November 28, 2006
‘Hibernating’ trees and the kamote story
In the natural course of things in the US, the weather will only get colder and colder in the coming weeks and months. In my natural, genetic makeup as a Filipino, that means I am going to freeze. Every now and then the sun would come out, for maybe 15 minutes. Okay, maybe longer than that but definitely light years away from what I refer to as normal – the broiling heat in the Philippines.
When I got here in September, it was green everywhere. A few days ago, on our way to Maryland for Thanksgiving dinner over at one of the husband’s friends, the trees were a picture of an aftermath of El Niño. In between that, their leaves had changed into different colors. That was a beautiful sight. That tree with flaming orange leaves which bore witness to our wedding is now reduced to a brownish, skeletal form.
The husband explained the trees are not dead but sleeping through the cold months. Here are some “before and after” pictures.
From picturesque...
to lifeless. The trees go through this transition as the weather changes.
Back to Thanksgiving. I’m not sure how many turkeys were sacrificed that day, but they do make for good eating. I’d like to say Thanksgiving is very much akin to the Noche Buena in the Philippines, wherein people stuff their stomachs to the maximum capacity, “hibernate” for a bit and then revisit the dining table for another round of eating.
Turkey is good, but I had found a friend in something all too common in the Philippines: sweet potatoes. That would be “kamote” for us Filipinos. I could eat sweet potato pie all day!
Later that day I had a chance to talk to a friend of mine now living in New York. Ultimately, the conversation led to our thoughts and experiences on Thanksgiving – and a common discovery. She, too, had set aside the turkey for sweet potatoes. Talk about Filipinos eating kamote in the US. We’ve come full circle gastronomically, don’t you think?
Posted by fleur at November 28, 2006 03:10 AMAimee, I was saved from cooking this past Thanksgiving. We were invited to dinner over at one of the husband's friends in Maryland. The food was great! There's only one dish that I find quite hard to swallow - this thing they call "greens." I guess I'm just used to how we cook vegetables in the Philippines.
So your fruit salad got rave reviews from the family? Congratulations, girl! I'm sure they're now looking forward to the next time you make it.
Talking of fiestas, there's nothing like how we do it at home. Kada barangay naay pista, hehe! There was a time I was being a semi-APA too. :-)
Cheers!
I love the kamote too, they call it "yams" with melted marshmallows. I made two fruit salads for thanksgiving to bring at Marilyn's(my mother-in-law, cool huh I can call her by her first name). The American fruit salad which my hubby helped me in making is composed of frozen strawberries, sliced dole bananas, oranges,bite sizes honeydews(my son's favorite, he calls it american watermelon), sliced cantaloupes(spelling?), green grapes, apples(the kind that's good for baking, they have apples only for eating not for baking, but i like baking apples better,but not when its baked), some sprinkle of sugar and cool whip.
I made the Filipino fruit salad by myself. It turned out Marilyn and most of them even Dana(my hubby's brother liked my fruit salad better than all the desserts even though he does not eat pineapples & coconut).They love the macapuno balls I mixed with the fruit salad.Marilyn thought the red kaong were gum drops(candies).By the way, that was my first time to make a fruit salad,coz I never make anything thats food in Phil,except of course noodles and fried eggs & of course cooked rice.
My first thanksgiving here seemed like my first fiesta meal in U.S except there's no lechon. I am a kind of pinay who love fiestas,I think every pinoy does.I am even a member of APA(Asa Pista Adto)hehehe.Me and my friends made that up during our college years.
Posted by: aimee at December 1, 2006 01:06 AM