So, the next couple of days was just activity. Relatives, church congregation and friends stopped by, called, dropped off food. Here's some of what we ate:
Friday night, the next day after my mom passed away, we made corned beef hash - we thought it would be a fitting first meal cooked in the new house. I grew up on corned beef hash and rice. At least one morning a week, I had it for breakfast. When I went to college, my mom would make it every morning when I came home to visit. My parents bought corned beef by the case.
We didn't know where all the silverware and plates were, and there were going to be a lot of people coming through, so we opted for paper plates and plasticware. But somehow, we still managed to produce a lot to clean up after.
The night of the visitation, my parents' neighbor brought over lasagna. A big huge pan of it. Here's what it looked like about half an hour after she had brought it over. It's amazing that ever since my mom had the stroke I've come to value a homecooked meal even more. My mom will never cook for me ever again. I realize that I cook for a living, but it's not the same. For another person to willingly feed others out of love and sympathy - it's just the best!
Here's some curried chicken and rice that my cousin's sister in law - made. Good stuff.
Here is one of the few things that I cooked. I barely cooked the whole time we were there in Florida. I just couldn't do it. But the Food Pimp kinda took over that roll - my mom's roll - to cook and crack jokes and make everyone feel at home - part of why I love him. So what I did, was I took my mom's famous "Easy BBQ Spareribs" Recipe. I made a marinade with the ingredients for her recipe and I baked country spareribs cut into smaller pieces in the sauce. So it was pretty damn good - it had this hybrid adobo/bbq flavor.
So the food for the funeral turned out to be a big complicated mess. When we had talked to the bereavement director at the church, she told us that the church ladies would be providing food for the reception afterward. Then later on, I was told that one of the Filipinas would be organizing the community to bring pot luck food. So I thought that the church ladies' food and the potluck would be plenty. But somewhere along the way, it turned out that the church wasn't going to make any food at all. I think they were scared that there would be too many people, so they decided to let the Filipinas take care of it. So, I got a call. One of the ladies was willing to buy more food if my dad reimbursed her. My dad is old and confused at tight with money. I knew it might be a challenge to get the money from him, but I said to go ahead and do it anyway. In the meantime, the FP decided to make a few pans of spinach artichoke dip. So, the funeral was at 10:30 am. My sis, Openheart, and I were doing the eulogy. My other sis, Buffalo Rib, my bro in law, Creepy Uncle, and I stayed up til about 2 or 3 am finishing the program. It wasn't the best, nor was it accurate but we had very limited resources, and we were extremely tired at that time.
So the next morning, very early, TFP dropped me off at Kinko's to make copies, and he went to the store to buy groceries for the dip. We were borrowing a family friend's 85 Toyota, and of course, it conked out when the FP tried to leave the shopping center to pick me up. It was hot and humid and we were running out of time. So my sis had to pick me up and then pick the FP up and we had to temporarily leave the car in the shopping center.
Somehow, we got ready just in the nick of time. A limo came for us, and we got to the church just before the service was supposed to start. And then I realized I forgot the programs! Someone suggested we roll without them. But after we had stayed up all night, and driven across town to have internet and printer access, we were going to use them! So luckily, Silent Bob was there, and he was all game to go get them. They were in the truck in the driveway. So, he raced there and back just in time.
So, we made it through the funeral. Our eulogy was actually pretty easy. I wasn’t nervous, I pretty much knew what I wanted to say, I made people cry.
So at the reception, there was Sam’s Club food – pinwheels and whatnot. Once again, everything just looked unappetizing. I knew that I had to eat, so I had some random food. I knew one of the family friends had made pancit, and I tried a little of the spinach dip also, and some other Philippine dishes. Before we knew it, the 2 pans of spinach dip was gone. Everyone loved it! They were all asking who made it, and they wanted a recipe. It was ridiculous. It was like a joke. The one church guy was a caterer. He had brought some food leftover from a party he had catered the night before. He came over and asked the FP for the recipe, because he really liked it. So the FP’s spinach dip was the hit of the funeral! He wrote down the recipe, but by the time he was done, the catering guy had left.
So, that was it. We went back to the house. The cousins took my dad shopping for bathroom rugs. My sis and the FP went and jumped the Toyota. It didn't work. Then they like shook the car or banged on the hood or sparked the alternator or something, and they got the car back to the house. We weren't sure what to do with it at that point. We would have to notify the owner about it.
Later, the shopping entourage came back with like 4 bathroom rugs. This was deemed a success, because getting my dad to settle on anything and buy it on the same day is a rare event. My dad insisted that everyone go to Golden Corral.
You know, it was kinda exciting all the choices, but after my first plate of bad choices I was pretty over it. All the cousins had bought my nephew, Duwende, entirely too many toys. So they bribed him by saying after he ate so much he got to get a new toy. He ate a lot. So much. The next day he threw up for 24 hours straight. Coincidence? Maybe? Foodborne illness from improper sanitation at the Golden Corral? Possibly?
Friday night, the next day after my mom passed away, we made corned beef hash - we thought it would be a fitting first meal cooked in the new house. I grew up on corned beef hash and rice. At least one morning a week, I had it for breakfast. When I went to college, my mom would make it every morning when I came home to visit. My parents bought corned beef by the case.
We didn't know where all the silverware and plates were, and there were going to be a lot of people coming through, so we opted for paper plates and plasticware. But somehow, we still managed to produce a lot to clean up after.
The night of the visitation, my parents' neighbor brought over lasagna. A big huge pan of it. Here's what it looked like about half an hour after she had brought it over. It's amazing that ever since my mom had the stroke I've come to value a homecooked meal even more. My mom will never cook for me ever again. I realize that I cook for a living, but it's not the same. For another person to willingly feed others out of love and sympathy - it's just the best!
Here's some curried chicken and rice that my cousin's sister in law - made. Good stuff.
Here is one of the few things that I cooked. I barely cooked the whole time we were there in Florida. I just couldn't do it. But the Food Pimp kinda took over that roll - my mom's roll - to cook and crack jokes and make everyone feel at home - part of why I love him. So what I did, was I took my mom's famous "Easy BBQ Spareribs" Recipe. I made a marinade with the ingredients for her recipe and I baked country spareribs cut into smaller pieces in the sauce. So it was pretty damn good - it had this hybrid adobo/bbq flavor.
So the food for the funeral turned out to be a big complicated mess. When we had talked to the bereavement director at the church, she told us that the church ladies would be providing food for the reception afterward. Then later on, I was told that one of the Filipinas would be organizing the community to bring pot luck food. So I thought that the church ladies' food and the potluck would be plenty. But somewhere along the way, it turned out that the church wasn't going to make any food at all. I think they were scared that there would be too many people, so they decided to let the Filipinas take care of it. So, I got a call. One of the ladies was willing to buy more food if my dad reimbursed her. My dad is old and confused at tight with money. I knew it might be a challenge to get the money from him, but I said to go ahead and do it anyway. In the meantime, the FP decided to make a few pans of spinach artichoke dip. So, the funeral was at 10:30 am. My sis, Openheart, and I were doing the eulogy. My other sis, Buffalo Rib, my bro in law, Creepy Uncle, and I stayed up til about 2 or 3 am finishing the program. It wasn't the best, nor was it accurate but we had very limited resources, and we were extremely tired at that time.
So the next morning, very early, TFP dropped me off at Kinko's to make copies, and he went to the store to buy groceries for the dip. We were borrowing a family friend's 85 Toyota, and of course, it conked out when the FP tried to leave the shopping center to pick me up. It was hot and humid and we were running out of time. So my sis had to pick me up and then pick the FP up and we had to temporarily leave the car in the shopping center.
Somehow, we got ready just in the nick of time. A limo came for us, and we got to the church just before the service was supposed to start. And then I realized I forgot the programs! Someone suggested we roll without them. But after we had stayed up all night, and driven across town to have internet and printer access, we were going to use them! So luckily, Silent Bob was there, and he was all game to go get them. They were in the truck in the driveway. So, he raced there and back just in time.
So, we made it through the funeral. Our eulogy was actually pretty easy. I wasn’t nervous, I pretty much knew what I wanted to say, I made people cry.
So at the reception, there was Sam’s Club food – pinwheels and whatnot. Once again, everything just looked unappetizing. I knew that I had to eat, so I had some random food. I knew one of the family friends had made pancit, and I tried a little of the spinach dip also, and some other Philippine dishes. Before we knew it, the 2 pans of spinach dip was gone. Everyone loved it! They were all asking who made it, and they wanted a recipe. It was ridiculous. It was like a joke. The one church guy was a caterer. He had brought some food leftover from a party he had catered the night before. He came over and asked the FP for the recipe, because he really liked it. So the FP’s spinach dip was the hit of the funeral! He wrote down the recipe, but by the time he was done, the catering guy had left.
So, that was it. We went back to the house. The cousins took my dad shopping for bathroom rugs. My sis and the FP went and jumped the Toyota. It didn't work. Then they like shook the car or banged on the hood or sparked the alternator or something, and they got the car back to the house. We weren't sure what to do with it at that point. We would have to notify the owner about it.
Later, the shopping entourage came back with like 4 bathroom rugs. This was deemed a success, because getting my dad to settle on anything and buy it on the same day is a rare event. My dad insisted that everyone go to Golden Corral.
You know, it was kinda exciting all the choices, but after my first plate of bad choices I was pretty over it. All the cousins had bought my nephew, Duwende, entirely too many toys. So they bribed him by saying after he ate so much he got to get a new toy. He ate a lot. So much. The next day he threw up for 24 hours straight. Coincidence? Maybe? Foodborne illness from improper sanitation at the Golden Corral? Possibly?
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