The milk contamination in China is still gripping the country and the whole world. There have been published findings, listings, and all, but the poor homemaker is hard put to remember all the items she must not buy. Normally, one would go through the brands to check which have been cleared, but with additional products included everyday in the course of on-going tests and because not all housewives read the newspapers or watch television, may we suggest to the owners and managers of supermarkets, groceries and food suppliers big and small, to post, in visible areas, a list that would guide the shoppers? They could also include the list in the flyers that they produce regularly. These gestures of concern will surely be much appreciated. After all, information is one of the strongest vehicles any merchant can use to establish a loyal clientele.
We will be braving the heavy traffic on Wilson Street in Greenhills to visit Butchie’s Recipes of La Moderna, Pampanga, which will open its first Metro Manila outlet soon – after serving people of its home base for 61 years. We remember visiting the bakery sometime ago and noted the dedication of the fourth generation Narcisos to the business that was started and flourished under the leadership of their great grandparents, Pablo Narciso (Apong Ambo) and Narcisa (Ma Sisan), who first sold candies. Butchie is named after one of their great granddaughters. They still use the old-style pugon ovens where dainty biscuits are baked. Floral designs and other images are then etched on each cookie. Flour, eggs, milk and sugar, mixed with lemon, orange, or coconut milk flavors, make these much-desired biscuits delicious.
If it’s nostalgia one wants to find in bakery products, Butchie’s is the place to go. Happily, we found there the gorgorya which we used to have for baon and snacks. They are bite-size biscuits, glazed with dayap juice and fried like fritters. Then there are the kabayan and sombrero flavored with orange oil. Nicolas de Tolentino to honor St. Nicolas is made from coconut milk with imprint of the saint’s image. There are also many other breads, cakes and pastries, among them sans rival and sylvanas. The restaurant in Greenhills will serve food as well. They will have the Pampanga okoy, lumpiang sariwa, bulanglang na bangus, and adobong alimango. Two of their truly savory dishes are the chicken tropical baked with garlic and corn and the calitiran (so called because they use this particular cut of beef) in rich buttery sauce and mushrooms.
Butchie’s Recipes of La Moderna, Pampanga, will start operation in mid-November, on the ground level of the Health Cube building at 226 Wilson Street in Greenhills. We still have to get their price list. You may call them at 092-902-4433 and 0917-803- 9055. Fax inquiries to (045) 900- 0651.
We were told by a doctor-friend that pineapple juice is the best with regard to wellness. The fruit is in season, but, like always, price depends on where it is sold. There was a time when they cost only P5 each along the road to Tagaytay. Today they range from P25 to P40 a piece. You can also buy the peeled and cut fruit, packed by big fruit sellers. They are guaranteed to be sweet.
Speaking of wellness, some doctors also prescribe alternative medicine – herbs and root crops – because of the escalating cost of medical prescriptions. In fact, lately we have been resorting to deconcocted (per our friend Dr. Jimmy Galvez Tan, this term refers to water-soluble constituents of plants, obtained by boiling in water) ginger tea to relieve an allergy-driven cold. There’s ginseng tea, used rather popularly in Korea to make soups for medical purposes.
Speaking of herbs, as we mentioned in a previous column, Christmas is fast approaching.With imagination and artistry, we can use herbs to create décor items – from holiday wreaths to baskets to table arrangements. Fresh or dried, they will make beautiful pieces. They will emit a fragrant scent that would effect the feeling of freshness in our living rooms or bathrooms. Using herbs is another way to create beautiful decorations that are cost-efficient at the same time.
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