29 November 2010

I have told time and time again that my mom isn't a fan of my cooking. This year was a good year for me as far as food is concerned - my mom has slowly embraced my cooking, and I am happy that I already got her approval.

Weekends are usually the days that the family doesn't get to eat great foods at home because weekends are the days when we either go out to eat, or have something delivered. As usual, none of us went to the market, so when I asked mom what to cook for lunch, she just told me to cook the ampalaya (bitter gourd / momordica charantia). It's not a vegetable I normally cook, and with mom not giving exact instructions what kind of dish she wanted, I just raided the fridge to see what's available.

I saw some thigh fillets and some shrimps. My mom and I both have high cholesterol levels, so I discarded the shrimp heads and just use the meat. I sliced it in small pieces, and one of the thighs I deboned and skinned. I sauteed it in some onions and garlic, and using little water to cook the chicken meat, I then added thinly sliced ampalaya rings, and some vermicelli noodles.

When I served it, mom gave the "hmmmm...." and when she tasted it, she exclaimed, "Oh so delicious!" I could only say "thank you" because I was really surprised.

Mom really loved the dish, that she went to the market to buy more ampalaya and shrimps for me to cook again for her packed lunch in the office. Ohhhh so touching! I am really happy my mom is slowly becoming my fan. :)

Happy New Year, everyone!

*** Jenn ***