Let me tell you a short story.
I grew up with my Lola (Grandma) and Tita (Aunt), and the kitchen and the dining were our favorite hang out place in our small house in Malabon. As a kid, I remember always asking, “Lola, bakit ka naglalagay ng kutsara sa niluluto mong ulam? (Why is there a spoon in the food you are cooking?).” My Lola would confidently answer, “Para lumambot yung karne (To make the meat tender).” Don’t ask me why or how. Up to now, the physics behind that is still a mystery to me. But it seemed effective. Every pieces of pork or beef came out juicy and succulent.
How I miss those days! Of cutting vegetables to cleaning the squid meat, mincing the garlic to crying over chopped onions, of choosing between chunks or tidbits, red or green bell pepper. I learned many traditional Filipino kitchen techniques from them that probably won’t be taught in a culinary school.
These are childhood memories that taught me that a good meal does not start with the first scoop of rice from your plate. It’s not just about pleasing everyone’s palate at the dinner table. It starts with bonding with your family and loved ones as you attentively chop those vegetables and carefully sprinkle pepper and salt in preparing the family’s specialty dish that you always brag to people that you meet in everyday occasions. It’s also about passion and pride.
These dishes that I have learned from my Lola and Tita are what I would like to share with you. I have tried preparing these dishes for my friends, and since a lot of them have been asking for the recipes, I have decided to create this food blog.
You are already familiar to many of these Filipino recipes. You may even have your own style of preparation. Maybe you don’t know how to cook. Maybe you’re an expert. It doesn’t matter. These recipes are here to be shared and to be passed on. What makes this food blog different is that everything is based on the original, unwritten recipes that I have learned from the people who brought me up.
My Tita died of diabetes and breast cancer complications in 2001. My Lola of heart failure in 2007. It’s a sad fact that I was not there with them when it happened. But that’s life for us, I suppose.
This site is dedicated to them.
