This is ME.

Preparation:

1. Toast bell peppers (1 green and 1 red) for about ten minutes. After, set aside and let cool, then peel skin and chop into squares.

2. Cut an X at the bottom of the tomatoes (about 7 pieces) and boil in water for one minute. Cool in water, then peel skin and chop to squares.

3. Cut two eggplants into strips and crush one clove garlic.

Cooking:

Sauté eggplants first in extra virgin olive oil and add garlic when eggplants turn brown. Add bell peppers and tomatoes after. Put tomato paste (about 1/4 cup) in the mixture. Put black ground pepper, cayenne pepper, and basil leaves. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes. Serve. :)

I think it is one of my yummy yummy yummiest experiments yet!!! I love being a vegetarian. ^_^

You know how sometimes, as a traveller, you wish that you get to experience something other tourists haven’t? I guess I’m a lucky girl. I got to witness a bit of Limasawa culture! :D

Sea urchins galore!!!When we saw some local men holding spears and tongs with pails in the ocean, I thought they were catching something else. What a surprise when I found out they were getting sea urchins! In the photo below, they are transferring their catch to a sack so they could shake it over and over until the thorns break.I also thought that these kids were here to just watch them. But as it turned out, they were waiting for their dinner. Some of them played with their food! Lol. (Naughty naughty. :p)By the shoreline, rice, vinegar, and utensils were eagerly waiting for the thornless sea urchins. I was amazed. I knew people ate sea urchins, but not this raw! Awesome! Here’s one of the locals slicing the urchin in half.

More fun photos of the sea urchin festival after the jump!

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When I travel, the last thing on my to do list, is shopping. I only do that when I want to buy souvenirs but this time, I just couldn’t resist! It was the “Great Korea Sale” when I was in Seoul! (The same thing happened in Singapore, I was there during the Singapore Sale. What a coincidence!)
Everybody who knows me, know that I am a sucker for deciduous trees. So when I found some on our way to the train station, I had to pose. I look so bulky! I was probably wearing like 5 layers here! (And that’s excluding the jacket! Lol.) Korea was so picturesque for me because everything was so different from the Philippines. The tiny shops, the cute signs, I wish I had more time, and layers, to walk around!Another thing that I like as my background, is rush hour traffic. I don’t know. Something about cars speeding in one direction, and me just staying there, stationery, reminds me that sometimes, even if everything is going by so fast, we have to remain calm. Be still, and focus on where we are and where we want to be. (In this case, I just wanted a really nice photo though. Haha. Just kidding!)We finally arrived in downtown Seoul where these dolls were on display. So pretty! (I didn’t buy one though. Haha.) I like how it seemed normal for shops to display their merchandise outside of their stores without anyone guarding it. If you do this in some areas in the Philippines, it’s there one moment, and it’s gone the next. True story.This store sold Korean street art. They also offered personalized paintings but being me, I opted not to get one because I know it would end up crumpled in my luggage. (Note to self: bring less shoes next time! Waste of space! :p)Finally! Food!! We ate in this traditional Korean restaurant where we had to sit on the floor, cross legged. (Not as fun as it looks, I can tell you that.) We had a hard time ordering since we weren’t familiar with Korean cuisine, but Miyeon, our Korean friend who went with us, helped us out. Yey! *happy happy joy joy*I ended up ordering Bibimbap. It’s a traditional Korean dish where you mix the rice with sautéed vegetables and gochujang or chili pepper paste, topped with egg. I loved it! Perfect foreign vegetarian meal! :)Our next stop was Myeongdong, one of the popular shopping places in Seoul. Thankfully, one of the shops that my sister wanted me to visit was here! Yey!! And although I wouldn’t have looked for this, let alone go inside, if it wasn’t for her, I dropped by K-Story. (Yes Jen, you should be happy your birthday’s coming up soon! Haha.)

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