I was told its way cold down south... yeah I remember, this is the start of the coldest months in the country particularly the way I remember it in Cam. Sur...
I somewhat miss the coldness of the sweeping breeze and the nice scent of wet grass...now if not because of my dearest, I'd be packing up home-bound.
To make things more nostalgic, while scavenging thru the stuff in the fridge... I found the cylinder of "dinailan" way down the vegetable compartment. I think it's already at least six months down there... people here in the metro call it bagoong but it is made up of ground fish and salt (instead of the traditional shrimp in the Tagalogs) clumped and packed in cylinders.
To satiate my hunger and ease my home-sickness, I made Arozcaldo out of the left-over rice in the cooker and separately fried the dianilan with two cloves of garlic. Deep fried in oil, the cylinder packed Dinailan loosens and when perfectly loose, I added the circular sliced garlic till crisp and light brown.
Arozcaldo and dinailan are perfect meal during and after big storms as all the members of the family gather around the flickering oil lamp. It is also a perfect diner combo during heavy rains and on cold strong windy nights... Now I feel warm... and for that brief from the first mouthful till I emptied my bowl, I was huddling back with my family who are miles down south tonight...
