(Music) Golden Gate Quartet

More good old days we never saw, in rotation: The Golden Gate Quartet and their jubilee-barbershop-quartet style. Good morning!

(New) Pineapple-Basil Soda, Gata Panna Cotta, Pili-Goji Power Bar

Our hummus run is over for now, thanks for eating hummus with us. We're pondering which bean to play with next.

This week, pineapples are in season, and we've got pineapple-basil fresh soda! We also have coconut milk panna cotta with pinipig and honey on top.



We also localized our favorite power bar recipe. Our Pili-Goji Power Bar is our new best friend. We use pinipig instead of oats (we eat pinipig for breakfast in place of cereal, why not power bars no?). The crispy pinpipig and the unctuous pili nut are a great combination. The antioxidant goji berries are our dried fruit component. We sweetened the bars with unheated, raw wild honey (still enzyme-loaded), coconut nectar , virgin coconut oil, and a wee bit of raw cacao (more antioxidants). It tastes quite sensational. Since we didn't cook this thing (everything but the rice is raw), we need to store it in the chiller. It is gluten-free. It's an experiment, we made a small quantity, try it out and give the girls some feedback.

(New) Unbleached Loofah, Liz's Truffles, Blocks of Pure Cacao

Loofah is the skeleton of the patola plant. We know patola as the vegetable in misua. At Kapisan Urban Farms, the ones that grow higher and are more difficult to harvest are left to dry. We then peel them, sterilize under Papa Sun, and cut into manageable pieces. We do not bleach them like commercial producers do. You may use loofah for your body, or as a biodegradable dish scrub. As with anything, leave in the sun once in awhile to sterilize and make new again. At the end of its life, compost. No problem.













Our friend Liz makes truffles. The cacao is not local yet-- although there are people getting into cacao conching, giving hope that a meltable base for "normal" European-style chocolates will soon be locally made. Get them from our chiller.




















We now have our pure cacao in 100 gram blocks as well. Minimally processed-- fermented, roasted, ground. We previously only had them by the kilo. These are more manageable to use. You can make drinking cacao, or grate for baking or cooking. One woman uses them for her hair. We're not sure how, but she does.

There's a Little Japan In Everyone

Love, hope, strength to Japan. We admire your courage.

-The folks at Ritual
(sometimes eating at Little Tokyo, above)

(Making) Summer Soap

Leaves are dropping and we are preparing to wear less clothes. We've been making summer soap. Salt, wild beach plants, coconut oil, and more.

(Food) Morning Coffee

Morning coffee is a celebration, if you want it to be. Take a tray, sit outside, garnish your view with a few humble flowers. Smile, sip.

(Food) Hummus Days

We love hummus. We make our own versions with local beans, coconut or olive oils, homemade tahini, calamansi juice or some local vinegar, and sea salt.

Soon we will be having local bean pastes at the shop.