Summertime in the Philippines is hot and humid. The heat can be oppressive and renders one lethargic. March is just the start of summer but it already feels like an oven in here! Even the normally hyperactive cats are asleep all day, waking up to drink every few minutes. I am tempted to follow their example.

The onset of summer means light and quick meals. Why stay in front of a hot stove for long periods when cool and refreshing food can be prepared from the produce straight out of the garden or refrigerator mainstays? This month’s Is My Blog Burning? with the theme Make it in 30 minutes! is wonderfully synchronised with my summer cooking or semi-cooking, if you will.

This dish may seem like a salad but it is more than that. In the Philippines, anything savoury can be eaten with rice to make up a meal. This alamang and camias salad is then considered as a viand.

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Shrimp ceviche

Gaiety and spontaneity are trademarks of most Filipino societies. Being very sociable, camaraderie is at the heart of many relationships. Perhaps it also comes from the nature of our traditional occupations - farming and fishing. Our ways of living rely on being with others, helping and sharing in the labour and the harvests.

This camaraderie is even more apparent when unwinding after a day or night’s toil. It is then when beverages come out. And when there are spirits, of course there is pulutan!

For January, Ting Aling at World Class Cuiscene is graciously hosting Lasang Pinoy with the theme Let’s Wash it Down with Booze!! That, dear friends, is another way of saying you don’t have to be a drinker to indulge in drinking food.

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A little Christmas food mystery
This has always been a curious bread for me. For that matter, it’s more cake than bread and its name – sopas – can be confusing. How a bread or cake can be named for a thick, chunky soup is beyond me but it is how this delightful confection has been known for generations. It is one of the staples of Christmas in our town. How do we explain this mystery?

For the December edition of Lasang Pinoy, Mike over at lafang chose the theme Pinoy Christmas Around the World. Filipinos are known to pull all stops when celebrating and this is all the more apparent during the Christmas season. The nine-day Novena Masses formally prepare us for the day itself but the common practice is, our holiday season begins in September, when households and even radio stations start playing Christmas carols. Manger scenes or what we call Belen and Christmas trees soon come out of storage. Read Mike’s announcement, which is a fitting summary of the Filipino Advent tradition. Mike asks Filipinos all over the world how they celebrate Christmas. For those of us in the country, we can talk about how we celebrate traditions that have been passed down through the ages. What an opportunity to discuss sopas!

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