I owe it to my mom, my Mama Tinay and my aunts

Having been raised in a family where girls are trained to be good mothers and homemakers, it is somewhat an unspoken requirement to be a good cook, among other things.

Being a mother myself now, I appreciate all the "trainings" I got from my mommy, her sisters and their mother, our Mama Tinay. In all the cooking and parties done in their Pangasinan home, there was never an outside caterer. At the most, there was somebody who helped cooked one dish or roast the pig. But all the rest was done by them.

We, kids, grew up eating good food, that's for sure. We were required to eat breakfast. We had to be home by dinner. When we were old enough to cook or wash the dishes, that was taught to us at once. When I was starting to cook, I remember both the appreciation and the comments. Until now, I still get them. *smile*

Am I a good cook? Hmmm... I wouldn't want to determine the answer for that question. I work in restaurants and hotels now so I get a lot of culinary exposure. As far as I know, I hold on to my husband's and my kids' comments to my cooking. Mostly good comments. As my daughter Maxinne says, "Mommy, yummy ang cook mo." I believe her because she does not say it all the time!

So this blog will be mostly of recipes for home cooking in Filipino homes. I could get carried away sometimes and cook something not usually Filipino. I have to tell you something though. I would try to put the exact measurements of the ingredients which is one of the things I do for a living. However, I'm at home so I usually play it by ear except for the baked items.

Happy cooking and happy eating too!