Delicious meatless meals

For the Holy Week, we’d like to share with our readers a few ideas for delicious meatless meals. With a little creativity a lot of fish that we might consider as "lowly" can be "dressed up" to taste gourmet. We personally collected and/or concocted the recipes so they have all been kitchen tested.

Magic with bisugo. After cleaning the fish, bathe with a little calamansi juice, season slightly with salt and pepper then marinate in a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, flaked anchovies and dried thyme. Fry or grill. Another way is to fry the fish and then smother with a mixture of chopped onions, prepared mustard, cream, paprika, powdered tarragon, left-over wine, grated cheese and chopped parsley. Even galunggong can be given a lift. Marinate in a mixture of crushed garlic, olive oil and soy sauce.Grill or fry. Look at what you have in your cupboard; you can definitely invent a temptingly delicious fish dish.

Dunked donuts–to the very bottom of our list of outlets we’d want to go back to. We went to Dunkin’ Donuts on President’s Avenue in BF Homes to buy a box of their heavily promoted Fruits in Donuts selection. The owner told us he discontinued them as they were not moving, but promised to have a box for us the following week. When we went back, there was no box, the lady behind the counter did not know anything about her boss’ commitment. Does the man know business ethics at all?

A donut is a donut is a donut. But when long lines steadily form leading to the store all hours of each operating day, it must be something like a phenomenon. On our second try, we decided to be patient and queue up at what is the most popular donuts in town, Go Nuts Donuts at The Fort. We made the acquaintance of a lady, Grace Samonte, who has been lining up regularly for her children’s favorite, Peanut Butter Frost. She introduced us to the system — you fall in line, when you reach the cashier, you pay and you get a number. At the end of the counter your number will be called and you’ll be handed your box/es of the so-called "insanely delicious" collection. So what’s special about these donuts? They keep, the glazed/frosted toppings do not melt, but they are too sweet for us. We stood in line for exactly 30 minutes before we got what we ordered.

A new shopping lifestyle. That’s what is now offered by the new SM Department Store and Supermarket in Makati. Food being our first interest, we entered the supermarket with great anticipation. The staples are there–meat (beef shank at P152), seafood (the come in two sizes), chicken (Bonus at P76 and Magnolia at P74), processed meat, canned goods, fresh fruits and vegetables. Monterey is very much in evidence and so is the house brand Bonus. In the Value Pack area, you find considerable savings on packs that include combinations of rice, baby’s milk and even pillows, which have been among the best sellers.

Connoisseurs should be delighted with the imported stuff ranging from frozen mousse cakes to free-range lamb from Australia plus prime cuts of US beef (from P240 a kilo to P1119). One can easily bring home a lot: Chicken quisadillas at P436 a box of 27.70 oz., Michael Angelo’s Lasagna, either with vegetable (P496) or meat sauce (P495). Boxes of French bread pizzas with pepperoni at P773; Pocket meals such as individually wrapped Philly steak and cheese for P895; All Stars sandwiches like Jumbo Cheeseburgers and Barbecued Ribs, and sinful but heavenly sweets like Jon Domaine Oreo Moussecake (P920) and Cheesecake (P842). Frozen fruits, either combinations or singles are also available. Add to all these the regional sauces and mixes. Don’t let the prices daunt you. Each box contains a lot of pieces. Divided into the number of people who can share, there’s value for money.

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