#38:Friendly Oatmeal Biscuits

If you feel that the Mango Sesame Cookies  was a bit too much for beginners, then this one should be good fit for cookie rookies like you. I present to you the Oatmeal Biscuit! Not only can you boast of cooking something that is packed with fiber, this baby also boasts of a buttery melt-in-your-mouth texture with little crunches here and there. It is perfect with your milk tea and a good book like, say, the Hobbit or Remember Who You Are by Ed Lapiz. You only need the bare minimum of cookies, of course, with the addition of the oats: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla. So yeah, this is certified for beginners. :-D

Oats. It's such a friendly pantry item. You can make porridge from it, granola, muesli and desserts like cookies. Whenever you are attacked with a hunger pang, oats always lend a helping hand, filling (and cleaning) your tummy and patting you on the back, affirming you that you made the better choice by snacking on them. In this era where people are suddenly clamoring for wellness, oats have been elevated to a new level of popularity and for a good reason.

#36: Macing's Year-Round Puto Pumbong

This is the "bumbong" used to cook this
rice cake. Nice picture from Female Network!

Puto Bumbong is a classic Filipino rice cake snack that is most popular during Christmas time. Over the years, it has become a traditional snack for those who are attending the early morning Christmas mass that starts from December 16 to 25. This rice cake is made from a special kind of purple sticky rice called Pirurutong. The rice is soaked in salted water, dried and ground then placed in a narrow bamboo called bumbong then steamed. It is then placed on a banana leaf and served slathered with butter, shaved coconut, ground raw sugar also known as muscovado and sometimes, grated cheese. This is officially my favorite rice cake variety. Nothing beats the warm, soft texture of the cake, this made more lavish by the creamy butter, the milky coconut and the sharp, melt-in-your-mouth sweetness of the muscovado. Oh yeah. Then the cheese... This must be the gate of rice cake heaven.

If I had my choice, I will want to eat this regularly all year round. But as I mentioned earlier, these only litter the streets during Christmas. And lately, the really good puto bumbongs have gotten far and few in between. Most of the puto bumbongs sold during Christmas has mostly become imitation versions. They don't use pirurutong anymore. They just use the regular sticky rice and color it purple. Baaaah! I had no choice but to endure the longing until the next Christmas season. That was my plight until my husband introduced me to Macing's.