Celebrating Thanksgiving in the Philippines

This is a late post but I've been lazy updating this blog. Thanksgiving is already more than one week past but I just want to share the pics that we took during the said celebration. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines but being married to an American, we have to prepare something for the said day. We didn't have a turkey to roast but Thanksgiving is not all about the turkey. You are blessed to have one but to tell you the truth, I'm not very fond of turkey. We had that in the states on Thanksgiving but it doesn't taste that good to me. Hubby volunteered to cook burger patties for burger sandwiches and cooked some French fries. It was so humid while he was cooking in the kitchen with only the electric fan running. Hubby was sweating while he was cooking. Poor thing!

Meanwhile, I prepared my agar-agar fruit salad the night before and put it in the refrigerator. I also baked my confetti cake before hubby hit the kitchen. So when it was his turn, the kitchen was humid. We prepared the foods for supper so every body were already home. My 2 brothers and their families were present and my brother-in-law and his family were there too. The celebration is just for the family. Hubby said the blessing and we thanked the Lord for all the blessings He has given us. Everybody enjoyed the foods and the hamburger sandwich and French fries of my hubby was a hit. 

Hubby's Birthday

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. For a change, we just prepared native delicacies for snacks. We used to have dinner on his birthday but not this time. It's hard to cook a lot of foods especially there was no electricity from 6 to 6 the whole day yesterday. It was only the pancit that my 2 brothers cooked and lumpia that my SIL prepared. It was so hot in the kitchen so I did not bother to cook at all. I cannot stand the heat.

Early in the morning hubby and I went to buy the famous Calasiao puto and puto kutsinta in the market. I also bought nilatikan (more than half the bilao) because I've been craving for it. Hubby had to stay in the car so I can get a good deal, lol! People here in my homeland will raise the price if they see an American. I had a hard time though carrying the stuffs that I bought back to the car.

I thank God for giving hubby to me. I pray to the good Lord to give him more birthdays to celebrate and good health so we can serve Him longer and better. Here are some photos of my hubby's simple birthday celebration.

 

Sauteed Bamboo Shoots (Ginisang Labong)

I love to eat bamboo shoots and I taught my hubby to eat it too. I usually cook it dinengdeng with saluyot, Ilocano style or ginisang labong (sauteed bamboo shoots). There's a lady who always come to the house and sell veggies including bamboo shoots. I told her I am lazy to shred it so the next time she came, she brought with her shredded bamboo shoots. I bought it and cooked sauteed bamboo shoots.

Ingredients:
2 cups of shredded bamboo shoot
1/2 cup vinegar (spiced if available)
4 strips of ginger (sliced in tiny pieces) 
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
3 pieces garlic, minced cooking oil

 How to cook:
1. In a casserole, boil the bamboo shoot for 15 minutes then discard the water (pigain).
2. Heat oil in another casserole.
3. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant.
4. Add the boiled bamboo shoot.
5. Then add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Serve as a side dish.