Maribel Lopez, the healthy gardener, cooks what she grows
November 13, 2003 | 12:00am
Maria Isabel Lopez is one engaging conversationalist. She is best remembered for winning the Binibining Pilipinas-Universe crown in the ’80s. Then she went on to pursue a career in show business and became one of the faces (and bodies) to contend with in the industry.
She fondly remembers Working Girls, a movie by Ishmael Bernal, and counts Isla as her most memorable film. It was shown at the Manila Film Center as one of the projects of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines during the Marcos’ years.
Being a mother of a 12-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son has made her choosy about the movie offers that come her way.
"My last film was with Lito Lapid in Lapu Lapu for last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. I get offers, but if it is not wholesome, I do not accept it," she declares. "I want to be more responsible now since I have growing kids. Now, I can choose my roles and am not at the mercy of the producers."
Aside from being blessed with good looks, she has a good head on her shoulders. She was a college scholar in the University of the Philippines, that required her to maintain a quarterly average grade of 1.5 to 1.25. After university, she worked as assistant designer for Rustan’s Young VIP, a line catering to young children or pre-teenagers. Following her Rustan’s stint, she became a member of the board of designers in SM, together with the likes of Lulu Tan Gan, Cesar Gaupo, and Bubum Melgar.
She paints, sketches, draws and surfs! You heard that right – she does surf. She and her Japanese husband run a retail store that sells surfing stuff. They established the first surfing school in the country, the Yokohama Surfing School. Matinee idol Jericho Rosales is a student in their school. The couple also organized the Siargao International Surfing Cup twice, when international surfers traveled to the Philippines to participate in a surfing competition.
She has maintained her youthful looks and slim body because of her interest in sports and because of her approach to life. She is working on living a simpler life. For her, all the other things are only annexes of life.
She counts her family and her spirituality as the most important aspects of her being. "I am working on having simpler wants, simpler joys and simpler pleasures, " she says.
Talking about food, which sustains our body and gives us energy, she sees to it that she cooks for health and fitness. In fact, she always tells her kids to eat healthy foods and avoid American fat-laden fast foods.
Living in Japan and marrying a Japanese helped in improving her outlook in life. The longevity of the Japanese people may be attributed to their consumption of healthy food, especially sashimi. She learned to cook by asking people to teach her and by reading English-language Japanese cookbooks when she was living in Japan. The first dish she learned to prepare was san ma or grilled mackerel. Next came gyudon, sukiyaki, yakiniku, sushi and temaki. Aside from being well versed in Japanese cooking, she can also cook Thai and Vietnamese dishes.
More than the joy of cooking, she has discovered the joy of raising herbs and spices. In her house, she has a wide variety of herbs growing in her small garden. She has two kinds of mint, spearmint and peppermint. She also keeps a spearmint plant in her room. She grows siling labuyo, the leaves of which she uses for tinola and the sili obviously to spice up her dishes and sauces. She also grows Vietnamese coriander, which is a good substitute for wansuy, since this herb is seasonal.
A very important ingredient in Thai cooking is the kaffir lime, which Maribel also grows. It is used for the famous tom yam goong soup and Thai curries. She also grows three types of basil, Thai red basil, Italian sweet basil, which she uses for seafood, and lemon basil, which has an aromatic smell, for her salads. Another popular herb is tarragon, which she uses to flavor salmon dishes. She has two kinds of oregano, the Greek and the Italian variety. The Italian oregano is used in pizzas, among other dishes. Last but not the least, she also has rosemary and lemongrass.
Aside from herbs, she also grows calamansi, eggplants, Chinese kangkong and Chinese cabbage. She does not use chemical but only organic fertilizer for the six-hectare forest she cultivates in Laguna, near UP Los Banos. So, when she showed us her garden, which is her pride and joy, one dandy afternoon, she made us some healthy seafood pasta, bruschetta and thirst-quenching lemongrass iced tea. It was simple, healthy and pure bliss. Try them at home.
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
I cup shrimp
1-1/2 cup clams
1-1/2 cup mussels
1/2 cup scallops
2-3 cups of angel hair pasta or fettuccine
Heat oil. Add garlic and sauté. Add the seafood. Add all remaining ingredients. Toss in drained cooked pasta. Arrange in a serving bowl or plate. Top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with basil leaves.
4 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
capers (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
French baguette
Mix all ingredients together. Serve on top of the French bread.
1 pound lemongrass stalks
3 bags black or Darjeeling tea
1/2 cup brown sugar, or 1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice
Boil lemongrass stalks in 200 ml. hot water Add tea bags. Drain. Serve with ice and garnish with lemon slices.
Send feedback and suggestions to leisure_unlimited@yahoo.com.
She fondly remembers Working Girls, a movie by Ishmael Bernal, and counts Isla as her most memorable film. It was shown at the Manila Film Center as one of the projects of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines during the Marcos’ years.
Being a mother of a 12-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son has made her choosy about the movie offers that come her way.
"My last film was with Lito Lapid in Lapu Lapu for last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. I get offers, but if it is not wholesome, I do not accept it," she declares. "I want to be more responsible now since I have growing kids. Now, I can choose my roles and am not at the mercy of the producers."
Aside from being blessed with good looks, she has a good head on her shoulders. She was a college scholar in the University of the Philippines, that required her to maintain a quarterly average grade of 1.5 to 1.25. After university, she worked as assistant designer for Rustan’s Young VIP, a line catering to young children or pre-teenagers. Following her Rustan’s stint, she became a member of the board of designers in SM, together with the likes of Lulu Tan Gan, Cesar Gaupo, and Bubum Melgar.
She paints, sketches, draws and surfs! You heard that right – she does surf. She and her Japanese husband run a retail store that sells surfing stuff. They established the first surfing school in the country, the Yokohama Surfing School. Matinee idol Jericho Rosales is a student in their school. The couple also organized the Siargao International Surfing Cup twice, when international surfers traveled to the Philippines to participate in a surfing competition.
She has maintained her youthful looks and slim body because of her interest in sports and because of her approach to life. She is working on living a simpler life. For her, all the other things are only annexes of life.
She counts her family and her spirituality as the most important aspects of her being. "I am working on having simpler wants, simpler joys and simpler pleasures, " she says.
Talking about food, which sustains our body and gives us energy, she sees to it that she cooks for health and fitness. In fact, she always tells her kids to eat healthy foods and avoid American fat-laden fast foods.
Living in Japan and marrying a Japanese helped in improving her outlook in life. The longevity of the Japanese people may be attributed to their consumption of healthy food, especially sashimi. She learned to cook by asking people to teach her and by reading English-language Japanese cookbooks when she was living in Japan. The first dish she learned to prepare was san ma or grilled mackerel. Next came gyudon, sukiyaki, yakiniku, sushi and temaki. Aside from being well versed in Japanese cooking, she can also cook Thai and Vietnamese dishes.
More than the joy of cooking, she has discovered the joy of raising herbs and spices. In her house, she has a wide variety of herbs growing in her small garden. She has two kinds of mint, spearmint and peppermint. She also keeps a spearmint plant in her room. She grows siling labuyo, the leaves of which she uses for tinola and the sili obviously to spice up her dishes and sauces. She also grows Vietnamese coriander, which is a good substitute for wansuy, since this herb is seasonal.
A very important ingredient in Thai cooking is the kaffir lime, which Maribel also grows. It is used for the famous tom yam goong soup and Thai curries. She also grows three types of basil, Thai red basil, Italian sweet basil, which she uses for seafood, and lemon basil, which has an aromatic smell, for her salads. Another popular herb is tarragon, which she uses to flavor salmon dishes. She has two kinds of oregano, the Greek and the Italian variety. The Italian oregano is used in pizzas, among other dishes. Last but not the least, she also has rosemary and lemongrass.
Aside from herbs, she also grows calamansi, eggplants, Chinese kangkong and Chinese cabbage. She does not use chemical but only organic fertilizer for the six-hectare forest she cultivates in Laguna, near UP Los Banos. So, when she showed us her garden, which is her pride and joy, one dandy afternoon, she made us some healthy seafood pasta, bruschetta and thirst-quenching lemongrass iced tea. It was simple, healthy and pure bliss. Try them at home.
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
I cup shrimp
1-1/2 cup clams
1-1/2 cup mussels
1/2 cup scallops
2-3 cups of angel hair pasta or fettuccine
Heat oil. Add garlic and sauté. Add the seafood. Add all remaining ingredients. Toss in drained cooked pasta. Arrange in a serving bowl or plate. Top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with basil leaves.
1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
capers (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
French baguette
Mix all ingredients together. Serve on top of the French bread.
3 bags black or Darjeeling tea
1/2 cup brown sugar, or 1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice
Boil lemongrass stalks in 200 ml. hot water Add tea bags. Drain. Serve with ice and garnish with lemon slices.
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