Summer is Here!
The desert summer is definitely upon us, the temperatures now hitting up to 40°C. Come July and August, this can even reach up to 50°C with humidity touching to 80%. That is really hot. And uncomfortable.
In the Philippines, I see lots of friends and family comment on how hot it is there right now too.
Now, what do we do?
Halo-Halo is a Filipino cold dessert that is made by mixing together different sweetened fruits, milk and crushed ice. "Halo-Halo" literally means "mixed up" in English.
It's been a while since I last had this dessert, I mean I have tried at some Filipino restaurants here but I always feel like something is missing. It is not as yummy as my aunt's halo-halo. Selling halo-halo has been her means of earning during the summer months in the Philippines and it's always a hit in the neighborhood. Why not, it is really delicious.
Making Halo-halo at Home
The idea was just to make another dessert, banana con yelo. It is just plainly plantain banana cooked with caramelized sugar, then eaten with evaporated (or fresh) milk and crushed ice. I realized I have plantains that might get over-riped again, so I need to cook them already!
As I fumble through the pantry, I saw 2 small sweet potatoes and an ear of sweet corn. A jar of purple yam in the fridge is also waiting for it to catch my attention one day. Well, purple yam, today is the day!
A little more shuffling of jars in the fridge revealed nata de coco! Ohhh, kids, we are in for a treat!
I started cooking the plantains, sweet potato and the corn. The plantains and sweet potato need to be diced into small cubes, while I pulsed the sweet corn in the blender to get a creamy consistency.
I could have cooked some sago seeds too, but that will take a lot of time, and I bet these ingredients would be enough to get a taste of a good home made halo-halo.
Now for those who do not know how to prepare this, you simply just have to assemble the ingredients in a tall glass or cup, add a little granulated white sugar (not too much, as all ingredients are already sweet!) then top it with crushed ice. Add a generous amount of milk. Mix them well, and enjoy.
having a toast with their Halo-halo. Cheers! Kuya could not help but feel giddy as he ate. He said it tastes really the same as the one he remembers having in the Philippines. Little Miss on the other hand liked the brain freeze. Some people like to eat halo-halo with some bigger bits of ice to munch on. As for me, I prefer for the ice to melt completely.
Special Halo-Halo
This dessert is flexible, you can add as many other ingredients as possible. Macapuno (coconut sport), jackfruit, jelly (in different colors!), beans and pinipig or pounded rice flakes definitely add more flavor and texture to the dessert. For someone who has not yet tried this, you may think it's absurd to put all these different ingredients together, but I bet you, the taste is glorious!
In the restaurants, or with friendly neighborhood seller, you may even request for Leche flan (custard cream caramel) and/or ice cream as toppings to your halo-halo. That's "special halo-halo".
For me, being able to eat this inside the comfort of our home with my lovely family is more than enough to make it special, more so during these odd times. I am thankful everyday for all the blessings we receive.
Fun Fact:
Little Monster did not eat his share. He has not eaten this ever, and he is not so much into cold food.
We didn't have ice crusher, so we tried to use the blender. It didnt work as expected (the blender must be near its retirement age) so
just crushed the ice with a flat wood.
That's all for now. I hope you all stay safe. Be cool! ❤️
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