Good day, it's Wednesday! Halfway through the week and a month to go before Christmas. Yipee! Before that, I'm going to share how our visit to the cemetery went earlier this month.
Ever since my mama has transcended to the heavens, it has been like an oath for me to cook foods whenever we visit the cemetery.
As we always try to avoid the crowd, we agreed to visit on the third. The two flowershops we used to buy flowers from were surprisingly closed that day but I guess we're lucky because there was one more flowershop just a few meters away.
And since it rained hard on All Saints' Day, we didn't have to think twice and proceeded at the back entrance of the cemetery to avoid the flooded parts inside.
We're glad to see that the road was flattened. This was probably all they could do to make the road a bit bearable for the visitors. To be fair, the fence on the right side of the road was already done. Well, at least there's progress. Hooray!
We arrived quite early at 7:30 in the morning and I still had time to organize the foods on the table before calling our sister.
This was the pot of flower we bought. Looks pretty, right? I guess it was a steal because we only got it for Php150 (approx. $3 USD).
These are the foods I made for the holiday: Pancit Canton, Gochujang Chicken, and Maja Mais. Then I also bought ensaymada. I made this foods on November 1st and reheated some of it when we went to the cemetery.
My mama would always make maja blanca during this holiday and so this dessert is a staple on my All Saints'/Souls' Day menu. I decided to make maja mais (corn) for a change and topped it with cheese instead of toasted coconut milk curds because to be honest, toasting coconut milk takes a lot of time!
I also made a simple pancit canton. Not the instant noodles, okay? Lol. I call it simple because it only has few ingredients.
Then some gochujang chicken! This was my recent chicken wings recipe and I included it on the menu so my brother could also try it. I know my mama would also love this chicken recipe.
Then the box of ensaymadas which I bought from one of my favorite bakeries in the city. The generous amount of cheese on top makes it look very appetizing, right?
Of course, I put some of each food to my mama's plate. If she were alive, I know she would be smiling while eating these foods I cooked. They said, our departed loved ones can taste the foods we offer them through its smell. So take note of that and make your offering really smelling delicious next time!
And as usual, the drink we serve for our mama was her favorite instant coffee which also became my favorite instant coffee now.
The cemetery was quiet but the aftermath from November 1st and 2nd was evident. Most graves have candles, flowers, and foods鈥攁 sign that they were visited by their loved ones. How I wish I could visit here on the first day to also enjoy the foods being sold on every corner, but the huge volume of people and vehicles barely moving is too stressful.
And yep, my mama was quick to let us know her presence. Lol.
After praying, we decided to leave as it was already getting warm as well. We dropped by a mall next to buy some groceries.
Guess it was a lucky day for us because we spotted a Tesla vehicle on display at the mall's atrium. Haha. This is my second time seeing a Tesla car but the first one was a different model. I showed the car on display to my sister and it was funny because she wasn't impressed. She said they have lots of that model in their area and some would sometimes malfunction and cause raffic on the road. Yikes!
We ended our trip with some ice cream.
I thought I was able to bring everything I needed for our visit to cemetery but I was wrong. I forgot to bring mama's picture. Sorry, mama! Well, what matters most is our presence, remembering her life with us and her wisdom.
