Black Saturday Morning

i love love mornings

a Before Nine post

The 12 long hours from Manila (my current home) to Cagayan Valley (my forever home) most of the time discourage me from spending long holidays in my forever home but my current home needs escaping from and I haven't seen my family since Christmas so I braved the 12-hour stretch. I am so glad I did. There's nothing like spending quality time with the family. 

Mornings are most beautiful in the province and everyday, we wake up even before the sun rises for our morning jog with our cousins and aunt. We run and jog and walk until the end of the concrete pavement (the Department of Public Works and Highways has a habit of not finishing projects here, i think, haha) and then back to our house. Our morning jogs are all about exchanges of childhood stories, carabao poos, a carabao with a heron on it (reminds me of grade school science class, mutualism, remember), goats, ducks on parade, kids crawling in the grass, families on their lawns, old ladies sweeping, farmers on motorbikes checking on their farm, dogs who are out to chase us - all these provincial morning magic usually end up with a hearty breakfast. <3 p="">

My long list of dreams now include "owning a farm". 

May all our dreams come true.

All Sunshiny,

Tina

Sampaguita, Solana

Cagayan Valley

Farmer's Market

i love love markets!

a before nine entry

time check: 06:14 am

Yesterday, we prepared our own breakfast! We took a break from scouting breakfast spots and decided to create our own "breakfast spot" in our Quezon City apartment. Oh, I cannot believe we haven't tried this sooner. You see, I am lousy with things which involve the hands (except for typing, haha!) - cutting, drawing, sewing, cooking, etc.; I think I am crafty in thoughts but not in deeds. :p Preparation of food and then the actual cooking intimidate me thus I'd much rather be the recipient of this beautiful process than be involved in it. But yesterday, I decided to finally get over this lousiness and weakness and face my fears. It's now or never. Do or die. Make or break. Haha! The next step after finally deciding which recipe to execute is of course, to shop for ingredients. I am tired of air conditioned groceries and pre-packed goodies thus we went to the real thing - the market! And because I live near Cubao, the obvious choice is the grandfather of all markets in Quezon City, the Farmer's Market.

My fascination with markets started with Neil Oshima's photos of all the markets in the world featured in a magazine (I can't remember if it's Rogue or Esquire). In the write up showcasing Oshima's photography, markets were described to be the microcosm of a particular country. You want to soak in all the culture of a place? Get a quick fix from its market. I have been to the souks in Dubai and I affirm this claim on markets. They are fascinating. The most alive "place" in the world. A mix of noise, smell, aroma, taste, feelings, commerce, routine and... - you can think of just about any word and for sure, it will find its perfect place in the basket of words to describe markets. Another wonderful thing about markets? They are at their best in the MORNING (except for night markets of course, haha, ang pilosospo). Products are freshest. Sellers gentler and kinder. Consumers have more bargaining power employing the buena mano magic. We woke up before 6:00 am, splashed cold water on our faces and went straight to Farmer's Market. People around me may think I am crazy jumping and clapping my hands. I was that excited. Seriously.

When the alarm sounded that Saturday morning, 5:30 am to be exact, my willpower was weakened due to the "luxury" of a soft mattress, a chilly morning comforted by a blanket, a body too tired from the five-day work week thus deserving of a longer snooze time. It is not fair to wake up this early on a Saturday, I thought. Being in the market erased all that thought, not only because of the excitement I felt with spending my morning in a place so alive even when the sun has barely risen but more so, the industry and perseverance of the people whose main source of income is anchored in the presence of a community market are infectious. This is not something a grocery and air-conditioned retailers can ever EVER replace. I think I learned a lot from my short trip to Farmer's. That Filipinos are industrious. That markets are indeed colorful. And aromatic. That we should be more vigilant with the people running this country (MOST people need to work hard for their everyday living - I think those in the senate and in the congress need this kind of field trip). You know the petition to make the public officials take public transport? Let's do another petition to make them work in wet markets, GARDEMET*! That asparagus is a pretty vegetable. :D

Hey you, good morning!

*Gar-de-met (expression): ilocano version of "God, damn it" as popularized by my dearest father. haha!

Morning Has Broken

i love love breakfast!

this is a before nine entry

MARVEL BOY| image via Cat Juan

 

We had a lovely breakfast date this morning somewhere in San Juan which I will be writing about in the next few days. It was featured in the Philippine Star Magazine insert several Sundays ago. What's funny is that I never got to read the entire feature; the heading read "Now Open for Breakfast" and that is good enough for me. While waiting for our dessert, I read clippings and magazine write-ups proudly framed and displayed on the restaurant walls. Most of the dishes that these foodies were raving about or the best sellers are not on the breakfast menu. The restaurant only serves them for lunch and dinner. I thought I'll just come back here soon to try other meals. This morning, my heart was all set for a breakfast date. And I couldn't be happier.

 I asked my date if he felt like missing out on experiencing the "best sellers" given that most of our dates happen in the morning in keeping with the theme of this blog. He said "a little". My heart took a dive and drowned in the sea of brokenness (whatevs, haha!). Breakfast food is highly exclusive. It is defined by a particular group/type of food which when served on the table you just know that it still is morning and you have a long day ahead of you (except when you're in an all-day breakfast restaurant and having your meal at four in the afternoon).  How do I explain it? Normally, we do not eat sinigang for breakfast. That's a lunch and dinner meal. Same thing with fried chicken and adobo - they are not for the morning. How so? They are just not. Period. What makes a breakfast food? Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Pancakes. Tuyo. I feel so frustrated that I cannot get my point across. It's the whole "missing out" issue that's bothering me. Be it about meals. Or about life.

But I love breakfast. Even if sometimes the meals become repetitive, the experience is all unique and beautiful that I will never exchange it for the world. For the record, this is not a foodie blog. It appears to be so because it features restaurants but what we are really after is the breakfast experience - Anton Diaz of the Awesome Planet and the rest of the equally-equipped food bloggers out there can take care of all the food evaluation. I simple want to sit back and sip my hot chocolate drink. Sit and sip. Oh yeah. 

The image above is the creation of designer+illustrator Dan Matutina grabbed from Cat Juan's blog. How is it even related to this post? Here are screen shots from Cat Juan's interview with Dan (first name basis, lakas!:-p):

 

I love him already (for the complete write up, blog hop here). I love mornings for reasons I have stated a million times and that love has spawned happy breakfast assignments almost every weekend. I keep a list of breakfast places in my sunny yellow notebook and I drag family and friends, but most of the time, Alan (he is this blog's official photographer too) to try them all out.

The breakfast meals get repetitive at times; restaurants add their signature/personal twists to make them more exciting but most of the essential ingredients are the same. I love breakfast the way it is. All familiar and comforting. All happy and hopeful. We're missing out a lot of "best sellers" I know, but we are gaining the friendship of the sun and an extra long day for waking up extra early.

This post is really for my 27 year old self: Hush now, my dear. Quit fretting. Fear of missing out sucks. Fear cripples. Find your life's recurring theme and stay loyal to it. So you've missed the awesome lunch and dinner meals, but what did you get in return? Lovely breakfast experiences. Beautiful ones. Wonderful ones. So hush now. And enjoy your breakfast. ♥

a before nine entry