Mirsbin’s Kitchen

After the first month jitters, I’ve finally come to relax and enjoy the daily grind at the resto. Just this week, friends came over to stay with me and keep me company while managing the store. Carina was there Monday, Wednesday and this afternoon. Yesterday, I had Anna and Jennifer as guests. Today, the tech girls decided to have their get together at the resto. Tec and Karen who are slowly becoming regulars, then Julie and Grace came as second timers then there’s Minmin – a first timer. Too bad Berni wasn’t able to join but I think this is just a first of many get togethers here at the resto. The walls vibrated with Tec’s laughter, jokes we’re said again and again. I couldn’t breathe laughing so hard. We did get to laugh about some people (bad very bad – uy check nyo friendster nyo for the pouting lips).

Never mind how tiring it can get, but this is how I wanted the resto to be. Apart from the sales, I’d love to hear laughter and I hope good friends would hang out in our small place.

Unlike other kids, I was never allowed to go out in the streets to play during summer (well I was actually not allowed to play outside also during school days). I would normally spend my afternoons with my sisters and my brother. Since I was not allowed to play in the streets, I wasn’t allowed too to buy food from the streets. So I could say I missed a lot of good stuff to eat during those days.

My friends would talk about scramble, corn, manggang hilaw and fishballs. But I wouldn’t get to taste them until I was in U.P. Just the other day, I was running from the resto to the streets because I saw a man sellling scramble. So, pathetic as it sounds I finally tasted what scramble was. Well, I didn’t like it hehehe but that’s another story.

My mom prepared a lot of good stuff to eat. If it’s summer then it’s definitely mango tart season. My mom would receive mangoes in their “kaings” from our small land in Pangasinan and would check it if it was suitable for mango tart, mango shake or just to be eaten with our hands. Last friday, I suddenly thought of making and eating mango tart again.

The memories that came back as soon as the melted butter hit the ground graham crackers. The sweet and tangy taste of cream cheese and cottage cheese made me feel that my mom was making the tart with me. I found joy in arranging each mango slice on top of the cream cheese mixture. I was surprised that I was able to do it in less then an hour. During my younger years, it was all a big production number. Someone was assigned in making ground graham crackers, pounding and sifting until it was in powder form. The another was tasked to peel and slice the mangoes according to the desired size. Then my other sister would mix the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar in a manual mixer. Imagine the scents it created in the kitchen.

Here’s the guarded Mango Tart recipe of my mom. I still have the orginal piece of paper where she wrote the recipe. Whenever I feel sad, I just look at her handwriting and start thinking of the good old days.

Mango Tart

Crust:
2 1/2 cups ground Graham crackers or any digestive will do
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar

Filling:
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 bar cream cheese soften
1 cup cottage cheese

Mango slices
1 pack clear gelatin

Combine graham crackers, butter, cinnamon and sugar. Press mixture at the bottom of a pyrex dish or any square pan. Keep it in the refrigerator while mixing the filling. Beat the whipping cream for 2 minutes then add cottage cheese, cream cheese and sugar. Pour on top of the crust the refrigerate for 3 hours. Arrange the mango slices. Then cook the gelatin according to the package directions and pour on top of the mango slices. Chill for another 3 hours.

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