Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: The Fish and Squid Vendors in Our Neighborhood

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

The Fish and Squid Vendors in Our Neighborhood

Every morning from around 6AM to 7AM you will hear the distinguishable sounds of the fish vendors screaming Isda....Isda..Isda....(fish). So if you have no time to go the public market you can save jeepney or tricycle money if you purchase your fish from the vendors. The only disadvantage is that you will have no selection of what specie of fish to buy. The vendors 99% of the time sells only the small fish called lagidlid and galonggong by the natives. Macrine and I do not eat the two above fish.

Occasionally, the vendors would offer squid ( pusit) ranging from the baby ones to the monster squid (0.5 kg). I love the baby squid and the medium size because it is tender ( no need to pressure cook) and has a more tasty squid flavor. Today we have adobo baby squid(200 pesos per kilo) and grilled eggplant omelet ( with small shrimps, tomatoes and onions) for lunch.

The recipe that our cook use for the squid adobo is very similar to the following published by panlasangpinoy.com

Ingredients

2.5 lbs medium-sized squid, cleaned and ink separated
1 piece large onion, diced
2 pieces medium sized tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup water
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

Cooking Procedure

1. Heat a wok or cooking pot them pour-in soy sauce, vinegar, and water then bring to a boil.
2. Add the squid and wait for the liquid to re-boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat then separate the squid from the liquid. Set aside.
4. Pour-in cooking oil on a separate wok of cooking pot then apply heat.
5. When the oil is hot enough, sauté the garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
6. Put-in the squid then cook for a few seconds.
7. Pour-in the soy sauce-vinegar-water mixture that was used to cook the squid a back. . 8.Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
9. Add the ink, salt, ground black pepper, and sugar then stir. Simmer for 3 minutes.
10.Transfer to a serving bowl then serve.

At today's lunch here in Amoingon, we have also eggplant omelet ( torta) and stem rice along with the squid adobo. For dessert we have fresh mangoes.

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree