UBE HALAYA

UBE HALAYA -- is a traditional Filipino dessert made from sweetened purple yam. The name 'ube' comes from an ancient Indonesian word 'ubi' and the name 'halaya' comes from the Spanish word 'jalea' meaning jam or jelly.

It is believed that ube comes from the enchanting paradise islands of Indonesia such as Bali, Bangka-Belitung, Java, Kelimantan and Derawan islands. When our sea-faring Indonesian ancestors came some 5,000 years ago, they brought ubi tubers with them. They planted them in our islands.

They were tall (5'9" to 6'2"), fair skinned high nose and thin lips. They were muscular in built. The women were such exotic beauties. They were the first immigrants from across the seas. The second wave of Indonesians (2,000 years ago) were short, dark-skinned, flat nose, thick lips.

The ancient Indonesians believed 'ubi' was reverred by the gods. It was their staple food together with rice. They ate boiled ubi with coconut,sweetened with sugar cane juice. For the royal blood, it was a pride to be named after ubi, a symbol of strength and power , such as the name 'Abdul Allah-Ubi', (servant of Allah and ubi).

Here is my recipe of ube halaya:

1 kilo ube

1 1/2 cans condensed milk

1 big can evap milk

1/4 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 block butter

1. Boil and grate ube.

2. In a cast-iron pot or pan, put all ingredients. Cook over low fire stirring constantly until thick.Remove from heat.Serve.
(the ube halaya in this photo is the natural color of purple yam, no coloring)

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BANANA QUE

BANANA QUE --is a favorite home made merienda or breakfast food in our family, made from fried saba bananas, then cooked in brown sugar or panocha. Banana que is one of the ways to cook saba aside from turon, minatamis na saging, inihaw or nilaga.

Saba, also known as 'cardaba' was brought to the Philippine shore by our Malay ancestors some five thousand years ago. The word 'pisang' is a Malay word that refers to this variety of bananas that was one of the Malay staple food along with rice and other fruits and vegetable. It was a traditional Malay energy food.

Saba is rich in potassium that helps the circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. If you are trying to quit smoking, just eat plenty of saba. The B vitamins and other minerals reduce the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

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