LANZONES, the fruit for the gods!

I'm back in the Philippines for a couple months to work on a project. A dear friend invited me and some friends to her farm in Lipa City, Batangas, where her lanzones trees were primed for picking. I had never seen a lanzones tree before (shame on me, having grown up here), much less one gloriously laden with lanzones bunches. The fruits were the size of golf balls, and so so sweet and juicy. Here's what Wikipedia says about this fruit:

Lansium domesticum, also known as langsat, buahluku or lanzones, is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. The fruit is can be elliptical, oval, or round. Fruits look much like small potatoes and are borne in clusters similar to grapes. The larger fruits are on the variety known as duku. It is covered by thin, yellow hair giving a slightly fuzzy aspect. The fruit contains 1 to 3 seeds, flat, and bitter tasting; the seeds are covered with a thick, clear-white aril that is tastes sweet and sour. The taste has been likened to a combination of grape and grapefruit and is considered excellent by most. The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, fructose, and glucose. L. domesticum is cultivated mainly for its fruit, which can be eaten raw. The fruit can also be bottled in syrup. The wood is hard, thick, heavy, and resilient, allowing it to be used in the construction of rural houses.

Some parts of the plant are used in making traditional medicine. The bitter seeds can be pounded and mixed with water to make a deworming and ulcer medication. The bark is used to treat dysentery and malaria; the powdered bark can also be used to treat scorpion stings. The fruit's skin is used to treat diarrhea, and in the Philippines the dried skin is burned as a mosquito repellent. The skin, especially of the langsat variety, can be dried and burned as incense.

The greatest producers of lansium domesticum are Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. The production is mostly for internal consumption, although some are exported to Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

(Sorry no time right now to edit the layout -- back soon!)

Apologies for not having any recent postings -- I'm in hiatus right now, doing a lot of "apostolic" work in Boston, spending a few months with my daughter and her family, who recently welcomed the latest addition to their family, my second "apo" (Tagalog for grandchild), Max Andres. I'll be back soon - thanks for your understanding.

[Note:  back home in the Philippines, a grandma who helps look after a grandchild, or "apo," is said to be doing "apostolic" work.]

CHOP Manila (Culinary Historians of the Philippines) Meeting, 26 March 2012

The Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP Manila) had a successful meeting Monday, March 26, 2012, at the beautiful home of one of its founding members, Gracita.

The meeting was a lot of fun, a gaggle of girls gathered together to eat, drink, laugh and gab, and then to sit down and discuss serious CHOP business. We covered a lot of ground during the meeting, and so CHOP marches on, as Nigna would say.

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur - Food Trip

We wanted to experience the northern regions of Luzon, Philippines, both for their culture and cuisine. Vigan, the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, was an obvious choice, since it is on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list of places of cultural significance, primarily because of its cobblestone streets and unique architecture--a mix of Philippine, Oriental, and European design and construction.

                                                         

[Note: All the photos are mine; the map is from Wikipedia. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigan for touristy details about Vigan; and to http://www.villangela.com/ to read about Villa Angela Heritage House, where we stayed.]

Here was our itinerary:  take the bus up to Vigan City, stay a couple of nights, then take another bus up to Laoag, spend a night in the city, then find our way farther up north, to Pagudpud, where we had reservations for two nights at the Kapuluan Beach Resort. From there, we planned to bus it down back to Laoag, and from its international airport take the one-hour flight back to Manila.

MARIKINA FOOD TRIP!

FOOD TRIP TO MARIKINA
(Mainly on J.P. Rizal St., Sta. Elena, near the Church)
This food trip was planned thanks mainly to the recent The Pinoy Foodie youtube videos (thanks for sharing the link, Brod Philip!) featuring restaurants and eateries in Marikina City, which has won an award for the cleanest and greenest city in Metro Manila. My Mom and I started out at about 11:00 am today, a fine, but typically hot and humid day. 
All the eateries/shops/carinderias shown below are located mainly on J. P. Rizal Street in the Sta. Elena area, one a few steps away from the others. Our final stop, the Cafe Kapitan, has its own full blog posting in this same blogsite.

CAFE KAPITAN, Marikina, Rizal

CAFE KAPITAN RESTAURANT
Kap Moy Bldg., J.P. Rizal St.
Sta. Elena, Marikina City
Tel. 646-4303; 0918-933-7896

     Yes, this gorgeous 220+-year-old ancestral home of Don Laureano (Kap Moy) Guevara is where the Cafe Kapitan Restaurant is located, on the ground floor (the rest of the house is a cultural center for Marikina City). [He could be a relative, because my Grandma's maiden name is Guevara, and the family is from Marikina.] 
     Kap Moy is the "Father of the Shoe Industry," and this house (where he was born and raised, and is so full of history) was where the first shoe was made and the first shoe factory started. The house was commandeered by the Americans and the Japanese for use as headquarters during their respective occupations of the country. After the war, the building was used as a public elementary school (in fact, my Grandma on my Mom's side actually went there). Then, in 1994, the school was moved elsewhere, and the building was completely restored and renovated by then Mayor Bayani Fernando, for use as a cultural center for Marikina City. At the same time, restaurateurs John Lim and Aurora Lim were contracted to convert the left side of the ground floor into a top-of-the-line restaurant, to serve as a venue for government functions as well as be open to the public as a full-service restaurant. 

Internet Links to Info on Coconuts and Coconut Oils (including VCO)

Here are some internet links to information about coconuts and coconut oil, especially virgin coconut oil (VCO).  I will update and add to this list periodically.

[Pls. note that inclusion in this list does not indicate a recommendation or promotion of a particular company's products.]

http://www.thevirgincoconutoil.com/

www.coconutresearchcenter.org

http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/virgin-coconut-oil.html

http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil/

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS   

THE COCONUT TREE and What We get From It

THE COCONUT TREE

[The following information was culled from the source listed at the end of this article.]

The coconut tree is considered one of the most (if not the most) useful trees in the world, which is why it is often called “the tree of life.” The different parts (and uses) of the coconut tree are:

The FRUIT (sometimes called NUT), which is made up of:

            Husk – the outer layer of the nut, which is made into coir fiber that can be used to make rope, mats and brushes, fuel, organic fertilizer, and coir dust made into plastic boards, hollow blocks, insulators, and wall board.

            Shell – the hard second layer covering the meat, which can be burned to make fuel, or fashioned into containers (like cups, trays, serving dishes, pots) and toys, bags/purses, and ornaments (like jewelry, baskets, frames, lamps, coin banks, etc.).

            Meat and Water or Juice – see below a list of the numerous food products derived from them.

COCONUT OIL & VIRGIN COCONUT OIL (VCO)

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT COCONUT OIL AND VIRGIN COCONUT OIL (VCO)

[Note: The following information was culled from the three sources listed at the end of this article.]

COCONUT OIL

Coconut oil is oil extracted from the meat of a mature coconut (niyog); the young coconut (buko) does not have any oil.

There are two very different types of coconut oil in the market:

THE AMAZING COCONUT & ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

THE COCONUT TREE

The coconut tree is considered one of the most (if not the most) useful trees in the world, which is why it is often called “the tree of life.” The different parts (and uses) of the coconut tree are:

The NUT, which is made up of:

            Husk – the outer layer of the nut, which is made into coir fiber that can be used to make rope, mats and brushes, fuel, organic fertilizer, and coir dust made into plastic boards, hollow blocks, insulators, and wall board.

            Shell – the hard second layer covering the meat, which can be burned to make fuel, or fashioned into containers (like cups, trays, serving dishes, pots) and toys, bags/purses, and ornaments (like jewelry, baskets, frames, lamps, coin banks, etc.).

            Meat and Water or Juice – see below for a listing of the numerous food products derived from them.

The Coconut House, Quezon City, Philippines

February 25, 2012 -- It was a happy coincidence that brought me to the Coconut House. I was chatting with a couple of dear friends over breakfast at the Saturday Salcedo Market (Makati--will blog on this shortly) about this book that I recently picked up on the facts about virgin coconut oil (VCO) and its numerous amazing uses including as an effective and natural (i.e., drug- & chemical-free) weapon against a vast number of illnesses. The next thing I knew, we were in their car, on our way to the Coconut House. As it turned out, the owner of the place, Jun Castillo, was their close friend. 
     What a revelation! The Coconut House has gone beyond just fresh buko juice or dishes cooked in gata (coconut milk) -- all their dishes use one or several components of the buko (young coconut) or niyog (mature coconut) in a truly ingenious and interesting way. They don't use additives or artificial flavorings, and all their ingredients are organic and locally sourced. So far, all the dishes I have tried were delicious, without exception!
    I can't get over the fact that this restaurant was not far from where I usually stay while in Manila, and I had never heard of it. This amazing restaurant truly deserves to be promoted and widely publicized!

The restaurant is located inside the Quezon Memorial Circle, near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance. 

Telephone: 392-4115; 

Email: coconuthouseph@gmail.com; 

Facebook: coconut house@live.com; 

Blog: coconuthousepinoy.blogspot.com.

Blogging from Manila

I've been in Manila since mid-January, and have gone on several food trips in and out of Manila, including visits to several restaurants in the Metro Manila area, tasting the food, taking notes, and photographing the restaurants and their dishes. I'm way way behind updating this blog with these food trips, and for this I apologize. I have to content myself with a DSL connection at my Mom's place, and uploading photos from my files to the blog site is so maddeningly slow. But I have to persevere, as otherwise this blog site will never get updated until I return to the U.S.

Pumpkin-Ricotta Pie

Another great recipe from Food Network. We always have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make it more interesting than the traditional pumpkin pie that I usually make. This recipe intrigued me because it’s half pure pumpkin and half ricotta cheese. It came out moist and delicious. The cream cheese crust is made from scratch—don’t worry, it’s not that complicated to make, as you will see if you try this recipe. 

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I made this easy-to-make but delicious dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. It's adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe, and it's a welcome change from the standard pecan pie, which always tends to be cloyingly sweet. The addition of chocolate tempered the sweetness perfectly. The original recipe called for a caramel sauce for garnish, but I did away with it because it would have made the pie too sweet. Finally, I always try to make my crust from scratch because it's not really that difficult to make, but I have to admit that for this pie I used a pre-made crust, which I found in my daughter's freezer -- it wasn't too bad.

A Thanksgiving Dinner, Winchester, MA, 2011

What could be more comforting than sitting at dinner with your beloved family, with the table laden with dishes galore that you've been cooking for the past two or three days, and the whole house redolent with the  deliciously mingled aromas of all that food? This is what my family had for our Thanksgiving Dinner this year -- the recipes for some of them are already posted on this blog, and the rest I will try to post as soon as possible. My daughter did this brined fresh (not frozen) turkey, which was first roasted in their Egg Grill and then finished in the oven--it was incredibly juicy and so flavorful.

America Eats Tavern (Jose Andres), Washington, DC

[This posting is still in progress--thanks for your patience.]

America Eats Tavern

Penn Quarter 

Corner of 8th and D NW, between D&E 
Washington, D.C.
October 31, 2011/Dinner

 The following is quoted from the website of Open Table:  “A groundbreaking partnership between José Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup and The Foundation for the National Archives, America Eats Tavern features award-winning Chef José Andrés’ unique take on traditional American classics and celebrates native ingredients and some long forgotten regional dishes. This "pop-up" restaurant is a non-profit partnership which extends the exhibit “What’s Cooking Uncle Sam: The Government’s effect on the American Diet” that is currently at the National Archives through January 2012. The menu showcases the fascinating history of our nation one plate at a time. America Eats features a refined and elegant menu upstairs on the second and third floors and a similar but slightly more casual menu offered on the first floor. Open Table Reservations are for the upstairs dining rooms, while reservations for the first floor tavern area can be made by contacting the restaurant directly at 202-393-0812. Both menus are available for viewing at the America Eats website.”

Fig & Olive Restaurant, New York City

Fig and Olive - Fifth Avenue
10 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 18079

Tel. 212-319-2002

November 8, 2011/Lunch

 

It was the day after my son’s concert (“Suites by Sondheim” at the Lincoln Center, November 7, 2011), and some family friends from D.C. who came to see the show joined us for lunch at this wonderful Mediterranean restaurant in New York City.  As their website says, the Fig & Olive's signature dishes embody Executive Chef Pascal Lorange's passion for the best olive oils and cuisines from the Mediterranean region. And, as to be expected, olive oil was ubiquitous on the menu. I loved this place – the service was cheerful and super efficient, the ambience very bright but relaxed, and all the dishes we sampled were exemplary (great plating too!).

Cassava Bibingka (Cake)

Today I attended the monthly meeting of CHoWDC (Culinary Historians of Washington, DC). I love it that the group has this very nice tradition of members bringing a home-made dish or two. I decided to bring Cassava Bibingka, to give them a taste of Filipino desserts. This is another Chef Romy Dorotan recipe, from his and Amy Besa's cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens (reviewed on this blogsite). I made a few minor changes, but basically remained faithful to the recipe--the bibingka was delicious, and they loved it (somebody even asked for the recipe). 

Today's guest speaker was Joan Nathan, the doyenne of Jewish cooking, and she gave a very interesting and informative account of the history of Jewish food, which is the subject of her latest cookbook (more on this in a separate blog posting).

Maharlika Restaurant, New York City

Maharlika Restaurant
111 First Avenue & 7th St.
646-392-7880
maharlikanyc.com

Maharlika is still young, having started out in January 2011 as a "pop-up" place serving only brunch on weekends at the Resto Leon (East Village), and then at the Alias Restaurant (Lower East Side). Their food earned consistent raves from critics, and now, owners Nicole Ponseca and Enzo Lim together with their Chef, Miguel Trinidad, have now opened their own place, also in the East Village.


I had heard a lot of good things about Maharlika, so I made sure we visited it on our next trip to New York. We came twice, for dinner and brunch, with a group so we could sample a good number of items on their funky and playful menu.

Spiced Nuts (Yum!)

I have company coming for drinks and cocktails tonight, and I wanted to add something to the usual boring cheese board, prosciutto and salami that I'm serving. I remembered having seen this nuts recipe in a Cooks Illustrated magazine, so I thought I'd give it a try. Excellent results, if I may say so myself -- the nuts were crispy and well-flavored with the mild spices in it. They're truly so more-ish -- once you start eating them you can't stop! I will definitely make this for the coming holidays. [Note:  I used a mixture of almonds and walnuts, which were what I had at hand. Next time I will add cashews, macadamia, and pecans.]
   I have always found it tricky to make the spices adhere to the nuts, and the secret in this recipe is the water-diluted egg white, while the salt prevents it from coagulating. I have added some variations at the end of the recipe, for other exciting flavors.