Mom's greatest lessons

This Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the wisdom of motherhood.

by: Maribeth Duque Mallari

The lessons we remember from our mothers do not usually come from what they told us to do as we were growing up, but from how they lived. What valuable lesson did your mom teach you that you want to pass on to your daughter… who will most probably become a mother too someday?   

1. Generosity
Dezza Pastor wants to pass on her mom’s generosity of spirit to her daughter, Aris. “My mom will do anything to make a loved one, close friend or family member, feel better.  More than material generosity, my mom shows how much she values you by sharing her most precious asset, her time and energy,” she says. “As a mom myself, I am more than aware of how it feels to be spread very thinly. I recognize how valuable my time can be. I ‘may not have time’ to socialize regularly or often enough, but my loved ones know that I will drop everything if they truly need me.”   

2. Love for God
Both Criselle Alejandro and Rissa Kawpeng thank their mothers for bringing them close to God.

“There are so many things I wish to pass on to my daughters that I learned from my mom. First is her love for the Lord. That's the greatest legacy she gave me,” says Rissa.

Criselle agrees and also says, “Having a close relationship with the Lord” really stands out from what she has learned from her mom. “I will definitely pass this on to my daughter,” she adds.

3. The value of today
The lesson Christine Kang learned from her mother is, “The value of focusing on what needs to be addressed today so that one can look forward to tomorrow, instead of wallowing in yesterday's mistakes or regrets.” No day but today indeed.

4. Commitment to Dad
Rissa Kawpeng admired how dedicated her mother was to her dad. “I never heard her raise her voice to him or say anything negative about him. She had a kind heart and never held a grudge against others.”  

5. Selflessness
When Sheila Galon moved to Canada, her mom had take on the housework. She remembers that if her dad was tired and couldn’t go to work, he had the option of calling in sick, but her mom never had that option. “I noticed my mom's dedication to her family. She did everything without complaint, but with much love. She was at ‘work’ 24/7, unpaid, and could not call in sick,” she says. “Now that I am a mom, I really appreciate more what my mom has done for us. This is something I want to pass on to my kids as well.”

6. Integrity
While growing up, Emily Yap noticed her mom’s strong moral principles. “I learned the value of integrity from my mother,” she shares. “I would like my daughter Hailey to value integrity and to have that sense of integrity as she passes through life.”

7. Value of good writing
Sitting you down to practice writing essays may not be something you’d be grateful to anyone for, but Criselle Alejandro thanks her mom for this lesson. “When I was in grade five, my mom made me practice writing compositions every day,” she explains. “That developed my writing skills and has proven beneficial to me in my life.”

8. Love through actions
Pia Camus and Julie Lipayon both noticed how their mothers showed their love in the way they took care of their children.

“Mom did not talk much. She led by example,” reminisces Pia. “I learned compassion and kindness from her. Please and thank you were big words with her. It is my wish to see these virtues lived by our four children.”

“One thing I would especially want to pass on to my girls is the value of quiet love,” shares Julie. “The kind of love that seeks no acknowledgement or praise, it just exists for the person that is being loved. My mom isn’t very expressive through words, but I cannot think of a time that she did not love us through her actions. It's in all the little things that she constantly does for us, without saying anything, that make our lives seem to run so smoothly.”
 

How to make Pulvuron

 by: Maribeth Duque Mallari

Method #1

Ingredients:

o    4 cups of all purpose flour

o    2 cups powdered milk

o    1 1/2 cup melted butter

o    2 cups sugar

Materials:

o    Japanese paper or cellophane

o    Polvoron Moulder

Procedure:

1.   On a pan, toast flour in a moderate heat for about 15 minutes, or until light brown, stir constantly to avoid burning.

2.   Remove the pan and transfer the mixture on a big bowl.

3.   Add the powdered milk, toss for another 3-4 minutes.

4.   Add sugar and melted butter. Mix well.

5.   Fill the mould with the mixture, press it hard by using a spoon, then release it, if it is still too loose, add more butter or olive oil. Make sure that you could pick up the polvoron without it crumbling straight away.

6.   Place the polvoron in a airtight container, chill in the fridge until firm.

7.   Carefully wrap the polvoron individually in japanese paper or cellophane.

Keep refrigerated until you want to eat them. You can store them on the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze them.

Method #2

Ingredients:

o    1/4 Cup of Crushed Raw Peanuts

o    1 Cup of Flour

o    1/3 Cup of Sugar

o    1/2 Cup of Powdered Milk

o    1/3 Cup of Melted Unsalted Butter

o    Gift Tissue Paper

Procedure:

1.   Saute the peanuts with a little butter in a shallow skillet until brown

2.   Add flour and toast until light brown

3.   Add sugar and powdered milk

4.   Mix butter thoroughly in skillet

5.   Compact mixture in polvoron molder/press

6.   Set molded candies on a cookie tray and refrigerate for a couple of hours so that the butter can harden them

7.   Cut tissue paper in 5″ x 5″ squares

8.   Wrap when the polvoron is hard enough so that it does not break

Method #3

Ingredients:

o    1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

o    3/4 c. sugar

o    1 c. powdered milk

o    1 tsp. lemon extract

o    1/2 lb. butter, melted

Procedure:

Toast flour in frying pan until light brown, stirring constantly over moderate fire. Remove from heat and cool. Then add sugar, powdered milk, lemon extract and melted butter. Mix well and mold, using polvoron mold. Wrap in wax paper and serve.

Shelf life of polvoron lasts a few months, with proper storage.

Pancit – the Most Widely Eaten Noodles in the Philippines

By: Maribeth Duque Mallari

See all 2 photos

Pancit Palabok

Pancit Canton

Almost always served from special gatherings to ordinary days and from restaurants to homes, pancit or pansit is the most widely eaten noodles in the Philippines.

Introduced to the Filipinos by the Chinese people, pancit has spawned tens of regional varieties in the Philippines, where Filipinos fondly eat this dish as an afternoon snack or merienda and sometimes a meal on its own.

Basically, pancit has noodles made of buckwheat, wheat flour, mongo bean starch, squash, or mash.

Sometimes the noodles are prepared with egg, sometimes without one.

They can range from fine to fat. Some are flat while others are rounded.

·         Fine noodles include bihon, efuven, miswa and sotanghon.

·         Fat noodles include lomi, pancit Malabon, and pancit luglog, mami and canton.

These pancit noodles can be sautéed, served with broth, deep-fried, or double-cooked.

Below is a list of the ten most popular pancit in the Philippines.

1. La Paz Batchoy

First concocted in La Paz, Iloilo, Philippines, La Paz Batchoy is a pancit that gets its flavors from the broth of pork, beef, or chicken.

This noodle soup has round noodles called miki, chicken breast chunks, beef loin, pork organs, shrimps, and vegetables.

It is often topped with raw egg and crushed chicharon or pork cracklings.

La Paz Batchoy is best eaten hot.

2. Lomi

Prepared with noodles made of fresh eggs, lomi is a noodle soup cooked with shelled shrimps and slices of pork liver or lean chicken meat.

This kind of pancit can be flavored with soy sauce, calamansi, and sometimes chili sauce.

It is very popular in southern Luzon, Philippines, particularly in the province of Batangas, where many panciteria or pancit eateries serve lomi.

3. Pancit Canton

Served almost anywhere in the Philippines, pancit canton is arguably one of the most popular kinds of pancit.

It is flavored with calamansi and soy sauce and topped with shelled shrimps, a medley of vegetables, and bola-bola or meatballs.

4. Pancit Habhab

A local specialty in the province of Lucban, Quezon, Philippines, pancit habhab is perhaps the most fun to eat of all the kinds of pancit.

It is traditionally served in banana leaves and eaten sans utensils!

It is made of sautéed miki noodles and topped with veggies, slices of pork, and shelled shrimps.

5. Pancit Luglog

Popular in Central Luzon and National Capital Region in the Philippines, pancit luglog is a kind of pancit that has hogged countrywide fame.

So well-liked is this pancit that its way of cooking has become a standard in preparing pancit in the Philippines.

It uses shrimp-achuete sauce, which gives the pancit an orangy shade and interesting seafood flavors.

It is topped with shredded smoked fish, shelled shrimps, hard-boiled eggs cut into wedges, and chicharon.

6. Pancit MalabonOriginally from the coastal town of Malabon in National Capital Region, Philippines,pancit Malabon is a kind of pancit loaded with seafoods and Malabon’s specialty – duck eggs!

Pancit Malabon is made with fat rice noodles and topped with shrimp-achuete sauce, shelled small shrimps, squid rings, shelled oysters, and boiled duck eggs cut into wedges.

7. Pancit Molo

The pancit that has the most unique look is pancit molo, which resembles a wonton soup more than the typical pancit.

It does not have long noodles.

Instead, it has wonton wrappers made from rice flour.

These wrappers are filled with ground pork, chicken meat, and nuts.

Pancit molo is served with a broth and is best eaten while steaming hot.

8. Pancit Palabok

Very much like pancit luglog, pancit palabok is a popular dish served in many Philippine fast-food restaurants and cafeteria.

Filipinos just can’t get enough of pancit palabok’s delectable, rich, and orangy crab sauce!

Pancit palabok is flavored with prawns, tofu and salted fish tidbits, pork cubes, veggies, and hard-boiled eggs.

9. Pancit Puti

Made mainly of shredded “white” chicken breast meat, pancit puti is the quickest to make of all the kinds of pancit.

Most of ingredients are pre-boiled and can just be put together really fast when a visitor drops in unannounced.

A great pancit puti uses a thick chicken broth from which it gets much of its flavor.

10. Pancit Sotanghon

A pancit often served only in special gatherings is pancit sotanghon, which is prepared with a slightly expensive noodles made of mongo bean starch calledsotanghon.

Sotanghon is easily recognizable for its transparent color, slightly gummy texture, and slippery consistency.

It is cooked with flaked chicken meat, vegetables, mushrooms, and annatto powder.

Delicious Filipino Desserts

by: Maribeth Duque Mallari

Simply Delectable Desserts in the Philippines

See all 2 photo

Halo-Halo

Puto Bumbong

Filipino desserts possibly have something really important to do with the generally sweet nature of most Filipinos.

Notwithstanding typhoons, earthquakes and countless difficulties of living in the Philippines, Filipinos almost always find solace, if not joy, in Filipino desserts.

As sugary as the Filipinos’ character and as rich as their culture, Filipino desserts come in different sizes, colors, and presentations.

They are usually served in the Philippines as the last part of the meal, giving Filipinos a sense of fullness they need to go on working for the rest of the day.

They are also eaten for merienda or the customary snacks eaten in-between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner.

Oftentimes, though, they are eaten randomly, satisfying the Filipino indulgence for something simply sinful yet heavenly, sweet yet yummy.

There are plenty of mouthwatering Filipino desserts that it is quite impossible to include them all in just one list. Below, however, are possibly the most delicious Filipino desserts.

1. Leche Flan

Arguably the superstar among the heavenly Filipino desserts is leche flan, a sweet, rich, and luscious Filipino dessert similar to the world renowned crème caramel.

Leche flan is commonly served during special occasions in the Philippines likefiesta or feasts,Pasko or Christmas, and Bagong Taon or New Year.

This Filipino dessert is prepared by mixing and steaming egg yolks, sugar, evaporated milk, and condensed milk in medium-sized oval-shaped aluminum pans called llanera.

As simple as the ingredients seem, cooking up the perfect – smooth in texture, syrupy, chrome yellowish in color – leche flan, however, requires plenty of practice and plain expertise.

2. Halo-Halo

In the ruthless heat of the tropical Philippine weather, Filipinos count on one divine Filipino dessert to keep them cool – halo-halo.

In fact, in the unforgiving summer days in the Philippines in the months of April and May, every other neighborhood street corner is likely to have its own halo-halo stand.

Halo-halo got its name from the word local word halo, which means “mix.”

To make halo-halo, Filipinos mix shaved ice; sugar; varied sweetened fruits like beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit, sweet potato, silky coconut, banana-like plantain, corn, mung beans, and jackfruit; and other ingredients like coconut gelatin, agar-agar gelatin, and tapioca pearls.

The whole concoction is then topped off with leche flan, haleya ube, sorbetes, pounded crushed young rice, and evaporated milk.

Halo-halo is usually served in tall glasses or large bowls.

3. Sorbetes

Popularly peddled in the street of the Philippines is the Filipino dessert sorbetes, the Philippine adaptation of the world-popular ice cream.

Unlike most ice creams, however, sorbetes is made from local coconut milk and not the usual cow’s or animal’s milk.

Sorbetes comes in different flavors – mango, cheese, chocolate, ube or purple yam, and strawberry – and colors – yellow, brown, violet, and pink.

It is served in wafer or sugar cones, cups and even in bread buns.

4. Puto Bumbong and Bibingka

Inescapably linked with the Christmas season are the Filipino desserts bibingkaand puto bumbong, which Filipinos feast on after attending the traditional Catholic midnight masses that precede Christmas day.

What makes these Filipino desserts special is that they are loved by people from all walks of life. They are sold as street foods in the Philippines to cater to the common people but also offered as a treat in five-star hotels and high-end restaurants for well-heeled customers.

Bibingka is primarily made of rice flour, coconut milk, and water, which are placed in banana leaf-lined terra cotta containers that are then heated on coals.

Puto bumbong, on the other hand, is steamed glutinous rice – puto – that is cooked in bamboo cylinders – bumbong.

5. Pastillas de Leche and Yema

Lovable, small and dairy Filipino desserts often prepared as candies, yema andpastillas de leche are influences of the Spaniards who stayed in the Philippines for over 300 years.

Yema is custard candy made of condensed milk, egg yolk, and sometimes butter. Its ingredients are simply heated, mixed, and then cooled.

Pastillas de leche, on the other end, is made by boiling milk and sugar together until they are thick. It is then cooled and formed into mini logs by hand before being rolled into sugar.

Both Filipino desserts can be individually packed in paper or cellophane.

6. Ginataan or Guinataan

Made with gata or coconut milk, ginataan refers to various kinds of dessert and viands. Thus, its literal translation in English is “made with coconut milk.”

The most popular among the many kinds of ginataan is ginataang halo-halo, a dessert that is a mixture of coconut milk, sugar, sweet potato, taro, purple yam, plantain, jack fruit and tapioca pearls.

Ginataang halo-halo is best served hot during the Philippines’ rainy season.

7. Mango Float

This frozen Filipino dessert features one of the most popular and well-loved fruits in the Philippines – mango!

Mango float is made by stacking up as many layers of classic graham crackers, thinly sliced mangoes, and condensed milk as possible in a rectangular container.

It is then chilled until it becomes frozen.

8. Ube Halaya

Ube or purple yam grows abundantly throughout the Philippine archipelago and so Filipino try to make use of it as much as possible. They make them into desserts called ube halaya.

Ube halaya is prepared by boiling, peeling, and grating purple yam. The grated meat is then placed in a pan over low heat, continuously mixed with fresh and evaporated milk, and then flavored with sugar.

The resulting texture is sticky and rich, excellent enough to be a favorite dessert.

9. Buko Pie

Buko or coconut is abundantly grown in the Philippines and has served so many uses, one of which is being used as an ingredient for desserts.

A traditional Filipino dessert of baked young coconut pie is buko pie, which is made with coconut meat.

Unlike other pies, buko pie does not have custard fillings or meringue swirls. It, however, uses condensed milk, making it absolutely thick and filling.

10. Sans Rival

A Filipino dessert that literally means “without rival” is sans rival or sansrival, a flavorsome frozen treat that is made of alternate layers of crispy meringue and buttercream and then topped off with cashew nuts.