Grow my own

Here in our new place, I’m so glad that we have a vacant space at the back.

I can grow again and plant what I want. That’s one of my hobbies even before I was a child – gardening.

I planned to plant some vegetables and my children help me and our “market “too (see him?).


We planted upo (bottle gourd), patola (luffa), squash, eggplant, okra, snow peas, tomato, hot chili, red bell pepper, sitaw (string beans), saluyot (jute), talinum or talelong, alugbate, gabi (taro), and sweet potato (kamote), luya (ginger) and even spring onions in the pot.

I planted lettuce too but its rainy season so it doesn’t work. I’ll plant again later.

My effort of planting and caring everyday my garden was paid in just few months passed. Now I’m harvesting some already like the green leafy…..

It’s a nice feeling to harvest your own veggies and cook it right away because the nutritional peak of veggies is at the moment they are harvested. It’s so fresh, crunchy, and delicious.

Today I harvested my Ampalaya or bitter gourd or bitter melon or Momordica charantia. It’s a veggie or fruit that known for its bitter taste.


Both the Ampalaya leaves and fruits are rich in fiber and nutrients such as iron and potassium; it contains beta carotene, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin B, too.

Ampalaya is recognized as herbal remedy for a variety of ailments: protects spleen and liver problem, lower blood pressure, for diabetes -regulates or control blood sugar level, relieve skin diseases, sterility in women, kill parasites, relieves fever and cold symptoms, HIV, boosts immunity and used as a disinfectant for cuts and scrapes.

This was my first harvest…and cooked it like this.

Ampalaya con Carne

Ingredients:

Cooking oil
Crushed or minced garlic
1 sliced onion
2 tomatoes cut in cube
¼ kilo ground beef or pork
2 to 3 big Ampalaya (cut length wise and take off the seeds using the spoon, then slice thinly)
1cup of beef broth or water
Salt & pepper
2 to 3 beaten eggs

Procedure:

1.Heat the cooking oil first then sauté the garlic, onion, tomatoes and ground beef, add salt and pepper.
2.Then mix the sliced Ampalaya, stir once, add the broth or water and cover.Take note: never ever stir again until cook to avoid the much bitter taste, believe me.
3.When the Ampalaya is cooked, pour the beaten eggs, cover again and turn off the fire.


This was my second harvest… I added the extra shrimps from my fridge.

Calling Him at the last moment

One time last summer, when we’re newly moved here in our place, I was so busy cleaning and fixing our things down stairs.

My new neighbor (again, she loves to disturb me) came and had chat with me. It’s summer and sooo, so, so, so hot and I’m so tired and all in sweat.

While my neighbor kept on talking, I felt something strange in me. First I felt like vomiting and then dizziness, next my sense of hearing seems like I’m boarding on a plane. Then my eyes were blocking out and headache.

I made an alibi to my neighbor, told her that I have to go up stairs and prepare for our lunch. She said “OK, perhaps you’re hungry that’s why you look so pale”. Therefore she noticed that am not feeling well that moment.

I was really in bad condition, that when I started to climbed up the stairs, I can’t step my foot anymore it’s so heavy and can’t see anything. Seems that I wanted to pass out, but I tried to crawl to the stairs and thought of my 3 children and prayed to the Lord that if I die, please not now.

I’m half way of the stairs when my youngest saw me and asked me what happened. I don’t know why, but in trembling voice, I just asked her to get me very cold water.

Then before she gets the water she called her big bro to help me. My son helped me sat on the sofa and asked him to open the strongest electric fan and I drunk the iced water that my youngest gave me.

And miraculously after drinking the iced cold water I felt that it seems I was showering under the icy falls. All of my senses came back and felt fine and only slight headache remains but later it’s gone too.

They said I suffered heat struck. If I didn’t force myself to go up stairs and w/o the fast help of my children, I might die instantly at that moment.

At my age, I’m still a very healthy person, never suffered any major illness. But with that kind of attack, it’s so frightening because I’m not ready yet to leave my children behind. Still they are enduring when their father abandoned us, specially my son.

I thanked God so much that He hears me again.

Calling God even at the last moment is so powerful. Believe me.