I thought today was Friday
On Monday, I thought it was Tuesday. Even after I was corrected, I managed to become highly disappointed when I realized today was only Thursday.
Thursday DOES come with its blessing, however. I get to be excited about tomorrow being Friday... again. AND the Office is on tonight!
Wednesday nights usually consist of watching South Park at 10 and then switching to Top Chef at 10:30. Sometimes we also watch the first half of the episode we missed, which comes on right after the episode is over.
Let me just say that I love Top Chef. My favorite guy chefs are Richard and Dale and my favorite girl chefs are Antonia and Stephanie. Those have been my favorite from the start. The only real reason I liked Dale was because I suspected he was Filipino. Well, last night, it was finally confirmed that Dale is in fact Filipino. Good thing we watched the first half of the episode (even though we did watch it after we watched the second half...)
Dale made Halo-Halo. I thought it was funny that he said it was the only dessert he knew how to make.
To continue your Filipino food learning experience, this is what Halo-Halo traditionally consists of (if you have my mother making it for you or if you buy it as street food in the Philippines).
Halo-Halo means "Mix Mix". Remember, the Philippines has the same vowel enunciations as the Spanish. Ah-eh-ee-oh-oo. You're not saying "Halo" like the game or the ring around the angel's head. You're saying "Hallow."
Let me explain what goes into it for you. Or let me let Wiki explain it to you.
There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. The order in which the ingredients are added varies widely. Primary ingredients generally include boiled red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sportmacapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar. Other components may include jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), leche flan or custard, ice cream and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas or cherries, may also be added. Some preparations also include ice cream on top of the halo-halo.
Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk is used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.
In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, ube halaya, or ice cream. Condensed milk is poured into the mixture upon serving.
The dessert exemplifies the "east-meets-west" culture of the Filipinos, with the ingredients used coming from a wide variety of influences (to cite some examples: red mung beans which are from the Chinese, garbanzos from the Indian, leche flan from the Spanish, and shaved ice itself which was introduced to the islands by the Americans).
In the Philippines, they have this special ice shaver since they shave their ice off of huge blocks of ice. It's boxed shape with a hole and a blade on the bottom. They shave the ice, literally, and it goes into the box.
The box's top opens and you put your shaved ice in a glass with all your tasty treats, then you "halo-halo" and eat it!
Thursday DOES come with its blessing, however. I get to be excited about tomorrow being Friday... again. AND the Office is on tonight!
Wednesday nights usually consist of watching South Park at 10 and then switching to Top Chef at 10:30. Sometimes we also watch the first half of the episode we missed, which comes on right after the episode is over.
Let me just say that I love Top Chef. My favorite guy chefs are Richard and Dale and my favorite girl chefs are Antonia and Stephanie. Those have been my favorite from the start. The only real reason I liked Dale was because I suspected he was Filipino. Well, last night, it was finally confirmed that Dale is in fact Filipino. Good thing we watched the first half of the episode (even though we did watch it after we watched the second half...)
Dale made Halo-Halo. I thought it was funny that he said it was the only dessert he knew how to make.
To continue your Filipino food learning experience, this is what Halo-Halo traditionally consists of (if you have my mother making it for you or if you buy it as street food in the Philippines).
Halo-Halo means "Mix Mix". Remember, the Philippines has the same vowel enunciations as the Spanish. Ah-eh-ee-oh-oo. You're not saying "Halo" like the game or the ring around the angel's head. You're saying "Hallow."
Let me explain what goes into it for you. Or let me let Wiki explain it to you.
There is no specific recipe for this dessert, and a wide variety of ingredients are used. The order in which the ingredients are added varies widely. Primary ingredients generally include boiled red mung beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sportmacapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar. Other components may include jackfruit (langka), star apple, tapioca or sago, nata de coco, purple yam (ube) or sweet potato (kamote), sweetened corn kernels or pounded crushed young rice (pinipig), leche flan or custard, ice cream and gelatin. Other fruits, such as papayas, avocados, kiwifruit, bananas or cherries, may also be added. Some preparations also include ice cream on top of the halo-halo.
Generally, condensed milk or evaporated milk is used instead of fresh milk, due to the tropical climate of the Philippines.
In terms of arrangement, most of the ingredients (fruits, beans, and other sweets) are first placed inside the tall glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then sprinkled with sugar, and topped with either (or a combination of) leche flan, ube halaya, or ice cream. Condensed milk is poured into the mixture upon serving.
The dessert exemplifies the "east-meets-west" culture of the Filipinos, with the ingredients used coming from a wide variety of influences (to cite some examples: red mung beans which are from the Chinese, garbanzos from the Indian, leche flan from the Spanish, and shaved ice itself which was introduced to the islands by the Americans).
In the Philippines, they have this special ice shaver since they shave their ice off of huge blocks of ice. It's boxed shape with a hole and a blade on the bottom. They shave the ice, literally, and it goes into the box.
The box's top opens and you put your shaved ice in a glass with all your tasty treats, then you "halo-halo" and eat it!