Halo-Halo, Baby - Sugar High Friday #21

Sugar High Friday was launched by The Domestic Goddess. (Congratulations to Leith's New Mommy! We send our best for a speedy recovery!) Conceived as a monthly sweet-themed event to be posted on a pre-selected Friday it was originally called Sugar High Friday: The International Sweet Tooth Extavaganza. . . . Now, simplified to just Sugar High Friday or SHF.


My entry for the the 21st installation of SHF. Hit Me!

"Halo-Halo, Mix-Mix . . ."


This month’s SHF is hosted by “Savvy Sarah” of The Delicious Life. Her sweet sensation theme is “ICE, ICE, BABY.”


"Ice,Ice,Baby . . ."


When the summer heat fully takes over your life, there’s nothing to do but surrender.

Surrender to the alternatives of keeping cool. When A/C is not one of the amenities one finds in a country cottage, a wet-cold wash rag, an oscillating fan and laying around in your birthday suit is about the only option you have. Ahhh, but then there is the running energy consumption of central A/C at Borders or Barnes & Noble that can keep you in cool comfort until the night air lures you home. As a Borders Rewards member, I think I’ve overextended my “personal shopping day” rewards until the end of the year. Christmas shopping in July isn’t so bad, if you have the bucks to spend. Which I don't, BTW.

So what bucks we did have, we spent on tiny luxury, guilty pleasure items, like the exotic, unique and ever-pleasing ingredients for Halo-Halo which means “Mix-Mix” in the Filipino dialect of Tagalog.

Halo-Halo is a favorite Filipino dessert that reveals a mélange of tropical fruit, creamy smoothness and a colorful spectrum of enchantment.

This was the “crème de la crème” of dessert delights when I was growing up. It was very seldom did we get this dessert, but when my Mother managed to get all the ingredients lined up, Man-Oh-Man, IT was a “P-A-H-H-H-H-H-T-Y” goin’ on!

The next important thing to do was to make sure you had enough shaved ice to make the “Halo-Halo-ing” worthwhile. You also need a “VERY” tall glass to hold all the luscious components of this fun and enjoyable sweet course, because, really, you wouldn’t want to miss having one iota of the collection missing from the “Mix-Mix”. A long, thin spoon is used to dig through the layers of shaved ice and sweetened condensed milk or ice cream in order to scoop out mouthfuls of sweet bursts of jubilation!


"Layers of Jubilation . . ."


I can’t tell you the last time I enjoyed this delight before these sweltering summer days of late, but I can tell you it brings me back to the cool and amusing summer days of my youth.


"Sweet Summer Sensation . . ."


Halo-Halo (haw-low-haw-low), Mix-Mix”

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons kaong (sugar palm nut)
• 2 tablespoons langka (jackfruit)
• 2 tablespoons macapuno (coconut sport)
• 2 tablespoons sweetened red mung beans
• 2 tablespoons sweetened kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons sweetened garabanzo beans
• 2 tablespoons sweetened plantains
• 2 tablespoons ube or yam
• 2 tablespoons custard or creme caramel or flavored gelatin cubes (Jello)
• 2 tablespoons sweetened corn kernels (creamed corn)
• crushed ice to fill glass
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• a scoop of ice cream on top (optional)
• Pinipig (pounded crushed rice) or Rice Krispies for topping

Method:

Serving the numerous ingredients in a buffet style is both fun and efficient. Each guest can select their choice of sweet components to their liking. Scale up recipe, as needed, depending on number of guests to serve.

In a "VERY" tall glass, layer ingredients as noted. Serve immediately.

Yield: 1 serving

In my on-going exploration of whether or not "Filipino Food is Fattening", this dessert, although, IT is "da bomb", I have to declare IT is indeed on the HI-CAL, HI-CARB scale.


WARNING: Indulge at your own risk.


However, as a PSA, I must include the following. This “crème de la crème” dessert can be modified by eliminating the sweetened condensed milk and ice cream, using evaporated or reduced fat milk instead. Also, you can limit the number of layers of sweet components. Use sugar-free fruit gelatin and add fresh fruit of your choosing as substitute components. Whatever your choice, c'est si bon!

Life is a banquet, my friends.