Monday, November 27, 2006
family matters
i've had 4 straight days off of work and it feels great (well, it felt great, now that it's over). i always look forward to thanksgiving because it lets me reconnect with friends and family i sometimes don't get to see that often, especially now since i'm living more than 2 hours away (driving time).
for almost as long as i can remember, thanksgiving was one of the holidays that was always held at my parents' house. when i lived at home, my mom would start cooking a few days ahead, while my dad would start putting up the xmas lights up outside and clean the house. my mom always did this while still working her 11pm-7am shift, and i would always wonder how she managed to put the entire thing together, with little sleep. not only did she cook enough food for my immediate family, but there was always enough to feed my aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends, and guests that some of us would bring thanksgiving evening. not only that, but there would be plenty leftovers for us to take as baon once the night was over.
because of the chaotic traffic the holiday was expected to bring, cavin and i decided to leave 7am thursday morning. when we arrived at my parents house (sans traffic!) i was expecting to see my parents up and about getting ready for the 25 or so "regulars" that would be coming over between 5 and 6pm. when i walked in the kitchen, though, i did not see my mom chopping up any veggies, or over the stove keeping an eye on a dish she was cooking. rather, there were platters and bowls scattered on the counter, the dining room table, kitchen table, and in the fridge, all covered loosely with foil, a sure sign that my mom had completed the majority of her cooking and could rest and relax (more or less) before everyone arrived to feast.
just to give you an idea of the amount of cooking my mom must have done in the days leading up to thanksgiving, here is a list of the foods that were already finished when i got there at 9:30am that morning:
part of me wasn't really that surprised when i saw all the food already cooked. i've seen her work her magic before for other events, and to be quite honest, it really is magic. she somehow knows when to start cooking the food so that she's not scrambling the day of. and, if you've ever eaten my mom's cooking, you know that she's not just throwing together dishes that taste mediocre. she's got a good palate, so she's making stellar dishes, which is why every year people are always asking, "so what time should we come over for thanksgiving?"
so cavin and i walk in, i see all the food my mom has cooked, and i have my teeny contribution to dinner: 11 lbs. of rock-candy ginger short ribs, which i braised on tuesday for about 4 hours, and the quinoa that i was going to make later. my mom was trying to figure out when she was going to cook the two turkeys (which she already prepped and were sitting in the fridge - already stuffed and seasoned, just awaiting their date with the oven). it just so happened that on our drive to philly, we heard on the radio that it takes the same amount of time to cook two turkeys as it does to cook one but you need to have them separated in the oven by at least an inch. so we passed this wisdom onto my mom and she decided to put the turkeys in closer to noon.
so while the turkeys were cooking, my dad was finishing up cleaning and putting up the xmas lights, and my mom was resting. meanwhile, i started caramelizing onions for the quinoa, and heating up my short ribs and reducing the sauce.
around 5pm i heard the doorbell ring, and people started arriving. at least 10 people showed up around the same time while i was still tending to the short ribs and when i turned around, i couldn't move - the kitchen was jammed with people greeting each other and opening wine bottles and dropping off food they had brought to share (cavin said he had to wait in line for like 5 minutes just to throw a napkin out in the trash!). i think everyone realized that it was getting too crowded in there, and started to dissipate into the other rooms.
in order to accommodate everyone, my mom had three different seatings, while the others waiting snacked on some finger foods. i thought i'd mention some of the other food that friends and family (and myself) brought:
dinner was very tasty. after dinner, cavin and i drove 30 minutes to his aunt's house to have dessert and coffee with his family (aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, brother, cousins). it was nice seeing them, even if only for a couple hours. when we got back to my parents' house a little after 9pm, my aunts and uncles and parents were all crammed around the kitchen table, laughing and talking and eating, while the "kids" went to see borat.
so...was this just a post about my thanksgiving? sort of. i also wanted to give you insight about who i am and where i come from. obviously i come from a family that enjoys eating (hihi). but more importantly, the notion of "family" isn't just jano, myself, and my mom and dad. it's those people around us also, that are constants in our lives, be it whether we see them every day, or only during holidays and birthdays, or even only once every so many years when we go out to visit (or vice versa). it's sitting around cheering and rooting for pacquiao. it's taking a trip to jersey city to mingle with the jersey filipinos. it's planning a trip to the baltic sea with the west coast relatives. it's helping out family members when their water heater is leaking and broken. it's taking in a nephew when things at home aren't going so well. it's driving up to oakland, nj to spend time with cavin's family. it's ice skating at the rink yet still hanging out with the invalid cousin that doesn't want to risk her ankle recovery process.
i've been thinking a lot about this past weekend. personally, it was such a fulfulling holiday, that i didn't want it to end. i've always realized that i am a blessed person, lucky to have been born when i was, into the family that i have now. i always thought that i didn't want kids, but after this weekend, i've come to realize that it's not fair for me to be selfish with my family. hopefully, when the time is right and i have babies, my family will still be around so that i can share with my children what it's like to be part of something, a family.
for almost as long as i can remember, thanksgiving was one of the holidays that was always held at my parents' house. when i lived at home, my mom would start cooking a few days ahead, while my dad would start putting up the xmas lights up outside and clean the house. my mom always did this while still working her 11pm-7am shift, and i would always wonder how she managed to put the entire thing together, with little sleep. not only did she cook enough food for my immediate family, but there was always enough to feed my aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends, and guests that some of us would bring thanksgiving evening. not only that, but there would be plenty leftovers for us to take as baon once the night was over.
because of the chaotic traffic the holiday was expected to bring, cavin and i decided to leave 7am thursday morning. when we arrived at my parents house (sans traffic!) i was expecting to see my parents up and about getting ready for the 25 or so "regulars" that would be coming over between 5 and 6pm. when i walked in the kitchen, though, i did not see my mom chopping up any veggies, or over the stove keeping an eye on a dish she was cooking. rather, there were platters and bowls scattered on the counter, the dining room table, kitchen table, and in the fridge, all covered loosely with foil, a sure sign that my mom had completed the majority of her cooking and could rest and relax (more or less) before everyone arrived to feast.
just to give you an idea of the amount of cooking my mom must have done in the days leading up to thanksgiving, here is a list of the foods that were already finished when i got there at 9:30am that morning:
shanghai lumpia (ready to be fried)
green beans with bacon
white rice
corn
pancit
mashed potatoes
seafood lasagna
stuffing
homemade cranberry sauce
carrot salad
macaroni salad
bread pudding
leche flan
casava cake
apple pie
pumpkin pie
brazo de mercedes
part of me wasn't really that surprised when i saw all the food already cooked. i've seen her work her magic before for other events, and to be quite honest, it really is magic. she somehow knows when to start cooking the food so that she's not scrambling the day of. and, if you've ever eaten my mom's cooking, you know that she's not just throwing together dishes that taste mediocre. she's got a good palate, so she's making stellar dishes, which is why every year people are always asking, "so what time should we come over for thanksgiving?"
so cavin and i walk in, i see all the food my mom has cooked, and i have my teeny contribution to dinner: 11 lbs. of rock-candy ginger short ribs, which i braised on tuesday for about 4 hours, and the quinoa that i was going to make later. my mom was trying to figure out when she was going to cook the two turkeys (which she already prepped and were sitting in the fridge - already stuffed and seasoned, just awaiting their date with the oven). it just so happened that on our drive to philly, we heard on the radio that it takes the same amount of time to cook two turkeys as it does to cook one but you need to have them separated in the oven by at least an inch. so we passed this wisdom onto my mom and she decided to put the turkeys in closer to noon.
so while the turkeys were cooking, my dad was finishing up cleaning and putting up the xmas lights, and my mom was resting. meanwhile, i started caramelizing onions for the quinoa, and heating up my short ribs and reducing the sauce.
around 5pm i heard the doorbell ring, and people started arriving. at least 10 people showed up around the same time while i was still tending to the short ribs and when i turned around, i couldn't move - the kitchen was jammed with people greeting each other and opening wine bottles and dropping off food they had brought to share (cavin said he had to wait in line for like 5 minutes just to throw a napkin out in the trash!). i think everyone realized that it was getting too crowded in there, and started to dissipate into the other rooms.
in order to accommodate everyone, my mom had three different seatings, while the others waiting snacked on some finger foods. i thought i'd mention some of the other food that friends and family (and myself) brought:
ham
cheese
chicharon
shrimps
beef short ribs
quinoa
spanikopita
chicken mole
carrot cake
dinner was very tasty. after dinner, cavin and i drove 30 minutes to his aunt's house to have dessert and coffee with his family (aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, brother, cousins). it was nice seeing them, even if only for a couple hours. when we got back to my parents' house a little after 9pm, my aunts and uncles and parents were all crammed around the kitchen table, laughing and talking and eating, while the "kids" went to see borat.
so...was this just a post about my thanksgiving? sort of. i also wanted to give you insight about who i am and where i come from. obviously i come from a family that enjoys eating (hihi). but more importantly, the notion of "family" isn't just jano, myself, and my mom and dad. it's those people around us also, that are constants in our lives, be it whether we see them every day, or only during holidays and birthdays, or even only once every so many years when we go out to visit (or vice versa). it's sitting around cheering and rooting for pacquiao. it's taking a trip to jersey city to mingle with the jersey filipinos. it's planning a trip to the baltic sea with the west coast relatives. it's helping out family members when their water heater is leaking and broken. it's taking in a nephew when things at home aren't going so well. it's driving up to oakland, nj to spend time with cavin's family. it's ice skating at the rink yet still hanging out with the invalid cousin that doesn't want to risk her ankle recovery process.
i've been thinking a lot about this past weekend. personally, it was such a fulfulling holiday, that i didn't want it to end. i've always realized that i am a blessed person, lucky to have been born when i was, into the family that i have now. i always thought that i didn't want kids, but after this weekend, i've come to realize that it's not fair for me to be selfish with my family. hopefully, when the time is right and i have babies, my family will still be around so that i can share with my children what it's like to be part of something, a family.
1 Comments:
Unknown said...
Can I tell you how much I missed our family on Thanksgiving? This year was the first (AND LAST) time I miss Thanksgiving at Tita Vicki's house. While I was reading your blog, all I could think about was the Christmas us "big" kids and "lil" kids played Cranium together. I love it when all of us hang out and play games. Like you said, even though we don't see each other often, I also feel blessed to have such a loving family. I luv ya girlie! See you on Christmas!