To Cook For

Among the few things I take pride in what I'm good at ,that I could actually claim, is cooking.

It's not like I've learned it through formal training in a culinary school or a crash course perhaps but just because of my mere know-how and my love for it.

I learned cooking at a young age, probably before I became a teen. While most girls as old as I was were still playing with their Barbies, I was already holding a pan and a spatula most of the time.

My learning how was not accidental or by choice but more of it becoming part of my growing list 0f responsibilities. My daddy was at work and would usually come home late at night. During those days, I had to step up and assume my role as an Ate to my younger siblings. That meant taking on the responsibility of not making my siblings hungry. On top of that, I was always told that I should learn and force myself to know how to cook. Simply because a woman should know how.

I started by honing my skills in cooking rice perfectly. As rice they say is "grasya ng Diyos", I was not to waste it by any means, be it in leaving a grain on my plate or by simply burning it. I had to seriously watch it while it cooks, which meant I shouldn't even take a peek on the show on TV! We didn't make our lives any easier by using a rice cooker. Actually, up until now, we manage to cook rice the old-fashioned way.

Cooking rice may seem an easy thing but I've had my share of uncooked and burned rice. There was one night I served rice cake, literally. It was so brown and solid like a cake that has risen in the oven.

As I had to cook rice everyday, I mastered the skill of proper proportion of water and rice. To know the amount of water needed, they taught me that I have to dip my fingers through the rice and measure it. A guesstimate leads to either "lugaw " (congee) or "hilaw" (raw) and both to a lengthy sermon.

From cooking rice, the next were simple dishes. Frying was the first I was trusted with. From frying hotdogs to any kind of fish. With frying, I had to face the fear of hot oil. Until now, I am scared at it and every time I fry something, I have to be feet away from the pan.

Frying eggs though is at times my waterloo. My dad would usually ask me to fry an egg for him at breakfast or snack. I had to focus my attention on the pan and egg so that it results nicely because he wants the yolk in perfect shape. He also wanted it according to his taste, that meant sprinkling more salt and MSG. My daddy takes cooking seriously even to the simplest egg frying. There was one time I cooked chicken afritada. I was happy at how it tasted and how I achieved the consistency of the saucy, not so watery, not so thick. It was just right. Then when he was about to eat it, he got mad and asked me to redo it because, according to him, the sauce was too much it was like sinigang, almost soupy. I got frustrated I walked out of the kitchen mad right then and there, even banging the plates. In a flash, I was gone. That also served as an escape for me to hang out that night.

Though until now, I struggle in perfecting a sunny side-up. 50-50 chances, in fact. There was one time I volunteered to fry one for Vin, and because I am striving to become a good wife (ahem ahem), I did so. After finishing it, I served it on a plate and put it on the table. I was even proud I did not break the yolk but instead he gave a failing mark. He even took a photo of it so that he could ridicule me at how such a fail it was.

Finding yourself a teacher is one way of learning how to cook. As for me I had a few teachers, my Dad, my Lola and my Tita and of course my Mama.

I could say that I learned almost everything with regard to cooking from my Tita Belle. Since I was always at their house every weekends and during summer vacation, she would always ask me to help her. She would call me to the kitchen so that I could watch and learn. Though the maids were "all-around", she made sure she did the cooking. Her dishes range from native to foreign. To this day, I owe a lot of my dishes to her. She has not only influenced my own technique of cooking but also my palate.

As far as I remember, my first major dish was sinigang sa miso under her instructions. She was out to do something and I couldn't remember where the maids were but she asked me to cook it. She was proud and impressed at how tasteful it was considering it was my first time.

Little by little, dishes were adding on to my list of know-how. I've already experimented my own caldereta from Daddy, hegado from Lola and potatoes au gratin from Tita Belle and many more.

Apart from cooking, I've already ventured in simple cake-making. Making, not baking. I have to have more guts and have to watch a few more baking shows on YouTube to actually pursue baking. However, I've successfully managed to make an Oreo cheesecake for my mother-in-law on her birthday last December.

Each time I'd ask Vin what dish he'd like to have, he'd say "Surprise me!" imitating Anton Ego in Ratatouille. Every after his first bite, I'd look at his face and try to decipher how it tasted. Did he or did he not like it? In every dish I make, whether it is simple or not, I always make sure it will satisfy his cravings. So satisfied he can't help but add rice on his plate. Sometimes, I thought of not cooking well to turn his appetite down and so he won't blame me for his ballooning weight.

Above all the reasons why I love cooking, despite how it burns my skin, how I get frustrated at times, it's how I like my dishes bring smile on someone's face. There's nothing more fulfilling than seeing my husband happy with what he's digesting, and people giving good remarks that makes me want to become a better cook every time.

Last Saturday's Menu:

500g shrimp, 2 big tomatoes, 6 cloves of garlic, and 1 onion

salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the shrimps until tender.

2. Set aside the shrimp, then sauté the garlic, onions, and tomatoes in olive oil.

3. Add the shrimps, cook altogether.

4. Add Lee Kum Kee's Tomato Garlic Sauce and cook until done.

(If the sauce is not available, add 100 ml. Stir and season according to taste.)

200g of pork, 1 medium size cabbage, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 onion

1. Boil the pork until tender, then cut into strips.

2. Sauté garlic and onion. Add the pork strips.

3. Once the pork strips are cooked, add the cabbage. Toss the cabbage with the other ingredients.

4. Pour soy sauce or oyster sauce according to taste.