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Friday, December 16, 2011

Turning A New Leaf

Starting October, all around Pangasinan, and all along the McArthur Highway in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga, the rounded crowns of mango trees have been sprouting clumps of brown leaves as if wilting and exhibiting symptoms of deciduous trees preparing for winter.

For those not in the know, it may look alarming. Are the mango trees dying?

But for those who grew up under the trees' shade and are intimate with the leaves' tangy fragrance, the brown leaves are the symbol of happiness. It represents an excitement in anticipation of sweet things to come.

For a few weeks after the brown leaves appear, cottony blossoms emerge underneath them.

Mango flowers are not a sight to fall head over heels for. It is a bit ironical that such nondescript blooms will bud into the sweetest thing you could ever have on this earth a few weeks later.

Wishing for a golden Christmas!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Chunky Ube

Christmas of last year I received a container of ube halaya from a friend working at the state airline company. Apparently, this ube has long been famous among PAL ground and air crew, and when I had a spoonful of it I realized it had every reason for being so.

It is not as smooth as Good Shepherd ube, but chunky. Not chunky with big cuts of unmashed ube, but with uniformly diced bits, chewy and unctuous in its own right. I was actually surprised to find I prefer this kind of ube texture. It is a mouthful, and doesn’t feel like it approximates infant food.

I have never been one with the chunky camp – I avoid rocky road ice cream, and I dislike nuts in the chocolate bars I eat. I don’t like chunky peanut butter, because I eat it mainly as spread, and I like a smooth spread on bread.

But as for ube – you can’t help but eat it on its own. It’s good incorporated in other things, yes, like in ensaymada, or hopia, or in ice cream, and even in siopao. But generally it is served as halaya or haleya, to be spooned like pudding for a sweet recap after a meal.

And ube this good deserves to be relished on its own, undiluted. Creamy, rich, not overly sweet, every fiber of the purple yam announces itself. And once you've popped a mouthful you're not going to stop anytime soon. The lumpiness of this ube makes sure of that.

Ube this good needs to be eaten alone, because I can’t help but close my eyes and moan while taking every spoonful. Sinful.

Cakes, Pastries and Beyond
by Leslie Umali
(63) 916-3631631
(63-2) 6815745

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