A journal of good food from Mama Sita

MANILA, Philippines - Mama Sita is known for creating recipes and reinventing old, traditional treats into new, exciting culinary delights. In fact, it was her passion for Filipino food that brought forth the now-famous brand of sauces, condiments and ready mixes that bears her name. But the inspiration that fueled her imagination to come up with delectable local fare is her love for travel.

She recorded her journeys — and the things that she learned from the people she met, the food and other edible delights that captured her fancy, and the valuable lessons she gleaned from the experiences of others she met along the way — on her personal journal.

Written in longhand and filled with amusing anecdotes, a wealth of recipes, useful tips and vivid descriptions of places and people, Mama Sita’s journal reflects a woman’s remarkable metamorphosis from daughter to mother to culinary artist. Her personal recipes are shared through an engaging cookbook-cum-journal Mama Sita’s Homestyle Recipes.

Mama Sita’s Homestyle Recipes contains a hearty selection of traditional and contemporary Filipino dishes made easy for the home cook, the cooking enthusiast, and the novice who wish to experience the wonder of learning and cooking flavorful Filipino recipes. The book includes traditional dishes as well as contemporary creations, vegetarian cooking, and healthy but tasty dishes such as low-fat and oil-free concoctions.

Mama Sita’s first cookbook was launched over 16 years ago at Chateau 1771 in Malate. The new Mama Sita’s Homestyle Recipes follows up on the success of the first publication and presents a more interesting read. The compilation gathers a selection of photos and illustrations of ingredients and dishes, as well as step-by-step procedures. First-time cooks will find a useful tool in the book’s index of ingredients, which identifies the names of ingredients, spices, noodles, greens, and fish varieties.

Through the countless recipes and valuable cooking tips, the reader will get a glimpse of the woman whose love for food, cooking and marketing was as infectious as her love for life and her concern for the common folk. Having come from a family whose love for food and cooking was legendary (Mama Sita is the eldest daughter of Doña Engracia “Aling Asiang” Reyes, regarded as the “grand dame of Philippine cooking”), Mama Sita expressed her love for people through her homestyle cooking.

Mama Sita’s Homestyle Recipes is now available in all National Bookstore outlets nationwide. For inquiries, e-mail info@msita.com or call 643-8776