Ang alamat ng pinya (the legend of the pineapple)

I consider the pineapple as a festive fruit, in that it conjures images of eating the fruit by the beach, or of fruit salads in parties. It's also a popular snack item. We love our pineapple with a bit of salt, especially if it's a bit sour.

Filipino folklore tells of the story of Pina, a girl in the barrio who was an only child and thus was a bit spoiled. Her mother did most of the household chores. One time, her mother got sick and it was all up to Pina to cook their dinner. However, she hadn't exactly been helpful around the house and so she performed the duty with difficulty. She especially didn't know where things were and so when she could not find the ladle and her mother got tired of answering her every question, her mother wished aloud that Pina had eyes all over her head so she can see what she's looking for. Grumbling, Pina stepped out of the house. That was the last that was seen of her.

After a few days her mother, worried what had happened to her daughter, had finally gotten well. In her search, she was surprised to find this strange plant in her backyard. She tended to it, and eventually it bore fruit with a hundred eyes. She got what she wished for, it seems.

I learned about this tale way back when I was a kid. I wonder if schools still teaches Filipino folklore to today's kids. We have a rich heritage of wonderment and legends.

Of course, thinking about the pineapple as Pina reincarnate can sometimes be off-putting, especially if you are about to eat it. So let's set aside the Alamat for a while and see how the pineapple is served!

iGoogle Gourmet Themes

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iGoogle has currently announced a wide range of culinary delights for your iGoogle page.

Choose from over 20 themes that personalizes your iGoogle background, and then spice it up a bit further by adding yummy gadgets.

Ginger beer

I got this recipe from a local TV show called Cool Kids Cooking. There's bottled ginger beer here called Bundaberg which I like a lot, so I thought being able to make some at home is really cool.

I made one major error, though. The recipe called for uncreamed honey. Eh? What's that? Well, we have honey in the cupboard so I used that. Eventually I noticed it was creamed honey. I thought it made little difference if I switched. How wrong I was! My ginger beer turned very sweet! I had to add half a liter of water to the final mix to dilute it. So that's what you can also do if ever you do not have uncreamed honey.

Also, the original procedure called for "a few hours" to make the yeast to its work, I allotted 6 hours, but a couple of days later you will notice that the ginger tastes so much better. So here is my version:

Vanilla ice cream with kumara and plantain

There's nothing really fancy with this recipe, inspite of the title. Just applying what I have learned here in New Zealand. Kumara is the local term for sweet potatoes. It looks a lot like the camote in the Philippines, although I think we have a bit more variety, like the deep purple variety that's sometimes mixed with yam, and the whitish kind that is ideal for boiling. One thing I noticed with the kumara here is that it has loads more water content. When we thinly slice our camote and fry it, we end up with crispy chips. The kumara on the other hand remains pliable.

Liquorice: a sweet discovery

We have been spotting a number of liquorice confections in the grocery store but have generally avoided the stuff because, well, it sounded like it's an acquired taste, like Marmite (even if Harry Potter and friends did have the occasional liquorice wand). I mean, is there liquor in it? Tee-hee.