Comfort Food with a capital “C”…
We have been utterly crazed in the Marketman household for the past month or two and definitely needed a break. So the last couple of days have been spent at home — sleeping, watching television, napping, eating and catching up with one another. My broken G10 camera was sent off to the repair shop, only to return soon after as it is almost cheaper to buy a new one than it is to have the G10 repaired. But that’s okay, I think the poor thing died from exhaustion, having taken approximately 60-70,000 photos over the past three years. It served me and this blog very well. But I did the unthinkable and mentioned in its presence that I was thinking of getting a new camera sometime soon, and it couldn’t handle the news and decided to take its own life. :) I kid you not, haven’t you noticed how your cell phone, computer, cameras and other electronic equipment seem to sense when you are about to replace them? This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. They have feelings, I tell you. :) At any rate, this state of affairs means I have had to borrow the Teen’s camera (an SLR with all kinds of fancy shmancy lenses) and have managed to take a few usable photos… but I need a simpler camera I think… maybe a G12? A Lumix? Any thoughts?…
But back to the cassava cake. If there is one dessert from my childhood that brings all manner of good feelings, it is a homemade cassava cake. There’s just something about the texture, the flavor, that hit of sweet and salty faked out topping that triggers happy vibes. The 3 kilos of spectacular organic cassava I purchased yesterday is what I turned into 6 large cassava cakes. Yum. I will only eat a part of one, the rest have been sent off to friends, family and crew. Recipe for cassava cake here. Too lazy to make it? Then buy these ones, they are wonderful too.
P.S. We used to hand grate the cassava, but Sister once suggested I use the shredding blade on a Cuisinart food processor, and I did that yesterday. It worked brilliantly. Much faster and the texture of the cake turned out really nicely.
49 Responses
A staple in fiestas. =)
Get the Lumix sir MM! Even real deal photographers swear by it’s quality!
MM,
I concur with kumagcow (my dear that’s such a sad name) Lumix is the way to go. I have 2, but I want to upgrade again. Both still work brilliantly and I gave my old one to family.
Everyone I show my pictures to are surprised it came from a point and shoot and just with that they switched to Lumix.
By the way, I LOVE CASSAVA CAKE. It’s my favorite baon when I was in first grade. I’m experimenting how to make traditional kakanin, i’ll try your recipe!
Renee
i love it too!! :D there’s this yummy cassava cake mom used to buy, it has leche flan on top! wooow.
I was quite taken by this Youtube clip promoting a new Sony point and shoot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IHf6UwQC4s
They have a term for attributing human traits to inanimate objects, pathetic or anthropomorphic fallacy.
‘Object Sexuality’
The shredder attachment of the Kitchenaid mixer does wonders, too. We used to make 12 trays 2x week when we had the bakery in 19 kopong kopong.
Since, I don’t really cook “kakanins” my aunt does it. She uses the frozen cassava bought in the Asian groceries. It is good enough to satisfy our craving for cassava cake . Now I’m wanting a taste of it.
Casava cake is one of my all-time COMFORT FOOD!! I can eat an entire tray in a day….
The G12 is currently what the Mrs. use and is very happy with it.
I read through the recipe link and was expecting to find grated cheese as one of the ingredients. I always thought the salty and crusty film on top (my favorite part) was made of baked cheese, hindi pala! :)
Peach, if you re-read the recipe, it calls for some grated cheddar cheese. :)
Hi MM,
Camera shopping, maybe you would like to tr an Olympus XZ-1.
there is this cassava cake sold at Letty’s Buko Pie in UP Los Banos. Its soooo soft you can fold the entire cake together. But its gummy enough that it still does not break apart. Sigh…. i miss those college days…
Oh okay! I must have glossed over that one ;p
try a Sony Nex-5 it is easy to use and great pics too…
Try Canon G12, i have my G11 and its working fine… at least with Canon, you are already used to the settings…thanks for the casava recipe and more power to you Zubochon resto.
My daughter got a Lumix LX5, really nice, simple camera.
I use a lumix fz35 super zoom fixed lens point and shoot and I am very happy with it. Newer versions for this type are the fz 40 and fz100. A lumix lx3 and lx5 is also a great small machine. On the higher end of the handy lumix family are the gf1, gf2 and gf3 with interchangeable lens systems.
MM, just go with Sony Cybershot….they’re easy to use and produce good pictures… :-)
I’m so craving for cassave cake right now….
Ang sarap ng bibingkang balinghoy (Batangas Tagalog for cassava)! Your photo evokes a craving for the native delicacy which we used to buy in our town’s public market. On the subject of cameras, I make do with my Sony Ericsson cellphone camera which is able to help me in telling stories of travels, vacations, family events, and various moods of beloved pets. Quite successful and proud in the storytelling, and being able to convey different emotions by using a simple cellphone camera.
i usually pair a comfortably sweet cassava cake with brewed coffee taken black in one of the small coffee shops here in the city. This is then followed with another slice and another cup.
By the way, La Corona CAFE in Bacolod City, which is featured in a blog post here, is now closed. Some say permanently but others say it might just open again somewhere.
hello Anne with the :-)
YUMMY! the best..
@Lee, sorry to hear its closed. i was able to have coffee and puto there after i read about it here in Marketmanila.
this is one of my fave kakanins. But, I’m too scared to make it coz I don’t know how to clean cassavas properly to get rid of it’s poisonous substance, so I make do with the store-bought ones. But I sooo wanna try…
Talk about perfect timing, MM! Last Friday, the ladies and I were just talking about homesickness, zubuchon, bananaque, and yup, cassava cake… too bad we can’t find cassava here (even the frozen ones).
A professional photog friend of mine says you can’t go wrong with Lumix…
Pssst Footloose, how in heaven’s name will I translate anthropomorphic fallacy??? hahahaha :-)
@mp and footloose. I just asked my good “friend” Google about anthropomorphic fallacy and then realized I just did it. The things I learn in the comments section are priceless. Difficult to spell but nonetheless priceless. Even my laptop is happy about it.
Sony’s NEX 5 is niiiiiice, but pricey… Lumix is good, a lot of photographers recommend it for non-professional photos….
canon s95! Fast and great for low light! :)
Aaahhh…. Cassava! it does evoke comfort food despite all the great cakes and pastries you can find here in the US. Now am torn once again as to what to make for the BBQ invite for next weekend… a berry cobbler or a cassava cake??? Haven’t had cassava for a loooonnggg time!
You need a
lumix lx-5 or a lumix GF2
I love cassava cake! But as it’s the start of berry season here in BC, we are answering the call, starting with local strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are next.
As for the camera, I sold our G10 and went with the Sony NEX-5. Much better camera, fast handling, beautiful files. Uses the same sensor as some of the Nikon DSLRs. It’s my backup to my Canon DLSRs or does double duty as the wife’s primary camera.
Cheers
S.
MM, I agree with the others, you should get the Lumix. My sister has one and it takes superb HD quality photos (you could see the pimples, blackheads and other skin imperfections hehe). I forgot the model though…
Cassava cakes always brings out fond memories of my aunt, may she rest in peace, who always cooks the best cassava cakes in the family.
I heard good reviews on Lumix from friends. I haven’t tried one though.
RE: Gadgets doing the “kamikaze”. This is funny ‘coz every time we decide to purchase a new one, say a mobile phone, the older phone gets broken. Recently, my husband’s phone fell off the bed ending up with a broken LCD screen when my husband said he’s going to replace it. Haha
Recently we bought a point & shoot and based our decision solely on sharpness of images and colour fidelity on shots taken at the camera store. The clear winner for us was the Lumix TZ10, after a couple of hours of testing.
quiapo, may I ask how many shots the Lumix can take on one battery charge? Some reviews say it can do less than a hundred photos between charges… that is really low for me… were they correct?
I am very happy with my Lumix TZ7 and LX2.
MM,
Less than 100 photo’s is not true, I’ve done way more plus video even with my really old lumix. The new ones will have better battery life. It would be around 400 at least.
Hi MM,
Renee is right, should be in the 350 to 400 range for the Lumix, though i still suggest you check out the Olympus XZ-1, which is at least on par with the lumix in terms of generally all specifications but as a faster lens and a bigger zoom range.
renee, actually the review for the new one is what caught my eye on battery capacity…maybe it was an anomaly… I have now tried the lumix vs. canon and think the photo quality of the lumix is probably better. Now for the Sony…
Almost 400 to 500++ shots (sometimes even shooting JPEG+RAW) plus a little video per battery charge with my Lumix FZ35.
@Elmo. I like the Olympus XZ-1… F1.8-2.5 aperture, that’s a carrot eating bright lens :) plus a hotshoe… decent price too.
Lee,
Glad you looked at the Olympus. I’ve already tried it (a friend has one) and it does take amazing pictures, and yes, the hotshoe is a definite plus. Retails for about Php18k-19K in Hongkong. The aperture makes a lot of sense as MM can take more pics under natural light.
MM,
Maybe the Teen can help you out with your camera shopping (although i assume you’ve already involved her). The Sony NEX will definitely outperform the LX5, XZ1 and the G12 in terms of image quality since it has a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses, but pocketability will be sacrificed. At the end of the day, just get what you are most comfortable with. :-)
I love love cassava cake.
Cassava cake is comfort food for my household too, and are beautiful memories of a great-aunt. The char on the cake looks amazing!
On the camera, I would’ve said “another G10” =) I’m loyal like that. Heehee…
Lumix LX5…. :)
the cassava cake is delicious
Hee hee..yes they have feelings! Our car would always act up everytime my dad would say “dapat palitan na tong bulok na ‘to!” ha ha ha!
There’s this street in our town in Tayabas wherein you will find a pile of shops selling budin or cassava cake.. This Budin were so famous that they call the street Kalye Budin. I’m telling you babalik balikan mo talaga dahil sa sarap ng lasa nya compare sa ibang cassava cake which is dry. Theirs are soft and bit gooey and creamy.. basta try nyo to anytime na mapadaan kayo sa Tayabas, Quezon. Aside from Budin masarap din ang kanilang nilupak(Kakanin made with cassava topped with cheese).
I tried your recipe and it turned out truly delicious! thanks so much market man for sharing a wonderful recipe. ^_^
Wow! The texture really catches my attention. Hmm….This is something different from the cassava cake that I used to eat :3