It was more than 2 years ago when Spouse and I went to New Orleans on a day trip from Biloxi, Mississippi.  I fell in love with the city even before we set foot in it.

On our approach to the city, the car radio was tuned to a local station that was playing the music of the city, jazz.  Driving on Interstate 10 to cross the now world-infamous Lake Ponchartrain, I was struck by the beauty of the many bridges, the city and the beautiful waters of the lake and the mighty Mississippi beyond.

Aside from being the home of jazz and the blues, New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine.

My target on that summer’s day was the Muffuleta of Central Grocery.  I first heard of it in the PBS special, “Sandwiches You Will Like”  that Spouse and I watched just a few weeks before our trip.  Central Grocery is located in the French Quarter, on Decatur Street.  If you are not looking for it, you can easily miss it.  But I was a woman on a mission that day….my radar was up and my tummy was leading the way.

Soon as we got tothe place, Spouse and I made a beeline for the counter where we placed our order of a whole Muffuletta.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of the sandwich.  The photo I posted here is of the inside of the grocery.   I was standing in the back, where they put long shelves that served as tables where customers could stand and have their Muffuletta undisturbed – with large cans of Italian olive oil by their feet.

It’s very unassuming, just like an old grocery is supposed to look like – crammed from floor to ceiling with jars and bottles and cans of everything you can think of.  This was an Italian grocer so they had imported Italian foodstuffs as well as the local Cajun staples.

Now to the Muffuleta….the sandwich is humongously huge and it has everything.  It’s a round foccaccia-style bread with deli meats and cheeses topped by an olive salad to keep it all together.

If I remember correctly from the PBS show, the olives and veggies are marinated in a dressing for at least 24 hours.  This is what makes the sandwich stand out from any ordinary Italian deli sandwich.

I hope that wasn’t the last Muffuletta I will have in my lifetime.  If it was, I’ll never forget it.  And before I go, I’ll tell my friends and family to go to New Orleans at least once in their life, and have a Muffuletta at the Central Grocery in New Orleans in my memory….

The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine

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This is a photograph of an ampalaya (bitter melon or bitter gourd) vine grown organically by my newly found cousin, Pito Garcia. We’re second cousins actually and we connected through a website on geneology my maternal relatives have just discovered.  It’s the coolest thing to find relatives online and meet them for the first time in person.  If not for the internet, our paths may not have crossed for a long time.

His farm is located in a beautiful spot surrounded by gentle hills in the Zambales town of San Antonio.  It was a stormy day when Spouse and I went to visit.  You can probably tell by the dark clouds over the hills that more rains were on the way.  The rain and winds came in bursts, strong and surrprising…an amazing display of nature’s power and beauty.  I’m getting all poetic because it was a truly awesome experience.

Pito is currently  experimenting with organic farming. He’s been growing vegetables commercially for about three years now. Going organic is the next logical step. When you’ve lived the life of a farmer, enjoying the clean air, healthy lifestyle, and beautiful, beautiful surroundings that no man can build, going organic is the only way to go.

Watch out in the coming months, the unofficial cook might just turn into the unofficial farmer!

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.

An uncle on my mother’s side married a Bulakenya and she introduced the family a long time ago to this shop’s goodies. Like every good daughter-in-law, she brought my Lola Blanca a regular stash every so often.

Spouse and I were there the other week and managed to rack up quite a bill. I just meant to get the Inipit but they also had Cashew Tarts, the Pastillas de Leche made with carabao milk and the Turrones de Casuy in the small, unbranded white tin can that it always came in…and then there was the Malolos Ensaymada. Did you know they now sell Sasa Vinegar? Well…I got a bottle of that too….and some other things.

Then of course, this week…off we went again. I hauled my two little nephews and my mom with us…with the excuse of going to the garden centers nearby. I did too! But this week I was good. I just got another box of the Inipit that the little ones love and call little cakes…and yes, another Malolos Ensaymada…love those ensaymadas that I didn’t have to bake myself in the sweltering heat of the kitchen!

Spouse and I have taken regular trips to Angeles City, Pampanga since our move. The drive is a breeze with the upgraded North Luzon Expressway…pretty much like driving on a US interstate….a far cry from what it was just a few years ago. It only takes about an hour from Meycauayan to the Dau exit – with one rest stop to spare.

We’ve taken drives, just the two of us and tried out the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars-run VFW Restaurant where Spouse has gotten his fill of American food. We’ve also taken my parents, Youngest Sister and her 2 toddlers.

It’s such a delight to travel with my nephews (aged 1 and 2.5 years), they’re never cranky even when we made the 3-hour trek to Zambales to visit my mom’s brother now retired there. And they absolutely love road trips with vehicles zipping past us, the scenery and skies. One time, we even spied a huge and stately-looking dark brown horse on an open trailer. We got stuck in traffic at the Candaba viaduct which is undergoing repairs. But even that did not get the boys down. They just had more time to inspect the big busses and trucks that were stuck with us…funny how kids are fascinated by things we normally take for granted….like a truck’s under chassis for instance….
On this trip, we first went to a playground within the Clark compound where they had an old helicopter and a few planes on display. Of course the kids went gaga over that…not the playground – the planes! The adults enjoyed the clear blue skies, the cooler than normal weather and clean, clean air. I have to admit, I’ve only been to Metro Manila a couple of times since we arrived. I just can’t stand the pollution anymore. It’s gotten so much dirtier since I once went on my daily commute to the city over 6 years ago.

But back to the deli, it was a wonderful find that Spouse and I made a few weeks back. The food is delicious, the place is clean and well-lit – I always appreciate that. The deli well-stocked with steaks and fresh meat, cured meats and sausages, cheeses (wish they had more though – I’m missing provolone!), turkey, a goose even, some imported foodstuffs, vegetables, wines and freshly baked breads. The restaurant staff is very friendly, we have a regular waitress who recognizes us on just our second visit. The deli girls could smile more though….just for the heck of it?

What’s in your clubhouse sandwich?  Do you even belong to a club?  Whether or not you do, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Clubhouse Sandwich.  Apparently, different clubs have different ingredients in their clubhouse sandwich.

When Spouse and I went to Omaha  a few weeks ago, we stopped at a restaurant for brunch.  Spouse ordered his clubhouse sandwich but was told it didn’t come with bacon.  We were so sruprised because you’ll usually find bacon in most clubhouse sandwiches.  He had to pay extra if he wanted the bacone they said apologetically…and he did!

This is a recipe I picked up after coming from a 3-month Bangkok work assignment several years ago.  The photo was taken just before the final stir, aftet I just threw in the scallions, diced tomato and scrambled egg strips. 

The street food of Bangkok fascinated me of course.  The little soi where our office housed their foreign employees was just behind Bumrungrad Hospital, before it became famously world-class.  The street had several little motels, restaurants and several food hawkers selling, fried rice, pork hocks simmering in a sweet brown sauce, grilled seafood, mango salads, fresh fruits with sugar and chili powder…and so much more….which I all tried BTW.

This particular fried rice recipe I call Bangkok Fried Rice because it isn’t your usual Thai Fried Rice with aromatic herbs.  It’s rather plain compared to other Thai recipes, but I love the mix of chili paste and shrimp paste coupled with the fresh tomato thrown in at the last minute of this fried rice.  Tomato is not your usual fried rice ingredient and it worked wonderfully here.

After about a couple of weeks of landing in Bangkok, I had to refrain from my favorite street foods.  A co-woker from Singapore brought me to a restaurant that served clams which I didn’t recognize.  He called it blood clams or something and assured me they were good.  The following day, I was too sick to even see straight.  It was terrible and there’s nothing worse than getting sick in a foreign land all by yourself.

Good thing Bumrungrad Hospital was right across the street so I hauled myself to their emergency room and was told to stay overnight as they stuck needles in my arm.  Somehow reassuringly, my doctor was not surprised I had food poisoning and just told me to take it easy on the street food and gave me some pills and a prescription.  And so my street food bonanza in Bangkok ended.  Errr….well, suspended till further notice anyway.

Before this medical drama unfolded, I was a happy customer of this one lady who stationed herself right by the gate of the condominium where I was staying.  For the first couple of weeks, I ordered my fried rice from her. In fact, I got so addicted to her cooking I had fried rice for lunch almost daily.  I’d have chicken one day, beef the next then pork…but always from this same lady.  I would watch her cooking until it felt like I was making it myself.   When I got home to the Philippines, I tried this on my family and they just loved it. 

So here’s my recipe, using approximate portions:

4 c. cooked cold jasmine rice, tossed and separated with your moistened fingers

1 tbsp. light olive oil

1 lb. ground or thinly-sliced pork tenderloin

1 small onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, crushed and peeled

2 tbsp. fish sauce

4 tbsps. Thai Chili-Garlic Paste

3 tbsps. shrimp paste (Lee Kum Kee is always reliable)

1 tsp. Chinese wine

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. oyster sauce or Indonesian kecap manis

1 small carrot, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 c. shredded cabbage

salt to taste

1/2 c. frozen peas

2 green onions, sliced fine

1 med. tomato, diced

1 scrambled egg, cut in strips

Heat a large wok over high heat.  Add oil and when surface starts rippling after half a minute add the pork and stir fry a minute. 

Add the next 8 ingredients and stir fry till pork is cooked, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Then add the carrots and cabbage, stir fry another 2 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. 

Add the rice and stir until it’s evenly coated with the pan juices.  Stir fry about 3 minutes, correcting the seasoning as you mix.  Now add the tomatoes, scallions and egg strips and give it one last stir.  Turn off heat and serve immediately while tomatoes are still firm.

I first heard of Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue from Calvin Trillin’s book, “American Fried”.   Several years ago, I picked up a cheap copy of the book at that second hand book outlet they have in every SM Mall in Metro Manila.  I loved everything about the book: the author, the food, the mood, the places and the characters Calvin Trillin described in there just all came alive to me.  It never occurred to me that I would one day visit some of those places and try some of those foods he wrote about.

You can only imagine how surreal I felt finally standing in front of the original Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City last year, with the huge jar of sauce still sitting in the window as described in the book.  Spouse had never heard of it before, nor had he heard of Calvin Trillin so I felt rather silly about all  my enthusiasm.  But he tried to be as enthusiastic as I was about making the stop at KC and finding the place.  We made a long drive from Colorado to my sister in Orlando, Florida to celeberate Thanksgiving with her and another of my sisters.  We just had to stop in Kansas City.

On our road trip this summer, we went to Kansas City again.  This time we went on Labor Day weekend.  Yes, we went for a couple of Yankees games.  But we also went for Arthur Bryant’s.  In fact, it was our first stop in Kansas City.  Ohhhh but the lines were long….locals, a lot of tourists, but probably no regulars because the line stretched out the door.  I heard a lot of people making comments about “driving all that way…definitely getting the burnt ends….”

Calvin Trillin raved about the burnt ends they gave away for free in the early days of the restaurant’s operation.  Those bits of not all burnt ends are heavily flavored with the smoking and smothered in that delicious barbecue sauce.  It is a carnivore’s dream come to life.  Spouse was so surprised when he tasted it for the first time.

A big surprise for me on this trip was the smoked turkey.  It was moist and tender and had that rich smoky flavor.   I took a photo of everything we ordered but the file was somehow corrupted so I have nothing to show you.  But I hope you’ll find yourself in Kansas City, Missouri one day…if you do, check out Arhur Bryant’s – the best barbecue in the world.

Spouse and I caught 2 baseball games in Kansas City when we were over there last week.  The NY Yankees were playing the KC Royals over the Labor Day weekend.  Spouse is not exactly a fan of the Yankees, but I love them.  Even if people say they are over-rated and over-paid.  It’s the way they play, you see.  They just work so well as a team and I love watching them making that happen – even if they lose, which they did!  Oh but how they played, especially on that Labor Day game.  The Royals were just so primed that night, no one could’ve beat them.

When we got home, we hear they won the one game we didn’t see, 8-3.  Jorge Posada was even supposed to have scored multi-homers. I’ve never seen Posada (gee, he’s so good-looking!) hit a home run before.  That would’ve been something.

And the Big Unit, Randy Johnson (who just happens to be the best pitcher in the MLB) had to pitch on that one night we didn’t catch the game!  Oh well, maybe next time….I’ll catch all of them in one game.  Whatever happened to Mariano Rivera?   Love the way that guy can pitch…

Oh yes, the photo….can you guess what that guy has hanging from a pole?  It’s plastic canisters of cotton candy.  He was negotiating the stadium stands with that pole strewn with pails of cotton candy….a master acrobat if I ever saw one.

Of course, we did the only logical thing  when you find yourself in Kansas City watching a baseball game at Kaufmann Stadium – we had Gates BBQ that we bought there. I missed a few good plays trying not to get barbecue sauce on my shirt.  Spouse had the beef snadwich and I had the pork.  I’m not that impressed – burp – I still prefer Arthur Bryant’s BBQ.

We just got back from Omaha, Nebraska a couple of days ago.  We like taking to the road instead of flying.  For one thing, we can take all the gadgets we need and not worry about check-ins at the airport.  Its also a lovely drive, through the Eastern Plains and little towns of Colorado and the cornfields of Nebraska.  I love how green Nebraska can be.  This time, I caught a hint of gold in the fields and trees…..autumn seems to be creeping up on us and the bitter cold will be here before you know it. 

The Nebraska rural scenery is very distinctly middle-America – to me anyway.  It always looks like it’s ready for the camera, but I’m too busy enjoying it to bother taking a photo.  The photo above is from the Nebraska tourism website…a stock photo of the Arch at Kearney.  We go through that arch as we drive on Interstate 80 coming from Colorado.

Just imagine driving down smoothly paved roads at 75 mph with the green cornfields, the fat and happy cows in the fields and pens, the old and new farmhouses and barns, an old 1-room schoolhouse here and there, the small man-made lakes reflecting the blue sky, the wide and vast expanse of green fields and every now and then,you’ll sometimes spot  a green John Deere tractor with its perfect tuft of smoke coming out of its exhaust pipe making the view just a little bit more interesting….or maybe there’s a coal-laden train stretching for more than a mile  cutting through the scenery…making it just picture perfect…so serene.

The best part about driving through Nebraska are the rest stops!  This state is very generous with their rest stops…you’re never more than about 30 minutes from one.  That is very considerate of them, I must say.  On the other hand, Colorado is terrible for rest stops.  If you have to rely solely on state-operated rest stops, you’ll be in trouble driving through Colorado.  Texas likes their rest stops big and grand…but they don’t have as many as Nebraska does.

This is the state that Bill Clinton never visited when he was president.  I can’t imagine why not.  Nebraska is in an area widely known as America’s heartland.  It’s Johnny Carson’s home state.  The state where the country’s second richest man, Warren Buffet, lives and works.  These men are men I’ve always admired for their simplicity and sincerity.  That’s just how Nebraska and its people are – no nonsense, no frills, just down to earth and homey through and through.