Food Trip: Baguio's Bread and Jams

To me, Baguio is synonymous to Good Shepherd's Ube Jam. This must-bring pasalubong left a lasting impression the first time I bought home one during my first Baguio visit where I had to endure a long queue together with tourists wanting to bring home bottles of different jams from Good Shepherd.

A few weeks ago, I was back in the city of pines for the fourth time since 2006. I was with a group who visited Eagle Crest Villa and its owner. We checked out some townhouses for sale. After a good lunch at Star Cafe, we walked our way to the market and started our pasalubong slash vegetable shopping.

Everyone in the family enjoyed that one large bottle of ube at Php270 market price - it's gone in two days! Yes, Good Shepherd products are also available in the market. I also bought a bottle of strawberry jam for Php60 and honey from Kalinga for Php150. Mom and I loves to use honey in most of our recipes so I didn't hesitate to bring home one and sure nothing beats products freshly harvested from the mountains and put straight into the bottle. The honey is so damn good! 

Snack of the Week: Toasted Bread with Honey and Cinnamon Spread

Toasted Bread with Honey-Cinnamon Spread

On tight budget but craving for cinnamon rolls from your fave coffeeshop? Fret no more as I give you this one awesome tip mom discovered when she visited lola in the province. She saw my lola having breakfast with these and totally loved the idea that she began doing the same thing and shared it with everyone when she got back home. Simply mix honey with cinnamon and there's your homemade spread! Aside from its great flavor, there are tons of health benefits one can get from this wonderful duo. Research shows  the said mixture showed positive results for many diseases like heart disease, arthritis, colds, bladder infections and even bad breath. So next time you're out shopping, you may want to think twice when buying for groceries. I believe it's high time to include honey and cinnamon on your weekend grocery list.

Tip of the Day: How to Measure Honey (and other sticky ingredients)

Here's another smart tip I learned from a food magazine. This is a very handy tip for those who often use honey in their dishes and are careful of its measurement.

1. Dip the measuring spoon into very hot water for a couple of seconds. Don't allow the spoon to dry.

2. Pour the honey into the spoon and quickly tilt the spoon to let the honey slide into the bowl or pan.

3. When you need to measure honey and oil, measure oil first so the sticky ingredient just slides off the spoon.

Check out my recipes with honey in it: Baked Spareribs in Honey Sauce , Sweet Honey Chicken Adobo, Sweet Honey Pork Adobo