolais was a smashing success. Not a scrap of food
left… Thought I'd share the recipe with you. Baie lekker! Schmeckt
gut! It's easy enough to do alone (or have your [mom, cook,
significant other] make it for you…).

Chicken Beaujolais :)

It's well… chicken stuffed with chevre and grated veggies

Mix 12 oz (about 360g) Chevre or natural cream cheese with

• 1 egg and
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup parmesan, hard monterey jack, or parmesan

Saute

• 1cup white onion minced
• 4 cloves of garlic (I put a bit more, but we're Filipino)
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp black pepper in
• 3 tbsp olive oil until onions translucent

Grate 1 1/3 cups zucchini, eggplants and/or mushrooms (or a combination of) and add to the onions

put in a strainer and drain for an hour. Squeeze off as much excess
liquid as you can and add to cheese mixture. Mix well. Put in a
piping bag and refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, take a chicken and remove the backbone (the spineless
chicken!!!) loosen skin around breast area with your fingers (this is
where you'll put the cheese). (Not in the recipe, but I rubbed a bit
of salt and pepper on the chicken and in the cavity.

After an hour pipe cheese under the skin until chicken is absolutely
stuffed. Put in a baking pan and bake at 375ºF (around 180ºC <- the closest setting I could get in my oven) for 70 minutes or until brown. Leave standing for 15 minutes and voila! Lovely dinner for 4 people. (Two if you're South African or Australian ;) )

Hope you like it! :)

P.S. Chicken Beaujolais nearly became Poulet Dêsastre… nearly set
the kitchen on fire. Mental note, keep plastic utensils FAR FAR away
from pan. ;)

Photos up soon.

Love to all… write soon. Must dash. Shoot starts in 3 hours (at the
god-unholy hour of 3:30 am on a SUNDAY!)

*Mwah!*

E-Mail from Kathy Chua

You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.