A Mother's Day Tribute: Missing my Mom's Cooking

I miss my mom. I miss her dishes. Her cooking is an expression of her heart's or Corazon's love to her children. That's why her dishes always fill our tummies with nutritious food and make our hearts more loving. This mother's day, I pay tribute to my mom, Corazon Coronel Oreta (June 15, 1931- June 22, 1979) through a list of three dishes that she cooked and that I really miss.

1. Ginisang Bulaklak ng Kalabasa

When we were living inside Basa Air Base, Pampanga, I remember our vegetable garden with flowers of the kalabasa (pumpkin), alugbati and root crops like kamoteng kahoy. The ginisang bulaklak ng kalabasa my mom cooked from the flowers harvested from our garden always come to my mind whenever I pass by an open market and see the yellow flowers of the pumpkin. Cooking this vegetable is so simple yet I sledom find this in restaurants. You  may saute the vegetables and flowers with bagoong or coconut milk to introduce a different taste. Make sure the flowers are not overcooked so that when you eat it you will feel the crispiness and rough texture of the flower.

2. Pork Humba

Humba is a sweet pork dish like the adobo but it is highlighted with certain ingredients such as brown sugar, salted black beans, and sometimes banana blossoms. It is a dish not for those who are in diet or reducing in cholesterol.

My mom cooks her humba in a claypot until the pork is so tender that it melts in your mouth. I've tried the humba at several restaurants in Metro Manila but  so far no resto was able to equal the quality and taste of my mom's version. At home, too much "taba" or fat is a NO NO especially to my wife. But it's the fat that makes the humba awesome!

3. Nilagang Baboy

Nilaga is a simple dish and easy to cook. You just throw everything - the pork, the vegetables, onions, potato, etc. and let it cook until tender.  I can easily cook the nilaga but I still miss my mom's version. I remember my mom saving a bone (from a ham) and let it dry under the sun. Whenever she cooks the nilaga she includes the bone with the other ingredients. So when you taste the soup, there is that unique taste of ham in the nilaga which you will not find in an ordinary nilaga.