18 Dec, 2005
How did a dry, salty and sharp Dutch cheese originally from the city of Edam, shaped like a ball and coated in red paraffin become standard fare at Christmas gatherings in this far off Catholic country controlled by the Spaniards??? I really don’t know. Some superficial rooting around the internet yielded the…
18 Dec, 2005
As you read this post, thousands upon thousands of balikbayan boxes from the U.S., Australia, Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are being delivered across the Philippine archipelago to delighted recipients. Unlike any other nation in the world, Filipinos ship a phenomenal amount of cargo back home…boxes filled with canned corned beef…
16 Dec, 2005
Just a few hours till the first misa de gallo (mass of the rooster)…YIKES, am I behind schedule this year or what? I am normally very put together around the holiday season and by this time I am concentrating on cooking and dinner parties. Instead, I haven’t done an ounce of Christmas…
15 Dec, 2005
Filipino office Christmas parties are in a class all their own. I have attended Christmas parties all over the world and none of them come close to the sheer fiesta mentality that takes over any Pinoy office party! And for some reason, there are always games, prizes, contests… Last weekend I…
14 Dec, 2005
Another discovery at the Bohol Bee Farm were these terrific handwoven buri/raffia fabrics made from fiber of the buri palm tree. A huge palm tree, the buri palm is the source of three natural fibers: buri, raffia and buntal, according to the Philippine government Dept. of Agriculture website. The fibers are then…
14 Dec, 2005
Many readers have asked me where to get really good pure honey locally. I have so far opted to suggest imported bottled honeys as they seem to have the most consistent quality and attention to detail regarding say the source of the honey such as a particular flower on some Italian mountainside. …
14 Dec, 2005
This was first posted last December. This is great holiday party decor…natural, fragrant, economical and stunning. There’s nothing like going all out during the holidays. The Christmas season at our house is one filled with food and more food. Even the decor is sometimes made of food. Inspired…
14 Dec, 2005
This was one of my first entries on this blog, posted on Christmas Eve 2004. I am re-posting it so more folks can read about it. I will also post one with dalandans then I promise to resume more current posts…I just happen to be swamped and am so behind on everything!…