The Fruit Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

My whole life, I have been told how much I am like my Lolo Tatay. His patriotism, his love for the land, his love for the people. His love for food. The deeper I got into working for communities, or the more I wrote about his hometown, the more I would hear comments about how much I am like him. And I love it. I love hearing how I am growing up to be like one of the men I have always adored.

Many times, I am also told how much I am like my Lola Nanny. The way I wear my hair up. How little make-up I wear. The church-going. The hoarding. And I like that too.

There are so many trinkets that I keep that remind me of them. I have the top of one of Lolo Tatay's pajama sets. I took it with me to Vancouver and wear it to sleep sometimes. I stole it from the closet after he passed away. I remember being the first to sleep on his bed after he died and put the pajama top over my pillow. Lola Nan has made so many rosaries, I have to keep track of where I've placed them all. For my wedding, she fixed a pretty topaz rosary from Tita Benditte - putting a Crucifix that she chose, replacing the original with her own. That rosary sits nicely on our bedside. :-)

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I have always been told how Obias I am - but never once thought that I was not a Tan. I mean, it is my last name after all - and I definitely look like one. I have always been close to my aunts, uncles and cousins on the Tan side, but unfortunately never had the chance to know Lolo Daniel (who died when Dad was younger). I vaguely remember Lola Chit - I was told that she loved me though and fed me grapes. I think she bought me my red wheelbarrow. I knew of them - but never really knew them.

Dad's stories about Lola Chit were always entertaining. But it was through Auntie Vangie's stories that I learned how great a woman she was. How loving, hardworking and cool she was.

And I knew that she loved to cook. All the Tan women cook. They are all amaaaazing when it comes to feeding all of us with delicious food. They work, they cook, they bake - super career women and super chefs in the kitchen. How they balance everything, I don't know. But they do. :-)

The first recipes that I tried out when I arrived were all from Auntie Babes. Several are hers, some from Lola Chit, some from other aunts scattered across the USA. Now, I'm not a great cook - but for an amateur, I'm not bad. I've learned to love the kitchen and the ingredients that are available. I feel at home in front of the stove and the oven. My favorite things in the kitchen are the mortar and pestle, the large knives and the chopping board. Lately, the wire whisk has been quite helpful too.

The more time I spend in the kitchen, the more I catch myself thinking of Auntie Babes and Auntie Ced. I remember watching Auntie Vangie bake and cook on Saturday mornings, and Auntie Trudes prepare anything and everything at Renaissance. I remember Auntie Beth and the yummy stuff she'd send over to the house. Auntie Emy and the meals she made in Baguio. Mmm... Then there's the pineapple upside down cake of Achie Jingjing and the salmon with wasabi mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce of Achie Janjan. The list of the different kinds of things the Tan women make goes on and on.

Maybe I do have what it takes to take on the kitchen. :-) It's gotta be in the blood.

After all, I am a Tan woman too. ;-)