The Breakfast Store

I just got home from a 23 hour flight from the Philippines, so I'm jet lagged and still in the process of unpacking my bags.  And my mind is bursting with all the stories that I want to share with you.  I've got piles of notes and gazillion pictures to share. But quite frankly, I don't know where to start.  So let me start with breakfast... just like how most of us start off our day.

When I say breakfast what I mean is to literally share with you  a specialty shop called The Breakfast Store. The blue and white themed store catches your attention when you pass by Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, Philippines. 

Let's hear it from the shop owner, Sigrid, what  the store is all about.


Breakfast has always been called the most important meal of the day. In my family, we had celebrated birthdays over breakfast. I carried that on over to my own family now.. Then last Christmas, we gave out gifts of cacao balls (chocolate balls for breakfast) to family and friends. Everyone started asking where they could get more of it,  That's when we started exploring the idea (over breakfast of course) of coming up with a store that would sell everything for breakfast. So when we thought of an apt name for it.  I simply suggested, The Breakfast Store because it is what it is - no pretensions. You come into the store with a clear idea of buying items you will have for breakfast! 

As you enter the store, there's a charming blue table that greets you and it is where you find the specials and samples that the store offers.

That day, I sampled tomato jam preserved by local artisans.  It was my first time to have tomato jam so it was a pleasant treat for my taste buds.

I call their kesong puti (Filipino cheese similar to a cottage cheese) kesong puti on steroids, as it was oozing and bursting of new flavors.  My favorite was the cheese with herb and garlic.  I thought that it would make any breakfast special, with specs of herbs the local artisan blended with the cheese.

Also, I had this chilled taho.  Taho is a sweet blend of tofu and special syrup.  It's usually peddled in the street around the neighborhood and it's usually served warm.  It was the first time for me to have it chilled and it was a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.

What is breakfast without coffee , so at the breakfast store, they sell locally grown coffee beans from different parts of the country.

They sell everything that pertains about breakfast and they didn't miss out on the plates as well.  I adore these plates designed by Lanelle Abueva Fernando, a well kown handmade ceramic artist in the Philippnes.

My favorite is the longanisa or sausage from Tuguegarao.  It's tangy, garlicky and a tiny piece would demand a spoonful of rice (oh my carb loading).  They also have other longanisa variations from other parts of the country such as Lucban in Quezon, and the famous Vigan longanisa... now really please pass the fried rice and eggs and I'll be ready for the day!

I love breakfast, as their sign says, but with what the store offers this maybe an understatement.  Once you come in, you're definitely in breakfast heaven!

The Ibanag Longanisa Experiment

I can't tell you how gratified I was when Nami of Just One Cookbook blog fame featured my Arroz Ala Cubana. One of the goals of my blog is to promote Filipino food, and I'm glad I have been able to do so. Nami, who has a Japanese background, sharing that her family loved my Filipino dish is just one example of my goal.

I also appreciate readers who email me to share how my blog has inspired them to cook. Recently, I received emails from two of my readers. These two emails have made me doubly excited because the readers who sent them are from my hometown. Mae, who balances her time working at DENR and being a mom wrote:

I enjoy reading your blogs which I find heartwarming and inspiring. Like you, I love going to the kitchen, too. I'd like to believe that it is in the kitchen where we, moms, put our magic wands to good use. Isn't it that the best ingredient that we sprinkle in every dish is LOVE?:-)

She further shared that when she tried one of my recipes, she was so pleased with the finished product. More than that, her kids showed their approval by overwhelming her with hugs and kisses.

Melisande describes herself as a novice in the kitchen and she emailed me saying:

I used to hate cooking but not anymore... and that's because I find a lot of inspiration in your blog... I don't think I'll ever become as good as you are in cooking but I hope I become a good mom like you.. God Bless!

I share my stories and recipes to inspire home cooks like me to be creative in the kitchen and to celebrate family life around their dining tables. Nothing thrills me more than knowing that some readers try the recipes and appreciate the family stories I share. I thrive on feedback, so all these emails do me a great favor.

So with Mae and Melisande in mind, I was inspired to make this dish using ingredients that are readily available in my hometown of Tuguegarao. I took a breakfast staple, Ybanag Longanisa,which I shared a few posts ago, and mixed it with an unexpected partner: tahong (mussels). An easy and inexpensive fix; yet I'm sure it will bring forth love and warmth around the dining table.

Tahong con Longanisa (Mussels with Sausage)

Ingredients:

6 pcs. Longanisa

2 lbs. mussels 

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium tomato sliced

maggi seasoning

3/4 cup white wine

Procedure

Cook the longanisa in a large sauté pan with 3/4 cup water over medium heat until they turn golden brown on all sides. Set aside. Using the same pan (but pour out excess fat, use only about 2 tbsp) saute garlic, onions and tomatoes.

Toss the mussels into the pan, and increase the heat to high. Cover lightly with a lid and cook over medium heat for 2-3  minutes or until the shells have opened.  

Meanwhile slice the longanisa into halves.  Add it back to the pan.  Toss and cook a little more.  

Pour in the white wine,  to deglaze the pan.  Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Stir until the wine reduces by half.  Season with maggi seasoning, salt and pepper.

Garnish with toasted garlic and cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy