I have been wandering around a lot lately, walking for miles as I trailed the parish team as they distributed food packs to the families living in the outskirts of the city. And since it's the dry season in the Philippines, we enjoyed lots of sunshine and blue skies with the bonus of the inspiring color of the countryside: green!🍏
Yes, everywhere my camera and I turned, we were treated to the hues of lime, seaweed, mint, olive and those that remind you of the richness of the soil and the productive hands that grow, nurture and harvest the fruits of the sun, land and water.🌞
A few times, I stumbled upon plantations of fruit-bearing trees which reminded me of the santol and mango orchard of Lola Tinay at her Hacienda Malogo as well as the rambutan trees of Tita Lud at Hacienda Dapdap, where branches of the fruit tree dangled next to her balcony so she could just pick a few whenever she wanted. No need to climb. 😊
Lola Tinay's santol trees were probably of a different variety as the fruits were reachable by adults and huge! I remember we brought home lots of them in crates and took us days to finish! 🍊
When I was still in grade school, our teacher made us understand that we, in the Philippines, are lucky because our land is very fertile. We could just throw seeds anywhere and plants would grow, he said. Desert countries, compared to us, were not as lucky.
He was right but it seems we take it for granted. We instead abuse, neglect, exploit and ruin our environment like we wouldn't someday suffer the consequence of our poor decisions.
But as I continue to roam and enjoy the breezes and colors of the countryside, I hope generations after me will be able to do the same: to walk and appreciate the green miles. 🍀
It's the Masskara Festival again in Bacolod City in the Philippines next week. And aside from the colorful and creative masks that you'd definitely want to try on, the Negrense cuisine should also be in your must-try, or in this case, must-eat list!
And on top of that list should be chicken inasal!
And for every tourist that takes a bite of the most famous Negrense barbecue, I am sure that the memory of that bite - a bite of the chicken barbecue marinated in vinegar, lemongrass, soy sauce, calamansi, brown sugar, ginger, sweet lemon soda, and black pepper, and basted with annatto oil, salt, calamansi, and margarine will definitely stay on longer than the colorful mask.
So if you're like me who's dropping by Bacolod City soon for the Masskara Festival, you'll not only enjoy the flavors of the Negrense cuisine, but will also keep coming back for more! :-)
Unwrapping an 'alupe' is like unwrapping memories of childhood. And biting a slice of an 'alupe' is like reliving it!
(My childhood memories and alupe!)
Alupe is a popular delicacy in the Negros Island in the Philippines. Cassava is grated and pressed to extract the water in it. The grated cassava is then mixed with coconut milk, condensed milk, and sugar. Chunks of cheese and strips of coconut meat are added to make the flavor more interesting. The mixture is then wrapped in banana leaf in a rectangular shape, tied with threads, and then steamed until cooked!
On ordinary days if you crave for alupe, you can just roam the town's market and get your alupe from the delicacy corner. But the flavor and quality may just taste ordinary and very commercial.
But on special occasions, alupe is prepared without worrying about the cost of the ingredients. Since all of these are readily available and abundant in the islands, they won't be as expensive as they are in Manila.
But my stash of alupe was especially made for me! Thanks to the helpful neighbors who know how to make these!
(I am about to relive my childhood!)
Although that day, cassava was sold out at the local market, a friend, who had a neighbor with cassava plants in her backyard, asked to buy all of it! For only two hundred pesos, or about US$4! And it's the main ingredient!
That's why we had a few kilos of raw cassava to turn into yummy alupe! My own stash of alupe made especially for me!
So, if you know how to make your own alupe, you can enjoy your own stash as well! But if you don't, I hope you're as lucky as I am to have neighbors willing to make you some so you can enjoy alupe and relive the memories of your childhood...one bite at a time!
