The monthly Pinoy food blogging event Lasang Pinoy focuses this month on Food Memories From Your Childhood hosted by Mr. Cocinero. After a long absence, I thought it best to join even though I have vague memories of this period, having been a picky eater. This is probably the reason why I was lanky/reed-thin as child. Of course I’d do everything to bring back this physique, but I can very well imagine how frustrated my aunt and grandparents must have been to have a housemate who hardly touched her food at the dinner table.
The transition from picky eater to the hearty eater that I am today is one mystery I’d like to solve. I just remember that it all changed during my teenage years when my love affair with food began and everything I tasted opened like an explosion of irresistible flavors in my mouth. My mom, busy as she was, wins hands-down as a good cook and one of the highlights of my academic life was awaiting recess so I could see what delicious thing was in my lunchbox.
Back to my childhood, my favorite during this time could not even be considered as a kind of food. It is in fact only a dip. Toyo (soy sauce) mixed with a couple pieces of calamansi poured over my rice. No more fish, meat or seafood of which our place had an abundance. The soy sauce mixture was all I had and I never did ask for more.
Nutribun – fluffy and piping hot. Our school served this for free during my elementary days and I remember how heavenly it was for this famished school girl.
Local delicacies like nilupak, suman and biko which were usually prepared during special celebrations. Our kitchen seemed to be busy with them all the time especially since my grandpa’s sprawling farm had an abundance of rice, bananas and coconuts.
For our town fiestas, we were never wanting of dishes like mechado and lechon. We had our own pig pen in the backyard and them animals were butchered right there in our dirty kitchen . Of course I never went anywhere near – eeeew!
Guinamos, which was my Visayan province’s version of the bagoong. Every meal had them. Good as an accompaniment to fish or just as a stand-alone dish.
Hotdogs, candies and chocolates – which child wouldn’t like them? My mother sent this to me from Manila once in a while and of course I would jump with joy each time. Purefoods Tender Juicy hotdogs are the greatest!
dami pala tayong mga payatot nung bata! 😳 though i wans’t really picky… talaga lang walang ganang kumain when i was young. hotdogs! i still like them until now…
the soy mixture? i see my son in you! wala lng kalamansi 🙂
Hotdogs! Definitely hotdogs! Especially jumbo hotdogs! 😛 I don’t know the nutribun (the nutri doesn’t make it sound delicious though) and the nilupak.
Hi Iska! My children are also picky, esp. my son. I have to wean them away from too much hotdogs.
Hahaha Toe, don’t tell me mas matanda ako sa yo. Naabutan ko ang nutribun eh. It was a project of Imeldific. Our school baked it and distributed it to the students. Nilupak is semi-ripe banana pounded till soft.
Ajay, let’s not talk about age. 🙂 I’ve got some food memories from my childhood though I doubt if it’s worthy for Lasang Pinoy… what about Chippy (the original red one) and Coke (in the bottle with a straw)? And what about flat tops in the orange wrapper or curly tops in the box? Hehe! Obviously, I was tabachingching when I was a kid. 🙂
Those are good memories Toe. Why don’t you join Lasang Pinoy, am sure it’s not too late yet. There’s really a difference between going up in the city and growing up in the province. Am the latter. But still fun~!
hi ajay!
as iska said…we are the ‘payatots’! hahaha..ang panget! but reading your post makes me realize i wasn’t the only tall-lanky-picky-eater araound! hahaha..it’s like i’m reading my entry here! my son too love love loves toyo! that’s why we hide those chinese take-out packets we get!
Hi Ces. Naku, my son is a super picky eater, it’s always a challenge cajoling him to eat something if he hasn’t tasted it before. But I hope and pray that like me, he will outgrow this and become a hearty eater someday (even if that would destroy my food budget:grin:)
ayayay! i forgot chippy and cheez curls in my list! love ’em!
alam mo, ajay, intrigang-intriga na ‘ko sa nutribun na ‘yan. one of these days magpipilit na talaga ‘kong maghanap ng recipe. baka naman may recipe ka d’yan?
salamat once again for joining us for Lasang Pinoy!
Hi Stef. Bakit ang tagal yata ng round-up.. what happened??haha. Glad you heard of the nutribun, it should be your basic bread recipe. All I remember was that it must have been so good to form part of my childhood memory..best regards:smile:
I too was tall and lanky, the taller I got, the lankier I became with my knuckles nearly scraping the pavement. But unlike most of you, I was a heavy eater. I remember nutibun was launched by Imelda Marcos during Martial law years. And guinamos_secret ingredient to La Paz batchoy.
CIAO!
I also love nutribun at may palamang star margarine na pampatangkad.
hi!
i just wanted to ask.
what were the other famous food brands during that time? like chocovim and sunta.
hehehe.
thanks a lot!! (^_^)
if you have a recipe for Nutribun of the 70’s please give me a copy. I miss the smell and taste of that bread. please send to lipat08@yahoo.com
hi, if u have a recipe for nutribun, can u please send me a copy of it thru my email cher_blossoms@yahoo.com .. thanks a lot. 🙂