G’day & Mabuhay
I’m Shena. My culinary journey started at a very young age. Ever since I can remember I’ve been passionate about food. Firstly, as an avid consumer of delicious eats. My tween years sparked an interest in baking pastry treats. As a young adult, I fancied myself as the Masterchef of my own kitchen (massive fan of the show, especially the Aussie series!). In 2020, I started sharing tried and true recipes that I developed through the years.
Like most Filipinos, I come from a family of fantastic homecooks. Through this blog, I aspire to share generations of recipes that I learnt and developed through my culinary journey. My recipes are homey, comforting, family-friendly, authentic and healthy-ish! Most importantly, I meticulously test my recipes to guarantee they are delicious and reliable.
Pssst…I also share my favourite places to hit up for some great grub!
Know Thy Author
My Identity
Growing up in a Filipino household, meals were more than just a source of nutrition. It was a time when precious memories were created with family, friends and neighbours. The first words you’ll hear when you step foot into someone’s home wasn’t a “hello” or “how are you?”, it was “kain na tayo” which translates to “let’s eat”, or “kumain ka na?” which means “have you had something to eat?”
We may describe it as our love language, a sign of appreciation or an apology. At times, saying “I love you”; “I’m proud of you”; or “I’m sorry” may be hard to say out loud, and often goes unspoken. But we show it through simple gestures, like preparing a pot of someone’s favourite dish or bringing home their favourite dessert.
Food is deeply ingrained in our culture. When someone doesn’t enjoy a particular dish, you’ll often hear a cry of displeasure: “Why? What’s wrong with my food? You’re going to eat the food that I’ve prepared”. So if you don’t want to starve and be grounded till the next kingdom comes, you’ll pick up your fork and spoon, quietly eat your meal, and lick your plate clean to make sure that every last grain of rice is gone.
Food is part of our every fibre that there’s often friendly competition during functions and get-togethers. Conversations often centre on who makes what, and who makes it better.
Each family prepares Filipino staple dishes differently. It really depends on what region your family is from. The exact same dish can be a different colour or consistency, have a different profile of sweetness, acidity or spice. It also depends on who made it and for whom.
When I first moved out of home, I remember missing my mum’s dinuguan, a pork stew made with diced pork, pork blood jelly, spices and vinegar. No-one’s version of it came close to having the same acidity that I loved about my mum’s version. Now, every time she visits Canada, my mum makes a batch, saying it’s especially for my dear hubby (for those unfamiliar, that’s my other half).
My Culinary Journey
The first time I stepped into my family’s kitchen to actually prepare something instead of eating, was in my tweens. It was those Disney cupcake box mixes that sparked my interest in baking. From there, I taught myself to eventually bake from scratch – treats such as brownies, shortbread cookies and my favourite chiffon cakes.
My culinary journey further developed in my teen years. As part of my high school education, I chose Hospitality as one of my options. The syllabus for this course focused on food and beverage, and kitchen operation and cookery. One of the requirements to pass was to undertake a work placement in a commercial kitchen where I learnt how to remove the poop shoots, ahem, devein shrimp; handle and prepare crocodile meat; as well as the ins and outs of how a restaurant operated. Smelling like the seafood market or a bag of onions after each shift, was all worth it in the end, as I was able to attain an accredited certification equivalent to a Culinarist.
My Family
Almost 20 years now, I’ve been married to my best friend and professional eating partner. We are blessed with two beautiful children. We love the lifestyle and quieter pace of our province, Alberta, in Western Canada. It’s renowned for its natural beauty, rich fossils and vast landscapes of mountains, prairies, forests and desert badlands. Think Banff, Lake Louise and dinosaurs.
To be completely honest, during our first year of marriage, my husband and I ate way too much take out and frozen dinners. As we continued our journey through marriage, so did our mutual love for food. We started cooking meals that we loved growing up together. Then branched out and made it our mission to learn to prepare the cuisines that we loved from our favourite eats.
Slowly but surely, our recipe collection grew and continues to evolve. We put even our tried and true recipes to the test when we received news that the baby of our family, tested positive to multiple food allergies. To this day, we are constantly finding ways to rework recipes so that our youngest family member may also enjoy the foods that we love.
We test, critique and approve every recipe that I develop. Recipes posted are the ones we love and prepare over and over. All photography is by my husband and myself.
The Fine Print
This blog contains my own personal opinions. It is NOT professional advice and not intended to be dietary advice. Please speak with your doctor, specialist or nutritionist for your specific medical and/or dietary needs. Disclaimer: If you eat one to many barbeque chicken, I am not liable!