Arctic Flavors — No comments
14
Feb 11

Kissed by A Rose


The word Valentine conjures up images of chocolates, flowers, candlelit dinners and a deluge of red as though the love mountain of Eros erupted to scatter crimson hearts for him to pierce his arrows through.

Well… at least that’s how people in my country respond to the occasion. The confectioneries here take center stage during the month of February. The florists bring out their prized blooms. The restos whip up unforgettable meals. Heck, even houses of ill repute come alive with amazing ‘afternoon delight’ deals (think extended lunch break with bubbly, strawberries and your choice of skin flick)!

Now if open displays of affection come naturally to you, there really is no need to ‘celebrate’ St. Valentine’s Day. Like I come from a family of born huggers and kissers. PDA’s are as commonplace as eating to nourish yourself. But we decided to hop on the bandwagon anyway and come together for special dinner. Ok, it may not really be about making known how much we care about each other. More like unabashedly showing off our love… for food!

Pork liver crostini, grilled rib eye steak, short ribs in black pepper sauce, grilled salmon with lemon and dill, arugula and mixed greens with honey-kalamansi dressing. Sounds like a substantial meal already. Na-uh! There’s still dessert… which I am in charge of.

In honor of the love god himself whose name happens to be an anagram of the most popular flower during Valentine’s, I dove into my Middle Eastern and Indian pantries to put together a rosewater kulfi. Cool and luxurious, heady with the scent of roses, it’s the perfect last course to arrest that ravenous appetite. If my peeps find it cloyingly sweet, I’ve prepared a bottle of good crisp French rosé to refresh the palate with.

Hey Eros! We invite you to join us tonight. There aren’t any hearts for you to aim your arrows at but you are more than welcome to take a stab at the rib eye on the grill. Literally.

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Favorite Finds / Messages — 2 comments
6
Oct 10

Celebrating My Non-Existent Ethiopian Roots


What’s the most bizarre thing you’ve heard described about you? Is it that you’re the spitting image of a famous Hollywood celebrity? Or you smell like raw mushrooms after an hour on the treadmill? Or perhaps you sound like a hyena when you laugh?

Mine, I got when I was abroad. Entering an internet cafe in Dubai sporting a red headscarf and large silver hoops, the attendant happily asked me if I was from Ethiopia, her home country. To be honest, I had to steal a glance at my reflection on the mirror behind her before politely answering, ‘No, I’m Filipina.”

Then it happened again… on three separate occasions! I was being mistaken for an Ethiopian lady by no less than Ethiopians themselves. So I decided to make it my source of amusement. Every time I was out meeting new people who couldn’t divine where I’m from, I played this guessing game with them. Surprisingly, very few would get it right. Probably because I sound slightly American to non-Filipino ears. For those who’d finally give up, I’d then do the ‘shocking reveal,’ declaring that I’m a native of Addis Ababa. Ha! The look on their faces! As it turned out, no one I met there knew much about this predominantly Christian country in Africa (except perhaps that it’s the home of Haile Gebrselassie because he ran and won the Dubai Marathon) that whatever factoids I dished out about ‘my grandparents’ village and the state of economy back there’ were accepted without question.

It was my lovely Ethiopian work colleague who told me that I do look like some of the ladies ‘back home’, which of course prompted me to google some images to support this claim. Ok, I didn’t exactly find one that resembled me but that did not stop me from learning more about this Northeast African nation. When she invited me for an authentic Ethiopian lunch, I jumped at the opportunity.

The meal was a hearty one. We ordered different meat stews accompanied by spicy pastes that were all dumped on a basket table lined with injera, a spongy sour flatbread that you tear off with your hands and use as a utensil to pick up your food. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I felt perfectly at home eating with my fingers as many Filipinos are no strangers to this practice.

And no Ethiopian meal is complete without coffee. Usually, a full coffee ceremony is performed but since we were in a small indoor restaurant, I got to witness only the serving bit of the ritual. My friend showed us how they pour (from a great height!) the freshly boiled coffee, letting the stream of piping-hot brew fill tiny white china cups. Being a certified caffeine junkie and a collector of coffee brewers, I openly declared that I’d love to own a jebena, the Ethiopian clay coffee pot that they had in the resto. And being a truly nice person that she is, she gifted me with one, complete with coffee powder that she ground herself.

Today, I’m marking my birth anniversary with Ethiopian java done from scratch! Thank you Ileni for this wonderful present. With practice, I reckon not only will I continue looking Ethiopian, I may even get to serve coffee like one too. With popcorn!

xxx

Karima

Messages — 4 comments
19
Sep 10

Of Tropical Beaches and Fiery Fish Tacos


You’ll have to forgive me if I’m still ranting about the insufferable humidity here. It’s not getting any better. We’re still inside the monsoon season, getting patches of dry heat here and there. It rains most afternoons and unfortunately, I will have to wait a few more months before the raging weather systems quiet down.

The thought of relocating to cooler climes has definitely crossed my mind. But at the mo, it’s nowhere near practical. I’ve exhausted my supply of granita and to be honest, if I so much as put a teaspoonful of these icy shards near my mouth, I swear my teeth will scream, ‘Granita again @#$%^& ???’ Pure murder.

So I’ve decided to do something my dad taught me when I was about 8 years old. Instead of using cold to counter the heat, I’m fighting fire with fire!

Yes, I’m assembling fish tacos with just-bought tilapia fillets, my brother’s spicy mango salsa and sour cream that had been laced with hot sauce. With that much heat, I’m expecting to sweat like mad and imagining my skin beginning to feel cooler as the perspiration evaporates. Got my cold beer in one hand and a buri fan in the other, all that’s lacking right now are huge waves crashing into tropical beaches. And perhaps a few shirtless surfers parading their bangin’ beach bods for my viewing pleasure.

Hmmmm…. I’m beginning to like this sultry weather…

xxx

Karima

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Breakfast Sweets Series — 5 comments
11
Sep 10

Comfort Food Meets Good-to-Go


For many years, vanilla has given me comfort. When I used to work in Dubai, I’d bake a batch of simple, un-iced vanilla cupcakes on Sunday mornings (the week there begins on Sunday), then take them to an office that pretty much devours me the entire day and leaves me for dead. But as soon as I return home, I could still smell the vanilla that had been trapped in my kitchen since my departure that morning. That alone wipes away the stresses of my day. When I’m not baking, I light vanilla candles. I normally don’t run out of them.

It was only early this year that I decided to pick up something new to go with my usual vanilla tealights from Ikea. They were bigger, heavier votives in glass, dark chocolate in color and gave off the sweetest scent of apples that had been cloaked in cinnamon.

I have since moved back to Manila. No Ikea candles here. The closest I can get to replicating that wonderful perfume is by cranking up that oven and making some good ol’ apple pies. Remembering that I seriously dislike doing the dishes, I’m making them strictly hand-held.

So with the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon bubbling away inside the oven, as expected I caught a waft of something decidedly familiar. Oh the memories resurrecting! Cliche as it may sound, I am wrapped in some serious fuzz right now.

xxx

Karima

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Recipes — 6 comments
1
Sep 10

Easy Like a Sunday Morning…Not!


Our Sunday mornings aren’t usually lazy and relaxed. We don’t get to snuggle under the covers until midday like most people do. We consume the entire week preparing for this day – lots of scribbling and bouncing of ideas. Saturdays are reserved for trips to organic markets, local IKEA retailers or landscaping shops.

Food blogging has never been this difficult.

It’s 7 AM and I’m peeling myself off of the bed. The first thing I need to do is open the living room curtains. There’s no sun. Think it’s going to rain again. Darn! The weather has been like this for months now – overcast in the morning, rainy in the afternoon. How can the weather be so uncooperative on the day of our shoot? But it’s early, there is still hope. So let’s crank up the espresso machine and get on with the mise en place.

Today we’re set to shoot a variation of our mom’s corn soup. I remember when we were still little she would cook this soup during a cold rainy day. It was simple, delicious and hearty. There’s nothing like mom’s cooking. You can just feel the love rubbing your back with every slurp… keeping you all warm and fuzzy. But she seldom cooks right now ever since we took over the kitchen and stuffed it with gadgets she can hardly operate.

Enough with the drama and start chopping the onions! After doing all the needed prep work, the pan heats the oil and butter. The pork belly and bacon are thrown in. The first time you hear the pork fat sizzling, it is like listening to Joe Satriani’s fingers gracefully weaving notes with his guitar. Enter garlic and onions. The pungent fragrance released from these aromats tells you there’s magic happening in that hot pan. When the cooking is almost done, my sister Karima prepares the props for the shoot. She irons the table napkins, wipes clean the dishes, sets up the table… you know, very domestic stuff. But she’s my food stylist and art director as I am not that good with composition. The food is ready, the props are laid out and the camera is mounted on the tripod. The shooting begins.

A hundred clicks later, we’re absolutely knackered. We’re excited to post the photos in this blog hoping Tastespotting or Foodgawker will accept our entries. This is a good weekly accomplishment. We’re very happy and we think we deserve a pat on our backs. And the best part of it all? Eating every ounce of that dish we prepared today! That’s happiness. That’s my kind of Sunday mornings.

Jon

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Bacon Wrap Series — 1 comment
27
Aug 10

Delightfully Odd Couple: Naughty Marries Nice


We’ve heard it all before – boy loves girl. Boy is rich (langit); girl is poor (putik). Boy’s mom is a high society monster (impyerno) who promises to ruin girl’s life if she does not leave her son alone. All too familiar? This is a classic recipe in Philippine movies. It has been used countless times already but we never get tired of watching movies with the same plot over and over again. Movie producers are able to rake in millions by making flicks like these! Not only do we love watching beautiful actors weep, scream, walk soaking wet under the pouring rain, we also get that ultimate high when there’s some bitch-slapping every 15 minutes.

In the end, the crying stops. So does the rain. It’s a bright sunny day when boy meets with girl again. The mom looks on from afar flashing her a big disarming smile – the seal of approval. Everything is OK now. Moviegoers can walk out with a glimmer of hope that one day they might just find the John Lloyd Cruz (or Tirso Cruz III, depending on the age bracket) they’ve been looking for.

The principle of opposites has been used in many ways  – yin and yang, beauty and the beast, May-December affair, naughty and nice. In cooking, the same principle can also be applied – sweet and sour, hot and cold, crunchy and smooth. The list goes on. The contrasting qualities of elements introduce an interesting vibe to the whole experience.

In this recipe, I used two ingredients with opposing characteristics – bacon and tofu. Bacon is a salty flavorful thin sheet of cured meat that is generally considered unhealthy because of its high calorie, high saturated fat content. Tofu, on the other hand, is bland but absorbs most of the flavors you mix with it. It is widely accepted as a meat substitute eaten by health buffs (think veggie meat). The combination of the two can be likened to an upscale tokwa’t baboy… which you can certainly serve to your future Mama without fear of being ostracized. Send me a note when you get her nod of approval.

Jon

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Breakfast Sweets Series / Kids in the Kitchen — 3 comments
23
Aug 10

Dunking, Rolling, Deliciously Monkeying Around


Gen-Z’s. The Digital Natives. As expected, most of them are surgically attached to their electronics. iPhone, iTouch, PSP. With these portable friends, they can surf the net, play games, listen to music, take photos, communicate with each other.

You, who were born during the era of black, rotary dial telephones and television sets that came with their own cupboards, cannot comprehend this new breed. You complain that the kids these days don’t anymore go out and enjoy the sun. That they don’t anymore know how to be creative and build things from scratch.

Truth is, you’re old-fashioned and haven’t caught on with technology. And more importantly, you just want to spend a few moments with your children without letting them feel that you’re robbing them of their precious ‘me’ time.

Enter baker’s play dough. What do you know? The idea alone managed to peel my 12-year old off of his Nintendo DS. Mentioned that I invited his fave cousin to join us, he switched from ‘ok, I’ll help you’ to ‘what time are we going to start?.’

It only took us 4 hours from start to finish but in between, it was an uber-fun (albeit messy) affair. The kids kneaded their own dough, cut them into pieces and rolled them into balls. Then came the greasy construction interspersed with the occasional flicks of bacon fat and semi-molten chocolate at each other.

After clearing the table of butter drips and two kids’ faces of meaty slicks and chocolate smears, we admire the towers of bubble rising inside the oven. And noticing their eyes beaming with absolute pride, who says kids these days can’t build anything from scratch? We may have arrived at the age of the Avatar but I’m confident these digital natives will do just fine. Especially with a little help from imaginative Gen-X’ers!

xxx

Karima

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Arctic Flavors — 2 comments
16
Aug 10

Escaping into Marrakech Dreams


Like I mentioned in a previous post, I was going to make mint granita.  Problem was, I couldn’t find mint in the supermarkets.  So I cheated.

Got some Moroccan Mint Tea in the cupboard and I was dying to use the orange blossom water I purchased in Dubai so I figured, “Heck!  Why not?’

All I need now is a gorgeous sunset, a great rooftop dinner setup and a hearty lamb tagine to wolf down… so I can cleanse my palate!

xxx

Karima

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Recipes / The Dark Side — 6 comments
15
Aug 10

Plunging into the Dark


Usually, I like tropical storms. You’re trapped indoors; it’s nice and cool; got an excuse to huddle close to another erm…warm body. Perfect ‘bed weather.’

But not when they come with power outage. Like what happened during Typhoon Basyang that ravaged the country last month. No damn electricity for 20 hours. And it was gloomy and gray with howling winds and sheets of rain that brought misery to a whole new level.

Yet we’ve known this for the longest time. There’s no use hurling curses at our local government for failing yet again to address this perennial problem. I promise you, that power will come back. Just stay calm…and eat chocolates.

Yup, I have taken inspiration from misery and turned it into something positive. Kind of like Erebus, the God of Darkness bringing forth Eros, the God of Love. Hey, if I’m already using candles by mid-morning, might as well extract romance out of the whole thing.

Erebus, please accept my offering. I hope these Nipples of Venus delight you.

xxx

Karima

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Favorite Finds — No comments
9
Aug 10

Wanted: Nearby Kitchenophile Rehab


Most foodies I know are not scared of using their kitchens. They’re not shy about dressing it up either. Invite them inside a home store and I’d bet top dollar they’ll head straight to the kitchen section. Even if they planned on buying bathroom curtains that day, they’ll come home with new pans, casserole dishes, even spatulas that they don’t really need. If there’s a name for this affliction, whatever it is, I’m suffering from it too!

So deciding to take control of it, I sat down one afternoon and made myself a list. I divided it into three categories:

1 Must-Have
2 Lust-After
3 Gotta-Get-These-Coz-They’ll-Soon-Be-Gone-Forever

The ones that you absolutely need in the kitchen fall under the Must-Have’s. Tools like the Microplane zester, the immersion blender, the heavy-duty stand mixer. You’ll use them over and over. If you attach a particular high-end brand to the item even if there’s a cheaper alternative, move that to the middle category.

The second group contains kitchen items that are great to have but not essential for everyday cooking or food preps. Examples are the ice cream maker, Staub cast iron cocottes, copper cookware. I noticed that I tend to put in this list those that I think will prettify my kitchen counter or are pricier cousins of the must-have’s. I figured without help from anyone, it’ll probably take me a while before I finish crossing out all the items here.  Also, I’m aiming to consider buying one from this section only as a reward for getting myself at least five of the essentials.

The last group includes pieces from the first or second category but with restricted availability. The limited edition’s. Since they’re only available for a period of time, you won’t snag them anywhere once the season is over. Like the sauce dishes above.

They belong to the Pistahan Collection at Gourdo’s, one of my favorite kitchen stores here in Manila. They’re made to look like sapin-sapin, the multi-layered, multi-flavored rice sweet native to our shores. The dishes look fabulous on top of a banana leaf-covered buffet table. Definitely cries, ‘Fiesta!’ Today, they take on a different mood atop a charcoal hot mat, since I’m feeling a wee bit like Picasso. I’ll fill them up later with different compound butters.

With a huge grin painted on my face, I reached for the list I’ve made to cross out the sauce dishes. Did the third category really help control my affliction or did it just worsen it?  As it turns out, contrary to my initial assumptions, the Pistahan Collection is a permanent feature in the store so it’s not going away soon.

Hi. My name is Karima and I’m an addict.

xxx

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