Market Manila

I feel like I need a colonic treatment after the last two posts, hahaha, so I decided to just have fruit for breakfast today. I am trying to take in sea air to get rid of the bronchitis and on the drive out to Batangas yesterday, I noticed a couple of newly picked honeydew or green melons at the Toscana farmstand in Silang, Cavite. The saleslady assured me they were sweet, and were picked just hours before (the pliable green stems seemed to prvoe her assertions). So I bought two melons. I am usually disappointed by melons grown locally, but hope springs eternal, and I buy them frequently nonetheless. Well, these were a pleasant surprise, incredibly juicy and quite sweet. A solid 8.0 or even 8.5 on the melon scale, and certainly one of the best I have had from a local source this year.

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The natural outcome of recent posts has been a question that has been asked of me publicly and privately at least 5 dozen times in the past year… and while I think I have expressed my feelings on the matter in comments before, but let me outline them in a post once and for all.

Why Don’t I Write For a Local Newspaper or Magazine?

1. I don’t write professionally for the bizarre reason that I am not a professional writer. I realize that sounds like a chicken or egg situation, so let me elaborate. I majored in Finance and Pre-Law (magna cum laude) and went on to get my Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Corporate and International Finance from a top school where I graduated with distinction. All my life, English was not a favorite subject, and frankly, if I am to be realistic about my skills, my basic English skills are weak, 1,300 posts that have amused you notwithstanding. The more I learn in life, the more I learn what I don’t know, and perhaps what I don’t have a burning interest to know in my remaining 40-odd statistical years on this planet. And a professional writer I am not. I can’t even tell where to put the apostrophes and several of the books I have purchased in the past year to help me improve my skills sit on a shelf, lonely.

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I woke this morning to emails from readers that an apology was published on the on-line version of the Inquirer column of Ms. Aspiras. The relevant section is quoted in full, below:

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The dish Pipian from the Ilocos region, is almost certainly derived from a Mexican dish of the same name. Sometime during the peak of the galleon trade between the Philippines and Mexico, a Mexican priest, sailor or merchant probably got homesick and cooked up a pot of Pipian, which a local eventually indigenized and made their own. At least that is my complete and utter conjecture. However, if one looks up a recipe for Mexican Pipian, you will note some similarities, the Mexican stew or soup being made with chicken, ground or crushed pumpkin seeds, epazote, ancho chillies, lots of different spices, etc.

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Acute Bronchitis, possibly bordering on Pneumonia. That’s it. Nothing to worry about. A serious course of overpriced antibiotics, some cough medicine and lots of liquids and rest for 7 days… but blogging allowed (I am assuming the doctor knew what that meant, now that I think about it, he gave me this look that could have meant he understood it to be something else…). The last time I had this was about 7 years ago, but it was worse then. But I do have to rant about this particular doctor’s gatekeeper, secretary, assistant… she typifies a minority of folks in the country that I reserve an “automatic squeeze her/his neck akimbo stance” after dealing with them for just seconds.

First of all, I must say that most doctors, and I KNOW a lot of my readers are part of the medical profession, have less than totally logical and fair and efficient ways of booking appointments/consultations. Most will not give you a specific time to come see them if you need a consultation on short notice. Most will ask you to sign up, make pila on first come, first serve basis, etc. and in the end the patient wastes time, the doctor has a crowd, the hospital fills up with more germs, and the main reason given for this is that many people don’t show up at appointed times and therefor this bizarre procedure that WASTES an incredible amount of time… but that is my two cents worth… here was the actual exchange with this particular secretary (I try to replicate it as true to the real conversation, though I admit to slight exaggeration and embellishment):

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I am toying with the idea of a Marketmanila t-shirt in conjunction with a charitable effort for the Christmas holidays. It is only in the planning stages, but ignore the peripheral issues and concentrate on the t-shirt only… which of the following t-shirts would be something that might appeal, amuse or be worn by you? Or if you have a better idea for a one liner on the front of the t-shirt, leave a comment, please.

The BACK of the t-shirt is pretty much set:

A Marketmanila Basket Logo with the website address: www.marketmanila.com

It is the FRONT of the t-shirt that I am trying to figure out, and here are my top 4 choices so far:

FRONT A : “Have you been to the market lately?”

FRONT B : “Fresh, Finicky and Free.”

FRONT C : “Fishpan Elitist”

FRONT D : “I Beat My Eggs Into Mayonnaise” (Hahaha. I jest. I will NOT use this one!)

So, what do you guys think? Again, all I am trying to figure out is a Marketmanila t-shirt, ignore how or why it will be issued or manufactured, if it gets that far at all… Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated, however, I cannot guarantee that all of your brilliant ideas will be used! Thank you, thank you!!!

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One of the things I wanted to acquire during the trip to Ilocos were a bunch of palayoks or clay pots so that I could experiment with cooking dishes the “old-fashioned” way. I have always been fascinated by the claims that food tastes better when cooked in palayoks, so I wanted to buy some. In addition, I have always been intrigued with clay water vessels that seem to yield water that is actually cooler than the ambient temperature…but that may be an illusion or perception… though marble’s resting temperature does seem colder than the air around it. On our first day in Vigan, we hired a calesa to take us to a local pot maker or factory, otherwise referred to as a “pinagburnayan.” There is an excellent article on Vigan’s pinagburnayan and burnay, by Cynthia O. Valdez, published in the Inquirer, link here. Ms. Valdez was a member of the Philippine Ceramics Society and her article is a nicely written introduction to the history and lore surrounding these common yet fascinating potteries from the Ilocos Region… Once at the factory, they were kind enough to give us a demonstration of how the vessels were made:

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This is a quick plug for The Peninsula Manila who has brought in David Goodridge, Chef de Cuisine of the venerable Gaddi’s Restaurant at The Peninsula Hong Kong. Mr. Goodridge is participating in a food festival from September 14-22nd at The Old Manila Restaurant and will apparently be giving a cooking class on Saturday, the 22nd of September. Please contact The Peninsula Manila directly for details if you are interested. I believe I have only eaten at Gaddi’s on one occassion, a business lunch in a previous life. But I have had high tea in the lobby of The Peninsula Hong Kong on several memorable occasions… I was also once invited to a “private apartment” (many eons ago) within the hotel that was utterly fabulous; it was for a quasi job interview with a very powerful firm and it didn’t work out; but that’s okay, I was impressed by the apartment and the view of the harbor! :)

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