"Roots & recipes draft"

When I think about it, most of the filipino in me is from my dad's side of the family. So i automatically had an idea in my head, "GRANDMA CORA!! SHES PERFECT TO INTERVIEW!". My grandma is a type of woman that doesnt have a problem with helping anyone.

I walk through the door of my grandma's salt lake apartment. I get a warm welcome and a huge heart touching smile from her. The house is a bit compact but the atmosphere around my grandma is always bright. As i take a seat on the dining table i get a great view of  crunchy orange carrots, grass colored green beans, raw potatos, and a lot more!

As a young stubborn little girl i remember running around with my sister while she cooked. Scents of mouth watering lumpia, adobo, chicken papaya, you name it, ran through the whole house. My sister and I would always know that if we were going to grandma's house, we wouldnt have to worry about going through starvation.

"Grandma how did you do it?...cook WHILE watching us..knowing us we were so hard head", i ask my grandma

"Im  used to it...i had to do it when i was younger", she replies.

My grandma sets her old fashioned cutting board down on the table and nicely places some of the colorful vegetables, ready to cut. Her incisive knife starts to penetrate through the eye watering onion. As she cuts the rest of the vegetables, i ask her "did you like to cook when you were younger?" and she simply answered with "NO! my mom would pull my hair if i never cooked for everyone!". My grandma was and still is a very hard working woman and because of that i have an even greater appreciation for her and the things she does for me.

She throws the pork hash,vegetables,and shrimp inside the pan...bright and colorful like a lovely flower garden. You can just hear everything sizzle and you can already taste the outstanding flavors being created! My grandma says that many people don't add shrimp to their lumpia but she does to add her own flavor. She has a very strong taste for things. She was around 18 years old when she learned how to make lumpia and she experimented with the ingredients to improve the recipe.

"Grandma? there's shrimp? Taira doesnt like shrimp!", i notified my grandma since my sister doesnt like seafood

"shhhhh she will not know!!", answers my grandma with a mischievous voice.

I think back to when i was younger and I would always question what i was going to eat that day at grandma's. For me it was kind of a surprise everytime.I never knew what grandma had planned for my meal. Everytime she makes lumpia i suddenly become so impatient but once you take a bit into that crunchy shell and all the flavors break loose!

The cooking of the filing is accomplished! Next.... on to the wrapping. My grandma puts the filling on the wrapping then says, "make sure everything is tight". I attempted to make one perfectly on the first try...but failed! My grandma likes to make things perfect (i guess thats how my dad gets his perfectionist side of him). She perfects my incorrectly made lumpia, tucking the filling into the wrapper as if it was a blanket. She then places the lumpia into the pan to fry. While keeping my distance from the pan, i could see the oil agitatedly jumping out of the pan. The lumpia is finally done! crisp and golden! My grandma makes her sauce for it which contains of smashed garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce, and just a pinch of salt. YUM! you get a glance of the crunchy lumpia with a pool of sauce next to it...just waiting for it to be dunked in. Once you get a bite of that warm, crisp lumpia...a splash of flavors extravagently fill your mouth!

I am very appreciative that i have my grandma to mentor me on how to cook the recipes of our family. Even though i may not be totally connected to my culture...food will always bring me back. I am planning on learning alot MORE about the roots & recipes of my family and teach them to MY grandchildren when i get older. I may not have been present to the first making of these dishes but the recipes link us all together as a family.