Even though it's not pancit, such an abundance of seafood pasta means "Birthday" time....
In this case, we celebrated my Dad's 75th birthday today...
(Ube cake from Red Ribbon Bakery)
My parents changed it up this year. My mom hasn't made Cornish game hens in a while. These were marinated with soy sauce, star spice and brown sugar. This reminds me of Christmas from when we were younger. This was a special occasion dish for our family.
My dad made his specialty, Tortang Talong (grilled and stuffed eggplants in an omelette)...
This is one of our favorites and something my sister and I have never attempted. Here is a great recipe by my friend, C from Life on Manitoulin (whom we visited in 2010 and 2012). Her version includes ground beef!
C's Tortang Talong recipe
There were two "salads" that evening...Krab salad with tomatoes, cilantro, and pepperoncini...
plus my Apple Cabbage Slaw...
(Check out my previous recipe post here)
Fruits for dessert (including scored Manila mango halves) which the nephews inhaled!
My parents' backyard also has quite the abundance of vegetables. In the pots on cinderblocks are bittermelon plants. In the vegetable bed, two types of kale (one is curly) and in the corner (but hidden), a dragonfruit cactus.
Here's the top half. There are several budding fruits already. This is something they haven't grown before. Sometimes my parents like to experiment and see what grows best. Last year it was tomatoes. This year it's kale. It will be cool to see this when it is ready to pick!
An opo squash...
Filipinos don't use this as a loofah sponge! We eat the squash, haha!
Their papaya trees (they have four) are finally bearing fruits...
while the guavas weren't quite ripe yet. These are the kind that turn yellow when ripe and have a most delicious fragrance. I love it when my mom puts these in Sinigang.
In this bed, they planted an avocado tree. For the longest time, this was the "home" of an apple tree which they finally got rid of a few years ago. The avocado tree still hasn't given any fruit yet. At the base are various plants - bell pepper (my mom uses the leaves in tinola, which I love), collard greens, and hidden, kinchay (aka Chinese celery) and an amaranth plant (forgot the name in Tagalog, but she uses the leaves in soup as well).
The bittermelon vines in the vegetable bed are on their way out. My dad is drying out a couple of overly ripe bittermelon so he could save the seeds for next year's crop. The leaves in the background are also used in some sort of soup (I forgot the name of the plant but it is a Filipino vegetable).
Very colorful seeds, eh?
My aunt (who makes the most awesome homemade pecan tarts and cassava boat-shaped tarts as seen in this previous party food post) dropped by to give us some tomatoes from her garden and some Filipino snacks from her recent trip to the motherland (cashew candy and two types of corn nuts). My mom gaves us some of the tomatoes and the sweet flavored corn nuts.
In addition to the seafood pasta there was also homemade lumpia (using ground chicken) that was also enjoyed by the grandkids. We had two cakes, the round ube and a rectangular mocha cake (also from Red Ribbon). It was nice to see my dad with all seven grandkids surrounding him as they sang "Happy Birthday".
Previous post on my dad's bday:
2012 - When he turned 73
Seventy five is a quarter of a century! That's a major milestone in my book! I'm so happy that my dad made it this far and I hope he has quite a few more years to go! My mom's 75th will be at the end of next month!
8 comments:
Happy birthday to your dad! Looks like another good party spread. The garden looks great, too. My parents planted a variety of things this year and also "accidentally" planted cantaloupe! I don't know how you accidentally plant something but they totally did. Their avocado tree also did not produce fruit for a long time, I think last year there were only two avocados on it!
Thank you Mary! I was surprised to see the game hen because my mom usually makes that for Christmas.
As for the canteloupe, do your parents throw out scraps of food for mulch? Maybe that is how it grew. Or maybe a bird poo'd out the seed (gross but possible).
Yes, they do, they have a bin for the compost. It was just weird because it was in this lonely, empty pot. Maybe they accidentally did it or forgot they did it, but cantaloupes totally grew!
Hi Mary - that's so cool that the cantaloupes grew! Melons require so much water!
I love the garden. How wonderful that your parents are able to take advantage of our weather conditions. Such a great meal for your dad. You need to pretend there is a birthday in the family once a month!
Thanks! I like it too! They always change it up every season depending on their whims or what seeds they get from their friends. My bro's birthday is next (end of August) and my Mom's is in Sept!
Happy birthday to your dad! The homecooked food looks absolutely delicious, especially the cornish hens. I'm curious about the Tortang Talong. It totally looks like vietnamese banh xeo. Do you receommend any places that serve that well? I still haven't been to a Filipino restaurant since Carin de Ria.
Speaking of gardens, my MIL grows lots of produce too! The most prized plant is their dragonfruit, but they have 10+ plants and the harvest is amazing (purple variety)! One day i'll do a starter garden with something easy like tomatoes or basil!
Lynn, thank you! :)
I have never made tortang talong myself. It may look like banh xeo in the photo (the shape) but tastes much much different. i don't really eat at Filipino restaurants since I can either make the food myself or eat it at my parents, so I am afraid I cannot recommend any places that serve tortang talong. :( it's not really a dish that i've see either at any of the point point joint places.
That's great your MIL grows her own vegetables. It is much safer (no pesticides) and you get the satisfaction of nurturing something, watch it come to fruition, then enjoy it in a meal!
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