Table egg recipes to break the monotony of breakfast

Breakfast is seldom without table egg -  boiled or fried.  It becomes monotonous though. Children may even skip breakfast. Many find it a reason the have breakfast somewhere else.   
Dr Abe V Rotor 


Small fish like anchovies (fresh dilis), small shrimps, in patties. Do the same with shredded fish or chicken meat. Note fresh leaves of kutchai as vegetable supplement. 
Serve fresh from the frying pan.  It goes best with piping hot coffee on an early breakfast. Take time, enjoy the day.  Start with a good breakfast.  ~  

We have the same problem at home. So we devised ways to break the impasse. 

1. Sinangag (fried rice) with strips of fried eggs. Or simply mix the fresh egg while frying the rice. Add fresh leaves of kutchai (Allium tuberosum) or onion.

2. This is not new either. Canned salmon or sardine fried with egg. Save the broth for another recipe or for the pets. Just like fried rice, add leaves of kutchai or onion. 

3. Fried egg wrapper, why not? Skilfully wrap sausage with cheese, better still with veggies - asparagus, lettuce, tomato. 

4. Prepare egg sandwich. Know your kids' favorite sandwich. So with the other members of the family. This is perfect for baon (packed snack or lunch)
 
5. Scrabble egg in a variety of ways: just scramble directly on the frying pan; scramble with veggies and mushroom; scramble with bits of ham, chicken, sausage; scamble as topping of toast bread. 

6. Slice boiled eggs as topping of noddles, liberally add at the periphery. 

7. Serve salted table egg with sliced fresh tomato. It a big break.

There are hundred-and-one recipes with the table egg, it is Nature's breakfast miracle.

Just paint, you are an artist!

Dr Abe V Rotor

All you need is combination of red, yellow, blue,
     to get green, orange and indigo;
primary to secondary colors, then go for more;
     black and white for shade and hue.

Wood, glass, plastic, though canvas has a plus;
     paint with fingers, blot, smudge, spray,
thicken, sandwich, stretch, paste or splash;
     whatever suites you best and happy.


Oh, rules - don't be too strict, too exacting,
     let free the artist's interpretation;
for the mind, the heart, the soul, they sing
     of joy and triumph of creation. ~


Acrylic on glass, superimposed front; sprayed back. Drying in three days, coated with clear enamel.

Colors are sandwiched by glass panes, pried open to let paint dry naturally. Sprayed back of glass. Fixative applied after a week.

Composite: three impressions, one after another at three hours interval, dried and coated with fixative.
Circular mold used, paint superimposed in three layers. Note background from earlier attempt.

Same process as above, dilute medium for easier mix and spread.

Looking for Peace? You must be alone - with Nature.

Therapy with Nature 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class Mon to Fri

Don't let the sun set early

just watch it go down; 

the day ends on its own, 

welcomes the night til dawn.  

(Take a deep breath, relax, 

sit down in comfort and ease. 

Spend the time alone  

in joy and thanksgiving.)

The cove is empty save the ripples 

that play with the breeze 

like thoughts free of doubt and fear  

and cares that never cease.

(Emptiness and peace are not compatible 

they can't exist at the same time, 

and in the same person; if you choose peace, 

peace will fill emptiness to the brim.) 

 Life is like a river flowing out to sea,

down the fall, around the bend, 

   the will of the river is never its own,

but guided by a Hand to the end.

(Destiny is never known but death the inevitable, 

you pass but once along opportunities you shall be known.

and how you live life, it's all yours - alone. )   

Relaxation - the Secret of Healthy and Happy Living

"Civilized man is in such a whirl, accumulating material things, that he neglects those treasured possessions in life, such as love and affection, friendship, happiness, and good health.  He literally hurries away from radiant and vital good health, and deprives himself of a body that is alive and vibrant.  And so, too early in life, he loses the ability to relax."

MH Soglow, Relax Your Way to Health Prentice-Hall Inc

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Take time out with co-workers and relax during coffee break.

It is bonding moment in the organization.

On-the spot painting is a most relaxing experience.

 Conduct summer art workshop with the kids in the neighborhood.  Kids simply love it, it is "bridging the generation gap" so to speak, which leads of closer bonding of members in the community. 

 Enter the world of make believe once in a while. One way is to enter the world of fantasy to help you survive the tension storms of real life today. 

 Join a field trip on a weekend. Organize one in your school to visit a museum, botanical garden, a park.

   Be a naturalist; "commune with nature." Take Nature's Trail, go camping with the family.

 A simple occasion such as this, such a birthday for the month, brings the family closer.

 A mother and her baby: the most relaxing period of life.

Albert Einstein plays the violin.  “Life without playing music is inconceivable for me,” he once said, “I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music… I get most joy in life out of music.” The famous scientist never traveled without his beloved violin, “Lina.”

Take it easy, Just relax 

1. Techniques for relaxing on the job: Make your noon lunch hour your golden opportunity for a complete relaxing experience. Switch off the lights.  No phone calls. No visitors. Hold on to privacy; it is your right and privilege.  Lunch break is time for a nap. Or at least to turn off your thoughts from your job. 

2. Relax by turning off your thoughts: Be sure you are in the proper ambiance. You may create partly to this ambiance by not directly participating in the activities going around. In short you isolate yourself temporarily. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, then follow an easy inhale-exhale rhythm, while taking off your mind the worries and cares of the day. You will notice that your body follows the relaxation of your brain.

3. Relaxation will lead you to good sleep: Preparing for bed has some rituals, among them is relaxation. Put away the things that are contrary to relaxation, such as late evening news, suspenseful movies, musing over paper works, rushing things up for tomorrow's meeting. Oh yes, don't smoke, don't drink, no coffee,and no sleeping pills, please.  These may have some palliative effect but they are damaging to health and well-being in the long run.  

4. Develop health habits that relax you:  Practice the "60 and 1"relaxation formula. (No work period longer than 60 minutes without a one minute pause for relaxation.) Don't overeat and have time to relax before going to bed. For some people, light reading will doze them to sleep. Others, with pipe-in music that is is soft and relaxing.  

5. When you can't do anything productive, relax: Don't look upon this as idleness, but as valuable moment of recuperation, moment that will "recharge your battery."  It is actually loafing on the good side of the word. Relax in a barber chair or at the beauty shop. Relax while telephoning or texting. Relax before your guests arrive. Relax in an elevator, while you are waiting for your ride.  

Refreshing the mind over a difficult lesson.

6. Self-help through daily health habits.  Here are the guideposts along the do-it-yourself-road to healthier, happier life.

• Secure adequate medical services (A regular medical checkup will eliminate many of your tensions. A visit to your doctor and dentist will ease your mind.  Regular consultations guide you to form sound living habits. 

• Live in moderation (Moderate, don't over react, don't abuse, don't say, bahala na and plunge into the pool of danger that may cost your health or even your life.) 

• Stop often to relax (After US President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, he learned to slow down with the acronym ARRRW

1. A nap after the noon meal
2. Rest pauses during the day
3. Recreation for diversion
4. Reduction of some responsibilities
5. Working in a more relaxed manner

• Be regular in all your daily health habits. There was a fellow who always wanted his work done, come rain or shine, and would work until he finished his job. A heart attack changed his work ethic, and he live happily ever after.

• Be especially regular in your sleep habits. Don't disturb your sleep cycle, the regularity of your waking-sleeping biological clock. My dad used to say, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a child health and wise."  This is a good reminder to kids in our computer age. 

• Balance your mental and physical work. Your mind and body work together in a miraculous cooperative effort.  Overuse or underuse of one will result to a dangerous imbalance.  On the other hand, unreleased energy makes you restless.  It "eats you up" if you don't use it. It is the cause of boredom. It may lead to anxiety. Keep busy and released your bottled emotions.  

• Develop good mealtime habits.  Eat in peace, avoid "eating on the run", don't eat when you your digestive system is not ready - perhaps you are too tired or tensed.  

• Learn how to mellow the stresses.  Avoid strenuous living, prevent tension from accumulating, know your limits, reduce your 24-hour load, avoid the pressure of hurry, respond calmly, retain the integrity of your heart, act your age. 

• Rationalize, do not emotionalize your health.  Don't be a slave to styles like uncomfortable wears, don't rationalize smoking or heavy drinking - no conditions will lead you to a happy compromise.   

• Practice good mental health.  Think constructively, positively; be your own psychologist. 

• Use home therapies to relax yourself (e.g., a leisurely warm bath, gentle massage, simple exercises, take a day off, talk over your problems)   

Nature's Way of Relaxation is Sleep 

Sleep well, there's no substitute to a good sleep.

Just what is sleep?  Sleep is is one of the greatest gifts of nature - the loss of consciousness accompanied by complete relaxation of the muscles.  It is nature's way of giving you a necessary escape from life's daily problems and tensions, so that you can carry on in a healthy fashion.  But like any gift of nature it has its price. 

So goes the biblical passage, "As a man liveth his day, so shall he sleep at night." How well you sleep depends upon the kind of day you have experienced. 

Relax Your Way to Health, warns that you cannot work all day long in a tense, anxious state and expect your body from the accumulated tensions automatically the moment your head hits the pillow.  If you were restless in your sleep you were probably restless during the day. This kind of restless behavior increases your tension and fatigue, and at night it tends to keep you awake. The implication is that, if you do not accumulate too much tension during the day, your chances of a good night of sleep are much better.  And the rule is that, technically you go to bed to relax - not to sleep. Sleep comes as the height of relaxation.  If you are relax, you sleep.  If you don't relax, you stay awake.

Sleep Deprivation

Sleepers losing Zs are more likely to report being unable to:

Activity                                                    Tired              Rested
Work well, efficiently                              25%                  9%
Exercise                                                 30%                10%
Have sex                                                16%                  7%
Engage in leisure activities                  28%                10%

Source: National Sleep Foundation, USA

Seventy million Americans or 27% of the US population, are losing sleep mainly over financial worries. The quality and quantity of sleep affects productivity and mood.  A lack of deep, restorative sleep can lead to weight gain, decreased productivity, poor focus, moodiness and a whole host of other health problems over time. "Get more sleep or your overall health may decline," sleep experts warn.~

Philosophies in Ageing Gracefully

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Lesson on Paaralang Bayan DZRB 738 KHz. AM with Ms Melly C Tenorio
8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Dr Domingo Tapiador (right) former FAO official, Mr Dell H
Grecia (center) veteran journalist, and author, examine a
jeep-ferry model for Laguna Bay invented by Dr Tapiador.

Senior scientist and former professor of St Paul 
University QC, Dr. Anselmo S Cabigan, introduces 
modified methodology of plant systematics.

1. Ageing like good wine; it becomes mellow with age. But only good wine becomes mellow with age. And the longer ageing is, the better is the quality of the wine. We can compare it also with wood. “A seasoned timber never gives (up).” A seasoned teacher is wise.

2. Ageing is like knowledge – distilled into wisdom. It’s the ripening of fruits on the tree. Knowledge is not all useful; it leaves a lot of wastes. Which I call infollution (information pollution). Like the so many flowers and developing fruits of a huge mango tree, those that fall are useless knowledge; those that do not ripen are knowledge that can’t stand by themselves. Only those that remain full and ripe at the end are like wisdom. Wisdom is tested by timelessness and universality.

3. Old age is harvesting what you planted in youth. The man is the child of yesterday. Start early in life to plant the seed of success, more so, the seed of service. Monuments are not built for no reason at all. And even without a monument a good deed is monumental in the hearts and minds of those you serve and those who believe in you – especially those you have changed their lives.

4. Ageing physically and physiologically - this is inevitable. But don’t let the mind and the heart age prematurely and uselessly. Like faculty, practice makes them alive and full. Reason, thoughts, imagination, love, compassion should not go to waste by chronological age.

5. The child in you must always live. That Little Prince that rules over the grownup in you that says “a matter of consequence is not only those that are urgent and important,” is also preserving the ideal. Idealism must live together with realism.

6. There are those who are late bloomers; they bloom with age. Catalyze the blossoming of the beautiful things – how late they may come in life. It is better to bloom in old age than to blossom early – and the blossom just fades away. You’ll even regret it because it could mean to you as failure.

7. In old age don’t lose your trophies and medals - because of one false move, worst, if deliberate. Or because of a persistent habit you thought you can get away with even in old age. There is nothing more regretful if you fall into disgrace in old age – you don’t have a second life to amend for it.

8. Hold your horses. Stop, look, listen. Getting older adopts “slow but sure” attitude towards situations and decisions. “Quick to think, but slow to act,” may be appropriate in old age. That is why in traditional societies, decision makers are old people, village elders.

9. Make your assets grow for others, as you prepare to leave the world. Have the philanthropic heart. You can’t take your riches to your tomb. The Egyptians never did. The young pharaoh Tutankhamen left his belongs for the afterlife in his tomb, now in the Egyptian Museum. . Economics does not work well with each one of us holding a treasure chest and locking it up. Imagine if the world is dominated by Madoff et al - even with their generosity.

10. Older societies are more peaceful than younger societies. Make peace as you grow older. Old men don’t go to war. It is the brave who dies young. “Where have all the flowers gone?” speaks of the youth cut down in their prime. All wars – ancient, religious, political – the young is the sacrificial lamb. People as they grow older can’t simply be made easy tools for power and greed..~

Traditional Healing: Food Plants to Improve Sex Life

...  avocado, ampalaya, banana, cashew, nangka, okra, onion,  garlic, carrots, durian, cashew, etc. can be easily grown on the backyard.

Dell H Grecia
Women's Journal
Since the passage of Republic Act No. 8423, known as the Alternative Medicine Law, the effectiveness of herbal medicines has already been accepted by many. There are now herbal pills manufactured from lagundi, sambong, ampalaya, etc. which can be produced from big drugstores.

Aphrodisiac is derived from the Greek word aprodisiakos (aphrodisiacs), after Aphrodite, who inspired both men and women with great passion. She was regarded as the ideal of woman beauty and is represented in great works of art.”

1. Herbs such as avocado, ampalaya, garlic, carrots, durian, cashew, kawayan-tinik (spiny bamboo), etc. can be easily grown in the backyard.

2. Avocado is popular as a dessert. Its pulp or flesh has aphrodisiac properties. Avocado fruits resemble the shape of a man’s testicles. Some of its phytochemicals are ascorbic acid, beta carotene, calcium, iron, fiber, fat, lecithin, phosphorus, protein, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin D.

3. Banana comes in varieties as lakatan, latundan, saba or señorita. Its fruits are an aphrodisiac. It is eaten raw as a dessert. The variety saba is made into banana chips and, sometimes, flour. The lakatan is usually processed into banana cake. Countryside folks usually cook the saba variety (either ripe or unripe) as their breakfast or merienda. It is rich in ash, calcium, crude fiber, glucose, iron, moisture, phophorus, potassium, starch, and vitamin A, B and C.

4. The leaves of carrots in the form of a decoction are used in India as a stimulant. Its aromatic seeds, also in decoction, are an aphrodisiac. It is a refrigerant and an antiseptic and blood cleanser, capable of dissolving kidney stones and curing jaundice or yellowing of the skin as well. Carrots possess numerous phytochemicals. Some of these includes ascorbic acid, ash, carotene, camphor, bromine, boron, carbohydrates, chlorophyll, fiber galactose, and several betas and gammas.

5. Ampalaya is bitter gourd or bitter melon in English. Its leaves, flowers and fruits are used as an ingredient in aphrodisiac preparations. Man greatly benefits from these preparations. A one-half-cup leaf decoction, preferably with honey, is suggested once or twice daily. Its other properties are anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, astringent, anti-leukemia, antibiotic, laxative, and purgative. In China, Ghana and Mexico, bitter gourd is considered an aphrodisiac.

6. The shoots of spiny bamboo, locally called kawayan-tinik, are made into popular lumpiang sariwa, pickles or achara, or used as an ingredient for dinengdeng. Harvested ten days after emergence, the shoots contain protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine and ascorbic acid. It is used as anti-asthma and anti spasmodic agents, and as stimulant, astringent, tonic and cooling brews. Reproduction is mainly by tillers or shoots- and cuttings, too.

7. The rhizomes of ginger or luya in Filipino are boiled into a hot beverage called salabat. Powdered rhizome makes an instant salabat. Sliced fresh ginger root is added to stews, sauces, and other Oriental dishes. When ground, it is used in making gingerbread, cakes, biscuits, others. It is also used in wine, liqueurs, and cordials. In Asian medicine, it is a digestive aid, stimulant and diuretic. It is also recommended for rheumatism, asthma, colds and cough, diarrhea, colic or sharp, sudden abdominal pain and indigestion.

8. Okra is called lady’s finger in English. Both young tender fruits and seeds are mucilaginous or watery-sticky substances. They are used to thicken soups, stews, and sauces. Seeds may be used as coffee substitute. It is the mucilage that has an aphrodisiac effect. It is a stimulant, tonic, diuretic, carminative, and anti- spasmodiac. Okra contains ash, calcium, fat, linoleic acid, magnesium oxide, mucilage, nitrogen, pectin, starch, vitamin C, and, of course, water. It is propagated by seeds and is recommended in the backyard for it fruits prolifically.

9. Onion, commonly called sibuyas bombay, is used as an article of food and condiments. Its juice, when mixed with honey, ginger juice and ghee, is an aphrodisiac. Its other properties are as stimulant, diuretic, colic, anti-dysentery, spleenic, anticholesterollemic and antimicrobial. It cures sore throat, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), boils, anthrax and hemorrhage. Onions have carbohydrates, essential oil, fructans, inulin, protein, vitamin C, and others. Seeds are used for reproduction.

10. Garlic or bawang, as it is locally called, is a flavoring agent rather than a veggie. I use fresh garlic cloves to maintain my good blood pressure. Others buy garlic capsules for the same purpose.The pungent-smelling volatile oil cleanses the blood, tones the organs generally, and builds up stamina and strength, doubtlessly contributing to its aphrodisiac property. Among the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Japanese, Swedish, and Germans, garlic is widespread among them as an aphrodisiac.

Other Herbs for Sexual Vitality: anis, balanoi, balete, batau, bunga, clove, cocoa, dilau, durian, hasmin, ikmo, kapok, cashew, kintsay, langka, linga, makahiya, paminta, pandan mabango, pitogo, sabila, saffron, sarsa, parillang-Chine, takip kuhol, talong-puti, and watercress.

Reference: Philippine Herbs that Increase Sexual Vitality, Ontengco D DC, Del Rosario RM and AV Rotor

A new species of garden slug? Article in progress

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Ten-ten-ten: The dog that found a home on 10-10-2010

Ten-ten-ten has been with us for 5 years now. 

Dr. Abe V. Rotor 

Gelyn and Ten-ten-ten October 10, 2015

 

Jemille and Ten-ten-ten, May 1, 2012, Lagro, QC

It was a quiet afternoon and guess who was knocking at the gate?

A starving dog, a mongrel, and what is there in him to gain?  

Could you spare me a morsel? His eyes moist and sad, begging,

And food we gave, closed the gate, everything was quiet again.  

The sun was setting down.  We saw a shadow seeping through the gate,

He is still there, I told the children, and he was knocking again, 

Could you spare me a place for the night? His moaning told us so,

Who are you, who is your master? Silence. I felt a little pain.   

We took him in.  It was a special date on the calendar that comes

But once, and never again, not in a lifetime or generation.

Tenth day, of the tenth month, of the first decade of the millennium   

And we named this lost dog, Ten-ten-ten. What a celebration! 

Home he found and a happy company with us and the neighborhood,

Call his name, you wish luck and fortune, how easy to remember! 

And children tired from school come knocking to play with their friend,

Can we play with Ten-ten(-ten)? Heaven sent a dog to love and share.  ~