Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Get Well Soon, Maan ..

Wow, I only learned today that Maan Diaz, one of my Pisay batchmates is undergoing chemotherapy. Here was her email on the batch mailing list:
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I would like to sincerely thank everybody who expressed theirsympathy, sent inspiring messages through text, friendster andemail…To all who have donated blood and those who have at least triedto…To everybody who visited me at the hospital…To all who havecomforted and supported my family…and To everybody who have includedme in their prayers...You've all made the load lighter and helped mebe strong…I am done with my Re-induction chemotherapy just last Monday, mysecond cycle treatment after only being in partial remission with thefirst. We are hoping that my system would respond to this one now, andstart clearing up the leukemia cells in my body. The doctor allowed meto go home for a while, to rest and be with my baby. I'll be back inthe hospital though, for further treatment and bone marrowtransplantation. I hope all will be well in the end…Maraming maraming salamat and may God bless you all and your families…
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Although I never really got to know her, it still pains me to hear that one of my batchmates, a person I used to see in school, is undergoing so much hardship. I sincerely hope that she is able to recover fully and that she is able to live her life to the fullest. May God give her as well as all those who are close to her, strength, courage and hope in this ordeal. Get well soon Maan.

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Pinoy Style Spaghetti

Just had to post this reply I had in pinoyexchange about Pinoy style spaghetti and its so called peculiar taste. Honestly, some people are just too caught up in the "authenticity" of other cultures that they put them in such high regard and forget about what makes our own culture so unique and so much better. These people remind me of some of the pinoys here in Canada who are ashamed of even showing they're Filipino. Good grief. Ok, on to my wicked reply:

"Jeez, when i read some of the posts here, it makes me wanna puke. Some of you really have to get over this "if it ain't italian, it ain't spaghetti" bullcrap. Simply put, sweet and spicy (and sour) go together very well. It's a classic combination that works because the sweetness counteracts the spice and sourness, making the flavor rounder. When you think about it, most barbecue recipes are sweet, sour and spicy. Yet, we don't seem to complain about them do we? Barbecue sauce usually has ketchup (sour), hot sauce or cayenne pepepr (spice), and brown sugar (sweet). It's the same with Pinoy style spaghetti which has tomatoes or tomato paste (sour), pepper (hot) and sugar (sweet) and guess what ... it's mixed with ground beef and pork (hotdog) too! Aba, parang barbecue nga! The addition of banana ketchup which is sweet, spicy and sour all at the same time just enhances the flavor (to some degree) a little more. Lots of people like super sweet barbecue sauce, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that lots of people also like sweet spaghetti sauce. Halos pareho lang ang flavor concept nilang dalawa. O ayan, gets niyo na ba? Kaya dont be surprised if so many people like pinoy style spaghetti. I for one like it, and I don't really appreciate all the dissing our food gets just because "it ain't Italian". I really don't care if it's Italian or not. If it tastes good to me then I'll eat it. Nobody is claiming that Pinoy style spaghetti is authentic Italian spaghetti. Heck, nobody's even saying that it's remotely similar to Italian spaghetti. Kaya nga ang tawag diyan "Pinoy style". If you don't want to call it spaghetti because it somehow "insults" Italian spaghetti, then you shouldn't call American pizza pizza either. Man, can't we just be proud of our heritage and culture and everything that goes with it like our own food? Sabihin ko na kung bakit ko gusto ang pinoy-style spaghetti ... eh kasi Pilipino ako at hindi Italiano! There, satisfied? Ciao! *peace* "