Saturday, February 7, 2009

Focus on the Food

GIVEAWAY REVISED: Just comment on any of the posts, tell me who referred you to my blog, and you will be entered into the giveaway! You have 6 days left!

In the Philippines, all of our celebrations are pretty much announced by two main things: noise and the food (man, I miss that!)

Unless you are uber-rich like Trump or Gates, eating like the "Pinoys" is not hard at all... We focus our menu on three common things: a meat dish, the rice and a steamed or cooked veggie. And because we often ate at dusk, most humble tables have a very romantic glow to it. Combine that with no electricity in most rural areas and candles reign, we are talking back to basics! (aaahhhh, the simple life...)

So, in my own "focus on the food" tablescape, I combined the simplicity in the beauty of the hospitality of my people with the formal table etiquette of the Chinese and Spanish. When I think of my childhood meals, this is as formal as I can visualize it. It is so easy, you can even do it and wonder, "why didn't I do that before?" (if you slapped your forehead rather hard, do remember not to do that next time; but it's your choice.)


THEME:
FORMAL FILIPINO


MY INSPIRATION:
These three plastic serving sets

I got these at a Grand Opening of a big Asian market called H-Mart near us. They gave it away FREE three different times, so I got three of them. I was feeding the missionaries and my good friend and neighbor Heather and I didn't want to just feed them, you know?
So, since I already committed to an authentic Filipino menu, I decided to give it a more uppity Filipino flair. I set up the table with just my everyday things and let the candles dictate the mood and the food as the centerpiece. The shapes and colors of the serving pieces are the focus of this tablescape, not height or dish stacking.


At dusk, I lit the candles and took this awesome picture. There were no towering candles, or poofy floral arrangement, I didn't need it. I am going for authenticity here, remember?

If we were to dine like Filipinos, then the food would have to provide the "eye candy" and the romance that the glowing low flames brought to the table. Two glasses because we Filipinos, we love our juice and water! The spoon at the top of the plates indicated we had dessert coming.

My apologies for the wrong utensil setting, my dh is a leftie and from time to time, I put his feeding habits first. (How's that for an excuse? lol)


TABLE GOODIES:
Plastic serving pieces- H-Mart Giveaway- FREE
Plates- Corelle Shadow Iris(1997)- MINE
Utensils- Gibson- Chrome Bamboo Handle; Ross- $38 40-pcs (normally $80)
Runner & Placemats- Walmart- MINE
Glasses- Anchor Hocking Fire and Ice(2008);Walmart- $9 16pc/box
Ramekins- MINE
Tealights- MINE

MENU:
Chicken adobo (chicken braised in soy sauce and ginger)
(sorry, family secret...)
Steamed Jasmine rice
Steamed green beans and diced tomatoes
(with lemon & olive oil sauce)
Pineapple juice
Ice Water
Vanilla ice cream with raspberries
(Filipinos love their fruits!)


Filipinos and food, "tight like spandex" as my teen would say or was it "it's boss"?

Hope you all had a great Saturday!

8 comments:

  1. I really like your blog and the tablescape ideas that you have. How do you get so much of your stuff for free? You explained about the serving pieces but then most of the rest of your stuff was listed as free too! I'm a student, a mom and a Mormon too, so I need cheap! Oh and I heard about your site from Lara over at Overstuffed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful site and I love your tablescapes! Can we get you to post your recipe for Chicken Adobo?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks to both of you!

    I've recently discovered Freecycle and I post for some of the stuff that I want like the cake stand that I'll be using for Valentine's Day.

    Hirano, I'll think it over... I've shared it once but not many people use soy sauce, so I was timid since then. It's delicious though, I can tell you that!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't be timid! We use soy sauce like crazy around here. I wouldn't mind it if you were willing to just email me the recipe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. There are people who don't use soy sauce? They're missing out, there are some things that just have to have it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. With that particular audience, I'm afraid so. It was more an allergy to soy actually, but let's just the full tray of this dish for demo, came back clean and I'm not talking washed with soap; lol!

    ReplyDelete
  7. CC, I love that you incorporate Philippine culture into your creations! I love that you put it together with such beauty and class. Honest, I'm so proud of you and to be Pinay, just browsing thorugh this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Alright! Love you, Marivic! I am so having fun with this and I am so happy you found time to see it! :D You just made my day!

    ReplyDelete

If you like this blog, let me know. If you really like this blog, let me know. The key is let me know. Thanks for peeking!

Niceties first

HELLO AND WELCOME to this blog dedicated to my obsession of tablescapes, and ONLY TABLESCAPES!
That means that whatever I post will be redirected to tablescapes or you will see tablescapes or the dishes and glassware that I used AND wish to use.
I hope you like you what you see; but you can't do that unless you take the tour- the TABLESCAPE TOUR that's on the side bar! I'd also love to take you on my adventures on finding great dinnerwares to display and use while leaving some serious change in your pocket, so stay a while and see all of my great deals!
Wanna know the reason behind the madness, too? Then make sure to read, Why this blog for my philosophy.