A Juicy Fruity - Veggy Day: Blessings

Free, freshly picked fruits in the province are really the best. They're sweet, they're abundant, and they feel like a blessing.

This is how we survived daily life in the province. Yes, there wasn’t always enough money to buy what we needed at home. But with fruits like these — whether we sold them or just ate them fresh — we still felt rich. And somehow, it was enough to get us through.

-The Jackfruit-

It was a medium-large jackfruit or the so-called Lang. Good thing we saved it. My mom had wrapped it in an old sack so pests wouldn’t get to it and spoil what was inside. We also heard that too much rain makes jackfruit taste bland. So we picked it early, even if it wasn’t ripe yet, and let it ripen at home instead.

Everyday we just checked if it was soft and aromatic - that's how we knew it was already ripe.

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After three days, it became soft, and by the fourth day, it was aromatic. I was too excited to cut it open, even though my mom told me to wait a little longer to make it more flavorful and sweet. I didn't let another moment pass and decided to cut it open.

And my mom was absolutely right! This proves the saying, "Mother knows best." It was not totally ripe. But I had already cut it open, so there was no turning back. Besides, the flies would swarm if we let it sit to ripen even after I had cut it.

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I am pretty sure this will never go to waste. Just wait and see for the result.

We separated the edible parts from the inedible parts and placed them in large containers. We were planning to refrigerate them overnight so they would become more flavorful. My siblings love eating them cold. We were ashamed to give some to the neighbors because it was still bland and unripe. So we filled two large containers.

Pro tip: Oil your knife first before cutting jackfruit. Trust me, it helps.

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-Young Bamboo Shoots-

Every day we struggle with what our viand will be. I know you do too. But I’m a vegetarian and I can live with whatever is available. I’m not really dependent on fish, meat, or anything that’s not accessible. We grew up eating what was prepared. I told my father to get some bamboo shoots, or the so-called tambo. I want to cook ginataang tambo with saluyot, and the rest will be adobong tambo.

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-The Huge Mango🥭-

I was amazed by how huge this mango is. It’s bigger than my palm. But I’m not sure if it tastes good. I got this from my uncle. Since it’s still unripe, I hid it from my siblings. If I didn’t, they would’ve eaten it right away. Lol.

Today's abundance warms my heart. Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings.

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This ends my blog. Thanks for passing by. Lovelots😘

_Emmin◉⁠‿⁠◉msss