explocook (is.plo.kok): Blimey! Oh my Gulay!

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Blimey! Oh my Gulay!

Moby. Morrissey. Morissette. Natalie Portman. Oliver Stone. Paul McCartney. Pink. Voltaire. Wolfgang Peterson. Zooey Deschanel. Michael Jackson. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Albert Einstein. Mahatma Gandhi. Ashley Judd. Great people. Vegetarians. Surprised?

Previously, I abhorred ve-ge-ta-bles like I was the absolute anti-thesis to Lucky Me’s makulay ang buhay sa sinabawang gulay campaign. As much as I liked to sing to the Bahay Kubo as apap would cultivate his greens around the house, vegetables and its other forms were total nightmares to me at the dining table. Think the Attack of the Killer Tomato with its minions: the pungent radish, the evil ampalaya, the yucky okra, and the vicious malunggay!

But, by fate or circumstances, by my quarterlife I started to love oh my gulays oh so dearly- and of all places pa, in the UK! It was rather (un)fortunate that whilst managing the Global Xchange Programme- a 6-month cultural and volunteer exchange in the UK and PH, I got to live with errr, ethical people? Yeah, you heard it right- a bunch of cool dudes espousing ethical living whose products in the flat spelled local, organic, fair-trade, child-labour free, vegetarian, and so on and so forth. Because I so loved my flatmates and their tree-hugging radical friends, out of respect I started not to devour anything with feet and eyes in front of them so I can join them over campfires and booze, and football and shit at the park! In short, I’ve become vegetarian, que horror!

So in honour of my tree-hugging friends, for our third conquest, I cooked something “British”. This is traditionally prepared as a filling for a pastry, but for the time being, I excluded the pastry in the recipe for it to serve as sidedish to the great meals that the other clumsy cooks are doing- the Sautéed Asparagus and Runnerbeans in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. For the ingredients, you’ll need the following:

· 4 boiled eggs

· 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

· 200g asparagus tips halved

· 200g runner beans trimmed and sliced

· 8 cherry tomatoes cut in ½

· 2 tbsp capers drained and rinsed

· 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

· Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To cook, simmer the asparagus in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Remove and rinse under cold water. Next, in a shallow frying pan, stir fry the asparagus and runner beans in olive oil for 5 minutes or until tender but still retaining their texture. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, capers, balsamic vinegar and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix in the quartered egg for finale. To serve in a more stylish way, you can sprinkle with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil.

Although it served as great compliment to the heaviness and creaminess of the rest of the meals, it received a cold reception. They said, indeed it’s too British- bland. My sister opined that it’s a glamourised version of chopsuey. I didn’t contest. Because I think it was true. And another thing, I failed to put the balsamic vinegar so I reckon it lacked the bang that the balsamic should have bestowed this otherwise boring dish.

But, come to think of it, like Einstein, veggies have the potential to be great. And to add more pogi points to your world-peace chick, dig the vegies dude because eating your greens is taking global warming personally. Go, get your greens today. It will make your mom smile, and PETA happy.

JD Salinger. Leo Tolstoy. Anne Hathaway. Brad Pitt. Chris Martin. Christian Bale. Dustin Hoffman. Ellen Degeneres. Alicia Silverstone. Emily Dickinson. Jack Johnson. India Arie. Sir Ian Mckellen. Jared Leto. Lea Michelle. Joaquin Phoenix. John Lennon. Kate Winslet. Leonard Cohen. Great people. Vegetarians. Don’t be surprised.

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