This morning while on my walk I was delighted by the most wonderful fragrance….. a blossoming pomelo tree.
I sure love to eat these dandies, but did not realize what a lovely smell the blossoms had!! Makes them even more appetizing!! They are never in short supply around here, DC (that’s Davao City) is known for them! YUM!
I have always loved orchids, but never had much success growing them in the states. Here in the Philippines, there are so many varieties.
Below are some orchids that I have growing around my house. I am just delighted when they bloom. I did not do anything to make them grow…they are just little surprises! Here are some recent blooms.
and the latest…today’s little white delights. Little but pretty.
Well, it finally happened. I tried balut. I had actually been dreading the when & where of this tasting experience. You see, I have heard so many things. I think people like to see my reaction when they talk about the “rubbery” little duckling beak or the feathers. My goodness it was one of the featured eating challenges on Fear Factor!! Balut is a delicacy here in the Philippines. It is an incubated duck egg. You can see vendors riding their carts with big white buckets attached. They honk a horn and you can get them fresh and hot. People LOVE it…..well, they love durian too, I guess that may be another post? I am not to the “LOVE durian” stage either! Well, let me get to the point. As you know, the name of this blog is “Something Wonderful”. I celebrate the great things that I experience in life. Well, I could not bring myself to title it “Balut”, so I am focusing on my balut eating company.
I innocently revealed the fact that L & I had never tried balut. Since the table was already full of great food, I guess I did not think that I would be trying it any time soon. BUT a quick phone call and balut tasting was suddenly in the plans for the night.
Ives and Aileen welcome us into their home for our Friday night study. We love our Friday night small group/ Bible study time. Filipino, Korean and American (us). We laugh, pray, study and talk about deep things that make us who we are. Our love for Jesus and reaching the lost are our most common bond. I appreciate them so much and they made the balut experience not so daunting.
So, back to the balut….if you did not read the link, I will spare you. I just could not get over the thought of eating a little duckling fetus….bones, feathers, beak! Leron said that I actually cheated. I tried the penoy (the eggs with an “s”) which are only about 6 days of maturity. It tasted and looked like a soft boiled egg. I cracked it open, threw in a pinch of salt and scooped it out with my spoon. NO bones, NO beak, NO feathers.Whew!!!
Leron tried the 14 day….it is a little more formed.
There was liquid when he cracked it open and everyone was raving about it. They call it “soup”. You put a pinch of salt in the egg and slurp out the soup. Crack the egg enough to get the whole “thing” out. And wa la…..Leron ate the whole thing at once.
I am sure there will be many more chances to try again….16 day? Not sure that is for me? I think Leron may be up for it?? The more developed, the harder time I think I would have. I love that we were surrounded by wonderful friends and laughter for our Fear Factor Challenge….. eating balut.
