Author Mia P. Manansala follows the adage to write about what you know. Her characters, like herself, are Filipino-American and she provides several Filipino recipes and uses some common Tagalog words (especially to designate family members). I have selected an easy recipe to share that you can make even if, like me, you don’t live near a Filipino store or restaurant.

Blood is thicker than water, even when you are in the middle of a fight with your cousin. Lila and Bernadette may not be close, but when Bernadette is accused of murder all petty fighting is forgotten. Lila doesn’t spend all her time investigating, she still finds herself torn between 2 possible paramours and must design her menu for the new café.

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala

Halo-Halo Ice Candy

from a cozy mystery

Homicide and Halo-Halo

by Mia P. Manansala

Book Outline and Tone:

It is important to read the author’s note at the beginning of this novel. Ms. Manansala acknowledges that she wrote this book while going through the traumatic events of the COVID 19 pandemic. As a result, her characters, like herself, were in a darker place than in book #1. I felt as though the author did a fantastic job of weaving in real mental health struggles to main character Lila’s life.

Tita Rose’s Kitchen cozy mystery series book #2. The main character, Lila, is surrounded by extended family and people who function as extended family in her Filipino-American culture. Many times characters communicate in a mix of English and Tagalog words. But author Mia. P. Manansala does an excellent job of writing in a way that the reader understands each conversation and nuance.

This novel takes place a few months after the end of Arsenic and Adobo. The main character, Lila, is having some difficulties getting over the shocking events surrounding that murder mystery. Her emotional struggles show themselves as Lila can’t seem to make decisions. Whether Lila is trying to decide which man she should encourage or which pastries she wants to make for her new café, it is clear her mental health needs attention. This struggle making decisions is a classic sign of emotional trauma and the author addresses suggestions for tending to mental health needs.

Lila is not given much time to rest or deal with her PTSD. She gets brought in as a judge for a Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant after the head judge is found murdered. As a former winner, Lila feels obligated to help out. Here is where Lila’s cousin Bernadette comes into the story. Bernadette was a runner up in the pageant the year that Lila won and that started their rivalry.

Once Bernadette is under suspicion for the murder, Lila drops the silly rivalry and begins to investigate in the hopes of clearing Bernadette from suspicion. All of Lila’s investigating continues to trigger her PTSD and while some of her friends encourage her to talk to a therapist, Lila resists given her cultural obstacles. By the end of the novel, Lila will find a way to help her mental health.

The Best Quote:

“Dr. Jae Park owned the dental clinic a few doors down and had become a good friend after I’d moved back to Shady Palms. I could tell that he hoped for something more than friendship, but at this point in time, it was all I was able to give. Though sometimes I wished I could. Like when he stood in front of me, glistening from the heat, filling out his scrubs in a way that made those shapeless bits of cloth Bernadette was always complaining about look downright sexy.”

Point of View:

The novel is told in a first person point of view from Lila’s perspective.

The Author: Mia P. Manansala

According to author Mia P. Manansala’s 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?:

All of the recipes that are described in this novel make me want to try them. I only wish there was a Filipino restaurant I could get to easily. If you have a Filipino restaurant, please tell me what is your favorite thing to get there?

The verdict:

I remember living through the COVID-19 pandemic and thinking it would be interesting when this real life event is represented in novels. While Lila’s mental health struggles are not related to the pandemic, her struggles do reflect the same problems many face both during and after the pandemic. I highly recommend this series.

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).

Halo-Halo Ice Candy

Assemble the Ingredients

DIRECTIONS:

Add the evaporated milk to a blender or large mixing bowl with spout. Fill the empty evaporated milk can with water and add to the mixture as well.

condensed milk, and cornstarch

Blend or mix everything until completely smooth.

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Taste the mixture to check for sweetness level-the halo-halo fixings will add additional sweetness, so if the milk mixture is too rich or sweet, add another can or two of water to dilute the mixture to your desired level. Freezing dulls the level of sweetness somewhat, but you don’t want it sickeningly sweet at this stage.
Use chopsticks or long-handled tweezers to insert 1 to 2 teaspoons of your choice of halo-halo fixings into your plastic bags or ice pop molds. Again, the more fixings you add, the sweeter the overall ice candy will be.

I decided to use strawberry flavored nata de coco cubes

Chopped dried Jackfruit (This tasted very much like dried Mango. If dried mango is easier to find, that would be a good substitution.)

To the liquid I mixed 2 tablespoons of dried Ube powder that is designed for smoothies. It gave the ice candy a great purple hue as well as added nutrients.

First I added the nata de coco cube, then some of the jackfruit and finally poured the sweet Ube liquid on top. to fill the molds. The jackfruit was unsweetened, but it was definitely sweet. I thought it tasted like dried mango. If you can’t find Jackfruit, then mango would be a great alternative.

I found this ice pop mold set in my local Aldi

Using the funnel, pour the milk mixture into the plastic bags or ice pop molds. Make sure to leave room for the mixture to expand in the freezer, about two-thirds of the way. If using the bags, either twist tie or zip them closed.

I had more liquid mix and mix-ins than could be used in the molds so I added them to an ice cube tray.

Lay the bags or molds flat in the freezer and allow to freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
Enjoy!

Halo-Halo Ice Candy Recipe

These simple ice pops are a little fiddly to put together, but they're fun, delicious, highly customizable, and take up way less space in your freezer than traditional ice pop molds. But if you don't want to bother with the bags, feel free to use molds instead.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Freezing time 6

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Filipino

Equipment

Blender or large mixing bowl with spout
Thin plastic bags (I use FroZip brand) OR ice pop molds
Spoon or Chopsticks or long-handled tweezers
Funnel

Ingredients

1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 14oz can condensed milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch (optional)

Halo-halo fixings, rinsed and drained (your choice):

Jarred halo-halo mixJarred or canned sweet red beans,
Jarred sweet garbanzo beans,
Jarred nata de coco,
Jarred kaong,
Jarred macapuno OR dried coconut,
Ube halaya (jarred or homemade),
Saba banana, chopped small,
Jarred or canned ripe jackfruit,
I was not able to find all of these in my local store, so I made a few substitutions. I added chopped dried Jackfruit and powdered purple sweet potato (Ube) to add color and sweetness.

Instructions

Add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cornstarch to a blender or large mixing bowl with spout. Fill the empty evaporated milk can with water and add to the mixture as well.
Blend or mix everything until completely smooth.
Taste the mixture to check for sweetness level-the halo-halo fixings will add additional sweetness, so if the milk mixture is too rich or sweet, add another can or two of water to dilute the mixture to your desired level. Freezing dulls the level of sweetness somewhat, but you don't want it sickeningly sweet at this stage.
Use chopsticks or long-handled tweezers to insert 1 to 2 teaspoons of your choice of halo-halo fixings into your plastic bags or ice pop molds. Again, the more fixings you add, the sweeter the overall ice candy will be.
Using the funnel, pour the milk mixture into the plastic bags or ice pop molds. Make sure to leave room for the mixture to expand in the freezer, about two-thirds of the way. If using the bags, either twist tie or zip them closed.
Lay the bags or molds flat in the freezer and allow to freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
Enjoy!

Keyword ice candy, Ice pop, jackfruit, nata de coco, ube

What would I do differently next time?

These are really tasty! I think I like them in cube form more than as a popsicle. Next time I would add more of the nata de coco cubes because they add an interesting texture when frozen, not hard and not too soft.