Overcast for a week. Soup and expat cooking

     There had better be narra flowers on all the narra trees after this.  PAGASA however, has declared more rains. Thing is, here in Santa Rosa, it has hardly rained.  It's been cool, overcast, gray with the sun peeking once in awhile.  I think I prefer more showers than these light ones, and drizzles. Just so alanganin (uncertain/undecided).

   On one such day this past week,  I got comfort, real comfort food, so unexpected at my door.  Soup, from my Indonesian neighbor!  Penang Hokkien Mee, she said (husband is Malaysian and this gets his thumbs up).  I salivated seeing the sambal belacan and the soup. She had separated it for me to refrigerate and eat at my leisure.  She's got to be kidding. Why would I make this wait?  It was so very masarap, enak, delicious. 

oops I should've uncovered the soup

This is what I had made. Fish fillet with papaya-mango salsa from the Maya Kitchen

    The same week, I had three neighbors come over on the same morning.  As soon as they settled, I realized I had a cookbook for each of their nationalities.  All three do cook, and in fact we are having a Thai lunch next week.  There is a good mix here isn't there.  Same time last year, a Sri Lankan neighbor who was leaving for home gifted me with something like croquetas--I forget the name and couldn't pronounce it anyway.  The real thing was meant to be spicy, but she cooked it to my taste buds. I would have liked spicy, as I did the sambal above, but I appreciate the consideration.

     Anyway I quickly handed them their respective books.  My Thai friend said I was quite lucky to have the planner with recipes and photos of Her Majesty the Queen Mother.  It contains her personal favorites and specialties, not necessarily Thai.  It is a unique book and I thank an old Thai friend for it.

These mothers are amazing, they've been producing yummy treats and meals for us.  There must be a requirement for expat wives to be excellent cooks.  I have not met one who wasn't.  

My husband's mother was from the North (below Ilocos though); mine from the South (Negros)

Then again, I have experienced having to cook (and sharing the food) while overseas with my husband...and surprisingly came up with a super adobo if I may say so myself.  Staff at the apartment hotel must have been hungry when they smelled the garlic. They tried to convince me to takeover the restaurant  which was closing.  My husband's Filipino colleague must have just been homesick when he raved about it. Ah, the pleasure of not having a ''history'' somewhere else, being new, or anonymous haha.  Seriously, if anything, it's probably confidence borne out of necessity that has produced some culinary talent. In other words, walang ibang magluluto ng gusto ko kapag nasa ibang bansa.

Weather in Sta. Rosa Saturday March 3

     Mainit na. Pero malakas ang hangin kanina. Amoy summer na.  Thank you to someone who commented on the "palochina" post saying she/he was looking for furniture here and thanking me for an informative post. Hay may nagbabasa nito. It feels good to know the information is helping.  Now if I can only blog better and make it more interesting. 

   We're back to the beginning of this blog, where I posted photos of the Narra trees in bloom.  A week ago I walked down the street and inhaled the perfume again.  I looked up and there were all the tiny yellow flowers.  It is time.

San Antonio de Padua, Silang

    Along the national highway there were signs. "San Antonio de Padua".  Finally on the way home from Tagaytay, we turned left to where the sign pointed. It is also the road toward a "Manila Zen Buddhist" place.  The road also leads to Silang town proper, and it's a long way (did not note how far) before the church. 

   It was 2:00pm, but we apparently were in time to see a bride alight from a Studebaker (with a black vintage trunk on the rear). Wedding marches, to my mind usually begin at 3:00pm. 2 was unusual for me.  This was serendipitous, because the kid has been curious and interested about weddings lately, owing to her age and stage.  An aside--she actually wore a formal dress that day, so she could have passed as a wedding guest, except that we the parents were in extremely casual attire.

   We had the sense that this church must have been built (or renovated?) specifically for weddings. It is built with bricks, the interior is charming, and it's exterior design I am sure, attractive to many brides looking for a Tagaytay venue. I would advise couples to wait until its parking area is completed though.  Not very pretty seeing steel bars poking out of hollow blocks and cement in the center of it all.  The site is presumably a pillar for a statue.

Sunday afternoon mass?

     As it has happened twice that relatives call me hurriedly on a Sunday afternoon to inquire about time and location for the next mass nearby, I am sharing this link to the Don bosco parish in Sta. Rosa.    

http://sjbparishsantarosa.org/

   On both occasions, my cousins found themselves too "alanganin" for mass in Manila, yet to late for mass in Tagaytay or Batangas from where they came.  I remember when ten years ago this parish first opened, we had also stopped by after a trip to the beach. I remember seeing a few other families presumably having done the same. You can tell by the sunburnt faces and beach shorts attire. (Our churches have a dress code, though).

   The 4:30pm service seems just right for those heading home to Manila. My cousins were unaware of this parish, found along the Laguna blvd, right at the entrance of San Jose Village.

   Laguna Bel-air further down also has a new parish church, if you are exiting Sta. Rosa and not Eton or Greenfield (with sticker).  I don't know the schedule.

   Laguna blvd by the way is across Paseo de Sta. Rosa's signage "tower", it's the entrance to the technopark, alongside Caltex, and with the huge billboard at the corner.  The billboard has changed to advertise St. Scholastica's Westgrove.  There is the St. Benedict church next to St. Scholastica's, turning left before Don Bosco (toward the bgy Inchican, Silang, and toward Westgrove). I don't have the schedule as well. If you have mass schedules, you may want to post them on my blog, just send them to me.

Sunday, Feb. 12 T House

     Rain, cool air, wind and trees sounding like waves, and the air's scent...
probably all combined with the modern, Asian design...it was Japan in the fall.

           Couple after couple came to inquire about their wedding packages!

Sunday, Feb 5 : Herbana Farms

     We might be "organic romantics" as the generous farmer surmised...but it's a start.  I came for the lure of a "Community Garden" and a "Kids Garden". The latter having been my dream for over a decade now.  Farming, I know, is hard work. It is especially difficult in our climate.  But that day, we remained very cool and comfy. We listened intently to Mr. Carandang as we toured his farm for nearly two hours, and left feeling even more refreshed than when we arrived.
 
    The adults had not had any water to drink but we did not feel thirst.  As we walked, he handed out petals, leaves, and fruit to taste.  There were pretty flowers to make salads both colorful and tasty.  Some were crunch and juicy. The kids harvested kale, carrots, and pepper.  And we learned so much more about true organically grown crops, practices for sustainable farming, and compost.  

    We really appreciated the tour and talk.  My husband noted how "Mr. Carandang is a man who really loves the land...did you see how he held up the soil? It's a true passion". 
  
    If we had not the kid, we would certainly avail of the volunteer program to live and work on the farm.  But then for a growing number of people, the kid would be part of, if not the reason for shifting lifestyles. 

    I learned new things like zoning of plots, and following the direction of the wind.  I wonder if they farm according to phases of the moon, as well.

 Pulling out a carrot

      While at the time of our visit, the parts of the farm for us to see were in down time, we are certain that by May when they hold a Harvest Festival the land will be lush. Actually with all the interesting and beneficial vegetation at every step it already was, to our minds.

    On this farm's  website says it accepts donations. You know what, if I had won tonight's lottery, I would support this.  Our children need to learn from this farm.  And it's not far from Sta. Rosa. http://www.herbanafarm.org
It's not even far from Metro Manila. It's in Calamba, just along the road to Tagaytay Highlands.

     I forgot to get the Gotu Kola natural memory enhancer for my dad.
Oh, I guess make that for ME, too!

Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center

http://manilaoldermother.blogspot.com/2012/02/southern-luzon-hospital-and-medical.html