It was an all day preparation and cooking for mom and manang(my son's nanny), but it was all worth the effort. The Kakanin was from Malabon, and the suman was from Antipolo. The rest are homemade. Other known panghimagas of filipinos or pinoys are :“Kakanin, puto, kutsinta, sapin-sapin, suman sa ibus, bibingka, puto bungbong, maja blanka, bico, atbp. The topmost photo is a showdown of manong's (a vendor) bilao of assorted meriendas or afternoon snacks. Thanks by the way manong!Ummm I know, it is the best!What would fiestas, Pasko, Bagong Taon, at Pista ng Patay be without these native delicacies?” .

Ginatan means anything cooked in coconut milk. The Inangit is a combination of sticky rice and ordinary rice, coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaves.They cooked all the components of the Ginatan in syrup, made the gata (coconut milk)-sugar-water mixture with anis to make it the authentic ginatan. These are a few good things I really miss. That pinoy heritage should always be remembered and practiced, cause if you are a real filipino, you would have to know how to eat and prepare these. Guess what I will try to make one myself these days, wish me luck!

Popcorn & A Good Movie

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Will Smith, left, and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith star in the film, "The Pursuit of Happyness."

The different popcorn versions I made (typical,as a gift,ball,on stick) were simply made just to end my long and tiring day. My son and I always buys caramel popcorn from the grocery and it is really pricy. I think it isn't fair to my son, if would not make one. The popcorn was first cooked with butter,the typo kettle popcorn, I made the caramel:water, sugar, little butter and heavy cream or whole milk will do. Just melt everything but the cream, then off the stove , add the cream while stirring.Careful in pouring the cream onto the caramel mixture because it does splatter, wear kitchen mittens please. Indeed, a bountiful bowl and plates of different popcorn flavors and a good movie. A good thing I must say.

To give you a brief overview of the movie Pursuit of Happyness(starpulse.com):
Set in early-'80s San Francisco, the film charts the hard times and eventual comeback of Chris Gardner, a suddenly single salesman who has custody of his son, but finds that providing for the two of them is a challenge in the increasingly unstable economic climate. He struggles to work his way from unpaid intern at Dean Witter to something more substantial, even as life continues to offer him setbacks.

We had fun together. Now that is my definition of real Happy-ness, a rewarding day, a time for my son and myself. It is really within. I hope you are happy too.

Shawarma:Lumpiang Ubod

Shawarma & Lumpiang Ubod, are my long time favorites for snacking or merienda they call it in my country. I wanted to compare both for the popularity it brought to the Philippines especailly the persian wrap during its time,the 90s. The lumpia is a classic, you can this anywhere from chinatown to the city proper. I really love both.

I made the Poori (usually deep fried) or Chapati (just baked w/o oil) from scratch. Thanks to my Kitchenaide mixer who did the light kneading because you really do not need that much gluten development compared to most leavened breads. This is in fact an unleavened bread.

Ingredients:

Excuse me for using grams instead of cups.

250 g bread flour

4 g salt

135 g water

Procedure:

Mix everything in the mixer using a dough hook, knead at medium speed for 6 minutes,#4 specifically. You need not rest the dough, shape it all at once into small balls as each portion should be, approximately 30 grams. Using your pin, roll onto the dough forming even "not so perfect" round shape. You can even do square shapes for a different finish. The meat for the dish was marinated in yogurt and seasonings overnight in the fridge. I grilld them and sliced. I also put grilled tomatoes steeped in oil, salt and pepper, fresh lettuce , sliced onions and the garldic sauce also made of yogurt, garlic and heavy cream. It is more fun to have your guests wrap their own shawarma for fun.

Egg Wrapper (Lumpia)

Ingredients
1 small egg
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Beat egg in medium bowl; whisk in water and salt. Add flour, 1/3 at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Reserve at room temperature 15 minutes. Heat wok over high heat 15 seconds; add I tablespoon oil and heat until hot, about 15 seconds. Turn off heat; wipe inside of wok with paper towelling; leave thin coating of oil. Heat wok over low heat 15 seconds. Leave heat on but remove wok from heat. Stir batter; pour 1/4* cup around side of wok in a 20 cm circle. Quickly rotate wok to fill in the circle with an even layer of batter; return wok to heat. Fill in any tiny holes that form by brushing with small amount of batter. (If batter sets before you can fill the circle by rotating or if too many holes form, wok is too hot. If batter does not set quickly enough, leaving edges of circle paper-thin, Wok is not hot enough. Adjust heat accordingly.) Cook wrapper until batter is set, bottom is slightly golden and edges begin to pull away from wok, 45 seconds to I minute. Carefully grasp one edge of wrapper with fingertips; quickly and carefully lift and peel it off. Gently place wrapper flat on paper towelling, golden-side-down. The ubod is just a mixture of the ubod, carrots, cilantro,garlic, onions, salt and pepper and some meat. Sprinkled with chopped peanut-sugar mixture and the sauce made from, soy sauce, lots of water, garlic, sugar and cornstacrh.

Try it! Its all good!

It's Been A While...Casuy & Kaimito

It has been a while since I have eaten these Fruits, Casuy & Kaimito. I remember them being sold in fruitstands usually in far away churches here in the Philippines like the Grotto Church and Antipolo. As I was going down from my room one morning , usually I check what fruit is available to eat for breakfast and I was glad to have them in the basket. They look really good! The casuy's usual taste is a little puckery and the Kaimito is sweeta and very soft inside. This is a good thing beacuse almost every household would have bananas, apples, pineapple and mangoes in their fruit baskets. Try having something different!

Young Chefs

It was a sunny afternoon when my son and his bestfriend prefred to stay in the house to play. Caught up starting on a quite bold recipe " Chocolate Ensaimada". I felt tired doing the same thing, the typical ensaimada. The same specifications I have expected when we made the recipe. The bread should be soft, a little airy and melts in the mouth. My son helped in measuring the ingredients, degasing the dough brushing and filling the dough with chocolate chips and cashew nuts as well as Dodoy his friend. It was fun and was a success. The bread came out as expected and perfectly blends with the peppermint tea. The pretzel stick was just added by the kids,haha. Kids can always be involved in the kitchen for as long as it is safe. Give them tasks and they will do them and feel rewarded in the end. The three of us ended up eating more than a piece of the bread.

A day at Sonya's

Sonya's Garden is one of the best places you should visit when you visit the Philippines. I have been visiting the place over the years but the latest they have got is the Panaderia that sells chocolate Cake and breads. Sonya's is widely know for it's secret garden with variable vegetables that they serve as salad course, they also serve pasta. The thing I like with Sonya's is that everything is so natural. There are no patterns and people come here for the experience. They also offer massages and has victorian cottages for people who'd love to spend the night. I will keep coming back to this place.