Cleaning up

After the merrymaking comes the big chore–cleaning up. In most households, there will be holiday food left over, and the refrigerator or freezer may not have enough space to store them all. If there will be no complaints from housemates, heat them and serve during succeeding meals, nevermind that you might have relleno or menudo for at least two lunches or dinners. When possible, recycle, such as make paksiw with leftover lechon, or torta with the minced beef or pork, chicken salad with what was nilagang manok or roast chicken. For queso de bola, make the cheese into a spread with sun-dried tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. Be inventive.

Fruits, such as those lovely ponkan and delicious apples, or seedless grapes still in half-filled boxes. Don’t wait for them to spoil. There are many street children (not that we are encouraging their parents to allow them to roam in the streets) you will see on your way to somewhere. Bring some fruits in your car and when someone knocks on your window, give him/her an apple or an orange. Do the same with biscuits and cookies, many of which might still be in their original holiday wrappings. The kids who will receive them will jump for joy. A word of caution: remember the faces of those you have given the goodies to, for they will be back–with friends at that!

Holiday silver and crockery, pots and pans, plates, platters etc.–put them away in their original storage boxes or cabinets to avoid a cluttered working area in your kitchen. With gift wrappers and ribbons, better not save them, since you’ll find yourself with lots of it which you cannot and will not use anyway. Don’t be sentimental! Table cloths and napkins with Christmas motif, keep them where you will not see them until next season.

Sort out the gifts, too–some would be practical, others simply decorative. Give the discards (if still usable) to charity or to your parish. They will surely find some families who can use them. Clean out your closets full of outfits, now with a few new ones–part with the old ones as well. Continue to look around and see what you can clear out to start the New Year clean!

A reminder–when throwing away trash, be sure to sort them out–those that would spoil (left over food, peelings) in one plastic bag; styrofoam, paper, plastic discards, etc. in another; bottles (medicine, beverages), empty cans and cartons in still a different bag. It is better if you have them color-coded so the collectors could easily dispose of them where they are supposed to be.

Speaking of new–there’s this group of entrepreneurs who have banded together and call themselves Crucard, Inc. Our friend Monchet is one of them. Their product is Pinoy Sorbetes, a line of frozen desserts, formulated and produced by the Food People Inc., the same company that gave us the popular Fruit in Ice Cream line. This up-market collection is expected to elevate ice cream to a higher level because of its superior quality. So far the selection includes traditional desserts interpreted in ice cream, using mellorine base, a blend of dairy solids and vegetable oil (mainly coconut). Now this is flavorful as it is healthy.

Among the flavors are Banana Q, Mangga’t Suman, Guinumis, Tsoko Pinipig, Kape’t Gatas. This is priced lower than most local brands. The group has high hopes they’ll be able to revolutionize the market, as they envision to capture a big chunk of frozen dessert lovers. Pinoy Sorbetes is now available in some scooping stations under the trade name "Pinas-Sarap, Sorbetes Station" in Shopwise, Robinson’s, Rockwell, SM Mall of Asia.

Are you entrepreneurial? Contact Crucarb, Inc. at telefax 721-1961 and 448-7277 and be a business partner. They are also willing to service institutional buyers (hotels, restaurants, food outlets, etc). Their kart is attractively done in vibrant colors that customers won’t miss.

Price watch: dressed chicken has gone down to P100 a kilo, beef brisket at P234, pork from P135. Mangoes still range from P80 to P90, mangosteen is still at a holiday high of more than P300 a kilo. Tenderbites at Makati Supermarket in Alabang sells New Zealand rib-eye steak at P1,500 a kilo. They have lamb legs, either with bone or boneless, at a bit more than P500 a kilo. This supermarket is a joy to visit, specially of you are a regular. They remember familiar faces and you need only to ask and they’ll produce whatever it is you need, and can’t find. Actually there’s nothing like good service to attract repeat customers.

Have a great weekend!

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