Comfort in a bowl, and a plate, and another plate, and another...

There are so many things I miss about my mom (she passed away in 2009). One of the things I miss hearing her say is, "I don't usually like my cooking." That was a phrase that was uttered almost every time she spontaneously dropped by my house with a vat full of amazingly delicious Filipino food. Almost every dish she brought was something off my list of faves. Here are just a few of them:*

• Pancit Canton (Sauteed Egg Noodles with Veggies, Chicken and Shrimp)
• Lumpia Shanghai (Philippine Fried Egg Rolls)
• Beef Nilaga (Stew/Soup)
• Adobo Manok (Chicken Adobo)
• Sinigang Na Baboy (Boiled Pork with Lemon)
• Sotanghon (Chicken Soup with Bean Thread Noodles)
• Kare Kare (Ox Tail Stew with Peanut Butter Sauce)

*Note: I've included links to Home Cooking Rocks - a blog chock full of Filipino recipes. If I didn't include a link, it means I haven't found a recipe for the dish online that I've tried myself.

And my #1 comfort food of all time, Arroz Caldo, (literally translated means "hot rice") with chicken. I can have this stuff every day of the week. It always makes me feel good and reminds me of both my mom and my dad.

Some of these and other favorites dishes don't really fit into my self-imposed-healthier-diet-efforts so I've decided to challenge myself. I'm going to try and figure out a way to make some of my Filipino comfort foods with healthier ingredients. Man, this could end up feeling very wrong and sacrilegious.