Of Eggs and Milk: Leche Flan ni Charing

Let me start by assuring you that my Lola Charing's Leche Flan is the smoothest, creamiest, most melt-in-your-mouth Leche Flan you’ll ever have the pleasure of trying. As opposed to Creme Brulee (a custard with a hard caramel topping), Leche Flan or Creme Caramel, is a dessert made from milk and eggs with a soft caramel topping. This egg-milk mixture is then placed in a llanera, an oval-shaped tin pan, to steam. Custard cups or ceramic ramekins are now used for convenience.

This custard dessert is in the menu of most restaurants because of its shelf life and is convenient to prepare. In our household, my Leche Flan is the top dessert of all time. It really is so rich and heavenly; everyone in our family would always request for me to make Leche Flan, whenever an occasion calls for it. In our family, everyday is an occasion and Leche Flan is how far my kitchen skills go.

To make the perfect leche flan, you will need a lot of practice and patience. It takes some luck (and practice, of course!) to make it just right so that the flan will hold its shape when removed from the mould, still turning out creamy and firm.

To quote a friend "Your Leche Flan is the best I've tasted. 10 thumbs up!"

The Best Pork and Beans Ever

Here's a little story about this bean dish....it will always remain a memory. I remember this "bechuelas" dish as a little girl, somewhere between the age of 5-10. Every summer, my cousins and I would take swimming lessons at the local YMCA, which is near Mamang's house (Mamang's our maternal grandmother, btw). Swimming day would mean a treat (more like a meal, really!) after our lessons. We would all troop down to my grandmother's house where she would welcome all about 7-10 of us and nourish our little tired and worn bodies (we had an "Army Seargeant" for a swimming coach, you would think he was training us for the Olympics).

No one will ever forget Mamang's pork and beans. They were the best beans and we would eagerly wait in line for our share. Through the years, we have kept the recipe of this ultra-savory bean dish. She has passed on to eternity, but the memory has never faded. Every so often I like to surprise my mom (especially) with this dish.

Mamang's Homemade Pork and Beans

White kidney beans
Pork belly slices
Large onion chopped
Whole head of garlic
Tomato sauce'
Cheese cubes

1. Soak your beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse
2. In a large pot, boil your beans, pork, and garlic until both pork and beans are tender.
3. Add chopped onion and tomato sauce.
4. Simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Boil for another few minutes and add the cheese.

Long and slow cooking is the secret to good beans. It might look like a lot of work, but it's all done in stages. Once it's put together in the pot, you can forget about it until it's time to eat.. the taste is worth it and Mamang's legacy lives on.

One's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

A garage sale (a.k.a jumble sale, attic sale, garage sale, junk sale, rummage sale, lawn sale, rummage sale, tag sale, moving sale, yard sale, or thrift sale) is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used or second hand goods.

Here’s my story. I got wind that my niece was holding a garage sale on the weekend. It occurred to me that maybe, I won't regret going to the said jumble sale. Boy, am I pleased I did!

As soon as I walked through the red gate, I knew I had hit a jackpot.There were so many items I could have bought. Sheer lack of cash restricted my spending. I had to limit myself to four items (pay check doesn't come in about another 2 weeks! Tough!)

Maxi dresses have become an important summer wardrobe item. This cute black number with adorable florals let you channel your inner bohemian girl.

Maroon cotton gauze boho bohemian paisley-printed tailored blouse is perfect paired with denim shorts for coffee dates with friends or paired with slim denims and wedge sandals for work.

Thin shoulder straps, shoulder-baring neckline plus a front ruffle make this romper extra feminine. Pair it with your favorite flip-flops and you're ready for a weekend out at the mall or a trip to another jumble sale or to the beach even.

This fluttery polka-dotted tent blouse flatters any shape. Flowy fabric and light pleating makes this both dreamy and desirable with a touch of elegance. This understated beauty is great for everyday wear or under a jacket for a stylish day at work.

Do you visit many jumble sales? What would you have bought had you been at this sale (which is still open today, by the way)?

Mango Tango: Cupcakes That Are Like Gifts of Gold

Mangoes are my and my mom's favorite fruit. I'm crazy about mangoes, green or ripe. I'll eat them because I crave them. As soon as summer comes every year, I just need to have my daily fix of mangoes. Not one bit of the mango (except the skin and the seed of course!) go to waste when it's cut up and served on the table to eat. I even used to snack on green mangoes dipped in a vinegar-soy sauce-salt mixture (Yum!)

When I came across Mango cupcakes on G.Licious, I knew I just had to get them for Mother's Day, and to my surprise these cupcakes were really delicious and moist. These cupcakes brim with the golden fruit, from the cake to the creamy and luscious buttercream, offering the fragrant mango scent I was looking for. Topped with a sliver of fresh tangy mango, gives a wonderful texture contrast waking up your senses.

Taking a bite of this mango-overload of a cuppie put a huge smile on this gal's face. It let me appreciate the simplicity of a baked goodie that used a single ingredient to create it's flavor. These cupcakes are just deliciously sinful. Overall, I was pretty happy... mango-liciousness achieved!

Cravings Satisfied at Pino!

Our whole team agreed to have lunch out of the office at least once a month. I have always loved Filipino dishes and for this month, the restaurant of our choice was Pino!, located on Wilson St. in Lahug, Cebu City. In Cebuano, the word "pino" is used as an adjective to mean fine or refined. As a restaurant, Pino!, signifies the owners' dedication to serve the best Filipino cuisine in the classiest way possible.

The moment we entered the place, I knew we were up for something good. From the Colonial-period interior design to their combination of Filipino and Spanish dishes with an Oyster Bar and dessert buffet with bottomless iced tea at an affordable price of P299... I wasn't disappointed.

Recommended dishes at Pino Filipino Cuisine Restaurant:

Calamares are slices of fresh squid dipped in Japanese batter and deep fried for a very crispy result.

Chicken Relleno is a boneless chicken stuffed with a mix of pork, ham, sausages, relish and cheese.

Kalderetang Baka is a classic Filipino dish of chunks of beef ribs simmered in garlic, onions, tomato sauce and bay leaves. Cubes of potatoes, carrots and bell peppers are added to enhance the color of the dish.

Halaan is a clam broth cooked with ginger and tomatoes.

Bam-i is a noodle dish of Cebuanos. It is a concotion of egg noodles and vermicelli noodles with strips of pork, seafoods and vegetables.

Paella Negra calls for squid ink in white rice with olive oil, garlic, paprika, green peppers and seafood broth. The dish's dark color comes from squid ink which also enhances its seafood flavor.

Bistek Tagalog is the Filipino beef steak. These are thin slices of tender beef, simmered in a marinade of soy sauce, calamansi (Philippine lemon), and pepper.

Brazo de Mercedes cubes are meringue cubes with a faint flavor of native lime and a filling of egg yolk-based pastry cream.

Maja Blanca con Mais is a soft cake of steamed coconut cream with corn.

At the end of our lunch break, I finally had my cravings fully satisfied. So delicious I wanted to go back the next day for another round of an eat all you can buffet that's distinctly Cebuano in taste, full of flavor, sinfully irresistible... the kind that reminds you of food prepared at home by Grandma.

Celebration of Life and Death

Oh how I wanted to hate and be angry at you for leaving. We didn’t know how sick you were. We all thought it was just heartburn. No one could’ve prevented it. I asked you to have it checked out all the time, but you being you, you didn’t think about yourself but worried more about everyone else.  If only you had.

I miss you so much.  There are times that the pain comes out of nowhere, as if I was brought back those first few minutes of that frightful night. You just don’t know how much I miss you. I keep thinking of things to come that I could no longer share/celebrate with you. My birthday came and I was reminded of how you would always be the first to greet me on my birthdays. It felt different because there was one greeting missing.

The other day, I woke up in the middle of the night, had coffee, wishing you were there to share a cup with me while watching senseless TV with the wolves. The emptiness I feel will never be filled and missing you will become even more painful in the coming years —in grandiose moments of celebrations and flitting moments of weakness. I miss you the most when I'm frustrated with work or with friends. You were always willing to let me just rant and rant. I counted on you to be there, to protect me. I guess that's why I miss you.

All I know is that you are helping me survive. Does not matter if there is a granite plaque and a stone wall protecting you from this world — I can feel a certain closeness with you, taking comfort in the knowledge that I could go and visit you anytime I want to. You left too soon. I hope you know that to us, you were a perfect brother, a perfect son to Mommy, a perfect husband to Achie and the best father to Nicole. Everyone loved you despite your problems. I hope your wounds – both physical and mental – are healed, and that you are safe there.

It has been a year since you have left us. It amazes me sometimes how I survived a full year without you, I can only wonder when I will see you again. 

Love you Manoy.

Mi Corazon at 69

There’s no bond quite like that between a mother and her child. She knows me in ways no one else ever will. She sees in me all the things I can still become and continue having faith that I can do and be whatever I want, no matter what my age. She is my number 1 fan, my confidant, my turn-to-person, my mentor, my hero when my whole world comes crashing down.  She is the first one I go to tell when things are doing great. The comfort coming from the friendship I have with her, the confidence that her faith in me in stills, and her unquestioning support of whatever I do, is irreplaceable. The kind of there-for-me that she is, is the very essence of what makes her a great mother.

When I think of the many words that I could use to describe my mother, one word that comes to mind is “COACH”. She ALWAYS gives me that PUSH I need in my life. When I was a child she encouraged me to always do what was right. In all of my forty years, she's also my taskmaster, my co-conspirator and, sometimes, even my loan officer. She taught me so many things, probably a lot more than what was taught in school.

Although you might not have pegged her as a business woman, she taught me about the art of deal-making. There were times she would say, "Okay, let us make a deal."  These deals never had any strings attached to them, which is why I always felt loved, but never made it in sales.

She taught me a lot about strength and endurance. In my case, it was trying to open recalcitrant jar tops for her or bringing down heavy boxes. But more often than not, it is her strength that I learned from, especially when Manoy passed away last year. We all worried so much about her, but she worried more about us. While many in her position may have become weaker, I saw her become stronger. She lived on because this family is her life and we are still here. We gave her strength, but unbeknownst to her, she gave us more.

She had taught me a lot of things about love and the meaning of family. Sometimes it is a play-by-play on the telenovela she is watching, regardless of whether or not I am interested. But most often, it is how she shows her unconditional love to not only blood relations, but to everyone – wife, husband, friend, girlfriend or boyfriend – ex or present of each member of the family. To her family, is not genetic, but a feeling. Once you were loved by someone she loved, she loved you.

She is the central hub of our family. The keystone in the arch. The foundation of our lives. I could talk endlessly about how amazing my mother is. I wear her unconditional love and support around me like a big hug every single day. She is my best friend, and that’s why I tell her as much as I can how grateful I am to have someone as amazing as she is as my mother.

Mom, I am so blessed to have you in my life. I’ve probably said it before, but I'll say it again — You are my angel on earth, Mom. Thank you for always, always being at my side and having my back. No one is in my corner quite the way you are. I treasure you, Mom, and love you more than life itself. You are an amazing soul ever ready to learn something new, always open to differing opinions, and so compassionate and kind. You have always taught by example. There will never be a day in my life when I won’t need you. I’m here for you too. Please remember that.

Happy, happy, happy birthday, Mom. Thank you for making my world a better place.