Nilupak

"A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe." ~Thomas Keller

It only takes four ingredients to make this wonderful dessert or snack. Nilupak can be made of cassava (kamoteng kahoy) or plantains (saging na saba) or sweet potato (kamote). All of them taste great but our all-time-favorite is cassava. 

Now, I'll be sharing with you my secret for creating the best nilupak using just your hand and fist... Yes, you're very own fist! Must do some punching techniques here. LOL! If you're not comfortable doing this, you may skip this step but make sure that you mix thoroughly the ingredients. But I suggest to try it, the milk from the grated coconut will slowly release once you punch the mixture and it will blend through the ingredients very well, resulting to moister nilupak.

So here it is, my version of cassava nilupak.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 kg fresh cassava, boiled and grated*
2 1/2 cup coconut (niyog na mura), grated
3/4 stick butter or margarine, salted and melted
1 1/2 white sugar

*Use fine cheese grater for the boiled cassava

PROCEDURE:

1. Mix the grated cassava, grated coconut, melted butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Using your hand (use disposable gloves), mix thoroughly the ingredients.

3. CAREFULLY punch the mixture. Since I'm not using mortar and pestle, I use the strength of my fist to blend the ingredients very well.
4.Arrange it on a plate or banana leaf.

5. Spread a little butter or margarine on top. Serve. Share and enjoy!

Nilupak in pandan casing

QUICK NOTES:
1. Put condensed milk instead of sugar for creamier texture. Start with 1/2 cup condensed milk, add more to your desired sweetness.
2. Store in the refrigerator. Consume within the day or up to the next day.
3. You can use boiled and mashed saba bananas or kamote to make another version of yummy nilupak.


 Happy day always,

Rhea 

I'm back!

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." ~Jeremiah 17:7-8  

Finally!

A lot of things have happened over the last couple of weeks. Emotions are overflowing because of typhoon Yolanda and my heart aches every time I watched the news. Emotional drama and blame game also happened and several hoax news were circulating in the net. Despite the negativity, I can still see spark of hope for the victims. People of all races and religion were reaching out (through donations and prayers) and it's really overwhelming to see such generous acts.

And because the emotion was too high at that time, I stopped my food blogging for a while. But now that I can see that the relief goods are reaching the affected areas and the affected provinces are slowly rebuilding and the victims are now smiling, my heart is at ease and finally, I can start blogging again.

I want to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to the people all over the globe who gave their hands and prayers to the Philippines. May our dear God bless you more!

For those who still want to extend their help, you may click the logo of Philippine Red Cross for further information. God bless you!

Credit: Philippine Red Cross

Lord, we thank You for demonstrating Your loving kindness and tender mercy to us. Thank You for sending relief to the persons who have been affected by typhoon Yolanda.  Lord, even though there are tragedies, yet You are still good and Your mercy endures forever. Amen.

To God be the glory! 


Rhea

A short prayer for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)

Let's take a moment of silence at this moment to say a short prayer for the victims of the recent typhoon Yolanda. Stand in faith Filipinos even when you're having the hardest time of your life! God bless us all!

Credit: This image provided by NASA shows Typhoon Haiyan taken by Astronaut Karen L. Nyberg aboard the International Space Station Saturday Nov. 9, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA, Karen L. Nyberg) [Epochtimes.com].

In God we trust!

Rhea