Getting back to my roots

I visited my family and hometown over the weekend, and so of course, as it always is, I gained about 5.8 lbs from the sheer amount of delicious home cooking that I can never refuse - both because I'm Filipino and it's a SIN to deny food from your elders, and because it's just that damn amazing. Also, whenever my grandma knows I'm coming home for the weekend, she texts me the week before asking me what I want to eat! She is pretty amazing (plus she knows how to text!) and I owe that foodie part of me to her.

Grandma Upeng, and toffee crunch cake:

I love going back home, especially for holidays. My mom's whole family lives in the Bay Area, her parents, 4 brothers and sisters, and all the nieces and nephews (except for me obvi, and my brother and cousin that are in college). And we always get together to celebrate every birthday, every new American citizen induction, every major holiday, and even some of the smaller ones. Any excuse to eat great grub, watch the Giant's game, and pick on the little kids - we're there, together.

The emotional connection I have between my family and food is probably why I am so obsessed with food. If I'm having a great day, I crave food to further enhance that feeling. If I'm having a nervous breakdown, I need food to make me feel better. Here is some photographic evidence of some of the food I've grown up with along with some new favorites:

Grandma's paella. For some reason, probably because Tagalog doesn't have the double-L of the Spanish language, our family pronounces it Pah-ail-ya. Whenever I say it like that, pretentious people tell me I'm saying it wrong, but they're just so closed minded.

Every Christmas morning, my grandma serves popovers hot out of the oven along with her homemade strawberry butter. She knows I love them so much that she made a special non-Christmas day batch last weekend!
My Caca Tony's pulled pork. I call him caca not because he smells like poop, but because when I was little I would say "caca" instead of "uncle"! He is also an amazing cook and grill master. His specialties include deep frying a whole turkey (our Thanksgiving turkey has been deep fried for the past decade!), and any slab of meat that you can throw on a grill.

My grandma's famous crab. People fly over from the Philippines and the first thing they want is this crab. No thank you Crustacean of Beverly Hills, step aside $50/lb bills. This is the real deal, crab fat and all.

My mom is less of a chef and more of a food artist. This japanese amuse-bouche includes uni, toro, and tobiko.

Next up for One Potbelly: I'm entering my company's chili cook-off tomorrow! Recipe, pictures, and results to come!

Oops, my bad.

I totally forgot about you. Ok, not you specifically, the blog. I forgot about taking pictures (or making my photographer boyfriend take pictures), I forgot about taking the time to write a semi-entertaining post, I forgot about taking this dream I had to be world famous... blogger... to a whole new level. Well, now that I put it that way, I really was trying to be less selfish because I would have had to take a whole bunch of different things. But I'm ready now to put myself first. =)

It's been 6 months, 1 week, and 4 days since my last post. And it's not like I've been sitting around waiting for my butter to come to room temperature that entire time. Honestly, do you think I'm that much of a loser? ... Don't answer that. But this is what I've been up to:

1. I went to the Philippines! And Japan! For 3 weeks! Did I use enough exclamation points yet to tell you that I loved it?!!?!?! Highlights: the gorgeous pristine Philippine islands, my lovely family that I don't get to see nearly as often as I would like, the serenity of Japan, the kazillions of beyond adorable Japanese trinkets, my first (and 10th) Pierre Herme French macaron (!!), the freshest most amazing seafood and sushi, the multiple suckling pigs that gave their lives to the heavenly dish of baby lechon, the $5 manicures, the $15 full body massages, TOCINO the foie gras of breakfast food, uni and tako 5 minutes out of the ocean. Oh lawdy what the heck am I still doing in America?

Palawan Islands, Philippines

Embracing my inner-Asian, Tokyo, Japan

Catching crabs in the Philippines (Ok, fine, the local dudes actually caught it)

2. I took my first French dessert class. I now know how to make financiers, the most delectable sea salt caramel french macarons, and some other stuff that I don't bother remembering because why make those inferior desserts when I can make sea salt caramel French macarons? Who's with me??


3. I moved apartments! Exactly 5 blocks northeast-ish of my former apartment. It. Is. Amazing. You know you love your apartment when you battle through LA numbnut drivers to eat lunch on your lovely balcony. My roommies are great (check out Steph's blog - honestly a lifesaver because I don't know anything about hair or makeup), walking distance to amazing Thai food, a dollar store, and a trendy bar, a smooth bike ride down to Venice Beach, how much more can you ask for in LA? I have a lovely room with tons of storage, a private balcony that gets just the perfect amount of sunshine, parking, and my own bathroom (first time ever in my life!) This is a picture of my lovely bed. Thanks to my interior designer mama for decorating and the financial backing! Also thank you to Mr. Ross, Targé, and Craig Slist for their amazingly affordable furniture finds!


What's your favorite getaway spot? Where's the best place you've lived? What's your favorite French dessert/pastry?? This post is far too long now. More food related commentary to come!