Filipina Soul

These days, I can’t pull my friend Kendi from the TFC Channel. She is hooked to one of the most watched television series in the Philippines.

“Lobo” (Wolf), starring Piolo Pascual and Abgel Locsin from ABS-CBN, is a love story between two mortal enemies.

Noah (Piolo Pascual) and Lyka (Angel Locsin) will lead lives worlds apart until their fates are entwined in a journey full of secrets, betrayals and violence. Unravel the mystery of this tale between ill-fated lovers who will go against the odds to be together, defying and challenging whatever force that conspire to tear them apart.

Piolo Pascual is excited with his new teleserya. His first action soap, “Lobo” is a total departure from Piolo’s other projects. “There are so many physical challenges as this is not a typical soap that you just cry or “dramahan,” said the actor to abs-cbnNews.com. “In this series there’s adventure, suspense so there’s so many ingredients.” “Lobo” is also the first team-up of Piolo with Angel Locsin, ABS-CBN’s new contract star.

Know what the “fruit of life” is and the “tree from which is springs”?  None other than the stately COCONUT TREE.

What’s up with the coconut? It just happens to be one of the most versatile tree in the world - you can use every part of the plant -

• The coconut leaves can be woven into mats, bowls and the walls of a nipa hut.
• The leaf spines are great as sweepers and brooms (walis ting-ting).
• The coconut trunk is cut into wood and becomes one of the toughest hardwood flooring.
• The coconut fruit has even more uses. The husk is used to shine floors (bunot).
• The shell (bao) is used as containers, piggy banks and many others.
• The flower or spathe (ubod) has a sweet nectar that when fermented becomes an alcoholic beverage (lambanog) that only the toughest men (or women) can drink without getting drunk.
• The meat is for eating and cooking with.

Now, I don’t want to spoil everything because there are probably a hundred more uses to the coconut tree and the fruit. And this month of February, Lasang Pinoy celebrated its 24th edition by inviting others to blog about the COCONUT. The carnival ends today, so you still have a few hours to participate. A round-up will be posted next week.

Hop over to Kai of Bucaio for the specifics. Oh, and I see Maricar posted her recipe of maja blanca yesterday. Good going, sis! 

Do you know that maja blanca is one of the easiest desserts to make? That’s what I discovered recently, while browsing through Reynaldo Alejandro’s The Philippine Cookbook (aff):

Maja Blanca (Coconut Cake)

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 cups coconut milk
3 cups grated coconut

Mix cornstarch and sugar in a bowl. Add water and stir. In a saucepan, bring coconut milk to a boil and gradually stir in cornstarch mixture. Boil for 5 minutes, until the starch is cooked. Pour into a buttered cake pan (or any bowl with smooth sides) and let cool. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast at 350F until brown. Sprinkle cake with toasted grated coconut and serve.

It is so easy! You can have a yummy dessert in just a few minutes.

Here are some tips: I use a can of coconut milk and add water to make 2 cups. Sometimes, I pass on the grated coconut and just enjoy the cake itself. I also read that you can add corn kernels to the mixture for added flavor.

Ramielie Malubay sang “Don’t Leave Me This Way”….but didn’t impress the judges with her choice of song. Still Simon did say she is one of the top 3 most amazing voices in the competition.

So… will you vote for her?

For the rest of her competition, check out our resident Idol Stalker…

The First Pinoy Nurses Expo 2008 will be held on March 8-9, 2008 at the Megatrade Hall 2, 5th floor Bldg. B in SM Megamall.

This job expo, billed as “A Tribute to the Global Filipino Nurse”, will give nurses, and those who plan to enter the nursing field, the opportunity to find employment and training. Among the attendees will be representatives from review and training centers, POEA licensed recruitment agencies, medical schools, and test providers. Seminars will cover the following topics:

• Ladderized Education Program
• An Introduction to IELTS
• US Nursing Shortage Beyond 2010: myth or fact?
• You want to migrate?
• Nurses migration to other countries :An overview
• Strategies for NCLEX Success
• Facts and realities of life in the US

The fees are: P100.00 fee for walk-in participants, or P80.00 if you register here.

via Pinoy Ambisyoso and Island Exhibit

I have never visited Davao City, but I have heard so much about the beauty of the place. Someday, I want to see and experience it for myself. Meanwhile, I can only dream of seeing places like the Crocodile Farm, and tasting the best native food the city has to offer.

Vanessa Arellano Doctor, a proud Davaoeño, shares the Davao City that can’t be found in tourism brochures. Included in her list are dining places where you can get delicious meals at affordable prices. Some of these are the Bamboo Kitchenette on Roxas Street and the Agdao Public Market. She also gives tips on the best shopping areas for bargains.

Here are some more of her useful reminders:

• Jeep fare is P7. Cab fare within the city is P60 (in airconditioned cabs) or P35 (in non-airconditioned taxis).
• If you don’t speak Bisaya, don’t worry. Davaoeños can speak Tagalog.
• Be sure to visitPeople’s Park and walk on rainbow road.
• All coffee shops have free WiFi.
• You can smoke only in designated areas in the city. Smoking in closed public areas is punishable by law

via Inquirer; image from Proud to be Pinoy

See if you can guess these!

1. Kung gusto mong tumagal pa ang aking buhay, kailangang ako ay mamatay. (If you want my life to be longer, I need to die.)

2. Kinain ko ang isa, itinapon ko ang dalawa. (I ate one, and threw away two.)

3. Bulak na bibitin-bitin, di puwedeng balutin. (Cotton that hangs up high cannot be wrapped.)

4. Nagdaan si Tarzan, nabiyak ang daan. (Tarzan passed by, and the road was split.)

5. Nung bata ay may buntot, noong lumaki ay nagkatuhod. (When it was young, it had a tail. When it grew up, it acquired knees.)

The answers are below….

Continue reading Mga Bugtong (Filipino Riddles) Set 16

Has it really been 22 years already?

My memories of the People’s Revolution at EDSA are still crystal clear. The events beginning with Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, my parents horrific reaction of that and the months to follow, the elections, the revolt, and what I was doing and feeling - I can still bring back the memories. And I was only a teenager then. I was only a spectator.

Others, much older than I was, were part of the battle. This ABS-CBN exclusive recounts the days surrounding the ouster of deposed President Marcos, from the eyes of Irwin Ver, Marcos’ commander of the guards and the son of General Fabian Ver. He says Marcos and his father were wrongly blamed for Ninoy’s death. Fabian Ver was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan and Cory Aquino’s administration.

I was brought up believing otherwise. I grew up believing that a better future for the Philippines was long overdue. I grew up believing that a people that was once fearful and self-absorbed can rise up against a tyranny and effect change that lasts. Twenty two years later, I still remember the power of EDSA over our country. Unfortunately, I also remember the many other times hence that our country has see-sawed between glory and corruption. Sometimes, by the same names that stood up and fought for freedom that day at EDSA.

How easy it is to forget.

Continue reading Remembering the EDSA revolution

AHA! So that’s what they’re doing in our backyard!

The American public is bombarded with the non-smoking campaigns everywhere, with no less than the cigar czar Philip Morris explaining the health effects of smoking on health. But I have always wondered whether that same message is spread outside of the Atlantic. As it turns out, the company is just selling its wares elsewhere.

Philip Morris is building a tobacco warehouse in Subic Pampanga, to produce…  Chewing gum? Duh - what else! There is even a cigarette plant in Tanuan, Batangas “to export Philippine-made cigarette products to Malaysia and Indonesia.”

Philip Morris already invested some $300 million for its Batangas facility, and will put in another P1-billion for the Subic site.

Good for the economy? Sure. Until it starts killing Filipinos.

news source: ABS-CBN

I miss having warm freshly-cooked puto (rice cake)for merienda. My mom used to buy puto when she went to the market every week. It was always warm and soft and really delicious. It’s a craving that won’t go away so, I want to try my hand at making puto one of these days.

Here are some recipes I found online:

* Easy White Puto

* Special Puto (Rice Muffin)

* Puto Mamon

* Pilipino Puto Mamon

* Puto Caramba

* Puto Pao

* Puto Binian

* Coconut Rice Cake (Puto Maya)

image via Simply Anne’s