October 16, 2022
Another opportunity to rest the whole day but I was awakened earlier than my preferred time by noises coming from outside my room. The Chinese family woke up earlier because the lady need to attend an assessment exam today for her future studies abroad. I wasn't able to wish her good luck because my mind demanded to go back to slumber and so I just stayed on my bed.
Unfortunately, the noises were distracting which gave me difficulty going back to sleep. My eyes were closing, but my mind was fully awake. So at nine when the family was about to go, I just opted to get up to check online notifications and interacted with some.
It's Sunday, but my thoughts were still on Saturday.
Our kumquat tree made me smile in the morning as some fruits are already ripped. Although they aren't allowed to be eaten for some reason, this is grown at home so I guess the fruits are safe. One of these days, I'll pick some before they fall to the ground. The last time this tree bear a lot of fruits, only the birds enjoyed eating the ripe fruits.
At lunchtime, the leftover pork I cooked the night before that day satisfied my tummy. It was a recipe I discovered and tried at home. Pork belly, taro, and fermented red bean curd were the main ingredients. I like eating taro and other root crops. They are great alternatives to rice and could bring back good childhood memories.
Back when we were young, our rice dispenser often got emptied, especially when our father's salary wasn't enough to make ends meet for the whole month. There was once a lot owned by our rich relative and our grandfather was the caretaker. He planted several plants, including banana trees, sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, and other vegetables. Every time we have nothing to eat, we would harvest some of our grandfather's root crops and those served as our meal for the day.
My favorite way of eating them is with grated coconut. They were eaten by coating them with grated coconut, or sometimes with sugar. Those were just some of the Filipino simple food that could satisfy one's appetite.
Among all the Filipino recipes with root crops, the one that I missed the most is bilo-bilo. A recipe consists of sticky rice balls, sago, banana, sweet potatoes, cassava, and taro, cooked in coconut milk. Some are adding jackfruit too.
But there is a recipe we called "tabudlo" in our dialect similar to bilo-bilo but without sago (pearls).
It was one of my favorite food when I was young. It's a rice porridge cooked in coconut milk with different root crops; sweet potatoes, cassava, and taro. And sometimes our mother would add bananas too. We sometimes use glutinous rice or plain one, or a mixture of them. We used to eat this food during rainy and cold seasons. Just one bowl packed with nutrients was sufficient for a meal, even without any viand.
Staying long in bed on Sunday morning made me crave those Filipino foods, especially since Autumn is here. It was eleven when I reached this part and my tummy was already growling. So I opted to end this so I could grab some lunch.
What about you? What food brings back good childhood memories to you? Share them below.
Happy Sunday everyone.
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Di ko sure kun kumquat un tumubo sa grandparents ko. Parang iba un itsura sa pix mo hehe. Pero masarap daw dabi ng kapatid ko. Last na visit kasi namin dun walang bunga.