Comfort Food

Inspiration for this posting started off with an awesome idea from my 12 year old daughter, Lauryn.  She wanted to bring lunch for her friends Isabella and Tanya.   Isabella’s mom died a few years ago due to an apparent suicide.  Isbella is an only child and since her dad rarely cooks at home, Isabella would open up a can of olives or canned tuna and eat right out of the can for dinner.  Tanya on the other hand has never had a home cooked meal in her life! Her parents are so busy that every night they always have fast food dinner.

Lauryn was pretty shocked and heartbroken; she didn’t realize that something as simple as a home cooked meal just does not happen for everyone!   And so, we prepared a picnic lunch for Lauryn to bring to her school and which has now turned into a monthly lunch session at her school called “Lunch with Lauryn”.   She wanted to have her friends and other kids to experience a good home cooked meal. 

Isn’t it amazing how comforting food can be?  There is definitely something about sharing a meal that can be so magical.  The following recipes are Lauryn’s comfort food, dishes that she has made and shared at with her friends.  So, from our table to yours… enjoy!

BBQ Pulled pork with Hawaiian Rolls

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer

1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

Hawaiian Rolls

Directions:

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve with Hawaiian rolls.

Pineapple Coleslaw

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded cabbage

3/4 cup shredded carrot

1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

1/3 cup mayonnaise

4 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons white vinegar

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot and pineapple. In another small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar; pour over pineapple mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade 

Makes 6-7 cups

Ingredients:
For the strawberry syrup:
1 heaping cup chopped strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch salt
2 tablespoons cold water
For the lemonade:
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup very hot water
1¼ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 6-7 lemons)
4½ cups cold sparkling water or seltzer

Directions:
To make the strawberry syrup, combine the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, salt and water in a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth, then use a fine mesh strainer to remove all the seeds. Press firmly to extract as much liquid as possible.

To make the lemonade, combine the sugar and hot water in a pitcher. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, then add the strawberry syrup and sparkling water.

To serve, rub a spent lemon wedge along the rim of the glass, then dip in sugar. Add ice if desired and fill with lemonade. Garnish with lemon wedges and/or strawberry slices. Drink and enjoy.

A Holiday to Remember

We are so grateful for your time in reading our first entry in our new blog "Life Notes By...... " . In this blog we will  be talking about different topics like Love, Family, Friendship,Sex, Health, Travel, Politics, Money, Travel, Spirituality and much more based on interviews from ordinary people that have had extraordinary Life Lessons.

The holiday season is a time to give, to be grateful, to spend time with family & friends and to reflect on the lessons learned during our journeys of this year.

So this holiday season, we went out and asked 7 first generation immigrant Filipinas about their holiday traditions and their Christmas wishes.

Kiya, an after school tutor, shared to us that her favorite holiday tradition is "The Thanksgiving Hand". She came up with this new idea where each of her family member reflects and writes down on a piece of paper shaped like a hand, the 5 things that they are grateful for that year. Her Christmas wish is for God to move mountains to give her clear signs and assist her towards her ideal employment so she can be free and bring more goodness in the lives of people living here in USA.

Kristie, an ICU Registered Nurse, favorite Holiday tradition is watching the "Home Alone" movie, when she watches this movie she laughs so hard to the point that her face hurts, it brings back a lot of childhood memories since she was so young when she first saw this movie. Her Christmas wish is to have more Love for self so she can give more love to others that leads to healing past wounds.

Chiari, an ER Nurse in New York and a courageous Cancer Survivor, favorite holiday tradition is opening gifts on Christmas Eve. She loves the look in the faces of her family and friends when they open the gifts and see that they got what they have wished for and she jokingly say... i guess even the grown-ups still believe in Santa Clause. Chiari like most immigrants, being thousands of miles away from their families during the holidays brings some sadness, so her Christmas wish is that she can be with her parents and siblings in the Philippines this Christmas because it has been 10 years since all of them have been complete as a family on Christmas Day.

Christine, a project coordinator in a contruction company. Her favorite Christmas tradition is spending time with family and friends during Christmas Eve Dinner or in Filipino , it's called "Noche Buena" . during this time they share stories, laughters as they enjoy delicious food. This Christmas, all she wanted is World Peace, and it starts in each one of us.

Nina, a Nurse Manager in a Health Care Center, shared that she had updated her holiday traditions because there were just certain traditions that were practiced and performed while she was younger and living in the Philippines that are no longer possible to do here in the US. Now, her holiday traditions are not about doing one specific thing or activity but it is about the moments with family and friends that brings joy, love and togetherness especially during the holiday season. Her Christmas wish is to have a heart that is open and accepting of change, new traditions, new perspectives, new lessons and new adventures.

Charlene, project management liaison said that her favorite holiday tradition is putting up and decorating the Christmas tree. This year has been extra special because this is the first time that she is decorating the Christmas tree in their own place in Valencia with her husband,Rem. Her Christmas wish is to continue to have an "Attitude of Gratitude" to be grateful to God for the blessings in her family, career, health, and to welcome more abundance, love, happiness in her life and her loved ones.

Mariel, a former pastry chef, now full time mom, drew inspiration from the King's Cake for their family's holiday tradition.  Her sister Bonnie would hide a small plastic baby (supposedly representing the baby Jesus) in one of the dessert during Christmas Dinner.  Whoever finds the baby would have to bring dessert next Christmas or buy dessert for everyone at the traditional Christmas Day movie.  Her personal wish is for more clarity and tolerance.  Good health and peace to all.

Your holiday tradition may be simple or extravagant, our hope is that you may remember what matters most in your life and may you be present in the " Now" moment to savor the love, joy and peace this season.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah ! Happy Kwanzaa !

Love and Blessings,
Kaye & Mariel