Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Living here on the farm taught me many lessons about simple living, hard work to plant, and being thankful for what we have. Honestly, life is not always easy because we live far from the market, but one thing I appreciate the most is that we always have something to cook because of our backyard garden and vegetables planted around the farm. Because of this, we only buy meat or fish, while most of our daily food comes from what we plant ourselves.
Every morning, our usual breakfast is laswa, a simple vegetable soup made from whatever vegetables are available around us. Sometimes I pick squash, okra, alugbati, eggplant, and sitaw early in the morning before cooking. I realized that food does not need to be expensive to be delicious and healthy. My daughter especially loves the soup and always looks for string beans. Seeing her enjoy vegetables at a young age makes me happy because many children nowadays prefer processed food over fresh vegetables. Sometimes, if I’m so busy I already prepared it during evening so that in morning it’s already prepared.
For lunch, we usually cook pinakbet with a little meat. Since we live on a farm, fresh vegetables are always available. One thing that is also common here is paihaw. Because the market is far from us, people selling meat/food sometimes deliver directly to our house. There are even funny moments when I suddenly see meat delivered outside without knowing someone already ordered it. Usually, payment can be made after one week or bi-monthly sometimes during harvest, which is very convenient for families living in remote areas like ours.
At dinner, vegetables are still our main dish, but I try different recipes so we do not get tired of eating the same food every day. Through this experience, I learned that if you are hardworking and know how to plant, there will always be food on your table. Farming may not make us rich, but it helps us survive while eating healthier meals.
Sometimes our vegetables are not perfect in size or appearance, but I know they are organic and safe for my family. This simple farm life taught me to appreciate small blessings, become resourceful, and value the importance of growing our own food.
Thank you for reading my story. This is my owned picture, edited in Canva. Have a nice day!