While simmering the water, mum is preparing her freshly picked Pechay and her glistening dark purple Eggplant from the school garden. She is cooking the almost daily type of vegetable preparation, “nilagang gulay,” in vernacular, composed of varied produce, those previously mentioned, with some added verdant veggie tops, boiled under a moderate heat, with minimal salt on it. It is always a must for our family to dine in with vegetables of any sort on the table. This year’s theme of the Nutrition Month “Ugaliing Magtanim, sapat na nutrisyon aanihin”, reminds me of the day to day routine of our family gardening. In far-flung areas, like the barangay where I came from, vegetables are ubiquitous, from those that one has planted to those that are just naturally occurring. I like eating the crawling alugbati, kangkong, kulitis and other green leafy vegetables. See? It seems that all are growing just only a step outside our home. So it is not hard for us to find veggie for lunch or dinner, but mum has a different attitude towards it. For us her children, we are reluctant in finding vegetables around and how much more asking one from our neighbors. So she taught us of a simple way of life, that if one has sown a seed on the ground, one would be able to reap the fruit of it soon. This is the literal application of what we knew of today, which is also applicable on a different circumstance. As she had demonstrated, every time she cooks for us, say a menu utilizing onion, tomato, bell pepper or “kangkong,” part of the onion can still be used and grown; while seed from tomato and bell pepper have to be salvaged and then later on dried up a bit then she will scatter it at the back of the kitchen where we have small space. Yes, our favorite one is kangkong not just it supplies food for us but we earn money out of it. And “Kangkong” stalks can never get out her sight too, we only use most of the leaves from it and some stems, so the left over will still be viable. So she plants part of it into the ground at the back of the kitchen. Eventually, seeds grow and then taken cared of picked for cooking again.
Russell Page once said that green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart. True enough, my mum’s ability can be traced back when she was young. Borne from a middle class family with several siblings to feed and to take care of, my mum, as the eldest has to be a gumptious provider when it comes to food and anything else needed for her siblings. Primordially, she has to make sure that everyone else is feed, if not well at least a food intake that will enable them to go by the day. This is where she started thinking ahead, I guess practically and logically in a sense. Since families before have meager means to buy daily food, a better idea is to plant in their backyard. So my mum, would religiously plant some easily grown vegetables in their back yard, from “Kamote” tops to the seeds of commonly used spices at home. Food shortage is not the only family concern that she has to face while her parents were away. She also has to attend to her sibling’s health issues, such as common colds, runny nose and fever. Not only did she plant veggies and spices for the table but also some locally known herbal plants like Akapulko, Lagundi and Yerba Buena. Her love for others grows into passion and she pursued the noblest profession eventually, being a school teacher.
Close to almost 20 years, my mum has been teaching for almost two decades now, it is a never ending pursuit of teaching and sharing knowledge for students. Her advocacy for planting has never left her side. Recently, my mum’s school was awarded “Best in Gulayan sa Paaralan” during the long month contest of the DOH National Nutrition Council. Indeed, growing variety of vegetables including fruits provides numerous benefits not only improvement of household food security but importantly it helps our family grow with camaraderie, perseverance and love to each other. (NO III Nino Archie S. Labordo)
