ILOILO FOOD TRIP

So what's a White Salad? It's just a Fruit or Buko Salad with all the white (and off white ingredients). Simple as it may seem, this could turn into one of your favorite salads and desserts for any occasions and events. Preparation is easy and the recipe can be easily tweaked to add more of your favorite "white" ingredients.  Here's an easy recipe for White Salad

I love almond jelly! A staple mostly in Chinese restaurants, it's a refreshing dessert that is perfect to cap any hearty meal. At home it is also very easy to prepare and serves as a visual and gastronomic treat - even if there's no occasion. Just like most gelatin desserts, it's the preparation of the jelly that makes up all the "hard work" but when its done, all others just fall into place (or bowl). An enjoying dessert to prepare and finally, taste the fruits of your labor... Here's a recipe for Almond Jelly with Mixed Fruits

Buko Salad is one of the most popular fruits salads. Aside from being easy to make, it is also versatile to easily suit your taste and budget. And whatever your end product maybe or how it will look like, it still is a salad and chances are they will be asking for more! So here's a basic recipe for Buko Salad.

Buko Pandan is among the most popular Pinoy desserts and easiest to make. Its just a combination of young coconut strips called buko , gelatin cubes with the essence of pandan and a creamy concoction made with milk and cream. The preparation of a basic Buko-Pandan recipe is mainly on the making if the pandan-based gelatin.  Here's a simple recipe for Buko-Pandan:

It's avocado season once again and when there's lots of these delicious fruits around I tend to make some simple desserts. I got a kilo of avocado from a street side vendor and it was 6 pieces of medium size fruits. The simplest thing to do with avocados is just to add condensed milk for a creamy dessert. From this, you can make it into an ice cream, smoothie or which ever dessert you imagination can take you.  Here's a simple recipe for an Creamy Avocado Dessert

Leche Flan. There's no need to introduce this dessert as the name alone creates vivid memories of very popular and Filipinized caramel custard. Often at the center of the dessert table, leche flan is basically made of eggs and milk topped with sugar caramel. It's almost everywhere- restaurants, fastfood and even carinderias. But the best leche flan is the one that brings back the memories of home, of your childhood. How to make Leche Flan

Cassava cake is among the most popular Pinoy native delicacies. In Iloilo, one can find it in the stalls insides malls and groceries in ready to go boxes or in bite size pieces ready to satisfy one's cravings. But it is also easy to prepare as the ingredients can be mostly found in the wet market or even grocery stores. Here's a simple cassava cake recipe:

Create a visually appetizing and delicious fruit salad using fruits and sago . It will not only be a palate pleaser but also appealing to the eyes. The ingredients are conveniently available and the recipe can be tweaked to its availability at the same time to your personal taste. From canned fruits to fresh fruits you can buy or even from your own backyard. You can also add some nata, kaong and not just sago for this salad to have different taste and texture. Just let your imagination be part of the procedure in creating your very own Fruit and Sago Salad. Here's a simple Fruit and Sago Salad recipe

Pulboron is a staple in most bakeshops and is a favorite Pinoy candy-cake mix. While there are so many variations available, making your own polvoron makes you choose the ingredients of your choice and the flavor you love. Here's a basic recipe for Pulboron.

Tocino del Cielo is similar with leche flan but these two desserts are made with very different ingredients. Leche flan is made with whole eggs, and milk and/or cream while tocino de cielo is made only with egg yolks, sugar and water. The combination of (lesser) ingredients leads to an extremely light and tender custard – much lighter than the traditional leche flan. Here's a simple recipe for Tocino del Cielo

Crema de Fruta is one of the more visually appetizing desserts and among the more complicated ones that people often just buy from their favorite bakeshops. This dessert is basically a layer of sponge or chiffon cake, custard, canned fruits and clear gelatin. For me, its the quality and taste of the custard  filling and sponge cake that makes a delicious Crema de Fruta Here's a recipe for Crema de Fruta

One of the yummiest gifts I received this Holiday season was a big batch of pastillas de leche . I like that it has a tamed sweetness and had the right  density - not too hard nor too soft.  The recipe of making  pastillas  very simple and one can just let his creative mind do the work in making it more special. Here's a basic pastillas recipe.

Tapioca (or sago) is an essential ingredient of native delicacies and desserts like linugaw  and taho.  But now it has found its way to more "modern" desserts like puddings and salads. With the availability of cooked "sago pearls" in the market and in different size, making these desserts is just simple and easy. Here's a recipe for Fruits and Tapioca Salad

I just love butong ! The refreshing taste of cold coconut water with buko strips is a great thirst quencher.  Even if you're not thirsty, its one healthy drink. Oftentimes, I just drink it plain but sometimes I won't say no to one mixed with condensed milk or evaporated milk with sugar. Or some buko shake will do. But in the end, it all goes back to the plain and simple buko juice...

Macaroni Salad is a staple dessert during special occasions. Aside from being easy to make, it is also versatile to easily suit your taste and budget And whatever your end product maybe or how it will look like, it still is a salad and chances are they will be asking for more! So here's a basic recipe of a macaroni and fruit salad.