Leftovers? What’s so appetising about leftovers?

Everything! That is if you’re in the Filipino kitchen.

It’s the perfect time to have all those leftovers for Lasang Pinoy 15: Recycled, Reloaded, which Mike is hosting at Lafang. I am also perhaps one of the best persons to talk about leftovers since they make up some of my best childhood memories.

Many Filipinos, rich and poor alike, hold celebrations for a child’s first and seventh birthdays. I really have not dug up the significance of these years but I suspect they have something to do with the transition from one stage of a child’s life to another which also correspond with their growing consciousness (from “wala pang muwang” or a total innocent to “may isip na” - capable of thought). To a certain extent, both the first and seventh years are rites of passage for both the child, whether male or female, and the parents.

It is for this reason that birthdays on these years are big events, not necessarily extravagant but certainly something planned and awaited. Relatives, neighbours and friends drop in on the party, more often than not also bringing food which means the celebration might stretch for days.

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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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Ningnang mais (grilled maize/corn) confection

Looking at the picture, I can’t help but cringe. My only (flimsy) excuse is that I’m making this by myself for the first time. It does taste like how it should but aesthetically, I’m sure to get a failing mark if this were a graded exercise. Perhaps by the time I use up two dozen eggs, it will look better. But as always, I’m getting breathless and much ahead of the story.

When Purplegirl volunteered to host Lasang Pinoy 14 with the theme La Espanyola (spelling is deliberate, just to show how Filipinised it is), I was excited and thought it would then force me to sit down and write my thoughts on Spanish-influenced food.

I have read and heard it asserted that 80% of Filipino food is Spanish in origin. Instinctively, I question the basis of that assumption. How did they come up with that estimate? Has there been a systematic study that gave them such a result? Well, I may have to track that down sometime in the future but I believe it is worth noting that even in my province, which has been highly Hispanised, 80% would be too high an estimate. Even old rich families do not eat Spanish influenced food everyday.

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