Cupboard treasures

If you are one of those who buys foodstuff on impulse and store them for future use, you probably have a cupboard full of powdered mixes, pasta sauces, bottled ingredients, some of which you might have already forgotten about. It would be wise to review the items you have stored and we assure you there will be some treasures you’ll be happy to rediscover.

We did exactly that–went through the many packets, bottles, cans, etc.– and happily found some practical and easy-to-prepare kitchen stuff. We were lucky most of them have not expired. That’s one point housewives need to be conscious about–the expiry dates of each item.

That day we had this half kilo of ground pork left over, and since it is not good practice to thaw meat, get a portion, and put the remainder back in the freezer, we rummaged through our supply and found, to our delight, the Mama Sita tocino powder. We decided to make skinless longganiza with the ground pork, which we mixed with two bulbs of crushed native garlic, a bit of salt and pepper plus the seasoned powder. The hubad sausage, toasted (without using oil), made a very delicious breakfast. Also available is the McCormick brand of tocino powder. You can make your choice.

Our review of our stock yielded another Mama Sita packet–Instant Mung Bean Soup or ginisang monggo. Instead of the sili leaves that we traditionally use, this one has malunggay leaves and therefore good for nursing women. We also re-discovered a small carton (0.05 gms) of Azafran (saffron) , which means we can do a paella soon, a much postponed dish because of the high cost of this precious herb.

Don’t be easily attracted to special prices offered by outlets. We recently bought the same variety of rice on a promo price and found it not at par with what is offered at its regular cost. Packed bits and pieces of lamb were also more bones than meat. A good buy recently was the Sorbee brand sugar-free cookies. We got the Crunchy Chocolate Fudge and they were as fresh as newly-baked goodies, so chewy and tasty. Interestingly, these are made with ‘sugar alcohol’ which surprisingly is not sugar nor alcohol. It is a term approved by the FDA to refer to sugar substitutes called polyols. Whatever, this is one of the most scrumptious cookies we’ve ever had.

We experimented on a recipe using pork leg (pata) instead of the more pricey lamb leg recently and the resulting dish was just as delicious. Make two slits on each side of the leg, slightly season with salt and pepper and then rub with crushed garlic and fresh rosemary. Marinate in olive oil and when ready to serve, roast until the skin is brown and the meat done. Make a sauce of pork broth, white wine and rosemary.

The most fascinating restaurant in town must be Paseo Uno at the Mandarin hotel. It was once the Brasserie, but you’d not recognize it now after it was turned into an outlet inspired by the graceful flow of water. Food on the buffet is an abundant collection of Mid-eastern, Japanese and Western specialties. We particularly liked the Mezzes.

Earlier, The Peninsula also did something to its Old Manila restaurant. Impressive glass sculptured pieces render the place bright and airy, a departure from its former ambiance. Never miss the Grilled Seabass, which its chef does to perfection.

Recently we spent a day at the Nusa Dua Leisure Estates in Tanza, Cavite, reached through Aguinaldo highway in about an hour from our base. Its serenity is certainly good for the soul and the fresh harvest of cauliflower and broccoli is always a strong come-on. That day a buffet was laid out by the food vendors who are normally found at the AANI weekend market in the FTI. There was the fresh lumpia (Chinese style), much like that sold at the Little Store in San Juan, at P35 per. The pork barbecue was tempting as it was not so fatty, but we were able to resist it. Lychees sold at P80 a kilo and we were nearly tempted to get the mangosteen. Nusa Dua will soon conduct a regular weekend market. We look forward to this.