This cozy mystery series can boast outstanding Filipino recipes and an extended family with all of the varied dynamics that it brings. Lila and two of her friends have opened a coffee and bakery cafe, but for this series the main focus is on her aunt, Tita Rosie and Lila’s cousin Ronnie who has been gone for 15 years. He brings the drama with him that caused him to leave in the first place. Lila and the reader spend much of the novel trying to decide if Ronnie has really changed or not.
Book #3 in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen cozy mystery series. A fantastic series to bring some American-Filipino culture into your life. Each book has several recipes. Most are modified for the American kitchen. Lila herself is an American modified Filipino. She shows deep respect for her roots, while also venturing out to live the life she wants. In this book, she tries to solve a murder mystery before the after effects can bring a downfall to her cousin Ronnie.
Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
Chocolate Champorado Rice Porridge
from a cozy mystery novel
Blackmail and Bibingka
by Mia P. Manansala
Book Outline and Tone:
Lila’s tight knit family has a black sheep. Tia Rosie’s son left the family and Shady Palms 15 years ago in disgrace. Rumours have it that his poor life choices have continued into his adult years. But now, Cousin Ronnie claims he has pulled himself and his life choices together. Along with some financial partners, Ronnie has bought a defunct winery in Shady Palms. He has big plans to bring the winery back to life and bring more business to Shady Palms.
Fortunately for the Macapagal family, Tita’s cafe and Lila’s coffee shop are both doing well, but more tourists in town would be good news. Tia Rosie is excited her prodigal son has returned home, but Lila is skeptical. When Ronnie makes some disrespectful comments to his mom, the Macapagal family and the calendar crew (older Filipino ladies who are “aunts” or “ninangs”) turn against Ronnie too. The family dynamics are well played out and I spent most of the book not knowing if Ronnie could be trusted or not. There is of course a murder mystery that Lila investigates, but I really enjoyed the family dynamics in this novel.
Besides the lively characters, the biggest highlight in this series is the description of many different Filipino dishes. There are some dishes like the Chocolate Champorado Rice Porridge and the Salabat Snickerdoodle Squares that would be fantastic. There are also other items such as the dried fish and the salted duck eggs that would take an adventurous person to try.
For my review, I chose the rice dish to include because all of the ingredients are easily accessible, and a sweet rice porridge is not entirely foreign to the American palate. Author Mia P. Manansala writes that this dish is usually served with dried fish for a sweet and salty combination, but she likes it with bacon which gives it the same sweet and salty combination. I thought the Chocolate Champorado Rice Porridge with the side of bacon was an excellent breakfast. I hope you try it too!
Point of View:
The novel is told in first person point of view from Lila Macapagal’s perspective.
The Author: Mia P. Manansala
This is author Mia P. Manansala’s first of many novels. According to her website, she is an award winning author such as the Anthony Award for Best First novel in 2022 as well as several other distinguished awards. She has many active pages on her website. She includes a page of her recipes, a newsletter sign up, and descriptions of all her book series. She does have a social media presence and her Facebook page seems to be the most active. She does have an Instagram and X page as well.
An impeccable quote on her website “ The New York Times stated, “Manansala peppers the narrative with enough red herrings to keep readers from guessing the killer, but the strength of the novel is how family, food and love intertwine in meaningful and complex ways,” which are common themes in her writing.” The author of that review really nailed the strong tie-ins of family, food and love. It best describes this series.
What is not to like?:
The only thing not to like about this series is how slowly the relationship between Lila and Jae is going. I would like to see this relationship take off and even bring Jae into some of the investigating.
The verdict:
After you get this book, you will want to search for a local Filipino restaurant. The way the food is described will make you want to several different dishes.
Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).
Chocolate Champorado Rice Porridge
Assemble the Ingredients
Tita Rosie’s Champorado Recipe
Champorado is a sweet rice porridge made with cocoa powder (or tablea, if you’re making the traditional version) and glutinous rice, topped with evaporated and/or condensed milk. I’m not usually into sweet breakfasts, but Filipinos love the sweet and salty combination, and I’m no exception. This breakfast treat is traditionally served with tuyo, or dried, salted fish. However, I didn’t grow up with that combination, so I prefer serving my champorado with a side of bacon. It has the same salty, crispy smokiness of the fish without smelling up my kitchen so early in the morning (I actually really like tuyo, but frying the fish creates a rather pungent smell that’s not for everyone).
DIRECTIONS:
Measure and rinse the rise.
Boil the water and add the rice. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the cocoa powder or chopped tablea and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture starts to thicken and the cocoa powder is fully incorporated with no lumps or the tablea is fully melted and incorporated.
Add the sugar and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
Turn off the heat once you’ve achieved your desired doneness and consistency-some people prefer soft rice while others prefer it more al dente. The mixture will thicken as it cools, so you can add more water if you prefer a looser porridge.
Serve in bowls and let each diner top their champorado as desired with the assorted milks and sweeteners.
Chocolate Champorado Rice Porridge
Ingredients
- 4 cup water
- 1 cup glutinous rice
- ½ cup cocoa powder or 4-5 pieces tablea chocolate chopped
- ½ cup sugar I prefer brown, but granulated works just fine
- Evaporated milk, condensed milk, and additional sugar/sugar substitute for serving
Instructions
- Rinse the rice
- Boil the water and add the rice. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the cocoa powder or chopped tablea and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture starts to thicken and the cocoa powder is fully incorporated with no lumps or the tablea is fully melted and incorporated.
- Add the sugar and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Turn off the heat once you've achieved your desired doneness and consistency-some people prefer soft rice while others prefer it more al dente. The mixture will thicken as it cools, so you can add more water if you prefer a looser porridge.
- Serve in bowls and let each diner top their champorado as desired with the assorted milks and sweeteners.
What would I do differently next time?
This time I used evaporated milk, but I do think the thicker consistency of sweetened condensed milk might be better.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? Try these scones.
Chocolate Chip Scones from Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs
Cinnamon Scones from Murder with Cinnamon Scones by Karen Rose Smith
Cream Scones with Blueberries from Eggs in a Casket by Laura Childs
Sour Cherry Scones inspired by Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Cinnamon Date Scones from Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs
