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My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108

It has been a while since my last content as there has been a lot going on lately. Finally I got a breather and it is time again to do what I love doing which is sharing, places, culture and life in our country. Take a ride with me today as I take you to the province. Here you will see the simple life and let me invite you for lunch in a traditional Philippine way. Fasten up, hop on as we go to Bailen, Alfonso Cavite in the Philippines.

"Boodle Fight" A Filipino Tradition

A two hour drive from our place we headed out to surprise a friend of the family. Driving to the province will always lead you to empty quiet roads. Driving in empty roads is stress free, no traffic lights, no traffic jams, less pollution and you could definitely open the windows to feel the fresh air.

We passed a lot of bridges along the way. This one was too good not to pull over just to take a couple of shots. An empty bridge with no vehicles in sight.

My brother in law also pulled over as soon as he saw parking at the side.

As I looked over the river is brownish in color. I would be enchanting if the water was crystal clear. I do not know what has caused the brown color, could be from the soil. I was told that people fish here and catfish are abundant in this river. Would you eat fish caught from this river? If it is safe and good to eat for the local, why not?

In some areas food is scarce and people adapt by eating what is available in the area.

Off we went and continued with our journey. This is another bridge that we passed and I was told by my brother in law that it was not always like this. Before there were no cemented roads with only dirt roads and wooden bridges. After that long empty highway, I did not expect that we would be going deeper into the province. As we made that left turn to the inside road. I took a snap shot of the sign board and the guys captured in the photo gave me the eye thinking I was taking a photo of them. People in the province are friendly in nature, but you can never be to careful.

As we went deeper the roads were getting worse. It is a good thing that our van had big wheels and built for off road, so no issues with driving on pot holes and cracks.

My brother in law said that we are almost there as soon as he saw this steel supported bridge.

We finally reached our destination after that long drive. Here you could feel the environment which is very pleasant and different from the city. The air is cooler, fresher and the wind almost hums you to sleep.

This is the typical farm life in the Philippines with plants, vegetables and a few livestock. The kids were so eager to explore the place and was attracted to cow in the small shed.

A dog was barking, but was no threat. He just barked a couple of times and then retreated to the house.

The cow that they had was really big and I see this type pulling large carts loaded with different goods. Travelling from town to town, this cow is very strong.

They had piles of wood in stock that they use for cooking. Dried pieces of wood, branches and even coconut husks.

In this shed, I smelled something and immediately I knew they had pigs. A smell that is very distinct and easily recognizable due to the manure.

As expected they had a big pig, it is very common raising pigs here in the province as it is a good source of income. Some even raise domesticated wild boars and I saw some up in the mountain years ago. I saw a couple of wild boars raised in pens, I have heard that boar meat is much tastier that the local pigs.

Here is my brother in law petting the pig. He even invested in raising two pigs last year in this farm. A business venture which is very profitable if you know what you are doing.

I went outside to see what trees and plants they have. I saw this tree with a lot of strange fruit and I do not know what it is or if it is edible.

The back part of the house had a lot of trees which leads to a river at the bottom. We were advised not to go there this time as the ground is very muddy and slippery because of the rain earlier this morning.

They had fresh tomatoes in their garden which is just within reach. I tried planting tomatoes in pots, but they always die no matter how hard I try to take care of them. Here they are thriving and the plant looks very healthy. Maybe it is because of the rich soil and the cool weather.

It is time to prepare lunch, but before that let me tell you about this traditional way of eating. Popularly called as Boodle Fight it has been adapted from the military. During training banana leaves are laid on a long table and filled with mixed food of different sorts. Rice are topped with anything that is available like sardines, vegetables and meat dishes. During training the soldiers rush as pass by the table and grab whatever they could and eat as fast as they can. This promotes camaraderie to our soldiers. It has been adapted and has become a very popular way of serving food this time without the rush.

We were asked to get the leaves from the nearest banana tree. I told my brother in law to select the freshest ones preferably the new leaves. I told him that I got him covered by taking photos of him while cutting the leaves. He felt that it was not fair, but I just told him that he looked good on the photos.

My mother in law was in charge of preparing and cleaning the leaves. Normally, we use the top part of the leaves, but she said that it is the bottom part that should be used. The proper way of preparing is to wipe the leaves with a clean cloth and then letting it pass over a fire for a few seconds.

Now it is time to prepare the food and we had some left overs that we could add. It is best to put newly cooked steaming hot rice in the center.

On our way here we bought some roasted chicken and we also had left over shrimp, lumpiang shanghai (spring rolls), cucumbers and mangoes. Any dish would be perfect in a Boodle fight, but an all seafood meal is the best.

A balance portion meat is placed in sections for each individual. If you eat a lot it is best to sit next to someone who does not eat much. You'll be ending up eating your seat mate's portions.

Boodle Fight is ideal when eating outdoors, preferably near the ocean or in this case in the province. Although, we have done this at the office it is still best doing it outdoors.

The food is ready and it is time to call everyone to the table for this delicious family feast.

Here is the family getting ready for the fight and if you noticed there are no utensils.

The traditional way of eating is with your hand, but be sure everyone washes their hands first. I cannot explain, but eating with your hands in this setup somehow makes food taste much better. In a fancy restaurant is a different story, but out here in a Boodle Fight there is no other way to do this.

It maybe a meal with leftovers, but the bonding is genuine as you could see smiles on faces. A meal like this with the family is priceless which like the military it promotes bonding.

No worries in making a mess and you could even politely ask to pass over some chicken if your area is running low. Cleaning up after eating as we know is a pain, but in this case just roll the leaves and throw them away. No more washing of plates and drying them off.

I hope you enjoyed the lunch and thank you for joining us today. How would you like to try the Boodle Fight? If you are down to earth and looking for a unique dining experience. I strongly suggest that you give this a try. A fun way to eat with friends and family. Experience a Philippine tradition and do not be afraid to experiment to try new things. Let me know what you think as I would love to hear from you. See you next time and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Keep of Steemin.

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All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 12-32 mm kit lens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n0xqbmgJ9w

Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://watersnake101.vornix.blog/2019/03/03/boodle-fight-a-filipino-tradition-beautiful-sunday/