Food and Love

Food and Love

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     Food. I have always loved it. I always want to try new ones as I get along in this life of mine. I have been blessed to have been in the most expensive places and also in the humblest of places. Food for me is about the simple joy of the experience and a part of that experience is feeling the joy of the person who has prepared the food for you. 

     As far as I can remember Saturdays were the greatest days for me since I would get to wake up early , watch Saturday Morning cartoons and my mom would be there to make me hotdogs or pancakes or basically anything I wanted. No school and then sleep or play in the afternoons where warm milk and cookies were the order of the day. Until this day I always look back to those days whenever I want to relax. I look back at those times when my mom was healthy and she was always in the kitchen at least on the weekends. 

     When my mother-in-law would cook for us , it was always a treat , she knew how to turn simple porridge to first class porridge , simple Chicken Curry to first class Chicken Curry , it was like eating in a first class hotel without the accompanying chefs shouting at each other. I look back at those times and wish things were better.

     When my wife would cook (when the mood struck her). Aven and I would enjoy delicious heapings of her ultra cheesy Spaghetti and slices and slices of her peach and mango pudding ref cake. Aven and I would feel loved because she would never cook for anyone else but us and as I told her before , feeding spaghetti to Aven from Mcdonalds or Jollibee is good but nothing compares to the feeling of your own child bragging how Good your spaghetti tastes like to her playmates or classmates or even when your own child asks for you to cook because she just misses it. My wife got the idea when Aven started doing these things to her.

     When my brother would wake up from sleep , half drunk at times and he would ask if I have eaten anything. He would look inside the fridge and fry anything in there. He would warm the food and prepare it. He wouldn't cook it but he will always prepare it for you.

     With all these people, you could literally feel the love and the care that they put in the food that they make or in my brothers case heat. They have pride that you will enjoy your meal and that you will have great memories of the blessings that you will partake. This is the reason why I will never knowingly eat at a place where I know Chefs are getting shouted at and abused by their employers. Food is a celebration and if the one preparing it feels pressured to just come up with food as a part of their job then that takes aways so much of the experience for me. 

I would rather eat simple porridge in a market place stand where you know people are smiling at you as they hand you a bowl. 

I would rather eat at home even if its simple "Tuyo" and "Sinangag". You feel the love in every cup of rice and every bite of cured fish. Food is all about the love after all.