So, I’ve been staying at home for the past six days, nursing a flu (and a cold and a cough). My body finally gave up on me. I haven’t been sick for years now and I thought it can still take all the stress. I’m blaming everything on the weather; 34 degrees C (about 93.2 degrees F) of glorious summer heat practically envelopes the entire Metro Manila. And it’s still getting hotter!

There’s no comfort in being sick especially during the hot season. The rainy season is more merciful; you can easily find pleasure with a bowl of warm soup or a serving of porridge or a cup of hot something. In this weather, they might be a bit hard to appreciate. But, I still wanted my bowl of soup, so, I came down to a decision and gathered all my strength to get up and prepare my favorite comfort food – Ginisang Munggo.

I love Ginisang Munggo. I used to not like it when I was a child for reasons that I don’t remember, then started liking it when I was growing up. Ginisang Munggo is pure pleasure in a bowl. Although technically it’s a soup, most Pinoys would eat it with rice. It’s the perfect partner for your fried dishes, especially fish. Ginisang Munggo is usually served every Friday (if you know why, let me know by leaving a comment below!), but I’d eat it any day of the week anyway!

There are many ways to prepare Ginisang Munggo. If you can buy chicharon with laman (pork cracklings), you can use that instead of rendering raw meat. You can also make it vegan or vegetarian friendly by removing the pork and/or shrimp altogether and use tofu instead. For the leafy ingredient, I personally prefer malunggay (moringa or horseradish tree) because it’s packed with nutrients. The thickness of the soup depends on your desired consistency; just add more water and adjust the seasoning.

Note: If you have a high level of uric acid, this dish may not be for you. I’m looking at you, Larry.

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I was home alone most of the day today. I decided to prepare Pork Giniling because the only food I found in the fridge were a kilo of ground pork and a bag of potatoes. I thawed the meat, chopped the potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. I turned the stove on and placed my favorite skillet on top. I then added some oil and started frying the potatoes. I went back to my laptop to check my e-mail and the rest of the Internet.

Then it started to rain.

I love rain. It’s an oasis in the Manila heat. It bathes the entire city while cooling down the air it breathes. I looked outside the window and noticed that there were clothes hanging on the clothesline. I hurriedly ran outside to bring them inside the house. After saving the last piece of clothing from the rain, I smelled a pungent odor coming from the kitchen. My potatoes were burning!

To make the story short, I was able to salvage at least half of the potatoes. The rest were pure charcoal. Good thing I did not chop all the potatoes. But this time, I decided not to leave the kitchen anymore while frying them.

So that’s the most exciting part of my day so far. Anyway, going back to the recipe, Pork Giniling is very important to learn. This is because it is part of the procedure of some other recipes, such as Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette), Empanada (stuffed bread), and as a palaman (filling) for your sandwiches. Giniling in English translates to “ground,” as in ground pork.

The directions to prepare Pork Giniling is similar to our Pork Menudo recipe. But this one is much simpler and easier to make. Check out the recipe below.

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It’s a rainy Sunday which I spent sleeping most of the day. Aside from the typhoon in the country that somehow signaled the end of summer season, today is also a Mother’s Day. So Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and to all mothers who read this blog.

On this post, I give you the second recipe of Mrs. Trinidad Cayco (which is pretty much the same recipe of lola) whom apparently celebrated her 54th wedding anniversary with her husband this week. 54 years, guys! That’s like 13 Olympic Games or Ghana’s number of years of independence.  So that’s another reason for celebration. Happy Anniversary, Larry’s nanay and tatay!

Anyway, today’s recipe is Ginisang Sitaw at Kalabasa or Stir-fried String Beans and Squash. When I was younger, I was a picky eater. Vegetables are at the bottom of the list of my favorite foods. But what kid likes vegetables anyway? There are, however, some exceptions to the rule — I like sitaw and kalabasa. So here’s the recipe of my two favorite vegetables in one dish.

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It’s the Lenten season, but I can barely feel the summer heat. Most of us are probably heading to the beach or making other plans on how to spend their summer vacation. Yet, there are still some people who consider observing the Holy Week in a more traditional way. My family is not Catholic, but I studied in a Catholic school from kindergarten to high school so I’m not completely ignorant on Catholic traditions.

Catholic or not, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure you’ll enjoy our recipe today. It’s called Stir-fried Bean Sprouts or in vernacular, Ginisang Toge/Togue. I like this with pork, hence the picture, but for those who will practice a no-pork diet during the season or perhaps you’re a vegetarian, all you have to do is remove pork from the list of ingredients. Besides, it has bean curd or tofu as a substitute. Either way, it’s equally satisfying as main or side dish.

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