Ampalaya, Bitter Gourd or Bitter MelonA year-round kind of vegetable, it is famous for its bitter-tasting characteristic. Both the leaves and its fruits are used as a vegetable, and it has many medicinal uses as well. It is an excellent source of vitamin B, iron, calcium and phosphorus. It is known to stimulate digestion. In Pangasinan, a pinakbet dish is not pinakbet without ampalaya.
One of the many medicinal uses of ampalaya that my sister Mila had found out is to cure pimples. Yup, in her youth, Mila's face was blemished by ugly pimples and she jumped at anything she heard of that would treat her pretty face. She was soooo delighted when somebody told her that if she ate ampalaya everyday for awhile her pimples would go away. So, she became a culinary expert using ampalaya as the main ingredient: Ampalaya omellete in the mornings, ampalaya guisado for lunches, boiled ampalaya for dinners and who knows what else she concocted using ampalaya. Eventually, after many weeks of eating this bitter-tasting main ingredient, I think her pimples got tired of the ampalaya, they went to someone else's face!
Itutuloy! (to be continued!)
You are a funny lady MaMely! Re: pimples getting tired of ampalaya hence going to another person's face. That's one more reason to eat ampalaya. They say it's good for diabetes too. (Virginia Rodriguez)
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