A Few Holiday Notes…

If you are like me, and crazed with holiday preparations, you would not be surprised by the erratic nature of my blog posts of late. Returning from a trip a couple of weeks ago, helping to open a new lechon venture, getting our traditional gingerbread creation done, and preparing for holiday dinners with family and friends has really kept us all very busy… But I did want to mention a couple of things for the benefit of regular readers who may be wondering why some things are sort of “hanging”…

December Eyeball

In June of this year, in this post, there was animated commentary about a possible marketmanila eyeball. I told Silly Lolo and Bettyq that if they managed to get to Cebu on a specified date, later agreed as December 12, I would treat them to a lechon feast. At first, it seemed like the event was definitely on, but unfortunately, two months ago, both Bettyq and Silly Lolo emailed that due to extenuating circumstances, they would be unable to make it this year. Hence the eyeball was cancelled/postponed. So maybe an eyeball in Cebu (as that is the only place you will get to try the Zubuchon straight off the flames) next year is possible… stay tuned for that.

Christmas Donations to the Marketmanila.com Public School Feeding Program

Towards the end of each year, for the past couple of years, I have done something to raise funds for the marketmanila.com feeding program, now on it’s third year, and with the generous donations of many marketmanila readers, has or will provide some 70,000+ meals for undernourished public school children in Manila and Cebu by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. I had put out an early request for assistance just after Typhoon Ondoy hit and devastated the Metro Manila area and other provinces, so I thought there was definitely going to be “donor fatigue” just before the holidays and decided not to do another request for help for the kids. At this stage, the feeding programs are funded through March of next year, and will break for the summer months. But I must say a huge THANK YOU to all of those who remembered, and some of whom who have emailed and I think I may have inadvertently deleted their emails without responding properly, for asking about the program and obviously wanting to help. I have encouraged many of you channel your generosity to other charities and I am truly humbled by your desire to do good. If we all did as much, thousands more would benefit.

Holiday Preparations

While I am the hugest of Christmas festivity fans, I have to say that we have really scaled back our preparations for this year. It just seems to be a bit more appropriate given the times. We have given heavily to charitable efforts instead, and while we haven’t completely wiped out the several holiday meals we typically prepare at home, they are best described as being less extravagant than in years past. Most of the presents we have sent out to family and friends were made in our kitchen, of local produce and materials, and much of what is on our menus are made up of local favorites (with a few irresistible exceptions). I haven’t had much time to experiment or perfect some classic Pinoy dish, but I realize there are dozens of holiday related posts in the archives for you to troll through if interested, and I will link to several from 2006 down below. We did, however, continue the gingerbread tradition in the marketman household in a big way this year, and we have tons of holiday candy that will all be distributed to kids who visit by the time Christmas Day has come and gone. Office parties have been nixed in lieu of larger cash bonuses for staff to spend for the holiday season.

If you would like to browse through previous Christmas related posts, try these from 2006…

Christmas Ball Garlands a la Marketman (if you are observant, you would have noticed these were recycled as decor for the Zubuchon counter at BTC)
Red & White Christmas Lights a la The Kid
Queso de Bola
Holiday Menus and Place Cards
Gourmet Christmas Cookies a la Marketman
Christmas Food Gifts a la Marketman, Part I
Christmas Food Gifts a la Marketman, Part II
Christmas Food Gifts a la Marketman, Part III
Candy Canes, Crackers & Ornaments
Gingerbread a la Marketman, I
Gingerbread a la Marketman, II
Gingerbread a la Marketman, III
Gingerbread a la Marketman, IV – the “express” edition
Gingerbread a la Marketman, the 2006 Finale
Angus Roast Beef Tagalog a la Marketman, a delicious way to use leftover roast beef from the holiday dinners…
Shrimp Cocktail a la Marketman, a great starter for your holiday meal
Crabmeat with Dill Mayonnaise, another starter
A Capiz Parol, a shell Christmas Lantern
Marketman’s Party Preparations
Galantina, did it once, never again :)
Holiday Dinner a la Marketman, 2006
Lobster Salad, another great seafood starter
Angus Ribeye Roast Beef, after all those seafood starters, here’s the beef!
Christmas Ham, from Tennessee!
Christmas Gift Wrapping a la Marketman
I Still Believe in Santa
The Crew’s Christmas Party
Recycling Leftovers from the Holiday Meals…
Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce, a great holiday dessert
Chocolate Pudding Cake by Francois Payard