Things are better with kalamansi power

My mother made my father pick kalamansi from their tree last week. The kalamansi, also known as the calamondin, is an awesome little citrus plant that is well-used in the Philippines for an assortment of home and health care activities. It’s used in cooking, skin care and also used as a remedy for a sore throat and cold, hence why my father was plopping several of these little guys in a small Office Depot bag for me on Superbowl Sunday.

Since Hao has unfortunately caught a bit of my cold, I took a big handful of kalamansi and mixed it with hot water and a wee bit of sugar to make a drink for him. It was something similar that my mother made for me once when I was sick in the Philippines on a trip we took back in ‘04. I think it really helped me out back then, and Hao doesn’t seem to be as sick as I was days ago–thank goodness.

Granted, Hao and I have different immune systems, and it could be something totally different, but I think kalamansi helped a good deal with its tart punch of vitamin C.

So give it a go the next time you have the sniffles. Tell my ma you’re sick, and she’ll go get my pop to pluck some kalamansi for you. Just don’t make the mistake of just popping one in your mouth like this guy on YouTube.   If you want to taste the flavour of the kalamansi, but don’t want to be sick to try it out, the Burnt Lumpia blog has an awesome pictorial entry on making a Kalamansi Granita.  Go make some, and I’ll try it out and tell you how you did.

Recovery Mode

I’ve been sick for about a week, and in addition to neglecting the smattering of e-mails that have been accruing in my e-mail inbox, I haven’t been writing anything in this li’l ol’ blog, disappointing many of you–or maybe just my father (hi, Pa).

Since I’ve been too busy going through boxes of tissue like they’re bags of potato chips and, well, otherwise languishing, I haven’t been able to bake at all.  It’s a shame, really, as I recently ordered and received a new cookbook, A Passion for Baking, by Marcy Goldman.  The book has recipies for rolls, pies, pizza dough, scones, cakes, cookies, muffins and more.  There’s even a whole chapter on biscotti.  The photos are exquisite, like for the  “French Strawberry Tart” on page 201 and “Pancetta Layered Bread” on page 77.  I can’t wait to dig into this book’s treasures.

Instead of fresh-baked goodness, I’ve been reliant on Wolfgang Puck’s soups this past week while I’ve been sick, in addition to loads of juice, tea and water.  There’s still a cough and some sinus issues lingering, and my voice isn’t back yet, but my immune system is making progress, so I’ll be well enough to meet with my friend Amy at Dandelion this week, and whenever Fran decides to have her birthday dinner, I should be able to make a showing–unless I’ve spent all my money on tissue, juice and soup lately.