Bitter Pills, Breathing Spaces

Hi there! How is your long weekend shaping up so far? I hope it was better than mine as I had to come in Monday for work so as to lessen the load when I get back on Wednesday.  Not that my long weekend didn't kick off well. In fact, it went off to a great start with the 2nd Filipino Reader Conference. I blogged about the event as a special feature on my review blog. I do hope you can check it out.

If my memory serves me right, this is the second long weekend after Holy Week since April 9, which happens to be Araw ng Kagitingan, fell on a Monday. I love long weekends because whenever I get to enjoy one, I always find time to cook myself (and even for my family) a really good breakfast.  When I started with my new job last year, having a decent breakfast on weekdays is hard to get by. Decent in my book means full and easy. Of all the meals in a day, breakfast is my favorite. I can manage to survive through lunch when I've had a decent breakfast. I work faster and face challenges with ease.

Photo courtesy of joyosity @ Flickr.com

While I manage to get by until lunch with a cup of instant 3-in-1 coffee and a sandwich from the nearest Subway or Starbucks outlet, it doesn't satisfy me as much as my preferred breakfast fare which always includes eggs and fried rice. My relatives often describe my food preference as generally continental except for breakfast wherein it's very Filipino. My brother aptly put at one point, "kahit silog lang ang kainin niya sa umaga, masaya na siya (even if she only eats eggs and fried rice, she's happy)".  Silog, for those who may not know what it means, is a combination of the words "sinangag" (fried rice) and "itlog" (egg). Name every possible viand -- local/imported meats, dried fish/seafood, leftovers -- and I can eat them in the morning as long as "silog" is also served... Sometimes, I don't care what time of day it is, as long as I'm in the mood for "silog", I cook it. I go to my happy place every time I eat a serving.  In fact, I'm going to prepare one for myself as soon as I wake up in  a few hours. My all-time favorite silog combination: silog with Cebu danggit or Vigan longganisa, fresh tomato and onion slices in vinegar and fish sauce, and orange juice! My mouth just watered at the thought. Yummy!

How about you? How would you describe your best meal? :)