Rubbing off on our mates

When I first met my wife, she was used to living on local food. Ginimoes, bulad, fish soup, etc etc. She would not try anything that I tried to offer her. She didn't like and would not try cheese, milk, McDonald's cheeseburgers (regular, not the sweet and nasty Burger McDo) tacos or anything else "American". Her normal response was " I will not"

Five years later, she not only likes MacDonald's cheeseburgers, but drinks Harvey milk, Kellogs Pop Tarts and Kraft Mac and Cheese I bring home from Manila. She makes great pizza from scratch, biscuits and gravy, pinto beans and cornbread, homemade tortillas with meat, bell peppers and onions that are big enough to see, dill pickles etc etc. she has come a long way for sure.

She will try things I suggest, but only when she thinks I am not watching: peanut butter and crackers and peanut butter on bananas comes to mind.

Just a few days ago, one of our helpers invited her to her home for a birthday party and she turned up her nose at almost everything they had to offer as it was not prepared to her liking. She came home and waited for the helper to leave before raiding the ref because she was starving.

She has changed in other ways too, she is not so non-confrontational anymore and sticks up for herself at government offices and grocery stores. She is not demanding, she just wants what she pays for and does not put up with the all too familiar practice of store clerks trying to stick you with defective merchandise as is common here.

Until you sit down and think about the changes it is not too apparent, but when you add them up it is pretty drastic. Has anyone else noticed this "evolution" of sorts in their mate?

 

English Breakfast!

Joe! On a lot you write I can concur, Azon now eats a good old Bacon,Egg, Tomatoes and Fried Bread Breakfast with me at weekends, What we English would Call an "English Breakfast", some things can be changed for the better but she will still insist on Dryed Fish and she has to sit on the Porch to have that he he he he :p


Jack P.

 

I forgot to list bacon.. She had never experienced bacon before I arrived. It is now a staple in our ref.

 

Jack, you didn't include the baked beans, mushrooms, black pudding and thick pork sausages.
(and a good dollop of HP brown sauce)

 

HP! Brown Sauce.

Broadside! I introduced all very slowly, yes of course the Black pudding, But alas, I don't seem to see it here, well not the same anyway, I had a long wait to find the HP but I found it in the end. I think between us we have the English Breakfast Covered, is your Toast with Jam or Marmalade?

Jack P.

 

Marmalade for breakfast, jam for high tea.

 

With cream scones of course

 

Now THAT! is so English!

Guys! spoken like true Englishmen.
JB and Broadside, Pleasure to know you here.


Jack P.

 

Pinoys are not interested in trying other foods beyond rice and fish. To enjoy many cultural foods is why we travel and have open minds. They have closed minds to nuance and like the same, same, same meals. To each his his own, experience other foods and be surprised how much is enjoyed anywhere in the vast oppurtunity of the world.

 

However, after you expose a Pinoy to the western recipes they will come back for more. You just have to get them over the fear of the unknown. When we have a party at our house we always feature some pinoy food, but the majority is western and the same people always come by and clean us out. They don't always know what goes with what but they make up their own combination. For instance, I made spaghetti with the sauce on the side, and put it too close to the tortilla chips that were intended for the bean dip. At the end of the night I had a full pot of pasta and a full container of bean dip but no chips and no spaghetti sauce. Next time we will just make spaghetti sauce and serve it with tortilla chips as that is what they will expect.