The Unofficial Cook

LJC. He was my first boss. It was a shock to hear about his death last Monday.

LJC was the first true bon vivant I met. The year I worked for him was before the LJC Restaurant Group was even formally named although they already had a string of restaurants open in the Philippines and in Washington DC. That was the year Karihan Karitela and Cafe Adriatico-Hong Kong were opened. It was an exciting time and I was so young - everything was just so new to me. Your first job is always your baptism of fire and it was for me…I still shudder when I recall how dumb I was back in those days.

LJC: Hello Mita, what did you do today?

Me: Sir, you won’t believe this…I typed ONE letter the whole day today.

LJC: Ummm….I’m not paying you to type one letter a day….

Is it any wonder I didn’t stay on long as his secretary, with my boss mostly in the US on vacation! I was promptly moved to the Marketing department. But I learned so much working for LJC. He was involved in every phase of conceptualizing, menu-planning, recipe-testing, building and construction and marketing of each and every single restaurant he opened. Everyone knows he was also a former journalist and government press officer and avid antique collector before he became a restaurateur so there was nothing that escaped his watchful eyes. I learned just by watching and listening and boy did I lap it all up.
If there’s any one person I cannot separate from LJC when I think back, it was his father. Ambassador Emilio Aguilar Cruz, Lolo Amba as his family and all his employees called him, was LJC’s best friend and probably the biggest influence in his life. It was always a pleasure seeing those two men interact - more than father and son they were mentor and student, best friends. LJC had a reverence and respect for his father like nothing I’ve ever encountered. That truly was a special relationship.

I remember LJC, like his father, had that curiosity for new technologies. You might guess my age if I tell you one story to back me up…but here goes…

When cellphones were just introduced in the market, LJC promptly got one and was on and on about how wonderful it was he could conduct business while sitting in his car weaving through the infamous Manila to Makati traffic of those days.

Lolo Amba on the other hand was so fascinated by a photocopy of my hand I had tacked by my desk and asked if it was a fax copy. He went on about how wonderful fax was and how easy communicating had become. Sadly, I lost contact with them before the internet and email. I always wondered how Amb. Cruz would have felt about it all. He would have been a great blogger if he ever got into it.

LJC’s mother, Fely de Jesus-Cruz or Lola Ising as we called her, was another fixture in those days at Bistro Burgos. She’d come by usually in the afternoons and sit by the restaurant patio. I loved talking to her and listening to her stories of when she was a young wife and mother. She was a published writer too so her stories were all very interesting and brought me to an era I never experienced.

Those days, it seemed LJC was always in a hurry…he had this purposeful shuffle, with both hands in his pockets, walking from his car to his office in an old converted garage right next to the old Bistro Burgos. I’d spy him from the second floor window of my office and before I even had time to prepare he’d be barging in with an energy that always surprised me.

He’d be on the phone with his daughter first…then he’d have his stereo playing classical, jazz or broadway music depending on his mood, and conduct his business in just a couple of hours with people coming and going through my office it made my head spin …and then he’d be off again…to one of the restaurants most probably.

LJC’s passing has left a big, gaping hole in Philippine society. He was a forceful influence not just in the restaurant industry or publishing or urban renewal. In a way, you could say his influence spanned a couple of generations of restaurant patrons in the country and raised the bar for what to expect when you enter a restaurant….spoiled us all if you will.
As each and every person walks into any restaurant bearing his name in the future, they will be welcomed into Larry Cruz’s world…a wonderful, soothing world of the best food and and music, set against an ambiance only Larry Cruz could dream up.

I want to share this very dramatic article by The Denver Post dining critic, Tucker Shaw about the Basic Breakfast at a Denver diner called Kyle’s Kitchen.

My favorite part is his colorful and over the top description.   You just have to read the whole article to appreciate it.  Might I also suggest reading it out loud like you were reading a book to pre-school aged kids…his words really work better if you do.

Here’s the excerpt:

“Two resplendent golden yolks sit in the center of the plate, each supple and taut and pregnant with primeval nutrition, each aching to burst forth with creamy yolk-manna and drown the silken bed of egg white underneath.

Just next to your eggs nestles an amber pile of crispy-buttery hash browns under four searing-hot strips of salty marbled bacon that have been draped decadently over the top, rippled and shiny with a sheen of still-sizzling fat.

A pair of white-toast triangles, buttered and hot and crunchy only at the edges, hover at the edge of the plate, begging to be dipped into the waiting yolks, which, by now, you’ve dotted with drops of Cholula hot sauce.

It’s a promising picture of potential, an Edward Hopper breakfast tableau, suspended, waiting, eager to explode from a thing of beauty into a thing of deliciousness.

Grant your toast triangles that final wish and dunk them into one yolk, then the next, coating the corners with the liquid gold before you swipe them over your tongue. You won’t be disappointed (as you would be at so, so many other breakfast specialists in Denver) by tough, rubbery yolks or worse, cold eggs; instead, you’ll be rewarded with the rich, protein-heavy, soul-satisfying flavor of egg.

Once pierced, the yolks slowly, agonizingly slowly, release their ooze onto the rest of the plate. It bleeds into your hash browns and glazes your bacon strips, transforming the once-perfect tableau into a messy, irresistible, totally alive plate of gobble-me-down breakfast.

And gobble it down you will.’

A year and some 9 days ago, my husband finally convinced me to start a food blog.  He had no idea there was so much HE had to do to help me get started.  But I was interested enough when I got the hang of it…then I really got into it and was posting almost everyday. Unbelievably, this blog has been around for more than a year and is still getting hits despite the fact that I have been too busy attending to LIFE in general to take care of it

A year ago, we were in beautiful Colorado Springs staying warm indoors and heating up the kitchen with my cooking.  This year, I’m back in the tropics where I belong. My cooking activities have decreased quite a bit, not only because of the heat but also our eating so much less because of the heat…there’s also my mom who lives close by who always invites us over for meals.  Who can say no to Mama?

Thank you to everyone who came by, browsed, left a comment or just found this site by accident.  It amazes me how many people have been through here at one time or another…and from so many places, some of which I’ve never even heard of before. One time, I actually took out a map to look up where in the world the Faroe Islands is located!

Sincerely, thank you.  I feel so honored that my sometimes awkward words about  my kitchen successes and disasters, my memories and my cuisine were read.

I have been so busy after our big move from the US to the Philippines, with a million and one things on my plate, and unfortunately neglected this blog…again.  Mea culpa.  (more…)

Lani of Chibong Chika Lakwatcha ATBP posted a comment on my previous post about the fish frying pan I got from Ebay.  She noted the difficulties of making purchases from Ebay  as a resident of the Philippines.  Those difficulties will extend to other US internet shopping sites including Amazon, Barnes & Noble or the bigger retailers like Target, Old Navy, Pottery Barn, Walmart , etc.  Then there are the gourmet shops like Tienda.com for everything Spanish you can think of - even Jamon Iberico that was previously banned in the US.  Oh and there are the  kitchen equipment/supplies stores some other food blogs have featured and which you may have checked out in the past.

First of all, most sellers only ship to a US address.  If they ship worldwide, then shipping costs could be prohibitive.  Another problem, until recently anyway, was opening a Paypal account.  Things are moving in the right direction for Philippine shoppers however.  Paypal is now providing some service to Philippine residents. Please check out this post from Yugatech’s blog which has more details about what Paypal offers.  So, one hurdle down…what’s the next?  Shipping.  Well, there’s a perfectly legitimate way for you to receive purchases you yourself made through US internet shopping sites without begging your relatives living here to help you out. (more…)

This is my Eldest Sister’s own recipe for a white pasta sauce that’s proven to be a hit with ANYBODY who was fortunate enough to taste it. It’s very rich.  It’s earthy.  It goes well with soda, if you’re a kid, as well as it goes with a glass of very cold white wine if you’re an adult.

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I’ve been back from my vacation in the Philippines for almost a week now.  It was a nice 3-week reunion for all 7 siblings and my parents.  We have two new additions in the family whom I met for the first time…and dutifully fell in love with. Ohhh, I miss home and family everyday….

After more than a week of sleep-deprived nights and days, I’m still not all 100% here and have neglected my blogging and cooking.  So I decided to write this piece to help me get back on my usual schedule  and heal this heart that feels divided between two countries…

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It’s no secret Mita and I are big Ben and Jerry’s fans.  We’ve even considered moving to Vermont and getting jobs with B&J, especially since one of their employee benefits is three pints a day of your favorite flavor.  Hmmm, that’s three balanced meals free, is it not?

Well look’s like our fav ice cream maker has stubbed their toe a little bit on a political stumbling block.  I really thought that ice cream could be truly international and above politics, but seemingly not any more in this age of rabid ‘I’m offendedism’, *sigh*.  It’s a month since St Patrick?s Day which the Irish and the rest of the world celebrated with little note.  But some reporter with nothing much to write about has gone back into Steve’s Junk Food blog  to look at a string of comments (mostly from “brave” anonymous comments (ever notice how the loudest mouths are the most anonymous … gotta love the ‘Net)), apparently just to dreg up what these loud mouths were ranting about and give the maudlin complaints credibility.

The is no argument that the “Black and Tans”, a slang name for the Royal Irish Constabulary, were responsible for many reprehensible acts in Ireland many years ago.  (more here for history buffs).  But there’s also no argument that the ‘Black and Tan’ mixture of Guinness Stout and Harp Ale is an extremely popular drink in England, Ireland and the US.

The Reuter’s article claims that Ben & Jerry’s issued an apology, I don’t see it in writing after a cursory look at their web site and I am not going to look further.  How nice it would be if everything didn’t offend someone.  I think I’ll cool off with a glass of orange juice.  Ooops, does Minute Maid know about this?

Perhaps we’ll have to refer to the juice as amber and not Orange, after all the Orangemen were on one side of a very nasty religious rebellion and someone might be easily offended….

Regular readers may have noticed a little gap in the flow of postings here.  Our favorite author and the creator/owner/chief cook of this blog, Mita, is in the Philippines right now. Her internet connection has been a little ’spotty’ so this is the oft-mentioned Spouse stepping in with a little content.  Mita will be back soon, although not soon enough to suit me ;-), I miss her.
It’s windy here in Colorado and cold as a well-digger’s knee (to use one of my daddy’s favorite expressions)(actually daddy said it a little different but this is cooking and food for the whole family, so ‘knee’ will serve quite well).

It’s hot in the Philippines though and browsing through my daily reading I came upon several references to halo-halo.

(sorry, can’t get the full image to upload, I’m a klutz in WordPress as well as in the kitchen).

For those not familiar with the dish, here’s a pretty through description:

Halo halo or Halo-halo (from Tagalog halo, “mix”) is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice, milk, and sugar, to which is added various sweet beans and fruits, often topped with ice cream, and generally served cold in a tall glass.

There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. Primary ingredients include red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains, . Other components may include jackfruit {langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed rice (pinipig), flan or custard, and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, or cherries, may also be added.

Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk are used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.  You can get more at answers.com .

I’m personally not a big fan of ube, but as long as the halo-halo mixer doesn’t go too overboard with the purple stuff, I like it just fine.

Here’s a place to start looking if you want to build a list of places to look for the best halo-halo … I have to do something to make me think of warmth.

The internet is a godsend to anyone seeking information on anything - from the mundane to the serious to the most casual things…to couscous.  Wikipedia alone gave me a wealth of information on this foodstuff.

Featuring it in my last blog entry made me more curious about its origins.  Although, I knew somehow couscous has its origins in the Arab world, probably Northern Africa, I really didn’t know much about this grain, pasta…whatever!

Here’s what I found out about Couscous…. (more…)

This is my version of the common Filipino dish “Fish with Tausi” or  Fish with Fermented Black Beans.  It has fried firm tofu, green bell peppers, xiaoxing wine and plenty of garlic - more Chinese than Filipino really.

My mother used to make this dish with tomatoes and her tausi was freshly bought from her favored vendor or “suki” at the market.  They normally sell tausi in Philippine markets with other soybean products like tokwa (tofu) and tahure (fermented beancurd).  In Colorado Springs, I’ve been sourcing my fermented black beans from Filipino and Oriental stores around Academy Boulevard.  It’s only available in cans but is the exact same thing you’ll get back home.

Spouse is not usually keen on soybean products.  He doesn’t like tofu and I love it.  I have to coax him into enjoying it.  I have to tell him tofu is like a chameleon with no flavor of its own but it picks up the flavors of the other ingredients you put in with it.  He likes it better when it’s fried like in this dish.? He enjoyed this dish immensely, thank goodness.  Even after I cooked it twice last month to use  up a bag of frozen catfish fillets I had. (more…)

Spouse took me to see “Brokeback Mountain” this afternoon  Before we headed downtown, we decided to try the Quizno’s $2.99 roast beef sub they’ve been advertising on tv.  We’ve never tried Quizno’s before and thought this new item would be interesting with the au jus.

Well, that was the plan anyway. We made the wrong turn and I saw the sign for the Old Heidelberg Bakery and Cafe.  Spouse was all upset but hey, if you’ve got broken eggs, make an omelette, right?   And so we parked right in front of the bakery and decided to have lunch there instead. The bakery/cafe and deli looked very modern and clean.  I was sorry I didn’t bring my camera along so I could take shots of their delicious looking cakes and pastries. A short line was starting to form at the cashier but the staff was very efficient and we put in our order not long after we came in. (more…)