Christmas Family Traditions

December 18,2011

       Christmas preparations for my family start right after Halloween's Trick or Treat. As soon as the last horror mask and artificial pumpkin is packed ( artificial, of course, we're in the Philippines), our house transforms into Christmasland with the Christmas tree in the center and the twinkling star lanterns or parol outside the windows. Then, there are the fairy lights. We can never have enough of fairy lights.

        For the celebrations on Christmas eve and day itself, I must tell you, we really get goin' in my family. I belong to a very big family on both my mother's and father's sides. Mommy and Daddy both have 10 brothers and sisters on their sides,so I have 20 uncles and aunts... and with an average of 3-6 children per uncle and aunt,I must have around 100-120 cousins, who in  their generation, have 2-3 children each. Our family is also extended : my dad and his sibs, having been orphaned early, were taken into families of their aunties and uncles and grew up, dormed and studied in the city with their cousins and so are sibling-close with them, to that effect. How many guests do we have in the house for Christmas? You do the maths and you better be good at permutations.

        And then I married into a family with nine children. You can do the maths again. You can imagine how much shopping, gift giving, eating and partying happens during Christmas for me and my family.

      On Christmas eve, my sister Vicky has made it a tradition for the past few years to invite our immediate family to her home. She cooks up a feast but that doesn't stop us from bringing our favorite foods. So we have a table groaning with food, glorious food. Until now, there are still no staples. Each year is experimental. We love trying new recipes in the family, and Christmas justifies buying all these expensive ingredients. One time it was a New England Dinner with pot roast, potato salad, mashed potatoes and classic apple pie.The only thing missing was the Yorkshire pudding, a trifle or a plum pudding and snow.

        For breakfast on Christmas Day, we  wake up at 4 am and start packing for what we call a Christmas marathon, for indeed we will show up in three family parties for the day, from breakfast to dinner, in three different locations.

        Breakfast with the Gutierrezes in Cavite is a pot luck affair. Lola Nanay prepares pans of Canalones Montaner, a savory canneloni casserole made from ground pork and Majestic scrap ham and livers, wrapped in very light, homemade crepes and topped with cream and melted cheese.This goes well with warm pan de sal or the sweet moist raisin bread a la Baguio Country Club which Patrick and Annie bring from Marikina. There is also Lola Nanay's homemade ham, rich in flavor and aroma, cured lovingly for 3 weeks and then baked with cloves, pineapple juice and brown sugar. Nothing is like it, not Majestic nor Purefoods nor Adelina's Christmas ham. Christmas is not Christmas without Marca Pina queso de bola, grapes and apples, potato/fruit/macaroni salad on the table. Lola's apple-walnut cake and lemon poppy seed cake recipes  have been perfected by daughter-in-law, Maricor, and caps the delicious homey breakfast.

        The lunch menu with my mother's relatives at Quezon City or Alabang is very traditional Filipino. The main star is always Lola Andeng's Karekare, tripe and oxtail, fastidiously cleaned and tenderized, then stewed in a thick orange sauce made from garlic, onions, achuete, real ground peanuts and thickened with ground rice. No peanut butter for the karekare in this family. Everyone scoops around the dish looking for that thickest soft slice of 'tuwalya', best eaten with a sweetish bagoong, hot rice and bites of pechay and talong from the karekare. The sauce is so good we pour it over our rice, or even sip it (horrors) from our cups.

         Everyone also looks forward to a good sized, crispy lechon during Christmas. And if some Titas are up to it, we have hot Dinuguan too. Having more aunts and uncles with strokes and hypertension, seafoods are served more often now- fried sugpo, steamed oysters from Tito Nick. The younger generation is lazier and just order pasta or Pansit Malabon, Red Ribbon cakes and ice cream for their contributions. It is understood that we  also bring out our noche buena leftovers of ham, macaroni salad, grapes, apples and castanas(chestnuts) to share with the rest who are having leaner Christmases. Children line up for their Aguinaldos given in small, red ampaw envelopes. For the grown ups, gifts are shared and there is a lot of updating,gossip, chatting and picture taking for the rest of the afternoon.

            There is some time for a nap in my family's house after this. My dad being the eldest son, hosts the family party for the Casanovas in the evening. The big family starts trooping in at 7 pm. With roots in Romblon, and intermarriages with people from the North, the evening menu is a mishmash of urban, Visayan and Ilocano cuisine.  Staples on the table are Lechon funded by dollars from our US based relatives (we look at the lechon's head and voila, they are with us in spirit every Christmas), Tita Munding's  tart and spicy dinuguan (my favorite), my mom's karekare, Julet's Kalderetang Kambing, Reggie's Papaitan, Lolet's excellent tasty balut from Sta. Maria, Bulacan cooked in a flavorful seasoned broth, Tita Au's Buko salad with a “secret” or her refrigerator cakes. Tita Abel and Tita Cely are sure to bring in special pastries or pansit. And my mom makes sure there is lots of fresh fruits like mangoes, ponkans and bananas to balance the heavy meal. Young aunts and cousins bring in Red ribbon cakes. There is always a cousin who emcees the games and talent shows for the  children, and then the litany of names and gifts over the sound system until midnight. You think people would have given up on food by this time, but after the fun games and raucous laughter, the family is again hungry and hovers around the long dinner table, checking out newly served dishes or desserts.

          It is a indeed a Christmas marathon, but a pleasurable and fun filled one. Food, laughter, stories, gossip and gifts shared make it all worthwhile. The daily grind can be lonely and predictable and can sap our life of memories, of joy and laughter, of sense of belonging to  big warm families.  I'm glad there is Christmas to bring it all back, even for just a day.

Chicken Wings, Gangnam Style

We love chicken wings at home although i know it's not the healthiest part of the chicken we should be eating. Tonight, I tried to do it Gangnam style, err.... I mean Korean style with the soy garlic glaze and it was good!
1-1.5 kg chicken wings or about 20 pieces. My kids eat an average of 4-5 pieces each
marinated in :
Juice from 3 pieces kalamansi
4 pcs garlic, minced
1 very small onion, minced
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Flour to coat chicken
Deep fry chicken in medium heat. Takes 15-20 minutes frying to make chicken golden brown. Once cooked allow to drip and cool in paper towels. Meanwhile...prepare the glaze.

Glaze:
3 Tbsp soy sauce, premium Lee Kum Kee
4 pcs minced garlic
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp rice wine or mirin
4 Tbsp brown sugar
2/3 cup water

Boil everything in low to medium heat in small sauce pan. Stir constantly until thick like the consistency of syrup.

Put in a large deep bowl. Glaze the chicken pieces one by one. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

This is a hit with my son.  He will walk the ends of the earth for this. Raving reviews. The first time I made this, he said , "make the sauce your own".... and so I did. Tell me what you think about it.  Again pictures to follow. ; )

20 chicken wings

2 TBSP vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1/2 cup Hunt's hickory BBQ sauce

1/2 cup Del Monte Sweet Tomato Ketchup

2-3 TBSP honey

2-3 TBSP brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 TBSP chili sauce

Ranch Dressing:

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

can choose to flavor this with chopped chives or garlic powder

pinch of dill or parsley or paprika

Marinate chicken wings in vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic powder for at least 30 mins.

Heat oil a deep pan using medium fire. Dredge wings in flour and shake off excess just before frying.

Fry chicken until golden brown ( 15 mins). Drain in paper towels. Then coat chicken pieces with sauce in a bowl  taking care to put enough sauce only to glaze or coat the wings.

Serve with Ranch dressing as dip, lots of french fries and a cool cucumber salad.

Potato Omelet

Lola 'Ba used to cook this nice tight potato omelet (tortang patatas) for us for breakfast. I loved it as palaman (filling) in hot pandesal. This morning I had a craving for it, something I never had for a long long time.

Tortang Patatas

1 large potato cut in small cubes

1 medium sized white onion, chopped.

Saute the 2 above ingredients in canola oil until onions are transparent and potates are softish. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and let cool. 

Meanwhile, beat 3 large eggs until frothy. Put in 3 pinches of salt. Mix cooked potates. Cook as in omelets. 

Nice to eat with hot pan de sal and mug of strong black coffee for a lazy breakfast. 

(Pictures to follow ? Somebody buy me a more efficient camera to link with my laptop !) 

Spicy Eggplant Recipe ni Sarah

After cooking for the family for several years, things can get boring. So many times I have heard housewives lament how they are running of ideas of what to cook for for their families. Lately I have felt that way too. It was always the reliable adobo, sinigang, fried chicken, spaghetti, bistek filipino, chicken curry, etc.

To challenge myself, I will try to find something new to cook for my family every so often. This week I tried the spicy eggplant recipe as taught to me by a churchmate named Sarah, a fantastic cook. Here it is:

SPICY EGGPLANT

8 pcs eggplant, cut lengthwise in bite sized pieces

canola oil

200 gm ground pork

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium sized onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 pcs green finger sized chilies, each sliced diagonally in 4-5 pcs

4 TBSP oyster sauce

2 TBSP brown sugar

Cut eggplant lengthwise in bite sized pieces. Fry lightly in oil until tender. Set aside.

In another pan, saute onions and garlic. Add ground pork. Season mildly with salt and pepper when brown.

Add chilies. Toss lightly. Add cooked eggplants.

Then add oyster sauce and brown sugar.

Pictures to follow.

Going Solo in Tagaytay

The public commute from Dasmarinas, where I work, to Sta Rosa, where I live, is long and not very convenient. It will take me 2-3 changes rides. My family driver has been absent for days. My husband is on an out-of-town speaking engagement and my children are both in the city for college studies. I was left to my own devices on this Monday. After work, I had no choice but to take the aircon bus from Dasmarinas to Tagaytay, and then supposedly, hop on to another FX van from Tagaytay to Sta. Rosa to get home after my clinics.

I already had a thought yesterday to spend the night in Tagaytay to make my commute more convenient. I brought a change of clothes to work, just in case I decided to do so. On the bus going home this Monday afternoon, I was torn whether I should just go home or take a solo overnight vacation in Tagaytay. On the spur of the moment, I decided to alight halfway in Tagaytay, and check in at Windy Ridge Hotel just right around the Rotonda. Convenient for me to get to work tomorrow since Dasmarinas aircon buses pass this way a lot. And the added bonus of enjoying a new place, the better to give me some thinking and writing time.

Sitting at the balcony after a painless check-in, I enjoyed the foggy landscape of the Taal Lake and volcano right across me.The small reception area cum coffee shop is quiet and without customers. Down below is a small country road with the sounds of a busy metal grass cutter and a yakking street dog. Behind me, ah… the constant roar of motor from tricycles and cars. From the ominous grey skies, a hint of rumble of thunder, every now and then. These are hardly the meditative sounds for relaxation and rejuvenation that I expected. I hope things quiet down soon. It’s 5:00 pm on a Monday. Students and employees are on the rush to get home to a warm family dinner.

A few tall slim pine trees jut out from the deep green slopes of Tagaytay. Newly painted, well-maintained weekend homes are scattered along the landscape. From my vantage point it is mostly trees, trees and more trees. And a thin fog. It’s comfortable but not cold. I hope the view is better tomorrow.

What does one do when alone? It is supposed to be a busy week for me. Doing all I must and need to do before I leave for Rome for a series of meetings and a medical conference. I was tentative in proceeding with this solo vacation. I could’ve just stayed home and done the same things I am doing here –writing, eating dinner, sleeping. But then, I will be doing the same things again, in the same place, and that is dreadful. This is a change that I need.

Staying here is a luxury, I know, because I could have the same amenities at home and not have to pay a cent. The amenities are not, in any way, luxurious,though. They are just basic. This room is cheap by Tagaytay standards. At P2,800 per night, I shouldn’t be asking for too many things.

However, the thrill I got from checking-in alone in Tagaytay is like what I experience when I write, or when one falls in love with somebody in secret. The exhilaration is so intimate and personal, you don’t like any one to know, even the ones you love. I don’t know why there is such a perverse delight in keeping a secret, especially one that involves yourself ? It's like eating a big slice of chocolate cake when no one is home. Or finishing a bag of chips inside your bedroom when no one is there.

I wish I were more daring though. I could have taken a tricycle down the road and explored the eating places by myself. But rain forebade and I did not have an umbrella.

Solitude. At times we need it, just to keep sane and regain perspective. And there does not have to be an agenda. When alone, you can eat what you want or not eat at all. Sleep or not sleep or sleep when you want to. When alone it’s so nice to reorganize your life. Fix the bagful of clutter. Re-schedule things in the appointment book. Free the mind full of cares.Yes, my life is chaotic. Preparing for multiple medical conferences and advocacy events in three weeks time can be crazy. Last week, I felt like I was stirring ten boiling cauldrons all at the same time.

In the lobby are many books. And a nook for breakfast. That is the only meal that they serve here. Even if the brochures say food is not allowed inside the rooms, the receptionist allowed me to get my drinks and dinner from the fast foods nearby. ( grilled chicken from Mang Inasal from across the road in the Tagaytay Rotonda, what else?)

The bedroom is fairly sized but it reeked of some cheap floral air freshener when the air con was turned on. The bed sheets were not very white and looked like seconds from a hospital or a hotel that has gone bankrupt. I was always checking if there were mosquitoes or ants underneath because the sheets felt itchy. The usual amenities of complimentary mineral water, soap, shampoo and towels were there. I was surprised there was even a hair dryer. At midnight I woke up to go to the bathroom and found two centipedes inching their way across my floor.

After a good night’s sleep with my cable TV on all the night, I was served breakfast in the porch overlooking Taal Lake the following morning. It seems I was the only customer around. The staff was kind and unobtrusive.Breakfast was Kapeng barako, slices of watermelon and bananas, toast, butter, hotdogs and fried egg. Fair enough.

I spent the morning pounding away on my laptop in the balcony, enjoying the expansive view and the cool Tagaytay breeze. I took pictures of the view from the balcony and of the rows of plant vendors across the road - colorful under the cheery sun, with an array of brightly colored impatiens, bromeliads and petunias. If only the roar of the motorcycles would disappear…..It was lunch time when I finished typing some modules and articles. Time to do some clinic work again in Dasmarinas. I hailed an air con bus across the road. That was easy and painless.

Shrimp Pasta like Cibo's

Today I had time to experiment in my kitchen. A bunch of old friends came together for dinner and it was the best time to improvise or "oido" a recipe of one of my favorite dishes.. This is the shrimp pasta from Cibo of Margarita Fores. It turned out very good and close to the original. Success !

Shrimp Pasta
1 box Penne or Rigatoni Pasta, 500 gm, boiled al dente

1 kg fresh ripe tomatoes,blanched 5 minutes in boiling water, then seeded and chopped, saving all the juices
4 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP tomato paste
1-2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 dashes black pepper
1 TBSP chopped fresh or dried basil leaves
1 TBSP dried pepper flakes (crushed pepper flakes in a sachet from Yellow Cab pizza!)

Saute ingredients and cook until thick and tomatoes are tender.

In a separate pan under low fire, cook
4 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP minced garlic
600-700 gm medium sized shrimps, peeled
* may include heads of shrimps in sauteing for added flavor but remove them after this cream sauce has simmered.
1 TBSP butter
1 can sliced button mushrooms
1 box Nestle cream
5 TBSP parmesan cheese
1 TBSP salt
3 dashes pepper (optional)

Simmer gently. Allow sauce to thicken.

When done, may add sprinkling of parsley and choppped chives. Then pour in drained Penne pasta and mix well in pan while hot.  Add cooked tomato sauce. May adjust salt and pepper to taste.

The plate was left clean. This one is really good. My daughter says the best part is the chunky bits of tomatoes. I personally love the subtle garlic flavor blending with the shrimps and cream... and the very mild brief zing of the crushed peppers. Best with toasted foccacia bread dipped in balsalmic vinegar and fine olive oil.
Crude picture below.... using my iPad camera.