The Farm

     I was not able to post in here for quite some time... we moved to a farm and there's no reliable internet connection in the area.  I was able to view webpages and emails but uploading and downloading files were impossible so I got tired of trying.

     We are currently residing in the city of the province we lived in... Alaminos City where everything is accessible and now I can finally continue blogging.  We visit the farm when we have the time, we just need to earn more so we can continue improving what we have started.  I'm going to post things that we have accomplished in the farm.  So far, only few improvements were made since we needed a bigger budget to do major improvements there.

    
 The farm is almost 4 hectares and it is beautifully landscaped by nature.  Part A is where we built the house, it is where we can plant rice and vegetables and there's also a near pond wherein we can put some tilapia fingerlings.  Part B is where we can put cows, carabao's or goats or even native pigs.  There are 7 century old mango trees in this area, mango fruits are abundant during the summer season.

Part B

Part B - carabao grass everywhere

Palm Trees which are Areca Catechu trees.  There's a spring behind those palm trees.

Part B - we put the deep well in here, my husband pump the water and it goes directly through the house through this huge hose.

Part B

    

Part A of the map, this is the view in front of the house.  Main road can be seen from here so we can hear and see vehicles coming in and out of the community we live in.

First day of the construction of the house.

We needed to cut down a couple of trees which will be needed int he construction.

One of our friends were able to catch a poisonous snake.

Doing the footing of the house.

About more than a week and this is what is done.

      At the moment, a room, kitchen and a 16sqm bathroom was made.  Only a small part of the house and we needed to start the construction again since summer is coming.  It is the only time of the year where the materials can be delivered near our house.

     There are plenty of pineapples at the back of our house.  We are able to harvest about 5 pineapples a week. I just put the flesh in the blender and sieve it to remove the fibers and we'll have pure organic pineapple juice most of the time.  My husband still need to climb up a tree to see where the ripe ones are... I think there are more than a hundred pineapple plants here.  We're so lucky they are already growing here in the farm and have propagated on their own through their slips or suckers.  One pineapple plant can have about 4 to 6 slips and when we harvested the fruits, my husband and I patiently planted each of them.

Plenty of pineapples plants.

Pineapple on the lower part have 3 slips/suckers which can be planted to propagate them.

     We are able to plant some vegetables... and the benefits are very rewarding.  We also have some chickens and ducks. Next time we'll have more... we just need to improve it more so things will be so much easier.

    

Muscovado Sugar

Nature's Muscovado Specialty Sugar P114 per 1kg

     I've been using muscovado sugar for more than a year now.  I use it in our coffee, milk, fruit juices and also for cooking.  Muscovado sugar retains all of the natural ingredients of sugar cane, making it a healthy alternative to white sugar . High in nutritional value, comparable even to pure honey. Muscovado sugar is unrefined, with a high mineral content.  White sugar on the other hand is bleached with chemicals to remove the molasses.  The refining process  for producing white sugar have eliminated all traces of nutrients in it.

     My kids got used to muscovado flavor in their milk, the sugar cane flavor made them think I am putting chocolate in it.  It's good to introduce healthier options to children while they are still young, so they consume less chemical foods while they are growing up.


     I buy Nature's Muscovado Specialty Sugar for P114 per 1kg packaging  at Robinson's Supermarket.  In it's packaging, they claim that it's pesticide free wherein no synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides are used from planting to harvesting of the sugarcane. It also went through a chemical-free process, absolutely no synthetic chemical additives nor has it been bleached or stripped of the flavor of sugar cane.

PASSI Premium Raw Cane Sugar P22 per 500g

     If the recipe I'm going to cook or bake calls for white sugar, I use PASSI Premium Raw Cane Sugar for P22 per 500g packaging.  This brand smells and taste better than the regular washed sugar I used to buy in the market, plus it comes in a resealable pack. 
   
    

    

Amber Restaurant

     My husband loves Amber's Pansit Malabon and Pichi-Pichi.  They have the best pichi-pichi I have tried, and my son loves their pork barbecue.  We ordered Original Pansit Malabon for 25 persons for P800, Lumpiang Shanghai 25 pieces for P200, Pork Barbecue 20 pieces for P340 and Pichi-pichi 60 pieces for P240.  Since the delivery charge is P150, I decided to include in our order some single serving of their different pansit in their menu.  We tried Bihon Guisado, Canton Special, Sotanghon Guisado, Bihon Guisado and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

Original Pansit Malabon P800

Fried Lumpiang Shanghai 25pcs P200

Pichi-pichi 60pcs P240

Sotanghon Guisado P50

Canton Special P50

Bihon Guisado P50

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce P60

     I forgot to take a picture of their Pork Barbecue but it's one of the best in their menu.  The meat and vegetable toppings used in their different pansit recipe taste just the same and cooked the same way too they just used different types of noodles.  The meat in their pansit taste a little sweet so a bit different from the usual pansit we used to try.  The pichi-pichi is really soft and the coconut toppings compliments it a lot, I like it more than the cheese toppings I have tried  before.

Boracay Sandwich - Army Navy

     Few of the things I miss about Boracay is the food.  We have this sandwich at Jonah's which I think would taste better if I'm the one who's going to prepare it.  I was a bit disappointed with their recipe because it didn't turned out what I have expected.  Their loaf bread I think is a bit burnt, their cheese sauce is too thin and lots of margarine not butter and the milk curdled.

     Ingredients:
          loaf bread lightly toasted
          cooked ham
          sunny side up eggs
          cheese
          butter
          milk






Procedure:

     1.  Lightly toast the loaf bread so it will not become too soggy when you put the cheese sauce.

     2.  Cook ham in oil until lightly browned on the edges.  Cook eggs the sunny side up way, put a little salt to taste.

     3.  Arrange the sandwich, first the loaf bread then put egg.

       4.  Put another bread on top of the egg and put ham and top again with another piece of bread.

     5.  Prepare the special cheese sauce.  In a small sauce pan put milk, butter and grated cheese.  Heat the mixture until the cheese are melted, do not boil or the milk will curdle.  Pour over the sandwich.

     This should be served as soon as you poured the cheese sauce, letting it sit too long in the sauce will make the bread soggy.  I was able to make this sandwich from Boracay a lot better, now I think I will not miss the food so much... Enjoy a taste of Boracay!

Seafood Pasta

Seafood Pasta

Ingredients:
     minced garlic
     minced onion
     chopped tomatoes
     tomato juice
     shrimp
     squid
     mussel
     tomato sauce
     dried oregano
     dried basil
     salt and pepper to taste
     parsley and basic for garnishing

How to prepare the tomatoes
      I bought about eight pieces of medium sized ripe tomatoes and cut them in half so I can remove the seeds.  I used a fine sieve to get the juice and set it aside. Blanch the tomatoes with hot water so it will be easy to peel the skin off and then chop it to smaller pieces.

 

     Boil mussel until cooked.  Open the shell and remove the other part of the shell without meat.

Procedure:
     1.  Saute garlic in vegetable oil until lightly browned, add in onions and saute until soft.

     2.  When the onions are cooked, add in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are soft.  Add all the seafoods and saute until shrimp turned orange. 

     3.  Add dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. 

     4.  Add in tomato sauce and tomato juice and simmer until cooked.  If the sauce is to thick, you can put chicken stock to thin it a little.

     5.  Combine cooked pasta with sauce and put minced fresh basil leaves on top.

Garden

     When I came back from Boracay, first thing I checked are my vegetable plants.  My husband made a drip irrigation for me so that in our one week stay at Boracay, somehow my plants can survive.

Carbon Block Filter

Drip Irrigation

       Though it was raining most of the day, some of my pots are under the roof and needs to be watered regulary.  I am really surprised the plants are doing great.  This is what it looked like when I got back.

 

     I was planning to cut this tomato plant so that I can put compost and prepare it for another plant that needed a bigger container.  Thought I do it when when I get back because I was so busy, the fruits was still small then. 

White Icicle Radish

Eggplant

Red Bell Pepper

Upland Kangkong, Eggpalnt, Sitaw, Tomato, Red Bell Peppers and Radish

        I was still able to harvest few vegetables from my garden, I cooked sinigang that day.  Now, I am preparing most of the pots, I am putting compost and burnt rice hull to improve the soil.  I have sowed pechay, okra, lettuce and sitaw today.

Boracay Day 6

     We are going island hopping on our day 6 at Boracay.  I was able to talk to the captain of one paraw ship and he gave me P1200 for three hours rent of his paraw.  We went snorkeling twice and went to Puka Beach.  I collected a couple of shells for souvenirs.

      A paraw is a small boat that is native to the Philippines. It's single shallow hull is usually made from wood and bamboo which is sturdy and versatile. On a paraw's sides are two floaters or logs that act as outriggers to help balance the boat and prevent it from capsizing.  At Puka Beach, there's a small cave called Puka Cave entrance is P20 each.  The children on the island will light a candle for the guests and they have flash lights you can barrow to explore the cave.

           After our paraw experience we are so tired my husband just bought food so we can just eat in our room  Andok's Roasted Chicken for P250 and plain rice P48.  In the afternoon, we went for a stroll on the white beach.  We went to Zuzuni for a light snack.  I tried their Tzatziki P165 - Pita bread with yogurt and cucumber dip.  My kids wanted Deluxe Waffle P205 and Chocolate Mati Sin P250 which is just like choco lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

Deluxe Waffle P205

Chocolate Mati Sin P250

Tzatziki P165

     While walking along the beach on our last night in Boracay we bought Mango Fruit Shake P95 at Jonah's, Starbucks Coffee's Dark Chocolate Mocah P185 and Loco Frio Mai Tai flavor.

Station 1, Beach Front

Dark Chocolate Mocha P185

Beachfront in Station 1

Loco Frio Bottle with Mai Tai Frozen Cocktail P270