What a lazy, lazy Sunday! I braved the drizzle early this morning to attend the 5am mass at Our Lady of Light Parish in our town. Since my son works on Sundays, I usually wake up early too and we left the house together. I don’t normally go to mass this early but mom can’t make it (she’s not feeling well yet) and opted to hear mass on TV. Despite the rain (and the cold), the church was full. I dropped by the nearby wet market on my way home and bought Saba bananas. Catching fresh produce early, how nice!
I am sure most of you don’t eat ampalaya or bitter melon for the simple reason that yes, it tastes bitter. Most of us know too that it is a healthy vegetable that has now been proven to be an effective herbal medicine for many aliments. I won’t go into details as to its rich nutrients but I want to share with you another experiment that I did in the kitchen. A friend was supposed to come over yesterday to get some but didn’t show up so I have to harvest more than a kilo of ampalaya this morning and cooked some for lunch. 
This is the bonito variety, a hybrid and every three days, I make a harvest. There are so many ways to cook ampalaya, you can make ampalaya con carne, pinakbet, mixed with eggs, fresh ampalaya salad or you can mix it with some other vegetables like monggo, the possibilities are endless. Anyway, sauteing it but presenting it differently made mom think that it is a small plate of pizza. Can you imagine? I was laughing when I put a slice on her plate and she tasted the mild flavor of bitterness there. Mom sometimes could be funny 
That’s right, I call it ampalaya frittata. As we all know frittata is an egg-based recipe that you can cook on top of a stove or bake in an oven. It’s perfect for any vegetable or meat that you happen to have around. I put cheese in it for that extra flavor and mom likes it. Paired with some left-over longganisa (our local version of sausage), it’s a perfect lunch on a rainy Sunday.
It’s that kind of rain that would make you want to go back to bed and just idle your time reading or listening to some old music that they usually play on the radio during Sundays. Life is simple. And it feels good.
Gosh, the rain hasn’t let up. It’s a downpour. I hope it won’t last long to create flash floods.
Dreams And Escapes 
same here arlene, it’s been raining since yesterday, it stops for a while then on again.. you’re right, ampalaya is not very popular with the kids but my daughter love it with eggs.. what i do to lessen the bitterness a bit is to soak the thin slices in water with salt for a while and then carefully squeezing the water out..
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Thanks Elizz. My son and daughter won’t eat ampalaya unless I’m the one who cooks it. There is a technique there, don’t stir it too much while cooking, that’s what they say and it rings true I guess. Bonito is actually more bitter than the longer one you see in the market but once it’s cooked, mas masarap siya.
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ay oo arlene, i’ve heard about that technique too and i guess it’s true, i don’t stir it much when cooking..
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And they say that for it to stay green, add a pinch of baking soda while cooking. i haven’t tried it though because I only use it when I bake
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haha me too!
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🙂 Nakaka insecure naman etong ulan na eto. It’s raining cats and dogs here right now and I am monitoring the PAGASA rainfall advisory.
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Wow, that’s a new twist, with cheese. I love ampalaya. You can make it into a salad too and it’s great paired with rich meat like adobo or humba or fried fish.
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Yes Lou, it’s a versatile veggie. Fried fish, I guess is one of the best partners for this recipe.
Thanks Lou!
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