Creating Coktails

It's summer time and the living is easy. It's time to indulge in laziness or seek goal-full activities - joining a jazz festival, drinking beer at the Distillery district, barbecuing beef or veggie burgers, or for others, showing off their new deck to friends.

I am learning how to mix cocktails, for a change, this summer. Drinking is not really my cup of tea, used to be, when I was much younger. Now, it's basically social drinking.

For starters, I bought myself a set of different bar glasses, wine glass, bourbon glass, cocktail glass, measuring cups, trays, a 100% stainless steel , made in Germany, bartender's shaker

I also bought a Jamaican rum, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan's rhum, several bottles red wine, grenadine, peach schnapp, framboise, triple sec, Bacardi Gold, and strawberry Daiquiri.

Now, I've really enjoyed, for quite some time now, several cocktail drinks, usually when eating at restaurants, Red Lobsters, Golden Thai, or in Japanese restaurants.

I've started experimenting with a cocktail I called, Maru Mix, frozen peaches, which I put into a blender, then add either pineapple juice, or mango juice, add either rhum or vodka, a little peach schnapp or triple sec, a little sugar, and ice , and then blend everything. Pour it in tall cocktail glass and before serving, I'd lace the cocktail with either grenadine or framboise. I'll put a sprig of basil leaf or a slice of lemon, for a pleasing summer look, and serve.

For hors d'oeuvres or "pulutan," I love to prepare calamari, coated with special breading and toasted brown, or just sauted with lots of peppers, jalopeno mixed with the regular chinese red and green bell peppers, and sprinked with lemon juice and a dash of soy sauce.

I also broil shrimp or salmon belly garnished with a combination of spices - tumeric, cumin, pepper, and others.

These would be completed with a hefty serving of chinese shrimp crackers, with Thai peanut sauce as dip.

Now, bring out the cocktails, we're ready to dip into summer.

Here are some terminologies, taken from other websites, if you want to learn more about mixing drinks or bartending:

Bartending terminology

Box Pour into and out of a shaker, usually only once. Gives the drink a quick mixing without shaking.
CallDrink A liquor and mixer, of which the liquor is a defined brand. (ie. Tanqueray and Tonic, Bacardi and Coke)
Cobbler A tall drink of any liquor served in a collins or highball glass with shaved or crushed ice and garnished with fresh fruit and mint sprigs.
Chaser A mixer that is consumed immediately after a straight shot of liquor to create a different taste.
Cocktail Any of various alcoholic beverages consisting usually of brandy, whiskey, vodka, or gin combined with fruit juices or other liquors and often served chilled.
Collins A drink akin to a sour which is served in a tall glass with soda water or seltzer water.
Cooler A drink consisting of ginger ale, soda water, and a fresh spiral or twist of citrus fruit rind, served in a collins or highball glass.
Crust A sour-type drink served in a glass that is completely lined with an orange or lemon peel cut in a continuous strip.
Cup A punch-type drink that made up in quantities of cups or glasses in preference to a punch bowl.
Daisy An oversize drink of the sour type, normally made with rum or gin. It is served over crushed ice with a straw, and sweetened with a fruit syrup.
Lace Normally applies to the last ingredient in a recipe, meaning to pour onto the top of the drink.
Eggnog A traditional holiday drink containing a combination of eggs beaten with cream or milk, sugar, and a liquor such as brandy, rum, or bourbon.
Fix A sour-type drink similar to the daisy, made with crushed ice in a large goblet.
Fizz An effervescent beverage. (ie. that which is carbonated or which emits small bubbles.)
Flip A chilled, creamy drink made of eggs, sugar, and a wine or spirit. Brandy and sherry flips are two of the better known kinds.
Frappé A partially frozen, often fruity drink. It is usually a mixture of ingredients served over a mound of crushed ice.
Grog A rum-based beverage with water, fruit juice and sugar, commonly served in a large mug.
Highball Any spirit served with ice and soda water in a medium to tall glass (often a highball glass).
Julep A drink made of bourbon, mint, sugar and crushed ice.
Lowball A short drink made of spirits served with ice, water or soda in a small glass.
Mist A liquor served over a glass filled with crushed ice, often a way of serving liqueur as an after dinner drink.
Mulls A sweetened and spiced heated liquor, wine or beer, served as a hot punch.
Nightcap A wine or liquor taken before bedtime.
On The RocksA wine or liquor poured over ice cubes.
Pick-Me-Up A drink designed to relieve the effects of overindulgence in alcohol.
Posset An old british drink from which the eggnog was derived. It consists of a mixture of heated ale or wine curdled with milk, eggs, and spices.
Punch A party-size beverage consisting of fruit, fruit juices, flavorings and sweeteners, soft drinks, and a wine or liquor base.

Shooter A straight shot of whiskey or other kind of spirit taken neat.

Sling A tall drink made with either brandy, whiskey or gin, with lemon juice, sugar and soda water. It is served both hot and cold.
Smash A short julep made of liquor, sugar, and mint, served in a small glass.
Sour A short drink consisting of liquor, lemon/lime juice and sugar.
Tot A small amount of liquor.
Virgin A non-alcoholic drink.
Well Drink A liquor and mixer, of which neither are defined brands. (ie. Gin and Tonic, Rum and Coke)

New Friends, Old Friends

Although I'd been away from the Philippines for more than twenty years, I am still in awe at how some of our kababayans behave with their fellow countrymen, when outside the motherland.

Take for instance a neighbour I once had, many years ago. When I just moved into a new complex, this individual totally ignored me at the hallway, even though I gave her a smile. Then, one time, she spoke to me only because she needed help with her car. Third time, I knocked at her door because she left her keys hanging at the keyhole. This particular individual had been in Canada for maybe, forty years or so; that's why during our brief interaction, she never spoke in Tagalog. I found it odd. Even though she may not be fluent in Tagalog, and maybe, speaks another dialect, maybe she could have uttered simple phrases like,
" Mabuti," when I asked " Kumusta kayo?" If there had been other non-Tagalog speaking nationals around, say, in the elevator, I could have totally understood her want of speaking English all throughout the many floors we passed by. But no, it was just her and me.

The feeling of superiority of some old timers vs. newcomers still abounds among those who came to Canada fifty or sixty years ago. When I was relatively new here, I bumped into a lot of characters like my former neighbour. There was even a time, while I was shopping a local Filipino store, when I overheard someone saying to the merchant, " Me, I am one of the pioneers here in the Filipino community. When I came then, most of the Filipinos were nurses, but now, there are more nannies."

I find that senior citizens, those who had been petitioned by their daughters or sons, to be the most friendly. Whenever you meet them, they give you a ready smile and burst into easy conversation. One time, when I was volunteering in a non-profit value store, one such old man, meeting me for the first time, invited me to a salo salo at their house.

Maybe it is because senior citizens don't have to prove anything anymore; they're retired, receiving pension, and just enjoying the remaining years of their lives, while the younger ones need to tell others what kind of work they do, where they work, how much they earn, or what car they drive.

That's why when I come home to the Philippines for a visit, I'd always try to re-discover the old friendships which I had, because really, true, good friends are hard to come by.

Planting Rice is Never Fun?

While my siblings and I grew up in the city, most of my first cousins grew up in the countryside.
By countryside, I mean Nueva Ecija, a province in the northern part of Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines, where my father was born and raised.

The only time we would visit Nueva Ecija would be on Christmas Day , All Saints' Day, Easter Sunday, the town's Fiesta (May 12th) and Election Day. There would be special trips, sometimes, summer vacation or in cases of emergency, such as death of a relative or special occasions such as a wedding.

My memories of my father's hometown had been etched in my memory for so long and I don't think they will ever fade away. Memories such as trips on the wee hours of December 25, packed inside a green and white Pontiac with my other siblings and parents; crossing the receded Pantabangan river with nary a star in the sky; traversing the dusty savana in the pitchblack hour of four a.m. or eight in the evening; stopping in Baliuag, on the way back to Manila to buy those petite Baliuag pandesal and pastellas de leche to bring as pasalubongs and to feast on hot arroz caldo at a well known Baliuag highway restaurant.

Of course going back to Manila after Christmas meant that my pockets were loaded with dough.
Old folks in our province were a generous lot ( I think most Filipinos are very generous during Christmas season) and would give us " pamasko." My ninong from Penaranda used to give me one hundred pesos at a time when the jeepney fare was only ten centavos; so you could imagine
my excitement on those trips to Nueva Ecija.

Visiting my Lolo and Lola on Christmas, Easter and during Fiesta, also meant a chance to feast on Lechon de leche. The treat was not just on savouring the lechon ( the crispy balat) but also in watching how the lechon was prepared. My cousins and us would sit by the window ledge at the second floor of the house and watch the "folks" turn and oil the poor pig. The aroma would be floating in the air, together with the scent of fresh cooked white rice, menudo, sopas, sinampalukang manok, mechado, pancit and kakanins such as the famous kalamay Nueva Ecija
( made of glutinous rice with thick sugary syrup and sprinkled with fried coconut meat).

During Christmas season, we usually leave Manila on Dec. 24 and return either Dec. 26 or 27 to Manila. But there had been times when my father decided to travel on Christmas day itself. It meant leaving Manila right after the Midnight mass or thereabouts, and reaching Nueva Ecija when the cocks were still sound asleep. As his customary practise was, my father would stop at the house of every relative he had and we were forced to get out of the car (never mind if you were sleeping) to kiss the hands of the elders. This he did, to make sure no relative was missed.
But the biggest destination was my grandparents' house, of course.

Now, why is planting rice not so much fun? Is it because there's more profit in corn production for that much hyped "ethanol?"

There's a growing food problem taking place around the world, and instead of planting crops such as palay (rice) or other staple grains, a lot of riceland had been converted into housing subdivisions, resorts , golf courses and of course, cornland for alternative fuel production.

Nueva Ecija is part of Central Luzon, the rice granary of the Philippines, but now, a lot of folks there have been experiencing rice shortage like the rest of the country and other countries in the world.

Our own farm had been saved. My father, although not a farmer, inherited this from his parents, and decided to keep it. He dabbled for a while raising swine, cultivating tilapia, raising goats, growing pakwan and of course, growing palay. But I guess, he was not a farmer. He failed in his endeavours. His brother who is a doctor was more succesful in managing his share of the farm, so I guess that makes him a farmer.

I think planting rice, or managing a farm, takes a special talent. It's like you have to have a "green thumb" to really raise a beautiful garden.

It had been romanticized in songs, in movies, and in postcards, that of " planting rice." But they say it's never fun.

Making a living is never easy. Managing your own business, is neither.