Friday, May 08, 2020

DAY 55: Community Quarantine


    BLURRED-  I woke up early today, 4:30. This is early becuase this passed few days since the quarantine, my waking hours have slowly crept up to 6-7 in the morning. But on schooldays, 4:30 is my usual waking hour. 
    I have been looking for my glasses for 15 minutes now and I have given up. I am not going to work, or doing anything might as well relax and avoid being stressed by it. A lot of times I forget where I put my glasses. I am nearsighted and I wear prescription glasses with -450 grade. I have to find my glasses first in order to find my glasses. Weird.
 
     
Everything is blurred but it's not that bad in the morning. The eyes is not stressed yet, it still relaxed so I can still see a little better than usual. 
   My wife is good at finding it, so I'll just wait for her to wake up. Also, the curfew is still up and I am not going anywhere.
   SAP AT NIGHT- There is not much going on here and there are very little ECQ related stuff I could talk about. Two months into the lockdown and I think the my neighbors have adapted well in to it. No one has died of starvation, as feared.
    Though here and there I hear complaints about the distribution of the SAP, the selection process, the clandestine distribution of forms and food stubs, and the allegations of nepotism in the selection and distribution of aids.  
   There must be reasons why DSWD is distributing SAP forms at night. I think they do this for their safety. The president announced that all will be given aid but when the allotment and the money came down, not even half of the households in every barangay was granted the financial assistance, not even a quarter.
  Here in our sitio,  I heard that only 30 slots were given. I have no idea what our population but  I estimated it could be go as high as 500 house holds.  
   DSWD could be overwhelmed, even physically attacked by disappointed head of families for not including them in the program.
   Our social workers are being put in the bad light but they are also victims here. Victims of local politican who pressure them to favor their kins, victims of old and unreliable census, and victims of promises made by the national government that did not materialize.
   COOKING- Here's how I cook laing.   
Boil the ground pork in a cup of water. I don't sautee, and as much as possible I avoid using cooking oil. It saves money and good for the health too. 
    Drain the water out.
    Pour the pure coconut milk. Add salt, onion, garlic, pepper and ginger, lots of ginger. Chili is a must in laing but I skip it becuase it gives me acid and it worsens my hemorrhoids.
    Allow to boil for a couple of minutes to release the flavors in to the liquid. Put the dried Gabi leaves. 
   Press the gabi leaves to soak it in coconut milk. It is very important not stir or mix. I dont  know what chemical compound is in the gabi leaves that causes itchiness on the throat when ingested. That is why the leaves are sun dried before cooking. Stirring causes it to release this itch-causing chemical compounds (what ever it is).
   Cook slowly in low heat to avoid burning. Check to see that it has not dried out or else the bottom will be burned bitter.
   After 20 minute or so, or longer, add more coconut milk. I don't measure the ingredients, i just estimate and pour them.
   Slow cook for additional 15 or more minutes. I don't sweat in the details, really. 
  That's it.
  You can make your laing special by adding toppings like chicharon, ground pork, anchovies, sausage, meatloaf, leche flan etc. Anything you can think of, the laing will not complain.
   This is one food where reheating again and again improves the flavor.
   It's easy, really.

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