About this Blog and the Blogger

A Filipina's (unabashed) chronicles of adaptation in a kitchen in rural America. Some recipes (and photos) might offend the typical American, so be forewarned! Recipes featured here are what I usually cook/bake/prepare, without paying much attention to the visual appeal. No gourmet effect here. Just plain homecooking, Pinoy-style, in my American kitchen. If you are looking for some fancy foods that look great but taste so-so, this is not the place for you. I would say a lot of recipes here taste great as far as my Pinoy taste buds are concerned, which may not be the same for foreign tongues.

This blog started (in old Blogger) as a means to evade insanity and for me to maintain self-esteem by being useful although unemployed at the time; e.g., I had hoped to be of help to other Filipinas newly married to foreigners by blogging about my kitchen (and garden and housebuilding) experiences as I try to adjust to a new life in a new country, and I am glad that my call for other Pinay expats to share their own experiences was answered. I have a list of other Pinay foodbloggers if you scroll down the page, and adjusting had become a breeze because of them. If you are a foodblogger who is not in my list, kindly drop me a note so we can exchange links. I would love to have additional references!

This blog, obviously, chronicles my adaptations in the kitchen, and my posts include also anything about food and kitchen in general, whatever comes to my mind. While it serves as an online notebook of my adaptations, it is also an answer to homesickness, trying to re-live my Philippines days, creating a blanket of Filipino-ness that warms my heart, a process of keeping traditions in the family by passing on to my kids what I had as a child. Blogging about it has greatly widened my Filipino blanket, so while I cannot share my products of toiling physically with other Filipinos, at least other Filipinos worldwide get a share of the recipes. Some recipes here might be valuable to others, some might be useless because they are ubiquitous, but I do keep note nevertheless at least for my kid's reference...so they will know "exactly how Ma made it." (I hope blogger does not lose my files, though.)

Please feel free to print or copy any post, just do not claim them as your own. I believe in open source and free information. A little note of appreciation from readers (by comments or emails) is greatly appreciated, and all that motivates me to keep blogging despite a more hectic schedule now that I am working. I would appreciate it better though, if instead of printing my recipes, you just bookmark my site or recipes and refer to them from time to time to increase my traffic stats (and clicking on some google ads somehow give me compensation without passing on the burden to you readers). Also, if you want to forward a recipe to a relative or a friend, kindly use links instead of copy-paste. Not that I need extra income (I can earn as an RN in 4 hours what this blog gives me in a month.) but somehow it justifies the time I waste spend in blogging, and the money I invest in my tech and kitchen gadgets.

DISCLAIMER: Manang is not a culinary expert nor a nutritionist. This blog is an "upgrade" of my old KUSINA which used the old blogger. Since I still have to review and revise some posts I imported from that, I am providing a link on my sidebar, aside from other blogs that I have.I have imported the old posts although I have not edited a lot of them and therefore I have not labeled them yet. If you try to use the google search to look for some recipes it might still lead you to my old kusina. So if you want to see the older posts, kindly go to the archives instead.

MORE ABOUT ME AND MY FAMILY...

I am a Filipina who is quite adventurous when it comes to food, so cuisines I enjoy are a mix of Filipino, American, Italian, French, and others unclassified. Let us just say that most often I am asked "What would you NOT eat?" I used to work as a doctor in PI, and then as a medical transcriptionist upon coming to America, and now is currently pursuing a nursing career; still considering on reviewing for the USMLE but I wonder if that would make me happy and give me the flexibility in schedule so I can juggle family, work, and play (that involves blogging, baking, cooking, and canning)... However, please do not expect me to post about what is healthy for you, or to give you recipes for healthy eating. I eat as I please, with some deeply ingrained healthy must-haves in my menu. So this blog is not about preaching. Please don't make me.

My husband is an American who is such a fussy eater, even in American standards. His mom confesses of frustration during the time when he was still living with them (his parents). This is my predicament, which is compounded by his daughter's tendency to copy his food preferences (thanks to his influence!).

We have a mixed family of two sons (mine) and a daughter (his). We currently are working on our DIY homebuilding (lifetime, it seems) project. We try to maintain a garden during summers. I try to maintain these blogs, but usually do not have the time to do so nowadays since I joined the workforce, so please bear with me.

If you have comments not pertaining to any of the food/kitchen posts, please post them here.

Enjoy!