Idle Thoughts

A brilliant life is a combination of events, places and people. Each event (regardless of how irrelevant it may seem at that point in time) transposes, extends and evolves YOU. Each person who touches your life moves and changes the core of who you are. Each place, event, experience, etc. flavours and enriches the complexities of YOU.

Life is a tapestry composed of choices. People, as the custodian of the world, are accountable for the choices we make. Each choice is liken to a door, a road, a path to venture. Each adventure changes who you become in the future. Each year, month, day, hours, seconds, etc is a gift. It gives an individual the opportunity to evolve; strive to be better; become the best he/she can be.

In journey of self discovery, I have met various people, experience emotions and events that has allowed me to colour COLOUR THE GREY. This blog is my attempt to add celebrate and thank people who have help add colour to this seemingly grey world.


------------------------------

Gran's Kitchen

My earliest and fondest family memories revolve around the kitchen. The kitchen is where filipinos (my family anyway) entertained, mingled, celebrated and converse. The kitchen was the centre of the home. Family history, stories and urban myths are passed to the next generation over a snack, a meal or a cup of coffee. The kitchen is where the family comes together. It is where everyone is happy.

My grandma's (Lola Mesia) kitchen was the first kitchen where I discovered the joys of food. Her kitchen had a wood fire stove and oven. Cooking was an art. It required skills. Everything was done to precision. Heat has to be regulated properly to ensure food was cooked to perfection. Her pots and pans were made of cast iron, heavy and durable. She cooked using the freshest ingredient available. She carefully chooses, buys and butchers the livestock (i.e. chicken, duck, eel, etc) she uses in her cooking. Her cooking repertoire was extensive and unique. Some of them were passed on to the next generation. Others lost with her forever.-----


-------------------------

Vinegar and Filipino Cooking

Some of the dishes that I grew up with and love the most were variation of a classic filipino dish called paksiw.   Paksiw is cooking meat in vinegar with selected spices.  Classic paksiw is cooked with pork, vinegar, salt and garlic.  The pork meat is cooked in the vinegar with the view of preserving it.  

Paksiw can be cooked with fish, beef and chicken.  My auntie even cooked ham as paksiw but that is a totally different story....Paksiw can stay in the same pot for a week without the need of refrigeration.  The vinegar keeps it from going off.  

Adobo, a classic filipino dish, is a variation of Paksiw.  Instead of using salt, soy sauce is added to the mix and bay leaves added.   Adobo can be served with a sauce or dry.  Adobo from the island that I come from (Butuan City)  adobo was cooked dry (adobong bisaya).  Other variations that i have seen is beef adobo, chicken and pork adobo (now i personally hate this variation), etc. etc.  dish varies between regions and between families.   My family is predominantly is a mixture of visaya and bicolano.  Our food is a fusion of both region, though predominantly visaya.