Love Is in the Details
Now that we’ve been spending more time at home with our families (and cooking up a storm in the kitchen), the duties we carry out to make everyone’s days shine brighter can become routine—even boring! Just remember that although this is probably the 100th new recipe tried, or the 500th salad combination concocted from scratch, we can still try to make them special by the love we put into making them. That means putting love in the details.
Make each family meal a place of conversation. Leave the gadgets out of the table and focus on each other: find out what each family member is doing, ask them for stories they want to share. Listen with eagerness. Share your own tales, too.
Add a little more flair to the tablespread. Add different salads and fruits for a pop of color. Bring out the table runners that were given as a wedding present—or make new ones! Set the table with cloth napkins tucked into napkin holders—or fold them the way you learned them in our old Home Economics classes.
Put out a dipping sauce station with cruets, sauces, vinegars, and minced veggies. The little extra time you put preparing them will sure be appreciated, as it certainly makes one feel like they are eating out in a Filipino restaurant.
We hope you can keep cooking with love!
Here’s a delicious salad you can make ahead, chill in the ref, and serve as a cold side dish!
Ampalaya Salad (Bittermelon Salad)
This healthy relish pairs superbly with fried fish, lechon kawali, or other sinfully fat-filled partners.
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
2 cups Ampalaya (bittermelon), sliced thinly
2 tbsp Salt
3 pcs Shallots
2 pcs Tomatoes
Dressing
¼ cup Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar
¼ cup Water
4 tbsp Sugar
A dash Black pepper
Instructions
1. Cut ampalaya into two, lengthwise. Remove the seeds. Slice thinly crosswise.
2. Rub ampalaya slices with salt.
3. Leave for 20 minutes. Squeeze out ampalaya juice. Remove excess salt with water. Squeeze out water.
4. Cut shallots and tomatoes into thin, round slices. Chill the vegetables slices.
5. In a small saucepan, mix Mama Sita’s Coconut Nectar Vinegar and water and let it boil for 2 minutes.
6. Lower the heat. Add sugar and black pepper. Stir continuously for two to three minutes, then let cool.
7. Arrange the vegetables a platter and serve with dressing.