Summer days

The heat is on! Refreshing activities and light but nutritious food are what everyone needs. Salad days are here again, and just well because they are healthy, except when you add too much cream or sugar in the dressing. After Holy Week, prices of vegetables, fruits and seafood should have gone down, so go to your favorite market and see what you can get.

The hito (catfish) that Vilma has at the BF market are a really good size, bigger than usual and less ‘malansa’ in smell and taste. We got two for adobo, marinating them in soy sauce, vinegar, lots of garlic, pepper (ground and whole peppercorns) overnight. The left over pieces we flaked and fried crisp, then made into a salad with green mangoes. Perfect as accompaniment to adobo or fried chicken. Lately we have been getting Bounty chicken, in the usual plastic bag or the new vacumn-sealed thick pouch, the latter with the neck already cut off. They are of considerably bigger size, nearly 1.5 kilos. The big Magnolia chickens (as much as 1.8 kilos per) have reappeared in the supermarts and the price, to our delight, is now from P94 a kilo. When planning to take fried chicken on your picnic, cut up into serving pieces so you won’t have to worry about portioning when meal time comes, specially when you are outdoors.

Make your preparation much easier. Seasoned tapas and tocinos are the best to take along which you can easily cook on a small portable stove. CDO has tocino from what they call ‘young pigs’ and indeed, they are tender. Conscious of your diet, get chicken tocino made of breast without any fat. Filipinos never eat without the traditional dips, so have small bottles of patis, toyo and suka. For your salads, there are lots of bottled dressing and spreadables for sandwiches which you can buy from practically all groceries and supermarkets. Cost is reasonable and you don’t have to make them from scratch.

Along the road as you head for your destination you will find lots of fresh fruits and even vegetables sold by farmers of the area. You can pick up what you need. Mangoes should be specially sweet now, cantaloupes too. If you are lucky, there might be some mangoesteen at a more reasonable price. Avocados are likewise in season and by this time also lanzones. Freshly harvested corn on the cob, still steaming hot, would be ideal to munch while still on the road. You must get flowers. If going south, the road to Tagaygay is a landscape of a thousand blooms in lovely hues.

Going out of town in these days of pre-prepared food is no longer a tedious chore. We do get a lot of help from innovative food manufacturers. Aside from food, what else is there to prepare? Be sure to have forks and spoons (even knives), plastic is better because you can simply throw them away. Have paper plates, since there is nothing more frustrating than finding yourselves with nothing to put your food on. If traveling with kids, pack enough clothes. For those who still bottle feed, do not mix the formula at the start of the journey as it will likely spoil. Take along their favorite toys so they don’t get bored once the sun becomes too hot and when they have satisfied themselves with all the food you have. Let the kids play games, supervised by older ones (the youth in the group) and encourage enthusiastic participation with small tokens/rewards. When in a public resort, make sure all members of your party stay within your designated area. They might just step on others’ toes while playing and some could be sensitive about that.

Bring a lot of beverages, preferably disposable. For a prettier picnic spread, have a colorful table cloth, floral printed if possible. Don’t forget paper napkins and paper towels, plus soap. And yes, a camera, even if your cell phone has a built-in camera. Put on your most flattering swimsuit and sarong, for those inevitable photo shoots. Remember to protect yourself from the sun with sun-block all over. Now you and your brood plus maybe your friends are ready to go! Enjoy!

We found some very interesting cookbooks lately. We will go through them all and share what new things we pick up. Reading cookbooks, examining recipes and techniques have always given us great pleasure. You probably have the same feeling, specially if you are tasked with preparing family meals.

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