Ahhh. Holy week. The long vacation. It is meant to be focused on Christ and how God sacrificed for us. But for most, aside from the spiritual purpose of it, it is a time when most of us has time to take a vacation, if not out-of-town, wherever one can find relaxation.
I started the holiday by getting some "macopa" or mountain apple (according to Google). My co-worker has a tree in front of their house and it bears fruit all year round. The fruit is different from the usual fruits we see in the market. The fruits are small, just a little bigger than my thumb, deep red in color and very succulent. It is not that sweet but when sprinkled with a little salt, it is very delicious! When we went to their, the tree's branches looked bent and tired because of the number of fruits in the tree. We started to pick fruits immediately using only our hands since the tree is not that tall. I was able to gather around 5 kilos of the fruit.
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| The humbled tree |
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| Looking at the fruits |
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| The abundance. |
The next day, we headed to my husband's parents' house in Malabon. We tried to adhere to the no meat policy during Holy week so the first thing that I cooked was seafood pesto. I bought shrimps, squid and mussel and of course, fresh oysters!!!
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| Shrimps, squid and mussels. |
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| Cleaned and ready to cook! |
After brushing the oysters to remove grime and dirt, I boiled a pot of water and put 4 or 5 pieces of oyster and take them out after just 2 mins. The oysters will not be overcook and the taste of the sea is still there. I was not able to take pictures of the cooked oysters because they were eaten so fast before I knew it (my mind went blank from sheer joy over eating the oysters).
For the seafood pesto, I made pesto sauce with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and cashew nuts (substitute for the original pine nuts, although you can use walnut also). I used a blender since I do not have a food processor. I cooked it to removed liquids other than the olive oil. I cooked the seafoods in very high heat to cooked the meat slightly and remove excess liquid but will not overcook the meat. I mixed it with cooked pasta and voila! Served while hot!
The Holy week can be spent in whatever way we want. Hope everyone enjoys their week!
