Raiding the fridge at midnight

It might be the rains, but lately I have been sneaking into the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning, when all else is quiet. Sometimes I wake up Richard or my brother Matt; and if it is a weekend and she will not have to be up early the following day, for sure Juliana will also jump right in. We will peek into the fridge, wanting and waiting to be surprised and/or challenged by what we will find. We rummage through cubes and cylinders of containers and take what we want. Richard will most likely pick vegetable and fruit, or eat chocolate spread from a bottle. Juliana will get milk or ice cream. For my part, if I am not enticed by anything leftover, my default is always bottled tuyo, daing flakes, or dulong and salted egg — no cooking or heating required at all, I just put them on top of cold rice and eat them from my favorite little colorful bowl. If I like to really heighten the experience I cap it off with a little glass of iced Royal Tru Orange and am happy as can be.

I have come across other such delicious food over the past few weeks and here I am sharing some of them with you:

• Miel a la Truffe D’Et and Finn Crispbread

Every now and then over the years I would get Finn Crispbread in a gift basket and I was never particularly fond of it because 1) they tasted bland and 2) they reminded me of compressed sawdust and/or plywood. My “aha” moment came by way of an all-girls’ dinner pigout in my friend Julie’s house where she served porchetta that we ate in a wrap with some yummy sauce, pasta with freshly-made pomodoro sauce, bagel chips we ate with cheese pimiento among many other such delightful treats. But one of if not the star of the night for me was Finn Crispbread (yes, the very same one I had snubbed for years!) that we slathered with truffle honey, and ate with cheese on the side. I only take honey in two ways: first, drizzled over a banana, something I learned from my dad; and secondly to sweeten calamansi juice. But this truffle honey is love. And I enjoyed it so much on those crackers that the following day I sent someone to Santi’s to get my own stash. It is my favorite snack of late, the plywood crackers in all their unassuming plainness a perfect foil to the golden sweetness of the honey.

• Connie’s Kitchen Pinoy Caviar

I’ve always enjoyed tasting the sea in caviar and I can eat it on its own or in the form of a layered pie, with the usual eggs, onions, cream cheese. If before I only knew of the one by Carmel, which I love to this day still, I have added the version from Connie’s Kitchen to my list of favorites. This one is the color of red velvet and it looks really pretty on crackers. I have yet to try it with Finn Crispbread although I can already imagine how perfect it will be. Thus far, I’ve tried Connie’s Kitchen Pinoy Caviar with the ever reliable Skyflakes and it is delicious, especially with a little lemon squeezed on it. 

• Ghirardeli Choco Chip Cookies with Pink Himalayan Salt

I have never met a chocolate chip cookie I did not like and this one from Aleth’s Kitchen is a keeper. First, the cookies are perfect, and huge, too. I love the way the sweetness is chased by that little hint of salt, and the only downside is, because it is not cloying, you’ll not stop till you finish the whole cookie! Hello, hips! But it is worth it. On a day when you stay home just lounging in your pajamas you should have some of these —warmed very quickly in the oven and eaten with full cream milk or café latte, this treat feels like a gift for every lazy day.

For orders, call 851-0204 or 851-0180 or 0917-5291055.

• Roshan’s Lemon Torte

I’ve loved Roshan through the years in at least a dozen ways —her Ginger Biscotti, Food for the Gods, Surprise Choco Cupcakes, plus her many different kinds of cookies and brownies among others. Somehow, though, I had always looked past her Lemon Torte cake. Yes, I would see it on her list of products but it never really called to me. It was either just never top of mind or being a creature of habit I stuck to my favorites each time I placed an order.

One day my cousin Tesa came to the house, a box of Roshan’s gorgeous Lemon Torte with her. We had that with coffee and stories and I’ve been a fan ever since. In a dessert table where the usual suspects are present, Roshan’s Lemon Torte will definitely be a happy and very welcome addition.

Call Roshan at 0917-08336286.

• Wildflour

I’ve heard so much about Wildflour over the months but somehow every time I planned to go there something would come up that would result in my not being able to push through — until sometime last week, on my way home from work, when I got a text message from Ben asking if I was free to join him and a few other friends for dinner. I jumped at the chance.  Finally. I loved the interiors, the way the menu is laid out and the font used, the choices, the ambience. It does feel very New York. Over and above that, I thought the food was great. The parmesan churros was exceptional, the delicious pork chops were served very thick but very tender and juicy, like it was really lovingly prepared and cooked, and for dessert I chose something that had tres leches in the name. Oh, it was wonderful, just wonderful, from start to finish and I cannot wait to go back.