On Proliferating the Plant-Based Lifestyle as a Way to Taper the Climate Crisis

In a vegan forum on Facebook that I am part of, a question was recently raised on the best way to proliferate the fact that veganism is a very effective way to mitigate the effects climate change and potentially halt the ongoing severe environmental degradation. My response is that one should strive to be a vocal and visible advocate and example without resorting to violence of any kind (including verbal). In my experience, a sanctimonious evangelical behaviour really pushes people away and causes them to become defensive rather than give them a space to ponder on their choices. This, I've found to be true in advocating for veganism as a viable solution to global quandaries as much as in organised religion. My alternative is to hold conversations with people and present scientific facts from reputable and reliable research sources. As a rule of thumb, I cite real academic publications over health buff and holistic wellness blogs and sites like IFLScience.

When I am asked to speak publicly, I dedicate a large chunk of it to present the vegan lifestyle as one of the best options people can take if they really want to be serious about tapering climate change and I talk about it with joy. I don't want people to think "Oh, here's another vegan a**hole." I do it with kindness because I aim to illicit a warm response. I even share photos of food and easy recipes. Heck, sometimes I even bring food. I lay on the table ideas of consumption reduction with the foresight of paving the way to an eventual transition to a vegan life. I also do not open the discussion with the word "vegan" as I know that it is taboo for a lot of people. I've done lectures where people walked out upon hearing it and I don't like that. I usually use that word towards the end of my talks.

I know that the reason many people find it difficult to make a change is because it's a gargantuan challenge to detach one's self from the familiar. Food is associated with identity, culture and the comfort of family. That's why I don't attack these things. Veganism at present is, unfortunately, associated with an upper middle class lifestyle and social deviance, so I also try to debunk this. For me, everything is about kindly presenting facts and offering solutions to the current deplorable state of things. If I insult people, then I'm almost sure that I've lost the chance to convince them. I think of foul-mouthed evangelical religious people that tell me I am going to hell because of this and that. I don't see a huge difference between them and someone who is pointing a finger at me and telling me that I am responsible for destroying the Earth because of my choices. I know my process is slow but there just is no shortcut.

A Fake Name, a Bean Stew and a Self-Inflicted Heartache

I remember a romantic encounter over a year ago when I was in La Paz, Bolivia. He was an Argentinian artist who co-owned a bar and painted murals on commission. He had spent the past week juggling broken old mobile phones and walkie-talkies on the streets of Sopocachi and Calacoto, hoping for people to be amused enough to spare a few coins and notes so he wouldn't have to rely on his bank account for food while travelling. Prominent among the plethora of bracelets on his left wrist was a band with blue and white stripes, and a stoic-looking golden sun. The dialect of Castilian he spoke was like gentle rain on a dry wheat field.

We met at Plaza Murillo one cold Friday afternoon in the Southern Hemisphere summer of 2015-2016. It could easily have been 8°C, so I wore the new alpaca wool hoodie I'd bought the previous day. He spotted me petting a bystander's puppy and stopped to ask if I had any dogs myself. I was a little weirded out but I responded, anyway. I told him I had four back in the Philippines. He said he had one back in Buenos Aires before quipping about how I might not need such a warm sweater in my country. "Sho me shamo Miguel," he went on. "Y vos?"

My response would become one of my biggest regrets that year. It was the destruction of possibilities. It was the beginning of something that could never last more than a night. After honouring his accent with a friendly mock -- "Jefe, BOSS, por qué hablas como la shuvia?" -- and telling him he wasn't getting my sweater, I said my name was David because I liked the sound of it and I also didn't think I wanted to see him again after that day. He was handsome, sure, but I stereotyped him as an Argentinian. After all, they do have a global reputation for being cocky. And it didn't help that he was clearly fully European-blooded. I don't think one could get any blonder than him. Think of Draco Malfoy's hair, but up to the waist.

The puppy's owner had to leave, so we took over his bench and chatted a bit more before going for an aimless stroll all over the district. The chemistry was undeniable and the sexual tension was intense. We covered topics ranging from fire-juggling to Eastern Spirituality to progressive Christianity to Ayahuasca, while exchanging innuendos and stealing glances at each other. Before we knew it, the clock had passed 19:00 and the sun was about to set. He stopped walking just in front of a place called Casa del Sol and asked, "Cena?" I was hungry and all there was to do was walk in, so I said yes.

I was so pleasantly surprised that it was a vegetarian restaurant that I grinned from ear to ear, browsing through the menu like a little boy at Disneyland deciding which ride to go on first. I was 100% sure I didn't tell him about my eating habits so I asked him how he knew. He responded with something along the lines of "I wouldn't like you that much if you had struck me as the meat-eating type. And I like you that much." My heart melted. I regretted so much giving him a fake name.

I sat there, ate and chatted all while trying to figure out how I could possibly take my lie back. I went to a bar with him and had around four beers, pretending to have a conversation but really thinking "Will he still like me that much if he finds out I lied about something as basic as my goddamn name?" I went home with him to his Couchsurfing host's flat, stayed the night with my head spinning over how stupid I was to have lied to this incredibly beautiful human being beside me. When the sun returned for another day and we needed to part ways before his host woke up, he wrote his email and number on the back of a faded receipt. I dropped it in my day pack's main compartment and gave him one final kiss before disappearing, never to be seen by him again.

I'd like to romanticise this tale by saying I let the paper float away on a river somewhere, but that would be like saying my name was David -- another lie. I actually just lost it. I tried to dig for it in my day pack and my huge rucksack as I was leaving Bolivia, during my stay in Lima, in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, and after I had landed in the Philippines. Nada. It's been over a year and I've given up already, but I will always remember that day. A day of could-haves. A day of what-ifs. A day that gave me a glimpse -- a taste, if you will -- of something beautiful but impossible.

So what does this story have to do with my bean stew in the photo? I ordered one off Casa del Sol's specials menu when Miguel and I were there, and I was absolutely bowled over by how delicious it tasted. It was just sensational! No bean stew has since surpassed its quality.

After I complimented the chef, I was blessed with a piece of culinary treasure when he told me the secret to great chilli is to grill the tomatoes whole until the skin burns and ruptures. Cut them in half, sprinkle a pinch of salt on the inside of each piece and let them sit for at least 15 minutes before throwing them in your pan to sauté in olive oil with onion and garlic. Absolutely lovely, but I can't help but think the chef spoke of more than a recipe that night. For during the days that followed, it was as if my heart had been ripped off my chest, grilled whole, cut in half, salted and thrown in the fire.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Rice

Time for some BIBLE STUFF!

It amazes me how when the Lord's Prayer is translated into Visayan/Cebuano and Filipino/Tagalog, bread becomes rice.

"Give us this day our daily bread" translates as "Ang kalan-on namô sa matag-adlaw, ihatag kanamô karo'ng adlawa" and "Bigyan mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw," respectively.

While some would argue that the words "kalan-on" and "kakanin" may directly translate as "food," in the context of the original prayer where a specific staple is mentioned (i.e. bread), it should then follow that an equivalent local staple be used in the context of what is common for the people who use the languages that the prayer is translated into. In this case, rice. And as "kalan-on" (or "kan-on" in modern standard Cebuano) and "kakanin" (or "kanin" in modern standard Filipino) are actually the words for cooked rice, I believe it actually means rice in the prayer.

Nevertheless, I am well aware of how deep dissection by a lot of biblical scholars has led to the inference that the Epiousios Bread referred to in the prayer is actually the Bread of Life, the Christ Jesus. Interestingly, however, if Jesus were not Middle-Eastern (West Asian) and if the events of the New Testament had not taken place in Israel and Palestine, but in East or Southeast Asia, he would be called the "Rice of Life," which I personally have no qualms with.

LifestyleBohol * World Meatless Lunch is Tomorrow

This article is exactly as you will see it on the September 30th, 2012 issue of LifestyleBohol.  I'm posting this here as a public service effort to reach out to those who aren't subscribed to the Bohol Chronicle.

webpage heading of worldmeatlesslunch.org

Granting that you’re reading this on the very last day of September 2012, tomorrow would be Monday, October 1^st.  To majority of Bol-anons, it is the beginning of the Month of the Holy Rosary.  To the more socially aware lot, it marks the first of 31 days of wearing pink ribbons, clothing, and accessories to point to the fact that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Yes, you read it right.  A whole month dedicated to the color pink.  Soothing, isn’t it?

Every shade of pink will be proudly displayed throughout October by Bohol’s hippies and social advocates in an effort to promote awareness on research endeavors and developments on the very long still-under-construction road to curing breast cancer.  More than that, it’s also a symbolic extension of hands to those presently living with the disease.  I’m urging everyone reading this article to join the movement.  You can wear a pink ribbon on your chest, a pink baller band, a pink sticker on your I.D. card, or maybe a couple of pink stripes on your lanyard made using a marker.  Anything, really.  You can get creative with pink.  A simple positive gesture makes a huge difference.

Anyway, let’s move on to my primary reason for writing this entry.  Another thing happening tomorrow is something called the World Meatless Lunch.  It’s an awareness initiative created by Filipino environmentalists headed by Dr. Custer C. Deocaris, a molecular biologist who cares deeply for the planet.  This idea was inspired by Meatless Monday, an international campaign run by the Bloomberg Public Health School of Johns Hopkins University, one of the most prominent and advanced medical research institutions in the world, promoting a vegetarian diet every Monday for the improvement of personal health and the health of the planet.  The latter has a Filipino version called Luntiang Lunes, for which a bill to proliferate the campaign and institutionalize the concept in schools is already in its early development stage.  It will mark every single Monday as a day to rejoice for veggie lovers and a day to dread for professed carnivores.

Tomorrow’s event, the World Meatless Lunch, however, isn’t quite Meatless Monday yet.  It’s simply a call for everyone to forego meat for just one meal—lunch.  It encourages solidarity where, at lunch hour, we imagine ourselves on one enormous dining table munching on vegetables and fruits with the rest of the world.

Some of you may be wondering how this meat “mayhem” relates to the environment since this is, as I said, a movement initiated by environmentalists.  No worries, I’m getting there.  Most of you have probably heard secular vegetarians and vegans cite health as a reason.  On the other hand, those whose basis for their special diet is religion or spiritual study would tell you that compassion and kindness to all sentient beings is their primary motivation.  However, an inexplicably large beneficiary of a vegetarian diet is our very own Planet Earth.  Why, you ask?  I’ll give you a number of reasons.

FACT:  45% of the Earth’s habitable land area has been cleared for raising livestock and growing crops to feed them.  To cite a rather extreme example, 70% of the Amazon forest’s original tree-rich terrain has been flattened for this purpose.  Several wildlife species endemic to it are at risk of extinction because of our perceived need to produce so much meat.

ANOTHER FACT:  In November 2006, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for which Filipino artist Lea Salonga has been recently selected as a Goodwill Ambassador, released an official report as a result of several scientific studies stating that conventional livestock farms produce more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s conceived forms of transportation combined.

Read the above statements over and over again until they manage to get drilled in your head.  Industrial meat production is the #1 culprit of climate change.  That means if the beef steak on your plate was produced inorganically, whoever owns the farm that grew it should, in part, be blamed for the unusually frequent flooding or excruciatingly long drought periods.  Don’t blame legislative propositions!  You should even point a finger or two at yourself for not being conscious about whether or not the production method for your meat was humane.

It’s not that I’m waging a war against meat consumption altogether; I’m merely giving you a few very good reasons to lessen your hunger for flesh.  If you care enough to translate thoughts into actions, you can start by joining the rest of the nation’s caring citizens in turning tomorrow’s World Meatless Lunch into an impactful statement both to others and to yourself.  Make it a test run to see if you can manage a meal without flesh obtained by killing a previously living, breathing creature.  That means you should have lunch with no pork, no beef, no chevon (kanding), no chicken, no fish, no shrimps, not even bivalve shells—just dairy, eggs, and vegetables.  You will find it very light on your tummy afterwards.  You might even decide to forego meat for the rest of the day.

My hand, as a vegetarian, is permanently glued to the cause of compassion, health, and environmental healing through meatless meals for the rest of my life.  It’s a conscious choice I’ve made which I happen to be very, very happy about.  I know this is extremely difficult for most people but I’m glad to say there is a growing number of vegetarians in Bohol.  We are not aiming to proselytize the rest of the province into taking the same path.  We are merely appealing to your good nature to count yourselves in along with the thousands of people observing World Meatless Lunch tomorrow.  Come hand-in-hand with us even if it’s just for one meal.  Surely, you could bear it.  Command yourself to muster the willpower.  If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for our Mother, the Earth.

Heavenly Roast Potatoes

a lacto vegetarian dish

Heavenly Roast Potatoes

This recipe is a variation of Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Potatoes, which I've seen on TLC and YouTube a couple of times.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a boat that would serve:

- 2 to 4 people

And, yes, you read that right.  It says "boat" up there.  A boat that looks just like the one in the picture.

You will need:

- 4 medium sized potatoes
- 3 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1 & 1/2 cup of grated Emmental Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup of grated Edam cheese
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves (1 teaspoon if dried)
- 7 pieces of fresh marjoram leaves (1 teaspoon if dried)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of either apple cider vinegar, red/white wine vinegar, or sugar cane vinegar
- 5 cloves of garlic, pressed and broken
- sea salt for seasoning
- black pepper for seasoning

To make this dish suitable for vegans, use the following alternatives:

- margarine instead of butter
- soy cheese instead of Edam & Emmental (or you may omit cheese completely)

NOTE: You will need both a stove and an oven to cook this dish.  A real oven, NEVER a microwave oven.

Let's get roastin':

1. Peel the potatoes and halve them crosswise.
2. Wash the starch off with some cold water..
3. Drop the potatoes in a sauce pan with cold water just enough to cover all individual pieces.
4. Season the water well with salt and bring to the boil.
5. When it comes to the boil, parboil covered over medium heat for 10 full minutes.
6. After parboiling, drain the water out.
7. Grease the base of a heatproof boat or a small casserole pan.  Let the potatoes sit on it cut-side-down and then baste them with the rest of the butter.
8. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper.
9. Pop the boat or casserole pan in an oven for 30 minutes at 190°C or 375°F.
10. Remove the dish from the oven and lightly press the potatoes down using a potato masher or a big spoon. You want to see the sides break a little and make juices come out but you don't want to press too hard.  You are not doing this to mash it, only to agitate the insides.
11. Put your thyme leaves, marjoram leaves and garlic in a bowl.  Pour in your vinegar and olive oil until everything is coated.
12. Use your hands to thoroughly sprinkle it over the dish.  Make sure the garlic cloves sit on top of the potatoes.
13. Pop it back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes at the same temperature.
14. Take it out of the oven, drop the garlic cloves to the sides and sprinkle your cheese evenly all over the dish.
15. Pop it back in for a final time and allow the cheese to melt for about 5 minutes.  You may use a the grill feature if you have it to let the cheese burn a little.
16. Take it out of the oven and ENJOY HEAVEN!


WARNING:  Do not make this dish every day or you'll grow really, really fat!

Asparagus and Broccoli Curry

a vegan dish


You will find that the procedure in this recipe is quite cumbersome.  Processes such as boiling and simmering are repeated over and over again to ensure that the proper sauce consistency is achieved.

You must keep in mind that this is a type of stew and stewing always takes time even if it only involves vegetables.

Asparagus and Broccoli Curry

It's a curry that involves asparagus and broccoli.  Best eaten with rice or soft potatoes.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a bowl that would serve:

- 3 people who really like curry
- 5 people who like curry but don't want to eat too much, or
- 7 to 10 people who don't like curry but are really hungry and have no choice but to eat it

You will need:

- 1 large potato, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium sized carrot, halved lengthwise (leave one half intact & chop the other half)
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon of fresh dill leaves (1/4 teaspoon if dried)
- 1 teaspoon of ginger paste or crushed ginger
- 2 tablespoons of oil/butter/ghee
- 1 tablespoon of plain flour dissolved in half a cup of water
- 1 cup of asparagus
- 1 cup of broccoli
- 1 regular sized western tomato (or 2 medium sized Roma/Bangalore tomatoes), soaked in very hot water for five minutes and peeled
- salt to taste
- muscovado sugar or molasses to balance the flavour
- chilli for an additional kick (optional)

Let's get cookin':

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil/butter/ghee in a sauce pan and drop in the onion and garlic together.
2. Add in the carrot (both chopped and intact) and toss for about a minute.
3. Pour in a cup of water, mix in your tablespoon of curry powder along with the ginger paste and bring to the boil.
4. When it comes to the boil, add in the flour dissolved in a cup of water and stir to thicken.
If you want to add in chilli, this would be the perfect time to do it.
5. Drop in your chopped potatoes and bring again to the boil.
6. When boiling, simmer gently for 30 minutes with occasional stirring.
7. Remove the intact half of the carrot and blend it to purée.  Add the purée to the saucepan right after.
8. Using your bare hands, squeeze the peeled tomato over the saucepan so that its juices fall onto your cooking.  Mince it using your hand, dropping each peace you pull right onto the saucepan.
9. Drop in the dill along with your asparagus and broccoli and stir everything.
10. Add salt and muscovado/molasses to your palate's delight.
11. Bring to the boil and simmer for another 5-7 minutes before serving.

Marinara Sauce

a vegan dish


I feel like I'm two entries away from turning my site into a food blog.  The last two stuff I posted were recipes and here I am about to post yet another recipe.  Sure, I say a little something before I begin listing ingredients but, other than talk about the dish I just cooked, I don't really talk say anything revealing about my current frame of mind.

I'll try to do that before posting the recipe.  Bear with me here: this is a personal blog; not a cookbook.

Anyway, Mama and I did some grocery shopping last night.  Yeah, it's 12 in the morning now so I guess the expression "last night" is in order.  I didn't buy anything particularly notable--just the usual fruits, veggies, spices and condiments--except I bagged like, a kilo of tomatoes.  At home, I ended up with a storage predicament.  I didn't know where to put them since my vegetable compartment had already been stuffed with heads of broccoli and cauliflower, potatoes, basil stalks, carrots, cucumbers, oranges, limes and bulbs of garlic.  As a solution, I decided to cook marinara sauce.  Yeah, baby!

So, here's recipe #3!

Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce is an Italian style tomato-based sauce best consumed with spaghetti, spaghettini, cheese sticks, bread sticks, and flat breads like chapati, pita and naan.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a bowl of sauce that would serve:

- 5 to 7 people if you use it as a dip for finger food like bread sticks and cheese sticks, or
- 3 to 5 people if you use it for pasta or for flat bread

You will need:


- 3 normal sized western tomatoes (or 5 medium sized Roma/Bangalore tomatoes), peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 normal sized western tomatoes (or 3 medium sized Roma/Bangalore tomatoes), blended into a paste
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh parsley (1/2 if dried)
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh marjoram/oregano (1 teaspoon if dried)
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon if dried but it makes a huge difference because you will really want fresh basil for this recipe)
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 7 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 cup of water

To make it:

1. Pour two tablespoons of olive oil onto a pan over medium heat.
2. Sauté the diced onion for about a minute to sweat it but make sure it doesn't burn.  Remove the onion from the pan afterwards and set it aside.
3. Pour the rest of the olive oil onto the pan, followed by the garlic which you need to sauté for 3 minutes as well.
4. Drop the chopped tomatoes in and agitate them around the pan for about 3 minutes.
5. Add in the parsley, marjoram and basil, and mix in.
6. Bring the heat to low and cover for 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
7. Stir in the tomato paste, water, and salt.
8. Cover for five minutes and stir in the salt afterwards.
9. Simmer gently with occasional stirring for 10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick enough to qualify as a pasta sauce.  You be the judge.

NOTE: If you're going to use this sauce for pasta, use it as it is.  However, if you're going to use it as a dip for bread sticks and cheese sticks or if you want to put it on your flat bread, you may want to add in a teaspoon of flour to thicken it a little and to give it a paste-like consistency which would help it stick to bread.  Of course, dissolve the flour in a little cold water before stirring in.  The best time to do this is after simmering.  You may use less than a teaspoon of flour but never more than that.

Stir-Fried Broccoli and Cauliflower

a vegan dish


I actually blogged about eating this dish a couple of weeks ago but I've never really gotten around to posting the recipe until now.  So, yeah, here's recipe #2.

Stir-Fried Broccoli and Cauliflower

It's broccoli, cauliflower and a bunch of other things hungover from partying in a cast iron wok.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with something that would serve:

- 1 hungry person who really wants to eat, or
- 2 people on a diet

You will need:

- 1 cup of broken broccoli flowers
- 1 cup of broken cauliflower heads
- 1 medium tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of dill leaves (only a pinch if dried)
- 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley (only 1/2 if dried)
- 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (or you can use whatever type of vinegar you have if you don't have Balsamic vinegar; but trust me, this minute amount makes all the difference in the world)
- 1 tablespoon of corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil (preferably extra virgin)

Let's make it:

1. First, boil the broccoli and cauliflower until readily edible and a little bit tender but not too soft.  Set it aside.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on a wok or skillet over ridiculously high heat.  Make sure your pan has a firm handle.
3. Drop the onion and garlic onto the oil.  You must then quickly grab the handle to toss and turn it around.  It is quite possible that the inside of the wok/skillet will catch fire.  Don't be frightened; it's completely normal.  Only allow 5-7 seconds for the spices to dance around without adding anything else.  As much as possible, do not allow the spices to burn.
4. After 5-7 seconds, when the smell becomes considerably strong, drop the tomato in and toss it around for some 10 seconds.
5. Introduce about 1/4 cup of water so you don't end up with a burnt dish.  Toss around for 20 seconds more.
6. Add the boiled broccoli and cauliflower.
7. With a 5-second interval, one after the other, add the vinegar, soy sauce and one more tablespoon of olive oil.  Continuously move the pan to agitate the ingredients for about 40 seconds.
8. Flick in the parsley and dill and make sure they get fully integrated into the dish by mixing them in properly.
9. Add the corn syrup.

NOTE: If your taste buds somehow find the flavour inadequate, you may increase one or more of the liquid condiments.

Garlic Chapati and Guacamole

a vegan dish

I've been cooking quite a lot these days and posting a couple of food photos on my Facebook wall and on Twitter.

I thought to myself, "hey, why don't I just share my recipe on my blog so they'd learn how to make it themselves?"  So here's recipe #1.

Guacamole

A Mexican dip best paired with tortilla crisps and flat bread like tortillas, roti, chapati, naan, or pita.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a bowl that would be enough for:

- 4 pieces of chapati

You will need:

- 2 ripe avocados
- 3 tablespoons of lime or kalamansi juice
- 2 medium sized tomatoes (or one large western tomato) peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped/diced onion
- 1 tablespoon of coriander (also known in some places as cilantro)
- Your choice of hot pepper (jalapeño, bird's eye, tabasco, espada) de-seeded and very finely chopped (add according to heat tolerance with a minimum of one teaspoon)
- 1/3 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder (optional)

To make it:

1. Put the lime/kalamansi juice in a bowl.
2. Scoop out the flesh of the avocados and chop coarsely.
3. Add the avocado to the lime/kalamansi juice in the bowl.
4. Coarsely mash the avocado using a fork or a potato masher until it becomes a bit smooth and creamy.  It's okay to have little lumps here and there.  NEVER EVER BLEND IT.
5. If you don't like the onions to crunch in your mouth, you could crush it using a mortar and pestle.  If you're okay with crunchy onions, skip this step.
6. Add all other ingredients into the bowl with the avocado and mix well.
7. If you think it lacks salt, add a little more to taste and mix it in.
8. Chill in the fridge for one hour before serving.




Garlic Chapati

Chapati is a type of flat unleavened bread that traces its culinary origins from the Indian Subcontinent.  It's commonly made using only flour, water and a bit of salt but, in this case, I'm going to add garlic so we'll call it Garlic Chapati to avoid confusion.  It is best eaten with sauces like curry and marinara, or dips such as guacamole.

For every four (4) pieces, you will need:

- 1 cup (150 grams) of plain flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup (80 millilitres) of water
- 2 teaspoons of garlic paste

To make chapati:

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and make some sort of well or hole in the middle.
2. Stir the garlic paste into the water.  You will notice it form a suspension.
3. Pour the garlic and water mix onto the well in the bowl.
4. Mix the flour and the water to form some sort of ball.  Do not add any more water.  Just keep rolling the ball around until it collects the rest of the remaining flour and you are able to form a compact dough that is slightly sticky but soft.
5. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with cling wrap or a plate and leave it in room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
6. After resting your dough, divide it into four equal pieces.  Using your hand, form each piece into a small round flat disc about half an inch thick.
7. Drop the disc onto a lightly floured surface and, using a floured rolling pin, gently roll the disc out into a very thin and flat circle about 7 or 8 inches in diameter.  Don't worry; it doesn't need to be perfect.
8. If you have a roti pan or flat pan, use it.  Otherwise, you will have to settle for a frying pan with a flat base.  Put it over a stove on medium heat.  You don't want it too hot or you'll end up burning the chapati.
9. Drop on one chapati at a time.  Yes, in case you're wondering, you have to cook it individually unless you have a freakishly large pan lying around your kitchen cabinet.
10. After 30 seconds, you will notice the chapati begin to puff up.  Flip it over using a cooking spatula--preferably perforated.  On the flip side, use the spatula to push the puffed bubbles down without breaking or puncturing the bread.  Do this for about 10 seconds then flip the chapati over again.
11. Press the bubbles gently with the spatula.  Your aim is not to have no bubbles (because if we wanted to do that, we could easily just poke a hole on it but that's not what we want to do).  We want to have just one large puff like a balloon and not individual bubbles.
12. After another 10 seconds, flip it over again and press gently for 15 more seconds before putting it on a plate.  It's not necessary to achieve the balloon effect but it is necessary to keep gently pressing the chapati down as you cook it.
13. Repeat the process for every piece of chapati you cook.

My Vegan Lunch

And, no, I'm not a vegan and I don't think I will ever be one.

Just ovo-lacto vegetarian. :)

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onion, Garlic, Tomatoes,

Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Corn Syrup, Soy Sauce

BAM!  Lunch is served.  Well, was.

LifestyleBohol * Ug Matam-is nga Kinampay

It's time to paint the town purple again!  It's Bohol's 12th annual UbiFest on Wednesday and it's gonna be bloody awesome--purply bloody, that is.

Enjoy reading!

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It’s a formidable task for a Bol-anon writer to figure out where to begin writing about ubi.  It has always been part of my life and upbringing and I feel like there’s so much to talk about.

As far as I could remember, kinampay has always been a word regularly used by everyone around me.  It was 17 years ago, as a kindergartener, that I was taught, word-for-word, how to sing the Bohol Hymn.  The nuns at my preschool explained, by way of showing us a piece of ubi, that the word Kinampay from “lungsod sa bungtod nga matunhay ug matam-is nga kinampay,” which we sang every Monday before the beginning of class, represents a big root that revealed a silky and sticky purple flesh when cracked open, and of the fact that it makes a favorite Bol-anon holiday delicacy when mashed and folded in with other tasty ingredients.

Of course, since this is Ludwig writing, I’m not going to leave you without dishing out a couple of facts.  This article will not dwell merely on my personal encounters with ubi, but on its relationship with our province and people as a whole.  This’ll be another history lesson and you better pay attention because this is important stuff.  This is about our beloved province.  People shouldn’t proudly call themselves Bol-anons and take the subject of ubi lightly.  Bail yourselves out of living as ignoramuses to your own culture and read on.

In the olden days—as in way, way back before the Spanish decided to colonize Bohol and proselytize everyone into adopting their belief system—ubi, particularly Kinampay, was regarded as the island’s most sacred crop.  It was treated with more care than gold and precious stones.  The method of sowing was ceremonious and intricate.  It was a source of pride for those who participated in it.  With the full moon soaring in the night sky, a line of non-menstruating virgins would march naked in ploughed land and plant ubi while uttering blessings and seeking the aid of Ay Sono, the Anito of the Island.  Surely enough, with proper care, the crops would grow and flourish as vines with leaves the shape of a heart.

Such a pagan tradition has been carried into Christianity particularly in the areas of the province where agriculture remains as the primary source of income for the people.  Bohol’s women are resilient, no doubt.  Traditions have lived through their persistence in preserving Bol-anon culture and that’s what puts a smile of awe on my face.  Although the original method of carrying out the planting may have been tweaked a little, to this day, there are those who—despite their Catholic beliefs—remain faithful to the way things were done before.

In the year 2000, having noticed the significance of ubi to Bohol, then Governor Rene L. Relampagos and Vice-governor Edgardo M. Chatto took a leap forward and launched the first Ubifest with the help of Mr. Lutgardo Labad.  The festival prototype was made open to all farmers, scientists, researchers, stakeholders, and businessmen from all organizations and universities all over the country.  As expected, it turned out to be an enormous success and has since then been held every year as an avenue for the promotion of ubi.

It has been nearly twelve years since the tradition of holding the Ubifest was started and I must say it has only gotten better.

This Wednesday, January 18th, the color purple will rule the island again.  The year 2012 marks the 12th Ubifest which will be opened at the Acacia Garden of the Bohol Provincial Capitol.  And as a tri-annual tradition, another Miss Ubifest will be crowned on January 19th, at Island City Mall.

Plenty of you may wonder what the essence of the Miss Ubifest pageant is.  Well, my answer has already been given.  Remember the women—the women of ubi!  She may not necessarily prace nude and barefoot under the full moon while planting ubi, but she represents the great part of history that women have played.

And how significant is all this to Bohol?  Observe the way the root looks on the outside.  Doesn’t it remind you of the shape of the land that grows it?  Moreover, it has been scientifically proven that ubi kinampay planted outside Bohol doesn’t grow the same way no matter how fertile the soil is.  It represents the inimitability of a Bol-anon.

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Seen on Print:

Click to SEE FULL DIGITAL COPY

Intact Egg + Microwave Oven = BAD IDEA!

I had a very bad case of momentary stupidity today.

I took a saucepan, filled it with water, and dropped two intact eggs in it.  I was so ready to mount it on top of the stove, when all of a sudden, I thought to myself, "screw it!  It's gonna take way too long.  I'll microwave one to boil and scramble the other one instead."  So I placed one in a microwavable thing-a-ma-jig half-filled with water, popped it in the microwave oven, set the timer to two minutes, and waited.

One minute into it and I found myself in the middle of a much-needed yawn when the egg literally exploded inside the oven!  It gave off a loud thud like someone's head was being bashed against a concrete wall.

Just an inch away from freaking out, I quickly unplugged the device and opened it and, well, I don't think I need to explain how it looked.

So, yeah, take it from me.  Intact raw eggs inside a microwave oven?  NO!  BiiiG NO!




To any family members of mine reading this...  No worries.  I cleaned it up right after taking a photo of it.  I also did a little research and found out that exploding eggs aren't detrimental to microwave ovens--just to the eggs and the emotional well-being of the stupid person/people in front of it.  In the latter case: me!  But I'm alright.  No therapy needed.  LMAO!

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Of Tips and Bargaining

Comic art by Iris Yan, one of my favorite Blogger bloggers - girlfriend to Alex Noriega, another favorite Blogger blogger.

I know this sounds quite familiar to you, reader.

Why do we tip bigtime at posh restaurants when we know they obviously make tons more money than cheap cafés?

For Filipinos:

Why do we tip big at fancy restaurants and not leave any at the local karinderia (quick-serve restaurant)?

Then again, why don't we mind paying a full price at the department store while we argue our asses off to bargain for the lowest possible price at the palengke (locality market)?

Hmmmmmmmmm...

This culture is a little confusing, don't you think?

Of course, about the latter, merchants normally have higher-than-normal price-labels at the outset.  This is clearly because they expect customers to bargain.  You can't help but bargain, anyway, if you really want to buy something.  It's a culturally defined system of purchasing and you can't beat it.

Titli's Busy Kitchen

"As-Salāmu `Alaykum and welcome to Titli's Busy Kitchen with me, Titli Nihaan."


To the fun-loving foodies out there, the line above might be quite familiar.  If you're one and you haven't heard of her, well, you haven't lived yet.  You will hear it uttered in every episode of Titli's Busy Kitchen, a cooking channel on YouTube hosted by one Titli Nihaan, a Muslim British foodie who has, in my opinion, revolutionized simple Halal cooking.  You don't even need to be Muslim to enjoy viewing her channel and trying her recipes out.

I discovered her about a month ago while browsing YouTube for simple recipes.  In abidance with the Food Revolution movement initiated by Jamie Oliver, MBE, I took the liberty of finding a convenient way to make my own quick meals.  It was then that I had stumbled upon this amazing woman's channel.

I was so amazed that I ended up watching all her food videos in one sitting.  I'm talking about hours and hours from midnight to beyond sunrise of watching Titli-Titli-Titli.  What can I say?  I'm not Muslim, but I found another role model in her.

She's amazing, isn't she?  She's got her own brand of humour and sarcasm that gets you laughing your head off.  If you're not one for the laughs, you may get the gist by playing a video only once.  However, if you're like me, you'd be needing two or three runs--or until you manage to compose yourself to stop laughing.  I don't know about you, but as much as I admire her sheer sensibility, I also find her utterly hilarious.

If you want to know what I mean, here's a video she made that parodies many celebrity chefs.  This was inspired by comments made by YouTube users saying that she should become a TV Megachef.  In this, she shows us how to soft-boil an egg.

Well, that's about it for now.  I've tried some of her recipes.  They're awesome!  You should try them, too.

"So, join me next time in Titli's Busy Kitchen with me, Titli Nihaan.  Until next time, Khuda Hafiz!"

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Old Entry #13: I Idolize John Gokongwei, Jr (But...)

Time for another old entry.  Well, I don't know exactly what makes it "time" for one.  I just feel like posting one so that means it's time!

Not much blabber needed for this one.  It has to do with John Gokongwei, Jr as my role model in the field of business and entrepreneurship (although I'm not as hardcore as he is... yet).  It also talks about a very sweet bottled juice drink that his company produces, which, for that matter, I haven't seen in quite a while.

I wonder...  Maybe I was right after all.  Where'd it go?  Wanna know what I'm talking about?  Go ahead and read!

This was originally posted on Apr 6, '09 3:00 AM on Multiply.com.

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If nonsensical blogs annoy you, then stop reading and leave now.

Well, don't say I didn't warn you...

Anyway...

Two years ago, when I was still in Silliman University business school, my dad gave me this book called The Path To Entrepreneurship.  It told the story of how John Gokongwei, Jr constructed his massive business empire.  It divulged how he went from riches-to-rags-to-riches -- how he managed to carve his name in the list of the world's most respected business personalities.

[Note: Such list excludes Donald Trump]

I read the book from cover to cover between breakfast and lunch one nothing-else-to-do Saturday morning.  And believe me, it was inspiring.  You need not be business-minded to appreciate it.  You don't have to take it in as some sort of business scheme textbook.  Let it inspire you the way it should.  The way it did me.

Yes, John Gokongwei, Jr is a well-renown man in business.  Yes, he is a good man.  Yes, he has helped a lot of people.  Yes, he gives job opportunities to thousands and thousands of Filipinos who would otherwise add to NSO's figure of native mendicants.  Yes, he is a role model for all of us who wish to take a similar path in carving our names somewhere.  Yes, yes, yes.

HOWEVER...

I personally do not believe that the bottled juice drink his company sells actually aids in making a person slim down -- or even lose weight at the very least.  It's just way too sweet.  Universal Robina's TV commercial says Fab has some sort of substance that burns fats.  If all those substances that allegedly help burn fats could actually work their way into doing what they could supposedly do, then where does all that sugar go?  It would probably just compensate for the burned fat and nullify the effect.  Or, or all it probably does is add to our body fat substance.

I don't know what the truth is but that's what I think.  I'm not a chemist.  I don't really know.  Who am I to make such judgment.  This is just an opinion, okay?  Don't diss me for this.  It's just that I haven't blogged in a long time and I felt the need to post something.  My apologies.  But, anyway, I still drink it.  I drink it a lot.  It tastes good.  It just seems preposterous to me that something that sweet could actually aid me in slimming down.

I believe in C2's antioxidant content, though.  At least, I'd like to believe -- since I drink it ever so often.  It has a very refreshing tinge to it.  Moreover, it has that reassuring bittersweet taste of green tea leaves that tells me every time I drink it that: "I'm not just drinking some bottle of concoction made from sugar and whatever else.  I'm actually protecting myself from cancer."

[LMAO!]

So, yes, I idolize John Gokongwei, Jr.  However, the idea of Fab doing what the ads say it could do is just plain ridiculous.

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Old Entry #12: On Being 19 and Not Being a King Anymore

I'm so darn happy and I'm not going to tell you why!

*Jump! Jump! Jump! Clap! Clap! Clap! Dance! Dance! Dance*

Anyway, I digress...  It's time for another old entry.  I'm not in the mood to post anything RH Bill-related or Divorce Bill-related or anything about Magick or Theosophy or interfaith dialog or gender equality or racism or the GLBTQ movement!  Just not right now.

For now, let me explain my old entry.

This was written a day after my 19th birthday, so don't be surprised if it talks about being a teenager because I really was one when I wrote this back in 2008.

Another major issue about this entry is the fact that it talks very emotionally about my ex.  Yes, my ex.  I didn't bother editing it because he doesn't mean anything to me anymore.  Also, it wouldn't be a genuine old entry if I were to remove huge parts of it simply because it disgusts me - which, to be honest, it does.

As I went over it, I was cringing through the latter parts starting from the point where his name first appeared.  I can't believe I was THAT in love with him back then.  Like, eeew!  Eeeeeeewwww! Ugh! My spine is getting violent shivers.

So, yeah, I decided to publish it in small prints.

One more thing, I couldn't find any photos of that dinner party anywhere in my hard drive.  I don't know if my old computer still has it.  I've taken to digging this one as deeply as I possibly could, but nothing came up for my 2008 birthday.

Well, it's a bummer, but I guess emotional detachment is the key to getting over it.

Here's that old entry now.

This was originally posted on Oct 28, '08 7:01 AM on Multiply.com.

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The photo above was taken during my uncle's wedding 15 years ago.  I was four then.

Oh, how cute I was.

I still haven't sunken in to the fact that I'm already only a year closer to not being a teen anymore.  It's not that I'm beginning to get age-conscious this young or anything.  It's just that I've been too immature to even qualify to advance in age.  I've been really negligent -- practically about everything.  I guess it's a trait I've learned to live with.  [Not good!]

I consider this a catch-22 to be reckoned with.

My day yesterday wasn't as fussy as my birthdays when I was younger.  I used to be king for a day whenever the 27th of October would come.  There used to be huge parties at my home where everyone from neighbors to school friends to governors to congressmen would be around.

This time, however, it was way different.  I even cooked at my own dinner party.  Get a load of that!  I went grocery shopping, pranced through aisles worrying if I'd left something out -- not to mention going through the agony of hand-carrying what felt like a truckload of goodies and drinks, shoving them in the back of my car and nearly passing out in the front passenger's seat.

And the work didn't end there, I passed by two restaurants to order a couple of stuff only to be told that it wouldn't be ready until 3 hours later.  What a treat for the ears!

Upon getting home, I had to marinate the chicken the way I wanted it, bread the pork, butter the chevon, tenderize the beef, dictate how the charcoal was to be burnt for the grill, burn my tongue tasting dishes directly from saucepans, instruct piece-by-piece how the vegetables were to be chopped.  Moreover, I was also the spice director for the soup.  I was practically head chef/grocery guy/birthday boy.

Yeah, it felt great!  No, I'm not kidding.  It actually did!  Amidst all that brouhaha going on in the kitchen, I was rather happy that I was part of the effort of making it all happen.

Upon finishing, the guests started coming in.  And, boy, were they hungry!  I wanted to wait for my dad but it was rather inappropriate to make my guests wait.  Some of them came all the way from Los Baños, Laguna.  We had to start without him.  He came in the middle of it all, though.  And he brought a lot of ice cream and wine.  Such an awesome dad!  [Hahaha!]

Yes, I was happy last night.  I just wish Ted could have been there.  I miss him terribly.  Yes, we did have two days together over the weekend.  A night over at my house and an entire day at the beach.  But still, it was really bitin.  We made the most of it but it still wasn't enough.  Well, what would one expect?  We're lovers!

He gave me two silver bracelets.  So sweet of him.  I love him so much!

Anyway, over the years, I've outgrown a lot of things.  I used to be really obsessed with WWE but it has now fallen to the bottom part of my list of interests.  Lea Salonga will, of couse, remain since my love for art will always be something of passion.

Ted, on the other hand... Being with him... Loving him... Even quarrelling with him... I'm certain I'd never grow tired of.  I love him.  I love how he goes so utterly gay and claps his hands so childishly when he gets excited.  I love the look on his face when he gets 'hurt'.  I love the way his eyes close when we kiss.  I love everything about Ted.

Well, what more can I say?  I don't think I need to.

I'm 19.  But I think this would take some getting used to before I'll be completely comfortable with telling people.  There's a huge difference between blogging and enunciating "I'm 19."  It's just not the same.

Anyway, "deal with it, Ludwig!"

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With Fellow Poets of Kaliwat ni Karyapa

It seems like I haven't blogged in a while.  Well, it's about time.

Yesterday was a very exhausting day for me.  Have you ever had one of those days when you had so much fun despite being deprived sleep the previous night?  Yes, my day was a lot like that.  No, wait.  It was actually that exact situation.  I didn't sleep at all Friday evening.  I watched a musical along with two cousins and tagged them along to see a live band perform.

Following that, I had a ton of work waiting for me on my desk.  I didn't even know where to start.  I fumbled through the pile paperwork for something interesting, but everything seemed bland.  Imagine:  I had to drown myself in coffee just to stay awake.  I told myself, "This is what you get for procrastinating so much!"  I know; I know.  I'm the master of procrastination.  There isn't a need to remind me about that anymore.

I was so immersed in the shining, shimmering, splendid colors of my notebook's display monitor that I didn't realize the sun was up.  I didn't even bother to check the system tray to know what time it was.  The next thing I knew, my grandmother was already standing behind me, curiously looking at what was keeping me busy.  Consequently, she asked me to eat breakfast with her, but I aptly declined in favor of work, work, and more work.

To cut the story short, I went to bed at 10:00AM, got up at 1:30PM and left the house at exactly 2:00.  My companions, who were my fellow members of KaKa (Kaliwat ni Karyapa - a Boholano Poets' Organization), and I headed to a Catholic Nun-run retreat house somewhere in Alburquerque.

In that vast bed-and-breakfast-like place, we picked a small hut that could accommodate our small number.  There, we ate and chatted like mad.  We didn't mind that we were in a place crawling with nuns and crucifixes and statues of Christian saints.  We talked wholesome; we talked green!  We read poems of various kinds--of love, of the ridiculous, of children, of courtship, even of sex.

To note, there was this one particular dish that my companions--in their chronological advancement--were so amazed by the presence of and I wasn't able to relate.  It wasn't unfamiliar as I had seen it on a number of occasions peddled by street vendors near my old grade school, but it just amazed me how they went all "ooh" and "aah" at it.  It was, I guess, the Filipino equivalent to a crisp-fried chapati.  It came with a coconut cream and sugar-based ultra-sweet dip that my grandmother would probably scream at the sight of.  It induced a sort of reminiscent trance in each of them.  It led them to speak of their elementary school years and how their mothers would cook it on afternoons as a snack.  It somehow made me miss the old days when we still lived near the beach and my mom used to cook.  Well, times do change.

Anyway...  The going home part of that endeavor was pretty uninteresting, so I'm not going to write about it anymore.  Check these pictures out, instead!

Cheese-Filled Egg Rolls

Ate Mitzi

The dish that drove everyone crazy

Sister Mitzi (a skinny Mitzi)

si Vera ug ang Lapay

Mom Vida ("Mom" because she's with the Order of the Eastern Star)

Me, reading

The hind part of the retreat house

Sister Mitzi reading

Dad, singing

Ate Mitzi reading about Yoyoy

Mom Vida singing

Me, reading

Vera, reading

Breathing the Breath of a Dragon

Laughter: a priceless part of the session