GREEN MANGO SORBET AND QUESTIONS (FAT) WOMEN HATE

"Naglilihi ka ba?" (Are you craving food because you're pregnant?)
"Buntis ka ba?" (Are you pregnant?)
"Ilang taon na ang panganay mo?" (What's the age of your eldest child?)
"Pang-ilan mo na yan?" (How many kids do you have?)
"Kailan ka manganganak?" (When are you due to give birth?)

These are questions I hate getting asked.

I've never had a child. I'm not planning on having one  anytime soon.

These are questions I usually get asked when someone I have not seen for a long time wants to break ice. They ask this because they don't want to say to your face that you've gained so much weight, you look like you always eat for two.

And if you like to eat green mangoes, a food craved by many Pinays during their first trimester of pregnancy, you are sure to be unfairly barraged by these questions.

So to those whom I have not seen for a long time. No. I am not pregnant.

I'm a fat woman who likes to eat green mangoes. 

There I said it. 

Am I sorry for saying it? No.
Will you be sorry for asking me the questions listed above? Probably.

This Green Mango Sorbet by Sebastian's is  what brought on this particular train of rant thought.

If you want your green mangoes cold, then this is the way to enjoy it.

Ms. Ice cream attendant scoops some sorbet, heats up the bagoong in the microwave...

... pours it on the sorbet. the warm fishpaste  melts the top of the icy concoction.

Yup, that's real bagoong!

Scooping a spoonful of icy green mango with bits of fish paste is  a weird experience,  I have to admit. But the dude who runs the artisanal ice cream joint is probably weirder. I don't know him and I'm afraid to be his friend because he might just make me taste test ampalaya ice cream.

I think the sorbet can work well on its own. maybe in a sit-down dinner, in between courses.

On the first day that the Katipunan branch opened, I tasted "Once In a Blue Moon"- blue cheese ice cream topped with crunchy walnuts and honey.

I have to warn you, though. It takes some getting used to. And you might want to take it in small amounts. It might be TMTH.

If freaky ice cream flavors ain't your thing, then you might want to start off with these flavors:

Mango Sans Rival

Chocoholics Anonymous

But if you;re feeling a bit experimental, they also have their Proudly Pinoy line: Sapin-sapin, Tibok-Tibok, Champorado and Mangga't Suman. 

A taste for weird and wacky flavors are not exclusive to craving pregnant women. 

It can be for anyone now.

 

Spinach Butter and French Toast

You, you read that right. That's not peanut butter but SPINACH Butter.

While i was making some French Toast last Sunday morning, I got distracted from my thoughts of Hollandaise sauce saw the packet of Spinach and had me a crazy idea... why don't I make Spinach flavored butter?

So I did.

SPINACH BUTTER

Ingredients
200-250 grams Spinach, washed
1/2 bar butter (approx. 115g.)
half a head of garlic, peeled, finely minced
1 onion, peeled finely minced
1/3 cup all-purpose cream
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic and onions in olive oil. Melt the butter separately and add to the pan. Mix in the all- purpose cream. When the mixture has homogenized, add in the spinach and remove from heat when the spinach turns a brighter shade.  Let it cool. Once the mixture has reached room temperature, place it in a blender and liquify. this process brings out the bitterness of the spinach, so choose if you want some texture, less bitterness, or smoothness with a  bitter after taste. The Spinach butter is a bit like creamy  arugula - the creamy, salty buttery taste is made more full-bodied by the green leafy spinach and sharpness of the garlic and balanced by the bitter after taste.

I wonder if there is a way to remove that bitter after taste?

In small quantities, it did go well with the French toast and bacon that I made.

You can dip the bread and put a little salty bacon on top.

Mamou

Recently shared another great dinner with a friend who recently celebrated his birthday at Mamou, Serendra.   Just a small group but not very quiet.

We started out with the Mamou Charcuterie. Hard to pronounce but very easy to eat. It's a set of  cold cuts (which is what the word charcuterie means) served on a thick chunk of wood.

A platter of prosciutto, pepper salami, sliced chorizo iberico, soft cow's milk, cranberry stilton cheese, green olives with baby gherkins, guindillas, raspberry jam & honey.

The first plate to be served was the  citrus rubbed pork & chicken served with  red Cuban rice, cinnamon saba and black beans. Looked like Arroz Ala Cubana but instead of ground pork, the dish was served with lechon manok and lechon carahay.

This was a great partner to the Palm Spring rolls (Lumpiang Ubod).

  

The other great partnering for the night was the Angus Ribeye steak and the Healdsburg's Harvest with the cranberry vinaigrette dressing.

 

Someone ordered Lorenzo's Truffle Cream using whole wheat spaghettini, truffle- flavored cream and topped with the Grana Padano Cheese, a popular grated cheese made mostly near Milan.

Now that I am thinking about it... Mamou sounds French, looks French but what we ordered wasn't very French at all. Mostly Pinoy food with Anglo-fied names. Or occidental cuisine with Pinoy versions. Interesting food for thought. 

FUNNY FOOD FIND: EAT IT DON'T TWEET IT MUSIC VIDEO

Typed in "Food Porn" on the Youtube search box and got me some Anthony Bourdains and a couple of Nigella Lawsons and then this... EAT IT, DON'T TWEET IT.

CLICK HERE to watch the video

Here's to us who tweet before we eat!

LYRICS
Life is a dish, best served hot,
And a dish is a book with a menacing plot,
And a plot is a song, dipped in sauce,
That was simmered in a pan with a demi-glaze,
I'm just a kid, in a candy shop,
Of culinary dreams that can't be stopped,
On a search for the perfect ingredients,
To post on my social medias.

You are pathetic,  we're not photogenic
Hurry it up we're getting cold,
Come down here and taste us, don't humiliate us,
No one gives a damn bout what you post

Artisan bread, dipped in artisan cheese,
dipped in artisan nuts, dipped in artisan greens,
Artisan heirloom radicchio,
This carpaccio's f-ing ridiculo,
A little foie gras and tuna tartare
Black truffle butter chickweed, ha ha ha!
I'm just a guy with a camera,
In your feed with foods as my canvassa,
Lobster bisque buttered lightly
See you in the bowl and need you inside me
I love soup - don't call me a Nazi
I'm more like culinary paparazzi
Or gastronomic Annie Leibowitz
Can't see the food, could you move your tits?
It's unthinkable to dine out and not record it
Want the world to know I can f*cking afford it

Don't take my picture, don't put me on twitter
Just get it over with and eat
You could not be dumber, get off of Tumblr
I'm more than just a piece of meat

I want lucious cupcakes but can't do gluten
Broke out in hives from a mere fig newton
A sick addiction to Ramsey's kitchen
I can't stop lickin my television
One day the phone rang, was truly blessed
I won a contest to be on Runway Chef
A show about a model who also makes food
Seemed appropriate, I be in the nude,
She was stuffing and tossing and dripping sauce
I was shooting and looting and gitting lost
In the moment of foregone purity
Got escorted out by security
Walked down the stairs, then out of nowhere
Came a big pretentious grizzly bear
He snapped a pic and then dined on me
Oh what a tale of irony

Don't take my photo, you brown furry mofo
The pain in my heart is very real
I need a martini, I feel like sashimi
You gave me the raw end of the deal

ARACAMA

Braved the bed weather last Saturday night to have dinner with people I love and love to work with at Aracama, the newest dining place to be seen at, apparently. Having said that, I walked in with reservations, since my experience with celebrity chefs have ranged from delightful to disappointing, leaning more towards the latter.

The whole second floor was taken up by the party for celebrity birthday girl Ruffa Guttierrez. Happily, Chef Fern has an small area for about 20 people on one side of the area and our party of seven had been smartly reserved a table.

It was a fun night of feasting, imbibing, story-telling and star-gazing that started out with a trio of appetizers.

L-R: Mozarella Malunggay Dip, Fishballs, Chorizo Frito

The Fishballs aren't the kind  you find on the street but rather a tastier version with less air pockets inside.  The Malunggay Mozarella dip was also a creamy delight but needs a little bit more mozarella for that tangy punch. The Chorizo Frito was like hamonado- flavored Chinese chorizo. A bit too sweet for my taste, if you ask.

The group also ordered salad, which was good but...

Salad with feta cheese, grapes and walnuts

... was off-key with the Kansi soup.

Kansi

The Kansi  was perfect for the rainy night, with the pork and batuan soup base, sour enough for my taste. Can't help comparing it to JT Manukan's version, though, which I find having a fuller bodied soup base.

The Kansi was best partnered  with the fish dishes, though.

Rellenong Bangus and Crispy Tilapia

One of the first to be finished was the Rellenong Bangus, an 8-9 inch headless milkfish skin with flavored and flaked bangus meat inside. The open-faced Crispy Tilapia was good (best eaten hot) but the real kicker in this dish is the geen mango salad on top which I think should be eaten with a sinamak (coconut vinegar) dressing.

Don't laugh now but we also had Kare-Kare, Callos, Humba and Crispy Pata. Luckily I was wearing a loose dress that night.

Kare-Kare

The vegetables in the Kare-Kare was served separately which makes it better to look at and easier to eat (and share).  The Bagoong was not as salty as the ones I like best from Malabon, though.

Callos

The winning element in the Callos was the tenderness of the tripe. The dish had a home-cooked feel.

Crispy Pata and Humba

The Crispy Pata did not disappoint. Crispy, crackling skin and tender meat inside. A runner-up for my favorite Judy Ann's Crispy Pata from Malabon.   The Humba was a tad too dark,  a bit too sweet. It looked burnt, not caramelized.

All of these were served wit rice...and we had a lot of choices: Kalkag, Kalo-kalo and a brown & red rice mix.

L-R: Kalkag, Brown and red rice mix, Kalo-kalo

Kalkag is basically fried rice with whole dried baby shrimp fry, kalo-kalo is the Ilonggo version of sinangag.

The mos unforgettable part of the meal was the dessert: Dulce de Leche. The candied condensed milk was obviously made the traditional way- the condensed milk is boiled inside the original can until it reaches a caramel-like consistency.

The whole dining experience was fantastic as it was with friends and the staff were helpful but not intrusive. We even got the chance to meet Chef Fern himself. The night was made more fun by the presence of stars walking up to the second floor dining area. Aracama could very well be The Fort's version of The Ivy in Hollywood.

The meals were relatively affordable (we spent about 900 bucks each, for everything, including drinks and coffee). I was a bit surprised though that after tasting each dish, I ended up comparing it and yearning for a different version like the Kansi. The gustatory experience gave us one brilliant dessert and good comfort food for most parts.

For those who want to have a taste of Aracama, come with no great expectations, people you love to enjoy food with and a bit of patience if you want to star-gaze.