About

Ate, me, mom and kuya

Clarissa Villaverde

I am an aspiring author, chef, professional traveler, adventurer. Also a frustrated artist, pianist and singer. (Any donation for classes are very much welcome to turn the frustrated into an aspiring.)

I am awaiting for my big break, and am doing this blog while I cross my fingers and wait until some advertiser or publisher contacts me. (I am also available for contributions to magazines, if wanted.)

As domestic as I seem to be, I am an urbanite who enjoys the city night life and can drink you up when I let myself drink, which is rare nowadays (Red bull, anyone?). I am also an avid enthusiast of extreme sports that requires jumping to your death.

I live in Las Pinas but as much as possible frequent other places to discover more things to put in this blog.

Contact me through clarissa.villaverde@gmail.com

Ate (Elaine)

Ate was the one who initially inspired my cooking by sauteing potatoes and carrots in garlic and butter, and the pancake covered hotdog  from a cooking class in school (almost like a corndog, or a predecessor of the waffle time hotdogs?), and also baking randomly from the box recipes when I was an impressionable youngster who will happily consume a baked from the box blueberry muffin (still one of my loves).

She continued to help (?) me increase my kitchen repertoire by emphasizing her want for the Orange Poppyseed Cake from Starbucks (which they discontinued and then continued recently) which we easily found in a food magazine. After that, a series of random recipes like the grilled herbed chicken (from a cookbook) and the non ending homemade polvoron maintains a steady influx of new recipes.

Her continuous patriotism to eating out (no matter how expensive it is, please look at Chili’s Paradise Pie computation) and bringing home food from the restaurants keeps me always on my toes to be the recipe copy cat, which have  great but varying restults.

A traveller herself, ate also is a bringer of new tastes to the household by bringing in different (sometimes odd) ingredients or food we should try.

Kuya (Jonathan)

Kuya also has his own forays with food, having lived on his own since his college days in UPLB. Those times he discovered (and we at home, owned) the recipe of the spicy tuna carbonara, yummy. And now, with his exposure to fresh fish, the kinilaw na tuna (which I still can’t imagine eating with it’s raw vinegar. Yes, I dislike raw vinegar. Totally averse to it, though I love raw tuna!)

Living away from home, Kuya’s food requirement when he is back home in Las Pinas are all home-cooked meals every son wants when he comes home: grilled liempo, fried chicken and lechon kawali. Though he welcomes food from different restaurants locally, he is most happy with food at home.

Mom (Dolly)

Mom instilled in me the “let’s-try-to-recreate-this-recipe-at-home” mentality especially with her recent kakanin championships between the tupig, kutsinta and puto championships (tupig coming out as the champ and now a househould favorite). She continues to help me (by buying me my own rice grinder, used once, very difficult to use!) and at the same time, thwart my nonsensical ideas. She also helpmed expand my tastes by making me eat stuff that would usually send shudders down my back like the frog, adobong crickets, and tapang kalabaw, specialties of Tarlac.

My love for everything natural she instilled in me, and I have an ongoing love affair for fresh fruits and fresh produce (let me lose in a wet market and my wallet will be easily emptied).

No one has yet to give us a recipe we, together, aren’t willing to try.

Ate Pines

Our very own behind the scenes pre and post production crew. For the more difficult tasks like squeezing the coconuts, washing all the dishes we’ve messed up, cleaning after us, Ate Pines is responsible for all that.

She’s also been cooking for us for years, sans a measuring cup or a tasting spoon, with prefected pouring techniques for whatever amount of viand being prepared. She has also perfected our food requirements (serving me with fried sinigang meat when that’s the ulam, having a seperate ulam for ate when adobong pata is the menu, and always having vegetables for mom).

Ate Pines will be one of the official first hires once I open my own restaurant.

One of the rare quiet moments with Jarell

Jarell

My nephew through a cousin, Jarell has been living with us since he was two months old. And now, he’s four and becoming a handy kitchen assistant (please see homemade pasta entry). His favorite food includes condensed milk, chuckie, chocolate and french fries.