Priceless

I learned from my daughter that her Serbian dorm mate receives regular mailed packages of spices from her mother to keep homesickness at bay. What a swell idea!  So I thought I’d do the same by mailing out an item that was uniquely from home. 

After much thought on what exactly could that item be, keeping in mind postal regulations, my daughter asked if I could mail her some tablea (local unsweetened chocolate tablets).   

slightly bigger and thicker than a P5 coin

She missed waking up to the aroma of freshly made tsokolate for dunking a buttered pan de sal.  And won’t it be grand if she could have some tablea to make a bowl of piping hot Champorado (chocolate rice porridge-- )? 

 She would be in heaven if  I could manage some suman (sticky rice) and mangoes as well.  But that’s stretching it!

With a mission to accomplish, I carefully wrapped about 16 pieces of  these wonderful tablets of happiness in aluminum foil before tucking it in a zip lock bag.  Then I slipped it into an insulation packet for added protection.

 

Now these were no ordinary tableas.  These were specially home made by our loyal help in Cebu.  These tablets came from selected cacao seeds that were roasted, ground and molded  into homey perfection.(another story on its own for telling next time)

The next question then was: did our Phil Postal Office  have such a service?  Lo and behold, after some inquiries here and there, it turned out PPO was up to the task. 

Carrying my precious cargo, I took off for the nearest post office.   When I brought the envelope out, the postal lady asked what was inside the envelope.  When I told her that the envelope contained chocolate tablets, she immediately informed me that I could not send it in its present state.  I needed to box it.  My discouragement left as she quickly produced the required postal box.  She was kind enough to securely tape up the box.  

After 10 days, my daughter received the package.  Later as we talked through the use of a web app, she told me how excited she was to prepare her favorite “Champorado”. 

To rephrase a credit card slogan: 

Mailing Cost      = 7 times the value of the tableas.

Happy Daughter = priceless

---xoxoxox---

My son no longer lives at home.  So in a manner of speaking,  he is like his sister—away from home.  Unlike my daughter, my son and I rarely chat on the phone. But we do catch up with each other when we meet up for the occasional lunch or dinner. 

Recently, we did just that over dinner at an out of the way restaurant known for their east meets west fusion cuisine.  I thought of making him something that would remind him of home.  Unlike his sister, he is not into tablea or champorado or native delicacies.  But both he and his sister share a love for chocolate.

Putting out my baking paraphernalia, I got busy and baked him a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Not any ordinary choco-chip cookies but “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from a recipe off the back of a Hershey Cocoa Can).

 After dinner, my son skipped dessert in lieu of the cookies he got from me.

Cost of cookies =  cheaper than the price of the fancy restaurant dessert

Happy Son        = Priceless 

 ---xoxox---

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Chip Cookies

(my version: I reduced the sugars but added 1 tablespoon of honey; I also baked at a lower temperature for slightly a longer time in order to get that crunchy on the outside- chewy on the inside cookie.

For variety, I divided the cookie dough into three: to one I just had the chips; to the second, I added some almonds; to the third, I added some almonds and raisins)

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine , softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar (cut to ½ cup)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (cut to ½ cup)

1 Tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup chopped nuts and/or raisins (optional)

Directions

1 Heat oven to 300°F.

2 Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips. Add nuts or raisin, if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3 Bake 15 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.