Suddenly fiestas all around...

...and food fairs pa! April and May are fiesta months. In years past celebration meals were confined to private homes, where families and visiting relatives and friends enjoyed each other’s company as they went about the delightful epicurean thrills of lechon, paella, leche flan, etc. Suddenly, entire municipalities realized the potential of promoting their festivities with food fairs and so we had Kesong Puti in Sta. Cruz, Amadeo Coffee in Cavite, kakanins of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, tilapia of Bacolod and bangus Bunoan of Pangasinan. Good, but they all happen almost at the same time. Now that we have an administration with the penchant for movable holidays, maybe the tourism department can organize a calendar of fiestas, spread throughout the year, to give people the chance to plan their own itineraries and attend these colorful and interesting events.

Speaking of bangus, we chanced upon this grand lady whose family sells Bunoan bangus in various outlets in Metro Manila, including the BF wet market in Parañaque. She is apparently a food innovator and we are sharing with you one of the tips she generously gave us. Try using smoked bangus (tinapa) for sinigang; she guarantees a delightful taste and unique texture, which undoubtedly will be relished by all.

Here are some of the things we put into our basket last week. From SM Hypermart on Sucat, we found the Arcor brand (from Argentina) of salsas at P27.25 for a tin of 100 gms. We got the tomato-based Pommarola and the herbed Neapolitana. Each is good for at least 100 gms of noodles.

From Rustan’s Supermarket in Makati, we could not resist trying items from their Food-to-go counter. And we do not regret it–their selection of dishes has that truly home-cooked taste. Try beef mechado, pata tim (P230 per), chicken gallantina (P190) and paella (P90). They look like gourmet offerings, attractively packaged in high grade plastic, with garnishing of vegetables. Each is good for at least four people. In the same store, a friend talked us into buying what she called very good chichiria–the Terra potpourri of exotic vegetables from the US, including Yukon potato, sweet potato, red beets and taro chips. Indeed they are delicious.

Over at Unimart in Greenhills, an accidental visit (because we needed some celery, parsley and bay leaves for the dishes we were demonstrating during one of our cooking lessons), we were overjoyed to find a lot of the much desired spices (Spice Time brand from Bayonne, New Jersey, a place we remember for a super delicious cheese cake), including the rare fennel seeds, lemon-pepper and Italian seasonings. They cost P76.50 each.

From the Duty Free shop near the NAIA where the main attraction remains the supermarket, we picked up the following–a pack of six Hereford Corned Beef, which includes one with spicy hot peppers, for P305, the 15-roll Member’s Mark 2-ply paper towels for P825.75 and the three-in-one Mr. Yoshida’s fine sauces, produced by a division of H. J. Heinz Co. in Pittsburgh, for P510. The trio consists of Cracked Pepper and Garlic, Original Gourmet and Ginger Garlic Teriyaki. At the back of the carton are recipes for grilling, stove top cooking and oven baking of meat, seafood and vegetables.

Actually, prepared sauces are convenient for those who do not want to go through the hassle of chopping and mixing ingredients. But if one would look at his/her cupboard, an imaginative cook can always come up with marinades, combining a few drops of worcestershire sauce, a bit of wine, onions, garlic, lemon, calamansi and ginger. Note that while marinades give much flavor to food, the acid of the elements used penetrates meat fibers that help tenderize it. Cooked marinades must be cooled before immersing any meat or seafood. Marinated food must be put in the refrigerator for at least six hours or overnight. Longer than 24 hours, you get meat that is a bit mushy. Happy marinating!

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Lydia D. Castillo’s e-mail address: [email protected]