A bounty of fruits for the New Year

Filipinos have embraced the Chinese tradition of having a bounty of fruits to welcome the New year. Whether it's a dozen representing each month a year or 13 fruits (the extra one for the 1st month of the next New Year), the tradition continues as Pinoys scramble to look for these fruits for the belief it will bring good luck in the coming New Year.

So in this tradition I will end 2014 and start 2015 with the bounty of fruits - that made 2014 another very fruitful year in blogging and hoping 2015 will be as bountiful or even more.

BUKO From salads, halo-halo and shakes to chicken binakol and native delicacies like linugaw, buko/niyog/coconut will always be an essential ingredient of Filipino cuisine.

PERSIMMON I just had my first bite of persimmon a few days (available at Iloilo Supermart) and it tasted like a hard gelatinzed star apple or kaymito.

CHICO We used to have five native chico trees in our yard and only one remains - but still give us plenty of fruits when chico is in season.

LANSONES When it's in season, almost 80% of all the fruits sold along the streets in the city are lansones. With so much competition, prices tend to drop and one can get these succulent fruits for as low as PhP40/kilo. With that bargain I often buy 3 kilos and almost eat them all by myself. But sometimes, I am willing to pay to around Php50/kilo for the assurance of a good lansones - sweet even when small and the skin is still smooth and brownish, not black.

BUDYAWI People call this as the sago fruit since the white edible part tastes and feels likes tapioca pearls - though a bit more gummy and hard. And I'm glad I was able to find this hard-to-find fruit this year thus giving my blog a good picture of budyawi.

AVOCADO We don't have guacamole here but avocado makes a great dessert when mixed with condensed milk or when made into an ice cream (just freeze the one with condensed milk).

CATMON I live in a town whose old name is catmon and there's only one surviving catmon tree. So its really worth learning and preserving its history.

GRAPES & PEAR I remember having this fruit bowl as lunch a few days ago as I found myself too inundated with the rich Holiday gastronomy. So I went on this 2-fruit diet... and ate lunch a full lunch 30 minutes after.

TAMBIS I only used to know the pink variety of tambis until this green variety found itself at home given to us by our neighbour who has a tree grown in their backyard.

SANTOL While we also have a native santol tree in our backyard and most of the fruits just fall on the ground, I can't say no this this batch of big and sweet Bangkok santol variety.

SARGUELAS One of the most missed fruits especially those outside the country, the fruit brings back the childhood memories of most Pinoys. Whether it was climbing on the tree to get these fruits or that unfortunate fall that followed such climb - it stll makes good memories altogether.

STAR APPLE One of the most common fruit trees in our yard, we might have around 10 and the question that still remain unanswered is that what is star apple in the local dialect? Kaymito is the Tagalog name but I've grown calling this to be star apple ever since.

MANGOSTEEN Embarrassing but true, I only tasted my first mangosteen a few months ago even though I've passed by stalls selling them for years. And now I know why many like this fruit and I am one of them now...

Saved the best for last and I'll just let this photo of MANGOES from GUIMARAS speak for itself.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Wishing you all a prosperous, bountiful and FRUITful 2015!

Mama's Kitchen and Sinamay House in Arevalo

A stones throw away from the plaza of La Villa de Arevalo is an ancestral house where one can find not only good pasalubong items but also a look into the past of the district. Known as the Sinamay House , this well preserved ancestral house is an attraction not only in the outside but also what it houses inside. A collection of what the past like is housed in the two storey edifice which also acts like a museum of sorts. Sinamay is simply known as abaca by most and, here, a variety of products made from this fiber can be found. I remember watching a feature on tv wherein the owner proudly showed a framed letter signed by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, showing her appreciation of the handkerchief she was given as a gift coming from this very shop. But the attraction I am most familiar with are the chewies and crunchies made by Mama's Kitchen. Attractively packed in boxes showing their current flavours and variety, this is among the better...

An American Adventure Buffet at Days Hotel Iloilo

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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 por...

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Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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