Empress Helen

The A(H1N1) panic is no longer as scary, but the threat is still there. To protect myself (especially since I’ve been traveling a lot lately), I exercise regularly (thanks to Gold’s Gym) and eat a lot. Yes, you read that right. I didn’t say eat well, which is what all health advocates would tell you. I eat heartily now, but still avoid cholesterol-ridden foods. But I don’t diet anymore, which is why I am a bit heavier than usual these days. Flawless, here I come — for your photo-gen treatments, which helps tighten your abs. Yes, I’d also be making regular trips to Belo Medical Center (they have opened their SM Megamall branch) for their multi-polar that also does wonders when it comes to trimming the waistline.

A study conducted some two decades ago revealed that the funeral parlor business makes a killing (oops, wrong choice of word) during these rainy months — maybe because we get wet and are more prone to catching colds and flu. If your immune system is low (which happens when you don’t eat properly), your chance of getting sick is higher. So eat, but still choose the food you eat.

Not so long ago, I got a treat from Helen Gamboa, who sent food to the house. But let me tell you first that I am not only a fan of her singing (the original Queen of Pop) and acting (a Gawad Urian Best Actress winner no less), but also of her cooking.

Years and years ago, she invited me to dinner at the Sotto home in White Plains. A Kapampangan (with French and American blood), she served a lot of dishes, but the one that stuck in my head and taste buds was her buro wrapped in mustard leaves. I was unfamiliar with buro that time, but it was love at first bite and every time I order this dish from those grill joints that dot Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City, I couldn’t understand why their buro is not as delicious as Helen’s. The one that comes closest to her buro recipe is the one that is served in Abe at Serendra.

In 1992, she opened her Salad Station in Robinsons Galleria and I went there with the ABS-CBN crew to cover the event. The place served mostly salads, of course, but my all-time favorite there was the Waldorf salad. I have no idea how long her Salad Station operated, but I can imagine she must have had a tough time making profit because Helen is never the type to cheat on ingredients (it was also one business that was difficult to maintain because her products must be fresh all the time — and she saw to that). Like in her works on TV and in the movies, she puts premium on quality — and this is why she is very choosy with her projects. (Tayong Dalawa was a wise decision because her character may have died eventually in the story, but the presence she left still lingers).

Then about a month ago, she sent me a whole bunch of seafood pasta — the best I’ve ever had, plus leche flan. Since the amount of pasta she had delivered to my house could feed an army, I shared some of it with loved ones and even the most critical among them had nothing to complain about. Everyone raved about it and it wasn’t only because it had generous toppings of prawns and other seafood (mostly mussels). Helen’s seafood pasta was truly delicious. It could have used a little bit more seasoning (a little more salt — which is the easiest thing to do), but I didn’t tamper with it anymore because I go for healthy eating. I’m sure she went easy with the salt and that was on purpose because she knows I’m conscious with my food intake and I thank her for taking that into consideration when she was preparing this dish. That was so thoughtful of her. I enjoyed my meal (and so did the rest) and yet there was hardly any guilt feeling about devouring it because it was practically sodium-free.

This dish prepared in Helen’s kitchen will put to shame those pasta dishes served in first class hotels and restaurants. Those imported chefs from Europe will probably retire, shift careers or most likely fly back to their homelands with their heads bowed once they taste it. Great flavor. And the pasta — it was al dente. Perfect to the bite.

To cap the meal, we had her leche flan and it was several inches thick. Again, she noted the fact that I didn’t want my dessert too sweet. Of course, it still had calories, but it was too good to pass up. I always remember what Dr. Vicki Belo once told me: If you’re going to load up on calories, the dish better be worth it. And I swear Helen’s every serving of leche flan was worth the hour or so on the treadmill. Oh what a gifted woman she is. If she was queen of movies, television, radio and recording, in the kitchen she is an empress.

(On Tuesday: President Cory Aquino’s fruit salad)