BAGUIO CITY—My husband Rolly Fernandez and I have been extremely choosy about which gatherings to attend during this holiday season. Our antisocial streak has been heightened ever since we retired. We just like to hang out at home with our furry golden Satchi.

This last Sunday was the exemption because the invitation to lunch felt like a court summons. Among the invitees were two other retired University of the Philippines Baguio professors, Delfin Tolentino Jr. and Ben Tapang. But at the last minute, they came down with the sniffles and flu-like symptoms.

The party, hosted by painter Kora Dandan Albano and her editorial-illustrator husband Jimbo, went on as scheduled. Rolly and I thought we’d be tardy because of the difficulty of getting a Grab ride or a regular cab to take us to the Albanos’ abode in Barangay Dontogan. They are practically our neighbors. We could’ve walked to their place, but not with a pot of warm beef mechado in Rolly’s hand and a bag of gifts in mine.

And who should meet us at the Albano gate but Kayu, the dog belonging to sculptor Roberto “Bob” Acosta and his wife, multimedia artist Katti Sta. Ana who also teaches at the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman. Kayu wore a cone around her neck to keep her from scratching a wound. The other greeter was the Albano poodle Hermione (yes, named after the strong female character in the Harry Potter series).

We caught poet Aldrin Pentero talking on his phone with a person at Saint or Sinner, a bakery-restaurant downtown, about the delivery of a cake. Kora’s table was set, the food was laid out, and grace was said when suddenly, Aldrin cried out that he had pressed an extra number in his GCash payment: Instead of paying only P1,000-plus for a carrot cheesecake, he had entered P11,000! Frantically, he called the bakery again and gave instructions on the return of the excess P10,000. Rolly joked that he should just consider it a holiday tip: “Merry Christmas na lang ’yan!” The snafu was eventually sorted out. Aldrin didn’t rest until his GCash showed that the money had been returned.

Conversation

Our lunch was enriched by reminiscences on the food of the Yule season still present in family menus like ube halaya, and suman sa latik, both of which Kora, with some help, produced from her kitchen. Katti and Rolly recalled the linupak and binatog of their childhood. I observed how children, especially those in public schools, are deprived of these healthy snacks and make do with chichirya (junk food) at recess time. Katti agreed, saying, “Look at the rot in their teeth.”

Kora recalled the hard work behind making ube, how, in her youth, she saw women churning the ube with a sagwan or paddle for a special occasion. Her ube is comparable to the Good Shepherd’s bottled product. But Good Shepherd’s ace is that its product is creamier because the nuns’ kitchen has a machine capable of breaking down the ube and is not reliant on churning by hand.

For some reason, the conversation turned serious when it focused on feminist hero Gisèle Pelicot of France. Rolly, Bob and Katti were clueless about Pelicot’s landmark case against her husband and her many rapists. (Ever since Rolly retired from newspaper work, he has not kept tabs on current events and relies on short social media reports, but it seems the Frenchwoman’s story escaped him.) Aldrin, Kora and I brought them up to date, and the dropped jaws and shock didn’t ruin appetites somehow.

Chow

It was an afternoon of chewing and trying anything pulled out of the ref or the pantry. I’m happy to report that my mechado, the only meat dish, was a hit. I never got that much praise for my cooking before. I deem it a compliment to my late gourmand of a mother from whom I learned how to produce the dish. (See sidebar.)

Katti brought three vegetarian dishes from Himalayan Nepalese Cuisine, with the Pakora earning everyone’s approval. I dipped my share in a red hot sauce, not the cool green minty one. Kora had vegetarian lasagna delivered from Hill Station. Who’s the health-conscious among us? Jimbo, who has been fully vegetarian for many, many years!

There were slices of queso de bola, another Christmas staple, and fruitcake (also baked by Kora) to go with the chilled bignay fruit wine gifted by artist Dindo Llana before he left Baguio after the launch of our book Narda: From Nursing to Weaving My Dreams, the biography of Narda Capuyan.

Outside the fog was thick, hiding Mount Sto. Tomas from view. When we had half-exhausted ourselves from chatting, I asked if we could document our get-together with pictures at the balcony. Kayu joined our group and smiled for the camera. 

(I noted how Kayu and Hermione are such well-behaved pets. I told Rolly we should have brought our Satchi so she would learn to socialize. He said she might be too frisky in unfamiliar surroundings and cause an accident.)

Someone noticed the slight guava tree heavy with fruit in the garden. Before long, Rolly was munching on one of many plucked by Jimbo.

After coffee, there was reluctance to leave. What followed was an exchange of gifts. We got a Kora tray produced by Casa Juan Manila, bottled tuyo from Katti, a terracotta refrigerator magnet from Bob, and Aldrin’s latest poetry zines which he signed with my purple pen.

Katti drove us home where Rolly retrieved pots of red and pink poinsettia as his offerings to our friends. Bob walked Kayu on our road before they drove off to the high mountain where they live.

My mother’s mechado

Ingredients:

1 kilo beef, cubed or mechado cut

1 kilo ripe tomatoes

2 big onions

2 whole garlic, peeled and pounded

4 medium potatoes, quartered

3 carrots, chopped into circles

1 medium-size pack of tomato sauce

3 bay leaves

1 lemon and soy sauce (for the marinade)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Cooking oil

Procedure:

Marinate the beef in a mixture of lemon juice and soy sauce overnight or at least two hours before cooking.

Fry onions and garlic in oil. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and let simmer until the tomatoes are soft. Add the chunks of beef with their marinade. Pour in 2 cups of water or beef broth until the meat is covered. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Boil in medium heat for one and a half hours. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 30-45 minutes.

When meat is tender, add the potatoes and carrots. Season with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Turn off heat, remove bay leaves, and serve.

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