guinisang munggo.

My first foray into Food History was a short paperback I bought at a book sale, talking about the dishes that had played a big part in American history -from hardtacks brought by soldiers in the war to baked potatoes eaten by Catholic Irish during the famine. I was so engrossed that I managed to finish it in one afternoon, carefully taking down notes of the recipes mentioned with the plans of recreating them in the future.

I also remember reading one of Fatso's cookbooks on Filipino cuisine, which included sidenotes on how to wash bigas, or determine if a crab is male, female, or hermaphrodite.

Another book that comes to mind is Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard. I used to be a Francophile, and being able to taste their cuisine was a dream. I remember creating a ppt presentation compiling all the recipes mentioned. One of the dishes was Boeuf Bourguignon, which I tried cooking at home. (Mind you, my culinary arsenal was limited to fried eggs + danggit, and sinigang na sardinas).

Later, when I had more purchasing power, I was able to buy more books such as Tikim, Lasa at Republika, and of course, Pigafetta's Chronicles. I find it really interesting how people prepared food in the early days, and how it has stayed or evolved over the years. One of my early posts here is how Rizal recounted how to cook tinola in his novel Noli Me Tangere, not much different from today, but back then, it was reserved for VIPs, men of power. So, consider yourself among the affluent whenever you sip a broth of tinola.

Now that I am living alone, I would like to get more hands-on in the kitchen. My first dish, guinisang munggo. I used leftover liempo from a party and dried mushrooms as my meat of choice. I washed it a bit to remove the sarsa. A few minutes in, and here it is. Enjoy!