Running a household full-time as well as maintaining a busy career is a balancing act Amy Perez does every day. The 45-year-old mother of three is obviously very proud of her boys. “Adi is 17 years old, Kyle is six years old, and Isaiah my youngest is two years old. If you notice, I have all the generations now. I have a teenager, a toddler and a baby. So if you give me a little girl baka hindi ako marunong mag-alaga (laughs). I enjoy and I love cooking for my boys. As a mom, I’m very pressured everyday to come up with something unique and at the same time tasty. Kasiusually boys? mahilig sila sa malasang food. With them? ‘pag mas simple mas okay din,” she shared during the Clara Ole Potluck Foodfest launch held last April 10 at R Space in Makati city. Amy said she is enjoying the best of both worlds right now. “Nung una talagang akala ko hindi ko siya magagawa but with work now? na para akong nag-o-opisina ng half day so I got toUmagang Kay Ganda in the morning, I take my son to school, buti na lang malapit ang bahay namin sa ABS-CBN and then I go to radio program.? Yun yung daily schedule ko ha, as in Monday to Friday and then in the afternoon I’m with them na? the whole time. Before when I used to do Singing Bee Thursday and Friday lang yung hectic? ako. Pero on weekends as much as possible hindi ako tumatanggap ng trabaho talaga,” she explained. Cooking for her family is one of the most fulfilling responsibilities for her as a homemaker. “I took up a basic culinary course in ISCAHM, mga three months lang yun kasi nga I’m always pressured to come up with something that’s unique and at the same time nutritious andmagugustuhan ng mga boys? kasi yung mga moms like me they know na yung mga boys picky eaters yang mga yan. And with pasta I can do that? kahit ten minutes lang or less,” she said. Summer break also poses an additional challenge for Amy. “Napakaraming ?challenges. Sabi nga ng ibang mga magulang kapag bakasyon na finally we can take a break from all the gastos pero no (laughs) kasi ang mga bata siyempre malakas talaga kumain, siyempre iba yung feelingna nasa bahay lahat ng mga bata. As a mom malaki ang pressure sa akin to come up with a very special dish eh. Each day na nagigising sila for lunch and dinner.” The Clara Ole homemaker shared her simple yet super useful cooking secret. “Based on my experience? kasi,may? pressure talaga? to come up with something new everyday. Mas mahirap yun bilang artista. Every Sunday talaga I have to sit down sa kitchen and check with my familykung ano yung linuto ko last week at dapat iba yun for this week. Siyempre nasanay tayo pag Friday monggo di ba? Pagka-Saturday and Sunday sinigang at nilaga. So what I do is I experiment a lot. When I open my pantry,? kung ano yung makita kong andun, yun yung ginagamit ko. Sa when I check the pantry and kung ano makita kong tira tira, mga sobrang ganito na hindi nagagamit. So one time when I opened yung ref namin at nakita ko may sausage na hindi nagagamit, parang ang tagal na nito na pag tumagal pa ito ng isang araw baka tubuan na ito ng kung ano (laughs),” she said. Amy said she hopes moms would also be creative when it comes to cooking. “I guess I want to tell mothers don’t be afraid to try new recipes based on what you feel.? Basta you can always try.Kung medyo pangit, try another dish. Yung mga boys ko kasi they love pasta. My basic pasta recipe is yung ground beef, tomato sauce with cheese lang yan. Nag-evolve na how I cook that. Minsan I put a little egg or a small can of milk, sometimes a little bacon. So it’s not just the regular spaghetti with meatballs,” she shared during her Clara Ole cooking demo during the event. After hosting The Singing Bee, Amy admitted she misses hosting game shows. “Oo naman nakaka-miss si kuya Dick (Roderick Paulate) so soon naman I think baka may ibang plans ang ABS-CBN so we’ll just wait for that,” she said.
