Mirsbin’s Kitchen

I remember my prof in UP who talked about the Golden Turon. The story goes like this, somebody wanted to sell turon in a local community, but everybody had that perfect idea that they would be selling turon every afternoon. So this brilliant person with a “marketing background” thought of naming his turon the “golden turon”. And the rest is history, he might be the turon magnate already and must have sold more than thousands of golden turons. For marketing people, it’s called the USP – Unique Selling Proposition. hehe well enough about marketing. Let’s talk about street food.

I love turon, I would always buy turon from the manang outside Casaa in UP before I go home. Those were the very few times that I opted to stay home and enjoy merienda with my mom. My mother loved turon with langka (jackfruit). I guess, the turon became more special because it was time well spent with my mom. We would discuss what happened in school and what transpired thru her day.

I still buy some turon, but it was never again shared with my mom since she passed away. I would sometimes buy an extra one for her and leave it by her picture.

I had extra time today so I made turon for merienda. It was a golden turon indeed since I used apples instead of saging na saba. Hope you’ll like my recipe.

Apple turon

4 apples (cubed)
1 tsp of sugar
cinnamon
1/4 cup of butter
lumpia wrapper
cooking oil

Cook apples in butter until tender, add sugar and cinnamon. Cook until the liquid reduces. Then set aside to cool.

Once the apple mixture is cooled, get the lumpia wrapper. Put a tablespoon of the apple mixture in the center and wrap. Fry the turon until golden brown. Adding some brown sugar before it is cooked. Drain well in paper towels.

Lasang Pinoy 3 Round up

Lasang Pinoy 3

I have a very bad cold and I can’t seem to taste anything. When others would resort to the usual remedy like chicken soup or arroz caldo, I’d go for mint tea. Just last month, I was able to purchase a mint plant in Tagaytay. I’m very happy to tell you that so far that small plant has now grown into a bush and that I am now enjoying cutting leaves from the plant to use it in cooking.

As a child I only knew mint as a form of bubble gum. Remember Wrigley’s, that gum with the yellow green packaging? Then I was introduced to the wonderful world of cooking, mint as I learned can be used in many ways. Just recently I used mint as part of the Thai Pineapple fried rice. The mint was a contrast to the spicy taste of the rice and it did complement well with the pineapple and cilantro. Did you also know that mint can be used to clean and flush out gall stones?

To enjoy mint tea, I would cut the stems and leaves from the plant. Wash it then steep it in hot water for 10 minutes. I like adding honey to sweeten it. It’s calming effect can lead you to bliss

I quit my job to focus on cooking. It was a pretty hard thing to do since I was with my company for 6 years already. To make a career shift seems unthinkable considering the economy here in the Philippines. But the calling was so intense that I’d stop while working on the media plans and think about the many ways one could cook chicken or beef. Some days I would think of really good comforting food, not to eat but to cook.

I’ve written in my previous posts about my fear into venturing into this business and make money out of my cooking. But I’ve decided to risk it, and finally cook. It’s in cooking that I find myself complete. No title or position in a company would ever satisfy this feeling. I remember in one of the sessions for Management training, the candidates were asked what they envisioned to be while they were young. Some answered that they would be King, or a businessman. I told them I wanted to own a bakery and I wanted to cook. Only one person managed to be what they had envisioned as a child. The instructor told us to hold onto that dream and make it a reality. I guess being King would be a little hard

As I read the book by Ruth Reichl – Comfort Me With Apples, she interviewed one chef named Bruce Cost who just quit his day job and pursued cooking. Here’s an excerpt

“Isn’t it scary just giving up your old life to a new one?” I asked.
“Yes” he said simply, “But I got married young and had children young. It’s now or never. If I don’t do what I really want to do now, I never will.”

It sounded too familiar, except the marriage and the kids part.