My 33rd Birthday Celebration

Growing up my favorite food is Kare-kare.  I guess partly it is because Mama rarely cooked it as it takes a long time to prepare. Toasted rice has to be grounded. Peanuts are to be mashed. Ox tripe has to be boiled for hours to become tender. So Kare-kare is usually reserved for special occasions.

Nowadays, with a pressure cooker and Kare-kare Mix readily available, cooking Kare-kare is no longer as time and effort-consuming as before. Actually, for years now I no longer consider it as my favorite food. Yet days before my birthday I suddenly felt a craving for it so for my simple birthday dinner with the family J and I prepared Kare-kare along with Lechon Pork Belly and fried chicken wings for the kiddos.

The delicious spread for my birthday dinner. 

J marinated the pork belly the day before my birthday using my friend Lorely’s recipe. The pork belly was roasted for four hours but the taste, tenderness of the meat, and the crunchiness of the skin made it so worth it! Thanks again Sis Lorely for the recipe. Please visit her blog butterloveaffair.com for more of her mouth-watering and delicious recipes. 

We left our rotisserie at my Mama's home so the roasting of the pork belly is not as even as we would like but taste-wise it is perfect. 

I know, I probably need to invest in a good camera soon. Our phone's camera did not do justice to the beauty of this pork belly. 

J, who had his first taste of Kare-kare when he relocated to Laguna for his graduate studies, mastered cooking Kare-kare and the accompanying Bagoong because I really like it so he did the actual cooking of it. I, meanwhile, did all the preparations.

Thanks J for the perfect Kare-kare. We make ours more nutrient-dense by adding squash. 

The day of my birthday, J arrived home from work later than usual because he wants to surprise me with a birthday cake. He actually planned a different surprise for my birthday this year but since I am so difficult to surprise his plans did not push through. The cake is a nice touch, though; I must admit I kinda expected it. My sisters and Mama did surprise me, though, with another birthday cake and a tub of ice cream.

It was a lovely birthday celebration. As I grow older, my birthday celebrations became simpler and more meaningful. During my twenties, a birthday celebration means a new outfit to wear at an all-night party with lots of friends and even alcohol. I guess I have really matured. Now, I just want to spend my special day with the people I considered special in my life, my family. 

The kiddos doing art while waiting for the food. 

We have been through a lot and I'm grateful to spend my birthday with them. 

Very soon we'll be adding a new member to our family as my sister Clarisse will get married next month. 

The Diazes. Thanks for making my life more meaningful J and my little Queen B.