Cooking issues that maybe there is a solution to ?

[JJReyes]

2 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

There is an "organic vegetable and fruit market" in Daro, Dumaguete.  They have some rules about what can and cannot be sold there.

I had contacted an international organization certifying agriculture fields as organic. They wanted PHP 25,000 per hectare to certify our 1,200 mango trees as organic plus an annual re-certification at PHP 15,000 a hectare. This would be through their Manila office. We would have to be inspected three years before the certificate is issue due to possible previous spraying. Too expensive even if all our mangoes are exported to Japan and Korea. The premium pricing for organic would not cover the expense.

Most of the labeling as "organic" is local and self-policing by farmer groups or market vendors. As mentioned earlier, the good news is many small Filipino farmers cannot afford chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc. 

[bang4dabuck]

5 hours ago, virginprune said:

Salsa verde (green sauce) is classic Italian. Usually made with parsley, mint, tarragon and basil with capers, cornichons (small gherkins) garlic, anchovies and extra virgin olive oil. Chop all ingredients together, finely, and use lots of oil to make it loose. Some people like to add Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar as well. Ideally served with fish or chicken. 

I can get coriander seed and mustard seed, amongst others from an Indian restaurant, with shop attached in Gensan. For any whole spices go to a local Indian, if you have one, they will either sell to you or tell you where you can purchase.

Salsa verde I believe is made from roasted tomatillos, Mexican style of course. Some enchiladas with, I get mucho hambre looking at it. YUMMMMM !!! And to think 40 yrs ago I despised Mexican food.

[bang4dabuck]

4 hours ago, JJReyes said:

I had contacted an international organization certifying agriculture fields as organic. They wanted PHP 25,000 per hectare to certify our 1,200 mango trees as organic plus an annual re-certification at PHP 15,000 a hectare. This would be through their Manila office. We would have to be inspected three years before the certificate is issue due to possible previous spraying. Too expensive even if all our mangoes are exported to Japan and Korea. The premium pricing for organic would not cover the expense.

Most of the labeling as "organic" is local and self-policing by farmer groups or market vendors. As mentioned earlier, the good news is many small Filipino farmers cannot afford chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc. 

Yep, it's a good sign if you find a little catillar roaming around in your romaine. My buddy does organic back in the US and sells to loca Whole Foods and fine restaurants. He's in Virginia doing shiitake, fingerling potatoes, herbs and tomatoes. He's also doing ice cream and was looking for tropical flavors if you know anybody. He bought an ice cream parlor and small plant. He wanted me to hook him up with somebody that can make it into powder. I would guess the usual tropicals, such as mango, coconut, durian, jackfruit ( my fav ), pineapple maybe even mangosteen.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

3 hours ago, bang4dabuck said:

Salsa verde I believe is made from roasted tomatillos, Mexican style of course. Some enchiladas with, I get mucho hambre looking at it. YUMMMMM !!! And to think 40 yrs ago I despised Mexican food.

 

Since I am from Texas - that is the salsa verde I know.  I have not had an Italian version of it. I miss my Tex-Mex!

[virginprune]

3 hours ago, bang4dabuck said:

Salsa verde I believe is made from roasted tomatillos, Mexican style of course. Some enchiladas with, I get mucho hambre looking at it. YUMMMMM !!! And to think 40 yrs ago I despised Mexican food.

Salsa verde is a cold uncooked sauce based around herbs, sauce verte in France, in Argentina it is known as chimichuri. I have not come across your Mexican version before sounds tasty. If you can get the ingredients you should try the Italian, it is delicious.

[bang4dabuck]

7 hours ago, virginprune said:

Salsa verde is a cold uncooked sauce based around herbs, sauce verte in France, in Argentina it is known as chimichuri. I have not come across your Mexican version before sounds tasty. If you can get the ingredients you should try the Italian, it is delicious.

Yeah my dad is straight from Italy but I never ever experienced it, southern Italy so probably why. Everything is red, almost. Speaking of, you can make a great pasta sauce using the excellent eggplants here with or without meat. Best to roast with some char ( gives it a smoky taste, again I use the fish basket over the gas stove top ) and sorry the killer is you need Parmesan and olive oil  or 😒

Edited August 24, 2017 by bang4dabuck

[Jack Peterson]

 IF and I mean IF I could find the Kitchen I would COOK  But

[virginprune]

7 hours ago, bang4dabuck said:

Yeah my dad is straight from Italy but I never ever experienced it, southern Italy so probably why. Everything is red, almost. Speaking of, you can make a great pasta sauce using the excellent eggplants here with or without meat. Best to roast with some char ( gives it a smoky taste, again I use the fish basket over the gas stove top ) and sorry the killer is you need Parmesan and olive oil  or 😒

I can get olive oil and extra virgin here. Have a really nice bottle of EV that a friend brought me from Israel. The usual oil I use is Philippe Berio, at this time I am using Contadina, both Spanish so very fruity. Parmesan sometimes on the block, I have some now,  occasionally ready grated in the bag, a bit bland, or the usual dust in a tube!!

[bang4dabuck]

On August 24, 2017 at 7:32 PM, Jack Peterson said:

 IF and I mean IF I could find the Kitchen I would COOK  But

My gf likes me to COOK, while I like her to CLEAN !!!  🤓

[bang4dabuck]

On August 25, 2017 at 0:11 AM, virginprune said:

I can get olive oil and extra virgin here. Have a really nice bottle of EV that a friend brought me from Israel. The usual oil I use is Philippe Berio, at this time I am using Contadina, both Spanish so very fruity. Parmesan sometimes on the block, I have some now,  occasionally ready grated in the bag, a bit bland, or the usual dust in a tube!!

Yeah I was referring to paying double. As you can tell by my handle I resist to the utmost. My coffe grinder is on the blink right now so I'm trying to figure a work around. I bought some Filipino ground coffee today to get by, SWILL full of Robusta and who knows how old ? Expiration is April of 2018 so I'm going to guess roasted and ground April 2017. I will drink it all while I'm getting the right deal together by figuring what parts or even ordering one off eBay and having it shipped here. Anyways one of my complaints, IMO they either have no concept of supply and demand here or they are just too damn greedy. The coffee is entirely harvested and processed in the Philippines so IMO I should be able to get 1/2 kilo of coffee of Bo's quality in the supermarket for 400 php, just as fresh and full of arabica. They price it as if it's imported considering the quality.

Sorry for the rant. BTW most of those ITALIAN olive oils ain't really Italian, check the fine print LOL. Me, I'm not too picky as long as it's EVOO.