Tito Alex and Tita Chiquit Sapnu is a misnomer for our hosts today. They are actually uncle and auntie. Chiquit is my first cousin. We've known each other our whole lives! Her mother, Auntie Raquel, is the older sister of my mother. Our mothers grew up in Paranas, Wright Samar, and went to Manila for their college education. My cousins and I grew up in Manila; my siblings and I in Marikina while they in Quezon City. Uncle Alex hails from Sasmuan, Pampanga. He is what you may call a cowboy CPA. Growing up in the province, he would share stories of how he and his friends, when they were young, would catch catfish using a makeshift net or sometimes with their bare hands. Alex said that at that time Sasmuan which a fishing village/town is the only town that does not have rice fields nor paddies. That is why he loves eating fish!
Chiquit and Alex moved to Canada in 1994. Their eldest is now married. Their second is working in downtown Toronto, and the youngest who recently graduated from university is now working for the City of Toronto.
Like Tito Erich and Tita Luzette (the Shihs), Uncle Alex and Auntie Chiquit (the Sapnus) were one of the first families who welcomed us to Canada and into their homes in Mississauga. To be welcomed to a new country especially by people from back home made our transition less stressful.
Migration is difficult. To uproot and re-root not only oneself but also one's family to a country halfway across the world with different culture and set of values is a challenge. I cannot stress this enough. But with family and friends sharing our difficulties even a bit made us hopeful in starting a new life in a foreign land. I just wish that migrants who came to Canada by themselves would find relatives and friends like the Sapnus and the Shihs.
As expected, the one thing that guarantees our connection to our home country is food. Other non-Filipino migrants can probably say the same thing, but for us Filipino food is for both the body and soul. It carries with it not only physical nutrients but good memories. When we eat Filipino dishes we are at home even if our physical surrounding is covered with snow.
Whenever we are invited to a Filipino home, whether for a summer barbecue, a Christmas gathering, a family reunion, or for whatever reason, one would always expect a feast. It has always been this way - a table filled with delicious home-cooked recipes. It brings back memories of when we visit Auntie Raquel's house in Quezon City with a house-sized kitchen. [My goodness, the kitchen alone with a center island counter is half the size of the apartment my family is living in!] Nevertheless, thanks to Chiquit and Alex, we can still taste the food that would have come from that kitchen.
Chiquit always reminds me of Auntie Raquel. Very warm and hospitable. Always smiling. Always offering food! Alex is the same. Very welcoming, and always sharing his adventures of when he was young and still living in Sasmuan in Pampanga. His stories are part of our get-togethers. This Canada Day weekend one of the stories he shared was when he was less than ten years old, his mother would wake him up at 4:00 am to go to the slaughter house to get the blood of the freshly slaughtered cows which is the main ingredient for dinuguan, or to go the river behind their house to help the fishermen pull their nets (lambat) in. If there is someone in the family who can relate with Alex it would be my wife whose family comes from Candaba, Pampanga - home to the Candaba swamp. Alex would tell us that he would also go fishing in the swamp. Once Alex and my wife get started on Capampangan food, always expect that they would talk about the 'buro'(preserved, fermented or pickled fish or mustard leaves (mustasa) or 'balaw-balaw'(burong hipon). There is also the Capampangan Tamales or Tomales or sumang bulagta.
My cousins and I, on the other hand, would then reminisce about the suman and latik, and the Torta or Torta Mamon Auntie Raquel makes. But if there is one recipe that trumps all recipes that Auntie Raquel made, and all cousins agree, is the puto! Puto is made using rice grown specifically in the Eastern Visayas Region called Kalinayan. Kalinayan is a rice variety that is very aromatic and has a distinct pink or purple color. So one can just imagine puto made with Kalinayan!
Summer in Canada is most of the time grill weekends. So for this Canada Day weekend Alex, with the help of my son Martin, grilled pork belly and assorted fish, milkfish (bangus), mackerel, and pompano (some call it pampano).
There is plenty of food to share and to take home. Yes, ... to take home! Such is the Filipino hospitality: eat to the full and remember to take some of the food to the people who were not able to join you at the party! Lovely!
It is wonderful to be in your home once again after two years. To see your garden is always a joy, a respite and a retreat. Your garden can be a tourist destination! Thank you for inviting us and having us over for the long Canada Day weekend. And as always it is great to see you and your family. To family! Cheers!