Bacolod, Always on My Mind

There are places you want to go back. The people, the culture, their food, are more than enough reasons to return. Bacolod is one of them and has been on my places-to-visit-before-I-die-list for so long and one visit made me long to go back even if the plane has not departed yet. 

Bacolod City is located in the northern part of the Negros island in the Visayas part of the Philippines, and very near Cebu, the hub of central Philippines. I have always known Bacolod as the sugar capital of the Philippines because books from the elementary years taught me that Bacolod has vast plains of sugar plantations, so vast you can see sugarcane to no end.

But when I went there I could hardly see plantations of sugarcane. 

Bacolod means a hilly place, a stonehill or as the Boholanos called it, bakilid. But far from its original meaning, it has become a modern city in a wide and sprawling space. The City of Smiles, as the city is fondly called, is known for its Masskara Festival and would not only offer smiles and a masked hospitality but a real down-to-earth joviality never found elsewhere. 

FIRST TIME KO 

My first taste of Bacolod was at Aboy’s (Liroville Subd., Singcang, Bacolod City; Phone: +63 34 435 0760; Resto Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 9:00 am–11:00 pm), an impressive restaurant with a lot of my favorite decorative pieces- masks. I felt at home right away at Aboy’s. 

From the tales of our guide, Aboy’s used to be a small eatery but with good food and good service, the eatery became a full restaurant equipped with function rooms. A bigger place for bigger groups of hungry patrons means their business is doing well. 

They offer an authentic array of Negrense cuisine combined with the fierce Ilocano recipe giving way to a new and different Aboy’s experience. 

Having a hard time choosing our food at Aboy's

We feasted on squid fat adobo (a must at Aboy’s), ginataang pague (stingray in coconut milk), grilled manumbok (blue marlin), mushrooms, Bicol express and grilled squid. We capped our lunch with a complimentary tarragon tea and a little chitchat with the owner, yes, the guy called Aboy, who used to be a medical representative. 

The man himself, Aboy

After our lunch has settled in a more comfortable position, my host, Lee Santiago, brought us to the old capitol building to visit a non-government organization he has been helping to promote their products, a real NGO that needed assistance, that has likewise been helping SMEs in the province. We actually bought some coffee and other goodies from them. 

We then walked around Bacolod’s mini zoo ending at Bacolod’s Organic Market and the Museum Café nearby. 

Organic halo-halo at Bacolod's Organic Market

GOING ITALIAN 

Somewhere in B.S. Aquino Drive, if I remembered it right, there is this little restaurant called Carmine Cucina that is owned by an Italian chef, Carmine Pece. 

Chef Carmine Pece

Not minding the tacky décor for an Italian resto, the food at the Cucina was my first taste of an authentic Italian cuisine, as the owner claimed, and they were actually good! My firsts- Gnocchi, Trippa, Salsiccia Padella, Linguini Pescatora, Pizza Caprecciosa, Zuppa Inglese. Godetevi il vostro cibo! Buon appetito!

Pizza Caprecciosa

(Update: Carmine Cucina is now closed and I felt sad.)

TASTE OF NEGROS 

You can never really claim you have been to Bacolod if you have not tasted cansi. Cansi is actually a soup made from bony parts of beef slowly cooked with batuan (Garcinia binucao) and other spices. The prized part is the bone where the marrow is invitingly tucked inside making the cansi not just a heart warmer but also a heart stopper, literally. 

Waiting for cansi to be served

We went to Sharyn’s (Capitol Shopping Center, Bacolod City, Phone: +63 34 433 1374), a no-nonsense restaurant that reminded me of downtown Cebu. Only this one was cleaner. The staff might have wondered who we were because we arrived late, rowdy and curiously taking pictures of the bone marrow and nobody dared smile to us. 

I cansi clearly now

Sharyn’s cansi and all other cansi around town is a sour bulalo version, the hours of cooking and heating the beef bones made the meat and tendons soft and easy to chew. The batuan may have made a difference of this stew. They seemed to have an abundant supply of cansi soup. 

Then we made it to the Manokan Country in Rizal Street for our dinner. 

At Manokan was where the famous Aida’s Chicken is located. Aida’s owner may have been a fan of Miss Bacolod since I saw pictures of the candidates in one of the walls. Intricate masks fit for beauty pageants also were displayed at their stall. 

Pass Aida please. Yes, the chicken.

We ordered different parts of the chicken and have them grilled. I did not find them extra-ordinary though. But I admire the enthusiasm and the vivacity of the place. It was like a big market place of grilled-something waiting for guests to bite on. Manokan Country is a must-visit. 

CAPPING THE EXPERIENCE

A day tour around Bacolod and the nearby towns made me feel like I have visited the whole of Negros Occidental. Tasting food on our way to Mambukal Springs was an experience I could not have done anywhere else in the country. 

But on our last night, a royal experience in the house of Millie Kilayko set my travel to Bacolod beyond imagination and at par with the show of Anthony Bourdain. 

Millie Kilayko, the lady in red

Millie Kilayko is one of the most gracious hosts in the whole of Bacolod. She welcomed us to her lanai and let us have a tropical fruit punch with Negros rhum while we witness how a good binacol should be cooked. Binacol is one way of cooking soup inside young bamboo tubes that were surrounded by a generous amount of fiery charcoal. She let us opened the bamboo tubes and we were engulfed in the aromatic stew of lemon grass, spices, mushrooms, slices of chicken and smoke. 

In the table upstairs, a different setting awaited for us. The fare included Bangus Spanish Style, Mamaita's Crackling Noodles, Adobong Pitaw, Lola Sayong's Mechado and Brown Rice. Pitaw, which were actually ricefield birds, was my favorite in the menu. That, besides the binacol. 

Getting the binacol out of the bamboo tube

Millie explaining her menu of the night

Beautiful setting at Millie's table

 Good coffee after the meal and some Casa Carmela piayitos smeared with Dulce Gatas sang Silay made me thought I have died and gone to heaven. It was an exhausting, filling and remarkable trip I would surely be coming back. 

HULING HIRIT

As my ride waited for me, I rushed to Calea, perhaps Bacolod's most famous coffee and cake house, to taste their cakes before leaving the city. At the last minute. It was a cool morning and drizzling and the best time to gorge on sugar and coffee. I sinfully ordered their bestsellers, Blueberry Cheesecake and the specialty Chocolate Cake and a mugful of coffee.

It was like saving the best for last!

To die for- Calea's Blueberry Cheesecake

HELPFUL HINTS

There are a lot of affordable accommodations in Bacolod. For this travel, I stayed at Saltimboca Tourist Inn along 15th-Lacson Sts.; Tel.No. (034) 432-3617, 433-3179. The place is clean and offers free WiFi connections. Your room accommodation has a free breakfast of your choice. Saltimboca is located in the center of Bacolod where a lot of restos and cafes are just a walking distance away. 

We hire an air-conditioned van to get us to places. A van usually costs 2,500 pesos per day. You can have your travel agency contact and reserve one for you. Or if you have friends in Bacolod, ask them to do it for you. 

The Bacolod airport is actually in Silay City, a good 30-min ride by private car. So if you are taking the public bus or jeep, be sure to estimate your travel time. 

A nice combo: Piayitos and Dulce Gatas

Bacolod’s piaya (or piyaya) is actually very good when eaten fresh. There are home-baked versions in Silay as compared to heavily commercialized versions in souvenir stalls in Bacolod and at Silay airport. The Casa Carmela piayitos, small and crispy version of the piaya, is recommended. They are really good, especially the ones with mangoes in them.

Cebu Pacific flies to Bacolod from Cebu three times daily and six times from Manila.

Glorious food that will let you forget about GMA or the Catholic Church

I am ecstatic today. Leslie, a good friend of mine from Fish Project, drags us to Lapulapu City to let us experience an authentic Asian cuisine.

Together with Glo and Gilda, she brought us to a small place called The Oriental Spice Gourmet (telephone 032.514.7112) in Basak Road, a few steps from a Jollibee outlet in that area and lost in a crowd of flying schools and grill stalls there. Be sure to look for their signage. They are located in the second floor.

The place, I believe, is authentic so that most Indians and our Asian neighbors Indons and Malays frequent there. When we arrived, some are still in their pilot uniforms.

The owners are a bunch of cheerful couples from Malaysia who said they have to go back to their place from time to time just to get the spices needed for their specials. The wife (I forgot their names) speaks an accented Bisaya and the husband speaks perfect English, he being schooled in London. She entertains the customers and checks the orders if they were right and also acts as the cashier, he the chef and master of the place.

Their restaurant is very simple and attempts to make an Asian setting by putting bamboo branches and a few framed Asian textile art. The tables and benches are made of planks of wood reminiscent of tables in Batuan, my hometown.

Everything in the menu is with rice except the noodles and soup. But we do away with the standard rice inclusion because we ordered a plateful of Oriental Spicy Rice. The rice looks and tastes more like nasi goreng only less oily and more appetizing.

We also ordered Spicy Beef, a beautifully spiced with curry beef, so tender you fear they will crumble at the touch of your fork.

We also ask for Spicy Chicken in Tomato Sauce (their new dish), Hokkien Mee, a combination of vermicelli and noodles with seafood, onions, beansprouts and Chinese leaves. As if the world would end any minute, we order another dish, a Sambal Chicken it is called, because I wanted to taste the real sambal.

I requested for hot sauce or chili powder and the Mrs said, No! You have to taste the real chili. She meant the real sambal and I floated in heaven she asks me where am I from. I said I am from Bohol. She stated matter-of-factly that she never knew Boholanos like sambal. I told her I am the only one. Our smiles collide with the flavors of the kitchen.

For our drinks, we ordered a hot Malaysian tea and some soda. She murmured a Bahasa name I could not get but she said that the tea is available for a limited time only. Now I hate teas with milk but this one came like I would not touch it much more drink, until I was engulfed in its aroma. I could imagine I am in a balcony of a plantation home waiting for sunset. Yes, the tea transported me. It smells different, a combination of tea leaves and citrus and galangal or turmeric. It tasted good we actually order some more.

The Mrs thinks we were done but with the insistence of Glo, we order a Malaysian-style gravy Curry Chicken with potatoes. We devour it like we could not get enough.

I asked the Mrs if they have a Malaysian dessert to close our meal but she said, No more. Her husband the chef doesn’t want her to introduce another specialty. She told us her husband wanted to present different specialties in time, letting each food in the menu be absorbed by their customers. Smart chef.

We go home bloated for less the price. All meals are reasonably priced at 98 pesos. The soup is 118 pesos. Drinks at 35.

Sambal Chicken

Spicy Chicken in Tomato Sauce (Their new dish)

Spicy Beef (Slowly-cooked curry-flavored beef cubes)

Hokkien Mee (Vermicelli and noodles together with prawns, squid, taugi and onions)

Chicken Curry (Malaysian style gravy curry with potato)

The real Sambal!

Fried rice with a twist

I am supposed to go on fasting today but there is an extra pot of red rice in my kitchen I have not eaten last night. So I made myself just another meal- fried rice.

For this I am using cloves of garlic, tomatoes, a can of tuna in brine, chili powder, a little vegetable oil, cheddar spread and of course the leftover rice. You can add a pinch of salt, but I did not since the tuna is already salty.

I put in the garlic on a hot oil, make them toasty and then the tomatoes and tuna. I add in the rice and also let them soak up the oil so they will pop and a little crusty. The cheddar spread joined with them after 5 minutes and then the chili powder.

This is what I call “experimental rice.”

Have a blessed Good Friday everyone.

Another seafood experience

The children in the family asked me during the holiday break why my stomach has grown large. I blushed. When stomach matters are getting bloated, so to speak, I would always take action because I consider people who grow beer bellies as negligent. I have a lot to work out.

My constant food tasting in Cebu is considered the main culprit here. The latest was at Paolito's Seafood House (telephones 032-2562700; 2534732) where I consumed a lot. And I mean a lot!

  

  

Paolito's is actually an old house converted into a seafood and grill restaurant. There seems to be a trend here in Cebu to convert old houses into comfortable and homey restaurants. This Paolito's is located obviously in a residential area in some back streets near Capitol called Orchid Street. I did not even know the place until Fikri called my attention.

The place brags about the celebrities that came there to eat. The first thing you see when you go there are the pictures of stars framed for every customer to gawk upon. Inside, some butingtings are displayed: dolls, saints, musical instruments, old bottles. Even autographed plates from known customers are shown.

We ordered panga (jaw of the tuna) because the waiter said it is their specialty, baked oysters, mixed veggies, and chili crabs. The panga came in burnt and smelly for me, not fresh but a hungry person would not mind. The chili crabs was nice but they were not so fresh also. But I love the taste of their baked oysters. Overall, the experience was passable and nice as evident on the clutter of bones and shells in our plates. Our total bill costs us about 800 pesos including drinks.

When I went home, I got itchy all over.

How we rate the different restos in Cebu (feeling Bourdain)

This 25th day of my fasting made me realized that it is not only a personal and spiritual journey but also a culinary discovery as well.

With my Muslim friend (who do most of the paying part, thanks brother, hehehe), we hopped on to different restaurants where we could find something for us to eat during the breaking of fast. That means- no pork, more vegetables and fish and should be fresh.

Not knowing it but at this time, we already have our system of grading them. The ambience, the food, the service and the place, we rated them as we eat or in the case of bad experience, we do the rating outside after we paid.

Here are the places we have gone to and with an overall scores right after the names. Please take note that we are not experts on the culinary field and our scoring should not be used as basis for intimidating the restos mentioned. (As if, hahaha.) Our scoring is based on our personal likes and dislikes. The scores are ratings from 1-10, 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest.

ANZANI RESTAURANT - 10

Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu (near Bellini)

This place is expensive but the food is extremely superb. A bowl of soup costs about P450(?). But the service is impeccable. Even if you see how tired are the faces of the service crew, they still give you a heartwarming smile. The place is cool for an intimate date, although it would be full on weekends.

CHING PALACE - 8

Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu

This is also quite an expensive Chinese restaurant. You can actually select your food on display from the aquariums before they are cooked. The place is frequented by foreigners (Koreans, Chinese, some Europeans) and tour groups as evident from the buses waiting outside when we went there.

MR AA BARBECUE - 8

Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu

Andres Abellana, Guadalupe, Cebu

I prefer to eat at their branch in Guadalupe because the service crew there are more attentive and will always give you what you want even if it was not in the menu, like for example, caramelized sugar. The Lahug branch is stuffy with smoke from their grills.

KRUA THAI - 7

Banilad Town Center, Banilad, Cebu

Although the place is nice but the ambience is not good. The music is blasting with pop culture. My favorite food from here is pomelo salad and tom yum gong. I ordered my pomelo salad without pork, but when it arrived, the pork was still there.

ALEJANDRO'S - 5

Don Jose Avila St., Capitol Site, Cebu

We ordered fish, prawn, vegetables, clam soup and they all arrived one by one in a span of 20-30 minutes. Except for the excellent clam soup, everything we ordered were salty, as if their chef wanted to marry but his parents won't let him.

DON MERTO'S RESTAURANT - 8

Casa Escano B&B, Juana Osmeña St., Cebu

This restaurant is quite a find. Situated outside the heavy traffic of Cebu, the place is just perfect. The ambience is that of an old hacienda, only you wish there are horses outside. Their salmon dish is excellent with mashed potato. The chicken is also sweet and delicious. The price is affordable.

CASA VERDE - 3

Pond St., near Ramos, Cebu

We requested a table for two and was shown at the garden. Most of the dishes in the menu are pork/beef so we asked the waiter what is their next bestseller. He pointed out the fish something. I ordered the fried fish with veggies and my friend the grilled fish with veggies. They came in oily and looks the same. The veggies dry and no longer appetizing. Our fresh mango juice smelled like it was stored in a cupboard for a long time. We ordered iced tea again but they only serve the flavored iced teas. No choice but to order the raspberry flavor. It was a disaster.

MAE KRUA - 6

near Diplomat Hotel, Ramos St., Cebu

After that disastrous meal (we barely touched our food) at Casa Verde, we walked just a few steps towards Velez Hospital hoping to have a good dinner at this small Thai resto I saw there. Eating Thai would be a relief from the hunger we felt. The food is so-so and some nice. The tom yum very salty. The pomelo salad and the spring rolls out of stock. But I love the sticky rice with coconut ice cream! And also the tamarind juice was heavenly. We went there towards closing time (9pm) so almost all their stocks are also gone. The waiter said the place is also owned by the Krua Thai management.

SIAM - 8

The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu

The food is great here. Not too expensive. Lots of choices.

LEMON GRASS - 8

The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu

An Asian food fusion, you will love their food as well as the place. For those who are fasting the whole day, the citrus drink with fresh mint is a welcome relief.

LAGUNA CAFE - 9

The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu

An excellent place to experience Filipino cuisine at its best. Authentic, affordable and excellent service. A good place to recommend to your foreign guests.

BANANALEAF - 7

The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu

More Asian food here. Although I find their nasi goreng quite lacking in texture, but still is passable. The pomelo salad is way behind Krua Thai's. I asked the waiter why the pomelo is bitter and not sweet. He told me the purchaser wasn't able to find a good one. Speaking of quality control.

CYMA - 8

The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu

If you crave for Greek and Mediterranean food, Cyma is the right place. The restaurant is quite expensive though but the food serving is generous you can't make a clean swipe off your plate. Ambience is great but be sure not to panic when all the staff would shout OPAH! everytime somebody orders a flaming dish. And they would insist you do order them, so be prepared to join the yell so the newbies would feel what you felt.

CAFE UNO - 9

Watefront Hotel, Lahug, Cebu

Buffet starts at P650 per excluding taxes. They have an excellent array of Asian, European food. You can have it grilled, fried, toasted, whatever. The pastries are varied and a welcoming sight for the sweet tooth. The waiting staff are very attentive and helpful.

ABUHAN DOS - 2

Ramos St., Cebu

My friend went there with his newfound friend but he said he didn't like the food. Although he said the place is nice with that old house ambience. I was able to eat at Abuhan Tres in IT Park but I also did not like the food there.

ABASERIA - 8

at the back of Sarossa Hotel, Kasambagan, Cebu

When I brought my friend there, he fell in love with the place. The resto is not too warm and not too cold. The music is cool. The whole place is actually cool. Like its name, you can see assorted things around the place aside from the extensive menu. The food is great and affordable. We actually go there from time to time.

MOOON CAFE - 4

near Andres Abellana St, Guadalupe, Cebu

We went there near closing time and the staff were quite tired. The second floor was already closed, and the seats and tables near the road were dusty. We ordered pizza but was not able to eat them so we have it packed. The place was full of mosquitos and smoking Koreans.

CHIKAAN SA CEBU - 8

Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu

This is also a nice Filipino restaurant. The food is great and not too expensive. So many people come here during dinner and getting your bill and your change would always take longer.

MGA LUTUIN NI NANAY - 6

Escario St. infront of Capitol Building, Cebu

I ordered beef menudo, rice, fried fish, and Fit 'n Right juice and paid only P88. This carenderia boasts none of the trimmings of classy restos but is frequented by regular patrons especially during working days. The food is great and cheap.

Chickens Unite!

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat company, said it will investigate allegations by the animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that chickens were abused and tortured at two of its chicken processing plants. PETA said an undercover investigator for the group had video documentation of workers throwing live chickens, hitting them with fists, and urinating in an area where the live birds were shackled.

"We're committed to proper animal handling in all aspects of our operations and are conducting our own investigation into the claims by PETA, which is well known for its anti-meat agenda," Tyson said in a statement on Thursday.

Chickens are on the headlines today. No. They are not bringing the bird flu again. You might think they are marching, bringing placards demanding fair treatment, as pictured in cartoons and movies. Well, in a way, yes.

When People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) went undercover to Tyson Foods (a major supplier of chicken and other meat in the US), they found out that chickens there were being abused. You heard it right. Abused!

Now that is a story.

I was wondering why PETA would love to castigate the first world countries on their animal treatment policies. I suggest they come to the Philippines or China for this matter.

Filipinos I believe are not really mindful of the feelings of animals to be slaughtered for food. I’ve seen pigs being tied, mouth stuck with a piece of wood to stifle their cries before the final cut in their arteries. I’ve seen water buffalos being struck in the knees, hit with a crowbar in the head before being slit in the neck. The basic premise there is food. To survive. To have something in the stomach. And in the case of the Filipinos, animal rights are not right. I think PETA has a lot of persuasive movements to do in the land of the rising sun.

I used to dress chickens when I was young. The first time I did it, I was actually crying because it was the chicken I loved, I fed, I cared for, everyday. The only abuse I can remember was the slitting of the chicken’s neck while I was holding its wings and feet. The only abuse was psychological in nature, me holding my chicken, dying in my hands. It was me who was abused. But when my father finished cooking my chicken, the love of good food restored my gustatory cravings. And I ate my chicken with much gusto.

And while you are about to enjoy your chicken meal, Tyson Foods Inc. offered a free downloadable booklet “designed to help you discover (or rediscover) the joy and power of saying a word of thanks at mealtime. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the sharing of good food with family and friends.” I am sure PETA would agree on this. Here are the sample graces before meals:

'Round the table peace and joy prevail. May all who share this meal's delight enjoy countless more.

Thank you for the food we eat; Thank you for the friends we meet; Thank you for our work and play; Thank you, God, for a happy day.

God has been gracious to us, thanks and praise be to God He has drowned us in His blessings... There is no God but God Let us eat of His blessings... And remember His presence... And hope for His mercy... There is no God but God Muhammad set His foot (in the world)... And became the Intercessor, The Beloved Friend of Truth There is no God but God O God, our Lord, cause a table to descend unto us from heaven, that the day of its descent may become a festival day unto us; and do you provide food for us, for you are the best Provider.

Cristo, pan de vida, Ven y bendice esta comida. Amen Christ, bread of life, Come and bless this food. Amen

We thank you, loving Father, For all your tender care, For food, and clothes, and shelter, And all your world so fair.

Hail, hail, hail, may happiness come. May food come. May corn come. Just as the farmers work and look forward to the reaping, So may we sit again as we are sitting now. May our enemies turn from us and go... Lord, return among us and be our Guest.

For every cup and plateful, May the Lord make us truly grateful.

Bénedic, Dómine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Chritum Dóminum nostrum. Amen Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen

Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and our bodies to Thy service. For we ask these things in Thy name. Amen

The Lord is good to me, And so I thank the Lord, For giving me the things I need, The sun and the rain, And the appleseed. The Lord is good to me. (To be sung.)

Good food, Good treats, Good God, Let's eat!

We thank you, Heavenly Father, For all things bright and good, The seedtime and the harvest, Our life, our health, our food.

May these words of praise ask You for food for our offspring, And for ourselves. You are gracious to us.

Thank you for the world so sweet, Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the birds that sing, Thank you, God, for everything. Amen

Rub-a-dub-dub, Thanks for the grub. Amen

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz. Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.

May the salt on this table remind us of the wisdom of our Baptism, O Father. May the bread on this table remind us of the sacrifice of the altar. May the food remind us of your Word Incarnate. Amen

Some hae meat and canna eat, And some would eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Our Father, we are mindful of those who have friends but no food...and those who have food but no friends. We thank you this day we have both. Help us to befriend the friendless and to share our substance with those who hunger. Amen - U.S. Coast Guard Chaplain Program

For what we are about to receive, May the Lord make us truly grateful. Amen

Lord, bless our shared meal, a sacrament to our shared unity. - Mount St. Mary's Abbey

This ritual is One. The food is One. We who offer the food are One. The fire of hunger is also One. All action is One. We who understand this are One.

Father, we thank Thee for this food, for health and strength and all things good. May others all these blessings share, and hearts be grateful everywhere.

May the blessing of the five loaves and the two fishes which Jesus divided among the Five Thousand be ours, And may the King who made the division put luck in our food and in our portion. Amen

Good Lord - Bless these sinners as they eat their dinners. Amen

Great God, accept our gratitude, For the great gifts on us bestowed, For rainment, shelter and for food. Great God, our gratitude we bring, Accept our humble offering, For all the gifts on us bestowed, Thy name be evermore adored.

God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. By his hands, we are fed. Let us thank him for our bread. Amen

Now that I am about to eat, O Great Spirit, give my thanks to the beasts and birds whom You have provided for my hunger, and pray deliver my sorrow that living things must make a sacrifice for my comfort and well-being. Let the feather of corn spring up in its time and let it not wither but make full grains for the fires of our cooking pots, now that I am about to eat.

For the blessings you've bestowed upon this home and on this family, For all the days we've had together and all the days to come, For the joys and sorrows that bind us ever closer, For the trials we've overcome, And for teaching us that we can do no great things only small things with great love, Lord, we thank you.

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