UP there, the moon continues to spin its stories, waxing poetic and waning melodramatic month after month. As jarring as it may sound, it used to be made of premium cheese, just up there for the slicing.
Every mouse and kid like I used to, knew this truth about the moon being edible until one day the illusion was grated into smithereens. Besides, along with the awakening, I learned as a kid that mice hate the smell of cheese. That mice like cheese is just the product of Looney Tunes cartoons to make their cat-mouse stories more interesting.
The moon’s main ingredient is not milk, but rock, and its other components are dead volcanoes and impact craters. This doesn’t stop me or any other guy from using the moon as a romantic anchor for the object of love: Having dinner by candlelight under the full moon; walking hand in hand by the beach under the new moon; and taking night jogs at Cebu City Sports Complex under the dying moon.
Let me shift gears to talk about the real subject matter: cheese. A person gets carried away talking about the moon, but today let’s serve the edible moon on the table.
Tuslob buwa is the Philippines’ version of the fondue. Pig’s brain is fried along with spices and the resulting flavorful mess is used as a fondue for puso. Puso is not rice “wrapped with coconut leaves” but rice “cooked in coconut-leaf casing.” Correctly, a puso is raw rice poured into a diamond-shaped casing made of coconut leaves and boiled till the grains expand and fill up the shell.
A cheese spread struck on a good idea when its commercial showed how its product can be used as a fondue for crackers, corn chips, tortillas and bread cubes. Experiment with flavor combinations using pickle relish or sandwich spread or chopped canned pimiento or minced luncheon meat mixed into the cheese.
Nibbling hard cheese with red wine creates a real umami moment. There’s nothing bad about pairing it with crackers and fruit, but the cheese-wine duo seems to be the classic way with the moon.
Cheese perks up carbohydrates so easily. A handful of grated cheese incorporated with hot corn kernels raises the snack five notches up in the appreciation scale.
Why trouble with spaghetti or shell noodles? Cheese spread folded into warm rice makes the main carbo of the day look and taste finger-licking good. If you saute button mushrooms to mix with the cheese spread, the rice dish will have a special taste.
Feta cheese might sound expensive, but a small jar in olive oil will go a long way. Crumble a few cubes over vegetable salad for a value added treat.
Slice kesong puti or goat milk cheese into four parts and marinate in olive oil, lemon juice, basil, oregano, black pepper and tuck thin slices of lemon between the cheese. After two hours, pan grill the cheese and lemon, and use as topping for mixed green salad. The lemon slices will add a bitter-tangy flavor to the dish. Pair this with real dalandan or watermelon juice, grilled fish and ripe mango for something sweet.
The moon has gone a long way from being just an object of romance. It’s now here on earth all for man’s alimentary well-being.