By the Jal-o River

I am in a hurry. My contemporaries in the seminary announced (through SMS, of course) their "unannounced" visit too late. "Al, can we pay you a visit today? We are passing by your place in route to Boracay and have decided to while the hours. Leaving San Ag palang kami ." "Copy", I texted back, calculating the time to prepare them something that will delight their palate. I gave them the direction to my place and went about salvaging what are frozen in the ref. It has been a habit of mine to dress a couple of native chickens during weekend and froze them for some proximate future use. That day, I was fortunate that those were still intact. I thought to myself, the couple will do. I took them out to thaw and searched the orchard for some young bamboo culms. I knew what to do in such extraordinary time: Alternative Binakoe. My way. Anaea-taea is an herb that emits an anise-like scent and tastes like a mint. For such dish, you will need the followin

The water is silent. Deep. It betrays movement. It hides the strong current that runs underneath the aquamarine surface. Life sometimes is the water that runs silently. It is a movement; a jibing and tacking of some exiled souls. Tonight, the angel announces: Be at peace, sojourner. Your boat is approaching a bend. For awhile, your are no longer exiled, rowing alone in the river of life. The dawn is about to break. I got for you a boatman who will journey with you to the next embankment. While on your own, follow the North Star. She will guide you in the pitch black of the night as you navigate the shoals and the sandbars. Then on the sixth month of the year, you will be reunited with the boatman of your soul. You shall once again row along with the Katilingban and the boatman will lead you home to your community.

Binakoe is definitely an Akeanon dish popularly known throughout the Philippines as "binakol". The net is rich with information on how it is done but always falls short of its spirit. Most surfers encounter clones which definitely alienate them farther off from its true nature and deprive them of the chance of feasting on this rare delicacy the way Datu Puti had it in his time. Nemo dat quod non habet . That's the rule. Nature without spirit is ironically unnatural. Factual but not real. Bereft of its true essence. Artificial. An imitation. Preparing 'binakoe' without understanding its philosophy is deception. You cannot cook something which in the first place you do not understand. Binakoe dates back to the pre-Spanish Panay settlers when cauldron was a very rare commodity. It has been handed to us by the Ilayanons who introduced us to a couple of variety of preparing it. I for myself witnessed and feasted on them during my visits in upstream Jal-o, not

"When you start felling down pine trees in the City of Pines, you are slowly felling down that city's identity.  When you rob the saliyaw of their thriving ground, you rob lovers of their beloved."  The sad incidence in Baguio City where so called developmental change being introduced by SM Management within its property that alarmed several environmental groups has reminded me of three seemingly unimportant realities of the bygone years of my town. They may be regarded as insignificant although I suspect that they have had touched and influenced quite a number of persons over the years. These three realities were as follows: Those sweet-smelling Saliyaw which used to thrived on Star Apple trees around the then town plaza; An unassuming young Franciscan Nun (God bless her soul) who came by for some brief passing moments to introduce and conduct workshop to several youths on theater arts ( PETA ); and  Gary Granada's Paligid   OF SALIYAW AND STAR APPLES    

Our Easter Feast of Inubaran Easter remains to be the grandest and holiest feast in the entire Christian world. I have seen to it to pass on that tradition to my children. After all those meaningful Triduum liturgies had been observed and remarked upon, we cap our celebration with "exotic meal" (for those meals usually reserved during special occasions have already been secularized by the " Jollibeezation " of our eating habit). Thus for a change, I treated the kids with my special chicken inubaran. Here is how to prepare it, just in case you are interested to experiment. You will need the following: 1 whole native chicken sliced into bits and pieces (about 600g);  banana pith* (ubad); 2 glasses coconut milk (payok);  lemon grass (tang-ead);  salt to taste (asin);  vinegar or aeabihig leaves/fruit (eangaw o aeabihig); onion, sliced (sibuyas);  garlic, a clove or two, pounded (bawang);  black pepper (recado);  ginger, small piece, pounded (euy-a);