Or how to come up with something tasty even under pressure…

The Filipino sweet tooth is reflected in our cuisine – from a multitude of kakanin (usually rice-based snacks) to mouth-watering confections that leave everyone asking for more. There’s also the other side – how the popular palate demands to sweeten almost everything – even that which is supposedly not meant to. Established transnational companies have to come up with sweet versions of catsup and sauces for the Philippine market. A Japanese friend noticed how our Japanese restaurants serve good food up to her standards, except that it’s sweet and I didn’t even notice. We also horrify purists with our sweet spaghetti sauce. But then, each culture adapts imported food to its local conditions. Not even established food staples are spared a local interpretation. For commercial institutions most especially, what is of utmost importance is to satisfy their customers. Though not commercial in scope, I also had some satisfying to do two Sundays ago.

Late on a Saturday afternoon, I found myself having to do some cooking the following day even as I had to attend a godson’s first birthday party and fulfil previous commitments. If I hadn’t come home from the city the night before, it would have been easy to make excuses but right at that moment, I was in the centre of it all. I couldn’t refuse any task as they were of equal importance. My godson is the first child of one of my best friends, M, who’s also a classmate from kindergarten till high school. Only a matter of life and death, or extreme forgetfulness, could make me miss his party.

The cooking duty was mainly my own doing when I found out Sunday was also the little girl next door L’s fourth birthday. She is the only child of a couple my mom and aunt recently took in. More than just hired hands, they’re almost like relatives.
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This is another very simple dish. I intended to post a Mediterranean recipe, specifically hummous, but that entails tahini or sesame seed paste. Hummous is not very difficult to make but it’s not a one-pot dish. I’ll post that sometime in the future. In the meantime, I’d like to cater to the neophyte cooks reading this blog while still keeping with the Mediterranean theme. So friends, let’s start with our lesson for the day (tee hee hee, once a teacher, forever one!).

Soups are an important part of any cuisine. Can one imagine Filipino cooking without sinigang? Thai without thom yum soup? Chinese without nido soup? French without hearty consommés?
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Here’s making good my promise to post simple recipes this week. Here’s the initial offering. This spicy pasta sauce is an excellent option when vegetarian guests are expected. It also goes well with meat dishes such as fried chicken or barbeque. Served with a tossed green salad and some red wine, it makes for a simple yet elegant meal. However, this may not sit well with children. In that case, instead of chillies, substitute with a cup of capsicum (bell pepper) strips or a cup of finely minced anchovies (I use our native dried dilis, crushed with a mortar and pestle or ground with a food processor). If using anchovies, vegetarians can still partake of it but strict vegans will not.

Don’t forget the tips for peeling tomatoes: drop them for 60 seconds in a pan of boiling water with the heat turned off. Upon retrieving, run them under tap or cold water. They would be much easier to peel. Take out most of the juice and the seeds as this is what makes for an acidic sauce.

For mincing chillies, make sure you use kitchen gloves when handling them. Or use a fork to keep them in place when slicing thinly with a knife. Strong chillies can sting for a long time, some for days.
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