Vegetables for children

It is often quite difficult to encourage children to eat vegetables. But there are exceptions. There is this young girl, now eight years old who, when she was four, took a bite of ampalaya like she was relishing hotdogs and hamburgers. She has just arrived from the US, and the ginisang bitter gourd must have looked strange to her. Yet, when we asked her to try the dish, she liked it and continued to eat her meal. We have another four-year-old who likes the sayote in tinolang manok, mashed into her rice with the broth. Then recently she tried and enjoyed Chinese cabbage.

Well and good, but not all kids take to vegetables as easily. Vegetables are now being produced into a variety of refreshing beverages and  delicious food. Among these are bottled four-in-one juice, with four types of veggies, sold in supermarkets.

Now comes “The Malunggay Book,” which predictably will be a big help to homemakers who need to supplement their families’ diet with healthy nourishment.

Until recently, malunggay’s usefulness was limited to making soup for pregnant women or those who are lactating. Today it is called “the miracle vegetable.”

Our friends Jimmy and Becs Galvez-Tan, who co-authored the book “Medicinal Fruits and Vegetables,” through their research, found that malunggay has high levels of beta-carotene, Vitamins C and E, calcium and iron and is a good source of potassium and ascorbic acid. Its medicinal attributes are good for maintaining wellness and can help those suffering from rheumatism.

There are now many ways to include its leaves in our daily diet through the recently published “The Malunggay Book” of healthy and easy-to-do recipes. Its authors are chefs Day Salonga and Mon Urbano, who are successful partners in a culinary consultancy.

Try the scrambled green egg and bacon, M vinaigrette dressing, Thai-style curry, chicken roulade, even M cookies and crepes. They may sound strange, but they are healthy and have been made flavorful by the creative duo.

Those who have missed the Italian restaurant Buona Vita on Daang Hari, Molino, Bacoor would be pleased to know that their favorite restaurant has moved to the Molito Mall in Alabang, which is more accessible.

It is bigger and continues to serve all the dishes that have captured the palette of discriminating foodies in the area and beyond. Their paella is what we always go there for. On a recent visit, we tried to venture away from our usual second course of lengua and chose the fish fillet (cream dory) with lemon. Very good choice. It was perfectly crispy, very soft and tasty and came with a small mound of mashed potatoes.

We got a complimentary copy of the “Korean Cuisine” book from the Palms Country Club where  Korean food was recently  featured in their main dining hall. It says the culinary treasures of the country have “hansik,” an energy source with philosophy and science, meaning it goes beyond providing physical strength but also that of the mind and soul.

It is a comprehensive guide to dining in Korea from table setting, to street food to royal cuisine and temple food to table manners. And yes, it gives instructions on how to prepare kimchi, considered the country’s most popular dish made of fermented cabbage and lots of spices plus what the locals call  “healthy bacteria” (lactobacilli), supposed to  help digestion. The latest info is that it contains some elements that may prevent cancer.

Observe the elderly Koreans in the streets of Seoul or any other city. The generation is old, no offense meant, but senior men and women walk alone, no alalays, a testimony to their well-being, indeed.

Eat healthy.

source: philstar.com

Foodies honor celebrated US chef Julia Child

WASHINGTON DC - Foodies paid tribute Wednesday to celebrity chef Julia Child, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the woman who introduced Americans to exotic French delicacies like boeuf bourguignon.

Across the United States, 100 restaurants celebrated with Child-inspired menus during the Julia Child Restaurant Week, which runs August 7-15.

"Happy 100th birthday to one (of) my idols, the one and only #JuliaChild!" cooking show host Paula Deen tweeted.

A mock birthday party for Child, who died just short of her 92nd birthday in 2004, was held at the National Museum of American History, where her renowned Cambridge, Massachusetts kitchen is on display.

Cheryl Fuentes, visiting the exhibit from nearby Alexandria, Virginia, said she hoped "to get the cooking recipes" adored by much of the American public before returning home.

Child used the kitchen as the set of three television shows and for testing many of the recipes featured in her cookbooks, such as the now indispensable "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," first published in 1961.

She is often credited with ushering in the fresh food movement in the United States and introducing French cuisine and cooking techniques to a mainstream audience through her books and television programs.

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces -- just good food from fresh ingredients," Child told her apprentices.

Julie Powell, whose autobiography "Julie and Julia" was turned into an Oscar-nominated movie featuring Meryl Streep, remembered how Child "taught me to cook -- and live."

Child "helped create a culture that takes eating seriously, that sees food as not just fuel but as craft and, sometimes, art," Powell wrote in the Los Angeles Times.

But Child also served as a spy during World War II with the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the Central Intelligence agency (CIA), where she worked as a typist and researcher and was even sent to Sri Lanka and China.

Her life as an expatriate helped form Child's discriminating taste.

American "food in China was terrible; we thought it was cooked by grease monkeys," she wrote.

"The Chinese food was wonderful and we ate out as often as we could. That is when I became interested in food... I just loved Chinese food."

During the war, the California native met her husband Paul, a foodie who had lived in Paris.

After the war, Paul's post with the State Department brought the couple back to France, where the soon-to-be-famous chef took up courses at the Cordon Bleu culinary school.

She later founded L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (The School of the Three Happy Eaters) in the 1950s in Paris with French chefs Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

The three women taught American students how to cook French food. Though the school was disbanded when Childs moved to Marseille in 1953, its spirit lived on when Child pinned the school's logo to her blouse years later before each televised cooking program.

At the National Museum of American History, hundreds of tools, appliances, and furnishings were arranged just as she left them when she donated the kitchen to the museum in 2001.

The self-proclaimed "knife freak" kept her large collection within easy reach on magnetic strips between the kitchen windows and above the sink.

The piece de resistance was Child's Garland six-burner, commercial gas oven range, manufactured in the 1950s.

The stove had already been used in a restaurant when the Childs purchased it for $429 in Washington in 1956, and the cook long praised her "big Garland."

source: interaksyon.com

Orange Boxes And Yummy Delights

MANILA, Philippines — Who would have imagined that a shared interest among foodies would lead to the creation of the most delectable cheesecake in town?

Flashback to the '90s when three members of the PAGCOR Chorale and certified foodies came together: Melvyn Isidro, Marlon Patling and Shirly Luna. One would often catch these three trying out various food havens within and around the metro. It was during one of these food escapades when they realized that the desserts they love to enjoy were a little heavy on the pocket. Melvyn, recalling how he loved the cakes and pastries his mom used to make for him when he was younger, thought that releasing his mother’s baked goodies for public consumption would be a viable business. In an instant, the three hopped on their most palatable adventure to-date. Cheesecake Melliza was born and as they say, the rest is history.

The foodie-turned-businessmen aptly named their venture after their dessert guru (and Melvyn’s mom), Melliza Villa Ignacio-Isidro, whose recipes and style in baking the three adopted. All-time home-made favorites such as the Classic Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake and Oreo Cheesecake were, of course, not missed in the menu of the then start-up venture. Cheesecake Melizza had its share of birth pains the proprietors started marketing their product within their peers, co-workers and members of the chorale. After a year of peer-to-peer marketing the demand soared.

Soon, in 2001, the three friends realized that it was time to open their first store along Kamagong Street in San Antonio Village Makati. With nothing but the freshest and choicest ingredients, the brand began resounding in many households in Makati that additional Cheesecake Melliza kiosks had to be opened to respond to the heightened demand for its tasty and affordable treats. Next to open were mall branches in various hang-outs such as the Food Choices at the Glorietta 4 in 2003, the Mall of Asia in 2006 and Robinson’s Place Manila in 2007.

Along with the branch expansion was the expansion of Cheesecake Melliza’s dessert menu. Added to the list of now party favorites are Mango Cheesecake Walnut, Devil’s Food Cheesecake and Tiramisu Cheesecake. Aside from its delectable cheesecake menu, Cheesecake Melliza has also added to its menu to-die-for cakes and pastries such as the Chocolate Mousse Pavlova, Wet Dreams ChocolateCake and Red Velvet Cake. Cheesecake Melliza even has sugar-free choices for the health conscious! With prices starting at Php 89.00 a slice, it’s a definite home-run for anyone’s sweet tooth (and pocket!).

Many have asked, “When will the singing trio ever bring Cheesecake Melliza north of the metro?” Well, the wait is over…gone are the days of driving to and from Makati, Manila or Pasay, route searching to avoid traffic jam for a slice of heaven in that burnt-orange box.

Just last May 1, the upper ground floor of SM City North Edsa’s main building opened Cheesecake Melliza to its numerous patrons from the QC and its neighboring cities. Visit Cheesecake Melliza and give your sweet tooth a tasty treat! (JMRSabater)

source: mb.com,ph