I have shared with you in a post entitled, “Newbie Farmer” my interest in farming. Aside from trusting one’s gut, getting support from people who know better is one thing that any newbie farmer (like me) should learn.
Luckily, I have a clan of farmers who are ready to share their wisdom and there are people from the institutions who studied the technicalities of farming. Combining both schools of thought serve as a guide to calculate risks, labeling that gut feel, intuition, or whatever it’s called as “scientific.”
Sharing with you information on seminar on “Starting Your Own Vegetable Garden” by Harbest as one of the options to learn the basics before jumping into a larger scale of farming.
- Okay, I haven’t attended this seminar myself (read: conflict in schedule) but I’m guessing that it will present a wealth of information for anyone who’d like to start urban farming. Yes, you may grow those veggies in pots around the house.
So how do I know it will be good if I haven’t attended? Every time I visit Harbest’s office in Pasig, whether I buy a packet of seed or not, the people (technicians, engineers, assistants, even the owner himself) are very approachable, patient, and willing to teach newbies like me.You’ll be surprised to discover their nursery in the building rooftop.
I actually look forward to my visits in Harbest. It inspires me to become a better farmer and gives me a boost that there are expert people (unbiased ones a.k.a. non-relatives hehehe) whom I can turn to in times of doubt.
Contact Details:
HARBEST AGRIBUSINESS CORPORATION
No. 5 Rosemarie Lane, Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Tel. No. 6717411 to 14 Fax No. (02) 6712232
email: itx@pldtdsl.net / harbest@harbest.com.ph
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Thank God it’s Friday.
Thank God I’m Filipino.
I believe that Filipino Adobo is the best food ever.
Adobo is typically chicken, pork, or both, vinegar, peppercorns, soy sauce, garlic, onion, bay leaf. Other variation would have pineapple chunks or hard boiled egg. In any part of the world, Filipinos associate adobo to a taste that reminds them of home, family, and that IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES (well, it’s the new tourism slogan hehe).
Best paired with hot steamed rice, I should get another cup, end this post and enjoy the start of a happy long weekend. To the Pinoys out there, enjoy your adobo.
P.S. To the Filipino-Chinese community and to all the Chinese in the world, Happy New Year!
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We Pinoys are very opinionated and involved when it comes to politics and showbiz. Look at the statuses and shout outs in various social networks since the impeachment trial started out last monday. The high SMS responses of people in various television and radio programs also show how much people want to be heard. And we usually attribute this openness to Democracy.
The long list of experiences when it comes to politics brings together people of all ages, background, gender, even those widespread OFWs that we have globally to talk about it in front of sari-sari stores, in grocery queues, barber shops, in jeepneys, almost everywhere. The seriousness of any situation is usually sugar-coated by some sort of jokes on the side as political drama takes place.
Take for instance the response of SC Clerk of Court Atty. Vidal in the proceedings yesterday when asked about handing over the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN of SC Chief Justice Corona. When she said, “I am really in a quandary…”
Quandary as defined in dictionary.com is “a state of perplexity or uncertainty, especially as to what to do; dilemma.”
Atty. Vidal was in a quandary to hand over the SALN of Chief Justice Corona to the Impeachment Court because of a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the issuance of justice’s SALNs but she is being required by a subpoena from the impeachment court to hand it over as evidence.
Pinoys took it as a cue to now use the word “quandary” in any way possible to make a light joke about “nosebleed” terms in the proceedings. When Pinoys say “nosebleed” after speaking a long sentence in English, it pertains to the difficulty of coming up with statements in English thereby causing imaginary bleeding of the nose. Majority of the population speak English as their second language and some younger generations learned it first before the national language, Filipino.
Looking back at the Ms. Universe pageant in 2010, Venus Raj’s “major major” became an instant hit in the tongues of Pinoy.
This tells us one thing. No matter how serious the situation is, the Filipino resilience allow us to see humor, lightness, and hope in any situation.
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Custaroons: Coined from Custard and Macaroons; sweet indulgence that will surely shoot up your sugar level.
You may enjoy it in its bite-sized or regular cupcake sizes. The “custaroonery” also offers custaroon poppers, which are custaroons coated with chocolate powder, will bring you a unique marriage of sweet and bitter tastes.
Price List: Bite Size Custaroons
bite-size . box of 15: P 180.00
bite-size . box of 30: P 280.00
bite-size . box of 60: P 500.00
bite-size . box of 120: P 900.00
Price List: Poppers
bite-size balls . box of 25: P 280.00 original
bite-size balls . box of 25: P 350.00 coffee
bite-size balls . box of 25: P 350.00 green tea
bite-size balls . box of 25: P 350.00 chocolate
bite-size balls . box of 25: P 350.00 assorted
To order, contact Gigi Gaerlan (0 9 1 8 ) 8 2 8 2 9 2 9
Price details, visit the website: http://www.custaroons.com
If you are too excited to wait and want to pick up asap, the Custaroonery is located inside the Padre Pio Shrine compound in Libis, C5 Road – turn right to Petron gasoline station before Eastwood City.
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Just poring over the menu reminds me of happy times in my travels to Singapore. Let me see if the following descriptions in their menu keep the promise of an ultimate Singaporean gastronomic experience.
Singapore Laksa
Probably the best and most authentic Laksa in Phils.
Definitely on the top list of Singaporean expat’s most missed dishes. A unique noodle dish consisting of Lai Fan noodles immersed in a rich. Velvety soup of coconut cream and spices, then garnished with prawns/chicken, eggs, sambal and finally embellished with dried shrimp, chili, Daun Kesum (Laksa leaf) and mint leaves. P 265
this low-res picture doesn’t give justice to the rich aroma and texture of the real thing
I’d say the probability of “Probably the best and most authentic Laksa in the Phils.”. = 99.9999%
Singapore Food Republic’s Laksa is even better than some I’ve tasted in food junctions or restos in SG.
Iced Bandung
A refreshing and delicious Malayan drink made of chilled milk, rose essence and sugar syrup! P 55
Iced Bandung
Refreshing indeed. I hope they also come in “botomless…”
If you’ll ask me, it’s worth the long walk from the office. Just hoping the authenticity and quality remains consistent as the establishment become popular (and older). There had been lots of restos that had good starts but failed to meet or increase their customers’ level of delight after the first few months or a year since they opened shop.
For those of you working or living within the vicinity, I suggest you try out Singapore Food Republic. Expect a lot of people during busy lunch hours as hoards of working people fill up the place so if your stomach keeps grumbling and can’t wait for longer than 10 minutes, consider dining on less peak times. By the way, they also serve lower priced dim sum at 3pm.
Singapore Food Republic opened last December 1, 2011. It is located at Unit 8, Commercenter 4th Ave. cor. 31st Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
(Opposite St. Lukes Medical Center)
Tel. 925 1988
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Lord of the utmost High, Your loving heart is what makes us one nation.
In these trying times of the typhoon Ondoy aftermath, we lift to you our nation.
Help all those who are still in dire need of rescuing;
Strengthen the volunteers in the rescue and relief operations;
Heal those who are sick, grieving, and weak;
Envelope with your kindness those who are confused and lonely;
Inspire those who are able to contribute what they have;
Clear our hearts to set aside differences and conflicts.
May the Holy Spirit come upon us all to enlighten us,
see Your wisdom in all these, and to understand Your purpose.
Thank you for letting the sun shine on us this morning,
For the outpouring of love by the people who are still able to do so
And for the gift of family, friends, and public service.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
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Most people don’t feel any remorse when they waste bowls and bowls of rice down the drain. This might be because they know that however the day may end, they’ll still have some for the next.
But what if you’re one of the almost 100,000 children that call the streets of Metro Manila home? What if you live day by day scrounging for anything that can ease your hunger-stricken stomach?
A non-profit organization that strives to provide a better future for street children, Virlanie Foundation has helped give home and education to some 13,500 children since 1992 through their 12 Homes and 12 programs within and outside Metro Manila. Just recently, the organization decided to share the opportunity of helping these kids through a program that wishes to address the scarcity of rice available to these street children- Rice Up for Street Children campaign.
“Street children are not only living in poverty; but more so, they are abandoned, neglected, abused and in need of special protection. They are the poorest of the poor,” shares Dominique Lemay, Virlanie Founder and President.
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Having a hard time sleeping so I went to check the fridge and look for something to cook for my bento tomorrow. Hmmm… There it goes- Shrimp. But which one? I bought Suahe from Farmer’s Market in Cubao last weekend while my Mom brought salt water type of Suahe from the Quezon province.
They’re both shrimps so what’s the diff anyway? Well, there are. Let’s go to the more obvious: salt water suahe has paler body color and pinkish (or orangy) head than other suahes. Another thing is that it typically has saltier taste.
Suahes in general compared to other shrimps or prawns are lighter in color, which are typically grayish green to black for prawns.
Prawns are meatier while suahes are sweeter specially when a bunch of live suahes are dipped in boiling water and then turn the fire off immediately. Once the shells are orangy, remove the water and you won’t need any other spice. Natural flavor.
For tonight though, I’m sharing a very common recipe.
Ingredients:
A bunch of Suahe ( I chose the saltwater)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Half stick of butter
2 tablespoons of Margarine
2 heads of native garlic or 4 cloves of Taiwan variety of garlic, crushed.
Procedure:
1) Clean suahe.
2) Over low heat, put in butter, margarine, and garlic. Saut? till garlic emits rich odor and gloden brown in color.
3) Put in suahe. Increase fire temp.
4) Mix to spread the butter-garlic falvor. Cover then put off fire when almost cooked. The remaining heat inside the pot will cook the suahe.
5) Be careful not to overcook or else the meat will be rubbery.
6) Serve with vinegar and crushed garlic on the side.
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Remittances from Filipinos working overseas are at an all-time high. And no, it’s not just because they’re sending back US dollars, Saudi Riyals, Euros or Japanese Yen; but because our modern-day heroes are sending back what’s known as social remittances.
Social remittances refer to ideas, practices, identities and social capital that flow from receiving to sending country communities. It was coined by sociologist Peggy Levitt in her book “The Transnational Villagers and she describes social remittances being transferred by migrants and refugees that are exchanged by letters or other forms of communication that includes phone, fax, the internet or video. She suggested that social remittance affects family relations, gender roles, class and race identity, as well as have a substantial impact on political, economic and religious participation.
This concept isn’t something new for the Philippines. In the 1800s, this was already seen through the newspaper La Solidaridad and the novels of Jose Rizal. Like them whose ideas paved . In the 21st century, blogging is the new form of social remittance of Filipinos working and living abroad. Through their blogs they are publishing their stories online to inspire others. They also advocate for causes, help others and muster support from their readers to help effect change in their own little ways.
With globalization, Filipino migrants are beginning to realize the power of harnessing the potential of social remittance. They may be students pursuing a higher education, a professional with a white-collar job or a migrant working as house help; but all of them have something in common: an economic goal and aspiration.
This year the Pinoy Expat/OFW Blog Awards or PEBA 2011 is geared to recognize the contributions of Filipino bloggers abroad. This year’s theme is dubbed as “Ako’y Magbabalik, Hatid Ko’y Pagbabago.” (I Will Return, I Will Bring Change) as Balikbayans not only send back their monetary remittances; but social remittances as well.
For this year PEBA opens a new blog search called PEBA’s Any Blogger, Anywhere for all Filipino bloggers in various categories, at home or abroad. This year’s blog contest will look into narratives as to how returning Expats/OFW will make use and share their social remittance or their talents, skills and fortunes to bring change to their families, communities and country. Expats/OFW bloggers who will be joining the contest will be required to write a blog entry on the said theme. There is also an ongoing blog contest for OFW supporters.
For 2011, VIPinoy, a service and perks for overseas Filipinos and OFWs offered by Ayala Malls is the biggest sponsor of PEBA. Ayala Mall is providing Trinoma Activity Center as the venue for the awards nights on December 9, 2011 and Market Market as venue for its photo exhibit from December 9, 2011. PEBA is equally supported by one of its long time partner NOKIA and communication giant Globe Telecom.
PEBA will exclusively invite some 200 guests who can make their reservation and confirmation/RSVP of their attendance through VIPinoy Lounges in the different Ayala Malls and the awarding will be watched by a thousand or more and will be telecast live for OFWs to watch.
For more information regarding PEBA, please visit http://www.pinoyblogawards.com/.
Texts by: GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications Inc.
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Farming, in my guess, is probably one of the oldest profession there is. Aside from fishing and hunting, cultivating the land was the way to produce food, hence, answers one of the basic need of mankind.
Commune With Nature
Farming has been the profession of my grandfather whom we call Mamay – local dialect of Lolo or Gramps- and those before him. I have memories of my childhood riding the paragos (cart) pulled by a cow (which lived beside their house). My Mamay doesn’t know how to drive a motor vehicle but he sure was a great with the paragos. My siblings and cousins were in awe when he would know how to make the cow stop or turn wherever he wanted it to go by just saying a word or so. That even if we imitated him, we couldn’t get the cow to follow our bidding. These vacations in our native town taught me some lessons in life that were beyond the teachings of an exclusive Catholic school in the city.
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