Christmas bread project

I like panettone! Don’t you? Whether fruit- or chocolate-studded, this sumptuous Italian Christmas bread never fails to satisfy my taste buds. But like any other bread that I come to like and keep coming back to as long as it is in abundance, I often find myself experimenting in the kitchen after a while for a homemade version. 

Simple pleasures of patis

A good friend brought us patis (fish/anchovy sauce) last week all the way from the US and since then, I’ve been enjoying all the simple pleasures of having it on the dinner table.

There’s no patis in this part of Brazil so I haven’t tasted this salty condiment for a long time. At times in my desperation and uncontrolled cravings, I had considered the crazy and brave thought of making my own. How desperate is that?

Puxa-puxa brings back the old times

Isn’t it amazing how a foreign food can be exactly the same as the one you have enjoyed at home long time ago? The moment I took a bite of the puxa-puxa, I told myself that indeed, this world isn’t at all too big.

Puxa-puxa is a sweet made from sugarcane. As the name suggests (puxa literally means “pull”), one has to bite one end and pull the rest of it away from the mouth to tear it apart and eat it. When it’s freshly made, it has the consistency and texture of melted mozzarella cheese.

In the Philippines, specifically in my home province, puxa-puxa is called “kalti”. My earliest memory of kalti took place in my grandfather’s farm where he had a traditional sugarcane mill. The mill had a long wood attachment and the tip was tied at the back of his carabao.  The poor carabao would then walk in circles like a planet rotating around the sun, as the sugarcane was fed into the mill. The juice from the sugarcane was pressed then cooked until it produced the kalti.

Now with the puxa-puxa, I can enjoy once again a good old favorite and let my heart delight on the memory of a family tradition. Thanks to my dear Brazilian friend who made me try one and gave me some more to take home.

Brazilian and Filipino breakfasts

A week ago, a Brazilian friend asked me what a typical Filipino breakfast is like. She was surprised to know that Filipinos eat rice for breakfast.

A typical Filipino breakfast is composed of garlic fried rice known locally as sinangag, sunny-side up eggs, and one or several of the following: longganisa (garlic pork sausage), beef tapa (cured beef), tocino (cured pork), tapang bangus (cured milkfish), tinapa (smoked fish), daing (dried fish), sardines, hotdogs, or tortang talong (eggplant omelette). In all this, a sawsawan (sauce) – made from a variety of choices such as vinegar, fish sauce or paste, tomatoes, soy sauce, calamansi (Philippine lemon), ketchup, or their numerous and almost unimaginable combinations, with or without chili – is a must.

Sweet treats at the Fenadoce

We got these delightful treats from one of the numerous stalls at the Fenadoce, which we visited last weekend.

I enjoyed the one covered with ground nuts the most because the bland nutty taste provided a perfect complement to the creaminess and sweetness of the mound it covered. My husband and daughter preferred the one with shredded coconuts. These goodies were really appetizing but too sweet for us to gobble in one sitting. I finished my nut-covered treat in three days, with just a bite or two after a meal!

On that very cold and windy day, we managed to get through the traffic, find a good parking space, and squeeze ourselves through the dense, animated crowd. It was a relief to have finally made it to the exhibition hall and a huge achievement to buy a box of sweets to take home.

Rediscovering beans

Living in Brazil where most people, if not all, eat beans every day has reintroduced me to this old favorite comfort food. 

The Brazilian way of preparing this food they call feijao, however, is totally different from the one I grew up with and eating them takes me to another road of experience that leads, anyway, to an old destination. 

Spices & herbs I use

When it comes to cooking, there are two things I love to use, and sometimes, hoard – spices and herbs. Almost half of my tiny pantry is occupied by these useful gifts of nature and even if I’m not cooking, I love opening my pantry just to smell them. I guess, it has already become a habit.

I like the Indian spices just as much as I love curries, the milder versions though. I guess I’m lucky to find a spice store nearby. In this place where, as I was told, not many people like curries, finding that kind of store comes almost like a surprise.

Here’s a list of the spices and herbs I commonly use in my dishes:

Turmeric – I love the way it brightens the color of any curry dish, from chicken to lentils. The color makes the dishes even more appetizing. I also want to combine this with yoghurt, salt, and lemon juice to make a marinade for chicken fillets.

Cumin – This spice has the biggest container in my pantry because I use it more often than the others. This is a must in my chili con carne, tacos, and of course, curries.

Cumin is also a great addition to meatballs. Inihaw na pusit (grilled squid) can become extraordinary by filling it with chopped tomatoes and onion with a dash of cumin and few drops of sesame oil. Yummy!

There’s nothing like pan de sal

Of the many breads I have tried, pan de sal still tops my list.  My heart goes for this simple but great tasting Filipino bread maybe because it’s something I grew up with, or maybe I just miss home and having a bite or two satisfies a spot that can only be filled by anything “Filipino”.

In this part of the globe where the word “Asian” means, more or less, “Japanese” and where I have seen only two Filipinos so far (one already went back to the Philippines), there’s practically no choice for a pan de sal lover like me but to make one at home. 

I started taking the pan de sal challenge last week and since then, our mornings have never been the same again.  It has become a breakfast and merienda staple and I think it’s going to be a must-do item to squeeze into my daily routine. 

I found the recipe here and made some changes to suit my taste.  I used whole instead of evaporated milk, doubled the amount of salt, and added more flour.  It’s very easy to make and my pan de sal always comes out soft and fluffy, and the smell is heavenly!

Later, I will experiment on the recipe and perhaps, add a filling.  But as it is, I’m more than satisfied and so are my husband and daughter.

Mmm…chocolate muffins!

These chocolate muffins came out really good and it satisfied our cravings!  To suit my taste, I made some modifications.  I used sweetened cocoa powder instead of unsweetened, reduced the amount of sugar from 1 1/4 c to 3/4 and the amount of chocolate chips from 1 c to 1/2 chocolate ‘chunks’, and totally omitted the nuts. 

Instead of folding in the chocolate ‘chunks’, I poked them on top of the unbaked muffins.  I filled a little more than 2/3 of each muffin cup with the batter so that they will look more puffed.

Are you craving now? Check out the recipe here.

Recipe for sweet rolls

Here’s a recipe I got from the Recipe Zaar website. I used it the other day to make cinnamon rolls and reserved half of it to make plain rolls.

Top it with margarine, sugar, and grated cheese and turn these plain rolls into ensaymada, a popular sweet bread in the Philippines.

Try it and treat yourself and your family with these soft and yummy delights!