Language of love

Hello everyone, how is it going? I have been celebrating Christmas at my eldest sister house in Bogor. My sister, E, already has family of her own and has one daughter who is in primary four now. My sis texted me if I would go to Bogor and she wanted to know if I am going to bake something for the family get together. My signature dish that I'll make whenever I have to bring something, is Schotel Macaroni and Swiss Roll Cake. While my sister specialty is sweet and spicy Pork Satay and Siew Mai.

We grew up in a family tradition where food was the language of love. There were eight of us; three boys and five girls. I was the fifth in the family having 2 older sisters and 2 older brothers. As we grew up a little, my mother, turned over the cooking duties to the girls. I didn't learn how to cook from my late mother, or from either of my siblings. Nonetheless, I was fascinated by food, challenging myself at the bit to make cookies or simple cake. In lieu of cooking lessons, my mother let me go thru her cooking/baking recipes and allowed me to try them. I remember trying to understand the instructions on her own handwritten yellow page meant. I still remember vividly how I used my youngest brother as an experiment by organizing a small party whenever his birthday came...hehehe! Over the years I bought dozen of cookbooks but my current favorite are recipes from cooks magazine. My eldest and youngest sister also learned the love and passion for cooking from my mother. It is not only what you put into a dish but a whole culture of cooking that made the dishes taste more special.

On Christmas Day, my eldest sister, her daughter (Van), my youngest brother and his son (Alex) went to Kuntum Nursery. Seeing my niece and nephew play with each other is something I cherish very much. Although they are over 6 years apart and still very young, they can share and really connect with each other. To me, the Christmas holiday is not about gifts giving. It's about spending happy times with close ones whether family or friends.