Kangkong – Never Out Of Season

Any dish using kangkong should be popular these days, as the water-loving vegetable is the only one in abundance at public markets; all other vegetables from the lowlands and the mountains have been damaged by typhoons and the habagat rains.

3 TYPES FOR ALL SEASONS – Kangkong grows almost everywhere, and this is evident in the three distinct types sold in the Philippines.

Mung Beans – Appetizer To Dessert

Non-stop rains this week stranded many commuters and kept many home from schools and offices which suspended operations due to floods caused by a combination of heavy downpours, release of water from dams and an unusually high tide.

Unable to go to market, housewives have to turn to non-perishables in the pantry to make meals for the family. Some of the most popular dishes during the rainy season are dried fish, sardines and soupy stews based on mung beans, a most versatile legume that Filipinos use in appetizers, main courses, merienda and desserts.

World's Most Expensive Burger

They’ve doled them out for furthest eyeball pop, stretchiest skin, heaviest car balanced on head and most naked rollercoaster riders, but New York City’s Serendipity 3 snagged the Guinness World Record for the world’s most expensive hamburger last week. 

Developed in honor of National Hamburger Month, the iconic restaurant’s “Le Burger Extravagant” cashes out at $295 US dollars and boasts an ingredient list that’s a mouthful. 

Amazing Ampalaya

Ampalaya or bitter melon (Mormodica charantia) has been proven to be effective in lowering the blood sugar of people with non-insulin dependent or type 2 diabetes, the type of diabetes that afflicts 90 to 95 percent of all diabetics.

A substantial number of scientific studies on the effect of ampalaya on blood glucose levels have already been undertaken. The most compelling of these is a 10-year trial, which was conducted by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) that compared ampalaya leaves with the anti-diabetes drug glibenclamide. The results of the trial showed that the blood sugar lowering effect of a 100 milligram per kilo dose per day of ampalaya is comparable to 2.5 milligrams of the anti-diabetes drug Glibenclamide taken twice a day.