feast (completed)

12. broth

After several hours at the strawberry fields, Meng and Tisoy, along with Yaya Gloria, Luis, and Jessie headed back to town with almost 2 kilos worth of strawberries.

"I used to eat these just like this..." Tisoy said and popped the fruit into his mouth.

"Huy! Ano ka ba! Madumi pa yan!" Meng, who was seated beside him in the van, slapped his thigh.

"What?"

"It's dirty pa!"

"...hmm...adds to the flavor..." Tisoy chuckled as he chewed open-mouthed, grinning widely.

"Pag ikaw nagkasakit..."

"What?"

"If you get sick..."

"Hay naku! Umandar na naman ang pagka-pilyo nyan...pero simula nung naging kayo, naging mas okay ang pangangatawan nyan..." Yaya Gloria, who was seated on the first row of the van, turned to Meng and handed them some wipes.

"Ahh..."

"Yaya?"

"Sir?"

"...do you want to go somewhere else before we get lunch and go to the market?"

"Ahh oo...pwede?"

"Oh-oh naman...pweyde!"

"Luis, daan tayo sa Good Shepherd..."

"Ano po yun?" Meng asked.

"Kumbento ng mga madre. Marami silang bentang produkto – strawberry jam, peanut brittle, ube halaya..."

"Ahh...ang balita ko nga, parang limited lang yung halaya kasi madaming nag-oorder..." Jessie said.

A few minutes later, Luis parked the van and everyone got out. They went to the kiosk that sold the famous products and found a short line.

"Sir, only 2 bottles of ube per person..." Jessie confirmed after going to the front of the store. "I can stay in the line..."

"No, it's fine. Daba, Babe?"

"Oo Kuya, kami nalang ang pipila...mamili nalang kayo kung anong gusto nyo..."

"Salamat po..."

"...what is this yoo-bee jam?" Tisoy asked as he held up the bottle when they got back into the van.

"U-be" Meng said.

"Ooo-bey...is it like jam that you can put on bread?"

"Pwede...but we usually eat lang...you scoop from the garapon...from the bottle and eat..."

"Manang, Sir, Ma'am..." Jessie handed them some plastic spoons.

"Hmm...it's creamy...like sweet and sticky mashed potatoes...."

"Hmm...parang ganung...it's like kamote na ginawang jam..." Meng said.

"You cook this by mixing milk and sugar to the ube..." Yaya Gloria said. They too were sharing in the open jar of jam.

"Can we make this?" Tisoy asked.

"Pagbalik nalang ng Manila...matrabaho sya gawin..." Meng said

"Huh?"

"Uhmm...too many work...you boil the ube and take out the balat...then halo and halo like this nang matagal..." Meng said and demonstrated mixing the halaya until it's cooked.

"Oh.." Tisoy reacted.

They had lunch at Rose Bowl then walked to the market. After a few more hours, they loaded their van with Baguio goodies like walis, sweets, and vegetables.