My grandma used to cook this dish every time I got sick. She cooks the soupy kind, put it in a bowl then add rice. After I’d eat it, she’d ‘reward me’ with a glass of Royal Tru Orange. She’d say that we’re lucky. During their time it was lugaw [rice porridge] cooked in garlic and ginger. Now, this is something we end up...
I got Chef Aleth Ocampo’s taba ng talangka bottle in the fridge. Was wondering what I could cook and at the same time catch up on sleep. So I looked up a few recipes online and settled for this one. This has minor tweaks already. I used chorizo [Poco Deli’s] instead of the andouille sausage. I also added her taba ng...
I am not a chef. I didn’t even take up cooking – well I did in high school, but that doesn’t count. I am just a mother who wants to eat food that’s healthy and tastes good. Filipinos love fried food because it is easy to cook. However if I can dump something in a pot and come back to a hearty meal 8 hours later, that...
Chicken Pastel is a version of Chicken casserole – the Filipino style. That means – we get and put whatever is available and add sugar to taste. I didn’t like putting hotdogs in this because it would turn the sauce pink. No matter what you do, the hotdog would always dominate the dish with its strange chemical...
I always loved cooking- I just never had the time for it. I’d look up “20 min cooking” or “30-minute dinners” online, only for me to realize that it would take 1 – 2 hours because of prep time. Prep time includes cutting up the veggies, thawing the meat, and measuring everything. Forget the last part – I’m a...
My memories of makeup tattoo would be the grandmothers and mothers with green eyebrows and garish blue eyeliners that would always distract me in a conversation. There are just some things you don’t do to your face. Tattoos are one of them – or so I thought. I love putting on make up. I loved enhancing my features when...
I was reading entries done by the CSU students on blogster with Rumi in their minds. I decided to look up the poem on “Love is Reckless ” and ended up writing this letter instead…. Dear Papa, When my days would get busy and events start happening almost at the same time, I often looked forward to our lazy Sundays when I...
During our retreats in high school,we were made to answer questions. According to my parents, it is but normal to have questions since we were at a point when we should be deciding what our roles in life would be. Mainly.. what to take in college. Whatever we did take in college was supposed to ‘set us up’ for the...
Children grow up so fast. I know – when they’re whiny and all, you can’t wait for them to grow up so you can talk sense into them. But when you step back and watch them, engrossed in their own world of wonder, you gasp and wish you could tell time to slow down. You want to hold them and listen to their laughter...
This is not a how-to. This is a lesson I learned as I grew up. I lived in a household where 10-year-old mistakes are brought up everytime there’s an argument. It never ends. My mother kept on bringing up the past – why? Because according to her, she may forgive but she never forgets. She also makes sure that you never...
Perhaps it was after my father’s death this May that I came to cherish each moment I have with my family. I have become a bit sensitive to my own memories such that when I was having a quiet dinner with my son -‘Just hanging around and having a pizza dinner’, that I found myself having a nostalgic moment. A young couple...
I am still trying to teach my son part of the list. I realized that parenthood, which is the same as student-hood and saint-hood is a lifelong process. Personality goes a long way. Walk on the outside (closer to the street) of your female companion. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking care of kids are things men...
Did you ever fall in love when you were a teenager? Did you have a secret boyfriend because you couldn’t let your parents know about it? Do you remember how it started? Do you remember how it ended? In fact, did it ever “end” at all? All I know is that it made me so giddy, that I kept a memorabilia of his first gift to...
A familiar scene happened earlier: Girl Teenager: Mom, why don’t you want me to have a boyfriend? Parent: Cause you’re too young, you’ll meet a lot of guys while you grow up and use your time to finish your studies not finding a mate. Girl Teenager: 11 years old is young, 15 years old is not. 8 years old is too young, 15...
A mother died today. I couldn’t call her Auntie or Tita. She was my best friend’s mother and mentor. In a way she was my mother too. When I was in high school, I’d often hang out at my friends’ house before going home. I’d do my homework and projects at their place. If I could only not go home, I’d do that. My father...
