This is a photograph of an ampalaya (bitter melon or bitter gourd) vine grown organically by my newly found cousin, Pito Garcia. We’re second cousins actually and we connected through a website on geneology my maternal relatives have just discovered.  It’s the coolest thing to find relatives online and meet them for the first time in person.  If not for the internet, our paths may not have crossed for a long time.

His farm is located in a beautiful spot surrounded by gentle hills in the Zambales town of San Antonio.  It was a stormy day when Spouse and I went to visit.  You can probably tell by the dark clouds over the hills that more rains were on the way.  The rain and winds came in bursts, strong and surrprising…an amazing display of nature’s power and beauty.  I’m getting all poetic because it was a truly awesome experience.

Pito is currently  experimenting with organic farming. He’s been growing vegetables commercially for about three years now. Going organic is the next logical step. When you’ve lived the life of a farmer, enjoying the clean air, healthy lifestyle, and beautiful, beautiful surroundings that no man can build, going organic is the only way to go.

Watch out in the coming months, the unofficial cook might just turn into the unofficial farmer!

And please, it’s not a savage practice of uncivilized people. It’s an art you have to learn.  Besides, it’s fun! I mean… it really is. No Pinoy picnic would be the same if they handed you a silver spoon, fork and knife. Besides, you tend to lose all sense of inhibition when you’re sitting fully-clothed on a creekbed with graceful bamboo leaves swaying  over you and the bamboo table you’re eating from virtually floating over the gentle, streaming water.  Not to worry, the guys would have tied it down to something. The food is staying on the table….but not for long.

Not only is it fun, but eating with your hands takes a lot of skill. You don’t just moosh things in your palms and shove them into your mouth. Actually, you only use your fingers when eating with your hands. Oh gee, that sounds sooo NOT right…but it’s true!  You pick up your food using your fingertips and scoop it up, not in your palms, but on the very tips of your fingers.

The ultimate in skill is eating a whole fried or grilled fish (yes, with the head on) with rice and other dishes one-handed….with no problem separating the flesh from the bones mind you.   If that isn’t what you call skill, I don’t know what is..

See….you have to keep one hand clean so you can use the serving spoons for the other dishes on the table….or do something else like pick up the abaniko (Filipino leaf fans) and drive away the flies hovering around attempting to share your food….or some other things youneed to do at picnics in the Philippines.

Here’s the Christmas turkey our family had for Christmas this year.   Everyone looks forward to having it on Christmas surpassing the more traditional ham that would take days to prepare.  So, I’ll keep making this until something new catches our fancy.

When Spouse was carving the turkey, 3 sets of hungry little boys’ eyes were carefully watching him.  Soon as a piece of the skin came off, it went straight to my 4-year old  nephew’s mouth.  He had turkey for lunch and turkey yet again for dinner.

Recipe to follow…

It’s Christmas everywhere and in the Philippines no other treat says Christmas more than this rice cake.  It’s available year round in most places.  During the Christmas season, churches everywhere will have vendors setting up shop in the wee hours of the morning.  These vendors will be selling  bibingka or puto bumbong and cooking them right in their stalls.  The Catholic faithful who hear the early morning novena mass before Christmas all flock to these stalls for their bibingka.  It makes a perfect breakfast with your coffee or hot cocoa.

The best way to cook these cakes is in shallow pans made of clay  lined with banana leaves set up over hot coals with more live coals on a movable tin cover to cook the top.  My version is oven-baked for convenience.  This was my first time to make this and I was not all that impressed by how it turned out.  When I took it to my mom’s for merienda however, they all liked it.  Youngest Sister even said the only thing missing was the distinct smell when you cook something over live coals….something we always called “charcoal smell.”

The toppings may not be readily available.  The salted duck’s eggs can be homemade but it will take a couple of weeks to cure.  The Filipino quesong puti is similar to the Mexican queso fresco or queso blanco.  The Philippine version uses carabao’s milk and thus,  richer.  As for the coconut milk, there’s nothing like fresh since it has a natural sweetness you can’t get from canned coconut milk.  If you are in a pinch, use cow’s milk or the canned/powdered coconut milk.

Here are the ingredients:

2 c. Jasmine or other fragrant long grain rice variety

2 c. water

4 eggs

3/4 to 1 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter

1 c. coconut milk

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

sliced salted duck’s eggs

sliced quesong puti

Soak rice overnight in the water to soften the grains.  Put grains in a food processor and grind on high until fine.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare two 8-inch round pans by lining with banana leaves that have been wiped clean and heated over an open flame to make it flexible.

Beat eggs, sugar and butter until frothy.  Add the rest of the ingredients, not including duck’s egg and cheese.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and top with eggs and cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean.

Serve with freshly grated coconut meat.

Christmas is for kids.  Before I got married, I’d splurge on Christmas dinner and decor but never on gifts.  In fact, I’d recycle corporate gifts I got and give them to the little ones just so they had another present to rip open.  Eldest Sister’s Youngest Daughter was the best kid to give a gift.  No matter what it was, she would be happy as a clam when she opened that present.  Her tiny eyes always popped wide open and her joyous exclamations were always the happiest and loudest.  That was the  best part of Christmas always.

But the Christmas dinner, which is actually Christmas Day lunch,  has to be special because my family loves to gather round the table to eat and talk – usually about food still!  Last year on Christmas Eve, Third Sister and I were in the kitchen making our cooking plans for the Christmas lunch we always celebrated at our parents and she got so excited about the turkey she actually convinced me we HAD to do it right away.  It was almost midnight so we got started to prepare the bird that was by then defrosted and sitting in the refrigerator.  I regret not taking a photo of that bird.  I recently saw a turkey featured in some local newspaper and it was a far cry from the beauty my sister and I took home to Mama last year.  It was browned more  evenly than I ever made it – another set of eyes watching the bird does make a difference!

Yes, there was no sleep for us that night.  But what a lovely turkey breakfast we brought to Mama the next day!  It certainly wasn’t our usual thing but oh we had a great time!  The turkey was almost all gone before lunch when Eldest Sister arrived with her kids.  We made a lot of dressing to go with the bird and they got to sample some of that at least.  She brought lechon from Cebu and some other foods she cooked. Eldest Sister is a really good cook.

I’m looking forward to Christmas this year.   I’m just a Christmas person I guess.  My decorating is all done and I’m sitting here next to the Spouse with the Christmas tree all shiny and bright and cheerful.

I’m looking forward to Christmas next year even more.  We welcomed  a new addition to the family this year.   Eldest Nephew got married in October and now we have an Eldest Niece-in-Law,  our very first.  Next year, they’ll have a baby by the time Christmas comes so we’ll have the Eldest Grand Nephew or Niece.  Again, our very first and the first of his generation.  The cycle of life continues for our family.

Merry Christmas and may your tribe increase!

The recipe I used for this cake was actually not a good choice.  It’s called a Kentucky Butter Cake and I found it in the website www.allrecipes.com

I have to admit I was impressed with all the positive feedback the recipe generated.  It’s just too sweet for our taste and if I ever do this cake again, some adjustments have to be made.  First of all, I will not leave the cake in the pan as long as I did.  It got stuck in the pan after I left it in the refrigerator for a day and took me a long time and a lot of hot water to get the cakes out.

So, instead of getting into the recipe, I’ll give you some tips for the assembly.

I started with two different sized pans to get as close to the shape of a car as possible.  The first pan was a  rectangular Wilton cake pan that’s about 10.5 x 6.5 inches and 2 inches deep.  The second pan was a 1.5 quart glass loaf dish.  It was not a perfect match since I had to trim about a third of the finished loaf cake to make it fit nicely over the first layer.

Since the cake was too sweet, I decided to just lay it on top of the first layer and didn’t bother with a filling.  The cake was dense enough that it didn’t budge once I had it sitting on the cookie sheet I lay it on.  This was a heavy cake so I had to put it on a stainless steel cookie sheet if I was going to be moving it around safely.

Then I cut a few tubular pieces of the cake trimmings to use on both sides of the hood.  I then had my prepared buttercream frosting divided into two unequal portions.  About half a cup was tinted black for the hood and the rest was tinted as close to apple green as possible.  I used the old Philippine brand Peotraco gel tint for the black and it worked very well.  The green tint was a combination of blue and yellow McCormick food color.  Just a few drops of blue and lots more of the yellow.

When I was satisfied with the colors, I started with the body.  The only way it was going to work for me was to pipe the icing and cover as much of the cake before I smoothen it all out.  I used a small spatula to smoothen it out but as the icing melted, I used my clean fingers and that’s why the photo shows a dimply-looking surface.  I tried to  contour around the roof and hood sides but this melted eventually so go easy on the contouring around the edges or use a Royal Icing recipe. Then I piped the black frosting on the hood and smoothened that out strictly with my fingers.

Then I took four choco cookies and cut out foil rounds that fit in the center of each cookie.  The foil pieces stayed on the cookies with a little dab of frosting.  Then on to the sides of the cake they went for the perfect tires. Spouse said the edges even resembled treads so that was a nice bonus.

I then cut out some pieces of regular aluminum foil for the windows,  windshields, license plate, front grill and tail lights and stuck it on easily.  There was a little add-on not every car will have – a padlock.  I wish I had gold colored foil but I didn’t so I just made a teeny-tiny padlock shape thing with the regular foil and it worked for. For a finishing touch, I put some red candy decor pieces for the turn lights, both back and front.  Voila!  There’s your car cake!

Now that I’ve written this all down, I think I’m up for another cake decorating job!

Sami's Cake

This is a very basic carrot cake iced with a cream cheese frosting which I used for the “white cake” I wrote about in my last post.  I tweaked the recipe to my taste and think this will be my keeper recipe.  I just love this cake for the spice, the moistness, the crunch  of the nuts and the fact that it actually has some vegetable in it.  That fact kind of fools me into thinking this is a healthy cake.  You have to admit, it is healthier than a butter pound cake.

This is half the recipe of one I found online months ago.  It makes a single layer 9-inch cake that’s just about the right size.

3 cups finely grated carrots (you can freeze any leftovers for the next cake)

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. raisins/currants or dried cranberries

2 eggs (always large for baking)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. crushed pineapples, well-drained

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsps. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (don’t chop too finely so you get some crunch)

Combine grated carrots and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside for 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift and combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat the eggs until light.  Gradually beat in the sugar, oil and vanilla.  Stir in the pineapple.  Add the flour mixture and stir until it’s all absorbed.  Be gentle at this point. Now add the carrots and brown sugar mix, then the walnuts and stir till well-combined.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Cool the cake completely.  Give it a few hours to make sure, it’s worth it.  Or stick it covered in the refrigerator overnight.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.

TIP:  I prepare the frosting a day or two before I use it.  The texture comes out smoother.  My theory is,  the local confectioner’s sugar I get here isn’t all that fine even after beating the frosting longer than usual.  Leaving the frosting covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days before use does the trick.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package softened cream cheese (I use Philadelphia, there’s more in a pack than the local brand)

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. powdered sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients in a mixer and beat until creamy.  Add sugar and beat until smooth, about 5-6 minutes.  Be careful not to let the sugar dust get in your face!

then it was a green cake.

I have this theory about kids, give them what they want  now (if they’re not your kids) because you can’t afford what they want in just a few years.  For now, Youngest Nephew is happy with a Chinese-made, battery operated helicopter with lights, moving rotors, and sounds.  Cheap.  His older brother is happy with a real flashlight, “like a security guard’s” and a step trashcan – I got him both for his birthday last September.  He was happy.

Back to the cakes.  The first cake is a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  It’s a very basic recipe, very simply iced so I put these sugar decors I got from Goldilocks bakeshop previously.  It’s not perfect but when you light the candles on that cake, any 3-year old will be so happy, the imperfections won’t matter.

The second cake is a Mr. Bean car cake.  It’s supposed to be a Austin mini, complete with the padlock (badlock as my nephews call it, “to keep the bad men out”).  Youngest Nephew and his older brother aren’t the only ones in our family crazy about Mr. Bean, so is Spouse and Eldest Brother-in-Law.  This car cake was a big hit I have to say.

When the nephew told me about the green cake wish, I immediately thought of making this.  That was a couple of weeks before the birthday so I made plans, none of which I did.  I settled for a butter cake recipe, never tested but easy enough.  Then a couple of days before the birthday, I had the cakes sitting in my refrigerator and I didn’t start on it. I was stressing over it.  All I thought then was thank goodness I didn’t let on with the nephew about my plans because he was going to be soooo disappointed.   Spouse eventually told me it didn’t matter if the cake was not perfect.  He said so long as it vaguely resembled a car, any 3 and 4-year old will be happy…unlike their 40-something OC aunt I might add.  That made it easier for me to do the task.  It took time but it got done.  I started decorating the cake the morning of the  birthday, at 1:00 am.  I crawled out of bed wide awake with images of ways and tricks for decorating the cake.  So I worked like those little elves working for the shoemaker and was done in a couple of hours.

It’s not perfect.  But for a very non-artistic person’s efforts, it’s not half-bad.  My talents are not artistic at all, they lay somewhere else.  I’ll tell you where when I find out.

So I got a huge surprise when we opened our car door to show the kids what was in there, and they both screamed, “Mr. Bean car!!” – I have to say, it was all worth it.  Even when they were disappointed that the cookie wheels came off because they were trying to make it move, I was delighted.  They didn’t even think the car was a cake!

When it finally sank in that it was a cake, they very gingerly put their little fingers to that buttercream frosting and made a happy mess of it.

Recipes to follow…

Let’s find out…..

MAMMA MIA!!!!!