Road Trip

End-of-year get-away, "joy ride" with hubby on motorbike
via Salvador-Benedicto route.
December 29, 2007.

(join the joy ride with us by turning the speakers up a bit)

Music by
ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY

Only in San Carlos

My husband and I went on a road trip to San Carlos with his bike last week. From that trip, I discovered a mystery, and a few good find munchies (well, you guessed.... I always tend to find something for my palate).

First, the mystery. A mind-puzzling phenomenon. I knew about this but never took the initiative to really test it. The mystery is found at Salvador-Benedicto route. Km. 34. You will find the sign post by the roadside. The road going to the north slopes down but what buffles me is that, if you put the vehicle on neutral (or anything that has wheels for that matter), it goes up to the opposite direction which is uphill. Watch the video for the evidence. My husband was just holding the bike so it will not fall. As you can see here, the bike just moved up mysteriously. There should be a scientific reason for this. Ah, I'll leave that to the scientists. I have seen a similar thing at Ara-al. Quite a mystery, huh?

Then the munchies.

Bucayo. Sweet to the tooth, moist and delicious.

ER's Peanuts. It is what the place is famous for. It's greaseless, very fresh. I happen to witness how it was done. I used to think it was baked, but not this one. The peanuts were sun dried and cooked in very hot oil then drained to dry. You can never tell it was deep fried in oil.

Peanut Turon. Ah... this you gotta try. It's crisp and hhmmmm... It's just good, it's beyond words.

Thanks, Manang Edith!

Cebu Must-Munch

I just arrived from Cebu for the Nursing Licensure Exams held Dec 1 and 2. How did I do? What I know is that, I was more focused and physically amp for the exams. Only God knows how I did. Some parts were easy, some were difficult. Oh well, at least I did my best.

Cebu is becoming one of the great cities in the Philippines. I was surprised of their speedy progress. I recall the times when my Mom brought me with her as she frequents Cebu when I was little. Oh, It was around my grade school years, I think. We crossed the seas via those “very slow” ferry boats that took almost 4 hours of agony and torture between San Carlos, Negros and Toledo, Cebu! 35 years later, they have this fast crafts that make traveling between the islands effortless for only 35 minutes! By accident, my friend, Georgen and I, as we were looking for a place to eat, alas, brought into being “Hotel de Mercedes” in downtown Colon (well I guess at that time, colon was the only place to go around).

It is still standing alright after 35 years since I last stayed there! The façade is the same but the inside was completely renovated from what I recollect. Across the hotel was my favorite restaurant, Pete’s Kitchen. Oh, I remember the food they serve!!! At that time, the place was always full. Every time we went there to eat, I always had a mound of rice with only “lato” (grape-like seaweed) and “sinamak” (spiced vinegar) on my plate. Unfortunately, when we ate there, the place was never improved nor had any face lifts. Food was nothing great compared to my day... and the worst part was that “lato” is no longer served.

My only Mom’s sister, Tita Gamay, who’s blind since birth along with her yaya, Tita Acay, stayed in Cebu almost half of her life. My Mom built a small little cottage for her to stay at the blind community of Banilad. Those were one of the most fun times I have had with the company of great and wonderful, group of people. Inspite of their disability, they remained warm, energetic, jolly, gifted with musical instruments and ideal masseuses regarded as their major source of income. This community once held a concert with Nora Aunor as their special guest. Tita Gamay, my aunt, had a solo with her, as she played the acoustic accompaniment for Ms. Nora. Don’t be surprised if I did, too performed that night. Not to sing nor to play an instrument, but to dance the hula to the tune of the familiar Hawaiian song, “To you sweetheart, Aloha…”? I was about 8 or 9 years old then. Both of my brothers went to Cebu for college. So you see, Cebu is quite a big part of my life.

Of course Cebu, being so progressive has SM City and Ayala. One of my favorite places i love to hang around is the Pearl section of the Malls. Ayala used to have a large space for Philippine cultured pearls alone. When I came to visit recently, i was saddened to see only a few stalls with very limited jewelry selections.

One of the greatest things I love about Cebu are the food delicacies.

There’s this Pork CHICHARON, traditionally deep-fried pork skin, crispy, salty and hot. They now come in exotic flavors such as garlic and vinegar, sour cream and onions, and chili. I like the traditional ones with a little meat in the center. The famous kind are the ones of Carcar. But what I got was a large pouch of Chilen (this was my surprise gift for my husband). I heard the Villalonga Chicharon is good too. I serve this with my spiced homemade sinamak or with some balsamic vinegar and VOO (virgin olive oil) as sawsawan.

Why, I wouldn’t go home without some dried mangoes! I got a large package of dried mango chips from Chilen too. I find it tastier than the ones in small packages.

Georgen, my friend bought some AMPAO, a Carcar delicacy made from sweet crunchy rice crispies. They come in shapes of round, squares and rectangles. Sometimes, they are also in all sorts of colors: red, orange, green and yellow. Little kids love to munch these.

Great tasting MASAREAL a bar-shaped concoction of crushed and ground peanuts, sugar and milk, wrapped in white paper, which is then secured by a piece of string or twine. It's gritty, sweet, and absolutely delightful. The famous ones are that of Didang’s. But this will not hold long coz they usually develop molds if not consumed right away. This is far better than Choc-Nut!!!! Yum yum!

I wouldn’t miss PUTO MAYA (murag budbud sa bisaya, negros), two varieties of glutinous rice (pilit and tapol) mixed together and boiled in rich coconut milk flavored with salt, sugar and ginger. This is usually best served with sun-ripened Cebu mangoes and tsokolate, a traditional hot chocolate drink blended from cacao (tablea). This is great breakfast treats!!!

Then, there’s BIBINGKA A LA CEBU, a steamed rice cake made from ground glutinous rice mixed with sugar and coconut milk, and topped with strips of exotic goat or carabao cheese. I happen to get a bite near the Santo Nino church in Colon while waiting for my friends light some candles for Sto Nino. Look at that! It's generous with coconut meat! Now, what could be more spectacular than that?

(Me and Georgen in Ayala Cebu)

The place in Caingin

(most pictures were taken by Jed)

God was so gracious to my family because we were able to go to this summer place for free! a close church friend of ours who owns the place lent us his beautiful place in Caingin. For three fun days, we had the beach all to ourselves! Thank you, Lord!

Dried fish being sold by the national road at Pulupandan.

An assembly of jelly fish on the sand during the low tide.
Jed doing the cartwheel... the house behind him is the place where we stayed. Jed tried to save this little fellow... but he was too late.

Chili Con Carne and Summer Camps

I usually cook chili con carne out of mere “hunch”. Yea, I know what you’re thinking… the result is different every time. But who cares really when this delicious, appetite-arouser is served on the dinner table? More often than not, this family favorite is gone before I’m to scoop a heapful for myself. Mine is a mixed re-invention of American and Mexican. Traditionally, I serve this with a bun and burger patty. The chili is then spread unto it copiously and some grated or slices of cheese.
I happen to serve the same in one of our camping trips at the mountain this summer. So before everyone asks for the recipe, I had to quantify the ingredients and make it available here in my blog. By the way, make room for the bathroom…. It can get crowded after a munificent meal!

Ingredients:
•2 cups softened red kidney beans (soaked in hot water overnight, cook in pressure cooker for 45 minutes). Drain and set aside.
•2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•2 large bulb sweet onions, chopped
•½ kilo ground pork
•½ kilo ground beef
•1 large green bell pepper, diced
•1 large red bell pepper, diced
•6 medium-sized tomatoes, seeded and diced
•2 cans (8ounces) tomato sauce
•1 small can tomato paste
•½ cup broth or water or still beer (this beer thing was a tip from my sis-in-law, Meg). Dissolve the tomato paste here
•1 large can corn
•2 tablespoons chili powder
•1 small pack ginisa flavor mix
•2 heapful spoons of brown sugar
•2 small bay leaves
•dash of cayenne pepper to taste
•sea salt to taste
•freshly cracked pepper
•some dried mixed herbs
•2 minced hot pepper (or sili) or depends on how hot you want it
•the secret ingredient: 3 pcs. Chocolate kisses
•slices or grated cheeze

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the chopped onions with the vegetable oil until translucent. Add in the ground pork and beef and stir for 5 minutes. When the meat mixture is starting to brown and the onions are soft, add in the diced bell peppers and tomatoes. Saute for a minute stirring frequently, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste mixture, cooked kidney beans and the corn. Bring to a boil. Put in the rest of the ingredients. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste, and add more chili powder or hot pepper if needed. Cover and turn to very lowest heat. Simmer, stirring from time to time. If chili starts to stick or becomes too thick, add some more water. It can be eaten after another 15 minutes, but an hour or two on very low heat makes a tastier chili.
Serve with crackers or crusty bread, or surrounding a mound of white rice. I also serve with chips as chili con salsa, use as sauce in pasta dishes, or base in pizza recipes. I usually make a big batch and freeze it for different purposes.
You may top it with slices or grated cheese and garnish with a dollop of sour cream if desired, and/or sprinkle with a little fresh chopped cilantro.
Now that the recipe is delivered, let me tell you about our camping trip.

Our family-church friends invited us to camp at thier newly-purchased, beautiful mountain property near Mambucal Resort. When they acquired this place came an abundant plantation of fruit-bearing trees, a rice paddy and all sorts of “soul-quench” pleasures turned haven to many of us. Along with some very close friends, the trip going up there was bumpy. But this was my husband’s favorite part… the rough-driving with his so called, "4X4". We had to pitch our tents over the tallest part of the rolling elevations of this property where the vast view of the city lights of Bacolod is just gorgeous once the sun sets. During the day, we hiked up a rough mountain trail that linked up to the access way of Mt. Canlaon. We traversed through narrow passes until we spotted some wild horses and a couple “carabaos” at the river crossing. We could hear the torrent waterfalls just a few meters from where we were standing. Realizing we have treked quite a distance from the camp site, we had to take a spin before anyone of us gets lost. We took a different route on the way back and crossed scenic rivers that led up to a vast forest as we climbed down to the picturesque views of the city of Bacolod.
When we were back at the camp, Sitoy, the monkey was sitting on his pole in an inquisitive mood. He was conceited and just wanted all the attention so we spent most of our time teasing the little guy. After lunch, there was a heavy downpour and so it wasn’t until I slipped into a pair of flip flops and stepped out of the tent unto a muddy ground! What was I thinking? Maybe I was such in the “soul-intake” mood that I just eagerly want to feel, smell, savor and absorb everything around me.
As usual, the kids had hotdogs and marshmallows by the fire while I was chef that night. We had the chili con carne, grilled porkchops and salmon bellies.
The owners plan to expand and will eventually house a pool and a country cottage! That was some kind of camp. I’m definitely coming back to this place.

Takatuka.... my place, my haven

My husband and I usually take at least some time off twice a year, just the two of us without the kids. One of our favorite places to go is Takatuka Beach and Dive Resort at Langub Beach. It is situated in Sipalay, about 4 hours away from Bacolod.

Takatuka derived its name from a children's story book written by Astrid Lindgren: "Pipi in Taka-Tuka-Land". This story tells about Pipi Langstrumpf's wild and exciting escapade at a tropical island. The owners, inspired by the story designed their own vision of “Taka-Tuka-Land” with concepts of eccentric architecture. The materials used are all ravaged from garbage turned pieces of artwork: Soda tin cans used as headboard, old stereo transformed into plant boxes, lady maniquins are used as molds to create railings, and other unique crazy ideas! The owners built and did all the structural design themselves.

Visiting this place never cease to amaze me. The food in the menu are all sumpteous, you want to try them all.

Everything is reasonably priced. This is one hiding place where you get your money's worth. The owners are purely down-to-earth people who pampers each guest with personal attention. Sunsets are breathtaking here. This is one place I want to come home to anytime, all the time.

http://jensnursingchronicles.blogspot.com/2007/06/sipalay-sunset.html

http://www.takatuka-lodge.com/

Locsin Reunion

Benefits of Spiritual Retreats

I recently joined the FFI team in Manila to minister to some “big names” of the showbiz world…. yes, I said people from showbiz. Ministry time was astounding! The Holy Spirit’s ministry moved mightily and touched each one of them.

Being part of the ministry team of Ancient Paths Seminar (Family Foundations, Inc.) can be very physically draining. On the one hand, being a facilitator enables my spirit to be so connected with the Lord. For me, these are face-to-face encounters with Jesus as He leads and directs.

After the seminar, I was physically bushed and so I thought of visiting family in Baguio, my husband's birthplace and home town. Every end of summer, I usually take a spiritual retreat. Hence, my sudden decision to take a trip up and spend it there.

I stayed a few days with my step dad-in-law, Heiner, then a couple of days with Tita Pynky (check out PNKY Collection: http://www.pnkyhome.com/). My time with them were just precious. I was not only fed physically, as always, but there's something about Baguio when it comes to spiritual retreats: encounters with Him were the most profound and deep.

My trips to the market and other interesring places, my spiritual walks alone were meaningful moments. I can just bask at His wondrous creation through nature and be free of any concerns about life.

Each day, I was awakened by the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee, the sweet smell of pine, the melodious chirps of the birds, and the awesome views that remind me of Psalm 23 ("He leads me in green pastures and beside still waters). Most of the time, i took pictures of just about anything that captured my fancy. There's nothing like Baguio at this time of year.

Spiritual retreats provide me an opportunity to find deeper meaning to life. It can be wonderfully uplifting and gives me greater fulfillment. Taking time out alone with my God and leaving behind the problems of this busy materialistic world gives me a chance to think more deeply about what is going on in my spiritual walk and with my inner life and hearing more of God's instructions to equip me for the journey ahead.

I had a super great time with God. Having a retreat in Baguio is probably one of the most memorable ones. The weather, the people, the food, and everything about it is just wonderful.

But really, at the end of the day, it’s not about Baguio. It’s all about Jesus. I thank God that He refreshed my spirit. I’m now ready to face new challenges and give out more of myself as I am new again and filled to overflowing!!!