Writing vs TikTok

and a dish for winter, spring, summer or fall

A lot of people know I've been blogging for years, back in the days of WordPress and Blogspot or Blogger. That was where I connected with a lot of people who love to cook, bake, write, photograph and connect! There were blog hops where we cook/bake to a theme and we encourage each others audience to visit each other's blogs.  I especially loved these monthly challenges as it gave me an opportunity to actually look for an idea, prepare, cook, photograph, write and post! At the time I even attended two of the Eat Drink Blog conferences. One in Sydney and one in Adelaide.  A few of these bloggers have moved on to careers in food - from recipe development and food photography and some even published cookbooks! The platforms were limited to written stories, recipes, photos and the environment was fun and friendly. If anyone had any sponsored posts it was all transparent in their posts.

These days social media space is noisy and crowded with reels and TikToks each trying to get our attention and IG posts are now passé. Nobody reads long posts anymore. Our attention span is now limited to 30 second reels. Don’t get me wrong. I love these short-form platforms and follow plenty of amazing content creators online. At the same time I also love books and I am forever a long-form content consumer, so Substack is a welcome discovery. There’s plenty of stories to be inspired from and connection is not solely based on algorithms and sponsored posts. I like a good balance of noise and calm, so here we are.

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I love this photo as it speaks spring, which is the season right now in Australia. We are approaching summer and the colours are becoming vibrant and varied. It’s warm during the day and the evenings are cool. Blue skies and sunshine! My fave season!

Ginataan means cooked in coconut milk or cream. Halo halo means a mixture of different ingredients. The glutinous rice balls (bilo bilo) has texture similar to mochi and is mixed with different tubers and yams. Many similar dishes exist in South East Asia such as Banh Ja’nuek in Cambodia, Bua Loy in Thailand and Bubur Cha Cha in Malaysia. This Filipino dish is served for morning or afternoon tea, and peddled in street corners across the rural suburbs. And if you’re not in the Philippines, you can easily make this and it is perfect at any season! Winter, spring, summer or autumn. 

Ingredients

For the glutinous rice balls (bilo bilo)

1 cup glutinous rice flour 

1 cup water 

For the ginataan

1 large sweet potato, cubed 

2 pieces lady finger bananas, sliced 

1 purple yam or taro, cubed 

2 x 400 ml cans coconut milk 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 tablespoon jackfruit strips (canned, fresh or dehydrated)

1 cup cooked tapioca pearls (optional) 

Method

In a large mixing bowl, make the glutinous rice balls (bilo bilo) combine the glutinous flour and water and mix well until it forms a dough. Depending on many factors, the dough may be wet or drier, then you’ll need to add either flour or water, a tablespoon at a time. Mix it by hand to get a feel of the dough. You are looking for a pliable dough (like play dough consistency).

Scoop half teaspoon full of the dough and shape into balls, place in a clean plate and continue with the remaining dough.

Using a large pot (approximately at 6-8 litre pot), add the coconut milk and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes, bananas, taro/ube and cook on medium heat until slightly cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Add the bilo bilo and tapioca pearls if using, and continue to cook until they all float, approximately 5 minutes. Add the jackfruit and simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Notes:

• Canned and dehydrated jackfruit is commonly available in Asian supermarkets

• If using tapioca pearls, follow cooking instructions in the packet before adding.

• I added a mix of dehydrated fruits as topping for texture, also from Asian supermarkets

Ginataang Halo Halo

114KB ∙ PDF file

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Back to the topic of technology and humanity’s dwindling attention span, I found these articles worth reading for awareness and also for reflection. We don’t always need to follow what’s on trend but sharing factual information from different sources are always great conversation topics around the table. Did I say I love long form writing?

An article Your Attention Didn’t Collapse, It Was Stolen in the Guardian from author Johann Hari, an excerpt from his book Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention talks about his experience trying to decompress and went into a web-less week.

Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can.

In another related feature in the Times,

Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity. At its core, the internet was designed to capitalize on how humans think, Mark says, so it’s little surprise that people are drawn to it. “It’s not just the fact that there’s algorithms catching our attention,” Mark says. “We have this sense that we have to respond, we have to check.”

Human brains want novelty, excitement, and social connection, and devices play into those desires. Checking a notification flashing across your screen can provide a small hit of dopamine, creating a sense of reward that keeps you coming back for more.

I’m trialling a feature here for readers to download the recipe as PDF file. Let me know in the comments if it’s something that’s useful for you as an avid home cook! And if you cook from any of my recipes here, please do let me know. I love feedback - the good, the bad and the ugly!