pinakbet (mixed vegetable dish)

We came home with cut up and ready to cook mixed vegetables from our market visit yesterday. This is the Filipino version of convenience food :-) Cut up vegetables can be seen all piled up in big baskets around the marketplace. The concept is time saving but I find them lacking some bitter gourd that's essential to the dish. I learned that it's best to just get the fresh vegetables needed for the dish then cut them up myself at home. The unique flavor of this dish comes from the addition of "bagoong" or shrimp paste, a salty Filipino condiment. Salt or fish sauce may be substituted for the shrimp paste. Sliced pork may also be added for another variation of this dish.  

vegetable mix consists of local variety of squash, eggplant, yard long beans
and another vegetable called "sigarilyas" (from the green beans family) all cut up and ready to cook

mixed vegetables cooked in garlic, onions and sliced tomatoes seasoned
with "bagoong" or shrimp paste, a salty Filipino condiment