Stars

While Frosty and his fellow snowmen (and women?) took their posts on the center island, parols in various shades and sizes occupied the second floor of the city hall.  There they glittered and shone, proof that ingenuity is alive and well in these parts.

Of course we had to be admonished not to touch them.  Otherwise, everyone would have literally reached for the stars.

Surprise!

I love old houses.  In this day and age of concrete and linoleum, nothing quite captures the charm of a bygone era as wooden structures.

One look at this house, and I am transported to the days of my grandfather.  For 43 years, the house had been hidden from view, its stories known only by those who lived there. 

The house won't probably be here for long.  Already, it shows signs of abandonment.  It, too, looks lost in the midst of development.  Still and all, it tells the story of the Sorsogon of decades ago.  The Sorsogon of my childhood.

Yeto's Beef Caldereta

In memory of Sir Yeto Jimenez, certainly one of Sorsogon's colorful and beloved personalities. Sir Yeto taught, lived, loved and laughed well. Cooked well, too.

Sir Yeto generously shared this in a feature in Food: The Magazine of Good Cooking.

2 kilos stewing beef, cut into pieces
10-12 cups water
1 kilo pork liver
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
salt to taste
2 cups sliced pimientos morones or fresh baguio pepper
2 cups pitted green olives
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup sliced onion
1 small can or two long pieces chorizo de Bilbao, cut crosswise into 1/2" slices
salt and pepper to taste

Put beef in a large casserole and pour enough water to cover. Cover casserole and bring water to a boil then lower heat immediately to simmer. Let simmer about one hour.

Meanwhile, broil pork liver until medium rare. Grind or chop liver finely.

Combine liver with cheese, tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, pimientos morones and green olives. Stir until smooth. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute garlic, onions and chorizo de Bilbao. Stir in liver mixture and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until mixture turns lighter in color.

Pour liver mixture into the beef in the casserole and simmer for 15 minutes or until mixture thickens and beef is completely tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pudo

One of the nicest things about living here is that everything is just about ready for the picking. With none of the urban constriction of the bigger cities, there's plenty of room to plant, plant and plant. And pick, pick and pick.

In my little corner of the universe, everything we need for sinigang (except for the meat, of course) is right there: kangkong, sili, eggplant,okra, radish. We have tambis, hagis, bananas, pili, avocado, mango, santol, cashew, coconut and magic fruit. Soon, there will be guyabano.

All this freshness is particularly felt in the hot summer months, when fruits are aplenty. A trip to the market yields cartfuls of balig-ang, bagfuls of berba and hagis and piles upon piles of tambis. All of them freshly picked from some lucky Sorsoganon's backyard, of course.

Hereabouts, "pudo" (to pick/the act of picking) is still a magical word.