Spanning over 700 recipes, the book reflects Maria Y. Orosa’s visionary approach to harnessing local ingredients—turning cassava into flour, bananas into ketchup, soybeans into protein-rich Soyalac, and rice bran into vitamin-laden “darak” cookies—to combat malnutrition and food insecurity.

Maria Orosa’s innovations weren’t just culinary—they were acts of survival and resistance. During World War II, she smuggled her nutrient-dense creations into internment camps and guerrilla forces using hollow bamboo tubes, helping to sustain countless lives under dire conditions.

This edition also includes insightful essays that provide context to her life and enduring legacy. It underscores her pivotal role as a pioneer in Philippine food science, a champion of self-sufficiency, and a symbol of patriotism. As noted in one reflective passage, she “first showed us the way toward self-sufficiency in food, and… proved that courage and patriotism are no empty words.”

Published by Ige Ramos Design Studio in 2021 and spanning some 303–304 pages, the hardcover edition showcases vibrant design and detailed documentation, including glossaries and indexes.

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