Oh My Gulay!

When I was a kid, I hated veggies. For me, it felt so yucky and I just couldn't muster up the strength to swallow it. Until I went to college, the room I had was full of canned goodies my Mom scoops up in my bag to bring to our boarding house, in case I'd be too lazy to go to the cafeteria to eat. My friends eat at the nearby kiosk and they get to eat ampalaya with egg and pinakbet, but I always order adobong chicken or afritada. I really don't like vegetables.

I HATE Veggies!

NOT!


Not until I realized I could die not having it. When I got married, I learned to whip things up in the kitchen and that includes those green leafy vegetables that once felt ultimately yucky in my tongue. I have learned to make my own version of pinakbet (though not as good as my Dad's, my Mom does not cook so well, *grin*). I have forced myself to eat green leafy veggies especially malunggay, saluyot, pechay, cabbage and root crops like carrots and potatoes.

Today, my day is incomplete without having a dose of them in one of my meals. It fully satisfies me too knowing that my children, after seconds of encouraging, would eat them. Aside from some veggies I have really never loved, like the sitaw (string beans) and the talong (eggplant), I have learned to be responsible for my health, I eat veggies now and I encourage people to do the same. What with the Big C and other diseases you can get from today's generation of foods, it is best to take precaution. I don't need to enumerate what vegetables can do to our health because I trust that those reading this post already know the reason why we should eat GULAY.

I also thank my Dad because of his small farm here in our province (South Cotabato), we can always get fresh organic veggies available in his garden.

Here are some pics of what is in my Dad's garden.

bell peppers... ding dong


my father's ampalaya garden, look at all those ampalaya hanging...


me, picking pipino from Dad's garden

bell pepper over tomatoes

tomatoes!

Dad's garden also includes squash, eggplants, and okra.

Okay, so that made me busy last Christmas, also, Dad decided to have his mango orchard harvested, so we were busy preparing for the food the harvesters will eat. The people helping us harvest the mangoes gathered roughly ten thousand kiloes of the green mango.

Here's some pics of the Christmas harvest.





I'm drooling, makes me wanna go peel a green mango, get some bagoong (shrimp paste) and toyo (soy sauce) as sawsawan. Go ahead, help yourself for some.

Oops. But promise me you'll eat your veggies! Haha!

Hmmm, I see, you're salivating there, wipe it off please, teehee!

Comments

Anonymous said…
That garden is a treasure! I especially like the photo with ampalaya. I used to hate eating veggies, too. Not until I went to college and started being friends with those from the North. They are such a good influence that they taught me to appreciate the veggies. Now I miss mangga't bagoong!
Anonymous said…
jo is correct, treasure yang garden na yan. when worst comes, self-sufficient kayo when it comes to a basic necessity: food. ganda!

I also did not eat vegetables when I was young. sa college na rin ako natuto kumain ng veggies. and I'm glad I did...masarap na, masustansya pa! :)
RedLan said…
Laki ako sa gulay. Noong high school at college malimit na ako kumakain dahil sanay na sa foodchain at easy cook food. Pero miss ko palagi kumain ng gulay at hinahanap ko talaga siya. Ngayon most gulay na ang kinakain ko, iniiwasan ko na ang resto food. Nasusuka ako kapag everyday ako kumakain sa labas. Iba pa rin ang fresh na gulay at prutas.

Maganda ang pic ng ampalaya garden. Parang way to heaven siya.
Anonymous said…
mangga...bagoong....must..have...some!!!!! (i have bad memories of eating kamote tops with bagoong though. i hated them as a kid hehe.)
Anonymous said…
i used to only eat saluyot (do you know that veggie?) when i was kid. now, i eat sitaw and okra na, but i still don't eat the other leafy veggies. but im guessing in time, i'll eat them too. i dunno, but i think my tastebuds are evolving to a healthier one. hehe. :)
Anonymous said…
Love the ampalaya. It's my favorite!
Anonymous said…
sarap naman oi!

Inggit ako kc me farm dad mo. Anytime pwede ka pumitas ng veggie at ng manggang hilaw....yummeee!!!!
Anonymous said…
wow! Ang ganda naman jan sa farm ng dad mo! I like the pics. The fruits and veggies look so real, i wanna pick them straight from the computer screen... :D
Anonymous said…
Your dad's garden/farm is amazing :) I like the ampalaya, that's stunning! My parents are just starting out their own farm somewhere in Quezon. My dad just recently retired. I think they should take a leaf out of your dad's book!
Anonymous said…
Ako din dati ayoko ng gulay. But when I went to college in Manila, I had no choice kasi pag late night isang resto lang bukas and lahat ng tinda nya gulay.
Pangarap ko magkaron ng farm tulad ng as dad mo (garden kasi parang pang small types lang, etong sa dad mo ang laki yata so farm tawag ko). Yung farm ng parents ko ganda rin sana kaso walang nag-aasikaso at laging nanakaw mga pananim. :(
Garando said…
Sheng, nalaglag panga namin ni Garandee when we saw your Dad's farm, lalo na yung ampalaya garden. It's beautiful!! OMG, you are so lucky to have a Dad who owns a garden like that! Nothing's more healthy than fresh organic produce from your own backyard!

Kami rin, we eat more fresh veggies now and keep meat to a minimum. I even have to ask Garandee's permission before I even think of getting myself a burger. :D
Lantaw said…
hey these pics are nice! kaano-ano mo si Ric?
Anonymous said…
Grabe, I'm so inggit! Ang ganda nung garden ng father mo. Kinda reminds me of the Shire.
Kayni said…
Wow, your Dad's garden is amazing. I am in dire need of ampalaya due to my platelet condition =). Oh yes, mangoes are best eaten green and dipped in vinegar and salt. No worries, I eat my vegetables and fruits often. Thanks for the reminder.
Anonymous said…
love the ampalaya pic. reminds me of a scene in a movie.

sarap naman! veggies and fruits from your own (dad's) garden!

my brother and i started planting some crops late last year. though it's not much as yours, it comes in handy during emergency in the kitchen. hope i'll be able to post pics soon.

happy new year!
Anonymous said…
Oh wow! You have such a lovely garden! Having a vegetable and herb garden is actually one of my dreams. Lovely mango too. :-)
Anonymous said…
of course i know i'll die, but i still hate them LOL. and your father's garden is so cute! my father has one too! but not that big because i think yours is huge! one thing i find is that pag tinitingnan mo ang veggies they look so attractive butwhen you eat them, ugh.
Alice said…
Great photos, Sheng! I love vegetables and can't imagine life without them...
Jinky! said…
Hi sheng! te jinky here. nice naman ng site mo. i love ur blog re veggies. . . ang galing ng presentation!
Anonymous said…
omg! i'd love to live in your dad's garden (which is more like a farm, it's huge!). i'm salivating over those green mangoes right now, hayayay!
escape said…
dami kong hindi kinakain na gulay dati pero ngayon konti na lang. ang ampalaya dahan dahan ko na ring kinakain.

galing ng pasyal na to ah. hehehe... perfect for a vegetable salad.
Great.
Nice photos!
Eds said…
wow! ganda naman dito at mukhang napakalaki ng garden ng father mo ha. swerte nyo naman talagang fresh yong gulay nyo jan.

at opsss, teka lang naglalaway na ko sa manggang yan. hehehe
Anonymous said…
wow sheng, your dad's garden looks divine! i had a lot of mangoes when i was in davao ;-)
Toni said…
Woah, that garden is gorgeous! It looks like something straight out of a movie! It's obvious that it thrives under a lot of love and care :)
princess_dyanie said…
pengeng mangga and bagoong! i love vegies! hehe :)
Anonymous said…
what gorgeous photos! I don't know what an ampalaya is but that garden is gorgeous! I'm so glad you have access to fresh and organic vegetables! I can't think of anything better for your family! :)
LOREN said…
Gaganda ng pics! Especially the ampalaya garden
Heart of Rachel said…
Your Dad has a wonderful garden. I love the ampalaya garden and pipino picking shots.
ayen said…
your dad's garden reminds me of the secret garden. awww, it must be beautiful. :)
you and your family are blessed to have this garden. i love it.

Id appreciate if we could exchange links. i find your blog interesting.

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