The price of the holidays

Now we look back to the past two weeks. All the shops were full, customers were hurriedly picking up gifts and food items. The stores were happy, of course. And the buying public? We needed to adjust our budget to come up with the usual delicious meals for all the family gatherings during the Yuletide season.

Chicken (Magnolia) went up to P122 a kilo. Unfortunately this is the only brand that has the 1.5-kg birds. This is the weight we always require for our embutido stuffed roast chicken, a Private Kitchen specialty which always graces the tables of family and friends. There are cheaper brands, but we have always settled for this one. Ground pork stayed at P158 a kilo at a favorite supermarket.

Chicken liver was tagged at P199, quite a jump from the former P130. Because goose liver costs an arm and a leg, we had to settle for this in making our chicken liver paté. We have not quite succeeded in doing the aspic in its right consistency to top the finished product, but were happy enough to use melted butter instead. No complaints from the recipients about the substitution.

Imported queso de bola was almost beyond reach. We got Che Vital which was much, much cheaper. Our resulting queso de bola supreme was just as good. Sun dried tomatoes are sold at P85 a hundred grams in one deli, where you can scoop them and get as much olive oil (where they are immersed) as you want, and at P100, same weight, in a hypermart. The latter is much drier. We had to ask our second born to bring us a packet of genuine saffron, made in Spain. Quite expensive, a 2 gm little tin cost her more than P1,000. We will have to scrimp on this, so we can make paella at least three times.

We did not want to touch the prawns as they were so expensive. In the end we had to bite the bullet, so to speak, and dipped into our pockets for a kilo at more than P700!

Now the vegetables – kangkong sold at P50 a kilo,cabbage at P65, eggplant at P60, wombok pechay at P36, string beans at P30, carrots at P75, ampalaya was expensive at P98, dried laing leaves at P52.08 a pack of about one fourth kilo, squash at a high of P98 a kilo.

Hopefully, within the next few days, prices will settle and go back to more realistic levels. But is this wishful thinking? We will know when we resume our rounds.

There’s this lady called Gay who bakes the best sans rival in town – at Valle Verde, to be exact. The cake is not too sweet and is fully covered with macademia nuts! Quite sinful but so good!

Then there is Tita Moning whose delicious bread pudding is decorated with caramelized nuts on toothpicks, making a very attractive dessert. She is based at 215 San Rafael but orders can be made through telephone number 734-2146. Collection points are at Mall of Asia and at 31 San Gregorio, Magallanes Village.

Costa Brava has a new ube cake, with yam as both filling and frosting. The big one costs P1,000 and orders are accepted through telephone 896-1267.

Today we wish to thank all our friends and associates who have supported and helped us do this job with ease. Among them there are: Cecile and Malou at Shopwise; Jo at Makati Supermarket, Alabang; Nina at Puregold; Bhoy at Rustans; the staff at Robinsons; Yong of the Romulo chain of restaurants; Jonathan of Crystal Jade; Anna and Jose of Trading Post; Chit, Reena and Jeannie of Echostore; Jeannie Posas of Dizon Farms. My editor Doreen with Rosal and Alpha. My friends Thelma, Sonia and Toni. And of course, my family and kitchen assistants Tess, Mel and Mylene. Not to forget the steady Choy.

Let 2011 be the best for all of us!

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