Saturday Trip To The Market

It’s been a while. Just so lazy to stay in front of the computer and write. Sometimes,it really feels that way. You’d think you have nothing to write about  and your mind wanders again. The good thing is I was able to finish two books in between.

For the first time in so many months, I read a love story. It’s fiction of course but it seemed it was based on the royal family. Knowing how the other half live their lives is quite interesting enough, the protocols,  the dos and don’ts and everything, even the  way you walk, alight in a car, the way you dress, the way you address everyone. Thinking about it, it must be really hard to all and still show the world that everything is okay.

Josef and I went to our twice-a-month marketing  this morning buying some meat, lots of fish and other seafood.  It’s always a thrill to find fresh produce in the market. Summer fruits are in season now but some are still a little pricey.

Kaimito

These are star apples. They are locally known as kaimito. They cost around P50.00 pesos a kilo (about four pieces). They are best eaten cold. Back in the province almost every household has a star apple tree so they don’t buy these, they just wait for the fruits to ripen.

I also bought half a kilo of fresh peanuts then boiled them later for snacks.

 

Peanuts or mani in our local language.

One thing that I love about going to the wet market is to see their fresh seafood. I bought shrimps  and lato, an edible sea weed. These are pretty common here. They also call it sea grapes. We had it for lunch paired with grilled milkfish. Yummy. all you have to do is to chop an onion and tomatoes. I added one whole salted duck egg. You won’t need anything else except maybe a pinch of white ground pepper for that kick.

It is always cheaper to buy all of these at the public market than relying on supermarket stores.

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Lato

We had our usual twice a month marketing early this morning at the Cainta Public Market. While we were buying fish, I saw this fresh seaweed which we locally know as lato.  It was selling at P200.00 a kilo. I bought just one-fourth and later made it into a fresh seaweed salad.  Paired with the left-over fried chicken we had last night, it was so yummy. One-fourth kilo is good enough for a plateful. All you need to do is add fresh white onion, fresh ginger, two pieces of tomatoes and a little salt. Presto, you have a yummy dish.

Since I forgot to take a photo, I googled it online and found this.

Lato is also called sea grapes because of its shape.  It  contains a high amount of minerals, balanced amino acid  and is also rich in iodine. And you won’t need to cook it.

If you are resourceful enough, there is always something you can find that you haven’t tasted for a while and this is one  of them.

 

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Guso, A Delectable Seaweed Dish

I’ve tried several – seaweeds, that is. We have Bala-iba also known as Eve’s hair, Ar-arosep or simply called lato, Balbalulang, which I think has no Tagalog or English equivalent  but this is the firs time that I  tried Guso, another seaweed that is common here in our country.  Seaweeds are actually marine algae, salt-water dwelling  plants  that are edible. Some are eaten fresh but most are blanched before other ingredients are added. And seaweed salads are side-dishes served with fried or broiled fish. According to livestrong .com, “Seaweed is high in vitamins and minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B and C, fiber and alpha lipoic acid. Seaweed is a good source of incomplete protein, containing only some of the essential amino acids. Combining seaweed in a salad with another protein, such as fish or eggs, will provide your body with a complete source of protein essential to your daily diet.”

You only need to wash it with water then blanch it for about 3 minutes. Add in diced red onions, fresh tomatoes, ginger and a sprinkling of  white pepper. I thought of how they make gelatin out of seaweeds like this while enjoying its nutty, gelatinous flavor.

And here’s how it looks fresh from the wet market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guso, anyone?

 

 

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