30.7.17

(Ideas) Adlai Champorado


Adlai is the new "it" grain in the Philippines. Never thought we'd be munching on another local grain ("Are there even any?" is a question we get a lot from customers) in a country where people only ever eat rice (and in some areas, corn) as their staple food.

It's gluten-free, vaguely rice-like, and (mostly) sustainably grown. Dieters and avocado-and-egg-grain-bowl-eaters are hoarding it. Restaurants are serving it up in hearty bowls of "risotto" and fancied up tiny porridges.

You can have it in countless ways, but now that rainy season has made mush of our brains and turned us into little children again, we can think of nothing but "You can champorado that!".

So boil up your champorado like you usually do (or like this or this or this), keeping in mind that the adlai needs either a bit more of a soak or longer boiling. It will never become truly soft and mushy.

Enjoy!

26.7.17

(Products) Separated at Birth: Balicucha, French Palmiers, and the Rat Lungworm


Balicucha! These pretty treats are nothing more than pulled mascobado syrup. The syrup is pulled (and pulled and pulled) when it is super tacky, and air turns the deep brown of evaporated cane juice into a light beige. We use them to sweeten our coffee or cacao drinks, as they melt upon contact with hot or warm water, making for a great party trick. They are quite a beautiful (and healthy) replacement for sugar cubes. Versions are found across sugar-producing areas such as Ilocos and the Visayas.

Once you start becoming acquainted with balicucha on a regular basis, you begin to see it everywhere. We often say they are shaped like little palmiers–those delicious, sweet, flaky french pastries. Here are some from original gangsta Martha Stewart's website. You may fancy making some.


Incidentally, they also resemble (just this particular recently published photo, from the USA Center for Disease Control) of the rat lungworm, a snail- and rat-borne parasite that is expanding its range as the climate changes. It is moving into the Americas from tropical and subtropical Asia. Kind of a buzzkill, but a reminder of the many forms of feedback that are showing us that diseases and infestations are and will continue to increase in the next years, as global warming takes us full on.


Where will this curious shape reveal itself to us next? As the next unexplainable crop circle? A curious tropical depression shape on the weatherman's blue screen?  New research findings on its recurrence as an ancient motif in Filipino pre-Hispanic (even pre-Islamic) art and life? Needless to say, everyone's eyes will glaze over as we begin to talk about it in real life, so it will likely end up on this blog as well.

(Balicucha is on sale until approximately the end of this month, so you have that long to buy them for the cost of one conventional chicken egg.)

Also, on an unrelated note, check out our Pinterest account, where we chronicle global recipes for locally available, less common produce.

21.7.17

(Updates): Sale, Good Food Sundays, Pickup Options, Refills Upon Request

Hi everyone! Please check out our June-July online sale while it's still up. The sale is for online orders only.


In addition to Legazpi Sunday Market days, Good Food Sundays happen every weekend. It is a nice small market at Mandala Park along Shaw Boulevard, near Puregold. We normally don't venture as far North as this, but on a Sunday, all it takes is a relaxed drive over the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge. We are with like-minded vendors (some of them our suppliers) such as Balangay's Best, ManilaBake, Edgy Veggy, Chili Asylum, those awesome Buddhists with blankets made of old plastic bottles and super cheap nutritious greens, and of course, the Good Food Company's veg stall run by a very persuasive Ate. Click on the link above for more details! 

On a related note, our online store now has options for pickup at our two markets and the shop! This is perfect for people who don't have the time to linger at the shop, or for those afraid of the parking trolls downstairs. We require a 300 peso deposit, which will be refunded when you come by for your goods. It shows up as a shipping option upon checkout.

Lastly, if there is a thing at our shop that you want as a refill, don't be afraid to ask! Usually we can do it by special arrangement.