Food

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Month-Long Vacation in the Philippines

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[1 February - 1 March, 2025]

Here’s a day by day video account of my recent trip to the Philippines during the entire month of February.

I originally planned this trip over the 2024 Christmas holidays but with cheaper fares during the dead of winter, plus a great excuse to avoid Ohio’s coldest month of the season, turned out this was, weather-wise, the best time to visit the Philippines. A couple of friends from Ohio, Cort and Keiko, joined me during the last two weeks of the month, which became the most jam-packed travel days of the trip.

The first two weeks were spent visiting and spending time with family and friends, all around food get-togethers, of course. The second half was spent with an island trip to Boracay Beach, a road trip north of Manila to the Spanish heritage town of Vigan, and finally, a visit up the mountains to the summer resort capital of the Philippines, Baguio City, where the temperatures were pleasantly spring-like cool, sans the heat and humidity of the city.

Already a month long, but still too short, it was a great reminder that a break from the craziness back home is just a “short” altogether 24-hour journey away!

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Family, Food, and the Christmas Holiday

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[23-25 December, 2023]

With a bigger-than-ever family gathering this year, more Filipino food is again on order than ever as well, along with some old reliable holiday desserts. Also new this year, fun games and an exciting white elephant gift exchange. None of the white stuff this year but nevertheless a very memorable Christmas in the books!

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Spain Vacation

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[11-22 September, 2023]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this Blog, even as I try to continue to do so as frequently as I can on Today, but this trip to Spain warrants a bit more words than just photos or videos.

This trip was originally planned for December, 2021 but due to travel restrictions because of COVID-19 (remember that?), it’s been pushed back almost 2 years to just this past month. The wait was worth it, though, as this was a whirlwind tour de force of Spanish culture and cuisine all packed in a short, 11-day vacation. Plus, it was time spent with my lifelong best friend and his family, and this has been the longest time that we’ve spent together in a very long time.

Madrid was the epicenter of this trip, with quick visits to the Centro attractions: Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the main shopping district of Gran Via, and the modern museum, Reina Sofia, highlighted by Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica. An evening of tapas, churros con chocolate from San Gines, a bocadillo de jamón Iberico, and a trip to the Real Madrid official merch store, we hardly scratched the surface.

‘Guernica’ by Picasso, at the Reina Sofia National Museum, Madrid.

Madrid was very quickly followed by trips to Toledo, a nearby neighbor city in the same Castille/La Mancha province as the capital city, then to Andalusia for the cities of Sevilla and Granada, and finally to Basque country, notably Spain’s foodie capital, San Sebastián.

Toledo was the former capital of Spain, a UNESCO heritage city with no modern buildings. We took a Rick Steves-prescribed “city walk” that took us to the Alcázar (Army Museum), lunch at Plaza de Zocodover, a wonderful tour of the amazing gothic Toledo Cathedral, delicious snacks of mazapán treats in Santo Tome, and finally a visit to the El Greco Museum, all in a very long, very packed day.

Toledo, Spain’s former capital city, sits on a hill surrounded on three sides by the natural moat of the Rio Tajos.

Next, a high-speed train to the Andalusia region in Southern Spain, for the cities of Sevilla and Granada.

Due to our limited time, we were able to visit only two of the most highly recommended sights in Sevilla: on day 1, the Sevilla Cathedral, the 3rd largest church in the world, after only St. Peter’s Basilica and London’s St. Paul Cathedral; and on day 2, the Real Alcázar, the 10th-century royal palace built by the Moors that’s been a lavish residence for Spain’s rulers for over a thousand years. In between, we were also able to visit Plaza de España, a popular filming location for Hollywood hits like Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) and Lawrence of Arabia.

The unquestionable superstar in the city of Granada is the Alhambra, the last and greatest Moorish palace and one of Europe’s top sights. Attracting over 8000 visitors a day (!), it was pure luck that we were able to get exactly the tickets we wanted just a day before our planned visit. Nowhere else does the splendor of Moorish civilization shine so beautifully. The Alhambra is a mind-blowing place, truly one of the most beautiful examples of world architecture I’ve ever seen.

Basque Country (El Pais Vasco) is the culinary capital of Spain, and San Sebastián is the culinary capital of Basque Country, with more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world. Needless to say, I was in foodie heaven! Our three days in San Sebastián were a scandalous array of food adventures one after the other. From pintxos and raciones of the most exquisite examples of Basque cuisine paired with the best local hard cider (sidra) and sparkling white wine (txakoli), finished with delectable sweet treats like Basque burnt cheesecake, hopping from bar to bar in Old Town is a serious physical sport. Mixing influences from mountain, sea, Spain and nearby France, Basque food is reason enough to visit this corner of Spain.

This vacation was definitely one for the books, a shining example of what world travel can be: a soul-filling immersion of local culture and cuisine, experienced with dear friends in the most beautiful places.

The following videos capture my most memorable moments of the trip, with all the sights, sounds, and tastes of these amazing 11 days.

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Christmas Holiday Weekend

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[24-25 December, 2022]

No bomb cyclone (see this) can ruin this year’s Christmas weekend’s celebrations, despite the bone-chilling, sub-zero frigid weather. As is customary with our family holiday celebrations, food is front and center. As the photos below show, a more traditional, boodle feast-style Filipino cuisine-focused menu was enjoyed by all.

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"No-Turkey" Thanksgiving Holiday

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[22-25 November, 2022]

Thanksgiving has always been about spending time and eating all kinds of food with family. And in this family, “no turkey” is the holiday’s tradition. In the past, it would be seafood dishes, and beef, and crispy roast pork, and all kinds of noodles. Add to that the plethora of desserts from banana egg rolls fried in brown sugar to all sorts of sweet rice cakes. This year was no different.

Because of everyone’s different arrival and work schedules, the feasting started on Tuesday evening and went all the way through Friday, with the traditional big event on Thursday. This year’s eclectic, homemade-from-scratch dining selections included meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy, French toast casserole, green bean casserole, yakisoba, fried veggie rolls, eggplant omelet, fried marinated milkfish bellies, beef short rib caldereta, peach and mandarin orange pavlova, rice cake drizzled with a sweet coconut syrup, and a notable vegan selection (moussaka, roast tofurkey, and cranberry cake) for the vegan nephew.

Another year with much to be thankful for, another non-traditional Thanksgiving family holiday in the books!

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Road Trip to Michigan

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[10-12 November, 2022]

I’ve written about Ryan before (see this post), and this past weekend, he, his dad (also Eric), and I drove up to the western side of Michigan for a campus visit to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Being that it was his dad’s alma mater, WMU had made it to his list of colleges to consider for a degree in Business. And having not been to that part of the state, I tagged along for a fun road trip.

On arrival Thursday mid-afternoon, we walked about the main campus and made a few stops in several buildings (student services, bookstore, rec center, etc.). The main tour was on Friday morning and we wanted to get an early peek at the newest notable additions to campus (at least since his dad went there in the early 90’s).

Dinner that night was at Principle, a nice classic American restaurant tucked away in an old renovated brick building in downtown Kalamazoo. Food was good, but not unforgettable; a solid 7.5/10.

On Friday, after a quick stop at Maggie’s Cafe, an old campus haunt with an impossibly long breakfast menu, it was time for the main campus tour: an enthusiastic dog-and-pony show complete with an hour plus-long, 2-mile hike across campus. It was capped by a detailed introduction to the Haworth School of Business, which was what interested Ryan the most. Overall, it was a fruitful visit, Western was an excellent school, and I think a good match for Ryan. Was it the one for him? That remains to be seen.

The trip’s bonus for me, though, was what happened afterwards. Eric’s brother, Jason, invited us for a tour of the Holland, MI seat plant operated by his employer MillerKnoll, famous for its midcentury modern classic line of home and office furniture by Herman Miller and Knoll. Anyone who knows me (and has been to my house) knows that being at a MillerKnoll showroom is like me being a kid in a candy factory, When even the factory’s men’s room is furnished with the George Nelson platform bench, I know I am in the right place!

After a quick but informative tour of the company’s seat assembly factory, Jason took us to the Company Store where several price-discounted company products were sold “as-is”. Unfortunately, I didn’t find either of the couple of things I was looking for, and ended up leaving empty-handed.

It was sushi dinner at the end of this busy and very exciting day back in Grand Rapids where we had booked an overnight stay before the drive back home on Saturday. But not before a stop in Ann Arbor, my own favorite Michigan city, for an obligatory pilgrimage to that temple of fine foods, Zingerman’s. But we ended up just buying a few sweet treats to take home; the wait for deli sandwiches was at 100-110 minutes, perhaps due to the home game that day, and a bit too much even for a die-hard Z fan like me. So it was Korean lunch for us instead at Miss Kim, a Zingerman’s-owned restaurant next to Kerrytown.

In the end, it was a fun-filled, packed, multi-faceted weekend road trip with good friends, all 700-plus driven miles of it. Hopefully, it was as memorable and rewarding for Ryan, wherever his future college plans may take him.

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4th of July Cookout

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How’s Korean BBQ for the 4th of July? Not too patriotic? Perhaps, but definitely delicious.

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Mini Family Reunion

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In mid June, my 92-yr old aunt came down from Michigan with my cousin and her husband for a long weekend visit. They were joined by another cousin from New Jersey and a third cousin from New York and it became a mini reunion of some sort, with 4 generations of the family in the house. And of course, we had plenty of food as is customary with Filipino family gatherings. Won’t be the last this year.

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Another Trip Around the Sun

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[14 April, 2022]

Another trip around the sun means … another trip through foodie land!

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L.A. Friends

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[31 March - 4 April, 2022]

First flight since the start of the pandemic (over 2 years since the last one!) was in late March/early April to Los Angeles, CA to visit with old friends. Of course, there was lots of eating!

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Pandemic Cuisine

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One of the inevitable outcomes of the several lockdowns during the pandemic was the welcome expansion of my culinary repertoire, for better or worse. All the dishes shown in the gallery below were my home-cooking, spurred no doubt by the mandatory closure of restaurants or restrictions on in-person dining, but also a result of my desire to otherwise re-create these dining experiences while safely getting together with family and friends in the comforts of home.

Sous Vide Tomahawk Ribeye for Dinner

I owe a good friend of mine a promised homemade dinner for helping me on a recent house project (which I still need to write about). I've been wanting to get my hands on a tomahawk ribeye and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. A dry-aged, 2.25-lb (about 1 kg) prime tomahawk ribeye from Whole Foods was the best I could find around. After a generous sprinkling of Kosher sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper, the FoodSaver was put to work for the "vacuum-and-seal" step of the preparation.

I set the bluetooth- and iOS app- enabled Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker for medium-rare (129-deg F), and it was an hour and a half wait after that. It was during this time that I roasted some red potatoes in fresh rosemary and balsamic vinegar and sautéed some veggies in EVOO (but who wants to see pictures of that, right?!?).

Finishing the steak on the grill followed next. Another generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and proud to say, the perfectly seared, medium-rare ribeye was one of the best I've ever done. The Anova sous vide cooker really made it easy, guaranteeing an accurate 'doneness' level every time, but the meat quality was excellent to begin with.

Next time, I'm going to try cooking a tomahawk with a long and slow smoke in the Big Green Egg. This summer promises to be another exciting outdoor cooking season!

Making My Favorite Ice Cream

First really warm weekend this season and finding some perfectly ripe avocados at Whole Foods, of course I have to make some avocado ice cream.  With the KitchenAid ice cream-making bowl in the freezer always ready, it was a snap.

In case you were interested in the recipe, here it is:

  • 2 ripe avocados, mashed with ¼ cup of sugar
  • ¾ cup of whole milk
  • ⅔ cup of sugar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

That's it!  Mix it all together, pour into the ice cream maker, and run on low for 20 minutes.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container and keep it in the freezer for a few hours before enjoying.  But it would be irresponsible of me to not send out this heads-up - even though avocado is a healthy food, this ice cream is not exactly fat- or carb-free.  Consume moderately, enjoy immensely.  Fair warning!

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Zingerman’s Delicatessen Named Finalist for James Beard Award

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My favorite deli, Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, has been nominated this year as finalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Service.  It's great that this beloved U of M off-campus destination is being recognized for its consistently high standards of food service and hospitality.

I've had a long, enduring affection for Zingerman's ever since I moved away from Ann Arbor in 1996.  When I lived there and went to Michigan as an engineering student, I rarely ate there because I could hardly afford the gourmet prices on my meager poor student budget.  But as I started working, I kept coming back and appreciated it more, even ordering off its online catalog and having my favorite goodies shipped to Columbus regularly.

I still do stop by at Zingerman's every time I'm anywhere within a 40-mile radius of Ann Arbor, mostly on supplier visits to the Metro Detroit area.  I never fail to pick up my favorite Reuben on rye, or the Cuban sandwich, or the heavenly brownies (Black Magic is my favorite), as well as the perfect breads, lustrous olive oils and balsamic vinegars, and decadent Italian and Spanish meats and cheeses.

Zingerman's Delicatessen, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Zingerman's Delicatessen, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Here are a few photos from among many visits in the past decade:

Needless to say, I strongly recommend it to any foodie looking for the best in hard-to-find and award-winning deli fare.  Many consider it the best deli outside of New York City, and definitely, the best in the Midwest.

Look it up at www.zingermans.com.