New cookbook blends travel and food

MANILA, Philippines - Award-winning cookbook author and food columnist Lydia D. Castillo has written her second book, “In My Basket – Travel Collection and Recollection” which was launched on October 12, hosted by Le Bistro Vert in Makati, Anvil Publishing and San Miguel Foods.

Believing food is always top on the traveler’s must-have list, the author, herself a seasoned traveler, collected and documented the interesting food that she encountered from Hong Kong to Egypt, to Europe and the Americas, tracing how different cuisines evolved, as she interviewed different gourmands, from professional chefs to home cooks.

The cookbook is spiced with the author’s recollections of  visits to markets, Michelin-rated restaurants, international hotel chains, large commissaries and home kitchens.

The 128 recipes, which include moussaka from Egypt, phad thai from Thailand, Hainanese chicken from Singapore, chap chae from Korea, apple rhubarb crumble from Australia, are all easy to prepare in any home with ingredients that can be bought  locally.  “In My Basket – Travel Collection and Recollections” is available at National Bookstore.