Balunsagin

Do you know what these are? Nah, they are not Christmas ornaments,but can be used as such why not? With their deep red color which speaks of a happy season., they would surely make a tree more christmasy.





They are called balunsagin , Edible fruits. some are sweet, some are sour.The seeds are not meant to eat thu' as usual . You just prick out the translucent flesh with seed in the middle, throw into your mouth, make sure you don't swallow the seed . It's like eating a fresh lychee.

We met a local gentleman in Coron, Palawan and introduced the fruit to us. He said the fruit was his childhood snack while playing in the wilds with his playmates. They would happily climbed balunsagin trees and got as plenty as they wanted. The trees look as the above photo and found in the midst of mountain forest.

Definitely a wild fruit.

I Luv Marang

Another spiky fruit from the South has captured my palate_ marang . Similar to my first love durian, marang has also spiky cover and pungent odor but the latter is all timid compare to the king of fruits (durian).



Snap Facts :
The Marang/Johey Oak/Green Pedalai/Madang/Tarap/Breadfruit Cousin (Artocarpus odoratissimus) — also called Marang, Madang, and Tarap — is a tree native to Borneo. It is closely related to the Jackfruit, Cempedak, and Breadfruit trees. The appearance of the fruit can be regarded as an intermediate shape between the jackfruit and the breadfruit. It is round to oblong, 15–20 cm long and 13 cm broad, and weighing about 1 kg. The thick rind is covered with soft, broad spines. They become hard and brittle as the fruit matures. The fruit does not fall to the ground when ripe. It may be harvested while still hard, and left to ripen until soft. Marangs change colour to greenish yellow when ripe. The ripe fruit is opened by cutting the rind around, twisting and gently pulling. The interior of the fruit is somewhat similar to the jackfruit's, but the color is white and the flesh is usually softer. The core is relatively large, but there are far fewer "rags" and less non-edible parts. Arils are white and the size of a grape, each containing a 15 × 8 mm seed. Once opened, the marang should be consumed quickly (in a few hours), as it loses flavour rapidly and fruit oxidizes. The seeds are also edible after boiling or roasting.

It is an evergreen tree growing to 25 m tall. The leaves are 16–50 cm long and 11–28 cm broad, similar to the Breadfruit's, but are a little less lobed. The tree is not cold tolerant (as is the breadfruit). It can grow between latitude 15º north and south, and in coastal regions where temperatures never stay under 7 °C. It is cultivated for its fruit in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and southern Thailand. The species is largely grown for local consumption; the short shelf-life of the fruit limits its wider use.



I'd say it's also an acquired taste. I tasted it once and got addicted to it. I could easily finish a ball of it in one sitting. Couldn't describe the taste cos it's a fusion of many familiar local  fruits. It's like atis with banana with star apple with guyabano. .  it's marang !! Not everyone likes marang as opposed to the popularity of mangoes and bananas. It's exotic and not widely available. The shelf life is so short but I managed to bring home some for my loved ones in Manila. My eldest whose palate is perfectly molded like mine (Myka eats anything I eat. Kyla eats anything the dad eats), fell in love with it the way I did on the first taste. The following day, she was still looking for some to eat. Sorry, no more.



I was told the best  marang here in my country could be found in Cotabato . True enough, when I visited the South last week, I passed by a lot marang plantations seen from the road. On my way back to Davao City, there were lots of marang fruits for sale on the road sides.

It's in season and was so cheap. Selling at P10 each. That was wow! I could bring home sacks of it as pasalubong. But couldn't no matter how cheap. Remember the shelf life is so short. Ofcourse excess baggage was another hindering factor. So I just bought like few of them that I could manage to take home and was given another day to consume them. It was good I had my cuzin who was an expert on marang.



So folks, that's my marang story. Have you tried one?

Dried Fish and Mango

I used to hate dried fish in my younger years. It was all nothing but saltiness to me. But lately, when I'm alone at home, I always eat dried fish with any veggies on the side. Now, when I get home to my hometown, I buy kilos of dried fish as stocks for my dailies in Manila, which I used not to have interest of doing before. I even buy at the grocery now if I ran out of stock. My, my.. no goodness! Too much salt from dried fish is surely the culprit of my plumpness these days.

I guess, as we age, our taste buds also mature and become ready with food we hated when we were younger. I saw it to my children. As they add years to their age, their food horizon also broaden.



One thing has not changed in me_ my craziness with fruits. From grapes to durian, I heart them all! It's my sweet tongue, it stays uberly mad with anything sweet through the years.



With green fruits like green apple and green mango, I'm not that crazy thu'. You know, green means sourness which against my sweet tongue. I also eat them but not as much as I savor the ripen sweet fruits.




Like Philippine mango which is the best ! It's in season now. I see a lot of them around and they are getting cheaper. I love mangoes!!!

Grab A Guava

Guava- bayabas

I checked the net and found hundreds of recipes of this fruit. Some are easy, some are complicated.



But who needs them, when the fruit is just a hand reached and available 24/7, fresh and bounty in our own backyard. In my case_ frontyard, it's in the entrance of our house. Yummy and healthy! Grab one!

My Favorite Brunch Plate

When kids and hubby are out for school and office, I could easily indulge to my favorite foods. Tummy friendly and easy to prepare dishes like this set. On weekends, I buy a pack of fresh tortilla wraps for a week use. Throw it in the ref and whenever craving arises get a piece or two. Fillings vary from simple cheese melts to vegies and meat ( actually whatever is available). I just basically heat it on a pan_simple and easy. Then I pair the tortilla fillings with any fresh fruits in season or anything present in my ref. And ofcourse a cup of yogurt.

A plate like this would keep me full until afternoon snack time, then I would prepare other variation which I usually share with my girls because at that time they're home already.

Pineapples From Tagaytay

I see pineapples everywhere in Tagaytay. Sometimes they are as sweet as the canned pineapples but most of the time, they are...

need I say more??!!

At this point, there would be a little arguments between me and the vendor. Here, the expert vendor is always right. She would insist of the sweetness of the pineapple and would go as far as naming my toothpaste mint flavor as the culprit of my unacceptable verdict to her product.


But hey manang! don't cha forget_ universally, the customer is always right! so I would go around until I found sweet pineapples that match my sweet tooth.


Until then that the case would be dismissed and I would be happy with my sweet pineapples from Tagaytay.