Doha, Qatar- Dried Nuts & Grains, Dried Fruits, Spices and Herbs

Although we have Mr. Manuel Ala to head our sales team there, I have to learn the culture, food, business practices to be able to do business in Qatar.
In my research about Dried Nuts & Grains, Dried Fruits, Spices and Herbs available in Qatar, I ran across this photos by AdeyH of Doha, Qatar.

It is very interesting to know that these products are the main ingredient to satisfy the palate of  not only the Qataris but also those migrants who are currently residing and working there.
The vast population of Asians and Middle Eastern people makes Qatar also a melting pot for various activities and food.

Organic Veggies

As I had blogged earlier, we went to Henry's organic market in Corona.  I got so carried away buying a lot of their fresh produce.  Here are some photos of the veggies that I had bought--so fresh--

Natural and Organic Food

Yesterday, December 30th, I have to go with the rush of people preparing either to one of destinations for New Year's eve (Las Vegas) or head off to the grocery store to prepare for the New Year's feast--I did the latter.  One of my favorite stores for organic produce and meats is Henry's.  I find it not true to what most people think that if we say natural and food stores, it is very costly.  Some products are, some are not--so I always try to find those items that are on sale.

You would probably wonder why I have started blogging about food.  Well, as I had mentioned in the earlier post, our company had now ventured in the food business.  I also love to cook, share my recipes and keep you updated with what and how you can use our products in your daily meals.

Here's Henry's logo--very simple, very meaningful--

Anything is possible in life--why limit yourself--

I would like to share this clip from our founder Angela Jia Kim for "Savor the Success", a Premium Network for Women Entrepreneurs. 
Being a woman  entrepreneur, I always find ways to inspire me to reach my goals in life whether personal or in business.
I join  groups that empower women to lead in business, groups that Give Back to the community,  organizations that work for causes and social networking that will help me grow and learn from other people.
This clip inspires me a lot. When I get discouraged , I listen to this over again and this keeps me to be back on track.
Hope this will also inspire you--as slogan says--Anything is possible in life, why limit yourself--
Good luck and follow your dreams!

Dried Gabi Leaves (Dried Taro Leaves)

Taro leaves (Gabi leaves) - one of our products for export to the US, Canada & Qatar.
It is understandable for you to know that there is a vast population of Asians in the US so it is normal to have our dried gabi leaves (taro leaves) in our product line.

However, you would probably wonder why Qatar?  Well, I have not been there (but hopefully someday I will be able to see and experience the beauty of this country) but one of our partners have lived and worked there for 11 years.  He had told me about how significant the Filipino population is in Qatar and still growing tremendously due to its more stable economy than other countries.  There are a lot of various organizations for Filipinos and its regions.  Filipinos love to gather together and have their native food.  I tell you, it is always a feast of various dishes from meat to vegetables and desserts.

If you look at some photos of Qatar or go to www.qatarliving.com, you would find that most of the contract workers are of Asian heritage.  This is the best market for Asian food & flavors being a country that abundance of seafood & meat products.

Let me show you one of the main dishes that use this dried or even fresh taro leaves (gabi leaves)
LAING

LAING

I was born and raised in Albay, a town in Bicol Region where we basically have this filipino dish at least 2 or 3 times a week.  Since we have the plant growing abundantly  in our backyard, we usually cook the leaves fresh.  One good thing about our gabi plant (taro) is that it is so tender and does not have the itchy feeling when you eat them.  There are so many varieties of this gabi (taro) leaves some of which are tough and not really good.  Another technique that I had seen my grandma shredding the leaves is not to include the hard part or veins like on the leaves to make it tender when cooked.

It is cooked with ginger, garlic, sometimes meat, shrimp or dried fish and coconut milk.  Sometimes the stalks are included too, by peeling and slicing them but since we have the abundance of the plant, our grandma uses only the leaves itself.  One distinguishing factor of our laing from our region is cooking it with our local hot chili pepper called "siling labuyo" or sambalas (we also sell the dried sambalas or siling labuyo)

Bicolanos are well known for this hot and spicy dish.  You can smell the aroma of the spices--the pepper, garlic, ginger and seasoned with fish sauce.

Later in this food blog, I will be posting the recipe for this Laing.

Until next time, I can just imagine myself now eating this laing with our jasmin steamed rice--yummy!

So stay tuned when we will post our local retailers for this dried taro leaves.
Photos courtesy of Bikolandia! and 80 Breakfasts

Welcome to our Blog for "The Nature's Market"

Welcome to our Blog!

You would probably wonder why our company is named "The Nature's Market"

To give you a brief introduction, our company had been in the crafts business in the US, Canada & UK and the Philippines (as our artisan's production facility) in the late 90's.
The business was focused on crafts until 2010 that we have made final decisions to include various natural food & flavors from around the world. 
Being Asian by heritage, I grew up with our family and friends enjoying a simple lunch or dinner consisting of fish, meat, soups, desserts and not to forget those tropical fruits.

Then late 2010, fate brought  me to an old college friend.
Its been almost 30 years that had passed that we have not seen each other nor had any communications.
We had lived different lives, have our own families and lived worlds apart.
As old friends, we talked about how life was so simple back then, what transpired in between the years, career, family life and so on.
Both of us came from humble beginnings and have the passion of helping and encouraging others to fulfill their dreams into a reality.

Then, we discussed business and how to survive in this struggling economy.
Being in business for so many years, I didn't realized the potential of doing business outside my comfort zone.  Fast forward--We worked together for our common common goal--"Working towards becoming more compassionate to those fortunate than us"  thus "The Nature's Market" -- Being financially solid means capable of sharing more--

Then for me, it is the love for getting together with family & good friends over a simple dish.  I love to cook, to blog about my passion for cooking, my new recipes, travel, my hopes & dreams and much more.

Our company will be importing and exporting to the US, Canada, UK & Qatar various flavors, spices and food from the Philippines and hopefully to expand to include products from other Asian & tropical countries. 
We will be featuring various food items, recipes, our food experiences, travel and photos of places that we love and visit in relation to this business.

Later on, we will be posting more about ourselves, our work experiences, our passion and hobbies and more.
So, please stay tuned!