I Miss Cooking

I was a self-acclaimed chef. That was when my hands and my heart were so fired up for cooking. Hehe... And that acclamation happened only once in my life at about a month or so. After that, it seemed that I had a low heart to cook so "bongga" again. :(

My family loves cooking - Ilonggo dishes at that. My father's specialties are the "pang-fiesta" dishes. My mother enjoys preparing desserts. My sister and brothers love innovating my parents' dishes. They put a modern touch. (With modern, I mean the styles of slices of the ingredients, the presentation, etc.) Their creativity comes out with every dish.

Me? I'm the one who arranges the table. And just waits for everything to be served. That is when I'm in a good mood. But oftentimes, I just wait. :)

But with an eye-opening on how food is important for the family, the joy it brings to the people, I found myself wishing to be the "cooker".

And so, one summer I got so passionate about learning how to cook formally. I got into a cooking school for a month. And I found myself indulged in every step towards a great dish! Yey!

I learned how to market. I learned about the existence of strange names of vegetables, oils, wines, pastas, and sauces. Everyday I was looking forward to a new learning. It was a great achievement for me! :)

(My apron then.)

(Before I continue, I have a secret to share. There was a hidden agenda why I wanted to learn how to cook. Ready? This is something petty and maybe funny. Hehe.. But anyway... Here it goes. At that time, I felt I was preparing myself for an ideal marriage. And an ideal wife should know how to cook. And so I needed to know how. What's funny? I wasn't in a relationship that time... Well, for future purposes. Hehe..)

And after I graduated, I enjoyed cooking for my family. It takes me hours to finish one dish but everything's worth my every effort after. My mother got excited for everything that was new that I served. She was my greatest fan. (As always..Thanks Ma!) :) She would savor every taste and would ask several things which nurtured my desire even more.

My brothers, on the other hand, would eat everything on their plates, would have another served or two and then would complain about the taste after. They would comment on being overly salty, overly sweet, sometimes lack of whatever not so nice they could think about. *Sigh* Were brothers made to pull down spirits? So glad mothers exist.

(In one of my cooking classes)

But my glorious days of cooking were gone. I haven't cooked good and real food for quite a long time. :(

When I started living in BQ, I got used to preparing easy-to-prepare dishes and worse, the instant ones. And I have noone here to share my joy of cooking with. When I go home, I just rest and enjoy the luxury of my parents' cooking for me. Well, I sometimes cook but not at a bounty just like then.

I soooooo miss cooking. Not in a sad mode but with an excitement that if I'll cook again, it would be so much more special. :)