What I Need Right Now

There are days when I feel bad without me knowing why. There are days when I feel bad AND I absolutely know why. And then there are days when I don't feel bad but I'm not happy either, and usually it happens on a rainy day like this.

Typhoon Juan is slowly moving its way out of the country but it was so hard to get up this morning because it's cold and the bed looks so invitingly warm. This isn't even my bed I'm talking about since I spent Monday nights in the apartment in Tondo where I grew up. Why I do is another blog-worthy subject I'm writing about soon.

View Larger Map

Speaking of Tondo, it's great to reminisce about rainy days when we'd wake up early and wait for the am radio announcer to say that classes have been suspended. Then, my brother and I would hop in my parent's bed, bury ourselves in the thick sheets and go back to sleep. Mama would whip up a breakfast of sardines with misua and daing na bangus. The smell of the frying fish would wake us up so Mama didn't have to call us to eat.

I know it's a weird combination, but it tastes really good anyway that I find myself trying to cook both dishes whenever it rains and I have bangus in the fridge. I like my daing na bangus cooked a little bit more than in the photo here so that it's crispy. I like anything fried crispy for that matter.

The rest of the rainy day was spent in bed still, where we'd play board games or watch a scary movie. It's quite sad that I don't remember Papa in this childhood memory. He worked in a hospital and it didn't matter if Storm Signal Number 3 was hoisted over Metro Manila; he had to go to work. Papa was a hardworking man.

Anyways, he'd usually be home in the afternoon, just in time for Mama to serve either Chicken Sopas or Arroz Caldo or Champorado.

Usually it's Arroz Caldo since it's the easiest to cook in terms of ingredient availability. We like ours a little thin and unadulterated - just chicken and lots of kasubha.


Mama makes the best sopas using native chicken these days. Back when we were kids, it wasn't so bad with regular chicken either. She cooks the shell macaroni in the water where the chicken was boiled in. Mama puts just the right amount of cabbage and carrots, with a little butter, so that the vegetables float in the soup. Each bite and sip was heaven - no chicken cubes attached!

Champorado wasn't always present in our rainy day specials, but when Mama made a pot it was always a delight. She was fond of Ricoa powder, which tastes just as great as the tablea. She didn't serve it with tuyo or dilis so I personally prefer to have my champorado without anything on the side until now. A big swirl of evaporated milk is all it takes to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


So today that I'm neither happy or sad, I'm deciding to have any of the above, preferably in Tondo where I grew up, where cold rainy days are embraced by good simple food, smothered by my family's love and care.

photo credits:

http://tigabaluarte.blogspot.com/2010/03/daing-na-bangus.html
http://www.mykitchencooking.com/2008/03/misua-recipe.html
http://www.filipino-food-lovers.com/?p=88
http://www.shaicoggins.com/chicken_sopas_recipe/
http://www.maxschicken.com/index.php?/menus/31