Bahay Na Bato of La Union

many faces in Bahay na Bato

Luna, La Union. In this remote town of this province you can find one of the tourist destinations being visited by thousands of tourists because of its unique man-made attractions and the millions of pebbles in the beach. Located in western part of north La Union is the tourists hub called Bahay Na Bato or Stone House

The fusion of natural beauty of the nature comprising of the coasts of Luna town that boost the beach of millions of pebbles that decorated the more than 5 kilometer shoreline of  villages here. Then the one of kind collections of arts from the imaginative thinking of the Korean artists who carved many animals and creatures in the unique wood formations, big stones and hardened lime stones.

wood carving

The arts of stone sculpture that carve many things like artistic formed of faces, animals like head of gorilla, crustaceans among others.

head of gorilla

Also the wood carvings from dried roots and trunks of a tree that sculpted to an artistic heads of dragons, grottos and other religious images and other animals.

head of the dragon

The latest attractions are the antique collections of things used by farmers, fishermen, carpenters, World War 2 memorabilia and many more.

 You think you can spend your 1 hour of roaming and enjoying the moment in Bahay Na Bato? Think again. Your two hours might not enough for you and roam around the not so wide area of this venue. Besides, many of things here are really appreciable and a mere seeing and touching them is not enough. You have to know the stories of each art in the park.

So, if you love nature and arts, gas your car for one hour ride from national highway of Bangar and enjoy the arts and beach pebbles.###

Cassava Bibingka

Bibingka is one of the famous delicacies in the Philippines. Be it made with cassava or glutinous rice. It’s part of the tradition of the Filipino that during special occasion and party, there should be bibingka in the table.

Cassava or as we call it "kamoteng-kahoy" is one rootcrop easily found in the country in any region. The abundance of the said rootcrop resulted to many local delicacies.

What we need to bake now is cassava bibingka.

What you need:

7 cups of grated cassava

3 pieces of coconut

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of evaporated milk

Butter

Banana leaves

For Toppings

1         cup of coconut milk

2 spoonful of flour

1 cup of condensed milk

2         eggs

3         grated cheese

PREPARATIONS

Thorough beat and mix  the eggs and sugar

Add other ingredients and then put  in the pan with the banana leaves

Add together the coconut milk and flour

Add the condensed milk

Cook in low heat until become sticky

Add the egg yolk and mixed together

Cook thoroughly up to 5 minutes

Add to the baked bibingka

Put some cheese

Cooked until it turn to color golden brown.

Ramanam.

Tinungbo, Cooking Rice In Bamboo

Tinungbo is an early Ilocano way of cooking rice. There could never be any race or tribe to cook rice like this but this traditional way of cooking have been here particularly to the race living in the northern part of the Philippines. Well, of course, when it comes to survival, you may have experienced cooking rice the way we cook it.

Tinungbo is simply cooking the rice using the bamboo. That's it, no more than that. No secret ingredients and no special way of cooking the rice. Just like you are not just using the rice cooker or the pan to cook the rice. There is bamboo variety called 'bolo' that best suit to cook the rice grains. The bolo bambo have thinner skin which help the rice to cook faster.

Secret Of Ilocano Pinakbet

Think of vegetable and the best vegetable dish to come to the mind of Filipino is pinakbet. This culinary tradition has been part of everyday living of early Filipino table.  Pinakbet is a Filipino food so famous in the Philippines.

Ilocano own and distinct taste comes in two things: first, using the bagguong (fish sauce) instead of salt; second is using the bagnet (deep-fried pork meat) instead of just meat. Bagguong is not a surprise ingredient for Ilocano pinakbet because almost all their dishes required this as tastier.

Ingredients: common locally grown vegetable is a must and that include eggplant, okra, string beans, squash, bagguong, bagnet, ginger, onions, garlic, tomato and 1 cup of water.

Preparations:  Fry the garlic, onions and garlic.  Add the vegetables mixing together.  Add water and then the bagnet.  Put some salt and seasoning and tomato then bring into boil.  Serve while it is hot.

Though bagnet is highly recommended for the distinctive taste of the meat but because its availability in every day is only in Ilocandia, you may opt to use chicharon-bulaklak (pork cracklings) as substitute. But if it’s still not possible you can use the stereotype pork meat. Or better yet, use lechon as meat part of your pinakbet—just don’t include the sauce.

Enjoy.

Ramanam.

How To Make The Best Kilawen

Ilocano food, Kilawen

Kilawen is an Ilocano favourite recipe served from a raw/half cooked meat of goat, cow, pork and fish. Usually it has lots of onions, onion leaves, pepper, ginger and other spices. The meat is cooked not by fire but through the acidity of organic vinegar or juice extract of citrus fruits like calamansi.

But speaking of kilawen, it’s most kin is goat’s milk.

How Okra Can Help Against Diabetes?

What we eat is how healthy we are.

It's better to better to eat vegetable.

But do you like okra?

Okra is one of the not so popular vegetable in the Philippines. Not popular because kids and some adults just don’t like it because of its slippery juice or extract and the taste just so ordinary.  Okay, maybe this is one of many reasons why okra or lady finger vegetable or English term—is  seldom served in the table. 

However there are some dishes that okra is must, for instance, pinakbet (vegetable mixes). Pinakbet will not be complete without this elongated green veggie.   

Another popular dish is the grilled okra which is easy to do because, well, it’s grilling. One famous dish is the Okra Salad.

Now let’s talk how okra can help you with your diabetes.

Hmm, can it really help to cure the diabetes?  Well, not everybody know this fact but based from an article I read in one magazine, okra or the lady finger can be a good medicine against this one of the most feared disease in the world.

If so, what should we do with okra?  Should we eat the vegetable not cook?  Or could be it the boiled roots or leaves that can heal the disease.  The answer is not.  But yes, it’s the vegetable fruit that can become the medicine.

How? To lower the blood sugar in our body, you need to harvest the fresh okra fruit.  Sliced the fruit and soak it overnight in a glass of water.  In the next morning, drink the water where the lady finger was soaked.  Do this every morning and with the prayer, this maybe the answer of your diabetes.

photo is mine

Sweet Coated Peanut

What comes to your mind when you speak of peanut—of course, the famous peanut butter. Perhaps, the star among the products made from this root crop.

What about other products like the sweet coated peanut? Have you ever had this? Did you like the sweetness and the yumminess of the food?

The town of Santa Lucia in Ilocos Sur’s number agricultural product is peanut. So aside from the usual boiled peanut we like to munch, peanut butter is one of the homemade delicacies they include in their One Town One Product. But of course, one product that they are selling is the sweet coated peanut.

Here is one of peanut delicacy that you would love to have in your relaxing time or when you are writing in your laptop or just playing app game in your mobile.  We called it ‘sweet coated peanut’. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of peanut peas

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

A little bit of margarine

Vanilla and salt.

Preparation:

Mixed thoroughly all together the peanuts, sugar and water. 

Cook and until syrup becomes sticky. 

Mixed the vanilla. 

When the sugar is coating in the peanut, minimized the heat. 

Add the margarine and don’t let stop mixing until the hotness cools down.

Serve.

Peanut will always be one of our best finger foods.  I mean finger food when we pick the food with our fingers and directly put it into our mouth and then chump it.  The peanut is one of the classic food of our finger food.