From Garden to Table

One of the most charming things in living in Alfonso is the easy access to herbs and vegetables and that's why garden to table dining is pretty much in fashion here.  My neighbor Aling Emma cultivates an herb garden.  She specializes in tarragon, providing abundant supply for Sonya's Garden's tarragon tea and also some of the basic herbs we use in our kitchen.  Here's a picture of her tarragon which she sells at 3 for PhP 100.  Not bad at all!  

Tarragon tea is so easy to make.  Get half a handful and just throw into your teapot of hot water.  Wait for at least 5 minutes and you have a great natural digestive tea.  She also grows a local mint and it's really great for salads and when you do some Asian dishes like fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.

I couldn't show you her lavender this time because they all got destroyed by the recent typhoon Maring.  I felt bad about it because they actually cost PhP 150 per seedling so I gladly helped her out in her recovery plan with a bag of organic fertilizer called vermi-cast (read: earthworm poo) which I got from Father Giovanni, an Italian Canossian priest who runs Talita Kumi, another lovely place you should all visit here in Alfonso.  I think she appreciated the gesture so much that she's giving me my much awaited green peppercorn vines.   

I'll be using these lovelies to make Thai spaghetti which I loved so much from Greyhound Cafe in Bangkok.  You can toss them in prior to serving and every bite of these green peppercorns give a nice little kick to the pasta.  

In true garden to table dining fashion, we also tried growing our own vegetables in our backyard.  We started by planting white corn and pechay just to test the soil and nature did the rest.  Here's my 3 year old daughter Maya helping with the harvest.  
  

And here's what Dada whipped up.  Chicken adobo with corn, pechay, egg and capers on lemon rice.  It has a nice sweet salty flavor brought about by the muscovado sugar he used and it was perfect with lime juice.  
   

I did receive a request from my niece Ella to post some recipes and so I shall in the next blogs.  For now, I'd like to introduce you to Alfonso and all its wonderful facets that make us fall in love with suburban life.

Happy Sunday!
Mutya