Believe it or not, up to this day, my mother has not given up trying to feed me vegetables. She ordered Ampalaya (bitter gourd) con Carne when we had dinner on Saturday. Sure, the dish looks attractive---love the way slices of ampalaya were arranged around the plate. She assured me while they were munching ampalaya that it's not as bitter I think it is, and it's stir-fried, not raw. I obliged by taking a bite but I couldn't swallow it. I know it's a good source of vitamins A, B and C, iron, folic acid and calcium but I just can't take the revolting acrid flavor. Sorry, mother, I'm a lost cause.:pThe beef tasted good though, and tender, without the bitter after-taste of ampalaya.
Ampalaya has been a folkloric cure for generations but has now been proven to be an effective herbal medicine for many ailments---most significant of which is diabetes. Ampalaya contains a mixture of flavanoids and alkaloids that make the pancreas produce more insulin that controls the blood sugar in diabetics. It's also one of the best herbal medicines for it's ability to help with liver problems and HIV. It is also used in the treatment of skin diseases, sterility in women, as a parasiticide, as an antipyretic, and as a purgative.
Too bad, my taste buds were probably traumatized by its unpleasant flavor---when I was a kid, my grandmother used to give us pureed ampalaya leaves to cure our coughs. I cringe just thinking about it.:p
18 comments:
To each his own ika nga. I love ampalaya - the way we cook it back home with shrimps and egg ginisa, or the way the Turkish/Mediterranean dish of stuffed ampalaya in tomato sauce.
Now my waterloo is okra. It's too slimy for my taste. Hubs cant force me to eat it.
It's 1130pm and I'm hopping to your blog. Nagutom ako! I didn't eat ampalaya until I went to college. Nainfluenced ako ng friends from the North na kumain ng iba pang gulay. =)
ako naman I eat ampalaya kapag yung cousin ko ang nagluto, kasi she knew the trick how to get rid of the bitter taste. I tried it once but to no avail, my dish ended up bitter.Two days ago, I cooked paksiw na bangus with ampalaya, I didn't eat it though but I like the touch of bitternes sa paksiw.
Then, my mom used to feed all my nephews and nieces with the juice from it's fresh leaves, one time lang naman, para daw hindi lumaking picky eater, kasi nga daw if they eaten the most bitter veggies ever, what else they cannot eat?
Ay, bongga ang arrangement nito, hehe. I eat this dish, but my kids are not really fond of it.
Happy FF! Ingat (at may bagyo)
My FF:
Looks yummy.... Your just like my hubby... He can't take the taste of ampalaya also. But practice makes perfect... Because I'm always cooking my favorite vegetable, slowly he's getting used to it.. Happy weekend...
it does look good. ako din not much of an ampalaya eater, pilit lang ako ni hubby. he he
P.S. Hi Fritz. he he
here's my entry for this week:
http://djmarinas.blogspot.com/2009/10/chicken-adobo-flakes.html
Mama Mia, very neatly arranged! Arrangement pa lang masarap na!
Want a piece of Spare Ribs? Come and join us for a feast.
hi Dj! Fritz says hi back.:p
hi Willa! my mom prepares ampalaya by crumpling it with salt, nawawala daw ang pakla--pero nalalasahan ko pa rin e.:p
ganon pala yon...baka yon din ang purpose ng lola ko. di nga lang s'ya successful (lol).
hi Photo Cache! i find okra equally disgusting (lol). parang laway! my family is a bunch of vegetable eaters--i don't know how i survived. thanks to my maternal grandmother pala--growing up, she had a mini-grocery store. ako siguro ang dahilan kung bakit nalugi yon (lol).
Favorite ko ampalaya. But I remember that I used to hate it too... mainly because it was forced on me when I was a kid. :)
Hi Luna, nice presentation!
I am sure i can eat the meat but ampalaya prepeared that way parang di ko makayanan. hehehee
Happy weekend!
ang taray ng presentationng ampalaya con carne na ito. this is one of my faves!
Delicious! And nice presentation! :)
youll less likely to see me eating ampalaya. that's the only remaining vegetable that i dont eat.
not really a fan of bitter gourd. in fact, in our pinakbet, that is the only vegetable i left out, but looking at this dish, it is too hard not to taste it. :)
I love ampalaya with beef but I have never seen it presented the way it is shown in your photo. Delicado duon sa ayaw sa ampalaya, mauubos yung beef kaagad LOL.
wow nice presentation and looks yummy
pag amapalaya con carne, i taka a bite/taste of the ampalaya to check kung kaya ko ang pait. pag ok e d solve, if not, ill get the carne and lots of it *lol*
my entry for food friday is here
Great day for us Food Friday Eaters :)
Thanx for the Visit :)
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