Sinigang Success!

I can now say I'm an official Filipino mommy!!!  Tonight, I made sinigang (tamarind soup) for the first time!!  I was a little nervous since I've actually have never made soup before.  But sinigang is one of my favorites and I really want to be able to make it for Zoe so it can be her favorite as well so I figured I might as well give it a shot.  Zoe was a great sous chef (and my sous chef I mean she patiently sat in her high chair and let me do my thing uninterrupted).  To my surprise, it actually came out perfect!  The beef was nice and tender, the veggies weren't over-cooked and the broth was nice and sour.  Both Zoe and Mike gave it a thumbs up as they devoured their bowls of soup and rice.  I was really proud of myself and actually felt like a real Filipino mommy =) ...

I grew up with a mom who was/is a phenomenal cook.  I never felt the need to have to cook for myself since she was always sooooo good at it (and always willing to cook, I should add).  Her mom (my grandma) is also a great cook and even my aunt has some great specialties up her sleeve (sinigang being one of them).  Cooking has always been a weakness of mine since I always relied on either my mom or Costco or take out restaurants to feed Mike and I when we first got married (we were always both so busy at work anyway and would end up just ordering food at work).  I always told myself that when I have a kid, I will definitely start learning how to cook so that my poor child can at least know what "home cooking" tastes like.  Now that I'm home with Zoe, I have more time to dabble in various food experiments.  I surprise myself at the end of each week by thinking about all the food I cooked that entire week (I try to at least cook 3-4 times/week).  I figured I should make use of my Kapangpangan genes and practice cooking as much as I can so by the time Zoe is really eating, she will think her mom is a good cook, too.  Watching Mike and Zoe so happy with my food is surprisingly really satisfying ... now I know why my mom slaves over the stove for hours on end just to make sure our whole family has food for the entire week.  Don't get me wrong, I'm no Iron Chef ... I'm still very much learning.  While I cook a lot of things from scratch, I do still cook a Costco meal here and there (the Mario Batali ravioli is too good not to!). I do know I LOVE FOOD and I like watching all the cooking shows on TV (The Chew, which is my house-wife guilty pleasure, Top Chef, Chopped, etc. etc.) and that with just a little more practice and courage, I can be considered as part of the good cooks in my family one day.  So sinigang can officially be added to my ever growing list of "things Bee can cook that taste really good" ... hopefully I can make my way up to my mom's famous palabok (maybe).