Comments on: Love On The Rocks…

By: shiko-chan

shiko-chan — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 03:24:20 +0000

ah, you’re right of course, and i’ve read those past posts of yours. i meant, steeped in EVEN MORE pesticides and preservatives than usual ;) i’ve seen huge and perfect-looking strawberries in Korea (and no doubt there also are in Japan) so i was wondering if maybe we’d started importing. but export rejects (or “overruns”? ;) ) make sense. but oh well…it’s only once a year…………………… :)

happy Valentine’s to Mr and Mrs MM by the way!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:42:47 +0000

shiko-chan, I did a post on Benguet strawberries, here, and yes, they use a LOT of pesticides on them (see here), for the most part. Some are raised in greenhouses, with less pesticides, but they are pricier and often near enough to other fields to still be scary... I think there are some growers in Benguet that raise phenomenal looking berries for export to Japan and elsewhere in Asia, the "rejects" are what sometimes make it to Manila markets/groceries. We also raise and process some other fruit for Japanese retailers as well...

By: shiko-chan

shiko-chan — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 10:47:13 +0000

oh i love it when a menu gives me goosebumps. thanks so much for the suggestions, you’re always such a font of wisdom, culinary and otherwise.

incidentally, have you seen the strawberries they’re selling these days? supposedly they’re from baguio per usual, but they seem to keep amazingly well even without refrigeration(!!) and they seem a lot less small and misshapen than usual. i’m full of morbid fears they’re GMOs and/or steeped in pesticides and preservatives. though i still keep buying them because life is short and strawberries are yummy…

By: JE

JE — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 09:11:45 +0000

Haha, you’re right about that cold-water-splashed-onto-face image.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 19:33:23 +0000

#3 just about killed me…how sad, I don’t want to imagine the numbers for other countries, or even worldwide. My valentine meal is crab legs and steak at home!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:09:00 +0000

shiko-chan, keeping it simple but top quality always seems to work. Some prawn or shrimp cocktail to start, a good steak with a gutsy red like a barolo or splurge on a margaux, and maybe strawberries and cream for dessert… I am thinking of making a small caviar pie perhaps (lumpfish, not expensive), maybe some salmon gravlax and a steak…

By: shiko-chan

shiko-chan — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 10:59:50 +0000

Oh dear, better ready the fishpans with this post, Mr. MM. ;)

Thanks though for the usual sensible Valentine’s counter-propaganda. Out of curiosity, are there any particular meal+wine (or other alcoholic beverage) combinations you’d recommend? Staying in this year with great food and drink from the *gasp!* supermarket sounds lovely.

By: ami

ami — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 01:56:59 +0000

Ahhhh Valentines, my least favorite holiday of the year. Aside from it being terribly commercialized, the traffic is horrendous.

Wasn’t it in the news a couple of days ago that there was a survey among Filipino youths and they found that a third of the respondents were sexually active?

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 21:43:44 +0000

And still on #7 just like Sarah said, i heard these words from a principal in an exclusive all girl’s highschool graduation speech: “Be good, and if you can’t be good, at least be careful.”

By: Ilongo

Ilongo — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 12:48:26 +0000

love hurts! at first glancei thought this was an el bulli inspired dish of foie gras over ice and foam :)