The distant sound of a noontime show from the television, the clamor of the neighborhood outside, the delicious aroma that invites our hungry stomachs the moment we enter our home during a scorching afternoon after a day in school, is a vivid memory most of us share.
It is probably a universal truth that one of the simplest forms of love that everyone can understand is through food. Food satisfies our cravings whenever we feel homesick or want to feel what it is like to be cared for. When words are not enough or we cannot find our way off our tongues, the best way to know love is through a meal.
Filipino culture has always been known for its love of “lutong bahay”. Home-cooked meals are the pride of most Pinoy households. It is part of a family’s routine. The hurried bites of children in early morning chasing their school time, the boisterous family dinner as a chance to catch up with everyone’s tiring day, a warm champorado or kapeng barako during a rainy day, the healing taste of sopas or lugaw whenever we are sick in bed go a long way. Whether it’s the blockbuster combo of fried egg and hot dog that leaves our rice with a red shade or the savory and mouth-watering bulalo served to us during lunch, these dishes have always carried the care and love that most mothers add to the food they prepare.
While we are busy complaining about the bitter taste of ampalaya or how we want a certain fast food’s meal instead, our mothers have continued to work tirelessly just to ensure that every meal time, we would be full and not starving. There are even situations where not all mothers are natural cooks, and they must have learned from scratch—some burned meals here and there, or even a series of creating an experiment of their recipe just to serve us something new and delicious every time.
Behind every kaldereta, menudo, afritada, and Machado that we still cannot differentiate is a mother’s time and effort. These meals have made us feel better during bad days or filled our stomachs with happiness on joyous occasions—the same meals that have raised entire generations.
This Mother’s Day, Elvira Silla's Ma Rasah, a recipe book that combines all the delightful secrets behind Filipino classics and global flavors, could just be the perfect book for our moms to bring the sense of nostalgia about the taste of being a child again, waiting to be served of our nanay’s lutong bahay.
No matter our age or how long we are apart from our family, especially our mothers, because of growing up, one thing will always bring us back to nostalgic, simpler times. The taste of home can always be found in every favorite adobo or sinigang that Nanay serves us with the recipe of her love.
by Michelle Anat