From the hills/SWF

Captured the last traces of a sunset at the back of a resort in Montalban.  There was a swimming party going on for my niece's first birthday.  Fritz and I got bored and decided to take a walk along the path going to  the hills.  Returned to the resort when it started to get dark, afraid we would get lost.:p

What we call the beginning is often the end.  And to make an end is to make a beginning.  The end is where we start from. ~ T.S. Eliot

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Adobong Takway

My mother has been cooking Adobong Takway since I can remember.  Takway are taro or gabi root tendrils or shoots.   It was a much appreciated pasalubong from a certain relative when she visited us.  I did not like takway when I was growing up because of its slimy texture, like saluyot and alugbati, I cringed when there was Adobong Takway on the table.  

The preparation of peeling the outer skin of takway is also tedious.  Although my mom finds it therapeutic.:p

Through the years I've come to love Adobong Takway.  I don't know when it happened but little by little, I find it appetizing, a comfort food.  It's probably from my mom's brainwashing!:p

We have a neighbor who regularly receives a package of takway, dried fish and gabi from her husband in Roxas City.  Like me, the neighbor hates cleaning and peeling takway so she always takes a bundle to my mom who is more than happy to do it.  

Adobong Takway

• Saute garlic and onions, add some pieces of pork (optional)
• Add the cut pieces of takway and saute for a few minutes
• Add water---enough to cook it not to drown it
• Option:  Add guinamos (shrimp paste) diluted in water
• Add salt & pepper, soy sauce (or Kikkoman) and a little brown sugar
• Bring to boil until takway is soft but not mushy; Do not undercook as taro can trigger allergic reactions when undercooked.
• Add vinegar and  taste to figure out if seasoning needs to be adjusted
• Serve hot with lots of steamed rice

I am not sure if this is mainly an Ilonggo dish---I haven't seen or heard of takway in other regions like Ilocos, Bicol or Central Luzon.  Maybe it is called by another name.

I believe takway is a great source of fiber.  It is also very easy to eat--no seed, stem, leaf...it's like eating noodles.  A gratifying, enticing dish---perfect for Lent.

Adobong Takway ala Monserat

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday 

Threesome/Thursday Challenge

A threesome declaring their love for Paris.

Linking to Thursday Challenge

Culion Church/OWT

Purisima Concepcion de Nuestra Senora

One of the sites in Culion Island that was hard to miss is the Purisima Concepcion de Nuestra Senora (Immaculate Conception Church). The church was an imposing structure, one of the oldest buildings in the island.   Its dramatic steps were seen from the gate of the leprosarium. 

A group of Augustinian priests arrived on this remote island in 1622 and established a parish thereafter.  The island was a constant target of harassment and raids by Muslims pirates that around 1740, the superior of the Augustinian Recollects decided to construct a watchtower and fort as a defense measure against the Moro Raiders.  Within the fort, this church of about 25 meters long and 10 meters wide made of hewn coral rock was built.

 

The interior of the church had been renovated since, I'm sure, as the arches reminded me of Silliman University Hall (built in early 1900's).  And I couldn't help but admire the design of the nave and the light coming in.  As this church sits by the sea, the breezes were cool and salty.  It was was closed when we visited because they were preparing for an important religious event the next day.  But the ladies in the parish office were kind enough to let us explore the church.

Looking towards the main entrance of the church, I noticed the gallery for the choir and a stoup standing infront of the door. The yellow tiles are beautiful.

 

Beside the main entrance was the tomb of a Jesuit priest, Fr. Javier Olazabal, who came to Culion Island in 1971 and died on the island in 1988 at age 79.

 

The Immaculate Conception Church viewed from the walls of the old fort beside the watchtower.

 

 Culion Island can be reached by outrigger from Coron town in Busuanga Island; or by a passenger ship that docks here once a week from Manila.  

Culion Island, Calamian Group of Islands, northern Palawan

 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Patio Umbrella/Blue Monday

Garden umbrellas outside The Gustavian at The Terraces in Ayala-Cebu.  A perfect spot when you're dining al fresco---it's also where smokers meet.

Linking to Blue Monday

Orange glow/SWF

If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.  ~ G.K. Chesterson

An orange glow illuminated the sky a few minutes after sunset at Subic Bay; Grande Island on the foreground, Subic mountains at the background.

Linking to SkyWatch-Friday

Tanigue Steak

Something simple I made at home---Tanigue (Spanish Mackerel) Steak on a bed of caramelized onions.  This was succulent and lip-smacking good!  Perfect with steamed rice.:p

Linking with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

Green/Thursday Challenge

All I want to do is to stand in a field

and to smell green,

to taste air,

to feel the earth want me,

without all this concrete

hating me.

~ Phillip Pulfrey

Linking to Dale's Thursday Challenge

Diving in Subic Bay/OWT & WW

From the second floor terrace of the beach-house at Edgewater, I noticed this boat anchored not far away from the pier. Em told me scuba divers frequent the area.  This area of Subic Bay is a marine sanctuary where commercial fishing is not allowed.  Aside from the rich marine life, there are also ship wrecks here--either from the Spanish-American War in 1898 or the World War II.

Subic Bay is part of Luzon Sea at the west coast of Luzon, the biggest island in the Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay.  The shores were formerly the site of a major US Navy facility, now the location of an industrial and commercial area known as the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Sunbeams/SWF

Sunbeams at Subic Bay, viewed from Kamana Sanctuary

Happiness is a sunbeam which may pass through a thousand bosoms without losing a particle of its original ray; nay, when it strikes on a kindred heart, like a converged light on a mirror, it reflects itself with redoubled brightness.  It is not perfected till it is shared. ~ Jane Porter

edited copy

Linking to Sky-Watch Friday

Chicken Salad Croissant

I finished work early one afternoon last week and found myself at the mall.  I was shopping for a new pair of glasses but couldn't decide on the design.  Walked into The French Baker for coffee but ended up having this Chicken Salad Croissant.  And it was quite appetizing!  It's chunky, creamy chicken salad with fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber on freshly baked croissant sided with French Baker's potato chips. It was a scrummy afternoon snack.  Loved the rich, chocolatey brewed coffee.

 Brewed Coffee with  a Brownie

Chicken Salad Croissant 

Join us at Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

Wet, Wet, Wet/OWT and WW

Summer has officially arrived and it's been sizzling hot in Metro Manila.  Last week, the hottest day in 2012 was recorded at 34.4 degrees Celsius.  And expect hotter days [and nights] in the coming months, according to the weather bureau.  

On Sunday afternoon, Fritz and I drove to High Street to cool down and look what we found!

Kids frolicking at the fountain.  They were absolutely having a great time.
Some parents screamed and ran after their children but kids just wanted to get wet.  I heard a dad telling his two boys that the car seat would get wet and the younger boy reasoned that he would sit on the floor. *LOL*

A mom was trying to convince her daughter that the water was dirty, "It's from the toilet," she said.  "But it doesn't smell, Mom!" rolled her eyes and ran to join other kids at the fountain.  Parents looked on helplessly as their kids get soaked, they didn't expect that a Sunday stroll at the mall would end up in a shower party.

Children were fun to watch, they danced in the water with total abandon.  I'm sure the adults watching wished they could join in, too.  I nudged Fritz towards the fountain but he hates to get his paws wet.:p

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained on water." ~ Loran Eisely

@ Bonifacio High Street, Global City

Linking to Our World - Tuesday and Watery Wednesday

Lantern/Blue Monday

A colorful stained glass lantern at the Bag of Beans in Tagaytay. 

Linking to Blue Monday