The musings of a wandergeselle about faith, literature, music, dancing, culture, food, travels, art, fashion, photography, life experiences, and everything in-between from journée to journée.
Taga-Bicol ka kung alam mo kung anong mga ulam na gulay ang pwedeng lutuin sa mga ito. Meron akong tatlong putahe na naiisip – gulay na iba (kamias), gulay na lubi-lubi (niyog-niyogan), at gulay na ugob (camansi). At syempre hindi dapat mawawala ang gata at lab yu este labuyo. 😍
Iba / KamiasUgob / CamansiIto ang pinakapaborito kong halaman sa bakuran. Ang daling linisin ng mga dahon na nalalaglag.Perfect sa mga tamad magwalis. lolHindi pwedeng mawala ito sa lutong gulay ng mga Bicolano.Tanim pala ito ng mga ibon.Ready na pang-gata. May extra pang paborito ko – the smaller, the sweeter.Inunahan nga lang ako ng langgam.Tsk.Ito na ang itsura ng nasa loob ng niyog kapag malaki na sya. Hindi ka taga-Bicol kung hindi mo alam ang “bu-ay.” 😉Lubi-lubi / Niyog-niyogan
Ang hindi ko lang alam lutuin ang lubi-lubi. But they are very profilic growers in our garden. Madalas nga lang paputulin ni Mommy ang mga ito kasi ang gulo daw sa bakuran. Makapag-experiment nga kung paano lutuin kapag nakauwi na ako. Pero may question ako, gulay ba talaga tawag sa kanila? Hindi ba mga prutas (except sa lubi-lubi) sila? 😅
P.S. Kung ikaw ba ay manliligaw, tingin mo tatanggapin ba ng nililigawan mo kung bibigyan mo sya ng higanteng Pechay? 🤔
P.P.S. Praise God my executive checkup went well yesterday and today, but I still have to wait for the results. I’ll write another article about my experience as soon as I get the results. 😊🙏
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:11
Yesterday, I was able to attend a webinar entitled “Good Nutrition For Cancer Prevention” hosted by Sir Rome Rob of TryPH and the guest speakers were Dr. Katherine V. Hernandez, a medical oncologist, and Dr. Divina Cristy Redondo-Samin, a medical nutrition specialist. I would like to thank the organizers as well as the doctors for this very informative webinar. 👍👍
In the webinar, Doc Cristy cleared the misconception that organic vegetables are healthier than the regular vegetables produced and sold in the market. Not to mention that organic vegetables are more pricey. An article by Harvard Health Publishing also explained why going organic won’t really make any difference when it comes to the amount of vitamins and minerals absorbed by our bodies.
Organic Farming And Sustainable Agriculture
In light of this, I would like to include my reasons for making a proposal to my family regarding venturing into organic farming on our farm back in 2018. The detailed rationale behind my proposal is in my previous posts listed at the end of this article.
It is my primary goal to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which include combating the effects of climate change by lowering carbon emissions in agricultural production. There have been numerous studies that can also prove how organic farming can prevent land degradation and desertification.
The purpose of organic farming is not mainly to produce vegetables that contain less to zero pesticides. Organic vegetables are only the by-products of organic farming. There is still so much more that organic farming can actually offer, and this is why it is now considered the future of sustainable agriculture. The articles below were lifted from credible sources and can further expound on the scope and limitations of organic farming and sustainable agriculture.
Speaking of sustainable farming, one way to prevent nutrient loss on the farmland is to perform crop rotation or allow the land to rest for a certain period in between cropping seasons. And I didn’t know this before until I attended the seminar of one of my favorite agribusiness mentors, Sir Dodong Cacanando. I was also surprised when he said that it’s actually stated in the Bible to let the land rest in the 7th year also called “The Sabbath Year.”
“While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year, the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces.” – Leviticus 25:1-7
Aside from Sir Dodong Cacanando, I’m also an avid follower of former DA Secretary Manny Piñol. Both of them provide very insightful information regarding agriculture and agribusiness on their social media profiles. I am also very much looking forward to how the use of AI in farming mechanization will simplify complex systems that require a substantial amount of manual input.
AI is still in the beta testing stage though when it comes to integrating it into how an industry conducts its processes i.e. manufacturing, education, healthcare, etc. Speaking of AI in the healthcare industry, I believe it will revolutionize how medical services and procedures will be delivered and conducted in the future.
AI In Health Care
I also support the efforts of Doc Kath and other medical practitioners when it comes to addressing misinformation and disinformation in the health sector. Digital literacy is the gap that we have to fill in first as part of raising awareness on responsible social media use. How do we utilize technology nowadays to combat misinformation and disinformation? Like how do we teach users where to look for credible sources and how to look for the right information?
I noticed that some of the users have to be guided step by step. In the case of patients who aren’t technologically adept, the caregivers can be educated on behalf of the patient. Is it also possible to integrate an AI chatbot into the Facebook pages of the doctors that can answer questions from the patients?
These are the commonly asked questions or FAQs during consultations. Questions can also be based on Answer the Public (we use this in digital marketing to assess the current trends and demand in the market) if applicable. Or maybe utilize Google Search recommendations. The challenge here is that these questions still have to be reviewed and contextualized based on demographics i.e. the person’s age, gender, location, and other set parameters so the AI chatbot can provide accurate and relevant information to the user.
The medical secretary might have to do extra work explaining to the patients and caregivers how to use social media if they have other queries after the consultation. The answers to the FAQs will also have to be translated into Filipino. Will this help lessen the time that a doctor needs to answer the patients’ queries after the consultation? How promising are the results if we leverage the use of social media when informing patients or the general public through an AI chatbot? Because one disadvantage I’m seeing is that the patient might end up getting the wrong answer if the AI chatbot becomes a bad robot. lol
I know how frustrating it is to be asked the same questions especially if the patient already asked them before but keeps on forgetting the answers. I tend to be that kind of patient. 😁 Maybe that is why sick people are called patients because they teach doctors to be patient. lol Seriously though, what if the patient doesn’t get the answer right away because the doctor is busy (we know how tight their schedules are)? Will this increase the patient’s anxiety and result in him/her finding answers from unreliable sources instead?
The advantage of convos with an AI chatbot is that the patient can go back to the conversation at any time. This is helpful for visual learners like me. I am not an auditory learner because my mind wanders during lectures, and I am easily distracted. So I need intense concentration when listening to someone explaining.
During doctor visits, I usually record what the doctor is saying using my phone’s voice recorder. Because if I don’t, the only thing that I will remember from what the doctor said is to take enough bed rest (sleeping is my favorite hobby). 😆
Speaking of auditory learners, you might want to ask for Siri or Alexa’s help to read the articles below aloud. They are all a long read. Also, please don’t forget to tell Siri or Alexa to sound like Christine. My voice will make you sleepy, though, so nah I think it’s a bad idea.
Have a blessed weekend, everyone! ❤️
P.S. I’m writing my articles using my phone because my laptop’s in Bicol. Yes, I am challenging myself now to come up with a 1,000-word article that is ready to publish or in other words has 0-1% grammatical and spelling errors and is backed up with credible sources from the web in just 2 hours. It’s doable naman pala. Kangalay nga lang sa daliri. 😭😀 So please do correct me if you find errors in my articles – misinformation, wrong spelling/grammar, etc. I would really appreciate it. 👍👍😊
Home cooking is now easier with all the high-tech kitchen appliances and cooking equipment available in the market. Whether you know how to cook or not, prepping a dish has never been this easy, quick, and fun made possible by these innovations designed to make anyone’s cooking experience more enjoyable.
One of my particular favorites is the Turbo Broiler. You can whip up any recipe you like may it be roasted chicken or choco brownie using this kitchen appliance. Yes, that’s basically from viands to desserts.
How different is it from traditional ovens? I think they are the same as far as functionalities are concerned. But, Turbo Broilers are easier to clean and if you live in a condo, it’s a definite must-have because they don’t occupy too much space when using or storing it.
Actually, the truth of the matter is that I am posting this because I miss eating uga/tuyo/dried fish because I can’t cook it here in the condo. lol It’s my second favorite food next to LIGO sardines. Yum!
I love cooking for my loved ones. I just don’t want them to blame me when they gain weight. 😅 And I must say, all thanks to my family for being the best cooking mentors. They are not easy to please though when it comes to home cooked food.
My parents, most especially, require a particular cut, variety, and texture when selecting and preparing ingredients. My Dad also prefers bland meals, while Mom’s on the salty side. So you can imagine how challenging it was before for me to come up with one dish that will satisfy both of them. lol
But, without a challenge, we won’t become excellent in what we do. And with practice, patience, and passion, I must say that somehow I finally met their expectations. However, there are some dishes that I still can’t get quite right according to their preferences.
My own version of Pancit Bato.
Do check out some of my home cooked meals in the video below, and don’t hesitate to comment or message me if you want to know the recipe for a particular dish. I’ll be more than glad to send it over to you. ❤️
This is best watched in full-screen mode on YouTube. 🙂
P.S. My favorite website for Pinoy food recipes is Panlasang Pinoy. Though I tweak some of the recipes a bit to suit my palate. 👍👍
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:25-34
I’m sure most of us will agree one way or the other that this lockdown and being at home have somehow placed our attention on food. Before the quarantine was implemented, most of us had very busy lives we just never had the time to appreciate good homecooked meals.
Yes, we all got used to “instant” everything because it was convenient given our busy schedules. Now, I believe every household smelled of the aroma of garlic and onions being sauteed and freshly baked goodies. We just have no choice if we don’t want to eat canned goods every day. 😀
Best Meal I’ve Ever Had
The movie “The Shack” resonated deeply with me and gave me hope in these moments of crisis and uncertainty. There’s this one scene where God played the role of a woman named Papa (Octavia Spencer) who lives in a very lovely shack (my dream home) in the woods surrounded by a beautiful garden. It’s basically the type that we’re all craving for here in this world.
It’s this kind of paradise that offers a perfect ambiance of peace and quiet, and yes, that part where she (God) whips up the most delicious meals ever. I believe God is showing us right now a glimpse of what heaven will be like after we overcome the trials and sufferings of this world.
What It Means To Be Truly Living
It portrays the ideal moment of living life without so many distractions, and yet we all know isn’t just possible to attain in this world (yet). What if God allowed this pandemic to happen so we can have a taste of what it really means to be truly living?
Besides, this world wasn’t made to last. And yet we can all look forward to an everlasting home that serves good food (literally and figuratively) all the time that not only nourishes our body, but also our souls.
Home With God
Ah yes, I can’t wait to be in that home and cook/bake like God. Well maybe not as good as Him, but just try to get to know who God really is aside from what we may believe of Him now.
Since that home is still part of what we’re looking forward to now, here are some of the homecooked meals I prepared for my husband and I the past couple of weeks. I know this lockdown meant appreciating homecooked meals. However, there also lingers the fact that we can all gain that unwanted pounds (uh-oh, here comes the bad part).
It’s a good thing I’m married to a man who’s used to hitting the gym consistently before this lockdown began. So, he gets to motivate me in a way when I see him do some crunches here at home. 😉
Ah, yes, Lord. I just can’t wait to live in Your very extraordinary home. How I longed for nothing else except that every single day. It will come soon, but for now, I’ll try to cook as well as I can possibly be and make other people happy. 😀
And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:43
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious, I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:7
Dreaming of being in God’s home soon,
P.S. I’m just grateful to God for providing for all of our needs in His usual unexpected ways and to my husband who helps not only in the kitchen, but in cooking as well. So far, I must say that he has the potential to become an outstanding chef. *wink*
P.S. 2 I am praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who lack food and other necessities. May God provide for them, too, in the same way that He has provided for me and my family. 🙏
I was supposed to write this article last December but the holiday rush, preparation and celebration with the family kept me from doing so.
This article though came in timely as my previous articles for this month were all about gifts (not your usual gift in a box with a ribbon) and the value of serving others through your gifts. I actually didn’t expect that last Sunday’s lecture will also be about that. Ah yes, it always is a wonder how things can be intertwined all because of God’s mysterious ways. 🙂
What is serving and how can we serve in a biblical sense?
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
“…and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:27-28
And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ – Matthew 25:40
I believe one way of honoring God and showing our thanks to Him is by sharing that love to others too. Let’s just say that you felt how much God loves you and it is just too wonderful to keep it to yourself that’s why you wanted to let others know and feel that kind of love as well.
In doing so, they might wonder what is it that’s been fueling your actions and though they might not understand it at first, this can be your perfect response – out of love.
“We love because He first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
In the aspect of serving, we do find ourselves doing that knowingly or unknowingly with our families first and foremost. So last Christmas, I thought about preparing this roasted chicken recipe which was the first in the family’s Christmas celebration tradition.
Do take note though that I am no chef. lol 😀
I was just inspired and taught by my 3 older sisters who are very good in the kitchen and have such superb cooking skills they can invent their own recipe. Yup, no kidding. They really are that good.
Being the youngest, I grew up being the dishwasher. Haha Yes, you won’t believe it but my brother and I take turns in washing the dishes when we were younger. We are the two youngest members in the family, by the way.
On a side note, I just love being in a big family. You might not get to see or talk to all of them at the same time, yet you’ll still have one sibling to bug about every week aside from your parents. 😀
Anyway, as for my roasted chicken recipe, let’s just say I combined all the roasted chicken recipes I could find over the internet and came up with a “hybrid” roasted chicken. 😉
Roasted Chicken A la Bicolana
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 bunch of lemongrass
1 cup butter
½ cup tomato ketchup
1 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
5 cloves whole garlic
2 teaspoons slightly crushed black pepper
4 onions cut into 4 parts
Procedure:
Combine all the ingredients except for butter.
Place the onions, garlic and lemongrass inside the chicken and marinate overnight.
Prepare the butter and remaining marinade for basting.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Farenheit and cook for about 1 hour or until the chicken is tender.
Top it with garnishing, serve and enjoy!
I intend to make this a yearly tradition – out of love for God, love for family and joy in serving others. 🙂
P.S.
Oh and one mistake from the roasted chicken recipe – don’t prepare 1 roasted chicken ONLY especially when there are about 8 persons hoping to try it. lol
I was expecting it to be served as an additional dish along with other meals but it became the main course – ooopps, my mistake. So yes, Mom wasn’t able to try it as she ate late and sadly, no roasted chicken leftover. I have this year to make up for it though. 😀
One thing more, the turbo broiler is a kitchen winner for me, nothing beats. ❤
I did mention in my previous articles I have quite a pile of article drafts for editing and publishing and I am in a rush to publish them all (hopefully) while I am in a period of waiting and time is still on my side.
The summer escapade for me and hubby along with his family for this year was in the cool breeze of Tagaytay. We just had to take advantage of the summer season before the rainy days start to fill the last quarters of our calendar. It was a short holiday break thus the rest of the family members were all free to have this short family time and get-together.
It always is a privilege to spend some quality time with the family despite the busy schedules and varying demands of priorities in life – something that is far too precious to waste. My parents are in Bicol which is a 17-hour land travel to get directly to our hometown. Now that is something that I don’t have the privilege to do. Going to my hometown meant allotting 1 day for travel time then another day to rest which, after doing the Math, requires at least a week if you want to make the most and the best out of your family get-together. Simply put, visiting my family in Bicol is synonymous to careful planning ahead of the scheduled visit.
But well, this is the part where I need to thank God for technology. Skype made the term “homesickness” just a term. Again, family time meant quality time and this requires we set aside time for this despite the busy schedules. If most of us have the same free time, my family and I are able to Skype with one another once a week. And Skype-ing in the family means this – the minimum talking time is 4 hours starting at around 9 or 10pm.
Wuhaaat?!?! 😀
Yep, you can already hear the rooster crowing and we’re still on our “high” conversing with one another. Well, that’s for us, women in the family. For the men, 2 hours is the maximum and they bid their “goodbyes” in the middle of our conversation. The ever popular difference of men and women, eh? 😀
Anyway, going back to the Tagaytay escapade, we tried the Pamana restaurant with its awesome overlooking view of the Taal Lake and the food was superb too. I only captured shots of some dishes though, the long trip sure made us all pretty hungry.
I also loved the interiors which exude the ambiance of an old Hispanic house. Indeed, the concept of the restaurant matched with its name “Pamana,” a Tagalog term for heirloom/inheritance.
Captivating, isn’t it?
We also scouted for anything new in the area which includes this food park called “StrEat.” We didn’t get to try the food stalls though as it’s flocked with a huge crowd when we got there. The next day, there was no plan where we will have our summer escapade. We’ve been traveling without a destination actually and we came to that point of giving up and just head back home because all the resorts we’ve inquired were fully booked. Well, it’s summer so we kind of expected that.
When we were on the verge of turning back, voila, God gave us one resort that’s not so jam packed with visitors but the place was nice (and budget friendly) enough to bond with the family. Hotel Monticello was indeed “heaven sent” hubby and I actually thought it’d be perfect for a wedding reception too. We couldn’t spend overnight though as we’re only geared up for a day tour. When we arrived, we had all the pool to ourselves which means this – LOTS OF SELFIES! Hahaha 😀
Nope, don’t get me wrong, I seldom take selfies. You can actually check my Instagram account for that. I just choose moments best for selfies and those moments that are not. And I only take selfies when nobody’s around, not even my hubby. 😀
Selfie moment. My ever seldom selfie moment.
But really, when it comes to moments, there are just those that a camera snap isn’t enough to capture them all. I guess that’s the reason why God created our memories, an infinite storage at the back of our heads where every single memory is captured and safely stored.
So this one article is up in the memory of my head, but in case I have amnesia days or years from now, I have WordPress to retell and rewind them for me. Ah yes, the joys and perks of blogging – your online journal indeed. 🙂
It’s been quite a while since I last posted about food (I love food but I hate gluttony thus striking the balance) and I bet it is time I post one of my recipes. Not exactly my recipe as this is a traditional dish from my hometown in the Bicol region. Thus, where the nameBicol Express was derived.
You will commonly see this dish served during meal time in our home in Bicol. My Mom and Dad always make this as a side dish which perfectly partners with any viand. There are now a lot of variations of this recipe including the one with coconut milk which contains more meat and less green chilies.
I grew up getting used to this dish prepared and cooked having only 3 main ingredients: lots of green chilies, fresh shrimp paste, and pork meat. It’s also very easy to prepare as you’d only need to saute the pork meat along with garlic, add the fresh shrimp paste until cooked and lastly, put in the green chilies. Then wait until the aroma of the chilies come out and it’s ready to be served.
To give you a background on my cooking experience, it was only when I was 20 years old that I started learning how to cook. I am the youngest among 5 siblings and I have 3 older sisters who are amazing in the kitchen – I ended up being the dishwasher and the kitchen assistant (prep the ingredients). lol
My sisters though knew I needed to learn sooner or later as time will come we’ll all go our separate ways one by one and I need to hone my cooking skills to be able to live and survive independently.
They’ve been such great teachers who raised me to who I am now in behalf of my Mom as she and Dad stayed in our hometown in Bicol starting when I turned 16 and came here in Manila to study in college. The cooking skills I’ve acquired from them proved to be of great help now that I am married – got to please my hubby’s tummy. *wink*
It is, therefore, with such gratitude that I give back to God for blessing me with awesome siblings and to my sisters for teaching me the art of cooking and with everything else.
It’s been a while since I had my last gastronomic adventure. Yes, lest I might fall into acquiring gluttony. So yes, I had to say “no” to eating lots and lots of food through all the multitude of opportunities to do so lying around, healthy or not.
But of course, depriving ourselves completely is never a part of God’s plans. For He wanted us to enjoy the best that life has to offer – that is, with the right kind of discipline and attitude. 🙂
Discipline, you say? If you are like me who now have this conscious effort to stay healthy through my food intake (I am getting older), then this article is the perfect article to read. Going a bit vegan for me is eating more vegetables than meat.
Do read along what Little India Healthy Cuisine has to offer. 🙂
I have to apologize, yes. For this post is long overdue. But it came in timely as it is the start of summer now and beach getaways are on top of the list. 🙂
Beach Essentials
Pure white sand, the hot sun AND our feet. *wink*
I was supposed to write this over the holidays. But well, the holiday season is just the busiest in our calendars – vacations, getaways, dining out with families and friends. But this article is not about the holiday getaway with my fiance and his family last December 2014 at Boracay Island in Aklan, Philippines. Allow me though to post some photos of our holiday getaway there:
Boracay 2014
Fairways and Bluewater Resort
Infinity pool.
ATV fun with the Rome family.
This post will be a food review about one of our favorite type of cuisines – Mexican. We found one at the heart of Boracay inside D’ Mall exactly on our last day – Tres Amigos. Indeed, it was a nice way to cap off our island experience in Boracay.
Tres Amigos Boracay
Tres Amigos’ Menu
Table centerpiece.
My fiance ordered chimichanga while his brother and I ordered beef burrito and quesadilla.
Tres Amigos’beef burrito is one of their best sellers. And I can tell why. It has that smooth blend of Mexican spices that are not too overpowering and mixes well with the mango salsa. Of course, the perfect aroma of Mexican spices never fail to tease my palate.
Beef Burrito
For the chimichanga, it is similar to our beef burritos except that it was fried. When I saw the crisp sides of the dish, my mouth just melted away I just went ahead and indulged myself over a good crispy, crunchy portion.
Chimichanga
The quesadilla will surely melt your heart away. Every part of it was melted to perfect goodness and the smooth texture of the beef and cheese just complemented well with the overall texture of the pita bread.
Quesadilla
I forgot to take a photo of the refreshing mango shake, the perfect all-natural fruit drink to pair with the tasty Mexican dishes we had.
So if you are headed towards Boracay this summer, you might want to try Tres Amigos if your appetite is craving for that Mexican delight and yes, at a very affordable price too. Bon appetit! 🙂
The Journeyman's Moments 