Filipinos are known for being hospitable and food is always part of any event. Tonight was no exception. The show was free then right after, guests were served lelut manuc (arroz caldo/chicken congee), suman (sweet rice sticks) and tsokolateng binatirul (frothy hot chocolate), gratis as well! This entry is not about food although I’ll try to be nice and post the recipe of lelut manuc when it starts raining hard in the next few weeks.

For now, let me say share with you tonight’s event as I just about got back from the launching of ArtiSta.Rita’s second album at the half-buried San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor, Pampanga. That’s the Artistang Santa Rita Foundation for you, dear friends - a pioneer group committed to the revival and enrichment of Kapampangan arts and culture. You may remember the Duman Festival they organised and which we featured last December.
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Lynn sent the cookbook meme along my way and though I made a promise not to ignore the memes that I’m tagged with, I almost wanted to hide because I’m not in a position to say anything about cookbooks. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: among food bloggers, I feel like a pariah. I don’t watch cooking shows and don’t follow food trends. I don’t buy cookbooks although I browse when in the bookstore.

The other day, I laughingly referred to myself a barrio cook. To non-Filipinos, a barrio (currently called barangay, reverting from the Spanish to the Malay term) is the smallest unit of local government, a nondescript village. Several barrios make up a town or municipality. Although we now refer to them as barangays, the term barrio still retains certain connotations, both negative and positive. If someone is from the barrio, he or she is seen as naïve and unsophisticated, even callous. Thus came about the term “barriotic” or almost primitive (in this sense a “barrio” is a far-flung community of considerable distance from the town proper). But as cooking goes, a barrio cook will know how to produce culinary gems from what seem to be ordinary ingredients and will spare no expense especially during fiestas. But this is only as far as traditional recipes cooked in the locality for decades is concerned. Present a new recipe with unfamiliar ingredients and procedures, a barrio cook will be at a loss. I may be more adventurous but I can still relate because I still have more cooking techniques to learn.
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In yesterday’s online and street editions of the Manila Bulletin, Ajay’s weekly column Blog-o-Rama featured Into The Savory World Of The Food Blogs, which starts a series of roundtable discussions among Filipino food bloggers. She sent us a set of questions and as JMom said, we got a bit “carried away” writing down our answers that poor Ajay must’ve spent long hours abbreviating them. Not surprising - happens a lot when one puts together Filipinos and food.

This first roundtable discussion has Celia Kusinera of English Patis, JMom of Our Kitchen, Stef of Stefoodie, Ting Aling of World Class Cuiscene and yours truly as participants. Read our thoughts on food and food blogs. I was especially amused with our recounting of our most memorable kitchen adventures. Priceless! Hehehe!

Thank you for having us Ms. Annalyn Jusay!

Ajay also posts her food adventures in her other blog Munchin’ in Manila.

Update: The second part of the Blog-o-Rama roundtable with another batch of food bloggers is now online.