Coffee anyone?

No doubt about it, the coffee culture is here to stay. It’s a lifestyle–taking the beverage in a place to meet friends, to see the world go by, to while away time, to relax after a stressful day (yes, to some the drink has a calming effect). Coffee dates back to the 15th century and while it originated in Sudan and Ethiopia, it was the Italians who started calling it caffe, from the Turkish word kahve. Anyway so you know what you are drinking, note that the two species of coffee tree provide 95% of world production. The resulting brew are arabica and robusta. The former comes from beans that are elongated, flat and oval in shape. It is mild and aromatic and the best beans come from Columbia. However it has a slightly acidic taste. Robusta, from smaller, irregular convex shaped beans, is full-bodied and bitter. Plus it has two and a half times caffeine. Our own Batangas coffee provides us with superior drink.

Today, coffee blends make a long list–expresso, café latte, coffee mocha and many other flavors, including dessert coffee . There’s coffee syrup (which is great when mixed with chocolate drink), and there is coffee ice cream and coffee cake. While brewed coffee, either at home or outside, is definitely preferred, it is often much easier for some busy people to pick up one of those three-in-one sachets available in the market. Recent entry is San Miguel with their ready-to-drink mix, either mild or strong. Nescafe offers a variety, of which our favorite is hazelnut. We find UCC a bit weak. We think the idea of three-in-one coffee came from Great Taste and their blend is good.

As quick as a coffee drink to prepare is this Beef Dish which we found in a recently-acquired cookbook. As is always, we changed some of the basic ingredients and techniques. But we retained the flavor and did it in less than 10 minutes, really. We had a piece of sirloin (about 2 gms) which we sliced into bite-size pieces. There was one green capsicum and half a yellow one in our fridge. We cut them into 2-inch strips. You also need cooking oil, crushed garlic, soy sauce, sugar, half a chicken cube, vinegar, chili sauce and water. Saute in the usual manner and in no time you have a nutritious dish.

Here’s a marinade you can use with chicken, pork or beef. While hoisin, on its own, makes a tasty seasoning, try mixing it with your left-over wine (white preferably), a little bit of sweet soy sauce, sugar and ground pepper. Delicious! Always marinate at least an hour before cooking the meat.

Bizu, that pastry shop which produces all those tempting cookies and cakes, is now in Alabang Town Center. The service is quick and the staff are gracious, specially a young lady named Pauline. They serve lunch as in their Greenbelt outlet. The Herbed Chicken is rather big and two people can share an order.

The Westgate area in Filinvest, Muntinlupa has become a diner’s haven. Restaurants have sprung up and this makes dining out in this part of the world more convenient and practical, since going to Makati can be so exasperating, what with the traffic mess that happens every day along the highway and in the inner streets of Makati. Poquito Mas is labeled as a "Splatina" restaurant, meaning they serve Spanish, Italian and Latin fare. Koreana, of course gives the diner bulgogi and Café Adriatico offers their signature dish, Embutido. Generally, service is efficient and food is good. They have set up tables outside for al fresco dining, perfect for these cool nights.

At the Makati Supermarket in Alabang, we found this line of easy-to-cook products from YYY Enterprises. The brand is Ersao. The trio of frozen items we got were Chicken Steak, Pork Steak and Black Pepper Pork Strips, from P53.95 each. We don’t see MSG among the ingredients. We have them as good "reserve" food, so to speak. They come in handy when we are pressed for time. It is also at this supermarket that we always get our fresh kikiam (from the stall right in front of the drug store) for our pancit.

Price monitor–white onions go for P45 a kilo while the reds are at P75. Mangosteen has surfaced at P160 a kilo, a good P90 less than its holiday season tag. Caimitos are in season and mangoes are available all year-round. Remember, you need fruits to stay healthy and fit.

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