On Friday afternoon, I went home looking almost like Cinderella before her fairy godmother’s arrival. I was carrying a clay pot, a cooking spoon, two semi-burnt bamboo tubes, two bags and soot on my dress. It was also drizzling and I had no umbrella. That most likely completed my forlorn look.

But forlorn I was not! I just had a wonderful day! Who wouldn’t if one got to sample food rarely eaten? I had a taste of something from the groaning tables prepared by public elementary and high school teachers from all the towns of Pampanga. This was for the celebration of the 434th Aldo Ning Kapampangan (Pampanga Day) with the theme Kapampangan: King Sunis, Terak, Teatru, at Apag king Dulang (In Songs, Dance, Theatre, and Food).

Never before have I seen so much Kapampangan specialties in one place. The products of each town were prominently displayed - eggs from Minalin, turrones de casoy and sans rival from Sta. Rita, puto seco from Baculud (Bacolor), pure carabao’s milk pastillas de leche from Magalang, burung asan from Candaba - name it, it was there!
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All throughout the world today, tomatoes are one of the most highly-consumed produce. This berry is indispensable in many Filipino recipes, one would think it an indigenous plant. What adds to the confusion is that some varieties, like the one in the picture above are called “native camatis“. Perhaps nativised but far from indigenous for our beloved camatis has come to us most probably by way of the long Pacific journey.

Let’s learn more about the tomato.

The plant is native to the Andes where the Aztecs domesticated it first with the name xitomatl. Now globally popular, the tomato was feared to be poisonous during its early migration to Europe. Although grown in gardens and called poma amoris, pomme d’amour (love apple), Paradice Appfel (apple of Paradise) and later on poma d’oro to the current Italian pomodoro (golden apple), it wasn’t until the 1700s that the Southern Europeans, particularly the Italians, found the tomato acceptable but only mainly for garnishing.
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Post-Thanksgiving, I am very glad to welcome Genevieve, my friend from way back. She is today’s guest blogger from North America.

In all my years in the United States, despite having become a naturalised citizen not too long ago, I have never felt solidarity with, the need for or the desire to celebrate ‘American’ feast holidays. These would be Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and more noteably, Thanksgiving Day. These holidays symbolised events which hold no sentimental value to me whatsoever. In all the years past, whenever these days came, the only highlight for me would be that they spelled major discounts and some serious shopping, specially on the day after Thanksgiving.

This year was different. We had family from the Philippines who recently immigrated and wanted to experience what holidays were like in their adoptive country. They chose the wrong company to witness this American tradition.

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