Memories.......memories
We have been too immersed in the business news in the last few months, what with all the developments in the scene. Sometimes we get weary from all that heavy stuff, so a little R&R is in order. By that we mean a little detour, some deviation, and since the rainy months are here, I thought maybe it would be nice to recall some of the comfort foods of our younger years.
That was eons ago, but pleasant memories like those linger well in our memory banks. I remember, for instance, the simple pleasures of Saturday afternoons, rainy and cloudy because if it was just another dusty and hot afternoon, chances are you wouldn’t catch me home. I would be out in the neighborhood streets. Anyway, for days like those, the order of the day would be plain sliced bread, “tasty” we called it back then, slathered generously with butter or margarine, then sprinkled just as heavily with brown sugar. That was a simple but heavenly treat that I would trade an afternoon on the streets for and, thin as I was then, I could finish half a loaf of “tasty”. Did you know that Tasty was the brand of one of the first, if not the first, sliced loaf of bread in the country, post war? After that, it became generic, like “pan amerikano”. That was also standard merienda fare after an afternoon of grueling basketball, guaranteed to wipe out fatigue.
If it was ‘pan de sal’ on the table, we would be quick to innovate — we would substitute butter and sugar happily with condensada, the thick liquid seeping out with every bite, and it would be just as good.
On really wet days, my Mom would take the cue to make another family favorite- ‘champorado’, thick and flavored with Ricoa chocolate. This we would eat with “tuyo”, fried crisp and served hot, alongside the porridge. All day, everyone in the family would be making a trip to the kitchen, ladling bowls of ‘champorado’, and by nightfall, the large pot would be ready for washing. No such thing as keeping leftover champorado in the ref.
Sunday lunches were always family affairs. I have kept this tradition with my own family now, but to keep the interest up, especially among the kids, this could be home-cooked meals, a new restaurant in town, or perhaps a trip to one of the Tagaytay eateries. My mom enjoyed cooking, and she literally labored at the stove just to serve authentic meals. She was best known for her kare-kare, a peanut-based stew of choice beef parts served with salty bagoong. The “tuwalya” had to be just chewy, the “pata” tender and falling off the bone, the ox tail tender with just a little bite, the “bituka” oozing with creamy fat when sliced and mixing happily with the rice on your plate. And best of all, the peanut sauce was real peanuts, unsalted, roasted and ground to a paste. If it was kare-kare time the following day, the kids, including me, would take turns grinding the peanuts with our old trusty hand mill, together with the toasted rice until past our bedtime. We actually didn’t mind the chore, because payback time was just a sleep away. Isang tulog na lang and we would have our all-time favorite.
Another simple Sunday fare was ‘Pesang Dalag’. This I haven’t had in years because unfortunately it is not something that is appreciated at home. They find the taste of the soup quite bland. But the flavor of “luya”, “pamintang buo” and cabbage, with the Dalag to boot, still smacks of home. This we would eat with miso sautéed with lots of onions, tomatoes and garlic.
Other days we would have the spicy ‘Bopis’, pork lungs chopped up finely and mixed with all sorts of spices. This was also laborious, but my Mom would make a lot because, after the Sunday meal, this was a favorite for, hold your breath, making sandwiches. Yes, Bopis sandwiches were always a hit, and I remember packing these for our annual All Souls Day at the cemetery! My wife Baby was aghast when she heard this, and I guess so were some of my friends, but in the family, this was standard fare. Try it with pan de sal.
The Lenten season also figured heavily in our family tradition. My mother would never hear the end of it from my autocratic Dad if she didn’t make a whole slew of Bacalao, oily and salty. Sometimes she would only use local dried fish, flaked so we wouldn’t recognize that it was just dried Lapu lapu or Bisugo, but she would use good olive oil and this made up for it. At home now, I insist on authentic Bacalao, the cost of which keeps escalating by the way, the kind that you buy in
And, guess what again. Bacalao left over was also sandwich fare for us. Goes well with pan de sal.
Other old-time Sunday favorites were the trio of mongo, adobo, and fish escabeche, native style. Mongo also goes well with “Bistek na Galunggong”, or a perfect dish of paksiw na bisugo. Ampalaya with miso and shrimps, served soupy, the Ampalaya not at all bitter, was also great. Or my Mom’s version of Fabada, plenty of white beans boiled with beef (the cut that has marbled yellow fat!) and flavored with chorizo de
If you’re in the mood for some hearty eats, try these for size. As I always say in my motoring column, happy eating!
Incidentally, I would like to come up with a short series on where people used to go for good old favorites like where to go for authentic quekiam when you’re in Binondo, which was of course in Carvajal Restaurant or where our parents would go if they’re hankering for fresh carabao’s milk, which was in Selecta restaurant or the place to get freshly cooked chicharon bulaklak in different variants (buo or durog), which was in a place called Asia in good old Azcarraga, now Recto Avenue. Even provincial specialties are welcome. Inputs from readers who wish to contribute to this nostalgic trip will help create a treasure trove for this endeavor. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a wealth of materials to share with our other readers?
Send those memory-filled places, products and food specialties, which we would gladly acknowledge to our e-mail address below.
Open House for high-end property development
Brittany Corporation and Asia Pacific Realty Holdings & Development Corporation will hold its first joint activity via an open house event aptly called ‘Portofino Alabang — Grand Buyers’ Day’ on June 14, 2008 (that’s next Saturday) at the site of Portofino along Daang Hari Road in Muntinglupa.
Interested buyers may call 631-8822 to book their advance guest reservation for the event and avail of the special discounts and payment terms, as well as house and lot packages that are available for that special date only.
Remember the date:
Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.
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