Snowbirds Living in the Philippines : Four Dishes that I Really Enjoyed this Week

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Four Dishes that I Really Enjoyed this Week

This is one of the new dishes that I enjoyed this week.

The other day when I was shopping at our local Filipino store and restaurant ( kare-kare and pancit and buko pandan ice cream), I saw the above package- Bangus( milk fish) Embutido. I have not tasted this before although I am very familiar with standard Embotido made of ground pork. The package was $7.99. The dish was delicious with steam rice and pancit and worth every penny I spent.

Last week three other dishes that Macrine and I enjoyed were Taco de Lengua( Beef Tongue), Taco de Tripa (tripe) and Menudo con Pata ( Tripe soup with pig's feet). The above three dishes I purchased from our local Mexican restaurant. I highly recommend that you have to taste the above three dishes if you have the chance. Order the dishes from an authentic Mexican restaurant ( Not Mexican-American or Texan)

The Menudo dish I modify by adding garbanzo beans and tomato sauce to simulate my favorite Pinoy recipe. In this restaurant, their fish taco is also out of this world. The fish is cut in small cubes and highly seasoned with a very mild fishy smell. It is better than the fish Taco I have tasted in San Diego, California.

Our local Mexican Restaurant ( Tres Hermanos) offered several meat choices for their taco or burrito dishes. Besides the Carne Asada( beef steak) or Pollo Asado( grilled chicken), you could have Al Pastor( BBQ Pork), Chile Verde(Green Chili Pork), Tripitas( Beef tripe), Chorizo ( Mexican sausage), Lengua ( Beef Tongue) and Buche (Pig stomach). I have tasted all of the above meat offerings on my tacos/burritos except for the Buche.

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Joys of Retirement

I have been retired from USFDA since 2002. At first, I feel I have lost my identity as an individual or have lost my contribution to society. However, within a few weeks all these feelings were gone. It started when my wife and I started baby sitting one of our grandchildren. As some economics professor states: "Your children are your capital investments, but your grandchildren are your profits. That is why you love your grandchildren more than your children". I really agree with the statement. Retirement also gives you lots of time to do things you like to do, such as your hobbies and of course travel. In my case, I turned my hobby of gardening and landscaping into a small business in the Philippines. This endeavor was planned about five years before 2002. That year my wife and I started construction of our retirement home in Boac, Marinduque , Philippines. The next year we built a beach house, followed by a Conference Hall two years later. Needless to say, planning and executing the landscaping was a challenge and very enjoyable. With the help of local labor, I not only enjoy the time gardening and landscaping, but also help improved the economic situation of the province by providing work and jobs to the local residents. With plenty of time, I have engaged into two specific activities as follows: First, I created a website for my small business. By trial and error, I created and design the website, www.chateaudumer.com I have never been a computer nerd or expert. But with plenty of time and patience, the fruits of my labor could be enjoyed if you visit the website above. The second activity, I have not done before was to utilize on-line activities, such as shopping, paying bills ( save you stamps) and playing computer games in the Internet. I really enjoyed playing duplicate bridge on line. You play with players all over the world and can chat in between games. But be careful, you are not spending too much time in the computer. It is very addictive. With a lots of time, my wife and I devoted more time on our favorite humanitarian project. For the last 15 years, we have been involved with medical mission to the province of Marinduque. For details please visit the website: www.marinduqueinternational.org As a summary, the joy one gets on retirement is very specific for an individual. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate it, since they missed their former jobs and co-workers. Others with no children still enjoy retirement by traveling, turning their hobbies into business or more community involvement. Of course those that retire and hate it, is believe to die earlier than those that enjoy their retirement years. So, plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.