Food and Family
My favorite Filipino food in the world to cook is lumpia - a small, delightful package of savory goodness made of chopped vegetables and meat filling encased in a thin, pastry lumpia wrapper. Lumpia is a staple at every family gathering and party, and it takes several different people's efforts to make the delectable savory snack. The process of making lumpia is always a big family ordeal and involves every single family member to get done. Growing up, I have vivid memories of waking up to the delectable aroma of the savory lumpia frying, and going downstairs into the kitchen to find my mom, aunts, cousins, and grandmother preparing dozens and dozens of lumpia rolls. I was fascinated by the buzz and banter that overwhelmed the room - my mom, aunts, and grandmother gossiping loudly in Tagalog with each other on the latest news and my cousins arguing with each other over who got to cut the vegetables and who was tasked with the monotonous job of separating the lumpia wrapping...