The Joy of Home Cooking

Ever since I decided to lay low from my career in the food industry (did I do the right thing? LOL) and took care of my sick father, my passion to cook begun to emerge. Surprisingly, I found it to be enjoyable! It provided me the opportunity to rediscover things which I didn't care for when I was busy with work. In a way, circumstances led me to wake up at sunrise to go to the market and prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner in the kitchen. I had to prepare food for my father during his final days so I was obliged to learn how his favorite dishes were done. We gave in to all of his requests (type of dish) because it was anticipated that his appetite would diminish soon, so even dishes that I found complicated were prepared. Now I recall that I wasn’t able to make a pasta dish that I promised him because he wouldn’t eat anymore. The experience gave me the chance to be with him and serve his favorite dishes, which I had never done before. It, also, made me realize that I prefer home cooking because of the fresh ingredients used sans flavor enhancers like MSG, used a lot in work. No wonder that numerous culinary schools had mushroomed in the country. I realized, too, that business wise, value adding could be done if fresher materials were used in food products. Importantly, numerous health benefits could be attained. I became very picky in what I eat now.

When I was in the food industry, I was thrown into the laboratory doing new products/flavors/variants of existing food product using processed ingredients for the retail and food service markets, all for convenience. So, I considerl home cooking as going back to the basics like what our grandmothers did. However tedious it is, home cooking has awakened my sleepy brain to appreciate the fresh produce, considering the intensity of the flavors in the fresh version compared to its processed counterpart. I thought I can try to achieve a twist in flavor of ordinary dishes. I particularly was curious about yellow ginger or turmeric Curcuma longa (luyang dilaw) and lemon grass Andropogon citratus DC. (tanglad) which were abundant in the area where we lived. Adding both to "laswa" and "tinolang isda" produced a very flavorful lunch for the family.