Two cookbooks, two letters

Over the past few days, two new cookbooks were delivered to us and we received two messages from readers. We thank them all. Feedback from readers always helps us improve our craft.

Mama Sita’s latest cookbook, “Lutong Bahay,” is completely in Filipino. This brings us back to the late Milagros Enriquez from Bulacan who, some years back, wrote a cookbook in Tagalog, but unfortunately did not manage to circulate it as widely as this one. This is an ideal guide for homemakers and household help who are new to the kitchen, as it contains not only recipes, but also helpful tips and a glossary of terms. The book has easy to follow step-by-step photos in full color. A few dishes are inspired by regional cuisine, but mostly the collection is culled from more than 35 years of Reyes cooking. Look this book up and try the paella Filipina which uses caldereta mix and atsuete and Oriental beef stir-fry using the chopsuey/pancit canton mix. In our kitchen, when we don’t have time to cook from scratch, Mama Sita’s mixes have served us very well.

With an attractive hard cover in tomato red, Rustan’s 2009 World Recipes Planner showcases outstanding foreign and Filipino chefs. Featuring a different chef and country each month, the homemaker can leaf through its pages and decide to cook Filipino, Greek, Austrian, Spanish, Meditteranean, or French. Each recipe has useful tips on cooking techniques and ingredients.

Le Gourmet’s Chef Divina introduces February with a cheese souffle. US-trained Robby has a moussaka from Greece, infused with the creamy flavor and texture of milk. Chef Karl from Austria contributes the chunky meat and vegetable soup. Italy, of course, is represented by pasta dishes concocted by Chef Massimo, such as tagliatelle pasta with duck ragout. Our friend J. Gamboa, who has led award-winning teams in international cooking competitions, took care of the Spanish month of October – mushroom paella and bechamel croquettes with jamon serrano. December is Filipino month, assigned to the innovative Ed Quimson. We intend to try his laing spring rolls and tinola paella.

Some of the usual tips are – do not open oven while the souffle is cooking; always buy live mussels, the smaller ones are softer; paprika should be evenly and finely ground, with shiny uniform color; when buying saffron, the redder it is, the higher the quality; and it is a grave offense to serve paella on a plate instead of on a paellera. Get one now lest Ed be disappointed.

Our reader from Tanauan, Gemmo, who loves to cook, called our attention to the proper name of the boiled vegetables which we featured in a past column. It is bulanglang and not langlang. Our innocent mistake (because we had bulalang all along in our mind), sorry. He added that ayungin can still be found in the town’s wet market and biya breeds in Talim Island, Binangonan side. We will have to check that out some day.

Another reader, Menchie, hails from Biñan but now resides in Sta. Rosa. She expressed pleasure at the cleaner public market, recalling the days when she and her mother would wade through mud and water. Her mother is lucky, because to this day, there is a peddler who brings ayungin to her – at P200 a kilo, though. She says this fish can be eaten with scrambled eggs (that’s new to us), dipped in patis with chili.

We went to Dampa on Macapagal Avenue a few days ago. As soon as we parked, Zeny, a seafood vendor waved us over. Another lady, Mila of Aling Tonya’s Paluto, stuck to us, escorting us to where the lapu-lapu, which we have avoided for some time because of its price of more than P500 a kilo, was available at only P280. They were both rather charming, nothing like the hard-selling vendors. We were happy with what we got from Zeny – crabs for P300 a kilo and prawns at P400. From Kat and Klang,we took a kilo of lapu-lapu. We were unhappy that the mussels we got were a mix of old catch and new, thus they were very near spoiled. We must pay more attention when buying next time. Likewise, be sure you cook crabs immediately. The shrimps will keep if submerged in water and stored in the freezer.

Big and sweet mangoes were selling at P90 a kilo. Mangosteen has not gotten cheaper at P300 a kilo. Caimito, mostly the green variety, was P100.

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