It is grilled pork liempo (belly) and a new concoction for sinangag (fried rice). There are two reasons why we had them for lunch today. First, Pinoyblog had it’s Christmas party at Cabalen restaurant last night. Cabalen serves Filipino dishes. More specifically, it specializes in Campampangan (a regional) cuisine. I’ve eaten in the various Cabalen ... (more)
In my kitchen: taking it easy
Posted on December 29, 2004 · Leave a Comment
The short lull between Christmas and New Year’s Eve descended on our house yesterday. After hosting two parties on the 26th and the 27th, yesterday was my time to take it easy. There were enough leftovers from last Monday’s barbeque to whip up meals and I didn’t need to cook anything new. Last night, I ... (more)
The relevance of godparents
Posted on December 27, 2004 · Leave a Comment
The law does not require that a child be baptized. The church does. This religious sacrament entails that the child’s parents choose a godparent. The godparent accepts the responsibility of becoming a “second parent” to the child. How relevant are “second parents” in this context? The law has very specific provisions as to who shall ... (more)
Fruitier vegetable salad
Posted on December 26, 2004 · 1 Comment
Adding fruits to a vegetable salad not only adds color and a better variety in texture. It also makes the salad more appetizing and palatable for those who are not keen on salads made entirely with raw vegetables. My family’s first experiment with the mix of fruit and vegetable was the vegetable and apple salad. ... (more)
Mustard and mango jam turkey steaks
Posted on December 26, 2004 · 1 Comment
Many residents of Antipolo raise turkeys. You can actually see the turkeys running freely on the streets. Not commercial turkey raising but for personal consumption. And these aren’t rich people. Some of these turkey raisers live in shanties. Guess turkeys are ordinary fare for them unlike us who have lived most of our lives in ... (more)
Chicken, ham, mushrooms and sour cream lasagne
Posted on December 23, 2004 · 5 Comments
A generation ago, Filipinos’ acquaintance with pasta was mostly limited to spaghetti with the inevitable ground beef and sliced hotdogs and macaroni salad with shredded chicken breast meat, pineapple tidbits and mayonnaise. If one really pined for good Italian pasta, there were very few restaurants where they could be had. And they were expensive too. ... (more)
Christmas jello
Posted on December 20, 2004 · 21 Comments
It’s just gelatin. But with a little imagination, the common gelatin can be a visual and culinary delight. The idea came from a Goldilocks product that my family has been enjoying for years. But I wanted to make my own using a more Pinoy flavor. I decided to stick with the basic red-and-green Christmas motif ... (more)
Buttered Pork Guinataan
Posted on December 15, 2004 · 3 Comments
Ever tried cooking pork by combining butter with gata (coconut cream)? I know it sounds strange but some strange combinations sometimes result in some pretty wonderful dishes. This was my kids’ packed lunch for today. See, their school bus goes on a second trip at around 11.00 a.m. when the pre-schoolers are picked up. One ... (more)
Grilled tuna belly
Posted on December 13, 2004 · 6 Comments
My husband went all the way to Farmer’s Market in Cubao, Quezon City two days ago to buy tuna belly and tuna panga (jaws) for grilling for yesterday’s lunch. December 12th is our wedding anniversary and we hosted a simple lunch party at home. We haven’t had enough family reunions of sorts since we moved ... (more)
My sweet and sour pork
Posted on December 12, 2004 · Leave a Comment
There were two things I wanted to experiment with: making the pork a little redder than usual AND changing the vegetables that traditionally go with sweet and sour pork. The big question was whether they will affect the flavor and texture of the cooked dish. Answer: yes, they did, in a surprisingly wonderful way. When ... (more)
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