Tuesday, November 20, 2018

BROAD BEANS




It’s harvest season for broad beans here in Featherston. With smile on our faces David and I stepped down from the back porch to pick the fruit of our labor from cozy cottage's vegetable garden.


Broad beans, also known as fava beans is a species of the flowering plant in the pea and bean family, fabaceae. They are a good source of lean protein with no saturated fat nor cholesterol. Also rich in thiamin, vitamin K, vitamin B-6, potassium, copper, selenium, zinc and magnesium.


Planting and growing your own is no hard work for keen gardeners because these beans can look after themselves once the seedling plants are established and the stakes that will protect them from gale-force wind had been provided. They are frost tolerant and will germinate in temperature as low as 2C. Unlike other trees and plants that become dormant during winter, broad beans are sown from early autumn up to late winter to develop buds, flowers, and pods and be harvested in late spring to early summer. They can make the garden look alive and green no matter how cold the temperature gets. Another good reason for having   broad beans in your garden is the fact that it is a soil-improver. While growing, the plants take nitrogen from the air and store it in the plants. After harvesting the beans, the plant can be cut down and the soil dug in to release the nitrogen from the roots. The nitrogen released will enhance the soil condition for nitrogen hungry brassicas--cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale etc.


Best way to cook and enjoy your broad beans? 

In our kitchen, broad beans are the 'green' part of our main meal that consists of boiled or mashed potatoes and beef steak. If you have a different taste for beans, there are other means for your palate to enjoy these beans. You can either nibble them fresh after picking or boile/steam them for a few minutes to complement your meal. Last year, we had a bumper crop of this nutty beans, so the freezer really had a lot to work on to make them last for the next season. So as not to bore our palate with the same boiled/steamed beans, I did some research as how to use surplus produce in some other ways. Luckily, I discovered a recipe from a Pasta Cookbook that used broad beans as one of its main ingredients. I followed the recipe step by step  (except I used freshly picked broad beans so no boiling nor peeling was done). What would be more flattering for a cook than see the dish prepared and served appreciated and  enjoyed by choosy tastebuds and tummy? So here is a very inspiring recipe that will give you a really delicious pasta dish: 




Spirals with broad beans sauce



Ingredients

500 gms spiral or penne
2 cups frozen broad beans
4 rashers bacon 
2 medium leeks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ¼ cups cream
2 tsp grated lemon rind 
salt and pepper to taste. 
  
1. Add pasta to a large pan of rapidly boiling water and cook until tender. Drain and return to pan. 
2. While pasta Is cooking, plunge broad beans into a medium pan of boiling water. Remove immediately and cool in cold water. Drain and allow to cool. If the skin of your (frozen) beans had turned a bit tough, do the peeling.
3. Remove and discard rind from bacon. Chop bacon into small pieces.Set aside. 
4. Remove and discard outer leaves and dark green section of leeks. Wash leeks thoroughly to remove all dirt and grit. Using a sharp knife slice leeks finely.
5. Heat oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add leek and bacon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until leek is golden. Add cream and lemon rind, cook for a few minutes. Add prepared beans, salt, and pepper. 
Add sauce in pasta and toss well to combine. Serve immediately in warm pasta bowls. 


Sunday, September 23, 2018

Awakening


Good bye winter, welcome spring!

Springtime means longer days and warmer weather. So it’s time to get up and about, enjoy the view and feel the warmth of the sun shining bright.

I will describe the springtime as the season of hope and new life. During this season, newborn calves and lambs are seen frolicking in green and grassy farmlands.

Around us, deciduous trees that were bald and were ‘sleeping’ during wintertime now start to come alive again and grow new shoots to become green again.

Deciduous trees starting to sprout new leaves

Native New Zealand evergreen trees and other garden plants show their buds starting to burst, giving us the joy and pleasure  of smelling and seeing flowers in different colors.

Kowhai tree (kowhai means yellow in Maori language)
In our own garden, the seeds sown recently start to germinate and are now getting ready to be transplantedWhat’s another amazing scene at springtime is waking up early morning with a cacophony of birds’ songs that starts our day with a smile. Needless to say, the sun that shines bright calms the freezing winds giving us all the warmth to live and breath. 


Yes, springtime means longer days and warmer weather compared to freezing cold wintertime. For us who miss the sun so much, it’s a wonderful time of year that we can take off layers of clothing and be ready to jump into the spring sunshine. However, there are some not-so-pleasant things that springtime brings like the season of allergies. It’s the season when plants release their pollen causing hay fever to those who are allergic to it. And as a consequence, sniffling and sneezing become unavoidable. All we can and have to do is live with it and enjoy the season.

Now I am trying to revive my old blog spot, The Kitchen Hand’s Stories. This had been in a deep slumber since 2011 because of writer’s block that kept it inactive.

It started in 2006, originally meant to be a repository for my manuscripts and articles, but reading amazing food blogs, I was encouraged to include topics of interest to women like me, who love gardening, fine foods and good cooking. It was also a means to keep in touch with my family and friends who got far away from me when fate brought me to New Zealand. 

I would compare welcoming the spring time with the reviving of my own blog site. When I woke up after a deep slumber, I pressed on the keyboard of my computer and was quite puzzled that I found everything in the world wide web different with what it used to be! 

So I decided that now is the time to keep track of the modern technology to keep myself updated and  be informed on what is really happening around and inside the world wide web. 

I hope you would enjoy the new posts and photos I share. Let’s keep in touch more often via your comments that will inspire me to tell you more about life here in the land of the long and white clouds--New Zealand! 

Blossoms of a plum tree


Kowhai


Tulip




All photos © Mel Wood

    



Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Bitter melon


Flowers are really a good and wonderful sight for eyes like mine. The good color, the shape of their petals, and the scent they share to us is really amazing. I couldn't help but wonder how wonderful the hands that make flowers to bloom and get pollinated by nature and make them turn into fruits and veggies to feed the world.  






This year's produce of bitter melon was quite disappointing. I don't really know what the problem is regarding the production. Knowing that they really are hard to plant and grow them in here because they are tropical veggies, they were planted inside the hot house to make sure that they wouldn’t be affected by the strong gusty winds during any time of the year. However, there were days when the sun wouldn't be that cooperative to them as the rays would just be on the open space, although there were days when the sun would be so harsh, that they also get affected by too much heat and no fresh air to do their photosynthesis. Aside from that, the summer season became too harsh and drought was the very harsh enemy of all plants and gardens. As all living creatures know that water is the 'life providing thing for anything in this world. No water, no life, that's a fact. That is why we should really be careful using water, as wasting it would mean devastation for anything depending highly on it to remain alive. 



This season, realizing that there is nothing we could do against nature's decision, we just have to endure it and live with it. Do what we can do and enjoy and appreciate what had been provided for us. So these tiny, tiny bitter melon were this year's produce. I did not mind about their size as nothing could be done to help them develop, other than feeding the vines with organic fertilizer--the comfrey brew and the sheep pellets--when needed. 

As we always and should always learn from our past planting and garden experiences, it would be worth our while to adjust whatever nature necessitates for us to do to accomplish our objective --to produce food from our own garden, do as nature demands--that we make sure that whatever is produced in our garden is from organic elements--using only nature's fertilizer and to beat the enemies, (the insects as you know), from destroying what you have worked hard for. Most importantly, never use anything with any chemicals as the effect would just harm the air that you breath. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Surplus Tomatoes


What to do with surplus tomatoes from your garden?
Well, there's tomato preserve, tomato ketchup, tomato jam...

Back when I have never seen nor heard of tomato paste and tomato sauce (and therefore, spaghetti sauce in tins), I would see my mother slice, deseed and boil tomatoes in a huge cauldron. (This she did when at harvest time, the prices of tomato would be too cheap, like, a bushel weighing eight to ten kilos would cost only Php2.00 to Php5.00. She would then decide to just cook them or feed them to hogs as picking and bringing them to market would cost more.) When the pulp is nice and soft, she would pour everything on a bamboo sieve (bistay in Pilipino and bikse in Pampango) to remove the skin. What remained was a watery tomato concentrate, which she would then pour back onto the huge cauldron, add a little rock salt, then bring to a boil again for several hours until a desired consistency is reached. By this time, the tomato concentrate has turned into dark red, almost brownish color and would be very thick in consistency. It looked very much like what we now use as tomato paste, which she poured into sterilized jars. Since we had no refrigerator back then, she would keep it in the wooden cupboard. She called it tomato preserve and we would use it in place of fresh tomatoes long after harvest season in May was gone. One time, she also experimented on "tomato jam" which she did by doing the same procedure for tomato preserve, except that she used sugar instead of salt and added grated young coconut to it. But we, her children did not really like it, preferring star margarine and a sprinkling of sugar on our pandesal or hot monay. The thought of using "sweetened tomatoes" as a spread on bread was something that simply did not appeal to us as we would always regard tomato as a vegetable.

Last spring, David dug more plots for our veggie garden, so I was able to plant four different varieties of tomatoes--Russian red, Moneymaker, Beefstake, and Gardener's delight. Harvest time, we had more tomatoes than we could consume, harvesting an average of one kilogram per day. Seeing so much ripe tomatoes on our kitchen bench, waiting to be processed, I did what my mother did with our surplus tomatoes. This time however, I froze them whole, halved and quartered. I also made that tomato preserve. However, I did not have to use a sieve to separate the skin and the flesh. Plus, I did not add any salt as I would be freezing it anyway.

I learned how to skin tomatoes from a neighbor, so it came in handy when I had to do the tomato preserve and ketchup.

Here's how to skin tomatoes:

Pour enough boiling water on the tomatoes.
Then cover for two to three minutes.
Drain. Wash with running cold water.
The skin would break and should come off easily when peeled.

Searching for more ways to preserve the tomatoes, I found a recipe for ketchup from a book, "The Cook's Garden" by Mary Browne, Helen Leach and Nancy Tichborne (Mary Brown, Helen Leach and Nancy Tichborne, Published 1980) I altered some of the procedures to make it easier.

You might find it useful too, so I am sharing it with you.



KETCHUP INGREDIENTS
6 kg ripe tomatoes
6 medium sized onions
6 cloves garlic
25 g pickling spice
1 tsp celery seeds
basil (a large stalk and leaves)
marjoram (a large stalk and leaves)
2 bay leaves
6 Tb salt
6 cups sugar
30 ml glacial acetic acid

Skin tomatoes. Deseed if you like. Chop roughly and place in a large preserving pan. Add the sliced onions and finely chopped garlic. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until there is sufficient liquid to prevent the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Tie the pickling spice and celery seeds together. Add the muslin bag and herbs. Add the salt and sugar. Stir until dissolved.

Puree in a food processor. Pour the sauce back into the preserving pan. Add the glacial acetic acid and bring back to the boil. Boil until the desired consistency is reached. This may take from 5-30 minutes depending on the variety of tomatoes used, the degree of ripeness and the season.

Heat clean jars in a slow oven. Pour the boiling sauce into the hot jars and seal immediately.

If you're curious how sweetened tomato tastes here's how to do it:

Tomato Jam

1 kg ripe tomatoes
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups coconut milk
(You can try adding shredded young coconut)

Skin and deseed tomatoes. Chop coarsely then place in a preserving pan. Add brown sugar and coconut milk. Bring to the boil until the desired consistency is reached. Pour in sterilized jars.

Prawns and Celery Salad












Is your tummy tired of take-aways and greasy foods? Give it a break! Here's one interesting dish without the grease. Served with steaming white rice, it is nice and light on the belly.

Prawns and Celery Salad with Ginger Dressing
500 grms prawns, raw
2 large celery stalks and leaves
15 ml (tbsp) rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp finely grated ginger

Steam the prawns until they turn pink. Drain and remove shell.

Cut celery stalks into 2 inches long, then cut each length into very thin length-wise strips.

Fill a small bowl with iced water. Add celery strips to water and sit for 5-10 minutes or till they are crisp.

Drain celery and discard water. Dry with paper towels to remove as much water as possible.

In a large enough bowl, combine prawns, celery leaves, vinegar, sugar, salt, and ginger. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Transfer to a medium plater and serve with steaming white rice.
Enjoy!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

ALL SOULS DAY




Appreciating Cemeteries

IT’S another All Soul’s Day. And as our faith and tradition dictate, we are again trooping to the cemetery to honor the dead and our dearly departed. 

For many people perhaps this resting place is one eerie place during ordinary days--when white mists seem to float in the dark night air, and the round reddish moon illuminates the white painted tombstones. The spookiness of the place is one scary sight. 

It may sound strange, but the cemetery means different things to me--a tranquil resting place, a vast playground, a refuge, and more. Of course, this mindset has something to do with the fact that our family house in San Jose, Santa Rita, Pampanga where I grew up is very much adjacent to our town’s cemetery. So near that from fence to fence, the distance is measured at less than ten meters. That probably explains why I can be comfortable inside it and have actually become so used to its “eeriness.”

Fact is, I have a lot to thank this cemetery for. In my childhood, it served as a vast playground for my playmates and I. Here was where we flew kites in the afternoon when the wind was favorable, where we ran for cover, while playing hide and seek, where we gave vent to our surplus energy as kids, climbing its high fences and hopping from one tombstone to another while chasing each other. 

I remember too, that whenever a funeral was held, we would position ourselves atop tombs and made sure we had a good view of the deceased inside the coffin, and the wailing and weeping relatives. And mind you, we even commiserated with those who fainted while the coffin was being lowered into the grave. I would say, it was that exposure to funerals that taught me about the inevitability of leaving this world and the sadness of being left behind. 

In 1993, this same cemetery saved our homes from being completely wiped out and buried in fifteen feet deep steaming lahar. Its high fences served as our community’s fortress, which prevented lahar from flowing into our neighborhood, sparing us from further damage. 

Today, I have all the more reason to go and visit the cemetery, as it just recently embraced to its fold, my own parents. They are now under its care. 


Good for me and the rest of our family, we need not travel far and brave the heavy traffic (as people from the city have to endure to get to the cemetery where their dearly beloved departed are resting). All I have to do is to climb its not-so-high fence now to get inside. Or if I can’t climb that fence anymore I still can look out from my bedroom’s window and from there see where my parents' physical bodies now lie in eternal peace in preparation for the resurrection as promised by our Lord Jesus Christ!


                                                                                - 30 - 


Thursday, September 23, 2010

KINDNESS OF STRANGERS


KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
 December 2010

Last year, David and I decided to spend two weeks of our Christmas break on a holiday exploring parts of the South Island I hadn’t seen before. We drove along state highways, discovered back roads and crossed bridges old and new. Every now and then, we would stop to take photos of anything that took our fancy. 

Cruising along State Highway 1 in our black Subaru, we stopped by a paddock between Cheviot and Greta Valley to take photographs of bales of newly rolled hay lying on verdant hills against a backdrop of grazing flock of sheep. Thinking it would take only a minute or two, David left the car key inside, closed the car doors then crossed the road for the photograph. 

A few photos later and we were back to our car, only to find out that we locked ourselves out of the car! We were in the middle of nowhere with no houses nor people in sight! And everything that would enable us to get in touch with people who could help us was inside the car! 

Frantically, we flagged down the first approaching car for help. In the car were three English tourists touring the South Island for the first time. After telling them our story and the help we needed, they agreed to let us use their cellphone to call AA for assistance.

After what seemed to be an eternity, we were able to get hold of an AA man who assured us that help would be coming in about an hour. We thanked our new friends for their kindness. Hearing that it would take us an hour outside the car waiting for help, they left us a bottle of water saying that we could go thirsty under that searing noonday sun. 

It was heartwarming to know that there were people who were just too happy to be of help even to strangers like us. Come to think of it, we may never see them again. It was an awkward situation we found ourselves in, but the kindness of these strangers just made it possible for us to laugh about it.

Bracing ourselves for the long wait, we leaned on the car watching traffic go by. Then we saw a red four-wheel drive made a U turn. In a matter of seconds, it was pulling over beside us. In it was a couple, who introduced themselves to be locals and who sensed that something was not right. “Are you guys, okay?” they inquired "Is there anything we can do for you?" We told them what happened and assured them that help would be coming soon. We thanked them for their concern. Realizing that everything was taken cared of, they bade us goodbye and drove off. 

You could just imagine how relieved we felt when help arrived after thirty minutes and not one hour! The AA man was able to skillfully insert a special rod through the car window and fish for the car keys inside. 
The AA man
I was completely bowled over by the experience of meeting strangers who were just too willing to respond to other people's call for help without hesitation. Truly, the innate goodness of humans.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Giant Ostrich egg

The ostrich and chicken egg

What do you do with an egg as big as this one?

Driving through Waitomo Caves Road on our way to the Waitomo Caves to see the glow worms, we chanced upon a place that advertises ostrich eggs. Was it serendipity, I wondered. The previous night, David and I had dinner at the Chateau de Tongariro where David ordered a salad dish with ostrich meat in it for his entree. The meat was sliced paper thin and was served on a nest of greens, and dressed with a dash of vinaigrette. I did not really like the taste, maybe due to its texture which was quite slippery and not meaty at all. David said he could not really tell whether he liked it or not because it only teased his palate due to its thinness. So he decided that next time we find another restaurant that serves ostrich meat, he would try it again.




Anyway, because we were intrigued by the taste and texture of the ostrich meat, we wondered about the eggs! So we stopped by the place which turned out to be a B&B place as well. A bubbly lady by the name Ann Barnes (we presumed she owns the place) answered the door and our inquiry. She asked us whether we wanted the egg empty or whole. "We want to eat it, so we want a whole egg and not an empty shell" David said laughing. She led us inside her house and we were awed to see such huge eggs! Some were sitting on her dining table, and some were on special basket containers on the floor. But some of them were obviously just eggshells because they have a bore at one end of the shell. We later learned that she's also selling empty shells to crafters for 20 dollars each!

A single ostrich egg weighs an average of l.5 kg and is equivalent to 15 regular sized eggs, Ann explained to us. She advised against cooking it by boiling, saying it might not cook inside. "You can use it for omelettes, pies, quiche and any dish that needs eggs," she said, then showed us how to drill a hole into the hard shell to get the egg inside. The egg would keep for a month and could be divided into little containers and frozen for future use. It was such a useful information because it would not be possible for us to consume that big egg all at once.

Armed with that information form a lady who knows a lot about ostrich eggs, we went home with this giant of an egg and did what she told us. After David bore a hole at one end of the shell, I beat it and divided it into five small containers then froze four containers. Tomorow morning, I am planning to make a veggie omelette for breakfast.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

FLOWERS FOR IMA

Mothers' day

It was Saturday. The next day May 8, the world would be celebrating a special occasion called Mother's Day. At work that morning, there were seven of us seated at a long lunch table--six middle aged ladies and a young man in his early 20s. Our conversation topic centered on Mother's day and what this young man would give his mum on this yearly celebration.
"None," he replied and added that he had no idea what else his mom wanted or needed. His mom, by the way, is a famous artist in New Zealand and according to him had been given the honor of knighthood by the Queen and is now called a 'Dame'.

"Give her flowers," I suggested. "A decent arrangement of roses from flower shops here would cost  a little less than a hundred dollars."

"Or if you want something affordable, there are flowers at the supermarket," Vanessa, the lady seated next to me seconded. 

"Bring her breakfast in bed," Sue, the lady seated at the head of the table suggested.  "It doesn't have to be something pricey, even simple things like doing something for her would please any mum," she added. 

The young man did not respond to any of our suggestions, which I took to mean he was thinking about them.  

But that conversation and my own suggestion reverberated in my thoughts.  "Give her flowers." That was something I haven't done and would love to do next Mother's day for my own mother.  

Honestly, I first thought about that--giving flowers to my mother--a long, time ago. Until one occassion triggered that deep thought of the absent-minded-me. That was during the early 90s and our Publisher/Boss was having another idea for a new weekly magazine in Pilipino language. So, Tess, Glo and I were asked to come to her house in Wack-Wack for a brainstorming session. 

In the middle of that meeting, the Boss' daughter arrived with a bunch of flowers in her arms. (If I remember right, they were white lillies.) The younger woman apologized for disturbing the meeting, then approached her mom to give her a kiss and hand the flowers she was carrying. 

I saw the old woman's face glow with delight as she took the bouquet of flowers from her daughter. Her eyes were glowing and the smile on her face clearly showed her pleasure with her daughter's love and thoughtfulness. 

The Boss then excused herself, sprang from her seat and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she was back at the meeting table carrying a tall, crystal vase. Our eyes focused on her while she carefully arranged the flowers in the vase filled with water. With a wide grin on her face and a gentle touch on the flowers, she blurted out "so beautiful!". Satisfaction and pleasure was marked clearly on her face when she moved towards her working table and carefully placed the flower vase on top of a pink doily. Facing her daughter who waited for her, she planted a kiss on the younger woman's cheek before bidding her goodbye.
  
That scene left me thinking to myself. Would my own mother appreciate flowers too? Would she be delighted as well to receive flowers on Mother's Day or even on her birthday? Our mother was not used to receiving flowers from us her children, but flowers would be something different for her to receive. 

I resolved to buy her flowers on the next Mother's Day. Unfortunately, several Mother's Days passed by since then and even her birthdays came and went but no flowers were bought by me for our Ima. 

Then all of a sudden in 1998, with nary a goodbye, she slipped away, leaving all ten of us, her children and a few grandchildren behind. 

Finally, I was able to bring her flowers for the first time on Mother's day in 1999. They were beautiful white roses which I tearfully arranged on a simple vase and carefully laid on her tomb. Sadly, she was not able to see the flowers I brought for her. And I did not get to see her face light up at the sight of flowers, nor did I hear her thank me for them. 

I would have traded anything in this world that day for that last chance to hear our Ima call my name, see her face light up and smile at me as I bring her flowers on Mother's day. 


Happy Mother's day to all mothers. And to everybody who still have their mothers around today, treasure them. You never know when you won't be able to hear her call your name again. 







Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Buskers all over

An elderly couple giving smile to passersby


Shortly after I arrived in New Zealand and my husband started showing me around, I would always notice buskers in big and small cities and sometimes even in small towns. I was curious about them and they never failed to fascinate me. 
On occasions when David would go to Wellington for business meetings, I would sometimes tag along and he would drop me off to where there were shops I could indulge in my "retail therapy". To buy time, I either walked in and out of shops or just sat on the park observing people moving round and about. I could not control my hand clicking the camera when birds flying and landing on the park pick up bits and pieces of some people's snacks or lunch they shared with their feathered friends. 

One of my favorite hang-outs was Cuba Mall in Wellington. It seemed to be one of the favorite places in the city for buskers. Let me tell you first that Cuba mall was not like the SM malls of Manila, which were huge, multi-story buildings full of shops and people. Rather, Cuba Mall was a stretch of road where there were lots of shops on both sides.

I remember an instance when my eyes caught sight of something new in that spot of the mall where there used to be an empty space. There stood what looked like a newly-built monument. The 'statue' was that of a young man, tall and lean, donning a suit and a hat that I recalled seeing from photos of men from a generation ago. The whole thing was the color of bronze-y, muddy brown and was glistening under the mid-day sun.

Seeing that there were a handful of people milling about it, I took a cursory look, then a second glance. It was then that I noticed something unusual about the 'new monument'. The 'statue' in it was standing on a one meter by one meter platform and at the foot of the 'monument' was an opened overnight bag (containing some tools used by a builder or a carpenter) with the same bronze-y, muddy brown color. When somebody from the crowd waved his hand on the face of the 'statue' some of the girls around started to giggle. A cheeky bird perched on his hat and other passers-by started doing their bits to distract the 'statue'. Another woman readied her camera and shouted, "Smile please!" That was when I saw his eyes moved! He was not a statue! He was alive! A real person busking as a stone monument! When onlookers started clapping their hands, I also clapped mine. Why, he was able to deceive me for a few minutes! Unbelievable! He looked like a real bronze monument to me! I was kicking myself though, for not bringing my camera and not being able to take a photo of that amazing busker!
Two oldes doing their music


I have since then made it a point to always bring my camera whenever we go out of town. But it was always awkward approaching buskers and asking them if I could take their photo while performing. The few shots I took of them, I would say, were not as satisfactory as the talents on display. 

The 11 year old girl playing violin with a fan.
Another one that really captured my fancy was a young girl we saw at Alexandra in the South Island. She must be around 10 or 11 years old and she was making really beautiful music with her violin. Written on a piece of paper on the violin case at her feet was her reason for busking: 'fund raising for a school trip'. After dropping two gold coins on the violin case at her feet, I asked her if I could take her picture. She said yes, so I did. And then an elderly woman who just could not keep her amazement to herself dropped two or more gold coins onto the violin case before giving her the thumbs up sign.

Honestly,  my fascination with buskers started when I was just starting as a beat reporter for a weekly tabloid in (sigh!) 1982. Title of tabloid was Morning Free Press. Unfortunately, there was no press freedom back then. The publication was closed immediately when the Conjugal dictators reigning in the coutry accused the publisher and his staff, including me of being "pro-communists." Anyway, that's another story I am willing to tell later. 

Back to our topic, let me tell you about the first busker I met while doing my job as a newspaper reporter back then. On the right side corner at the entrance of the Santa Cruz Church in Manila (where I used to go to hear mass on Sundays), I would always see this man dressed in white shirt and khaki shorts with a white 'good morning' face towel on his shoulder. He was propped up on a square piece of wood with rollers underneath it, that enabled him to move around. He looked clean despite the fact that rain or shine, he was always exposed to the fumes and dust and grime on the streets of Manila. He had no hands and no feet. Birth defects, I learned later when I had the chance to talk to him. He suspected that his mother tried to abort him while still a foetus. But he never voiced out his suspicion to his mother, he said. His lower limbs stopped at his mid-calves and looked like stumps where legs were supposed to be. His arms were stumps from one or two inches from the elbows down. And to make matters worse, his empty eye sockets were mere slits on his face. It was a tough role assigned to him by our Creator. But he refused to be a burden, he said. So at a young age, he started to look for ways he could earn a little to get by. He learned to play the harmonica by pressing the instrument in between his stumps of arms and bringing it to his mouth. An empty tin can encased on his left leg stump was used to tap on the ground as accompaniment to his harmonica music. Church goers and passers-by would drop coins onto his second tin can that was conspicuously placed in front of him. Some other days when he felt like the people giving alms were tired of him, he would stray from his favourite post and would play his harmonica within the vicinity of that area. He could not stray far for obvious reasons. With the kindness of other people and his music he managed to get by on a daily basis.
The second time I talked to him, I was with a photographer who took snapshots of him while performing. Pity that I did not keep any for myself. To this day, I am reminded of him whenever I see buskers around. Whatever happened to him after my interview with him, I have absolutely no idea. But one thing I was sure of, he was a brave man who lived to the challenges of his role in this world.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Hearty Smoked Fish chowder

Nothing beats fresh vegetables when it comes to good cooking. However, chopped, frozen veggies are sometimes practical, especially if you're pressed for time and you just can't be bothered preparing the ingredients--chopping, dicing, slicing, etc.--which is very time-consuming.

This smoked fish chowder was one of those recipes I saw on "Food in a Minute" (a one minute advertorial program to fill gaps between programming), which got me interested. However the recipe required for a packet of ready to cook frozen potatoes, capsicum and onions. Stingy me, would rather use fresh veggies (some of which may come from our garden), rather than buy the more convenient packets of frozen goodies. So I peeled, diced and sliced equal amounts of potatoes, capsicums and onions. Plus, I altered the quantity in the ingredients as the original recipe was meant for 4 - 6 people. I do not like using butter so much, so again, I used substitution--olive oil instead of butter. I'm sorry, I could not tell the difference in taste had I used butter, but there probably isn't much difference.

The picture may not have done justice to the taste of the dish because I took the photo in a rush before dinner, but David and I find it really nice. He asked me to do it again soon.

Hearty Smoked Fish Chowder

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 leek, trimmed, rinsed and cut into 1 cm slices
1-2 stalks celery cut into 1 cm slices
1 tbsp flour
1 cup vegetable stock or water
3-4 pieces medium size potatoes
1 piece onion
1/2 cubed red and green capsicum
1 cup frozen sweet corn
250 g smoked fish fillet, skinned and flaked
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped celery leaves
1 cup of milk
1 tsp (optional) grated lemon rind

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the leek and celery until tender, but not brown. Stir in the flour and cook over a low heat for 1 minute or until frothy.

Gradually stir in the vegetable stock and milk, stirring continuously as the sauce thickens.

Add the cubed potatoes, green and red capsicum and onions. Add sweet corn. Simmer gently stirring regularly until the vegetables are hot and tender

Stir in smoked fish, herbs and lemon rind if using. Season as wished.

This can be divided into four servings for small appetites.

Crispy Vegetable Rolls



After three days my mung bean sprouts were ready for the harvest and for the wok. I don't know why but even after years of making this lumpiang prito, there would always be excitement and a feeling of satisfaction as I look at the pile of just-rolled lumpia on my kitchen table ready for frying and freezing. Moreso, if they were rolled properly and they are in uniform sizes.


Here's how I did them:

Lumpiang Prito
(Vegetable Spring Rolls)

250 gms ground pork
500 gms mung beans sprouts
1 medium size carrot (grated)
1 good size sweet potato (grated)
1/2 small cabbage (shredded)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch (for sealing)
soy sauce to taste
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Vegetable oil for frying

Heat oil in a big enough wok, saute garlic and onion till fragrant. Add ground pork and cook until pork loses its raw color. Add the chicken stock and boil for five minutes. Add the grated sweet potato, carrot and shredded cabbage, Cook till veggies wilt then add the mungbean sprouts. Cook for five minutes more, turning the veggies to make sure they don't go soggy.
Remove from heat when veggies are cooked. Transfer into a colander to cool and drain.

Dissolve cornstarch with a little water, bring to the stovetop and heat, stirring until it thickens. This can be used instead of a beaten egg to seal the spring rolls.

Separate the spring rolls skin and cover with a damp cloth to prevent from drying. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the filling onto the skin about two inches from the bottom corner, then fold it over the filling and roll upwards encasing the filling. Fold in the corners and press down firmly to seal, creating an envelope. Moisten the left and right corners of the skin with the cooked cornstarch and seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and skins.

Using a deep fryer or a deep work, heat the oil until almost smoking and begin frying your lumpiang prito until they turn golden brown.

Drain with paper towel.

Vinegar Dip:

In a small bowl, combine half a cup white vinegar, 4 cloves or more garlic (crushed), half a teaspon ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Mung Beans Sprout



David loves crispy vegetable spring rolls (lumpiang prito) dipped in ketchup. Sometimes, he prefers Mang Tomas Sarsa ng Litson, while I am a vinegar dip (made with white vinegar, lots of crushed garlic, a little salt and black pepper) fanatic. I make lots of these and freeze them in packets of 10 pieces, ready for when he wants something crispy for lunch.

I am quite choosy with the mung bean sprouts I put into my vegetable spring rolls, though. I prefer them when they are just two or three days old--when the beans are still in their 'button' stage and the 'tail' is just about a centimeter long. At this stage, the sprouts have a nutty texture and are more preferable than the fibrous texture of long "tailed' sprouts. So I grow my own to make sure they are in the right stage of growth when I need them.

Mung beans are definitely one of our comfort foods when we long for the warmth of home. Unfortunately, they are high in uric acid and at a certain stage in our lives, we just have to accept that we could no longer indulge in 'ginisang munggo' every Friday. Not to worry though, we can still have 'lumpiang prito' since there other ingredients to it other than mung beans sprouts. With all that uric acid talk, mung beans are still a good source of Vitamins A, B, C and E, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Amino Acids.

If you want to start sprouting your own, here is how to do it:

First you have to have a bean sprouter. Mine is made of plastic--round, three layered. The first and second layers are transparent and there are small openings on the side where water drains so the beans are not swimming in water. The third layer catches the water that drips from the first two layers.

If you are like me who prefer more beans than roots: Rinse the beans and drain them every 8 to 12 hours for two to three days.

For long roots: rinsing and draining should be done in 4 to 5 days.