When stormy weather strikes

Celia Kusinera is hosting Lasang Pinoy II with the theme Cooking Up a Storm and I had that in mind this past weekend, when gale-force winds were whipping Hong Kong. Truth to tell, even a typhoon signal 3 here is not as fearsome as a baby bagyo or signal no. 1 back in the Philippines. But my flat is on the 21st floor of a block in a hilly part of Hong Kong island, and it's not a particularly sturdy building, so I can hear the gusts rattling doors and window shutters, even those that are latched and closed. The sound effects can be a little startling.

But I enjoy stormy weather, in fact. I do. Every time I am housebound by typhoons--even those that bring no rains--I am brought back to my childhood. I am brought back to those times when a bagyo meant no school, and therefore we could just turn over and go back to sleep, to wake up a little later with champorado gently steaming on the breakfast table. There might even be some pandesal, with Cheezwiz to go with it. Me and my sisters could spend the day any way we liked, perhaps just watching TV all day and sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. Hey, we were growing up--had to catch up on our zzzs.

There were some bad ones though. There was a particularly bad typhoon that caused the river to overflow, and flooded the houses along its banks, including ours. This was back when we lived in Malolos, Bulacan. One of my most vivid memories from this time is how we lived for days in the house's second floor (really a mezzanine now that I think about it) while waiting for the waters to recede. The simplest meals: oh, plump golden bangus--me and my sisters always squabbled over the soft, tender, delicately black-and-white dappled belly even back then--fried to perfection by my mother and redolent of garlic. Eating with our hands while crouching on kitchen benches that were only a few inches above water.

Mind you, it wasn't all idyllic and picturesque. There were all sorts of things that floated down that river in that week: one was a dead hog. Storms can be unimaginably destructive. But ultimately, they can be reviving--after the rains and the floods, cities are washed clear, the drains start to unclog, and life comes back to the streets.

Ginisang munggo - Bean soup, Pinoy style

I love having this bean soup, a Pinoy staple, anytime it's rainy, but I also like it in warm weather. It's tasty and warming, not too heavy and an absolute breeze to make.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
a medium-sized onion, chopped
a few cloves garlic, chopped
flaked smoked fish (tinapang bangus org galunggong is my preference)
leaves of ampalaya (bitter melon/bitter gourd) or malunggay (not sure what the English term would be)
a cup of mongo (mung beans)

- Soak beans overnight. The next day, boil in a stockpot until tender.
- Saute onions till translucent. Add garlic and stir until garlic is pale brown. Add tomatoes and stir for a few minutes before adding the beans with their juice and the smoked fish. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus a splash of patis if you prefer.
- Bring to a boil, drop in the leaves and you're all set.