Palm Sunday Lunch

Mama’s roast rolled pork lechon before being sliced

Holy Week’s supposed to be a time of self-denial and intensive spiritual exercises and prayer. To begin Holy Week, we had a sumptuous but actually simple lunch after Palm Sunday Mass.

Mama tried to make lechon roll by rolling a rack of pork liempo with aromatics stuffed in the cavity in the middle. She’s new to tying up meats so it wasn’t perfectly rolled. It was, however, perfect! It had very very crispy skin, tender, milky milk and a very savory taste. The stuffing was also very simple: salt, pepper, lots of garlic and onions, a hefty amount of tanglad (lemongrass), some sili (red chili) and three calamansis (native lime).

Another view of the rolled roast pork lechon: crispy, tender, milky

The other dishes were tahong with sili leaves, onions and ginger, camote tops with shrimps and tomatoes and lato seaweed salad.

Accompanying the lechon were tahong in ginger with sili leaves, chayote tops with shrimps and tomatoes and lato seaweed salad in vinegar

Simple but really filling. No use for cuchara tenedor here ’cause we used our hands. hehe =)

Give Back Sundays

Clockwise: oysters in ginger, chili and onions, grilled lamb, green salad with grilled tuna steaks, mashed potatoes and baked tahong

#GiveBackSundays

Pauso?

Hahaha!

But yes, Sundays are when I give back to my family. I splurge on them. I rarely or almost NEVER see them on weekdays even if we live under the same roof in a small house. On Saturdays, I usually have tours or night-outs with friends. That’s why on Sundays, I truly pull-out the stops.

I forget what the pink ones are called but they were really nice and cheap.

Every morning, I buy flowers for our floreras. Mama loves flowers and she’s always delighted by the sight of fresh flowers in the house.

Last Sunday was no exception. Before my parents returned from the airport, I went to Farmers Market and bought flowers and ingredients for our lunch.

The previous day, Saturday, I already bought the main course, which were lamb chops. Rustan’s is always the best. For 500 Pesos, you buy 1 kilo and get another kilo for free! It’s so cool!

Overnight, some of the chops were marinated in a concoction of coffee powder, sugar, calamansi (local lime), soy sauce, pepper, salt, bay leaves, olive oil, and cayenne pepper.

Grilled lamb chops

As soon as my parents arrived, we began to prepare our lunch because we couldn’t afford to have a late and long lunch as Mama still had to go to the Ateneo High School Graduation Rites.

Our first plate was a hearty green salad with baby tomatoes, onions, white ash cheese and grilled tuna steaks.

Green salad with baby tomatoes, white ash cheese and grilled tuna steaks

As mentioned, the main course was grilled lamb chops. It looked charred but that was because of the olive oil and sugar. The side dishes were mashed potatoes (prepared with real potatoes and not a powdered mix, milk, salt, pepper, milk and melted butter), baked mussels with chilis and garlic and oysters in ginger and chili. I planned the other sides to be such so they’ll be light and resemble a surf and turf meal.

Have a happy week ahead!

What does “light” mean?

My family will be eternally indebted to the wise and strategic decision my lola‘s parents made when they purchased the plot of land where our family compound now stands in Cubao (around the 20s). Far from flooded areas and very accessible, it is located at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and just a few blocks away from the Araneta Center. It was, during their time, a rest area, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Manila and near the quiet enclaves of New Manila and San Juan, which were also the preferred summer getaways of the affluent.

However, there is a sour note. The area has fallen into decay. Bus stations have mushroomed like crazy, motels spring from the ground almost monthly and the place in front of us (it’s a private property that looks like an informal settlers’ colony because the owners just keep on renting out the place beyond capacity!) has truly been overtaken by people who basically don’t know how to live with neighbors.

Nevertheless, we are thankful. Grateful for the fact that amidst the strong winds and the news of submerged cities, we can go home safely to a house dry and safe. But let’s see if the motel being built behind our compound will have an unfortunate effect on us.

We are also very grateful that we are near Farmers Market. We can have fresh meats, seafood, vegetables and even flowers whenever we want. We never grew up stuffing our freezers with frozen fish and meats because we can always buy them. We have a suki in the market that gives us newly-slaughtered chicken that sometimes the meat is even warm!

Ay Dios mio! I lost track of what I’m supposed to share. This is no longer “light” hahaha

Here are some things we can easily enjoy because of our proximity to the market:

Please, PLEASE FORGIVE ME but as of this writing, I simply cannot remember what this fern/veggie is. Not pako. Basta! Sauted with shrimps

Shrimps in chili garlic sauce with onion leeks

A light but truly delightful meal of halaan soup wtih ginger and sili leaves, shrimps and again, those veggies I forgot! hahaha

Sunday Lunch Fare

Earlier today, we had steak for lunch, that juicy beef dish best served medium-raw all with its blood and tenderness. But although the steak is always the star of almost any meal, the side dishes also should be of interest because these make the dining experience more exciting.To accompany the steak, mama prepared a very light leafy salad composed of lettuce, arugula, wheat grass, onions and tomato with a sour salad dressing whipped up by my papa. The salad dressing was basically composed of three ingredients: balsamico, sukang iloko and olive oil.

 

 

On the other hand, I prepared a hearty potato dish to serve as our source of carbs. First, I boiled the baby potatoes and Baguio beans just before these cooked. I then sauteed bacon in butter and minimal oil in a pan. As soon as the bacon bits cooked, I removed these and added garlic and onions. Later, I added the potatoes and beans into the mixture. To give it more flavor, I seasoned the dish with salt, pepper and chopped basil.

Have a happy week ahead, a week filled with memorable dining experiences!

 

 

Spinach Soup with Queso Manchego and Orange Zest

Three Fridays ago, I dined with my friend Bianca at Corner Tree, a quaint vegetarian restaurant found along Jupiter street in Makati City. I ordered vegetable croquetas and also Spinach soup. Both my orders exceeded my expectations and at the same time, disproved my earlier suspicion that vegetarian dishes tend to be dull and cumbersome. After my dinner, I headed over to that nook of heaven called Draft Gastropub to meet my partner-in-crime, Nic.

The following day, while sporting a terrible hang-over, I decided to make a hearty soup that would pacify my acidic stomach and lo and behold, there was left-over spinach from the caldereta de cordero I made days before! I was so excited to replicate (and tweak) the superb spinach soup I had the night before.

INGREDIENTS:

Spinach
Garlic, crushed
Onions, finely chopped
Chorizo Pamplona, sliced into small bits
5 strips of double-smoked bacon
¾ cup of all-purpose cream
1 cup of water
½ cup of white wine (Chardonnay)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of orange zest
Salt, Pepper, Paprika and Chili Flakes to taste

PROCEDURE:

I first blended the Spinach into a fine puree using a blender, adding one fourth cup of water and some olive oil as it blending. I let the mixture rest for a couple of minutes as I prepared to sauté the other ingredients.

In a pan, (I was supposed to cook in a pot but I couldn’t find one) I first let the Pamplona sausage and bacon sweat, allowing these to release their natural fats over low heat. Afterward, I added the butter, garlic, onions and chili flakes. At that point, the kitchen smelled like heaven and my hangover seemed to have immediately disappeared.

Just before the onions and garlic turned brown, I added the half cup of wine and after two minutes or so, I added the blended spinach mixture. Right after, I added the cream and orange zest and allowed the soup to boil for ten minutes. I then lowered the heat and allowed the soup to simmer for fifteen minutes, adding paprika, salt and pepper to adjust the taste.

Before removing from the stove, I grated a generous amount of queso Manchego and boy, did it do wonders. The soup was creamy but not nakakaumay and the kick from the Pamplona, paprika and chili flakes was great for a breakfast soup. I felt so energized after having a serving of this easy-to-make dish.