Gluttony is NAT a sin

What would you expect when food bloggers meet?

An afternoon filled with food;

whether being prepared, eaten, photographed

and/or talked about!

Natie's invitation to meet at her house was a welcome change from the usual eat-and-run meetings we had before. Thinking of what to bring proved to be an adventure for me. Living far away was the factor that made me decide to buy rather than "experiment". It did not solve my dilemma but even widened the possibilities.

The real adventure was going to Natie's residence for it is always out of my way though I pass by the area from time to time. But the directions they gave me were crystal clear that I reached the place without a hitch though I thought I was lost since the path that led was a world away from the hustle and bustle of the outside.

Pancit Palabok from Balbi's

Assorted chocolates and nuts

Amy was already there when I arrived and after catching my breath we started preparing for what to be an afternoon "snack". Natie's treat was a big bilao of Balbi's famous pancit palabok plus assorted drinks, nuts and chocolates. Amy had a big batch of home made goodies; banana-prune loaf, longganisa burgers, chocolate cake, sio mai, ube haleya and mangoes from her Lolo's farm in Guimaras. My (small) share turned out to be Roberto's queen sio pao and Goldilocks cathedral window.

Cathedral window from Goldilocks Roberto's queen sio pao
After half an hour of preparation with talks in between; it was finally taking shape as the table was overflowing with food enough for fifteen persons. With only three of us plus Natie's sister and brother in law, makes five, thus inspiring my blog title. Thinking of the title for thsi entry gave me another "headache" but it wasn't until few hours before I had my internet connection working again that I finally thought of the most appropriate one.

Longganisa burgers

Sweet mangoes from Guimaras Home made chocolate cake Banana and prune loaf Sio mai galore Mommy Ondette's ube haleya It was a fun afternoon filled not only with food but with casual talks and stories that certainly bonded us all together.

NOTE: My header text holds a much bigger "secret" than my blog entry's title. Go Figure!

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of batwan and the malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces 1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.

Batwan

Ilonggos know batwan or batuan by heart as the fruit is almost endemic to the Western Visayas. Its scientific name is Garcinia binucao, derived from the Tagalog name for the fruit, binukaw. It is a large green fruit with large seeds and its a favorite souring ingredient in most Ilonggo dishes especially KBL or kadyos, baboy, langka and the Ilonggo-style paksiw known as "pinamalhan". It is characterized by a tamed sourness compared to tamarind and kamias . The fruit is sold by pieces or kilo in wet markets and even big grocery stores. Batwan is the preferred souring ingredients for the Ilonggo favorite- KBL. The photo shows boiled batwan with skin and without skin (right) A favorite riddle when we were young - "Among the many fruits in the forest, but one (batuan) is the best. What is it?"

A cooking weed called Lupo

Lupo is a weed that is commonly found in ricefields and roadside in provinces. It is most prevalent in Ilonggo cooking compared to others as it is mostly the Ilonggos who can recognize lupo , though maybe called differently in other places. Most commonly used in laswa or monggo dishes to add greens like kamote tops, it also makes a good partner in sinabawan na isda recipes. It has hints of bitterness but don't expect it to be ampalaya-bitter like. It is mostly sold in wet local wet markets by the tumpok .

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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