The Pilgrim’s Pots and Pans

If you’re wondering what sort of picture composition is that and what kind of unidentified globule is that in the middle of the plate, well, just read on.

Still reeling from my meringue-custard disaster, what was I doing carving limes and think I’d finish in time for Jeanne’s SHF 24? Well, I thought I could have a glacé fruit post but didn’t realise how much of a challenge it was for this particular example.

In any case, just for the spirit of the event, here is a platter of empanaditas or diminutive empanadas. These little morsels are also known as pañaritas, still from the word empanaditas.

Many countries the world over has its own version of the turnover. The Philippines has the empanada, courtesy of the Spanish conquest. These are palm-sized savoury pastries with meat and vegetable fillings. In my province, there is a small version, thus the name empanadita, but these are sweet and filled with fruit preserves or cheese. The dough for the miniature turnovers is different from the flakey savoury pastry though. Instead, they have a more crumbly texture.

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Just in case you’re wondering why Lasang Pinoy has the recycle button this month, it’s not about which table scraps go to the waste bin and which goes to the compost pit. No, this month’s theme was cooked up to let our creativity soar and make something delectable out of the leftovers almost every Filipino kitchen is bound to have – after almost every meal, everyday!

Oh, did you notice? That large fried (or grilled) fish was what gave your lunch of dinengdeng that complex flavour. Tonight’s corned beef hash will be tomorrow’s omelette breakfast. Even desserts are not exempted from that fate. Remember the haleang ube from last week? A good part of it went into the tub of ice cream sitting in the freezer.

Well, the possibilities are endless! Click over and read Mike’s announcement. If you’re not familiar with our way with leftovers, treat it as a nice, short briefing. Even Andrew seems to agree when he posted this on the IMBB portal:

“You really need to read the intro to the event, a great intro to a little Philippine culture. It is all about left-overs…”

There’s a lot of time. To make it easy on everyone, especially those of us in the Philippines who have suffered major power interruptions after last strong typhoon, among other things, the deadline is set for 10 November.

An important reminder, to use Mike’s words: “Lasang Pinoy was created to promote Filipino food! Therefore, as a challenge to everyone, I would love for those of you who have never tried Pinoy food before, to maybe try one of the recipes” posted on the different Filipino food blogs found on our sidebars. You may also access round-ups of previous Lasang Pinoy events on the link.

P.S. More as a reminder for myself. Sugar High Friday #24 (for this month) is hosted by Jeanne over at Cook Sister! with the theme Little bites of delight. The deadline’s on the 27th.

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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This was another IMBB of many options. So many noodle dishes, so little time!

For this month’s theme, Amy chose Use Your Noodle to make us think and improvise around a food article beloved the world over. I am already looking forward to reading the other entries during the round-up.

It is still cold even in this tropical country. There are nights when one wishes for a nice steaming bowl of something, anything to keep down the chill. Oh the possibilities one can think of! But then a hearty noodle soup was right up there on top of the list!

Although it wasn’t easy choosing my entry for the month, I knew I wanted something I haven’t had for sometime like mami (pronounced ‘mah-mee’). This is a noodle dish innovated by a migrant Chinese entrepreneur who started out very humbly in the late 1900s then was so successful he was able to build up a chain of eateries in Manila. In fact, the word mami is a combination of his name, Ma Mon Luk and the word for noodle – mi. Kirk over at mmm-yoso!!! has even had an encounter with his descendants in the US and writes about it in Asian Noodles – I Want My Mami. What Ma Mon Luk pioneered has since then become very popular and can now be found almost everywhere – from respectable restaurants, makeshift eateries and even as street food!

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Second of two parts

How did this tradition of harvesting unripe rice begin? Could it have been an experiment during the early period of agriculture? Traipsing along the fields one stormy day in early November got me thinking it could have been a similar time centuries ago when the rice plants had to be saved from wrathful weather way before harvest season.

The town of Santa Rita, Pampanga is known for its turrones de casoy, sans rival and other sweets but towards the end of the year, starting in November, everything is eclipsed as the town anticipates the Christmas season with the sweet smell of duman in the air. A delicacy once known only to a few has now caught a lot of attention during the Duman Festival, partly to revive a vanishing tradition and partly to celebrate life after devastation.

Duman is a seasonal rice cereal still produced the old way in our town. This may have been in existence in pre-Hispanic Capampangan society since duman was already mentioned by Fray Diego Bergaño – “El grano del arroz tierno cerca de madurar” – in Vocabulario de la Lengua Pampanga originally published in the 1700s. It could have happened other towns produced duman in the olden days but Sta. Rita’s is what has endured.
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