Lotus Root
I spied these lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera) segments at the market this morning and despite the fact that I have never cooked with them before, I thought they would make for 
an interesting post, so I bought some. Actually a rhizome (thickened stem) rather than a root, they look like firm links of sausages (photos here are of individual links). Each “segment” should be washed very well then peeled and sliced thinly to expose a fabulous internal pattern like cut-outs or large lace. They certainly look incredibly interesting… Soak them in acidulated water (water with lemon or kalamansi) as soon as you have peeled and sliced them as they have a very quick tendency to turn brownish…Often used in Chinese and Japanese cooking, this relative of the common water lilies or lotuses is really more of flavor “carrier,” since it doesn’t really seem to have much flavor on its own.
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It is a local landmark and I can’t decide if their intentional nonchalant demaeanor regarding the dowdiness of their premises is endearing or just cheap. On the one hand, you want to feel like it has been there for centuries, but on the other hand, get a makeover, perhaps? At any rate, I decided to go a little wild and picked up nearly a dozen different types of goodies under the La Fortuna Brand/Packaging. They also carry other goodies from Titay’s rosquillos and otap, etc. We ended up with several kinds of hopia, tikoy both plain and flavored, masa real, polvoron, ampao, etc. While it was nice to get a taste of these childhood favorites, I got the feeling there was some compromise on the quality of the ingredients in some cases…somehow it just seemed so mass-produced these days…
I was in Cebu last week was to meet with some of the priests from the Basilica Minore to discuss a loan of some religious works of art and antique carvings. The Basilica Minore has a small museum on their grounds that house the vestments of the Santo Nino going back several hundred years, along with a mish-mash of antique and other artefacts. The museum also features special exhibits, the most recent one showcasing several dozen Santo Nino’s from private collections throughout Cebu and neighboring provinces. After a very brief tour of the museum and discussions with Father Dominador Besares, I agreed on behalf of my siblings and I to lend 7 religious paintings and three carved statues to the museum for a period of 1 year and they will be a part of the current Lenten exhibit which opened yesterday, I am told…
a nice dusting of confectioners sugar to temper the zing of lemon. First, make a shortbread base with the following ingredients 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold; 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 and1/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Take out your food processor and blitz the two sugars for about a minute to make them nice and fine. Add the butter in little cubes cold and pulse until sugar is mixed in. Add the flour and pulse until there are moist chunks of dough. Put the dough in a plastic bag and press it together to form one piece.
source. Maybe it doesn’t matter whether it really is better than farm raised, it’s your own fruit, after all. One of the things greeting me as I got to the office in Cebu last week was a platter filled with these SPECTACULAR apple mangoes on my desk. I generally don’t buy apple mangoes in the markets as I opt for my default carabao mangoes from Cebu or Guimaras. However, I have eaten many apple mangoes in Australia, the U.S., etc. and I like the subtle flavor difference and the nice consistency of the flesh, especially when still a little firm. However, our Office Manager, who seems to have a pretty green thumb, mentioned that these were some of the 500 fruits harvested from a 10 year old apple mango hybrid tree in her backyard, so I was truly amazed.
