Sweet Moments

Native Sweet Delicacies....a flashback!



Three decades of decadent moments have quickly passed but the sweetness of this home made desserts still lingers in my palate. It wasn't too much compared to all the twists and endless innovations on the sweet food today, but it was far too different because it was prepared with no measuring paraphernalias but only love and dedication. The sweet recipes below echoes the very core of my earliest remembrance of childhood.Our eager, sparkling eyes and pure smile as we sit around our grandparents old narra table waiting for the steaming hot sweet concoctions served in front of us. And then at first bite, our mind bursts of the flavors, of the colors that comes with the sweetness that invaded our tongue and the satisfaction that we felt as we close our eyes feeling the food go down. No one could take that moment away from me. It was too vivid to forget especially with grandmother preparing all this for us in her humble little kitchen.

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candied tomatoes w/ vanilla


1 kilo large ripe tomatoes,blanched,peeled and seeded
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. vanilla essence

how to:

Heat pan over medium fire,add the sugar, lower the heat and let it melt for a few minutes.
 Add the tomatoes. Stir and mix thoroughly making sure the tomatoes are completely glazed with sugar.
Add little salt. Continue stirring until mixture is almost dry.
Add the vanilla essence. Remove from heat. Cool before storing on bottles.
Best filling on toasted loaves like whole wheat breads or just plain bread with ginger ale.


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sweet potato delight


1/2 kilo sweet potato(yellow variety)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar

how to:

Boil sweet potatoes 2 cups water. Cool and peel thoroughly, then mashed with the back of fork.
In a big stainless bowl, melt the butter with sugar.Mix.
Add the mashed sweet potato, then mix thoroughly. Form spoonful into a ball and cover with candy wrappers.do the same with the remaining mixture. Chill.
  
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unripe banana pudding w/ coconut cream

1 kilo unripe bananas, boiled, peeled and cut into small bits
1/2 kilo white or brown sugar
2 cups coconut cream 
1 tsp vanilla essence
half tsp salt


how to:


Melt sugar on a pre- heated pan.
Add the bananas. Stir for a few minutes or until bananas are nicely coated with sugar.
Pour over coconut cream. Stir and mix thoroughly for few more minutes.
Add the vanilla essence.
Add salt. Remove from heat.
Perfect after lunch dessert.
Serve hot or cold.

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young coconut in sticky rice pudding


1/2 kilo young coconut meat,sliced into strips
2 cups sticky rice(ground)
11/2 cup red sugar(muscovado)
1 cup water
1 tbsp.vanilla essence
1/2 tsp.salt

how to:

Measure 1 cup sticky rice. Pour a little amount of water enough to hold the rice and form tiny balls bigger than your thumb. Set aside.
In a pan melt the red sugar for a few minutes a cup of water to make the process faster. Let boil for 3 minutes.
Add the rice balls.
Now let us work the remaining sticky rice. Pour over water into the rice and mix into smooth watery consistency. Add this to the boiling concoction while stirring constantly. By this time the food might get too sticky to stir.
Remove from heat and add the essence of vanilla.
Serve hot or cold.
Best afternoon snack or serve cold in the morning after breakfast.

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banana pancakes


10 pcs. ripe bananas, peeled and cut flatly in three
2 cups rice flour or all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
4 cups water
1 tsp. banana essence(optional)
1 cup butter,melted

how to:


Pour 4 cups water over 2 cups rice flour. Mix thoroughly.
Add the white sugar. Mix. Add more water if smooth consistency is not yet achieved.
 Add the essence of banana. Stir.
In a heated pan, melt a little butter then tip the pan slightly so it will spread evenly.
Pour 1/4 cup flour mixture in the bubbly butter, quickly add 2 banana slices on top then cover a little more mixture. Cook the other side when the sides are dry and holes appear.
Repeat with the remaining mixture. Just add butter in the pan when not enough.
Serve hot with confectioners sugar or honey.
Best afternoon  snack.

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sweet squash filling


1 kilo squash, peeled, cut into bits
1/2 kilo brown sugar
1 cup coconut cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
little salt

how to:

Mix squash and sugar in a pan. Cook over medium heat until sugar boils. Mash squash in sugar.
Continue stirring.
Add the coconut cream. Stir for more minutes. Do not leave the pan for even a while or the hot mixture will shoot hot bubble on you, unless you turn the fire off. Stir until mixture reach a smooth consistency.
Add the vanilla essence and little salt. Remove from heat.
Serve warm or cold.
Best filling on crackers.

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guava jelly

1 kilo ripe guavas
1 kilo white sugar
5 cups water

how to:

Boil guavas in a casserole over high heat for 10 minutes until guavas are tender.
Remove from heat and strain. Set aside 1 cup boiled guava water.Discard the remaining.
Put guavas in a clean cloth, twists cloth and squeeze the juices from the guava securing the drippings in a bowl. Repeat until there are no more juice left.
In a pan,melt the white sugar over low medium heat, add the guava juice.Mix stirring constantly.
Add the guava water and continue stirring until smooth and the pectin seemed clear.
Remove from heat. Cool before storing in sterilize bottles.

Note: You can use the guava pulp(minus the seeds) for a healthier variation.

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coconut balls


3 cups finely shredded mature coconut meat
1 kilo red(muscovado) sugar
1 cup white sugar or icing sugar


how to:


Melt red sugar in a deep wok over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup water to make the process faster.
Muscovado is quite lumpy so you have to boil more to melt these.
Add the shredded coconut. Lower the heat and mix thoroughly for a few minutes before adding more heat.
Continue stirring until coconut is nicely coated or the mixture is almost dry.
Remove from heat.
While still warm, mold these into tiny balls. Roll in a platter with white sugar or dustings of icing sugar.
Let cool and store in a sterilize dry container.

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