[03-10-2011] Balintawak Updates
The place is still over flowing with veggies…
I can again make my favorite salsa since the tomatoes are in season, local organic ones are being sold at 15 pesos per kilo. Below are the ingredients of my salsa
Broccoli is 10 pesos a kilo. Here are some nutritional values for broccoli.
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LI-AMORE SALSA (there’s a way of cooking it.)
Lots of celery (put the stalks first then the leaves by the end)
Lots of tomatoes (core/seeds out)
Lots of onions (as chunky as the tomatoes)
Lots of garlic (toast some in the beginning and add by the end)
Lots of dried bay leaves/ laurel leaves (place them in a tea-ball or wrapped them in a gauze pad to remove easily)
Pepper
Salt
Dried oregano (Optional, place with the bay leaves)
Lemons/ Calamansi (to give the sourness we usually get from a salsa dip)
I’ve seen this type of tree with blue-violet flowers from the Horticulture show held at Manila Seedling. It was about 1 meter high and a photo was hanging with what it would look like in full bloom. They were selling it for 2500 pesos AS IS. We asked another seller, and she told us that if we bought it from here, she can give it for 1500 only.
Last week i came to the Orchid Show held in QC Circle, they were selling it at 1500 but they have no stocks. It is very pricey. But this morning, I went to Manila Seedling and asked around, there was one last seedling of Jacaranda being offered at 1500 up to 800. I was convinced that it was very cheap yet the plant looks unhealthy in its current state of having a very few branch with leaves.
When i was about to go home, i just went in the Manila Seedling proper where they are selling fruit and flower bearing tree seedlings (some are grafted). and i saw this…
Balintawak… Shhh
Somewhere in Balintawak, you can buy vegetables and other root crops so cheap, you can do a feeding program everyday. It’s were all the dealers buy wholesale but you can also buy as retail.
I bought 5 kilos of okra for 20 pesos one time. You can buy a very fresh (green to the tip) Lemon Grass for 10 to 15 pesos only, it’s about 10 stalks or one grab full and a yard high. Potatoes for 30 to 45 a kilo when in season. Tomatoes from 20 (in season) to 85 (not in season) a kilo ranging from the smallest organic variety to the plump varieties that look like small pumpkins. My favorite sweet basil are sold 30 to 40 pesos a kilo and the lady that sells me gives me more.
THE PLACE IS NOT CLEAN, NOT APPEALING YET UNLIKE WET MARKETS THIS ONE IS PURELY FOR VEGGIES, so it is NOT MUDDY and the STENCH is NOT AS AWFUL as those in wet markets where they sell poultry and fish.
BUT EVERYTHING THERE IS FRESH, most people that go there are actually vegetable dealers elsewhere.
What to look for in a Condo or any place
When we look for a condo or any type of space we would like to settle in, we just “look”. We never put into question the what ifs or the scenarios beyond what we see.
I was talking to a friend earlier about the real estate business where they need to sell, well they focus more on the space and accessibility to the needs of a person but for me, i always see things from the worst perspective like fire, earthquake, pandemic disease, etc. It’s not because i like the negativity but i like to survive when the worst stuff happens.
I told him, if i were to buy a condo, i would look for a very nice fire and earthquake evacuation plan and i would even love if the condo offers insurance with the unit they are selling. And since i am really very much into a scenario based decision maker, it came across me about nuclear/biological warfare. I though of a condo unit not nearing a hospital because that’s where an outbreak can happen but more or less the proximity of the condo to the hospital must not be very far. then, i also would like a condo that has good ventilation, and has a very wide ground and not near other condos as when an earthquake would strike it can have a domino effect.
I also want a condo that is not near any large or busy district since if there is something bad happening, you wont easily get out of the location. I also thought of a very high tidal wave after a very high magnitude earthquake. I would like a unit not close to the sea. i also like a condo that has an own water irrigation and filtering system so in case water get’s contaminated with something, it is clean. I want a condo that has a nice patio where i can put out plants and veggies, i would like a well lighted and ventilated unit with a good view.
I sound very picky with my choices but then again, the choices we make… are very crucial to our survival. It comes to mind, that it is always better if you get a lot or rather a property of your own, perhaps a house and lot. it’s better that way and you get insurance from popular companies that have credibility.
Edsa Garden House
Something is good there… aside from the plants… they also have ceramics for the house especially for the dining and the kitchen… so cheap… you would actually say it’s better than Dapitan Arcade. Shhhh…
Halloween
Human Wax Figures (Php5 each in Quiapo) in black, red and white encased in lamp glass (for them to stand up)
Reused antique-finished candelabras with bronze glass (Php35 each at Divisoria)
White Porcelain-finish goblets from Dapitan Arcade @ Php4 pieces for 100
Reused bronze glass candle cups from Divisoria @ Php10 per piece
Small red wreaths from Divisoria @ 6 for 150 each - same kind of wreaths were used in candle decors from S&R
Photo by Liyan A.
Insights on Designing #1
Scale to Appeal - The size of the materials versus the canvass (table size, wall/panel size, room dimensions especially height) should always be taken into consideration. The scale by which an item appears should catch the audience eyes and make their eyes wonder throughout the whole room. There can be lots of focus points and repetitive designs in a canvass but it must first grab the attention of the audience or guest. Usual examples of a failure in this area would be the size of the table centerpiece being too small for a 10-seater table or a ceiling that is so high, that should have lower decors (swags and chandeliers) so that it will still be seen on photos because you never want a photo that looks like there’s so much open space above your head.
Continuity - Once a you get the right scale of a design to capture a person’s interest. the person must be introduced to the design continuously, setting his or her mood. The other designs can make up a story or it can just simply hold a person’s interest by being able to have them lax while appreciating the design. It must create a spark. My own experience with this one is that there was an event when the entrance set-up was way different from the function area and even the buffet area. A nice resolution for this one is to have the other suppliers work with the venue stylists. Most often we need to do extra decors just incase the suppliers decors and set-up doesn’t blend with ours.
Workability - Designs must never give the recipients/ audience a hard time but it must be presented with an awe. Designs must not be over indulging, sometimes this may lead to people feeling constricted and even irritated since it is hard to give focus when something is actually distracting. My own personal experience is when somebody messed up the floor layout. When creating a lay-out for an event especially weddings or birthday celebrations, all the guests must be able to see the celebrant/s. In this case, the event was held in rectangular function area where the entrance is at the lower middle portion of the rectangle. The “caterer” mis-placed the stage of the celebrant on the right most portion of the room, which gave the people on the left side a hard time to see what is happening because there’s a lot of elements blocking the other side of the room. since it is at the right most portion, all the people were concentrated there (photographers, guest who like to take photos, close friends, the emcee, performers, etc.) so the people from the other end of the room can not even see what is happening.
