Here’s the round-up for Lasang Pinoy’s 20th Edition for the month of August titled, “Binalot - All Wrapped Up!” Thank you to everyone who took time off from their busy lives and sent in a contribution for this LP edition. We covered appetizers to dessert like we all planned it! I hope LP followers will enjoy this round-up as much as the host did.
On behalf of Filipino food bloggers everywhere, we are proud to announce the start of Lasang Pinoy’s 20th Edition: “Binalot, All Wrapped Up!” for the month of August 2007.
There are a myriad ways of preparing Filipino foods and a favorite is wrapping in leaves. The dish is referred to as “binalot” and while it usually means picnic lunches, Philippine cuisine does have a thousand and one recipes that uses this technique of food preparation. It gives you a peek into the Filipino’s practical nature, ingenuity, creativity and propensity to have fun - wherever and whenever.
As in most Southeast Asian countries, the most commonly used leaf is the banana leaf. The banana leaf is huge and has this thin, waxy outer layer that makes it perfect for wrapping even the sauciest of dishes. Another commonly used leaf are coconut leaves, folded and woven into all kinds of shapes and sizes.
But Filipinos don’t stop at leaves. There’s fresh bamboo cylinders, then there’s crepes and wonton wrappers which are both an influence of the Chinese population in the Philippines. Whether the wraps are thrown on the grill over hot, live coals, or perhaps boiled or steamed, the wraps leaves its own distinct aromas and flavors to the dishes encased within. The experience of unwrapping while all the steamy goodness and aromas fill your nostrils is definitely half the fun.
The possibilities are just endless and instincts tell me there are more wraps out there being used for binalot recipes than we know of. It’s probably as many as the 7,100 islands of our modest archipelago in the South China Sea and the Pacific.
Perhaps you’d like to feature the technique of folding and wrapping, that will definitely be interesting to readers from all over. Or maybe you have the best recipe for lumpia wrappers or your very own Philippine-inspired wrapped concoction using your own wrapper idea, that’s certainly welcome.
Whichever you choose to write about in your blog or someone else’s blog (this one included), Lasang Pinoy only requires that you submit your entries to the current host or the Lasang Pinoy team with your name, blog name and the link to your entry. For quick identification, title your emails, LP20: Binalot, and please use the icon shown here on your blog entries. As always, our icon for this month was creatively designed by Iska Montero and Mike Mina - maraming, maraming salamat! Thanks to everyone at Lasang Pinoy for your support too!
For this August edition, entries will be accepted starting today through the 1st of August 2007. Unless the host gets all wrapped up in some unforeseen circumstances, we hope to release the round-up within the first week of August…then we’ll call it a wrap!
Let’s get rolling and wrapping!
Eurobake has been around a very long time. This bakeshop made its name with two well-known products: Inipit and Malolos Ensaymada. Even when they didn’t have a Metro Manila outlet, people braved the horrific traffic and flocked to the nearby province of Bulacan for these two goodies. Are they worth it? Absolutely. (more…)
The title is in reference to that BBC cooking show, “Two Fat Ladies”, which my mother and I used to watch together before I was married. I have my own Two Fat Ladies here in the Philippines too. I don’t think any woman would be flattered to be called fat so I didn’t tell them about this blog. But hey, thrown me in and we’ll be Three Fat Ladies. (more…)
There was a blizzard in Colorado Springs when we held this American-style barbecue for the family in Bulacan a few days after Christmas. It was surreal to be sitting in the sun and enjoying a summer barbecue while the place we just came from a month and a half ago was in the middle of a back-to-back winter blizzard.
Back to the subject of this post, I always wondered what my family in the Philippines would think of an American-style barbecue with grilled burgers, salads, boiled corn and barbecued beef ribs. It’s very different from the barbecues we are used to with Inihaw na Bangus, Inihaw na Liempo, Skewered Pork Barbecue, etc. I got to try it on them last month and am happy to report that they loved it. Fortunately, the weather cooperated too…cloudy and just a tad windy so it wasn’t too hot for an al fresco lunch. (more…)
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…)
Spouse treated me to lunch at our favorite place in Denver, Cucina Colore. I like this place because the food is no nonsense and always fresh, the staff is friendly and the restaurant is just so bright and contemporary I always enjoy my meals so much more.
The first photo is the Carpaccio served with arugula, shaved grana and caper berries with a perfectly tangy vinaigrette. I never knew capers had berries so this was pretty interesting for me. The caper berries looked almost like olives. There were a gazillion little seeds inside the not so thick skin. The berries were pickled and tasted pretty much like regular capers, which are the flowers of the plant. I thought this whole appetizer dish would make the perfect Italian sandwich….soo good! (more…)
Here’s a picture of the Filipino Sari-Sari Store in our city by the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies.? The photo shows the restaurant side of the store. You can’t miss the cafeteria-style counter since it has that canopy over it, reminiscent of a nipa gut.
Like most Asian stores in our area, Wednesday is the day to be here. They offer live crabs, fresh fish and fresh Asian vegetables that you normally wouldn’t get on any other day of the week. I believe everything is flown in via Denver, probably from California. Most store owners will make the drive from Colorado Springs and have their haul ready by noontime.
Saturday was a day I almost died and went to Greek heaven! I was introduced to those rich and mouth-watering Gree ?pastries I’d always heard of but never had. It was all so good, the recipes must have come directly from heaven through their ancient gods.
At the risk of sounding morbid….if anything untoward happened to me because of a sugar overload that day, I was comforted by the fact I was in a churchyard and would receive the last sacraments….from a Greek Orthodox priest maybe. But if it’s THE last rites…does it really matter if I’m Catholic? Oh well… all went well and I’m still here….OPA! (more…)
Today was what Spouse and I call a “Glad we live in Colorado” kinda day. It was warm with light breezes….bright and sunny with a clear, blue sky dotted with just a few clouds to make it pretty. Spouse and I knew this was not going to be a day spent in front of our desks. We had a good work week spent mostly indoors, so this Saturday, we headed off to check out what was happening in the city.
The Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Colorado Springs is celebrating a Greek Festival this weekend, July 14-16. We headed off for lunch there and found a good-sized crowd enjoying the beautiful summer day on the church grounds. Here’s a picture of the lovely Greek ladies manning the dessert line at the festival.
