Gutom ako!

Gutom ako is Tagalog for,"I'm hungry" - and yes, I am! I've got a craving for some warm Filipino food. If only my mom were in town to come over and cook for me! I love my mom's cooking so much. I love that she gladly alters predominately pork-heavy Filipino dishes to be vegetarian, despite her "ai nako" while doing so.

Tonight, I will attempt to make Pinakbet - one of my favorite Filipino dishes, reminding me of my childhood and satisfying my belly. I've never made this before. I googled a recipe just to find the main components, so I can attempt it for myself.

I am very impressed with the outcome of my first attempt at Pinakbet because it was delicious! It perfumed the house with a wonderful aroma and got my mouth watering. My sister came over and we talked about when we were young and how much we love okra.

I separated a small portion (whoa, I feel like my mom) and added shrimp (whoa, if mom could see me now, she wouldn't believe it!). Tim enjoyed the meal. He didn't like the fact that he had to peel the shrimp while eating, but:

1) It's enough that I cooked the shrimp

and 

2) Filipinos eat with their hands anyway, so he got the full experience!

It was fun cooking a "new" meal for dinner. I loved that I was able to share this with Tim, who is the best at being so open to trying new things - now, if only he'd get on the Kombucha train with me!