U.T.O.T.M.O.P.I.N.K.

Beef Caldereta

>> 30 January, 2010

This is one of my favorite dishes to cook. It may not look perfect to others, but I love it because of those tender beef pieces and creamy sauce. I don't use liver spread, though. No pork allowed in the house, remember? I use tomato sauce alone to make it creamy, then cheese and oyster sauce to make it taste yummy.

Well, let me tell you that I grew up in a province where there is a number of versions in cooking this dish. People usually cook caldereta with less vegetables there. Some of them cook the meat in vinegar, so it will be tenderized into perfection. Others use taro roots instead of potatoes. I have an uncle who uses bananas, so the taste of his caldereta is a little sweet. Still, almost all the rest use red chillies which make it extra hot and spicy.

How about you? How do you cook your caldereta?

Rose Apple or Malay Apple?

>> 28 January, 2010

The Scientific name of this fruit is Syzygium Samarangense, but its common English names are rose apple and Malay apple. In my native province, this tropical fruit is called tambis, but in Tagalog, they call this Makopa.

Whatever you call this pink fruit, I can remember good memories everytime I see them. Yes, memories of early summer when I was just fourteen and still studying high school.

I would pick some of these fruits from my Uncle Sammy's front yard after lunch, then munch them up on my way back to school. They could be watery and sweet, so I sometimes ate them with rock salt. Hayyy.. I missed high school already!

*This is my 11th entry for the "I ♥ PINK" meme. To be a part of the pink fever, click the button shown at the sidebar.