Last week was totally crazed. Commitments on several fronts resulted in a crazy week of appointments, meetings, flights, dinners, cooking, etc. So by the weekend, I was exhausted. I was also a bit depressed after finding out that there is a serious delay in the filming of the next James Bond movie as MGM, the studio behind the series is staving off bankruptcy… I usually take the impending premiere of a Bond flick as an opportunity to go on a serious multi-month weight loss program. As I careen dangerously close to 200 pounds and need some added encouragement, nada Bond. Forget that I don’t get paid $20 million and provided with four full-time trainers and dietitians to help me get back in shape (yup, that’s what Daniel Craig gets) before each movie… Consuelo de bobo nalang that Craig will instead play the role of Michael Bloomquist in the the wildly popular Stieg Larsson series of books starting with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”… So instead of working out last weekend, I focused on sinfully calorific meriendas instead. First, up top, an adult sundae featuring a scoop each of Haagen Daz Belgian chocolate and coffee ice creams, a sliced banana, topped with freshly made hot mangosteen sauce thinned with brandy. Easily a thousand calories I would think. :)
On a lazy Sunday afternoon, after an hour-long nap, some classic fried saba bananas served with brown sugar on the side. Without fail, my favorite merienda and something I have never found a substitute for when not in the Philippines. There is just something about those saba bananas, slightly ripe but still firm that fry up wonderfully. Totally inedible raw, but spectacular in hot fat. Depending on how many you eat in one sitting, another potential thousand calorie merienda. Okay, get a grip Marketman. Time to start shedding those unwanted pounds before the Christmas holidays roll around. With or without Bond. Hahahaha. :)
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Hi MM – was scouring your archives for your mangosteen jam recipe last week. Was able to try Kablon’s but didn’t blow me over when I had it with bread though it was a winner when I tried it with creamy yoghurt! Anyway, was quite inspired by your post on mangosteen jam because you made it sound so simple. Been thinking of trying it when I get the chance and some good mangosteens of course! Just wondering how different the mangosteen sauce you used here would be?
Blood glucose gone wild MM!!!
leigh, actually the mangosteen sauce was just some mangosteen jam, a little overcooked and hence better thinned into a sauce and some brandy and a tablespoon of water to 1 cup of jam heated up and spooned over the ice cream. You can do this with kablon as well… If you do make mangosteen jam, make sure you have a CHEAP source of good mangosteen, as it takes 2+ kilos of fruit to make an 8-10 oz jar of jam. jhaz, yes, sugar galore. I feel it up to now. :(
Do you add anything to the brown sugar? Muscovado? Or is it just plain brown sugar, MM? Tnx!
MARKETMAN, HI! IM LOOKING FOR STRAWBERRY OR RASPBERRY PUREE? WHERE CAN I FIND THEM ASIDE FROM SANTIS? PLEASE? MY SON’S BDAY IS COMING UP, I WANT TO MAKE THE PERFECT DESSERT FOR THE KIDS. THANKS!
if the girl with the dragon tattoo movie (english version) proves to be a success then he’ll have another good run of badass movies. i spent a few sleepless nights reading the whole series.
depressed as only a true bond fan would be ;P on a side note, im excited to at least see craig in the larsson series. this year has been a big dud for hollywood movies in general.
Major yum factor: fried saba, muscovado with a bit of cinnamon and a glass of milk (yes, a glass of milk). Instant childhood memories.
In my adult world, a banana cue or turon would do nicely – with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!
Watched the Swedish version of the movie and it is really good. I dont care for this type of movie but was 4star rated in Netflix so I watched it and was pleasantly surprised. Back to this post… Cant wait to try coffee ice cream with mangosteen sauce in 2 weeks. I have a list of things to eat while on vacation.
That saging na saba just made my tummy rumble despite having eaten a full dinner. I still haven’t decided whether I like the ones that are really thin to the point they are crisping at the edges or the fat ones where you can really taste and savor the richness of the banana. Does anyone know where one can buy those kinds of bananas in Melbourne? I find Australian bananas lack the sweetness and nice texture that ours have.
Oh yes I believe fried saba appeared in one of my daydreams about the Philippines. One of my titos owns a banana farm in General Santo City – the bananas are fanstastic even their banana chips for merienda! I think my cousins and I finished a whole garbage bag last year when we stayed at a Samal resort as part of our week-long family reunion festivities.
This is making me hungry (and it’s midnight here aaargh!) I don’t care much for ripe bananas when uncooked, but bananas fried, as turon or in banana bread? Yum-o!
My father (who lives in Davao) says Mangosteen are quite cheap these days (they are in season). If you go up to Calinan where most of the fruit farms are in Davao, one can get mangosteens for as low as 15 to 20 pesos per kilo if you get them in big quantities. So maybe even in Manila, mangosteen isn’t as expensive now?
Anyhoo I’ll be home in Davao in two weeks time and I can’t wait to be in mangosteen (and durian and rambutan) heaven :-)
MM, that fried saba banana really looked yummy. Funny, I bought this almost ripe sabas the other week. Put them in the cupboard and completely forgot about them. Next thing I knew they were very lata already. well, next time I will just fry them right away.
Off topic, I don’t know if you watch Foodnetwork at all but the new star, she won the contest last night, is a food blogger and I just thought of you. Maybe one of these days you will think of trying for it. Can you imagine a Pinoy with the other chefs on Foodnetwork!! Just like the Iron Chef contest, the White House chef, I forget her name, she was on it. I missed watching it though.
At the beach house, plowed through the first two in two days, reading the third book right now – I’m worried about the US casting of Lisbeth. Frankly, I don’t see why they are remaking the films other than lack of creativity in Hollywood. The books are so specifically Scandanavian. I hear they are filming in Estonia or something…
Robin Wright Penn has been cast as Ricky and Stellan Skarsgaard as Martin (which is a bit obvious but…)
Just in, they cast an American ingenue to play Salandar, Rooney Mara. oh well
Noelle,you can use plantain bananas as sabas are a rare find here in Oz.
I miss our Philippine bananas and mangoes. =(
First food on the breakfast table my husband requests on his yearly visits home is ‘tinanok nga saba’ – aco naman I like it as banana-cue – could eat 2 or 3 at one sitting.
Hi MM! finally tried your Mangosteen Jam recipe and it turned out great. Now i have to learn how to properly bottle it. I just made a small batch as I am wary of keeping it longer than a week without proper bottling. Is it hard to do? Where do you source your bottles?
Maricel, San Miguel bottling has “wholesale” outlets where you can buy by the box of 24 bottles, call their main office in directory, they will point you to “wholesaler-retailer” near you. You just put the hot jam in the sterilized bottle (boil clean empty bottle and new cap in water for say 10 minutes, then let it dry on a clean kitchen surface resting on paper towels or a clean dish towel that has just been laundered), then close the cap firmly but not overly tightly, then boil that in water totally submerged for 8-10 minutes. Take the bottles out and let them cool. A vacuum seal will form due to the temperatures externally and within the bottle. Then it should be good for up to a year. However, if you notice that mold or other bacterial growth is forming on the top of the jam, you will have to throw out that bottle. Also, when you open the jam for the first time, if there isn’t that characteristic pop of air due to the pressure, you should be wary. Best if you buy a simple book on pickling or canning at a large bookstore, so the steps are crystal clear. If only bottling a few containers, places like Landmark or Shoemart housewares department have pricier but sturdier and prettier canning jars. They can run PHP100-150 for the jar alone, however. :(
Thanks MM. Will do that. Mangosteens are now P35 a kilo in Divisoria. That’s more than twice as much as you sourced yours in Cebu but relatively still cheaper here in the Metro.
An easy way to sterilize and dry clean jars (from the dishwasher) is to put them on a cookie sheet and place in a 225 F oven for 10 min. Fill the hot jars with boiling jam. Place the caps separately in a pot of water and bring only to a simmer- remove with clean tongs and cap jars. Place jars in a boiling water bath on top of a rack , with jars totally under water and boil for 10 minutes for half pints ad 15 min for pints. Remove with tongs and let cool on surface covered with a clean dish towel. You should hear a “Ping” as the jars cool to indicate a vacuum seal. Any that don’t have to be refrigerated and used within a week or reprocessed.
An easy way to sterilize and dry clean jars (from the dishwasher) is to put them on a cookie sheet and place in a 225 F oven for 10 min. Fill the hot jars with boiling jam. Place the caps separately in a pot of water and bring only to a simmer- remove with clean tongs and cap jars. Place jars in a boiling water bath on top of a rack,with jars totally under water and boil for 10 minutes for half pints ad 15 min for pints. Remove with tongs and let cool on surface covered with a clean dish towel. You should hear a “Ping” as the jars cool to indicate a vacuum seal. Any that don’t have slightly depressed caps have to be refrigerated and used within a week or reprocessed.
Thank you Sister for the additional tips.
i like your website…:D