As planned, I have started to write about the Duman Festival but the thought of death and destruction in the latest Southeast Asian catastrophe prevents me from doing so. Besides, thoughts of food and merry-making at a time like this are just inappropriate.

I wrote about the disaster on the other blog and provided information links, one of which is a site set up by several bloggers - the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog (SEA-EAT blog) - which has news and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts and is updated every few minutes.

Update: Juliette Rossant of Super Chef Blog also has a good summary of the calamity and compiled a list of links of agencies who have been working on the situation. Please do visit her site.

The suman and calame (kalamay or rice cakes/pudding) have started to trickle in…

The liga (nilaga or clear broth with choice of meat and vegetables) has been boiling (and tasted, er… :hungry:)…

The asado is simmering…

I need to set the table. Will be back soon!

Merry Christmas!

The two-week Trade Fair ended last Friday and though I am still tired from playing full-time saleslady, cook and what-have-you, it was a success for the products that I launched. No, don’t ask about profits because I’m far from recouping the capital but the mere fact that the food items were well-received is compensation enough at this point. Plus, I have been asked almost daily if we had an outlet in San Fernando and/or in Metro Manila where customers could buy our products after the trade fair.

Of our three original products, the ampalaya-kangkong achara was the bestseller. Customers were surprised at how native and “western” vegetables mingled perfectly. I was amused at how during the first or second day, some college students dropped by the tent and curiously sampled the achara. One was on an adventure since according to her, she didn’t eat bitter melon nor achara yet she liked it enough to buy a bottle. On succeeding days, sales improved as more people got to know the product. There was even one couple who bought seven bottles in a single purchase. That made my day.
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