Why I Named This Blog "Why My Mother Doesn't Eat Instant Ramen"


Because she doesn't. My mother stands as the sole inspiration for my love of cooking, eating, and baking, and her disdain for all cuisine of which the only direction is "Just add water" has shaped my own views on whole food. She believes in keeping meals healthy, simple to make, and filling. Case in point: I called her from Florida last year and asked her for her baked ham recipe. She shot off the directions in less than 30 seconds. And let me tell you, that ham was a hit at that Easter party.
I'm currently working on documenting my mother's old recipes she received during her time at a free all-girls cooking school in Cebu. She's added her own notes along the lines, modifying and fixing recipes as the years passed by. Classmates of hers at the school also scribbled their own notes. My younger sister and I even have our own "contributions" when we were young girls learning to write, mostly in indiscernible scribble. Some recipes are favored more so than others; these are the ones that are literally falling apart.
These recipes have seen better days. 
These recipes capture the spirit of a multitude of young women and their experience with a local cuisine. I've decided, then, to share my mother's food, as well as some of my own, with those who don't feel like eating instant ramen.