Tuesday, July 28, 2009

And They Will Become Wings

There is a fable about the way birds first got their wings. The story goes that initially they were made without them. Then God made the wings, set them down before the wingless birds, and said to them, "Take up these burdens and carry them."

The birds had sweet voices for singing, and lovely feathers that glistened in the sunshine, but they could not soar in the air. When asked to pick up the burdens that lay at their feet, they hesitated at first. Yet soon they obeyed, picked up the wings with their beaks, and set them on their shoulders to carry them.

For a short time the load seemed heavy and difficult to bear, but soon, as they continued to carry the burden and to fold the wings over their hearts, the wings grew attached to their little bodies. They quickly discovered how to use them and were lifted by the wings high into the air. The weights had become wings.

This is a parable for us. We are the wingless birds, and our duties and tasks are the wings God uses to lift us up and carry us heavenward. We look at our burdens and heavy loads, and try to run from them, but if we will carry them and tie them to our hearts, they will become wings. And on them we can then rise and soar toward God.

There is no burden so heavy that when lifted cheerfully with love in our hearts will not become a blessing to us. God intends for our tasks to be our helpers; to refuse to bend our shoulders to carry a load is to miss the new opportunity for growth.

No matter how overwhelming, any burden God has lovingly placed with His own hands on our shoulders is a blessing.

FriendsReflections
Shared by Joe Gatuslao
Bacolod City, Philippines

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Season To Be Merry

Up close, they look like bloated, buck-toothed, doe-eyed miniature dolphins. Known to be very lethal, ingesting a drop of its neurotoxin assures anyone a rapid, violent death. Yet, this unattractive, life-threatening fish is available for non-toxic consumption during certain time of the year. Call it a game of Russian Roulette or reality TV Fear Factor. Taking a bite of this exotic food will make you come back begging for more.

Enter puffer fish, globefish or blowfish – buriring in local Visayan dialect in the Philippines. Its fishing season is now officially open!

Unlike most other species of fish that are readily available in the market all year round, buriring possesses a pattern of uncanny survival behavior. It is strictly seasonal. At times, it is so elusive it does not show up for years. Owing to this unique character, buriring commands a high price in the wet market. A kilo costs Php250.00 ($5.00) but if supply runs short and demand rises, it could run as high as Php300.00 ($6.00).

The adult fish like its equally deadly cousin butete normally does not forage in groups. During its mating and breeding season from December to June, buriring is at its deadliest. Eating the fish would mean flirtation with death. However, when the eggs hatch and rapidly mature in July to September, the young adults surprisingly group to school alongside other edible fishes at the bottom of the sea, thereby caught during the process by commercial fishing boats with the rest of the harvest. During this season, it loses its toxicity. When and how it becomes a sought after gastronomic delicacy is shrouded in history. Maybe it started as a prank. But after discovering its delicate chicken-like flavor, people start clamoring for more.


Fresh Catch
The best and freshest batch of the catch usually turns up in the wet market at the break of dawn. Spread over the long white tiled concrete stall, these wiggling, tiny fishes with big puffed up white bellies is a remarkable sight. As soon as the price is fixed, the buying frenzy begins. Trading lasts only for a few minutes. Latecomers will have to wait for the next delivery on the later part of the morning although this is no longer as fresh as the first and regarded as helada (iced).

Epicurean Delight
Buriring is best eaten when cooked ala paksiw style. Not like the ordinary paksiw though where we put the fish in the pan and just haphazardly dump in all the spices and ingredients together. Paksiw Nga Buriring is cooked with élan. Before anything else, the fish is rubbed with salt and young serguwelas leaves and washed until it is squeaky clean. This rinses off the slippery mucoid film covering the skin.

Preparation takes time using the best and right amount of spices and ingredients. A “bedding” of libas leaves is placed at the bottom of the pot and buriring is placed over it in layers of butter, red onions, ripe tomatoes, libas and cubes of peeled, semi-ripe santol fruit – the most favored souring agent. The entire mixture is then drizzled with soy sauce and cooked alangay (low simmering heat) to perfection without stirring to avoid squashing the delicate meat. It is already done when the skin of the fish starts to peel and crack, and the meat tender and white along with that distinct spicy, sweet mouth watering aroma that begins to hang in the air, firing up your feeding frenzy.

One On One
Paksiw Nga Buriring is eaten hot, sans trimmings, add-ons and embellishments except for a plate of heaping hot jasmine rice, a large sized bottle of your favorite drink and sheer guts that after the meal, you are going to live to tell the tale.

Bon appétit!