2011 has been indeed hectic… I am off to travel a bit to discover new things and to “reboot” a little bit.
I will be back end of the month and that week too will mark my 7th year on blogging.
Happy New Year and I wish you all a fantastic year ahead. More writings and photos to share when I come back.
If I could give these heart cookies that I have baked, who would I give ethereal pieces to?
Well surely to my crew and few close people who have been instrumental to my career switch, from being a chief stewardess to a chef.
Did I say chef?
Chef.. did I actually say that?
Who would have thought a Political Science/ International Relations graduate would end up cooking?
Did I not have my ideals to change the world?
But I ended having a job that changed my life. A passion that led me to enjoy and love what I am doing right now.
As I looked at my resume spanning from my private teaching and short stint at a newspaper to being a junior crew, then a chief stewardess to a chef, I felt my life made a jump.
I always wanted to do baking or be a pastry chef. But coming from a family of doctors, engineers, lawyer and teachers, in our Filipino culture. in not so long ago, doing something with your hands , having practical skills was not acceptable.
I was expected to follow my father’s footsteps in law but I know it was not for me.
It was a chance that I was in Antigua in early 1998 where I saw all the gleaming boats that gave me my start in becoming a crew.
On most boats I have been , I always offered to help chefs clean the galley or do some prep work for them. I enjoy helping as I learn while I help. This led to ex captains entrusting me with the galley when the boats had no chefs.
It did not take long for me to start cooking for my ex bosses too. One particular ex boss asked my captain if I could go to their house to help cook for the Thanksgiving or other occasions.
It was in April 2010 when I was in Florida and our boat was heading for New York when came a call from another ex captain.
I had worked with him on two boats first as his junior stew then as his chief stewardess.
A chef?
Kidding me?
He replied: Would I offer you the job if I knew that you could not do it?
That was it. For two hectic seasons I cooked, provisioned the boat, fed the crew, cleaned the galley and had my chance to let my creativity go on unbounded infinity.
I am actually cooking professionally in the high seas from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and France… and discovered enthralling markets and immersed myself to different culture through my stomach.
As I write this, my cookbooks are already in a box shipped home and soon I will leave this job. A job that has given me a chance to switch career and has given me a brighter future.
While baking some Vanillekipferln cookies last week with Holly, I felt a sadness knowing I will be going home soon and leave this lovely boat I have called home for almost two years.
As for home… a quote from a 12th century monk, Hugo of St Victor, perfectly describes my life right now.
“The person who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner,
The person to whom every soil is a native one is already strong;
But he is perfect to whom every soil is a foreign land.”
(Capri , Italy on our last leg of the trip)
This cookie is of Austrian origin but at “home” we baked this as part of our Christmas tradition, a part of me is blended with Swiss culture. Traditionally these are shaped into crescents but I left Holly play around with the cookie cutters. She shaped them into hearts, crowns, fish, lobsters and even a letter H.
I truly want to thank the crew for the wonderful time and being such a part of my life.
As a dear friend of mine, another chef, Victoria, who has been such a support , says : “To the future.”
My recipe of this cookie is at home so I searched online the closest I could find and it’s from from Simply Recipes
Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of butter, room temperature
2/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of almond extract
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
1/4 cup of powdered sugar for sprinkling
*You can use slivered, blanched almonds and grind them up, but you will have a very crumbly, hard to work with dough. It’ll still taste good though.
METHOD
1 Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix.
2 Add the flour and almond flour. Mix thoroughly.
3 Take generous tablespoons of the dough (it will be slightly crumbly) and roll it into a small ball, about an inch in diameter, and then shape into a crescent shape. Place onto parchment paper and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until a light golden brown.
4 Dust with powdered sugar.
It was a very long season. We left Spain in April. The trip took us to Sicily, Athens, the Greek Islands, Istanbul, South Turkey , Thessaloniki, the Sporades and the Ionian Islands of Greece, before crossing the Ionian Sea to Italy again.
After dropping off the guests in Olbia, we did not wait long and immediately left for Spain. It would be nearly three days passage before we would arrive in Palma de Mallorca.
Can you imagine the excitement?
Going back “ home “ to Spain again. It would take us almost 3 days to reach Palma…
Everyone was dreaming of sitting down somewhere for vino and tapas.
Ah tapas.. at the bodegon, meson, cerveceria.
Tapas either are of cosas de picar, pinchos and cazuelitas.
Cosas de picar are normally cheeses,ham and sausage, omelette, bunuelos (fritters) montaditos , empanadas, bocadillos and boquerones.
Then you have the pinchos, food served on toothpicks.
The last, cazuelas are main dish food but served on smaller plates like stuffed pepper, fideua
(noodles with seafood) and are normally cooked in earthenware cooking plates.
One of the of my favourite is gambas al ajillo. Sizzling shrimps with garlic
A very simple tapa but full of flavour. I have done this few times on the boat and it has not never failed . With my fusion way of cooking I add a wee bit of ginger … Sometimes chillies.
One of the best gambas ajillo I had was somewhere a wee far from the sea, well not so far away that the shrimp is not fresh anymore. It was perhaps the mountain air and the company that made it a lot different
I was in Palma de Mallorca and was told we were going for a drive up the mountains. I have been to Mallorca few times for work and once a long weekend many years back and we stayed in Valdemossa. This time it was catching up with yachting friends and with Stephen who is finally back in Europe after a short gig in Malaysia and Florida with his boat, my travel buddy is just an hour flight away from me.
It was a sunny but cold day, winter is creeping in. Deia is on the north west coast of Mallorca. The drive towards there takes you along the rugged coastlines of the island which is a very spectacular view, adding to the fact that the next day we flew over with a helicopter with Stephen piloting.
Approaching Deia from Palma will take you to some bends with towering mountains of Serra de Tramuntana.. I was half asleep I admit, the fresh mountain air and just to be away from my own cabin was just so relaxing. But as soon I noticed the lovely colours of the village ; ochre, olive green, blue, , my senses woke me up and at the same time I was eyeing places to eat.
We parked at the end of the village and walked back. I guessed from their pace they were so hungry and just wanted to find a place to have lunch. I mentioned to Stephen that as soon as we entered the village, I noticed an outdoor restaurant with a shade covered with grape vines.
While the two of them , Stephen and Andy, went through the menu of the restaurant,( Il Xeline) I made sure that if we have the calamari and the gambas ajillos and they could order what ever else they wanted to eat.
See I am not missing gambas con ajillos… they ordered pardon pepper, some spicy longanisa, potato tuna salad… it was a long lazy lunch while soaking up some autumn sun.
We rounded up the lunch with crème catalan and a brisk walk up the hill to the village’s ancient church where it offers a spectacular view of the valley with all the olive groves all the way to the sea where fishermen cast their nets.
Here is a simple recipe how to cook gambas con ajillos.
Olive oil
3 to 4 cloves of garlic minced
half teaspoon of pepper flakes
sweet paprika
500g shrimps, peeled and deveined.
2 tbsp sherry or white wine
salt . pepper
chopped parsley.
In a sauté pan or heavy frying pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic , paprika and red pepper flakes and sauté for about one minute or until they begin to brown
Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp,sherry or wine
Stir well, then sauté, stirring briskly until the shrimp turn pink around 3 mins
Remove from heat and transfer shrimp with oil and sauce to a warm plate or serve right from the pan. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Sprinkle with parsley.
I have been blogging since 2005 and used to have three blogs which I could not keep up anymore. So I consolidated it all in one. Food, photos and travels…
I have met greet foodies and photographers along the way… then a friend started a photo meme in which we would post a weekly photo with themes. The number of members grew thus the idea of Litratong Pinoy was born.
I was one of the original members , but hectic job just did not allow me to catch up with the group. Somehow today, I was reminded by the one of the members that I this week’s theme must be a favourite of mine… SWEET!
The recipe of this banana cupcake is so easy.. have fun baking.
It’s been a kind of a trip I would say unexpected. We left Rhodes with an instruction from the boss that we should just move up north to Thessalonica slowly and enjoy the cruise. In most cases we just played with the weather. It’s again the meltemi season here in East Aegean, for those who are not familiar to this word, it’s the wind blowing from the north and it can churn the waters.
Yes the name sounds so romantic, but for us cruising, the feeling I can best describe it would be like inside the washing machine at its peak cycle.
The old name of the Meltemia was the Etesian winds. Mythologically, they are under the control of Boreas, the god of the North Winds.
So we are sheltering at the south west part of Lesvos. We were given a chance to go ashore, as I needed provision and for the crew to explore the place.
Just as when we approached the little port, women sitting at their verandas waved at us. Quite a welcome. And what a feeling to get off the tender and no one harassed us where to sit down for coffee or to eat or to buy what so ever. The whole place was eerily calm. Then I just realised that the locals were still slowly waking up from their siestas. We are in Greece after all, where such a pleasure is a must.
I stopped at the taverna to ask where the fishmonger is; It was obvious from the harbour scene that it’s a fishing village. Few men stood up and explained that as soon the fishermen arrive fish are sold then later taken to the fishmonger to Polichinitos.
So where is town? 5 kilometres at the top of the hill, a good 30 minute walk.
And how far is the main town of Mytilini?
More or less 36klms away.
So if there are fishing boats what is the best time to catch them before they haul away the catch?
After 8am is the best.
OK where is the greengrocer?
None, but there is a mini market.
Yes I was speaking with the locals in Greek.
Well at the mini market, we managed to get some potatoes, bananas, pear, peaches, grapes, milk and locally grown tomatoes. Not so bad for such a tiny port village. Then I told the crew to find a place to sit down for some drinks while I wandered around. At one of the back streets (well there were only two parallel to the port) there local men were playing cards and the women were all seated fanning themselves and talking.
The younger generation are either in Athens or Thessalonica, not really so surprising as these places are so far flung. With the meltimia blowing they can sometimes get cut off.
We sat down at the taverna and ordered ouzo and the others had frappe. Oh the crew love the Greek frappe. You can’t be in Lesvos and not drink ouzo. Lesvos is known for this drink. I asked for a mild one so I settled for Mini which my crew mate Laura, agreed was great. Ouzo by the way is anise-flavoured aperitif similar to the taste of liquorice.
Laura ordered grilled octopus while I asked for grilled calamari, which we shared with the rest. It was just perfect to sit and enjoy watching the locals as we have been anchored for few days and the change of scenery is just what we needed.
I managed to have a talk with the owner of the tavern, Kiria Toula, her husband was with the men playing cards, and her sons did the service. I asked her if there are foreign tourists.
Mostly Athenians and the one who have left elsewhere and coming back for summer holidays. I saw two buildings with sign “domatia” meaning rooms.
I do not expect something grand in this kind of place but I would not mind staying here. There are olive groves, hills and the sea.
The atmosphere of the village life is so vibrant and the locals are so friendly.
It’s something I have seen in Greece when we first arrived long way back 1984 and I felt it here again at Skala Polichinitos.
I walked towards the fishing boats and talked with the fishermen while they were mending their nets. One lovely old man challenged me to guess his age. Their faces are wrinkled from the harsh winds but such a happy crowd.
Anyway he said come tomorrow around 8 and you can have your fish. Just before bidding him goodbye, he dug some green figs from his basket and handed them to me.
I was so touched with such kindness and felt I have re acquainted to the Greece I have always known. I sound like having a Greek heart than a Filipina I guess.
Just as we were leaving the old ladies reminded me that we must come back on Sunday, as the village will have a “panirgiri”, a festival. It’s the feast of their patron saint, Agio Yanni, (St John’s) . How much I wished I could but with this wind blowing we might move to the next bay and how right I was.
The next day I scrambled out of bed early and asked the mate to launch the tender. I could see one fishing boat after another entering the bay…
I asked Laura to come as she loves checking local produce too and like me she has this wandering soul I can relate to.
The port was crowded and one boat was just loading crates of fish mostly mackerel, anchovies, red mullet and a few shrimps.
We bagged few mackerel, 2 kilos of anchovies and 2 kilos of baby shrimps. And I smelled bread and pastries. Oh a mobile bakery, the bread here is has anise seed too and we bought two loaves and some spinach pie.
There was another van with watermelon and melons. Perfect! After having Greek coffee we went back to the boat and I immediately called Rene, our engineer.
Showed him the anchovies and asked him if he can do “kinilaw” ( the Filipino word for ceviche).
I had to help him fillet and de bone them if I we want to have it for lunch. Rene added chopped onions, chillies, ginger and white vinegar.. that was it.
So fresh…
She spoke no English and I speak no Turkish word… but who needs words when you only need to smell the aromatic herbs and do sign language for how much.
We were dining out in Kas, Turkey when she passed by with her basket full of wild mountain herbs..
I bought a bunch of oregano and the guests got thyme for 5TL each , that is € 2.5
This was the moment I wished I had my camera but the phone took a good shot anyway.
I was out alone walking around Antalya (Turkey) and was feeling peckish… I did not want to sit and have a full meal, just something I can nibble and fill my stomach. But nothing seemed too enticing for my palate, perhaps I was ill or maybe because everything seemed to be familiar, as most food around here are just like we get in Athens.
I did crave for Gözleme but could not find any by the old town and the pushy people around just killed any appetite.
I found a small mosque by the fluted minaret and under a shade sat down and read a book… my mind drifted to Langkawi, to a food stall near the hotel where we stayed.
There were few days I was left alone as Stephen had to work, he was not on holiday after all, just lucky to have a long weekend, so I spent my time walking around Kuah. I did feel so safe with my cameras and the locals were so friendly anyway, even with limited English they still managed to have conversation with me.. hope they did not pity me, as it is not in the Asian culture to travel alone, let alone a woman traveling on her own.
On my first day there, he showed me short cuts from the main streets to the hotel or how to find the marina or even where Starbucks was, just in case I could not deal with the local teas anymore.
One afternoon I found this small restaurant and the Chinese owner started talking to me both in Malay and Chinese and I found myself explaining to them that I could not speak neither.
I only wanted a soup anyway so I settled for koay teow soup… it’s made with chicken broth with flat noodles, chicken, and some fish balls… the spring onions and cilantro were just rejuvenating. After 6 weeks of traveling I was already exhausted… this soup was just what I needed… and for less than 2 euros, it was a real bargain for a such big tasty bowl of soup.
There was nothing fancy about the place. just like most hawker’s places there, but the lady was so lovely , talking with me, making sure I was alright and wanting to know what I was doing in Langkawi.
Surely my appetite opened that I even asked her to make me an omelette with lots of chillies.
On the road was a shack and I could just smell from the distance something delectable that I crossed the street. There a family selling bun and other food I had never seen before….
First the bun has an unusual filling.. peanuts. Like most buns in Asia I just love them.. but there were more on their stall, the mother was shaping more stuff, the daughter was frying… the old man was giving me different kind of food to taste and they spoke no English…
Luckily the son-in-law came and with very basic English he explained to me what I was stuffing my mouth with. Obviously one was a bao… one I guessed was pisang goreng, deep fried bananas…
Then there was this yellowish one and upon tasting it I guessed immediately sweet potatoes which they call kuih keria.
After tasting most of the stuff I asked how much I owed… they refused to let me pay.
But I wanted to bring some for Stephen.. . so I asked them to bag me assorted of those snacks, enough for me to let them pay. And in exchange for their kindness I gave their little boy what ever chocolates I had in my bag…
Few days later I passed by their stall again and got different kinds one was with chillies and one shrimps and they gave me more than what I had paid.
Scrumptious snacks, cheap, kind people make the trip priceless…
And if I given a chance to visit Antalya, as my choice as my holiday destination, with coffee as expensive as in Paris and with pushy waiters around … I’d rather go back to Asia.
But I did go out again with my crew mates last night to have some Turkish dinner, for shish kabobs and kofte and came back found Stephen online , told him about our dinner and the price… he simply said…
that’s not quite like Langkawi!
Hazelnut Chewies
…yes we met online thru our love for food. She stumbled upon my website and after going through my archives, she realized that I am in the yacht industry. She was in Barcelona, I was in Ft Lauderdale.
We exchanged emails, almost two summers ago. Then in 2009, I was back in France, she was in Cannes and I was in Antibes.
So we met…. we clicked, same passion and as it turned out we even have a few friends in common.
She is a yacht chef. So her boat left France, back to Florida, I had no idea what I would do next.
But our paths met again in Ft Lauderdale.
Who would have thought her boat was next to mine… Thus the beginning of our food exchange not just recipes;
She gave our crew her Italian hazelnut cookies and I gave her rice sticky pudding.
When a job offer came for me to work as a chef, it was her, I sought advice from. She said I should be able to do it and has been my life support since then.
Victoria has authored two books, Sea Fare: A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean. For a wanderlust like me and much more a yacht crew, this book is her story when she first started boating and her exotic life traveling and cooking around the world.
Few weeks back I received her second book titled, SEAsoned, A Chef’s Journey with her Captain… this book I can relate to very well; demanding guests, crazy and fun crew, last minute changes of menus and shopping at different markets especially here in the Mediterranean. The book comes with interesting recipes as well like pan-seared grouper with Thai curry sauce.
Every now and then she shares with me interesting recipes and one email came with a message, “what ever you are doing, drop it now and bake …”
And yes the cookies turned out to be so chewy and I love the way it crack up a bit… I had fun taking photos of the cookies since I was alone here at the boat and had no work that day… let’s bake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons butter
1 ¼ cups Nutella
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons espresso
¼ cup milk
2 cups hazelnuts
1 cup icing sugar
Toast, skin and chop the hazelnuts to fine.
In a standing mixer, beat the Nutella, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, espresso and milk. Add flour, baking powder and ¾ cups chopped hazelnuts.
Divide dough in half , wrap in plastic and refrigerate. For 2 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll dough into 1” balls and roll in remaining chopped hazelnuts then icing sugar. Space on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes, rotating half way through.
Makes 5 dozen
Oh by the way, I emptied the nutella, was worried I about dealing with violent reactions from the crew… but Victoria right, it was all worth it.
Thank you for all the recipes and support Victoria!
… or the vine spinach
The cook and I continuously had our little disagreements. While I was craving for locally sourced food, she wanted to fry meat which I have a dislike of. Frying in the Philippines is so common but I wanted to eat the food I missed.
So many times I went to the market myself and asked for utan bisaya…the real comfort food I knew while growing up in the Philippines. It’s loosely translated as a soup with okra, squash, gabi (taro), malonggay (horse radish tree leaves) and alubagti. What comes with it can be dried fish or grilled fish.
Halo halo… literally means “to mix”…. glass is filled with sweetcorn, boiled beans, nata de coco, tapioca , topped with shaved ice and evaporated milk, served with ice cream , in this photo with UBE ice cream (taro) and serve on baby coconut… this dessert is also popular in other Asian country called cendol, in Indonesia and Thailand, ais kacang in Malaysia.
Buko (young coconut)… the juice is so refreshing, the meat inside is still forming thus opaque, soft and delicate.
Guso… this seaweed is eaten as salad, almost as a form of ceviche, this is blanch first before vinegar, onions and tomatoes are added.
Lukot lukot… sea cucumber poo yes….well they are from sea cucumber and left on the rocks or seabed. They look like noodles and are eaten as salad or added to some soup.
Julienned vegetables.. behind the photo is a mountain of fresh egg noodles, make life easier you can buy your pre cut veggies (carrots, cabbages, celery) with your noodles.
