Roots & Recipe FINAL

Living in an americanized 'filipino' home, is different than your usually traditional ways. Your meals aren't all filipino foods and your parents probably don't know how to speak the language. It doesn't change the fact that you're filipino and neither does change the fact that you're proud of your culture, heritage and nationality.

Gisantes isn't just a food to me, its attached with many memories. Memories from long ago and memories of just a few weeks that passed. As I lay on my bed and play with my phone, I suddenly feel my nostrils fill with the sweet aroma of boiling tomato sauce and thats when I instantly start jumping up and down on the inside. The famous smell of freshly cut meat and boiling tomatoes, tell me that the famous Gisantes is being prepared. I constantly walk in and out of the kitchen, just to peek at the majestic food right in front of me. All the scents of the ingredients, meats and vegetables, fill the house and create a trail all the way to the doorway of my room. Like always, my dad kindly asked me to bring out the green peas from the refrigerator, "Lizabeth! Hurry, go get the peas!" As I may my way over to him, I feel the icicld bag melt as it reaches the warmth of my hands. Its the little things that imprint memories in my mind.

I ask my dad, "What makes this dish so special to you? Do you have any special memories with it?" He replies, "Yes, special memories I have with it is that whenever mama and papa went to the pig farm for meat, they usually made 2 traditional dishes. One of those dishes were Pork Gisantes." As I sit there, my heart melts in the fact that this dish really meant a lot to my Dad. As well as for me. This food reminds me of moments when I was in Virginia with my two elderly Grandparents. When my Mama would prepare the dish for my gigantic family of about 50 people, everyone went crazy for it, eating as if we've been starving for weeks. Thats just our immediate family! It also brings back memories of the one time all of my dads siblings and their families were together in Virginia, all 11 of them. It was unforgettable and it was also the first time our whole family was together and complete. This simple dish can make me remember the best times of my life and it always makes me feel warm and delighted on the inside.

Patiently waiting for the Gisantes to finish, I think a lot about the background of the food and even about how my dad may be feeling. He looks so happy and proud to be making it, that I ask him, "Dad, how do you feel while making this" Once more, his responses touch me. "It always brings me back to the days growing up and it reminds me of my mom and dad" Its a bittersweet feeling while we prepare and even consume the dish. Having my Mama and Papa so far away in the mainland, is really devastating. Every chance we get to go there, I cherish every single moment and second I can with them. Constantly I wish I could fly over seas in few seconds, or teleport to them; eating Gisantes makes things just a bit more easier, for not only me, but for my family. It makes me feel like I'm a bit closer to their hearts.