This month’s edition of IMBB with the theme “Has My Blog Jelled?” is being graciously hosted by Elise at Simply Recipes.

Much as I promised myself to join each IMBB as is humanly possible, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about staying in front of the stove in the summer heat. I initially thought of crema de fruta, a sponge cake encrusted with fruit cocktail and set with gelatine. But no baking for now, otherwise I might just combust.

So, what’s easy and not so common? I’ve posted Ginilu already, a beverage of thin coconut milk with agar cubes. Since it’s extremely hot, why not another beverage? Sago’t gulaman (tapioca pearls with agar cubes in a light banana-flavoured syrup) is common but I can do better than that and try my own version of milk tea.
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“Aah, ginilu! Your Lola always made that on Good Friday.” My uncle was nostalgic while watching me cube the jelly. That was also how I remember it. On Good Friday, the adults fasted but could partake of the beverage. It has been more than a decade since we had it. And it has almost been a decade since I was home for Holy Week (Maleldo in Kapampangan, a contraction of Mal a Aldo, literally Holy Days, Mahal na Araw in Tagalog, also still in use, the Spanish Semana Santa).

Ginilu is a refreshing beverage, perfect for sweltering summer days. What puzzles me is why we only had it on Good Friday when it doesn’t take much to make. My mom doesn’t have the answer but the most probable explanation is that the coconut milk used for it is the excess of what is used to make bico, another traditional Holy Week food, which would make one think - meatless but rich nonetheless.

Good Friday fasting in the Philippines always had hints of a feast. How can we consider fish as a Lenten penitential food, when it basically makes up our everyday fare? Whenever Filipino families come together, it always has connotations of a feast. And on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday evenings, we await the processions of religious statues depicting the Lord’s passion. This takes on the scale of a full baroque pageant, with the carros (carro, sing., life-sized tableau, from the original Spanish ‘car’) decorated with flowers and lights, the religious images in full bejewelled gowns, not too different from what Katia and Ronald’s account of Easter in Ispica in their Via Ritiro N. 7 Diary. In our town and many others, violins and a full choir singing the Stabat Mater only adds more to the spectacle. In a way, it is both solemn and dramatic.

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It’s interesting how people get to this blog. Time and again, I get referrals for searches looking for a salabat recipe (ginger brew or tea). I didn’t bother to write down the instructions since all it takes is a pot of water, some ginger and brown sugar. As far as I know, in Manila salabat is that plain and I assumed this was the standard. They even sell it bottled and powdered in groceries nowadays and that has become the standard. It is all very convenient but the real thing for me is when one can taste bits of fresh ginger with every gulp, as I remember from days not too long ago.

A good part of my childhood memories are of Lola brewing salabat for us. It was perfect for cold weather, as ginger warms the body. It is also perfect for hot days as there is no better way to release heat than by sweating. We had to take the brew very strong if we had colds and if we were singing or reciting poems during school programmes. I wonder how many generations of children are made to do the same.
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