Makatang Putahe as its title hints, is a recipe book with a poetic twist.
Each recipe made by students and faculty of the University of Mindanao (UM) College of Hospitality Education is paired with a poem written by the book's principal author Dr. Ronnie V. Amorado along with several teachers he rallied on to squeeze out their hugot lines over kamote and nilupak, while associating love with food, and breaking open a heart like you would a lumpia.
Drs. Maria Rina T. Quilestino, Kymwell R. Hinlayagan, and Florence Kristine M. Jimenez wrote and curated the students' winning recipes as main chef, coach, or course teacher at the College.
At the concluding pages of the book is a delightful and nostalgic surprise: recipes of Loleng or Dr. Dolores P. Torres, the matriarch of UM.
A few were reproduced as handwritten notes, while others were typed out anew for readability.
The recipes were retrieved from the stash Mrs Torres kept while she lived. Published as they were, the aged pages become silent witnesses to the days when Davao City was yet in its infancy, and Loleng ruled over her kitchen. It gives the reader a chance to recreate holiday and special-occasion food, from the ubiquitous homemade ham to the labor-intensive callos.
Makatang Putahe packs in a lot of food and poetry, you'd be in a bind where to keep it; in the kitchen shelf to try out the food or in your bedroom to read the poems, which will drive you anyway to the kitchen to whip out a special bihon that comes complete with an ingredient that brings memories of your lola's kitchen -- chorizo de bilbao.
It's definitely worth a read, a foray in the kitchen, and a brew. This kind of book comes around rarely. Grab yours.