A Many-Splendored Thing

It was 1957.  The acacia trees lining the avenues at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman were not as tall and leafy as they are now.   He saw her walking to class one day.  She walked with a certain spring in her step, clutching her books.  "Magarput" is his word.  It's an Ilocano word that's hard to translate, but it connotes a certain kind of vivacious girliness.  He kept an eye out for this "magarput" little Chinese girl from the sugar lands of the South, who mostly spoke English because she didn't know much Tagalog, the lingua franca of Manila.  She graduated class salutatorian from Negros Occidental High School.  In those days being an honors graduate automatically granted young students admission to UP Diliman.

She had no idea he was interested, until much later.  He was a good-looking Northern boy from the summer capital, Baguio City, and he was in UP to study mining engineering.  With other Ilocano boys he roomed at Narra Residence Hall and spent some of his free time with his fraternity brothers, or riding around in his friend's Volkswagen Beetle serenading young ladies at the nearby dormitories.  She stayed at the YWCA dormitory across the street, where, every Sunday, they served the best fried chicken on campus.  All the Narra boys dreamed of being invited to dine at the YWCA on Sundays!

My dad learned she was secretary of the youth organization at the UP Protestant Chapel, the Church of the Risen Lord.  Naturally he joined, too. She had two other suitors, one of which became a top volcanologist, and the other, a prominent judge.  But she only had eyes for my dad.

One fateful day he was returning to Narra Residence Hall from one of their dates, and came upon two fraternities fighting violently nearby.  In the ensuing melee one boy stabbed him in the side!  My mother brought him to the hospital, where she met my paternal grandmother for the very first time.   When the boy who stabbed him found out that it was a case of mistaken identity, he was mortified.  He apologized, and they later decided not to file charges against him. Oddly, a few years later, when my parents got married, he sent them a nice set of placemats.

My dad later joined an equipment firm, while my mom taught high school Biology at UP. They continued to see each other.  On Valentine's Day in 1967 he went over to her faculty room and said, "Let's get married!"  So off they went to Quezon City Hall.  The two witnesses were my dad's best friend and the judge's secretary.  They didn't have much money, so they went to Little Quiapo nearby and had a crushed ice dessert, halo-halo, to celebrate.   It was many years later that my mother was finally able to introduce my father to her mother.  My maternal grandma was fond of saying, "You know, I never met your father until after they got married, but he turned out to be my favorite son-in-law!"

Twenty-five years later they renewed their vows in church.  They've been together 46 years now, best friends and lovers and parents.   They are in their seventies.  My dad jokes that their marriage has survived this long because he is deaf in one ear.  My mom says it's because they each maintain their individual interests and yet support each other's pursuits.

But I think it's the romance, which is still quite strong.  My friend Ana called me on the phone one night.  The phone reception was very clear and she could hear everything going on in the living room, and even heard the doorbell ring.  She heard the clattering of my mom's shoes on the marble.  "Who's that? " she said.  "It's my mom," I explained.  "My dad just arrived."  Suddenly it was quiet.  "What's happening?  Why is it quiet?"  I laughed and said, "They're kissing!"

There are pink tulips in a little pot on the table tonight.  It reminds me of the time he first gave her tulips many years ago.  They were the exotic and fashionable imported flowers to give on Valentine's Day back then.  We were all stuck in traffic on our way to their wedding anniversary dinner.  After sniffing the tulips, she said with surprise, "But they don't smell of anything!"  So he jumped out of the car and ran after a vendor selling sampaguita (jasmine) leis, and ran back.  "Here!" he said, panting, giving my mother a lei.  "Here's the scent!"

Ain't love grand.

Wheatgrass for the Guinea Pigs

At the end of February, my sister Joy started a new project - growing wheatgrass for our pets Moonball and Walnut. We live in a condo building, and usually have a hard time getting fresh grass. We do mostly small container gardening in the balconies. We give our guinea pigs some inexpensive leafy vegetables, but they're not a substitute for fresh, sweet grass. So Joy did her homework, and discovered a very good tutorial on SproutPeople.org. There are also many blogs that have excellent how-to videos and directions as well.

It was a challenge finding the seeds. At first Joy went to a feed store and bought oat groats, but only a small percentage of that sprouted and grew. She later remembered that Healthy Options Shangri-la had a selection of organic grains for sale. She found some Bob's Red Mill brand "Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries" and "Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries" which were being sold for P169 per 2-lb pack. Oddly this was a better price than what was being offered at Manila Seedling Bank.

The grains are soaked (and drained, and soaked, and drained) for anywhere from 8 hours to 18 hours. They are later spread on potting mix or shredded newspaper in small recycled take-out containers, and left to grow, covered, in a dark area until they sprout and etiolate (grow pale grass shoots without sunlight). After some time the shoots are transferred to an area with indirect sunlight, and the grass shoots eventually turn green. They are spray-watered several times a day. By the time the grass reaches 5-7" it is ready to harvest. Joy does staggered plantings so she has a harvest every day, or every other day. A serving of wheatgrass in a low take-out tray is enough to feed the guinea pigs - it's only meant to be a treat, since they have pellets for daily sustenance.

One day instead of cutting the wheatgrass and putting it in a bowl, we decided to give Moonball and Walnut the entire tray. They loved it!

The mowed-down grass, root system and potting mix are then shredded and returned to our little compost bin for later re-use. We've tried growing some wheatgrass in A4-sized low plastic containers for wheatgrass juice, but the yield was quite low - after a spell in a Jack Lalanne juicer, we only produced about 5 oz for 2 containers' worth of grass! We fed the discarded grass from the juicer to Moonball and Walnut, so nothing was wasted. That was worth a try anyway :)

Little Girls, Team Sports

When I was a little girl I was bookish and not the least bit sporty. I did, however, love swimming, climbing trees, running with the dogs and playing games the neighborhood children played. I even endured hula dancing class. It wasn't until high school PE that I became one of the goalies of the girls' soccer team. I sometimes walked home all covered in mud. The only time I was goalie and we played against another school, it was a long, hard match that ended in a draw. No big deal - we had sandwiches and we had our stories, and we enjoyed ourselves.

I had a place in the team, a role and a goal, and I tried as much as possible to achieve it. The sense of belonging and pride in the team was exhilarating. For once I was the doer, not the watcher. Many people prefer to just watch, and never give themselves a chance to do.

Many years later, I watched my goddaughter Jassie play girls' Little League Softball. Their team won the right to represent the Philippines at the International Little League World Series that year. I cheered myself hoarse that day, and was so proud of my friends' little girl. I remembered thinking that when I was a little girl I could never hit anything on cue even if I tried. I was hopeless at shooting a basketball or returning a volleyball serve. The only thing I knew how to do was kick a ball in certain directions and block it with my body. I thought it was great that kids nowadays had all these organized activities that gave them opportunities to discover physical and social skills, activities that weren't available or fashionable when I was small. All we had then was a choice of learning dance, or a musical instrument, or art, or kiddie cooking class. Very few little girls then participated in team sports, unless you counted school patintero and Chinese garter games at recess.

Last Saturday I watched my niece Lilo play Little League T-ball. It was a very hot and humid day, but families gathered around the El Circulo Verde field, cheering on their kids. There's something so appealing about watching 6-year-olds running around a diamond trying to catch a ball. Each of them had a job to do. Lilo batted twice; later she had to exit the game due to heat exhaustion. They only played for an hour in the sweltering heat, but they all got their exercise, which is one thing kids always need enough of.

When Lilo started out with the International Little League Association of Manila's Major Holdings team, she was the smallest girl (and one of the youngest) in the group. They practiced once a week on a weekday and played virtually every Saturday in the school year. In the beginning she didn't understand the game rules. She cried whenever she was tagged out. Eventually she learned to hit a ball on a tee strongly, even hit a coach's pitch, and to catch a ball. And she learned to run as fast as she could. There were days she didn't feel like playing, but she played anyway. There were days she was more interested in daydreaming while in the outfield. But she played anyway. Her teammates didn't all go to the same school, but they all became friends.

A year later, some teammates moved into the next age group. Some stopped playing in favor of other pursuits. This year Lilo plays in a mixed boys and girls group. (More new friends!)

This sort of experience is so important. It's not about dressing up to look sporty, or so you have something to brag about (although some people do that). It's about learning to work with others, and to do your job the best way you can so you can contribute to the team's success. For most little girls, it's trying out what you initially think you're not inclined to do, with the hope of finding out that you really like what you're doing. And becoming the better person for it.

The last time I participated in a team sport, it was in Philippine airsoft, from 2001-2003. I was a member of the PPG, an all-girl assault squad of Team Wyvern. We participated in the first Kalis competition, where we had to successfully complete an assault module, a defense module and a hostage rescue module. We held a respectable middle place in the competition, not bad for first-timers. Here's a couple of photos from those days when I was 20lbs lighter and had sharper cheekbones:

That's Ria Miranda-Regis and me clearing out the first room of the FTI warehouse in Taguig.

The PPG disbanded at a time when some of us became wives and mothers. Those are important roles, too - except your team is your family this time. As for me, I passed my airsoft gear on to my godson Raffi, who uses it mostly for cosplay.

Those with young children should take advantage of opportunities for team sport. If you're thinking about things like the expense and the time it takes up, believe me, it's worth it. Let your children join something, have fun and learn to play well with others. There are many, many lessons one can learn from experiences like this, but playing well with others is one of those skills that you may not realize means a lot when it comes to living well in this world.

Lilo's Halloween Costume

My 6yo niece has a very vivid imagination. She's wanted to be Medusa for the longest time. Last October 22 she had her fantasy realized - thanks to Mommy Joy's crochet skills. Joy found the free crocheted yarn snakes pattern by Lucy Ravenscar at Craftster.org.

The 14 snakes are made up of combinations of yarn colors, crocheted over four days. The eyes and tongue are sewn on. They are attached to a plastic headband, along with black yarn "hair". The "black" lipstick is eyebrow pencil rubbed over lip gloss. The rest of the costume was a black sleeveless dress.

Lilo was even more thrilled when she won a special award for her costume! Even now she's thinking of a new costume for next year...

EPP Balcony Herbal Garden

Click on the photos to enlarge.

This is my mother's EPP herbal balcony garden: organic sweet basil, bok choy, Himalayan spinach, tarragon, rosemary and chives. Yes, the planters are converted plastic Coca-cola liter bottles.

EPP stands for Enriched Potting Preparation, which uses a "nutrient-rich compost soil extract, in a watering and aeration-efficient container". It's award-winning urban garden technology developed by Dr. Eduardo P. Paningbatan, a professor of soil science at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos.

My mom attended one of his seminars and decided to start her own garden. She even organized a seminar at our Metro Manila condo complex so that other unit owners could grow their own organic and pesticide-free herbs and vegetables, even ornamental plants.

EPP is distributed by:

Makiling Plant and Products Exchange (MPPI)
10001 Mt. Halcon St., Umali Subd., Los Banos, Laguna
Tel No. +6349-536-0054
Fax No. +6349-536-5536
Mobile +63919-804-7169

Rapture at Mercato, Cocowonder

While the world was supposed to be ending, Joy, Tristan and I were out hunting for organic and fair trade products at Cocowonder and the Mercato Centrale weekend market.

Cocowonder is an exporter of virgin coconut oil based in Makati. Joy was researching on VCO in an attempt to find cost-effective organic local or fair trade products for cosmetic and internal use (hair, face and body). She bought culinary grade and raw VCO (both cold-pressed), VCO hair conditioner and body wash, amino seasoning, nectar and cocoa tablea. Local sellers at various trade fairs don't label their products very carefully, and oftentimes can't answer detailed questions, so she found the Cocowonder site very useful.

I've tried VCO massage oils in the past, but this time I finally tried the culinary grade VCO as a facial night moisturizer (a tiny amount goes a long way) . It's only been a couple of days, but I notice it's absorbed quickly by my skin and it seems to be successful on my dry problem areas (more on this in a future blog entry). It doesn't have that off-putting bukayo smell, just an initial faint scent of nutty baked goods, which eventually fades. As a family we're trying to use more natural products, so this is right up our alley.

We arrived at Mercato just before noon, and decided to have lunch at the al fresco dining area. It's fun to walk around before deciding what to eat - there were so many yummy choices! We shared a quarter-pound burger from Monster Burger, delicious grilled sausages, some very tasty prawn-bacon and kani-bacon skewers, cheesy baby potatoes and stuffed tomatoes, washed down with icy cold cantaloupe juice. I don't have any pictures since we were so hungry we ate it all. Only then were we fortified enough to browse in the market.

Since our last visit was only 2 Saturdays ago, we didn't really buy a lot this time. I bought more different brands/varieties of whole coffee beans from the National Coffee Board stall. One was from the Mt. Apo area (Altura Blend, a Dizon Farms coffee). Continental Coffee is a CAFEX brand, which is a local coffee they serve at McCafe's nationwide. I was curious about Culinary Exchange's Embarcadero Blend, which has beans from Northern Luzon and the Visayas. There's coffee from Mt. Kanlaon which I mean to buy next time (I didn't get it because it was already ground) - I tried the coffee sample they served me and it was very good. Joy bought Ifugao Heirloom brown rice, and wasabi vinaigrette from Comida Rica. One day we'll go on a Sunday morning instead of a Saturday, bring our parents and have lunch.

"Fate could not harm us, for we have dined today." - Sidney Smith (1855)

Anvaya Cove

Occasional thunderstorms reminded us that the summer wouldn't last forever. Going to the beach was my five-year-old niece Lilo's nightly prayer. Thanks to the kind sponsorship of a family friend who was a member, we were able to visit Anvaya Cove in Bataan, some 30 minutes' drive past Subic.

We arrived just before lunch. We were ferried to our rooms via the scenic route in an electric golf cart. Because of the electric transportation, there was little pollution near the living areas. Ayala Land did an outstanding job with the landscaping - shady mango trees, beautiful bamboo stands and variegated bushes lined the paths. There were even several ponds along the route, supporting flocks of geese. My brother-in-law Tristan was also pleased to note that all the public buildings offered free wi-fi. Each bedroom was even equipped with a LAN cable, cable tv, and a dvd player. We went off to lunch in their airconditioned restaurant. Food prices were competitive and food quality was quite good, although we weren't impressed by the buffet selections. Every comfort room was spotless, offering lotion, hand sanitizer, and powder apart from the soap. The level of comfort and customer service was consistently high all throughout.

There was a bath house with lockers near the multi-level swimming pools and the beach, where you could rent your towel and change into your swimsuit. As we walked to the beach we noticed there were little "bird houses" around which were actually disguised cold-water dispensers! In the heat, this was a major plus.

The sand was light grey, and we were very happy to see that the water was very clean and clear. There were lots of small fish and shells, and a few harmless jellyfish. High tide was in the mornings. We all had a grand time beachcombing.

When we arrived there were lots of people at the swimming pools (many were day trippers), but few at the beach itself. It was like we had the whole cove to ourselves. The following morning a number of young families joined us. There was a section of cove reserved for a team-building group, where the noise of the activities couldn't disturb the other guests. We swam all day. We had to check out of our rooms at 12 noon in deference to other guests, but we didn't have to settle our bill until 330pm!

On our way home we were greeted by another thunderstorm on NLEX. We wished we could have stayed at Anvaya Cove longer, but then we were actively making plans to plan for another sponsored visit again one day.

Food Trip - Mercato & Sweetcraft

My sister and brother-in-law were going to the Mercato Centrale weekend market at Bonifacio Global City, and invited me to join them. It was my first time to visit Mercato, I heard it was similar to the Salcedo and Legaspi markets, only in tents. We were very excited.

Joy found some organic sweet corn that she wanted to try. At the same stall a guy was selling a gigantic sunflower head full of seeds. I had never seen one before up close. The heads were going for PhP500 each, and he'd sold 3 heads already. We were looking for fresh mint for tabbouleh, a Lebanese bulghur wheat salad, but there wasn't any available. A few tables further down I found some fair trade coffee beans, a "Red Cherry Blend" from Mt. Apo, and got some of that (the name refers to coffee beans picked at the height of ripeness). I've been trying different coffees from all over the country for some time now, so I couldn't resist. Next was a table selling bangus pate in different versions - Asian, Mediterranean and Pinoy. Joy got a pack of 3 to give as a birthday gift. Then we met Vicky of Comida Rica, who sold melba toast, salad dressings and dips. I got a spinach cheese dip to go with the crusty No Knead Bread we bake every other week. When we mentioned we baked our own bread, Vicky said she wanted to try it at home, and exchanged emails with Joy. From her we got a tip that we could get different kinds of flour wholesale at Sweetcraft in Mandaluyong. We decided we'd go there after shopping.

At the next tent Tristan decided to buy a pair of buy one-take one sausage sandwiches. He had the Schublig and special hotdog sandwiches, which he claimed were the best he's had in a long time. Joy met a Moroccan lady selling tagine clay cookware and various Moroccan dishes. She bought zalouk, a spicy eggplant salad flavored with paprika and other spices. Next to that table there was an importer of nuts - walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, even dried fruits. Joy bought a package of assorted nuts, and I found myself a pack of lavender tea. I use lavender tea for relaxation and to help me sleep when I'm under the weather. The last place I was able to find lavender tea was at Bizu in Greenhills, and since I ran out I haven't had a chance to buy some more, until now. As we walked along we came across a frozen yoghurt seller, who urged us to try their mango, black sesame and green tea flavors. We discovered their office was near our house, and thought we'd order from them the next time we have a children's party. Their frozen yoghurt still had that tangy tartness I love so much and which seems to be missing from some over-processed brands in the malls. On our way out of the tent I paused to buy some tinapa (smoked fish) and Vigan longganisa (Ilocano sausages) for next week's breakfasts. Then we discovered some absolutely delicious spinach and cheese empanadas! We bought enough for the entire family's merienda.

There were tables for cooked food, organic grains and vegetables, baked goods, organic body care and household cleaning products. We were a bit disappointed that our chef friend Elena wasn't around selling her artisanal breads, but we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Having blowers fanning air all around us in the tents made the experience a pleasure. (In this heat I can't imagine going to Salcedo market, which is open air.) On Sundays and during the night markets there is a different set of vendors. One day we will return and have lunch at the "food court" area, where the stalls were groaning with delicious food, some of which were exotic or were international dishes. These weekend markets aren't really places for bargains, but rather places to find new and interesting (and mostly organic) products, for which a certain premium must be paid. Visiting Mercato is a treat, as opposed to going to the way less expensive fresh market weekly. Of course we're going back, there's always something new to try another time.

Once we got back to the car, we immediately called Sweetcraft for directions to their outlet along Boni Ave. in Mandaluyong. It is across the street from Rizal Technological University. The wholesale prices of their flours saved us money and parking fees. They carry everything from flours to baking chocolate to whipping cream to nuts to every baking/confectionery ingredient you can think of. We were lucky to have been referred by Vicky, who claimed that Sweetcraft ingredients were at a lower price than at Baker's Depot and similar baking supply shops. We're excited to be baking again middle of this week. Sweetcraft is at 373 Boni Ave., Mandaluyong City, tel nos. 532-1595, 532-6289, 571-8008, 571-7858, email sweetcraft@sweetcraft.net.

Summer Family Bonding

Last Holy Week our entire family packed up and went to our parents' place in Cavite, a place full of trees and flowering plants and birds. While walking around, my sister Joy saw this empty nest. It was about 9 inches high, and 3 inches across, perched on our bougainvillea.

We took my 5yo niece Lilo to the aratiles tree by the pond, and were able to pick a handful of berries. I must have been in high school the last time I did that! I think it's one of those things all Pinoy kids should experience.

We also found this giant millipede. Meanwhile, we collected the eggshells from the week's omelettes for a special Easter project

which later became this Easter Egg Tree:

And while we didn't have an Easter bunny, we were happy with Moonball the Easter Guinea Pig instead!

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Photos copyright Joy Abara. All rights reserved.

No Knead Bread, Redux

We've been baking our own bread for 3 weeks now. Just two kinds, the ones I wrote about in Baking Our Own Bread. My brother-in-law Tristan managed to borrow another Lodge cast iron Dutch oven from his parents. We thought we'd save on the fuel by baking two loaves of No Knead Bread at the same time.

Last Thursday night my little niece Lilo mixed all the ingredients together for two recipes' worth of NK Bread. One was a mix of all-purpose flour and a bit of whole wheat flour, while the other one used a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour. This time we lessened the water from 1 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cup, producing a less runny, but still sticky dough. The next day we put the dough on some greased foil for its second rise, and put the whole thing in the preheated cast iron pots. This made it easier to remove the bread safely.

Next time we'll try not using the greased foil and will pour the dough directly from a greased bowl. Small bits of foil got stuck in tiny creases in the bread, which were a PITA to remove. But on the whole, I thought the loaves looked delicious. This time we let them cool for about 45 minutes before we tasted. Some of it was a little gummy - we discovered (thanks to our new oven thermometer) that our oven only reaches a maximum heat of 400 degrees F instead of what we thought was 450. So next time we'll add about ten minutes to the covered baking time.

This IS a crusty bread. It's great for toasting and buttering. I love the crunch and the almost-popcorny flavor in my mouth with every bite. I've been having this for breakfast two days in a row now. We've finished the first loaf and a quarter of the second already. Next time we'll try the version flavored with beer and vinegar, called the Almost No Knead Bread on Breadtopia.com, with all the adjustments we've made to the recipe. While making our own sourdough is a bit beyond our powers, that ought to be interesting.

Baking Our Own Bread

For the past two weeks we've been enjoying our own bread. Two weeks ago my brother-in-law Tristan decided to make focaccia bread again after a long hiatus. He wanted a father-daughter Saturday afternoon activity with 5-year-old Lilo. So they trooped to Baker's Depot at Robinson's Galleria and bought bread flour (about PhP26/500gm), whole wheat flour (for roughly the same amount) and SAF-Instant yeast (PhP70/small pack).

This recipe is of great significance because Tristan and my sister Joy learned it when they were still dating. Their friend Elena taught them how to make focaccia and pizza dough in exchange for them being interviewees for her master's degree course at the Ateneo. (Elena is a baker and currently sells her artisanal breads at the Mercato weekend market at The Fort.) That Saturday produced several tasty small loaves flavored with rosemary, shallots and garlic that looked like this:

Needless to say, the bread was delicious toasted, with or without butter. It had a soft crumb and a lovely color from the olive oil spread on top of the loaves before the last ten minutes of baking.

Next Joy wanted to make No Knead Bread. New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman popularized the recipe, by Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery, in 2006. We saw chef Michael Smith make his version on his Asian Food Channel show Chef at Home. What convinced us was Jaden Hair's Steamy Kitchen blog entry, showing her cute then-4-year-old son Andrew assembling the dough. We are 5 years late to the baking-and-blogging NK Bread party, but then we only acquired a Lodge 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven some time last year (it was on sale at Gourdo's, for something like PhP 2,500). The recipe requires a sturdy, heat-resistant baking vessel with a close-fitting cover, usually a heavy enamel casserole pot or a cast iron Dutch oven. It should be able to withstand 450 degrees F for an hour or so. The blog 80 Breakfasts even tells us of a brave soul who made her NK Bread in a crockpot body covered with a ceramic plate, then baked inside a turbo broiler. Talk about ingenuity.

We started after dinner one night and left the dough to rise overnight, producing a wetter dough than you see in the video or in the Steamy Kitchen blog. See the blow-by-blow pictures here. We're not sure if it has something to do with the high humidity in the Philippines. Next time we'll reduce the water from 1 1/2 cups to 1 1/4 cups. We'll also use foil or baking parchment as a base when the dough undergoes its second rise; that way we can put the entire thing in the extremely hot cast iron Dutch oven safely. Letting the dough fall from the floured towel made a huge plop that deflated the dough. It also left some dough on the towel that was hard to scrape off (if you took all that trouble to prepare the dough, you wouldn't want to lose some of it to the towel!). However, we ended up with an interesting 9"-round rustic whole wheat loaf that rose some 2 1/2 inches. We should have waited for it to cool completely, but we were too impatient. The bread had a tasty crust and a hole-y crumb.

We slathered it in butter and nearly finished it in one sitting! We managed to leave a bit to go with the seafood chowder we had for dinner that same night. Yes, we're making it again. I read through many other bloggers' experiences with the recipe and we will make adjustments accordingly. We'd love for the bread to rise higher, but that would require a smaller, narrower (3-4 quart) Dutch oven.

Many Filipinos prefer their bread soft and sweet, but we rather like the No Knead Bread precisely for the difference of its texture and flavor. It reminds us of French or Italian country breads, the boules and batards, the kind you toast and use to scrape up your delicious soup or gravy. The kind you dip in a mix of herbed olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy as an appetizer. The kind you have toasted, spread with butter and honey for breakfast, because it doesn't need much else. As an idea, it has romantic charm. The tasty reality is a very good thing.

We're eager to try other bread recipes, of course. The cost of liquid petroleum gas is up, but baking our own bread is worth it.

Road Trip with Lilo

ROAD TRIP WITH LILO
6 January 2010

It's Lilo's third trip to Baguio, the second one that she can remember. It's her first trip without her Ate Belinda, who would follow a day later with Lilo's grandparents. On this road trip I'm the babysitter.

We left the house at 8am, making good time on the SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway). A few weeks earlier there had been a multi-car pileup on this fast stretch of road, caused by the smoke of a brush fire obscuring driver visibility. We took it easy, not exceeding 100kph. It was a bright, sunny day with clear skies. We were congratulating ourselves that Lilo had gone to the toilet at the rest stop at the Shell gas station and was unlikely to want to pee for the next few hours.

"Where's Baguio, is it near?" Lilo said. "Are we near now?" she'd ask, every five minutes. "It's far, honey," Joy would say. We'll get there after lunch." "But why after lunch?" Lilo would say, "Why not in a few minutes?" "Because we're still in the car, sweetie. We're still riding to get there. Riding in the car on the way to Baguio will take us about five or six hours. So that means we'll get there after lunch." Tristan very patiently explained. At four years old, Lilo doesn't really have a concrete concept of time and its measurement yet. The easiest way to explain travel time would be in terms of meal times.

"But why?" Yes, she is at that age where every question has a "why" in it. At times the conversation would get circular, but that's how road trip conversations with young children go. When Tristan ran out of answers, he'd say, "Auntie! Help!" That's what aunties are for, it seems, to distract the little ones and keep them in a good humor. I try to take my role seriously.

"You know what, Lilo? When mommy and I were little girls going up to Baguio, we used to have this game. We'd count cars! Mommy would count red cars and I would count blue cars the moment we passed the first toll gate. The toll gate is that place where we get the road ticket, remember? Anyway, the first person with the most number of cars counted by the time we reached Baguio would be the winner." Lilo looked suitably impressed, but then she can't count up to a hundred yet without losing her place several times. You'd have to count with her. Before she got in another "why" in the conversation, I quickly added, "If we got tired of counting cars, we counted churches instead, because there's a church in every town and city along the highway." These were Iglesia ni Cristo churches, with their gothic spires, very easy to pick out in a bucolic landscape. "And - oh, look! White birds in the ricefield! They're called herons."

Occasionally Tristan would say, "Champion auntie!" Joy was coughing and had a sore throat since the New Year and wanted to conserve her voice, so she let me do most of the storytelling. At the Tarlac City exit Joy and I switched seats, so she could navigate while Tristan drove. We also removed Lilo from her car seat, which she was about to outgrow. She was ready for a regular seatbelt. On either side of her was Uling ("charcoal") the toy cat, and Browster (we don't know where she got that name) the fat yellow pillow cat.

We were driving by ricefields, which, several months earlier, had totally been drowned by typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma). That was an entire harvest lost. "Where's the rice? Isn't that grass?" Lilo asked. She knew rice was a soft white grain, but had no idea what plant it came from. "Rice is a kind of grass, Lilo. The plants those men and women are planting is a young rice plant. When it grows bigger it will bear seeds. When the seeds are dry and brown ready to be harvested, the farmers cut the seeds from the plant. See the black nets on the side of the road? That's where the farmers put the brown seeds to dry. Then they take the seeds and pound them and polish them to remove the brown skin and that's how you get the white rice." Auntie's note to self: When we get home, try looking for "palay" so Lilo can recognize the rice with the brown husks on.

I took her little hand and put it between my hands, and said, "The white rice is inside the brown husk. Your hand is the rice, and my hands are the husk. When the farmer pounds the rice, the husk comes off," I said, removing my hands and raising up her little hand, "then what is left is the rice grain!" She loved that part. She made me do it over and over, until she saw haystacks for the first time, and some white cows, and THEN she wanted to sleep.

I made sure her seatbelt was secure, and she fell asleep on Browster the pillow cat shortly. In fact, she fell asleep somewhere in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija and woke up when we were in Binalonan, Pangasinan. Peace and quiet! Fortunately we were near a town plaza when she announced she wanted to pee. Joy and I quickly dressed her in pull-up diapers, cleaned her up and dressed her again with military precision. Tristan disposed of the diaper in a trash can at a nearby store. In the back of my mind I remembered when we were little, and had to stop on the side of the highway by a ricefield to pee behind a malong (printed cotton tube skirt) our mother used as a privacy screen. On all other road trips after that we learned not to drink too much water and to tell our dad we wanted to pee at the next gas station. In those days gas stations were not as conveniently located as they are now. We learned how to be roadworthy pretty quickly.

Around 1pm we arrived in Rosario, La Union. Lilo was hungry, and wanted noodles. Fortunately, there was a Chow King near the Shell gas station, where she wolfed down her bowl of beef noodle soup. Then she started her "why" questions again. Tristan said, "Let's play a game! The first one who says the word why will have to give up a scoop of her ice cream to all the other members of the family! So you're not supposed to say the word why, ok?" She nodded, challenged. Fifteen minutes later, she forgot she was still playing the game and said, "Why aren't we in Baguio yet?" We all laughed, and she got mad and said, "I don't want you to eat all of my ice cream!" Then she started to cry, so we had to cancel THAT game. Well, she lasted all of 15 minutes without asking "why". It was a record on this drive.

Then she asked where Baguio was. "It's a city in the mountains where your grandpa grew up, sweetheart. You remember the first time you rode a horse? That's where Baguio is. We went there last year with your cousins." That, she remembered. Tristan thought he'd try a game again. "Ok! Let's play another game! The person who says the word Baguio will lose!" This time Lilo kept asking me where we were going. I realized she was trying to get me to say the word "Baguio"! Sneaky little thing. This time she lasted for 30 minutes, before blurting out, "When are we getting to Baguio?" But this time she realized we really didn't want to get all her ice cream, we just wanted to see if she could keep her mind on the game. So she covered her mouth in surprise and started laughing.

We got to our hotel around 230pm. Everyone was tired from the long drive. She saw all the cars and jeeps and traffic. I suddenly saw Baguio through her eyes. If it weren't for the pine trees and the cold weather, it would be just like any crowded city in Metro Manila. When we were growing up, going to Baguio was a special, magical trip. So many things to do, to eat, to see, while bundled up in a thick jacket! It was almost like travelling to a different country!

She looked at us and said, "Ok, that was fun. Now let's go back home!"

Best Birthday Card. Ever.

The Best Birthday Card Ever!

I woke up late today and found this on my breakfast plate, with a little shell, and kisses from my one and only darling niece. *** LOVE ***

What's In A Word?

CHAPTER ONE

When my sister was very young, she loved the Christmas song "Joy To The World", because her name is Joy. But she didn't know all the words to the song, so she used to sing

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come
WA-TI, WA-TI, WA-TIII !!!"

It was so cute we made her sing it over and over. She was teased about this so often, she ended up learning the rest of the song very fast.

CHAPTER TWO

A generation later, when Joy's daughter Lilo turned four, she learned to sing "Joy To The World". She didn't have to go through the WA-TI route, but she did sing this:

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let HAIRY heart, prepare him room..."

Lilo's actually very articulate, but up to now she still asks us to "merove" something from her play table. Her dad actually misses the days she used to be afraid of the "kunder" and the lightning.

Lunch at Kiss The Cook Cafe

I don't do reviews because people ask me to. I only review if I find the venue and the dining a convivial experience. Yes, Waya Araos is my friend, but I did check the reviews of other Facebook friends before taking my parents to her restaurant Kiss The Cook Cafe for a Sunday lunch.

Here's my dad, itching to pour the Passionfruit Cooler (carafe contents are good for 3 persons) but waiting patiently for me to take my photo. There's a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint in there, and that touch adds a smile to my face (added a dimension to the flavor, too). Very refreshing!

The chicken in this Thai Chicken Salad with Mango is grilled, skinless, but flavorful! There is something spicy at the end of one's mouthful that I can't identify. Two different colored lettuces and tiny gherkin cucumbers make it look pretty. Those long sprouts look like alfalfa. Quite good, can be a meal for one, or great to share.

This is the Moroccan Fish Fillet, a dish of pan-fried dory. A balanced meal on the plate. Fried crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, salting was just right. I don't know exactly what makes it Moroccan, but it tasted good. Maybe it's the olives and the citrus bits scattered on top. In hotels people usually get the thickish slab of fish fillets, but here you have the pretty slab stacked on the little fried bits towards the tail, and lemme tell you, the crunchy bits are yummy! The rice had green sprinkles that looked like powdered nori on top (for umami of the natural, non-crystalline kind).

This probably looks like the average panini with a side salad. However, the ciabatta bread in this panini is a lovely crusty BIG square cut into triangles. Most panini are served in smaller, narrower shapes. The filling is button mushrooms sauteed with chopped white onions and made tastily aromatic with truffle oil, and thin slices of cheese (unspecified, looks like ordinary but real cheddar). Truffle oil is the ingredient that sets this apart from your usual mushroom and cheese sandwich. Truffle oil makes this a fine dining mushroom melt!

And to finish, we had not one, but TWO panna cottas: Mango with Honey, and Espresso. Both are well-flavored, and sweet, but not too sweet. You get the acid of the mango tamed by the honey, and you taste the full flavor of the espresso.

There were three of us sharing this meal, and it was so good that the waiter was pleased to see our empty plates. My dad was shocked to see that the bill for 3 persons was only Php750! PhP250 per head is good for when you want to want to go out on a date or when you want the girlfriends over for a chat. The place is relatively quiet, with discreet jazz or instrumentals playing in the background. You can actually talk with your companions. The restroom is outside the airconditioned area, where there is a little patio/terrace shaded by a fruiting langka tree, for those who smoke or want to have drinks and laughter.

Would I return? Definitely, because I still have to taste the Five-Spice Spare Ribs. And the pasta with the mushrooms and the truffle oil (yes, I now have a thing for truffle oil).

Recommended attire for meals is smart casual. Prices include 12% VAT but there is no service charge. Am not sure if they accept credit cards yet as they just opened some weeks ago, but they do give senior citizen discounts. There are usually two servers at any given time, and while relatively inexperienced, they serve you correctly and quietly. We gave ours a good tip, for we had dined well, and were feeling happily indestructible after our lunch.

Kiss The Cook Cafe is located at 59 Maginhawa St., UP Village, QC, in front of Holy Family School. For inquiries, please call tel. 434-3700 or 0926-7003979.