Fetuccine, Roman-Style

Preparation time: 20 minutes Ingredients: storebrought fettucine, 1 red onion (finely chopped), 1 small carrot (finely chopped), 1 stalk celery (finely chopped), olive oil, ground beef, dry red wine, chicken liver (dice, trimmed), crushed tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper. How to cook: Saute ground beef in a sauce pan with onion, celery, carrots and garlic (optional) until the meat is tender. Pour in the wine until evaporated (3-4 minutes) then add liver and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and pour the sause over a cooked pasta. Add some parmesan cheese and chopped celery for presentation. Tips: Cook pasta according to instructions or until al dente. Fettucine, spaghetti and other similar in size pastas usually cooks around 11-12 minutes while angel hair or the thin ones cooks around 8-10 minutes. The Italians use onions, celery and carrots almost on every meal especially with pasta and soup.

Chicken with Pineapple

Preparation time: 15 minutes Ingredients: chicken breast fillet cut into bite size, pineapple cut into bite size, coconut milk, onion, garlic, white wine, capers, some thyme and tarragon (optional), salt and pepper to taste. How to cook: Saute garlic until golden brown then add onion and chicken until the meat is almost golden brown. Add in coconut milk and simmer in low heat for about 5 minutes. Add capers, white wine, tyme and tarragon and let it simmer for another 3 minutes. Lastly, season with some salt and pepper to taste. Tips: It is better to use a fresh coconut milk instead of the canned ones. You can also add a dash of curry powder into this dish. For white wine, use something that you can drink after.

Santa Rosa's Best Pancit

I am a fan of pancit. I've tasted a lot of version in different cities/town around the metro and some provinces here in the country and some in nearby countries. All versions have a distinct trademark on it's own but there are always better than the other. Recently, a friend of mine invited me in their place in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and told me about a nice panciteria in their hometown. Yes, I never had second thought. I went to their place and from there, we went to a place called "Chato's". It was an ordinary eatery serving various "ulam" and "merienda". My friend ordered their special pancit and halo-halo for dessert (their halo-halo is one of the best as well and you can have it all year round except on Mondays, where the panciteria is close). And so after a few minutes, the order was delivered by a young lady (about her teens). The pancit looked similar to everything else (with calamansi on the side). Nothing's quite different yet until I tried it. Alas! No wonder why there were a lot of people eating during that day. I could taste something different on it. I cannot contain it and so I asked the old lady manning the cashier, about her late 80's. I learned that they do their own noodles that is why it's a bit different in a regular grocery/store brought noodles. That was one of their secrets and the others are to be kept secret since the early 60's and in generations to come.

After enjoying Aling Chato's pancit, we then went to another old panciteria nearby, Pancit Tagapo. While Chato's is cozy, Pancit Tagapo is more like a typical provicial panciteria with cool old furnitures/fixtures. So much for that, let's try their popular pancit!! They offer almost all versions of pancit, from guisado to miki and some house specialty like the "Tapsilogs". Anyway, I ordered one of my favs, the miko-bihon (a combination of the glass noodle (bihon) and the fat-flat noodle (egg noodle). It's quite a while before the order arrived but it's ok. Most likely because there are a lot of people waiting outside. Let's try it now! Compared to Chato's Pancit, you can already see what's different. It has "bagnet" as a topping. According to the lady, the panciteria had been using bagnet as a topping since late 70's. It's good, no actually it was very good! Probably not for those who disgrace cholesterol coz it's quite greasy but not that much. And their serving is bigger than the latter. Bona petit.

I enjoyed my "pancit trip" with my friend. It was awesome. A side trip that you can consider. A taste of history and an extraordinary food experience.

By the way, if you guys want to try these pancits, this is how: From Balibago, Sta. Rosa, Laguna take a jeepney going to Bayan and tell the driver that you're going down at Chato's or Pancit Tagapo. If you're driving, take Sta. Rosa exit- to Balibago Complex - and to Sta. Rosa City proper (Chato's is before the city hall while Pancit Tagapo is after).

Philippine Football: A comeback after a century

I have been a football enthusiast even before but only had my eyes on Philippine Football after the victorious run of the Homeless Team in Brazil last September winning the Homeless World Cup: Host Cup and the recent rise of Azklas in the ASEAN football community with the 1^st semis for the AFF Suzuki Cup (formerly known as Tiger Cup).

When the HWC Team arrived and hosted a homecoming and victory party in the Jeepney Headquarters in Valley Golf, Cainta, I definitely wanted to be there. Seeing and feeling their happiness with their win in Brazil over a powerhouse Norway was priceless. The 8^th man squad is definitely the start of what we are capable of in football.

There are a lot of “good” homegrown talents here but with the right program and experience, these talents can be “better”. In fact, if you have been to Barotac Football Fiesta, you know what I mean. Most of these kids play without shoes and shin guards to protect them. But it was never a hindrance for them to love the sport. With this being said, the notion that football or soccer (for many) is not a sport for those on Class A and B only. I have seen these kids play more than once and they are undeniably as talented as the kids in Spain and Brazil.

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF), as a governing body for the sport should re-introduce the sport in all schools here in the Philippines, may be it private or public (well, especially the public schools). When I was in college, we never had football as part of our PE curriculum considering we have a spacious ground for the sport. There are already a number of football clinics every summer but a few are interested because they are not familiar with the sport. I bet if you asked who Paulino Alcantara or Pele or Maradona is most wouldn’t have any clue. Educating them with the sport will bring about a huge difference on what we currently have now. The “fad” that we have now still isn’t enough for everyone to know how beautiful the game is. We need some education and later on use that to play the sport. I’ll bet that most of the Filipinos who are into Azkals really don’t understand the sport but they are just cheering for them because of the good looks of our players (true). But that is a good start. Later on we will start “googling” facts and learn more about the sport. On how the game is being played, rules and terms such as offside, penalty kick, free kick, throw in and etcetera.

The Philippine National Football Team popularly known as the Azkals gave our nation pride and respect both at the same time. Pride for their outstanding run on AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying for the 1^st time in the semis (and almost to the finals if we had a home stadia) and respect from the football community around the globe. For a short period of time, they became an international sensation and never before in the 21^st century that football became more popular than basketball here in the Philippines. In the early 20^th century, our Azkals dominated the region with their glorious run on the late Far East Games. If you do the math, it took football almost a century to regain its glory here in the Philippines. That’s not good for the sport when all other nations around the world are advancing and taking it all to another level. But was it a good comeback? Yes and no I’d say. Yes. People are starting to appreciate the sport. Many private companies and organization are “riding the waves” as they see that this is a good marketing strategy, perhaps. Lastly, it’s a very good publicity. Everyone knows about Azkals, thanks to Philippine and international media and oh let’s not forget the internet and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. On the other hand, No. That comeback after a century shows how bad we are in sports development in general. It showed in the recent supposed to be home and away semis when the AFF committee denied our petition to have a “home” game, the reason of which was we don’t have any stadia with international standards. How can we develop homegrown talents when we don’t have the capacity and equipment?

I read somewhere (which I cannot remember anymore, my apologies) from a spokesperson of Ghana on Youth and Sports Development that for a country to regain its image in sports, particularly football or soccer, the authorities have to define their objectives clearly and prosecute them conclusively enough through concerted efforts. He also added that if the problems are not tackled vigorously, the aim of winning a cup would be a mirage and participation in a World Cup would remain a dream.

Now, that’s something to think about.

Miko Belza |Football Enthusiast