Did you know that pork is a lucky food to eat on the New Year because “because poultry scratches backwards, a cow stands still, but a pig roots forward, ergo those who dine upon pork will be moving forward in the New Year”? Heck, I never heard of that one until I started scouring the ... (more)
Cats and social taboos
Posted on December 29, 2008 · 14 Comments
Back in the old neighborhood, there was a stray male cat that got all our female cats pregnant. He was a large cat, black and white (we called him Blackie), and there were times when he would sneak inside the house. He got Sam’s old cat, Bebe (a stray kitten that we adopted), pregnant more ... (more)
Smoked salmon and cream cheese canapés
Posted on December 29, 2008 · 34 Comments
Thinking of easy to prepare but delicious and memorable canapes for a cocktail party on New Year’s Eve? Try spreading this filling made with smoked salmon and cream cheese on wheat crackers. Or use it as a sandwich filling, cut up the sandwiches and serve as mini sandwiches. I love smoked salmon. So when I saw three different versions of this filling — in a cookbook, in a TV food show and in a website — I figured it must be a sign that I should try and make my own version. The result was so good that even my daughters who are not particularly fond of smoked salmon have been snubbing the ham and cold meat in the fridge when they make sandwiches. Instead, they reach for the container with the smoked salmon and cream cheese filling.
Banana walnut cake
Posted on December 28, 2008 · 55 Comments
Moist but not dense, this banana cake is light, not excessively sweet and there’s the added pleasure of getting some crunch from the walnuts and the streusel topping. Based on a recipe from the web site of Sylvia Reynoso Gala, I substituted melted butter for the cooking oil because, in my experience, using cooking oil in cakes leaves an undesirable sensation in the mouth. And I have a theory that it is the cooking oil that makes banana cakes from neighborhood bakeries dense and bread like rather than light and cake-y. I omitted the molasses as well because the photo of the baked cake in Mrs. Gala’s site looked too terribly dark for my taste.
Exchanging Christmas gifts
Posted on December 28, 2008 · 9 Comments
About the time we put up the Christmas tree, Alex asked me what I wanted her to get me for my Christmas gift. Not wanting her to spend her savings, I asked her to just cook breakfast everyday during the Christmas break. She knit her eyebrows and said, “Can’t it be something I can just ... (more)
Bowls and platters
Posted on December 28, 2008 · 3 Comments
Back from the sickbed. I caught some bug two days before Christmas and I didn’t start feeling better until a few hours before Christmas Day ended. My husband did the cooking but you know how it is when you’re not feeling well — nothing just tastes right. He’s still in charge of the meals but I felt well enough to bake a banana walnut streusel cake this afternoon, the recipe for which I will start composing right after I post this entry about new pretty additions to my kitchen. Well, probably not exactly cooking tools. More of things for the dining table but since some of the items can go into the oven, in a way, they can be considered as cookware too.
Where it’s Christmas all year ’round
Posted on December 27, 2008 · 5 Comments
Some people clean their houses from top to bottom before the New Year; I clean out my hard drive. I’ve been deleting duplicate photos and unwanted files all day when I came upon the tons of photos from last summer’s trip to Boracay, Aklan and Capiz, including a visit to the Panay church. And there ... (more)
Lights, scents and home accessories
Posted on December 26, 2008 · 21 Comments
I would have posted photos of loots from our most recent trips to Dapitan and Tiendesitas but, quite unexpectedly, I got sick on December 23 and I didn’t feel better until late evening on Christmas day. It was a quiet house on Christmas Eve. The house helpers attended midnight mass in town and, a little ... (more)
Pinoy Christmas around the world
Posted on December 25, 2008 · 17 Comments
(Today’s column) I am so tired of writing what I think about Christmas and all the excesses that go with it. I am just as tired of ranting about relatives, friends and acquaintances who turn Christmas into a season for extortion by specifying what their children want as gifts. So I have something different for ... (more)
Strawberry pancake syrup
Posted on December 24, 2008 · 3 Comments
Due to a strange twist of fate, I’m on cooking vacation from now until the New Year. My husband, Speedy, will be doing ALL of the cooking although I am not sure if that includes the dishes for the New Year’s Eve family reunion. Of course, it’s going to be a man-in-the-kitchen kind of menu, ... (more)
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