EK has to cook

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by ekmisao

by ekmisao

(Hi. If you're here for fiction, this isn't it. This is (hopefully) creative nonfiction.)

(Also, there are no recipes in this thing, sorry. I also rely on websites and cookbooks.)

On September 10, my mom died.

Maybe I'll eventually get around to sharing how. Short version, it was traumatic but not an accident.

But weirdly, the first thoughts were, after the reality of the death came was this: who is going to take care of my dad? How in the world am I going to cook?!

Because that part is important. My mom is not the kind for restaurant-level cooking. But she's great at cooking, especially home-cooked meals. She loves cooking. Cooking is one of her love languages. There is no way I will ever match that. All I can cook without ruining things is rice.

But now I have to cook, if I want to keep eating, and to keep my dad alive.

Yes, people have told me. There's take-out. There's eating out. There's meal services. I know. I know.

But my dad grew old on home cooking. We eat on a narrow range; we're not the kind that goes to a different restaurant every weekend to try it out. For him nothing is like eating at home. Also, he's old-er; many things upset his stomach as part of getting older. That's why I don't want to depend on meal services.

So I have to cook.

We started on the stuff left in our freezer and refrigerator: chicken, pork, some veggies. I understood that I could make this and that with what was there. But I had to hunt for the recipes for those.

The recipes I'll be mentioning will generally be coming from here:

- Maya Kitchen Mix and Match Meals book 1 and 2 (Home Cooking) https://shopee.ph/product/155099871/14061420035?gads_t_sig=VTJGc2RHVmtYMTlxTFVSVVRrdENkVlBXTnFLbGtLY21IOVhMT0xMVGhrdXF4bU1pZlpjQWprU2YxbWw1ZURyS1h0ZWZSWnUvZ2VBT2FmRld3V1Y0NGo1MkREdk1aWTBNeEU0OEw5TGxXRFNGcEtnWlZBRFBWNUR6SXJ3SmorU2E&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgfm3BhBeEiwAFfxrG_ky9boICv8bChr7TQfH2crrNrGMH5CuV77hUwe6nl9ByP2v5dXk9BoClkgQAvD_BwE

- Salo-salo Recipes (Liza Agbanlog) https://salu-salo.com/

- Panlasang Pinoy https://panlasangpinoy.com/

And other various sources from the nets.

Entries will come intermittently, depending on many factors. But I'll add regularly. I hope.

I just need to document the cooking, in documenting the grief.

Thanks for reading.