MILLIE: Our Christmas Eve dinner did not quite turn out the way Karla and I envisioned it to be. We were overruled by my siblings, who wanted our traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings and roast beef. But that’s getting ahead of the story.
Instead, we had an advance noche buena celebration, which we shared with Aling Flora Estrella, her family and Ricky Reyes. We opened our home to Aling Flora, a 76-year-old granny who lives in a kariton somewhere in Quezon City, selling cigarettes and newspapers for a living. She originally hails from Capiz but has not been back to see her family. Ricky was so enthralled by her story that he brought her goodies and is arranging for her to revisit her hometown. Together, we shared a sumptuous meal of what we had originally planned to serve my siblings consisting of Bonoan bangus, whole chicken relleno, beef mechado and The Plaza Premium Baked Ham.
KARLA: The experience was enthralling. I have been a part of several outreach and feeding programs in the past, but to see the reactions of Aling Flora and her family was quite different. When we asked them to join us at the dinner table, it was as if they didn’t know what to do and where to start. They were so overwhelmed by the whole situation — more stunned, in fact — but could not help but smile. Their eyes widened as they saw the Christmas spread we had prepared. Although they seemed to be enjoying the food, they didn’t seem to eat much. When I asked them if they wanted more rice, they all said that they were already full. At first I thought they were just shy until I realized that they really weren’t used to having that much food at all. The smallest member of their family, Jonathan, ate with so much gusto. He had a ham sandwich with our jumbo pan de sal and took his biggest bite but halfway through, he said he was already full. This kid was actually a nine-year-old but looked like he was a five- or six-year-old. Before leaving the dining table, he went around to collect the Krackel chocolates we used as napkin rings. So I took note of this and as we were saying goodbye, I gave him another handful of chocolates. He smiled and thanked me and tried very hard to stuff it in his jeans pockets, which were all full of chocolates.
MILLIE: As it happened, our noche buena menu completely changed. My dear friend Vicky Choi of ESV International Corporation gifted me with a huge Butterball turkey and the family unanimously voted to have this instead for our Christmas Eve dinner. We served the turkey with jellied cranberry and a stuffing made with apples, prunes and chestnuts. My sister Marijo also wanted The Plaza’s smoked tanguingue and roast Angus corned beef with horseradish sauce. Because we have three vegetarians in the family, Karla prepared a mesclun salad with balsamic vinaigrette and my aunt Ning Reyes also sent her signature salad dressing called Fusion, which we shared with the family. Karla also made a yummy pasta with shiitake mushrooms and truffle oil. We had an assortment of cheeses, mostly gifts from friends, including native kesong puti, Gruyere from Switzerland sent by my friend Susan Bertschy, cougar cheese from Washington state, USA, from my cousin Pol Chavez, string cheese from Syria from my foodie friend Ditas Intengan, who also sent some carabao milk cheddar cheese, and pastillas cubes I couldn’t help popping into my mouth!
For dessert, Karla baked two family-favorite cakes, Brunn butter cake and prune cake, which are hand-me-down recipes from my mom’s sister, Ching Albano Mendoza. I remember teaching Karla how to bake these two treasures when she was only four years old. Every time we go to LA, my cousin Pol Chavez asks us to bring these two cakes and he would hoard it in a personal ref and would have a bit every day. On one trip, Karla bought a Kitchen-Aid mixer and taught Pol, his sister Gigi and her kids Carlo, DanDan and Cammy how to bake it so they woulnd’t have to wait for Karla’s next visit to have a taste of their favorite homemade cakes.
Talk about homemade goodies, my sister Dorcie also shared some melt-in-your-mouth special ensaimadas from the famous Cunanan home in Valle Verde.
KARLA: Back when I was in high school, I was part of this club called PMM, or Poveda Music Ministry. We used to sing for the community masses in the school, sometimes at the EDSA Shrine and when Christmas was approaching, we would go caroling. A certain song titled The Work of Christmas was one of my favorite songs. It would always bring me chills or tears every time we would perform it. As Christmastime nears and all these outreach activities take place, it reminds me that every day is Christmas if you’re Christ-centered. There is an opportunity to do something good every day, make someone happy or empower the troubled. Sometimes, the smallest actions or the simplest words can change someone. This year, I’m thankful for having reconnected with a group I was part of in high school. We call ourselves Dekada. My good friends Gisa Paredes, Pinky Nepomuceno, Fatima Potenciano, Cess Cuartero, Pia Ugarte, Raissa Soyangco, Hanna Sollano, Reggie Aquino and Maricris Pena constantly remind me that miracles happen every day; all we have to do is open our eyes. They have been such blessings throughout the year. I am thankful for having several support groups who genuinely care for me and grace me with good vibes and prayers to equip me to get through a long and heavy day. There is definitely something to be thankful for every day.
Christmas is a time for sharing, and as we open our hearts to the less fortunate and the needy, let us remember that we can make it Christmas every day.
The work of Christmas
When the song of angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flock
The work of Christmas begins
To find the lost, to heal the broken
To feed the hungry, free the prisoners
To rebuild nations
To bring peace among brothers
To make music in our hearts.
—Howard Thurman
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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.