Baking Summer 2010 – What better way to be thankful for a professional overhaul of the ovens (insulation shredded after being soaked by typhoon Ondoy) than to bake something? First came the baking of Unleavened FlatBread for the Passover... “Aren’t you going to make Pineapple Pie with unleavened crust this year?” The best part is guessing who our guest kitchen helpers were! Click on the video to find out...

After that, we tried cookies, always a winner... then... Why not try Apple Crumble? Oh look, here’s a recipe for Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls! There’s an aunt’s Chicken Empanada, Vicky Veloso’s Carrot Cake, Sour Cream Cake, Mom’s Buko Cream Pie, Myrna Segismundo’s Cassava Bibingka, Buko Pandan from the Constantino sisters, Ate Vivian’s Chicken Siopao, Auntie Ofie’s Taro Pudding, and so on... and the cookbooks come alive from the women in our family, the chefs of our country, and the generous cooks on the internet... Whether it be gratitude after being healed from prolonged illness, a refreshing break from demanding work, a special time for parents and children, sheer delight at finding an abundance of seasonal produce during this sweltering drought of 2010, these heirloom recipes bring memories and meditations from Passover moving on to Pentecost...

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s...
–Psalm 103:5, NKJV ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.