There's No Cooking Like Mom's Cooking

My mom's cooking is the best in the world! She's the original domestic goddess and I'm just a wannabe. Hehe! One of her specialties is her morcon which is absolutely to die for! Sarsa pa lang, ulam na talaga. No family party is complete without it. I also love her lumpiang ubod. It's a dish that I can eat everyday and I will never get sawa. Everything that mom cooks is sure to be a winner. My siblings and I always look forward to the holidays because that's when mom whips her fabulous meals.

Before they flew to Bangkok, I asked mom if she can cook dinuguan for me here. I wasn't really a big fan of dinuguan before, but thanks to my husband (it's one of Richard's favorites), I learned to love it. Unfortunately, we couldn't find pork blood here. They only have the solid kind (much like liver) and I think the recipe needs the liquid kind. Trying to explain it to the staff at the supermarket is frustrating too. They probably think we're vampires for wanting liquid blood. Haha! So dinuguan is out, pero ok lang because mom has other yummy recipes up her sleeve.

We went to Tesco Lotus yesterday and mom gave me a refresher course on choosing meat, chicken and fish. I always thought that the fish that they have in the supermarket was not fresh enough so my poor husband and daughter have to no choice but to eat on pork and chicken since we got here. We only get to eat fish and seafood in the restaurants. But now, thanks to mom's expertise, I can include fish and seafood in our weekly menu.

At the lobby waiting for the "pimp my ride" shuttle bus going to Tesco Lotus.

The original domestic goddess in action.

Lola will cook fish! Yey!

Mom and dad went crazy over the mangosteen because it was super cheap and super sweet. Better than the ones that they buy in Tagaytay -- to think a lot of people back home troop to Tagaytay to buy fruits.

For the first time, napuno ang freezer namin. Mom is really gearing up for a major cookfest and I can't wait! Wherever in the world I may be, I will always be yearning for mom's cooking. And no matter how well I consider my cooking to be, I will never beat my mom's fantastic cooking.

Strawberry + Banana Dessert

They say that Bangkok is known for its super sweet and super-sized fruits. My tita Lori told me that she brought home lanzones for my lolo one time and he loved it! They're bigger and a lot sweeter than the ones he usually buys in San Pablo Laguna. Pat also mentioned to me once that when she ordered a fresh fruit shake, they put salt instead of sugar because the fruits are too sweet and the salt is supposed tone the sweetness down.

Honestly, I'm not too thrilled with the fresh fruit news. I'd actually be more excited if they told me that the chocolates and cakes here in BKK are super-sized and super cheap. Anyone close to me would know that I'm not a big fresh fruit person.

However, Richard and Alyannah love fresh fruits so I have no choice but to include that in my daily menu. I really don't know how to pick the good ones so it's Richard's job to do that. He bragged to me before that his lola Gunding trained him well in the kitchen. Not only did she teach him how to cook, but she would also bring him to the market with her. Interesting...I'll remember that when I'm having a tamad day. I'll trick him into showing me what his lola taught him when the truth is, I'm just too lazy to cook! Ha!

When Richard and I went to BKK last February to meet with the realtor to pick an apartment, it was strawberry season. They'd put strawberries on anything! Breads, cakes -- I even saw one spa that was offering fresh strawberry scrub! I was amazed at the size of the strawberries! They're like two (2) inches tall! I remembered how much Alyannah loves them so when we got back home, I promised her that we will buy strawberries when we return.

Today, I made Alyannah's favorite strawberry dessert. I got this recipe from my tita Lori. She prepared this for us when we were in Baguio and everybody loved it! It's a very simple recipe -- think fruit salad with only two (2) kinds of fruit. Here's what you need:

• fresh strawberries - first you take off the leafy top part, wash and cut in halves or quarters (depends on how big or small you want them)


• fresh bananas - cut into rings (up to you again on how thick you want the rings)


• cream


• condensed milk

Directions: In a bowl, mix together the strawberries and bananas...

...add cream and sweeten with condensed milk. Chill in the refrigerator and serve!

Love the color of the strawberries!

For me, anything with cream is a winner!

Ok, let's see...

Yummmy!

I love it, mom!

One time when we were in Tagaytay, I made one for Yan. Before taking a bite, she told me "wow, mommy! Ang sarap naman nito! Thank you, mommy!" That's how appreciative my little girl can be. It warms my heart whenever she shows me she's excited with my cooking. She inspires me to cook more.