You have 6 days to mail it back in, so if you haven’t done it yet, please fill it out.  It does really make a difference!

Have you seen their ad campaign? Its in your hands!!

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/index.php

Filipino Food Stores typically carry more of the spices, ingredients, snacks and frozen stuff needed to make Filipino dishes. I rarely find necessary Filipino ingredients, particularly the spice packs, at Oriental stores – which mainly carry goods from China, Japan…

The other difference is that many Filipino food stores, for example, Tropical Hut located in Old Bridge, NJ, not only sells Filipino groceries, but also has food to sell on-site as meals – a la “turo-turo” style or “pick-a-pick.”

True filipino stores are few and far between (especially in New England), but when you find one, its a goldmine.

Filipina

And then there’s Olympic gold medalist JR Celski from the US National team.  While watching the Olympic games, I saw his mom in the stands and I knew she was filipino, so I instantly looked him up and saw he was half Filipino and half Polish.  While he may be overshadowed by Apollo Ohno, the Filipinos were routing for JR!

This season’s Project Runway features Jay Nicolas Sario, who is in the finals and hails from the Philippines.  He’s won 3 challenges already!!  Go Jay!!

Speaking of fashion… a few other established and famous Filipino designers include Oliver Tolentino and Monique Lhuiller

Whether he/she is full or part Filipino, when the community knows, they will get behind you.  Best example…the “rockstar” story of Arnel Pineda who was found on YouTube to replace the lead singer of Journeys.  The world tour was filled with new fans of the band, waving the Filipino flag!

They are light, airy and casual.  I wish I had them all the time.  And they are cheap!

I couldn’t find any pics.  I know, sorry, this is lame.  But I’ve been dying to write about dusters.

The other house attire is the slipper, or tsinelas/sinelas.  Pronounced Chi-nell-las.  Indoor slippers.  Its common for Filipinos to have indoor slippers to be worn all around the house.  No joke, I think our family had a never ending supply of slippers.  And we all interchanged them with each other – my mom wore mine, my sisters wore hers and my dad wore whatever was at the base of the stairs.  My brother was consistent to not wear any.

Tsinelas or sinelas could be flip flops, or more hand crafter slippers with designs.  Or basic ones, mostly for men.

I do this now.  I switch between my indoor flip flops to my outdoor flip flops.  They look exactly the same, so I never know which is which.  I was trained to take my shoes off as soon as I walked in the door, as to not track any dirt or dust around the house.

House slippers

In my opinion, house slipper are underrated today.  We need to start a movement for more of them!!

I am sorry I’ve been away.  But will be writing much more, I promise.  So much to catch up on!!

xo.   Filipino Fields

There are a few myths and wedding rituals for filipinos, of course.  For those of you who have read a lot of my posts you’ll notice a common theme of weird rituals, superstitions and such.  But alas, that is what it means to be Filipino!

OK.  Where to begin.

Rumor has it that Filipino siblings should not plan to get married in the same year.  It’s bad luck.  Essentially, all the good luck will only go to one member of the family for weddings and so one of the siblings will get screwed with bad luck.  Hmmm.  Not sure if its true or not.  I got married the same year as my husband’s brother.  But I don’t think it counts only because he’s a step brother and not blood.

What else?

Rain on wedding days are good luck.  Not sure if this is only Filipino superstition or just general myth.  I believe it was something someone made up to calm a bridezilla on her rainy wedding day (visualize me, who had a rainy, but amazing wedding day).

Filipino weddings always include godparents.  Similar to when a child is baptized, Filipinos have couples who serve as Godparents or Sponsors for the wedding.  Usually these are couples who the bride and groom admire, adore and look up to.  Its an honor to be considered.  Not sure if any responsibilities are included, except maybe giving one kick ass wedding gift.  But the notion is that your godparents will look over you through your long, happy marriage.

There are also a few traditions within the mass.  The coin, veil and cord ceremony – there are fancy Flip names for this too but I forget them.  I love this and while it adds some time to the wedding (i.e. you must wait longer for the free San Miguel Beer) its really touching.  The coin ceremony signifies wealth and that you will support each other and provide for each other.  During the ceremony, you exchange filipino coins in each others hands.

The Veil is a sign of protection.  Usually, a set of your sponsors or godparents come to the alter and pin this lovely veil over the bride’s head and the groom’s shoulders.  This is a very important job.  IF the veil falls or comes off, it is eternal bad luck.  So choose someone who will do this right!

The cord then goes over the bride and groom and their veil and is tied in an infinity type shape.  This is to bind the two for life.

Guys have a Filipino version of a tuxedo called a Barong.  Given how hot it is in the Philippines a traditional suit is clearly out of the question.  So the groom and his groomsmen usually wear a beautiful embroidered Barong.  My husband loves them now and wears them to weddings, even non-Filipino ones.  He wouldn’t wear the ones pictured here, but thought I would show some variety.

funky barongs, not the traditional ones

Being the new year, everyone is all about being healthy.  A typical new year resolution.  This means crowded gyms, yes, but also means eating differently and healthier.  I get it.  With this new healthy lifestyle, you gotta make smarter choices, right?  My husband is suggesting I make the switch to BROWN rice.  I’m appauled.

I’ve lived ALL my life eating white rice.  Its like a religion in the Philippines.  You eat rice at practically every meal.  Breakfast, lunch, merienda, dinner.  Rice is a necessity.  And I don’t see how white rice could be bad for me!

But according to my doctor, brown rice is better.  I can’t agree.  White rice tastes so much better.  And look at Filipinos.  We aren’t overweight (making a broad generalization) and we’re relatively healthy!  And I have tons of family members in the medical field and they always eat white rice!

So I’m sorta on protest.  Am trying to keep with white rice as much as I can.  If this means eating it alone (without my husband), then so be it!  I will not abandon my Filipino white rice!!

my good friend Teddy, a lover of good food who has been petitioning me to take him to a Filipino restaurant, informed me that the Travel Channel’s No Reservations show with Anthony Bourdain was featuring the Philippines episode.. the Land of the Lechon! I only caught a few minutes but it was enough to see my favorites: bulalo, sisig, stuffed crab, and of course LECHON! putting the Philippines #1 on Bourdain’s Heirarchy of Pork in the world.. see Tony’s Travel Blog entry: Hierarchy of Pork

but the jackpot was found on the Food Network with Iron Chef’s SUPER CHEF BATTLE!

The episode’s secret ingredient was anything from the White House Garden, putting focus on the use of local grown ingredients for a great American meal. The battle was between some great favorites: Chef Emeril Lagasse and Chef Mario Batali versus Chef Bobby Flay and Chef Cristeta Comerford. Click the pic for their bios.

This Cristeta had features that I immediately recognized as familiar and thanks to my channel surfing, I learned that the Executive Chef at the White House is a FILIPINA!!

I immediately picked up the phone to call my father to inform him, but foolishly forgetting that he already knows every Filipino on the planet, especially the important/famous ones. He switched to the Food Network promptly after my call.

Meet Cristeta Comerford. Born and raised in Manila Philippines, Comerford became the first female Executive Chef at the White House and the first minority to hold the position. YEAAAAH FILIPINAS! Starting as an Assistant Chef in the Clinton Administration and appointed as Exec Chef during the Bush Administration, First Lady Michelle Obama reappointed Cris Comerford because of her passion and emphasis for healthy eating. See her here at work:

• First Lady Opens Kitchen to Students
• Chef Comerford Talks about being the White House Chef

I was beaming with pride over this new discovery, and extremely hungry after seeing these two teams of professionals feverishly prepare 5-course meals. To my Filipino Pride Delight…

TEAM FLAY AND COMERFORD WIN!!

now, let’s eat.

LT, over and out