Comments on: Rogue’s Annual Food Issue, May 2015

By: Kasseopeia

Kasseopeia — Thu, 21 May 2015 23:30:00 +0000

Natie! Good to know my neurons are not failing me… yet! Hahaha, I also have a vested interest in what MM learns (and shares) from your mom’s thesis. I’m excited!

By: Natie

Natie — Thu, 21 May 2015 02:36:49 +0000

@Kass: You remembered! Yes, I mailed a copy of the thesis to MM last year. I had it scanned/ copied and had several hard-covered copies made for my siblings and kids.

By: Kasseopeia

Kasseopeia — Wed, 20 May 2015 07:17:47 +0000

MM: off-topic again but related to alibangbang leaves, but did you ever get your hands on a regular commenter’s (natie?) mom’s thesis (or was it for her doctorate) on different souring agents in the Philippines?

Nacho: If you are reading this, please PLEASE may I know how to contact you re: visiting your farm (and loading up on tomatoes, and bringing a couple of kids who are obsessed with growing food) please? Googling up Toscana yields a phone number for the Makati office ((02) 890 6472) and a Philstar article… and I will admit I am too chicken to call the office =D

By: Cameron Gazdecki

Cameron Gazdecki — Tue, 19 May 2015 12:25:55 +0000

Amazing magazine on rogues-annual-food-issue. i am glad that i found your website. i like it, interesting. thanks for sharing with us.

By: Footloose

Footloose — Tue, 19 May 2015 10:13:10 +0000

Perhaps in urban settings faster mode of transport and dependable methods of storage have blurred the perception of the changing seasons. Those making their living by the countryside and in coastal areas though are well aware of the appearance and easy availability of certain types of fruits and fishes signalling the parts of the year so they set their schedules and expectations by their recurrence.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 19 May 2015 03:40:45 +0000

Yup, that topic was also another subject matter at the recently concluded Madrid Fusion, the souring agents of sinigang, though I didn’t listen to the talk by Fernando Atacama. And I still want to do a seasonal calendar, since all the young local chefs seem to be under the impression that there is no seasonality in a tropical country… :(

By: Footloose

Footloose — Tue, 19 May 2015 00:14:18 +0000

Wasn’t a monograph on panigang one of the projects you wanted to devote some time and attention too going years back. That was when I mentioned certain souring agents people roughing it down our way resort to for their sinigang; katmon and pingol bato, a native begonia.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 18 May 2015 23:35:28 +0000

Footloose, tocino and beef tapa are posts close on the heels of chicken inasal as well. The posts that took the most time and effort, like tracking down and writing about the tinapa producer from Cavite, or the lichen chronicles, while popular, aren't nearly as visited as basic recipes. That's one of the reasons I never quite got around to writing that cookbook... it might only be interesting to a few dozen people. :) I once wrote about alibangbang leaves as a souring agent for soups many years ago. Recently, it got top billing in PR materials for the recent Madrid fusion. Nearly 85% of all Filipinos today use instant sinigang powder for their soups, so expounding on the various nuances of sourness from unripe sineguelas, green mangoes, alibangbang, batuan, cation, etc. seems like a losing battle.

By: Footloose

Footloose — Mon, 18 May 2015 19:58:58 +0000

A quarter million hits for inasal. Really? The lechon chronicles had mystery, adventure, suspense, tears (for the poor animals who gave up their lives) and rewarding denouement that tugged at my heartstrings and I’d easily assumed, in their totality, would have easily warranted more hits.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Mon, 18 May 2015 11:30:07 +0000

Dogbone, rants, are by far, the most visited posts, and get LOTS of comments for the most part. Some rants, like the one I wrote on the BIR, got nearly 150,000 visits over time. And Christmas posts that are tearjerkers can generate as much as 300,000+ visits (we are an emotional nation it seems). For recipes, chicken inasal a la Marketman has probably generated 250,000+ visits over the years. And oddly, my serious posts on poverty, inequality, economics, etc. also get a lot of traffic.