Suddenly, Fiestas all around

…..plus 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. Now, various municipalities have opened their eyes to the potentials of promoting their festivities with food fairs, and so we have the Kesong Puti Fair in Sta Cruz, Laguna; Amadeo Coffee in Cavite; kakanins in Sta Rosa, Laguna; tilapia in Bacolod and Bangus Bunoan in Pangasinan. Good, but they happen almost at the same time. Since we have an administration with a penchant for movable holidays, maybe they (specially the tourism people) can set up a calendar of fiestas, spread throughout the year, to give even locals the chance to program their itineraries and attend these colorful and interesting events.

We chanced upon this lady whose family sells Bunoan bangus in various outlets in Metro Manila, one being by the BF wet market in Parañaque. She is apparently a food innovator and from her, we are sharing with you one of the tips she generously imparted to us. Try using smoked (tinapa) bangus for sinigang; she guarantees a delightful taste and unique texture, which undoubtedly will be relished by any fish-loving individual.

Moving around quite a bit during the last week, here are some of the things we put, not less impulsively, into our basket. From SM Hypermart on Sucat, Arcor brand (from Argentina) of salsas at P27.25 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 Boy’s ‘pleadings’ that we try what they have in their Food-to-go Counter. And we do not regret it. They have a collection of dishes with that truly home-cooked taste. Try their Beef Mechado, Pata Tim (P230 per), Chicken Gallantina (P190) and Paella (P90). They look like gourmet offerings, attractively packed in high grade plastic, with garnishings 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 at one of our cooking classes), we were overjoyed to find a lot of the much desired spices (Spice Time brand from Bayone, 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 rigors of chopping and mixing ingredients. But if you look in your cupboard, an imaginative cook can always come up with her own marinades, combining a few drops of worcestershire sauce, a bit of wine, onion, garlic, lemon or calamansi, and ginger. Note that while marinades give much flavor to food, the acid in the ingredients used penetrates the meat and help tenderize it. Cooked marinades must be cooled before you put in any meat or seafood. Marinated food must be put in the refrigerator for at least six hours or overnight. If you marinate longer than 24 hours though, you’ll get meat that is a bit mushy. Happy marinating!