How to make crispy and juicy fruit pudding

To grow a tree, you first need to plant a seed

A friend gave us some avocadoes November of last year, and as is usual practice we would throw away the inedible parts (ie skin and seeds). However in this instance I had a flash of inspiration and decided to try and give the 3 seeds (or, in this case, pits) a second chance.  So I googled for the best way to get the plant going and pierced the pit with three toothpicks to suspend it on glass with its pointy end submerged in water.

Ginisang kamatis (sauteed tomatoes)

My wife casually mentioned that my Nanay shared this recipe with her in one of their more recent phone conversations.  I love it, and friends do too!  It's like a thick sauce for that perfect side dish to fried fish (and I did not mean to rhyme!).  The above photo is the second batch my wife has cooked in a week.

The Avocado sandwich that became more than an avocado sandwich

I've seen a number of people use avocado as a sandwich filler, and so I have gotten used to this although initially I found it odd (as did most Filipinos here in New Zealand, I'm sure).  You see, avocadoes are consumed differently in the Philippines.  It's mixed with evaporated milk and sugar and thus eaten as a sweet treat.  It's never used in sandwiches or salads.

Pavlova

So after you've made your yema balls, what do you do with the egg whites? Make Pavlova, of course!

Pavlova is a popular meringue-based dessert here in New Zealand. The name sounds Russian because it actually is; this dish is named after Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. This is usually served during Christmas and special occasions but I will add another reason to make Pavlova: when you have leftover egg whites!

Here's an important tip: make this dessert the night before.  This is because you will need to let the Pavlova rest inside the oven overnight.  The probability of deflating is high when you take it out of the oven immediately, so it's best to just leave it in until it has sufficiently cooled down.

The fruits of summer

I was initially skeptical about visiting the Philippines in the summer, primarily because the kids might not be able to cope with the heat.  But it turned out my worries were for naught; we had a really great time!  And now I realize what perfect timing we had for our holiday, as fruits were in abundance!  Join me in a visual journey of the fruits we were able to feast on!

One can't go wrong with green mangoes and a shrimp paste dip.  Mouth-watering goodness.

Ensaladang mangga (Mango salad)

Ensaladang mangga (Mango salad)

I bought this mango because I wanted to make ice candy out of it. However, the mango turned out to too firm to mash properly. Good thing we were invited to dinner where we were going to fry some fish. Mango salad is the perfect fit for it! And so easy to make. Just chop and mix!

Fun fruit salad

Fun fruit salad

I picked up a packet of almond-flavoured agar-agar (or simply agar, which is similar to gelatin but derived from red algae instead of animal proteins - yes I looked that up) from the Asian store some time back because I like making simple desserts. Incidentally, the same packet had this cool idea of mixing up some agar cubes with tinned fruit salad. What could be simpler? 

I just had the opportunity to make this last weekend when we had some friends over. They wanted to enjoy the sunny, great outdoors by tramping up the mountain and wanted Jo-Lo and myself as tour guides. We would all be back home by sundown and we knew everyone would be famished by then, so my wife decided to whip up some pasta in white sauce and I cooked the Agar and the gelatin ahead of time so it can cool down while we're away and then I can just combine the ingredients together when we get back. 

Fruit kebab

Surprisingly, one of the easiest thing to prepare in my son's birthday party was easily one of the most popular.  The kids loved it; a colourful and naturally sweet concoction that's also a healthy treat.  So the next time there's a party coming up, why don't you try making this too?

Banana bread

I saw a couple of bananas sadly fading away on the countertop.  While it's no fun eating overripe banana, there is a better alternative: make banana bread!  I added a couple more good bananas to the mix and I'm ready to go.

Plums and Apricots

Apricot (left) and Plum (right). Table spoon added for size comparison

When we do our groceries, we usually head off to the veggies, meat and packaged products after grabbing fruits that we are familiar with: bananas, apples and oranges mostly.  I have become rather fond of feijoas
because they remind me of our yummy guava so we buy these too whenever in season.
This week I decided to have a look at our other fruit options because I suddenly found myself longing for some of our ours, hoping that these can tide me over until the day we visit the Philippines again.  I guess it cannot be helped that I will compare the taste of the fruits here with those I grew up with, but at the same time it makes it a bit easier to describe what these are like.

Kiwi Fruit Popsicles

I spotted a popsicle mould last weekend while doing the groceries, and I thought it would be great to make frozen treats with the kiwi fruits which we have a lot of at home right now, given to my wife by friends.  She surely would not be able to eat all of them so turning these into popsicles (or, as my son Jo-Lo said, they're ice blocks) might make it more fun to eat and they'll keep longer in the freezer than on the tabletop.

Philippine mangoes: the best mangoes ever

I missed our mangoes so much.  The mangoes that we get in Wellington are imported, but are of a different variety.  It's just not as bright and sweet as ours.  Even our green mangoes has its own distinct sour taste that goes very well with fish sauce.  Yum!

Suha (Pomelo)

Because of the lengths I went through to buy suha (going back to the market numerous times and searching high and low), this one deserves a post all its own.

Turon with mango

We spent a couple of afternoons looking for canned langka (jackfruit) which we were going to use for turon, as the banana plantains I have placed in the heater cabinet has turned a bright yellow, perfect timing for the weekend.  Unfortunately we could not find any, and the bananas were rearing to go.  Another week and we'll be looking at overripe stuff.  So from out of the blue I picked up canned mango instead.  The result: mushy sweetness within the crunchy pastry!  It's quite good, although I still think nothing beats langka with turon.  Still, this is a good alternative if you want to jazz up your turon and langka is not available.

Nigella's Dessert

Nigella Kitchen, one of our favourite cooking shows back in Manila, is in FreeView! We watched the first episode a couple of nights back, and the first recipe she did was a light and fruity dessert that's so easy to make I did not have to write it down to recall how it was made. The only concern I had with this recipe was that the bread she used looked extra special, not the type we usually buy. When Nigella sliced the loaf, it looked a lot like cake!

But in a curious twist of the day, I found myself having breakfast the next day with the yummiest loaf bread I've had so far. My wife bought some good quality bread! Nigella's recipe immediately came to mind and so right after work, I bought cream and frozen berries.

Some friends came over and I shared this dessert with them. Asking how it was done, I explained the recipe and that it was from Nigella's show. Unfortunately, I could not recall the name of the dish. In-between mouthfuls, a friend said, "Nigella's Dessert". And so that's the name I've used. I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding sugar to the cream for a hint of sweetness.

Ambrosia

After having a hearty lunch at a friend's house, this was placed on the table in a tub of ice cream. 'Ooooh, guinataan!' I exclaimed. 'Nope, secret!' said Cacay, who made this dessert. Puzzled, I took some in a bowl and took my first bite. It was wonderful. Different textures and tastes happening instantaneously: a crunch, then something soft, then something sweet, and then sour. It was intriguing. We couldn't stop eating. 'It's Ambrosia', Cacay finally revealed. It was a hit with both grownups and kids!

Orange Jelly

Jo-Lo actually brought this from school. At first I was ignoring it, thinking it was just another one of those fruit slices that made it to Jo-Lo's baon and made the return trip back home (hindi kinain). But right after dinner they started spooning out... gelatin!

I was amazed. What a delightful way to serve gelatin for dessert!

I already had some thoughts about how it was done but a friend, who is an Early Childhood Education teacher, told me how it was made. Very simple and fun!

Ingredients:
Orange-flavoured gelatin
3 medium oranges (or approximate how many orange halves can be filled by your gelatin mix)
water

Procedure:
All you have to do is slice the orange in half, then use a juicer to extract the juice (do not squeeze). Spoon out the pulp and you're left with two hollow orange halves.

Use the fresh orange juice supplemented by water to satisfy the amount of water needed to make the gelatin. Obviously you will need to use the orange-flavoured variety. Follow the instructions on the packet to make the gelatin.

The gelatin will be very hot so let it stand for a while. Then pour the gelatin on the orange halves. When sufficiently cooled, refrigerate, making sure that it has support and not roll all over the place (egg cartons or ice cub containers will do nicely).

When the gelatin has firmed, slice each orange half into two. Now you have the orange gelatin quarters to enjoy!

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Melon-banana smoothie

My wife bought a melon inspite of it being a bit expensive (read: imported) because she missed the taste and asked me to prepare it for after-meal consumption. Without that clever gadget most Philippine kitchens have that turns coconut and melon meat into strings, I resort to the blender. I decided to add a banana because this fruit goes well with almost anything. It also adds a bit of texture into the smoothie. However, I recommend using only a small banana as its taste can overpower the melon.

Blueberry muffin

We went blueberry picking one sunny Saturday afternoon with friends, and went home with lots to spare for a recipe or two. One thing that comes to mind when blueberries are mentioned are the muffins. So I tried this recipe and it worked out real yummy. This one even features a crunchy topping, making it something different from what I have baked before. This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins.