Thursday, October 20, 2016

HEIRLOOM KITCHEN: Food Stories from the Heart by Mothers Who Brunch and Moleskine


Meals prepared with love and enthusiasm have a way of bringing family and friends together in a way that is truly special.  They are about the joy of cooking, the fun we have eating together, and seeing dishes that conjure up pleasant memories with loved ones, who may be far away.

There's nothing quite like hearing best stories about our favorite food and sometimes our less favorite ones.  I used to remember  how my siblings and I would make fun of my father's Pina-upong Manok, filled with bulbs of garlic and lemon grass, drenched in calamansi-soy sauce mix, sweating oils while seated like a boss, over red embers of coals.  I inherited quite good genes from both my sides of parents, if the love for food and cooking is in our genes then how can I not be more proud?  Prouder than being good in Math I guess.


Every time I cook for my family, I always remember my Lola, whom when we were in grade school, and my parents have gone off to the other sides of the world to work, she would prepare without fail, Pochero almost everyday, thinking it was our favorite.  Imagine that labor of love, while others would only have it during fiestas and special occasions, us we have it as a regular "ulam."  What's sad is that I never learned how to cook Pochero from her and now I'm missing it, and she now lives in the States with my aunts.  Hence, in preparing our own meals, I think of what makes my family happy (and healthy of course) with what I have cooked for them.

More than the impact of remembering special moments through familiar scents, there is nothing quite like the power of our taste buds to bring in a whiff of nostalgia whenever we think of fond memories.

In this fast-paced technical age we are in, it is very easy to miss out on these traditions and details because of how fast everything goes. Albeit these advances make it convenient for us to store a massive amount of information in such a short time, there is still a different satisfaction that comes with going through the process—just like how we used to do it in the past.

Thoughts like how I wished I had her recipe written down for me to use as a guide and perhaps pass on to my girls.

If you have the same sentiments, then let me share something that could tweak that circumstance a tad bit.  You can now begin your own culinary journey while curating your most loved recipes without even touching your gadgets.

I'm talking about Recipe Journaling.

From Ria de Lara's IG @imfeelingcraftytoday
All thanks to the lovely moms of Mothers Who Brunch, Sab and Mish for hosting again a wonderful event that not only focuses on the love that surrounds food but some other interesting stuff like Recipe Journaling.  Michelle Aventajado introduced us to the very creative artist behind the blog I'm Feeling Crafty Today (@Imfeelingcraftytoday IG) who showed us her notebook filled with doodles, drawings and sketches of some of the recipes of the food she love eating.


To make the workshop all the more fascinating, Moleskine joined in and was so generous enough to give us our very own 2017 Moleskine Planners and Volant Notebooks.  Our planners were graciously personalized on the spot.


The event took place at the lovely home boutique cum cafe, Lanai at The Alley, last October 11, 2016. Food aficionados together with Moleskine mounted Heirloom Kitchen as a tribute to practices and recipes passed on from generation to generation. All of them were given a chance to share their most-cherished heirloom recipe which was given a lovely space at Moleskine Heirloom Kitchen Recipes booklet.

Each recipes have their own stories to tell, and those who shared them have treasured these recipes and collating them had posed a challenge to some, it's either not jotted down, or have been lost due to changing seasons.


Here is how recipe journaling or keeping a food diary comes in.  Like when I was back in my school days, it was important for me to use good quality papers to jot down my notes with.  But with busy moms who always run errands or foodies always on-the-go, your notebooks or journals has to be handy enough, well-knitted together and can or should handle any kind of writing materials.  I love Moleskine because it answers to all those must-haves.


We don't want our favorite recipes getting lost again, do we? 

So, I've started, slowly, since I'm still running a blog, that also carries a lot of recipes.  I've re-written the recipe I've shared in the Heirloom Recipe booklet which was Risotto al Funghi or Porcini Mushrooms Risotto.

A hearty lunch followed after, which was prepared by Michelle Aventajado and Sabrina Go of “Mothers Who Brunch.”  If you don't happen to know them. they are mommy passion-seekers like me who happens to be gourmands and have been very active members of the parenting scene.  This led to a productive networking with a community of mothers wherein women can share their stories and get support from each other all while enjoying a lavish table of delectable dishes, thus, Mothers Who Brunch.  Mish's blog is Momma n' Manila while Sab is behind the ultimate sinful yet yummy Porchetta, Manila Belly and the she also blogs at Sinfully Sabrina.


For aperitif, Michelle and Sabrina prepared a raclette platter using Severin Raclette Grill, which I'm adding to my Christmas wishlist.  With another magical kitchen appliance from Severin, they showed how easy it was to make Tiramisu crepes with Crepes Maker.  


At the dessert buffet were three Angel Food Cakes, naked but ready to be devoured, however, it was part of the program where the two would bake it even fancier, in the end, we all shared with Lime-Pistachio, Lemon-Lavender, and Ube-Macapuno Angel Food Cakes. Lastly, we were surprised with another sweet treat, a mouthwatering version of bread pudding with a twist: Pandesal Pudding with Pastillas Sauce.

Jazzing up the cakes were also easy, with the help of Braun Hand blender.

The recipe of the Angel Food Cake were on the booklet too, and I'm hoping to try to make one myself, my favorite was the Lemon Lavander.


Moving on to some recipe demonstrations, Chef Marc Licaros of Lanai eagerly showed the guests how to make their own Quinoa Tabbouleh with Roasted Vegetables in the comforts of their own kitchen. Tackling an unfamiliar dish can be quite daunting, but Chef Marc made sure that each person there would have enough confidence to try it out by themselves.

Quinoa Tabbouleh with Roasted Vegetables and all the works
Moleskine invites every Filipino, food connoisseur or budding enthusiast, to join in this movement to preserve traditions and to spread stories one page at a time. What better way to start your legacy than by eternalizing it on paper, right? After all, the greats have done it before—so why shouldn’t you, too?




Aside from coming home with goodies from Moleskin, I also got a cute customised Sugar Cookie from The Little Whisk and a box full of Chicken Empanadas from Mama Empanada, which happens to also be an heirloom recipe.


Here are all the attendees

Lucky Alabado, Blogger | Author of Discover MNL, Lucky, shows us the must-eats and newly opened foodie stops all over the city.
Alexis Deocaris, Blogger | Founder of Fork Spoon Manila, Alexis, gained a following through his restaurant recommendations and weekend eats.
Joy Felizardo, Blogger | Gastronomy by Joy is a mom-run food blog that focuses on easy recipes that families will definitely enjoy.
Joey Blanco, Blogger | Writing under the pseudonym, 80 Breakfast, Joey shares her foodie adventures with her kids through this blog.
Cy Ynares, Baker | The Bald Baker, as he prefers to be known, is Manila’s very own cookie master with his creations sought by everyone who knows what great food is.
Meya Cortez, Founder | Pepper PH is a top food e-zine which features DIY recipe hacks, very honest restaurant reviews and a whole lot of mouthwatering food editorial shoots.
Paulynn Chang-Afable, Editor-in-Chief | Yummy.ph remains to be the #1 Food Magazine in the country with Paulynn’s leadership and writing prowess.
Danah and Gutierrez, Women Empowerment Advocates | The Gutierrez sisters aim to spread body positivity and healthy living through their site, The Plump Pinay.


All Moleskine products are available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked, Scribe Writing Essentials, Office Warehouse, Chimes Davao, Power Mac Center, iStudio, Switch, Pismo Digital Lifestyle, Astrovision Greenbelt & SM Aura, Zalora Philippines, Lazada Philippines.

Moleskine Pop Up Store Schedule:
Until end of October 2016 - Powerplant Mall, R3
November 1 - December 31 - 2nd Level, Greenbelt 5
Until end of  2016 - SM Aura, 3rd floor Atrium

GIVEWAY ALERT!

Blessed of being a part of this event, I'm sharing one Moleskin Heirloom Kitchen Recipe booklet and some special treats from my kitchen when you leave a comment below.

Random choosing will be applied:)

Happy cooking:)

2 comments:

  1. What a great event it was! Hoping to know more about food recipes.too excited for it. Hoping to be one of the lucky winners. Looking forward to this :)it will surely help me a lot in my cooking. GOD bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice post.Thank you so much for sharing this post.

    ReplyDelete

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