My Blog by Mail 2 parcel arrived yesterday from Karen in the Phillippines. Karen is from the Pangasinan province and very kindly put together a package of local foods. I'm pleased to say everything made it through NZ Customs. Each item was individually wrapped and now I regret not wrapping the gifts I sent to Eileen, the recipient of my parcel. It was such fun unwrapping each little present. After I had unwrapped all the little packages I proceeded to taste them one by one. Except the Tapuy, which is a rice wine, as it was a little too early in the day.
Karen even included table mats and a table runner made from the woven textiles of the Ilocos provinces. See the Angel cookies - and that is two of them on a plate for our morning tea. They are made by the nuns of the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio City and contain pieces of the Catholic communion host. The Pastillas de Leche are served during fiestas and parties and are very brightly wrapped. Have you ever dipped a teaspoon into a can of condensed milk? This is what the pastillas taste of. I quickly put them in the cupboard so I didn't eat them all in one sitting. My favourite taste though was the Mango Tartlets. These are made from the local mango, a sweet kalabaw. The outer coating is a very light crisp pastry and inside is a chewy mango paste. This little pastry is heaven and I confess I ate three of them right there and then. And another couple later in the day. Then I put them up high in the cupboard so I wouldn't be tempted to eat any more. The last picture is a half eaten one as I wanted you to see the inside. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures.
Thank you Karen for the thought you put into the package. I love it. Big cyberhugs to you. Don't forget to check out Samantha's blog for the round up next month.
