Labor and flavor of love

It’s 41 days to Christmas and what do you have in mind to feed your loved ones for your Noche Buena? As always, food preparation on Christmas Eve involves labor and flavor of love.

Many Filipino families have their own treasured and signature recipes that take center stage come Christmas Day. As they say, we get to know the spirit and culture of one family by the food that they eat.

Treasured recipes are what the Assumption High School Class of ’79 Cookbook (The Pearl Edition) presents. The recipes in the book are lovingly compiled and edited by Marivic Puyat-Limcaoco and Annie Lim-Kawpeng.

If you’re thinking of adding more flavor to your Christmas Eve feast, the Assumption Cookbook will surely guide your palate to a more flavorful celebration of the season. Oh sure, you want to taste first the recipes in the book before you serve the dish to your friends and loved ones. Solution: Just go to the Café Jeepney of the InterContinental Hotel in Makati where many of the recipes in the Assumption Cookbook are now the toast of the discerning and discriminating diners.   

“Last July, I got an e-mail from Maricor Aquino, director of sales and marketing of the InterCon, asking if Annie and I would be interested in having the cookbook featured in Cafe Jeepney’s lunch buffet,” Marivic said of how the project came about. “I immediately forwarded the e-mail to Annie — of course we were thrilled! Annie, being the recipe editor, coordinated right away with InterCon chef Patrick Fournes to figure out which recipes to feature. Together, they came up with a fabulous line-up of recipes, which will be in rotation every few days.

When the project was launched two Saturdays ago to coincide with the annual Assumption Bazaar run by the Assumption Alumni Association, the InterCon was teeming with “Assumptionistas” from all batches who enjoyed the lunch buffet from our Assumption Cookbook. A bite of Guia Tiongson’s beef steak casserole had us swooning in delight. Crackers filled with Intensity Five dip, which is Cecilia Suarez’s concoction of feta with garlic and green finger chilis in olive oil, brought us back to the day we were dancing by the pool and the earthquake hit. Tri-color spread, which is Ave Ignacio’s special combination of creamy cheese tomato and basil pesto, made us sing “Take me home!” all over again. The Reunion Cheesecake of Aissa Cojuangco transported us back to the happy San Francisco reunion they had one summer in their youth. The Penne ala vodka of Marivic Limcaoco turned us all giddy and giggly on that delicious afternoon. All these and more can be had at the Café Jeepney until Nov. 24. 

The book is also being sold at the restaurant at P599 and National Bookstore at P699. What makes this project much more special is that 100 percent proceeds of the book sales are donated to the Assumption Mission Schools. 

Five years ago, on our velada or the anniversary of Assumption High School Batch ’79 Silver Jubilee homecoming, Annie and Marivic produced the Assumption HS ’79 Cookbook.

The cookbook was a brainchild of Marivic when our batch celebrated our velada in 2005. She wanted a fundraising project for a cause and stumbled upon the idea of coming up with a recipe book. She broached the idea to Annie, an avid foodie who loves to cook. Annie volunteered her kind services, not knowing that it would entail her to run after all our classmates for their treasured family recipes. Yes, each recipe in the book was kitchen-tested by Annie. She also collected the anecdotes that surrounded each recipe. For three years, her kitchen became her office as she lovingly completed the measurements and proper proportions of each recipe with her husband and children trying every dish she cooked.

The Pearl edition that came out last year is a sweet and savory companion to the first edition.

“Our recipes will show how we have matured from little girls who were happy with sweet ground beef spaghetti to more sophisticated yet simple dishes. Aside from nostalgic recipes, others have ventured to healthful dishes; yet some have contributed sinful delights. I am sure there is a recipe in the Assumption Cookbook that will become your favorite,” Annie shared. 

Each recipe in the Assumption Cookbook is a labor and flavor of love. In this season of merriment, we spread the love. We share them with you.

(Please come to the Assumption Bazaar today at the InterContinental Hotel

from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

(Would love to hear from you at miladayjewels@yahoo.com.)