As some of you may know..I have l-o-t-s and l-o-t-s of food recipes of all kinds---some of them go as far back when I was still an 8 year old kid. I learned how to go the wet market in the early mornings--lugging a "bayong" almost as big as I was that I can almost fit inside--learning how to buy fresh chicken (oh yes---it be dressed before my eyes then)---and learning all the different meat parts of hogs and cows.
During those times, I hated being waken up on Saturdays just to be asked...nay "ordered" to go with my folks. They would tell me---you will use all this someday and will not regret not having learned how to buy fresh fish--how to selec the right meat cuts--how to to haggle and how to use money wisely. Then during cooking time, I would help cut, chop, wash, etc. I learne dhow to remove fish intestines---how to remove the unwanted parts of chicken pieces, how to cut and debone chicken too! During the cooking itself, I would watch with an eagle eyes--and with a pen and notebook---jot down everything I saw! Between my twin sister, Rita, and me, I was the one who is a source of how to cook--she did not learn until she moved to CA. And even now, she would sometimes give me a call just to ask how a dish is prepared!
Later on --I transferred my scribblings into a notebook and at some point, even at the age of 10- really took a strong interest in cooking! Even if we had maids then...was very active in the kitchen. I just relied on what I was told---you will use these learnings some day!
Well---they were right! Years from then, when I raised my own family---I was able to use what I learned from the wisdom of my "tutors." Cooking became a big "like" to me. That is when I started collecting more recipes. I collected all kinds--american, french, spanish--asian---and even our own local visayan, bicolano, ilonggo---etc. recipes.
My housemaids were lucky cause no one left our household without learning how to cook. I told them that a person pays a cooking school to learn--while I pay them to learn and cannot take back anything they learned when the time comes they had to leave!
I had an assistant friend (Cynthia) plus my maid to paste my cut out (I did the cutting myself) into bond papers using cooked rice (yes rice---cause if I used paste--I could use a barrel of them)...Then, after pasting, I would segregate them into different kinds: beef, pork, poultry vegetables, desserts, salads, etc. And further, I would segment the recipes into: ordinary daily use, party dishes---or special occasion dishes.
I had these recipes bounded into different colored covers with my name on it: Recipe Collection of Lita. One day, my New Zealander boss saw me scanning thru one of my recipe books and he joined me in going thru the numerous recipes (each book would have hundreds--not exaggerating---hundreds) and he said to me "this will be your legacy to your children, Chinky (I was called by my pet name then, as Chinky)--these recipe books will be very memorable and useful someday" Oh yes, I retorted.
Little did I know that all these books will be stolen from me by a couple whom I called my friends (or so I thought). While in CA, I left the books with them as I was enroute to Manila and stayed with them for a couple of weeks visiting. I left the books and told them I will get them when I return. Guess what--later on...these "friends" said they lost the books and that someone stole them. Can you believe it? I know they took an interest--cause there were occasions that I would do the cooking and they loved what I served! Oh well---let Karma take care of my frustration.
Now you see my love for cooking ended up in me running a restaurant, cafeteria concessions, being a catering manager and did some part catering myself----. The greatest joy was the fact that our house became the club house of my sisters and relative during special occasions, esp. Christmas and New Year. I was known to serve special dishes that were not the usual stuff--although i did serve ordinary ones too - esp.requested. I served galantinas, rellenos - lasagnas (and I did my own pasta using my pastamaker which was a gift of an american boss)---baked ham, haleyang ube endlessly stirred up over charcoal - suman sa lihiya - etc. I served morcon in my own style---and usually gifted friends with this dish.
I have resumed collecting after that unfortunate incident --though in a lesser fashion. I still intend to paste and bookbound what I have--- and now, my collection has grown bigger and bigger again--so I need to organize and segment them once more. Then someday I will them to my grandchild-Gina--I just hope she will also enjoy cooking! Or maybe Migs whomay yet turn out to be a chef--like her dad---who has also a flair for cooking what with his businesses all into food--- (Anne is more into baking altho she can also cook)
So you see, it all runs in our family---one thing we have all in common, love for food and love for hosting!
Hope you enjoy what I just posted. I will keep on posting 1 or 2 every weekend!
