The Pilgrim’s Pots and Pans

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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Filipino cuisine has always been thought of as intrinsically a fusion of many influences both from the East and the West. Mind you, this is not the fusion of deliberately combining seemingly disparate ingredients but the natural co-mingling of cultures that have crossed paths through the centuries. Due to this confluence, a lot of indigenisation has taken place and there are a lot of things we take for granted.

One of these is how we seem to think of tropical fruits that originate in South and Central American as “native” to the Philippines. The avocado is one of these.

This was meant for Ces’ Lasang Pinoy event and has been languishing in its draft form. It took Sam’s avocado taste test to have me post it. Hehe! One of the ways she had them was “mashed up some avocado and sweetened it with Agave syrup before freezing it” – and she didn’t like it at all.

I wouldn’t either. Plain avocado with sugar doesn’t even sound palatable. I am not so good in explaining taste sensations but let me just say it sounds like a dichotomy, two distinct tastes and textures that can’t come together. They need something to meld them together and milk will do that.

Avocado Frosty
Blend together:
2 small avocados
1/2 cup fresh carabao’s milk
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup ice cubes (if to be eaten immediately, not frozen)

Chill or freeze. Serve and enjoy!

Note: you don’t need a blender for this. Simply scrape the avocado with a spoon. Add the milk and sugar and mash it slightly. Add the ice. It’s done!

It’s what many childhood memories are made of – raw caramelised sugar candies that have a bubbly texture as they melt in the mouth. Locally produced, they were sold in public markets or corner stores. Nothing fancy, just something sweet to satisfy a child’s sweet cravings.

I associate tira-tira (also called balicutya or balicutsa in Ilocano) with elementary school field trips, when our teachers would pack lots of candies and ices for those who get motion sickness to suck on. If nobody gets sick by the middle of the trip, our whole busload of hyperactive youngsters would get a ration of the treats!

Years later, I realise tira-tira is one of the icons of Filipino sweets. They originally came in only one form – 2 inch-long tubes, much like candy canes without the hook. Now I see they’re also made into hearts and curlicues. Tira-tira is taken from the Spanish for ‘pulling’ (tirar, from tirón – help! I can’t conjugate!), the process after boiling sugarcane juice with which the candy is made. This is fairly indicative of its beginnings in haciendas such as those found in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon. The sugar industry still thrives in the same provinces, as well as in Negros, where new sugar mills emerged in the 1800s. It is in these places where one finds pure chunks of sweetness for young and old to enjoy.

The picture above has the remnants of the packet my cousin gave me. Other traditional products from raw sugar such as inuyat and pinocha (panocha to Tagalogs) are still being produced and sold in the marketplace but we take these for granted. That of course piqued my curiosity. I would like to see how these are made! Hmmm… perhaps I can go on an adventure one of these days. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the three pieces of tira-tira.

Ramirez Store & Native Sugar
Vigan City Public Market
Mobile No. +639062520154