Family Time

Gen and I are almost always spoiled on a daily basis by dinners cooked Keith and Don-don. As the “mayora”s of the house, we’ve assumed our role and leave the cooking to the men. I do not think Gen is much of a cook anyways, but I love to cook and with the right ingredients, would love to expose the boys to my favorite cuisines, and completely foreign and exotic foods to them. However, Gen has cooked for them prior to my arrival, making them pasta, but lacking some key ingredients like fresh basil, substituting it for a Filipino herb that doesn’t even resemble basil in anyway. However, considering that Keith has announced on several occasions, starting my second week here, that it is the “girl’s turn” to cook, we knew our time had to come.

Family on Pearl Street (left to right): Kith ("Master Chef"), me ("Atay"), Lyndon or Don Don ("Baby Brother"), and Gen ("Mayora")

On Wednesday night, Gen was excited about discovering some spices she had overlooked in the “import” section of the supermarket, Gaisano. So, she prepared spaghetti and an eggplant and tomato sauce with Danish mozzarella. I provided the wine, picking from the surprisingly large selection at the “Wine Store” inside the Gaisano mall – the only supermarket as far as I can tell and main shopping area in Talisay. I passed on Chianti and chose the most expensive California Cabernet Sauvignon I could find (and by expensive I mean P425, or $9), figuring it was the boys’ first time having red wine and wanted to expose them to the wines of my home state.

Mayora's Feast

Gen could tell by the way the boys ate and their expressions, chewing it slowly and cautiously, that they didn’t like it. Only Keith commented on the one aspect of the meal he seemed to appreciate: “I like the eggplant.” While Don-don with his napkin tucked into his t-shirt collar, ate two helpings, despite Gen assuming her motherly role and exclaiming that he barely put any of the sauce on his pasta.

Don: "See? I'm eating it! mmmmm"

Before Gen moved into the house at Fairview with the boys, she did not approve of their dietary habits, especially Don-don. As the youngest one of the house, I have appropriately given him title as “Baby Brother,” and he affectionately calls me “Atay” for older sister or Auntie. Making fun of his little belly slowly forming, characteristic of almost every Filipino male I’ve seen, Gen decided to impose some rules of the house.

Rule #1: No Meat. According to Gen, Don-don’s eating habits consisted mainly of consuming the despicable street food which are an assortment of various brightly-colored pink and red meats on sticks. Sausages and sometimes chicken, but also including pig intestines, I can’t even look at them, and yet he proceeds to eat them with delight.

Rule #2: No soda. And includes no sugar, although it is present in the house and seems acceptable when drinking coffee.

Rule #3: Nothing fried. Now I think this rule has come from Gen’s raising by a nutritionist mother, which has led her to also adopt some rather healthy habits, which I can easily agree with. For instance, I was pleasantly surprised to open the fridge and find soy milk!
And I think a new addition to the rules is one that has nothing to do with food, but is necessary for this family to function on any normal level, considering the dinner conversations and cultural exchanges over late-night talks:

Rule #4: No PA-CUTE! (More on that later…)

Since my days are numbered here, now having less than a week, and Gen will be traveling to Bacolod and Leyte next week, and with me in Bohol this weekend, we realized we only had two nights left when both of us would be there! So, I wanted to do something nice for the boys and Gen since they have been so accommodating with letting me stay at the house and welcoming me into the family. So, even after a long and tiring Friday, I held up my promise and cooked dinner for them. I warned that it would strictly be vegetables, and wondered if they would still feel hungry after. So, first, I managed to find enough goodies to make a delicious salad. Although lettuce was sparse, I found a small head of lettuce, and mixed it with small Filipino tomatoes that taste more sour than sweet, red onions, avocado, and garbanzo beans. Even found Balsamic Vinaigrette with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Lemon Herb dressing…the boys were flabbergasted by this one. I knew it would be a shock to their taste buds, given that when searching for salad dressing, Don-don reached for the mayonnaise.

For the main course, I prepared for my first-time ever grilled veggie and tofu skewers. The boys had also never seen or tasted tofu before, or the green bell peppers that I found at the store. The skewers were made of eggplant, green bell peppers, onions, and tofu, all marinated in soy sauce, chopped ginger, and minced garlic, with some hot sauce for spice. I have to be careful with my tendency to over-spice things due to my dull taste buds which probably have been burned off from a year of kimchi and red pepper paste. Filipinos don’t do well with spice and any slight hint of chili will sent them off running for water. They prefer salty and sweet, adding vinegar, salt, and sugar to most of their cooking, rather than spicy and hot. To complete the meal, I went for a wine that was half the price as the last one I chose, which was too sharp and bitter for my tastes. I chose a Spanish Dry red wine that was a mere P200, or $4. Consensus was all of us preferred the Spanish one since it had a softer and subtle taste and more to my liking, while Keith proudly exclaimed he liked the “stronger” one.

My assistant for the evening was of course my Baby Bro, while Mayora and Keith watched an old Ray Liota movie that looked like it was from the 80’s. Don-don manned the grill, which consisted of a small pile of coals in a styrofoam box lid on the ground with a wire grill placed on top.

We sat outside turning and marinating the skewers and chatting to pass the time.

Also, to join us, was our new “friend,” the white dog from the streets that seemed to have an endearing loyalty and affection for Don-don, probably due to the fact that he constantly kept feeding her. I have a feeling the dog will never leave and will be waiting by the kitchen door all day and all night from now on. But, she is a sweet dog, and Don-don seemed to have a desire to make her his own. He named her appropriately “Angie.”

We sat down to eat when the skewers looked done and the fumes from the grill filled the house with sweet and salty smells of garlic and spice. Opposite to Gen’s meal, Keith seemed to enjoy my meal a great deal as he “is used to eating vegetables.” But, poor Don-don only ate half a skewer and could barely finish his salad, begging to be able to put ketchup on it so that it would be appetizing to him. Gen quickly rejected his request. I, slightly saddened, tried to ask him why he didn’t like it. But, he gave a big smile, showing his pearly whites and saying, “No, I WILL like it!” and taking a piece of tofu off the skewer and proudly sticking it in his mouth (SO pa-cute!). But, chewing it very cautiously, his eyes looking worried and showing slight discomfort, he quickly washed it down with a gulp of water. He kept explaining it was his “first time” eating tofu; his “first time” eating vegetables that are not cooked; his “first time” eating that kind of salad dressing; his “first time” eating green peppers which he clearly didn’t like. Gen and I tried to explain to him that EVERY DAY we have to eat things here for the “first time.” And we do it! And even if we don’t like it, we accept it and try it. I told them that every day at the carinderia, there is nothing that looks appetizing to me to eat, but I have to eat something, especially when in the company of others, and just suck it up and brave the “first time” tries of the usual foods, even with the accompanying swarm of flies.

Anyways, Keith enjoyed the tofu, though, and had several helpings of the salad, even seeming to appreciate the mayonnaise-ketchup alternative to salad dressing. I was proud, too, because it was my “first time” grilling veggie skewers and thought the outcome was delicious; not to mention one of the few meals without rice! (When we first sat down to eat, Keith answered bluntly and with a slight tone of humor, “No rice?!”)

For dessert, Don-don and I had picked up “Halo-halo” ice cream from the store. I’ve explained halo halo before and while Gen suggested we make it, it seemed it would be too difficult to pick up all of the 12 ingredients that go into it (although we should sometime, especially since Don-don has an ice crusher). Anyways, the ice cream was strange in color, a mix of orange and bright purple, tasting like a mix of ube ice cream with perhaps a light mango ice cream. The halo halo part consisted of white kidney beans, jelly preserves, and jackfruit. Quite rich and creamy, it gave us all a bit of a sugar high.

All in all, it felt good to give something back to my family here, and makes me sad to think about leaving them. Honestly, I feel very comfortable here -- despite my moments of frustrations stemming from fighting flies, contesting with the staring of strangers, and braving motorbike adventures -- and I owe it all to them.
Now there’s a “moment,” just a slightly cheesier and more appreciate moment than the one I had the other day at the carinderia (refer to previous post).