New Year Firecracker Air Pollution in the Philippines

Smoke from firecrackers spent on the midnight of Dec. 31, 2010 linger the next day.

Here are a couple of pictures that show the aftermath of the new year celebrations for 2011 in the Philippines. At left is what the streets of a residential area in Rizal looked like about an hour into the new year, and the above photo shows houses the next day at 7:30 am shrouded in air particulates that resemble fog. The limited visibility is the result of millions of firecrackers that have been lit and exploded on the midnight of Dec. 31, 2010. That means a lot of smoke from burned firecracker powder and it can linger for days in many parts of the country.

Pinoy Carbonara pasta recipe

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Bibingka and Puto Bumbong: Philippine Christmas Sweets

When it's Christmas in the Philippines, it's the time of year when you can buy lots of bibingka or sugar-glazed rice cakes baked under hot coals and puto bumbong, a pasty snack made from glutinous rice cooked inside pipes or tubes (traditionally made of bamboo). These two traditional foods are served and eaten hot, often served with shredded coconut. If you go to a local cathedral, you will likely find them being hawked in the streets in stalls with makeshift ovens that make use of hot coals on galvanized plates placed over either clay or concrete stoves.

Shown here is a bibingka and puto bumbong stall near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City. Cooking bibingka cakes must be done carefully; in other words, it has to be timed. Otherwise, the cake can get burned and the customer may end up with one or two with blacked sugar glazing. Puto bumbong, on the other hand, must be cooked just right or it will turn too sticky and harden quickly if served too soon or too late.

If you are visiting the Philippines this Christmas season, getting a taste of these delectable and tasty treats is a must. Ask around so you know where you can get the best of these treats.

Delicious Tuna Egg Foo Young (Philippine torta)

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