OF MEMORIES AND MARY GRACE'S ENSAIMADA & HOT CHOCOLATE

December often ushers a bounty of memories spent with family and friends. Especially when there is a reason for you and your loved ones to bond. Sadly, for my family, our reason for this season is the passing of my kuya (older brother). The past few weeks have been spent sharing memories of my brother. The thing about memories is that they can make you happy and melancholy at the same time.

In one of those moments spent as a respite from all the filial duties I found myself being seated by the hubby in a small open-area cafe in the mall. The wait staff of Mary Grace Cafe, seeing that I was undecided (and perhaps looking a little lost) recommended the Hot Chocolate. Thick, warm and, yes, like memories, bittersweet. 

I decided to have some ensaimada with it. The light, fluffy pastry topped with cheese and sugar used to be a Christmas staple during my childhood. After all the aguinaldos were opened, my titas would serve it with hot chocolate before sending me and my cousins back to bed, happy with our Christmas hoard. Mary Grace's version did not have stringy shreds of cheese, instead, the cheese is finely grated and melted to a delicate golden perfection. No wonder, the business is thriving. There is something to come back to in this cafe.

 

The secrete to eating ensaimada with hot chocolate is to cut the pastry into small bite-sized pieces and then dip it in the hot chocolate. The saltiness of the cheese in the ensaimada brings out the sweetness of the chocolate.

After the first bite, I found myself smiling. Like the effect of the ensaimada on the hot chocolate, the simple delight of eating a perfectly paired merienda brought back sweet memories I will forever be grateful for.

Oops, I Did It Again... Binagoongang Baboy with Tsokolate Tablea

There are things  I had done once and will probably never do again...spelunking for five hours in Sagada, rappelling in the rain in Batangas and ramming an RV into a pyre of burning trash in Boracay ... unless it involves a nice early retirement package.

And there are things that I dream of doing at least once...skydive in Australia, fly the Zero-G plane in Florida and wash the windows of the 100th floor of the Empire State Building  in New York.

I am not exactly an extreme sports kinda gal but I do like taking risks that make me feel like I am laughing in the face of death (even if it's just really lame stuff).  

When it comes to gustatory delights, though, I believe in a no holds barred policy. I like to live my life dangerously, at least in the dining table.

This food freak wants to have tongue wrestling with a live baby octopus in Korea, make an oven out of yak carcass  in Mongolia and, eat blowfish in Japan.

One thing that I don't understand, and it just irks me sometimes, is when people who have very low BMI or body mass index (also known as 'thin people') often ask me why I like eating fatty. I hate it when they make it sound like I'm committing suicide. asking me in an incredulous tone while they hungrily look at the dripping salty, oily mess I am biting into.  I retort that I want to die happy. If you have a perfectly grilled piece of fatty meat in front of you, and an earthquake happens or you see an errant vehicle about to crash into you, you wouldn't want your last thoughts to be, "Oh fuck, I should've eaten that barbecue!", would you? Such silly last words will never be heard from me.

And on that note... Here's one of my favorite salty, fatty recipes, not for the faint of heart and those who want to achieve unbelievably low BMIs.

BINAGOONGANG BABOY NA MAY TSOKOLATE

Ingredients:
0.75 kg country style pork liempo, cut into 2-inch thick strips
1 cup Shrimp Bagoong from Malabon (salty baby shrimp paste with a hint of sugar and spice)
1/ 4 cup cooking  oil
1 head garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 onion,  sliced into rings
3 cups water
2-3 pieces grated Tsokolate Tablea
1 Long pepper (Siling-haba)

Using 1/2 cup of water, boil the pork.

 When the water has evaporated, lower the fire and sweat the pork until it produces some fat, Add the cooking oil and  sautee the garlic as you brown the pork.

Once the pork is browned, add the bagoong. Add the remaining water and let the concoction simmer. Mix every once in a while so the bottom of the pan does not burn. When the pork is tender,but the sauce still watery, add the siling haba and onion rings.

This will give the dish an undertone of heat. Once the dish reaches a sticky consistency, add the grated tsokolate tablea. The bitter sweetness of the tsokolate  will temper the heat and bring out the saltiness of the bagoong. Mix and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Separately, you may choose to blanche vegetables like okra, kangkong (water spinach), sigarilyas (winged beans), sitaw (string beans) or talong (eggplant) to serve with the binagoongan.

Serve with piping hot rice.