Tag Archives: #recipes
EVERY OUNCE OF COURAGE by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino – FAHM Spotlight
EVERY OUNCE OF COURAGE
A Daughter’s Reflections On Her Mother’s Bravery
Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino
BLURB
It began with an unexpected phone call and a startling statement: “You don’t know me, but your mother saved my life.”
The late-night conversation with an American World War II veteran revealed to Elizabeth Ann Besa Quirino the untold stories of her mother’s remarkable wartime heroism and sparked a twenty-year journey of discovery about her lifelong acts of bravery and compassion.
Lourdes “Lulu” Reyes Besa channeled the heartbreak of a childhood tragedy into a profound sense of compassion and service. She helped raise three brothers while still a child herself in the early years of the 20th century. Then, as a young socialite in the heydays of 1930s Manila, she focused on meaningful philanthropy and charity work. During the merciless Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Lulu embarked unflinchingly on dangerous missions to bring aid and comfort that meant the difference between life and death to countless Filipino and American prisoners of war. She continued to face personal grief and adversity in the later decades of her life but met each challenge as before – with every ounce of courage, fortitude, and grace.
Elizabeth Ann delved into a trove of old letters, photographs, and recipes in search of the source of her mother’s courageous spirit. In Lulu’s story, she found a complex life full of joy, sorrow, selflessness, and survival, and learned precious lessons about how the timeless bonds of family, the steadfast strength of faith, and the power of an indomitable will can provide solace and sense in a world of uncertainty. Every Ounce of Courage by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino is Now Available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online bookstores.
ABOUT BETTY ANN
Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino is a cookbook author, an award-winning journalist, a food writer, a correspondent, a previous college professor, and a former ad agency copywriter/creative director. She blogs and develops recipes about Filipino home cooking on her popular website The Quirino Kitchen (thequirinokitchen.com)
She is a multi-award winner of the Plaridel Writing Awards for excellence in journalism, given by the Philippine-American Press Club in San Francisco, California, and is the recipient of a Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award for her essay, “A HundredMangoes in A Bottle.” She was named one of the FWN Filipina Women’s Network 100 Most Influential Women of the World.
Follow her on:
Website – The Quirino Kitchen
Facebook – Asian In America Filipino Food
Twitter – @BettyAnnQuirino
Instagram – @bettyannquirino
REVIEW
When a book educates you, makes you cry, and provides you valuable resources you can apply to daily life, you have yourself one for the keeper shelf. Every Ounce of Courage is a one-of-a-kind book that defies genre definitions. Part memoir, part historical drama, and part cookbook, it’s a totally engaging read.
Lulu Reyes Besa was never mentioned in any Filipino history books I ever read when I was a student in the Philippines. It was a terrible injustice for her and thousands of women who were never recognized for their heroic deeds. I am immensely grateful to Betty Ann Quirino for bringing her mother’s story to light. This book should be in libraries and schools in the Philippines to introduce an inspiring historical figure to the youth, especially young women, and to stir their emotions about the ravages of war that no textbook could ever accomplish.
For me, the aspects of this book that touched me the most were the food memories. Reading Betty Ann’s reminiscing about her mom’s, sister’s, and godmother’s cooking made me remember my own experiences of watching my Nanay Maring and my dad and titos cook during fiestas and special occasions. Those chapters made me smile most often and cry the hardest.
With its celebration of history, food, and family, Every Ounce of Courage is the perfect read during Filipino American History Month and every month.
A DELICIOUS DILEMMA by Sera Taíno – Featured New Release
A DELICIOUS DILEMMA
Sera Taíno
Different worlds collide in Sera Taino’s debut novel.
It’s hard to remain enemies when you’ve broken bread together
Val Navarro’s first mistake: going out dancing after a bad breakup when the chef should be focused on her family business. Her second mistake? Thinking the handsome, sensitive stranger she meets could be more than a rebound – until she discovers he’s Philip Wagner of Wagner Developments. His father’s company could shut down her Puerto Rican restaurant and unravel her tight-knit neighborhood. When Philip takes over negotiations, Val wants to believe he has good intentions. But is following her heart a recipe for disaster?
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
Purchase at your favorite retailer here: https://serataino.com/a-delicious-dilemma/
Debut romance author Sera Taíno was selected for Harlequin’s Romance Includes You Mentorship, an initiative launched in 2019 to reach out to diverse communities of writers and bring more own voices stories to romance readers. For more information on this initiative, click here.
She is also the author of several short contemporary romances, including her latest, “Oil and Vinegar,” part of A More Perfect Union: A Voting-Themed Romance Benefit Anthology. All proceeds benefit Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization based in Georgia.
Her debut, #ownvoices novel, A Delicious Dilemma, is out now with Harlequin Romance Special Edition.
When she is not writing, she can usually be found teaching, traveling, or wrangling her family.
Sign up for Sera’s newsletter here, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, or BookBub to stay up to date.
A Delicious Dilemma is a triumphant debut for Sera Taíno. It’s a sumptuous celebration of food, culture, family, friendship, and love. I devoured this tasty offering in one sitting, its themes so familiar and dear to me.
I find myself relating closely with Val. The eldest of three, close to her dad, loves dancing and cooking, and takes the responsibility for her family’s well-being upon her shoulders. She’s a truly admirable heroine.
Sera’s writing of Philip was impressive as well. I loved the way he handled his inadvertent deception. I cheered his coming into his own against his father. His gentle wooing of Val put a smile on my face.
I loved that the romance was sweet and slow-burn. The tension in the story was just enough that Val and Philip still had to work for their happy ending. Their conflict was authentic but not too heavy drama and was resolved in a satisfactory manner.
Overall, a start that’s more than promising. It already shows Sera Taíno’s immense talent. I want more stories from her. Soon, please.
A couple of my favorite recipes from the Sabor de Casa cookbook are Roasted Pork and flan as I featured here. Check them out for yourself.
A DELICIOUS DILEMMA by Sera Taíno – Preorder Blitz
A Delicious Dilemma by Sera Taíno is coming August 24th! Pre-order now and get an EXCLUSIVE cookbook straight from the fictional family restaurant featured in the novel! Simply email seraspromos@gmail.com with a screenshot or forward of your pre-order receipt to claim!
Pre-Order Here at Your Favorite Retailer
Different worlds collide in Sera Taino’s debut novel.
It’s hard to remain enemies when you’ve broken bread together
Val Navarro’s first mistake: going out dancing after a bad breakup when the chef should be focused on her family business. Her second mistake? Thinking the handsome, sensitive stranger she meets could be more than a rebound – until she discovers he’s Philip Wagner of Wagner Developments. His father’s company could shut down her Puerto Rican restaurant and unravel her tight-knit neighborhood. When Philip takes over negotiations, Val wants to believe he has good intentions. But is following her heart a recipe for disaster?
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
ABOUT SERA
Debut romance author Sera Taíno was selected for Harlequin’s Romance Includes You Mentorship, an initiative launched in 2019 to reach out to diverse communities of writers and bring more own voices stories to romance readers. For more information on this initiative, click here.
She is also the author of several short contemporary romances, including her latest, “Oil and Vinegar,” part of A More Perfect Union: A Voting-Themed Romance Benefit Anthology. All proceeds benefit Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization based in Georgia.
Her debut, #ownvoices novel, A Delicious Dilemma, is scheduled for publication with Harlequin Romance Special Edition in September 2021.
When she is not writing, she can usually be found teaching, traveling, or wrangling her family.
Sign up for Sera’s newsletter here, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, or BookBub to stay up to date.
SABOR DE CASA
I had the privilege of receiving an early copy of the cookbook Sabor de Casa and I immediately taste-tested several of the recipes. With the Spanish heritage common in both Filipino and Puerto Rican cultures, the dishes are familiar to me and the recipes for them easy to follow. I made the roasted pork (similar to lechon), tostones (the Filipino maruya is a sweet relative), mojo, and the perennial favorite (leche) flan. All the ingredients are readily available in the local grocery stores, especially here in Texas with its huge Mexican community. I chose the small limes because they reminded me of the calamansi. I also substituted evaporated milk for whole milk in the flan recipe.
The house smelled amazing with the aroma of garlic, of the succulent pork while it roasted in the oven, and the sugar being caramelized. The roast pork was super moist and delectable my 12-year-old son had two servings.
I didn’t have a tostonera so I improvised by smashing the plantain with the use of two differently-sized dipping sauce dishes. One note about the tostones–I fried the plantains five minutes per side two times. It should probably only be five minutes for both sides. Ten minutes total frying not twenty. They turned out browner than the recipe called for. My bad. They were still delicious but did not photograph very well beside the pork. I love brown food, so it’s all good as far as I’m concerned.
The flan came out great. Creamy and not too sweet. I’ll probably use less sugar next time (2/3 cup instead of 3/4) and I’ll make it with 6-8 egg yolks. In short, I’ll revert to my own recipe. Hahaha.
I cooked a feast with the three dishes I chose. I can’t wait to try out the rest of the recipes. Maybe I’ll do the arroz con gandules, bistec encebollado, and tres leches cake next. Come back here on August 24 to see which dishes I made and to check out my review of A Delicious Dilemma. Preorder the book so you too can make these scrumptious meals.
Maida Malby 
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