Nilaga
Beef, Onions, Potatoes, Salt, Peppercorns, Cabbage, Bok Choy
Minatamis na Gabi
Gabi (Taro), Water, Sugar, Pandan Leaves
Happy Memorial’s Day!!! Hope everyone had a great three-day weekend with family and friends – though if you’re like me and aren’t doing anything this summer, three-day weekends don’t really mean anything…summer’s sort of like a 90-day weekend for us!
Anywho, so the dish I made last night was Nilaga (basically a beef stew) and my dessert was Minatamis na Gabi (Sweetened Taro). Nilaga more than anything has shown me just how much time can go into cooking. It took me three hours to wait for the beef to become tender…and even then, it didn’t really get that tender. It was actually really frustrating!!!
But this experience, as well as the other cooking days, has taught me to think of and appreciate something I didn’t think about when I started this project – namely how hard it is to maintain a house. I’d much rather work than be the house-spouse (since they aren’t necessarily wives these days…yay 21st century). Currently, I’m just doing groceries, cooking and cleaning-up after the cooking and I’m already exhausted at the end of the day. I can’t imagine having to maintain the whole house, do all the laundry, do all the cleaning, maintain the garden, buy things for the house, take care of kids, and do the cooking – a good old-fashioned 9-5 job pales in comparison to the amount of work that must go into taking care of a house. Which brings me to give a little bit of appreciation to my mom (Mother’s Day is in May)! 
As many of you know, my mom is a single-mom and has had to do the job of both parents all my life. I didn’t understand how hard it must have been back then, and I probably still don’t fully understand all the hardships and pressures that must have come along with being a single parent, but she was able to work her jobs (at one point she was having to work three jobs) and take care of me and take care of a home. From like 3rd to 5th grade before my grandmother started living with us, I would go to my grandma’s place after school to wait for my mom to get out of work. I remember my mom having to wake up at 5 am in the morning before dropping me off to make dinner for me and my grandma that I would bring with me. It must have been hard and I don’t know how she did it for so many years. So, take the time to appreciate your parents/parent/anyone who’s given time to take care of you/cook for you/sacrificed for you. At the end of this month to celebrate mothers, I’d like to thank my mom and my grandmother for everything they’ve ever cooked for me and for all their sacrifices!Tonight’s dish will be Chicken Adobo and the dessert will be Casava cake. That’s it for now! Till next time!
Other Summer Projects
Books Read: 0
Current Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Memories of Philippine Kitchens
Progress with Mandarin: Rosetta Stone Ordered
Weekdays Missed Jogging: 0
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