Chef Straykat's All Saint's Day Menu!

Straykat is once again back. Ayyyyy!!~~ Welcome back to myself! I believe I still haven't posted all of my Meatball Series so I'm posting the rest soon. For now, I'm sharing the foods I prepared last All Saint's Day.

Making my own food since last year has been fun. I enjoy discovering new recipes and even making my own, though cooking takes a big chunk of my time and energy. Nevertheless, I'd still rather make my own food than purchase it.

We haven't visited our mom's grave for four months already which urged me to make sure that we spend All Saint's Day with lots of foods. It felt like a revenge for all the months we've missed.

Here's an overview of the foods I made. My sister asked me if I can do all these when I sent her the list. I also doubted myself at first but don't underestimate Chef Straykat! With careful planning which foods to make first, it is possible! Even if you are just alone.

So much sweets,eh?

I prepared seven foods plus one cake bought my brother. If there's only an oven here at home then I could've made that cake too.

I know very well that I can't do all the seven foods in a single day which is why I started making some two days prior All Saint's Day.

_{Left: jelly cake canvas | Right: mango cathedral cake}

The foods I made on the first day were Mango Cathedral Cake and Jelly Cake canvas. I didn't have the standard mold for the cathedral cake that's why I have to improvise. I used a round mold and a glass to somehow replicate the hole similar to that of the cathedral cake mold.

_{How it looks like after pulling out the glass. I have to be careful because I might tear the gulaman!}

I let the gulaman chill overnight in the fridge for it to set. I took out the glass first and that is how it looked like from the underside. The right photo shows how the top would look like. Glad it turned out so well. I was relieved when I saw the bits of mango and yellow gulaman have set properly.

_{Doesn't it look cute! Good job, chef!}

I diced another mango and placed it on the hole. Tada! Now the Mango Cathedral Cake is done! I made this cake because I remember my mama mentioned in the past that she like cathedral cakes.

I also prepared the red bean filling for the sesame ball. You can store this on the fridge and put it out when you already need it. The beans needed to be soaked in water overnight or until the beans become soft.

Wait, so would it mean I started three days prior to November 1st? Lol. The filling is just a combination of red beans and condensed milk, constantly stirred until the mixture becomes thick just like what you see on the photo.

What I like with making red bean filling is that you can make it as a spread for bread and even a filling for pancakes! I tried to make "Dorayaki" and it tastes delicious. The edges of the pancakes won't just stick together though.

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On the second day, I went to the wet market and a mini grocery to purchase the rest of ingredients I wasn't able to buy when I went to a grocery few days ago. The grocery ran out of coconut milk and so I had to look for it at the wet market.

As I walk along the wet market, I saw a stall selling salted eggs. I bought three pieces for the tinapa pasta I'm making then took the chance to ask the seller where the coconut section is. When I reached the area, there was a crowd around the coconut stalls and one of the sellers immediately approached me. I told him that I needed around 1 liter of coconut milk but there has been a misunderstanding.

_{Not 1 liter but these ones are legit fresh coconut milk!!!}

Instead of 1 liter, they gave me two packs of coconut milk which is only equivalent to around 1 and 1/4 cups per pack. Since I was shy to correct our misunderstanding I just nodded and went off to a mini grocery beside the wet market and tried my luck to find some packs of coconut milk. Lucky they have stocks there.

I also bought rhum (for a recipe I'm making), salted egg, and barbecue sticks (for carioca I am making next time).

As soon as I arrived home, I started preparing and making the second batch of foods: Maja Blanca Munggo, Biko, and Banana Rhuma.

For the Banana Rhuma, I started slicing the bananas and wrapping them with lumpia wrapper (spring roll wrapper) so they're ready for frying the next day. This was very easy to do but making the glaze was so taxing!

_{Left: plain maja munggo | Right: topped with latik *(toasted coconut)*}

My mama has been making Maja Blanca every All Saint's Day and I always look forward to it because she makes really good maja blanca that's why I make sure to make it too during this occasion. I'm sure this will make her happy if she's able to see it from wherever she is now.

She would always make the usual version with corn kernels but since I'm the chef now, I want to try something different and used sweet red beans instead. Maja Blanca is made of evaporated milk, condensed milk, powdered milk, coconut milk, sugar, butter, water, and cornstarch.

Another food my mama makes during this occasion is Biko. It's a rice cake made of glutinous rice, coconut milk, brown sugar, and toasted coconut.

I find biko to be the most stressful and difficult to make because you have to stir constantly until the mixture becomes thick. The glutinous rice I cooked also turned out to soft and a bit watery. It looks perfect on photo but it's too soft. Lol. However, it got the right texture after chilling it for around three days.

This is probably the last time I am making biko. Yikes!

Now let's move to the third day (All Saint's Day).

We are going to the cemetery in the afternoon so I have to wake up early to finish the rest of the recipes on my menu. The day has come to present the foods! First thing I did was decorate the jelly cake because the base needs to be chilled for a couple of hours for it to set.

I was aiming for halloween colors but the red turned out pink instead. It still turned out nice anyway.

_{Aren't sesame balls just so cute-looking?}

Next, I started making Buchi or sesame balls. I was supposed to prepare the dough one or two days ahead but I lacked time, now I have to rush making it. I was able to make 20 pieces but I only cooked 15 pieces.

I went jumped straight to the next recipe, Banana Rhuma. I just saw this food while browsing Facebook reels. It looks really appetizing, the reason why I added it on my menu. Glad I was able to prepare the bananas a day before so I only have to fry them and make the glaze. And speaking of the glaze, one of the ingredients for it was brown sugar and I didn't realize that it hardens when it cools. Now it's difficult to pull a piece!

The banana rhuma tastes good though! Especially when you drizzle the powder made of powdered sugar, powdered milk, and cinnamon powder!

I quite panicked and thought I couldn't go on making the last recipe on my menu due to a short power outage around lunch time. I was cooking on an electric stove because it was easier than using the gas stove.

Luckily, power was restored a couple of minutes later and I was able to get back with cooking. I resumed a quarter after 1 PM and proceeded with to the last recipe on my menu. The Tinapa Pasta. Tinapa is a smoked fish. I used tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish). I'm not sure if there are other fishes made into tinapa though.

_{The best!!!}

This pasta is absolutely delicious, I promise! Be generous with the olive oil and never forget the lemon and salted egg for the toppings! I forgot to add grated cheddar cheese and parsely but the taste is still bomb even without it.

Sorry I didn't have photos for the procedure of these foods because I was in a rush. I was literally like a spinner at full speed racing against time.

Now here they are!

Of course, I also brought out my mama's photo because all these foods are for her and it's her day!

The cake my brother bought was the Crema de Fruta. It was the cake our mama kept requesting when she was sick which is why I requested my brother to buy one. I thought he was getting the bigger tub, he bought the smaller one instead but it's alright.

We went first at the flower shop to get the flower I reserved before heading to the cemetery. After getting the flower pot we drove next to the cemetery but we got confused with the detours the city has imposed for the occasion and ended up arriving at the cemetery around 5 pm.

There were lots of people inside the cemetery and the candles almost looked like fireflies especially when night came. It was beautiful and melancholic at the same time. You get that feeling?

_{Don't mind the time. Brother said the clock was broken.}

We weren't surprised by the amount of crowd at the cemetery but what surprised us was the very slow movement of traffic inside.

_{Traffic situation inside the cemetery. Vehicles were moving very slow.}

It took us about more than half an hour before finding a place to park our car. All parking areas inside the cemetery were occupied and we have no choice but to park at the parking area by the exit. We're just lucky mama's grave was near the exit, it was only a few minutes walk away from where we parked the car.

_{Finally made it to mama's grave.}

It was already dark when we reached the grave but there still lots of people. Mama's grave was only among the few that was covered in darkness, all the rest already have candles and were being surrounded by their loved ones. Most of them probably stayed until late night because some had even set up tents and some brought foods in huge containers. In the Philippines, All Saint's Day is also a time for family reunions.

We video called our sister and offered our prayers for mama. I also brought some foods which my brother and I ate while sitting on the grave and catching up with our sister. I still haven't eaten breakfast nor lunch. Since my brother still have work to do soon, we have to leave after spending an hour at the cemetery. I felt like we should've stayed longer and leaving soon made me sad. The families looked like they were having a nice time. I wish we could do that too.

Anyway, the cemtery was bright that night because of the candles and children playing toys with lights in it. When we went home, I prepared a paper plate and placed some foods on it for our mama. Next day, we ate brunch together.

I just wish she saw all these foods I prepared for her and I hope it made her happy from up there. I was even talking to her that I am sharing my senses for her to smell and taste the foods.

Here's the list of the foods I made for All Saint's Day:

● Maja Munggo
● Biko
● Buchi (Sesame Ball)
● Banana Rhuma
● Jelly Cake
● Mango Cathedral Cake
● Tinapa Pasta (Smoked Fish Pasta)

My most favorite on my menu were the tinapa pasta, jelly cake, and maja munggo. Buchi was also great if only I fried it correctly because most of it turned hard when it cooled. It's soft when freshly cooked though. Banana Rhuma is alright but they stick together when the glaze cools off and it's a bit difficult to separate each roll. Mango Cathedral was so-so, maybe I'm not just a fan of cathedral cakes. Biko tastes good but the glutinous rice was soggy.

Making all these foods by myself was really very challenging! It felt like I was in a cooking show. Well, I'm just thankful I was able to make everything on time. It was so much stressful but I survived! Yeah!!!

I'm looking forward to make another set of menu next year and challenge myself again. :)

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👩🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳
_{Chef Straykat has an experience of more than a year in her family's kitchen. Her goal is to deliciously cook whatever dish crosses her mind; to cook fast and without using measuring tools because that's how chefs do it.
In short, Straykat is a self-proclaimed chef. xoxo 🤌✨️}