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!