An American Retired in the Philippines
Rice is a staple in Southeast Asian countries, much like potatoes in the United States. Rice isn’t too much fun to eat, however, without something like corned beef to eat with it. In the Philippines, they call it ulam (which means “main dish” in English). It can be eaten alone, but Filipinos prefer to eat … Read more
Is canned food bad for you? If you pay attention to some health practitioners, canned food is the worst kind of food you can eat. The problem is that they base their opinions on outdated information and their own prejudices. You can get bad food as well as good food from cans, and it all … Read more
Congee is an English language word for a gruel or porridge made of rice. Most English speakers, however, are unfamiliar with the word. I ate a form of congee when I was young, when my mother and older sisters treated it just like farina or oatmeal. I can’t remember what they called it. More than … Read more
While the sausage for a hot dog can be one of several types, originally imported from Europe, the addition of the bun is an American invention. The most common sausages are called either wieners or frankfurters (or shortened to franks). If you really want to be confused, “wiener” is derived from “Vienna sausage“, but in … Read more
Many people don’t know much more about chickens than what they put in their mouths. After all, they all taste the same when cooked, right? While the taste differences may be subtle, they’re still there. How a chicken tastes probably has more to do with what they eat than how they look. Some people believe … Read more
When I say I’m a breakfast person, it means I like to eat traditional breakfast foods. I can eat that type of food at any time of the day, but I prefer eating it in the morning. I’m also a morning person, unlike a lot of other people I know. Even though I can cook … Read more
According to history, coffee has been consumed since the 1400s, in one form or another. Today, it’s the most popular hot drink in the world. There are entire cottage industries built around the consumption of it. We have coffee shops and donut shops, both of which sell more than their main attraction. Some of them … Read more
Americans consume all kinds of food in the United States. Ignoring the American food sold in other countries, the American food sold in the United States sometimes originates elsewhere. Sometimes it’s an Americanized version appropriated from some other culture, and sometimes better than the original. Traditional American Food Anything that can be cooked by itself … Read more
As an American who’s been married to a Filipino woman for 37 years, I’m intensely familiar with Filipino cuisine. That includes the Filipino-American versions of the same cuisine. My familiarity, however, started well before we met. I’ve had more dishes than I can remember and in more places than I can remember. You can get … Read more