In the middle of last year, I had to travel to the CALABARZON provinces for work. In the middle of this, I was invited to take a side trip to Candelaria, Quezon to visit Radel Matibag, a young farmer who had just returned from an exposure program in Japan. I wrote about his journey in […]
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Where were you when enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was declared? Chef Ramon Antonio was in Mactan visiting his mother. “I have been visiting my mother in Mactan every month since 2018 (always via PAL for 46 years and counting), [for] at least seven to nine days per month, since that first time she slipped. She […]
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Made gising-gising. This is a vegetarian version that uses patis and vegan bagoong for umami and chili chutney for heat because I had no chilis on hand. It’s… okay. It lacks the savory sweetness that pork offers as well as the bite that fresh green peppers can bring. But all in all, not bad for […]
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A friend sent me ginataang ube made with ube halaya from Baguio, black rice from Kalinga, and kamote and bananas from Tagaytay. I’d been craving ginataan for a while so this was a lovely surprise. And it was delicious! It was still warm when I got it, just freshly cooked. I’d never had ginataang ube […]
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A friend sent me a bag of produce which included these citrus fruits. I really admire their farm because, among other things, everything it grows is organic, and it really does try to give its farm employees decent wages. Agriculture and food security are big now, and a lot of people are taking advantage of […]
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Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to immerse myself in an activity that requires a lot of physical motion and very little critical thought. Working in the kitchen is one such activity. I made masala chai, which I like doing from scratch. Masala chai is Indian spiced tea. It’s made by brewing black tea with […]
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This isn’t a post about watching a puffball explode. It’s about eating it.
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Sometimes, when I can tell what I’ll be craving for breakfast the day before, I’ll make a small batch of cold brew coffee. Nothing fancy. I’ll just let coffee grounds steep in the Fresh press in the refrigerator overnight and enjoy iced cold brew coffee in the morning. Cold brew coffee tastes smoother and less […]
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This may look like a delicious chocolatey drink topped with powdered milk, but it is actually the result of a failed experiment. I was trying to make champorado, but didn’t have malagkit, so I used brown rice. This resulted in forever al dente rice swimming hot cocoa. Now I know why using sticky rice is […]
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It’s a lot of mental and physical labor, labor I don’t always have the time, energy, and sometimes resources to spare, but it’s necessary if I want to take responsibility for this aspect of my life.
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