12 Feb, 2006
I think that Valentine’s Day is the single biggest rip-off holiday ever!!! Prices skyrocket for dinner, flowers, etc. for a 24 hour period as if you couldn’t give your significant other a beautiful bunch of flowers, delicious chocolate or a sumptuous meal some other day of the calendar year. There is this underlying…
11 Feb, 2006
I never had buko pandan drinks or desserts growing up. I can’t figure out if I am too old, just deprived or simply clueless to this now highly common flavor combination. Was this just invented or discovered in the past 20 years or was I seriously missing out on something in the…
10 Feb, 2006
So where does one buy the best tasting barquillos these days??? I purchased the ones photographed above at the departure lounge of the Mactan airport and they weren’t very good. They had no taste, they were too dry (though I suppose they must be dry) and crumbled into shards more than they…
09 Feb, 2006
I was surprised to see some decent looking avocados among the roadside stands in Tagaytay yesterday. I was under the impression that avocados didn’t bear fruit until later in the year. At any rate, I bought a few pieces and today for lunch I was looking for a simple and delicious salad…
09 Feb, 2006
What do my favorite sinigang, spicy sampalok candy and the ash used to de-hair goatskins have in common? They come from the surprisingly versatile tamarind tree. I kid you not, ash from tamarind wood is used to tan leather and de-hair goatskins…how’s that for trivia? And you can read more…
08 Feb, 2006
I am allergic to fresh pineapple. I break out in hives and the lining of my mouth and throat get all itchy and scratchy when I eat it. Just standing near a fresh pineapple being peeled gives me the sweats. Why, I do not know, and it was not always the…
07 Feb, 2006
Sometimes I get a taste for a stir-fry “Chinese†style and that paired with some veggies and some steamed rice usually cures the craving. I happened to have some great looking green and red capsicum (sweet bell peppers) in the fridge so I decided to have this stir-fried beef dish for lunch. …
07 Feb, 2006
The plates in this and the previous post are a set of Chinese porcelain I inherited from my mother, who passed away almost ten years ago. This is the first time I have used them and I am thrilled with the pattern, so intricate and busy on its own, but so interesting when food…