In setting the theme for the 8th round of Lasang Pinoy, little did I know that not only we would be charmed by bulilits playing ‘kitchen’, amused ourselves with wonderful details of our own childhood and delight our souls with the revelation of each participant’s own journey through foodie life – as kids and with kids, but also be enthralled as most of the entries pay tribute to those who are responsible for our love and passion for cooking.

LP8 also marks the 1st time Lasang Pinoy goes on video!

To kick-off the round up, let’s start with the kids in the kitchen who certainly had more fun than they are apt to have…

Who wouldn’t be delighted to see Samia and Chino roll the dough, make it flat, and poke a hole? One cold spring in NY, Ces of essenCes took a 2-minute clip of her loveable kids while helping her out with pretzels and donuts. Check it out!

Thirteen-year old Angelica, literally borrowed by Wanderlust Shalimar from a friend, tells her own story how she baked those luscious chocolate fudge cupcakes that must be ambrosia for the Greek gods and goddesses. Later, she goes lasang pinoy with the Filipino dish menudo.

In JMom’s kitchen, her budding chef daughter Jade celebrates her 13th birthday during the spring break in North Carolina with Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris! At an early age, she writes about how she made it based on another recipe but tweaked to suit her taste.

That’s another drink for Jade – alcohol-free Virgin Margaritas! Mind you, this girl has the makings of a good recipe writer with the way she gives away details and tips. Happy birthday, Jade!

Back again in JMom’s kitchen, Asi busy as a bee for projects she’s working on still managed to spare some time showing how she perfected garlic fried chicken mala-adobo the way her dad likes it.

This time around, JMom steps back as the head chef and cooks an entirely experimental suman with her 8-year old daughter The Clone. Don’t miss all 4 entries from In Our Kitchen as told by this wonderful family of foodies. Family bonds and a seemingly unknown culture learnt.

Back home in QC and busy with graduation practices, Aldrin found time to make this easy tuna sandwich spread under the guidance of mommy Lani over at Chibog Chicha Lakwacha atbp. Lani also reveals a lot about her cooking influences and more… By the way, congratulations to you, Aldrin!

Who could resist that pretty, colorful cupcake? Wonderful combinations made in heaven by Angelo of Eat Matters together with the adorable Isabella and her Mommy in Saskatchewan, Canada. Hop there for the kitchen sessions! As the saying goes, ‘pictures speak louder than words.’

Make way for another Lasang Pinoy video! In Sopranoland New Jersey, Tina set aside her Choppingboard for a while and together with her son Luke they demonstrate how to cook yema balls in the tradition of Cooking it up with Nora!

In the UK, Celia Kusinera recruited her kids and together they make a non-traditional puto. At English Patis, find out how she finally achieved the best results for cooking the snack after all the frustrations she went through for years.

Those yummy-looking paninis are made by Marketman’s 10-year old daughter ‘the Kid’ who has a thing for dramatic food presentations especially with her fruit-based desserts. Visit Market Manila and join the fun as the Marketman presents Iron Chef Children’s Edition!

Homeschooling mom Stef’s beautiful take on LP8 is about the educational benefits children get from spending time in the kitchen. Over at Stefoodie.net, be enlightened by her thoughts about her kitchen that must be the best classroom ever designed!

You think you just had enough of kids messing around? Here’s more but with a touch of nostalgia…

Back to Athens before she left for France, discover how Shalimar hated cooking despite her unmistakable passion for it as she cooks her maternal grand mom’s favorite menudo with Angelica…

More cupcakes are whipped up and this time down under by LP first-timer Zita with the help of her little son P who camps in front of the oven to wait for his cupcakes! Zita, blogging from Brisbane, Australia, also talks about how she develops her positive attitude towards food and cooking…

I hope Franco-pinay Relly didn’t have a hard time finding this old photo showing the devil’s food cake she prepared for his now adolescent son during his 4th birthday. How delightful the way she remembered details after all those years… what more when she transported herself back to her own childhood food memories!

The Unofficial Cook Mita blogging from Colorado joins Lasang Pinoy for the first time with that fabulously appealing mini morcon as she talks about how she grew up with the expert cooking influences of her female relatives.

As my son wasn’t in the mood for helping me in the kitchen except giving me indescribable joy with his singing while I do my thing, I decided to talk about my 1st kitchen experiments. Oh that would be my humble bulanglang…

Midge over at Sybaritic Diversions, blogging from Muntinlupa, believes LP8 is a timely topic as summers are when her best memories are made. She took time to indulge in her childhood memories of food from different places until the country’s summer reminds her of doughnuts and bichu-bicho…

For all the wonderful posts she has written about food, surprising is the revelation of Kai over at Bucaio who admits she was never into cooking as a child and was even marked for steaming rice either burnt or too watery. Check it out and find out why she chose to present tinolang native na manok for this month’s event…

In memory of her childhood when she hated anything green and grown on the ground, Lutchie over at foodie paradise Singapore blogs about her love-affair with vegetables, chopsuey and setting aside a bowl for dear grandchild Darrielle over in Williamsburg.

Another LP first-timer, Tin@30 reveals that as a child, she and a friend bake goodies while other kids play patintero! Unbelievable huh? Find out more about it and her story about banana cakes, a happy childhood and the warmth of her mother’s kitchen.

Mira just had her 1st big event in Glorietta a week ago and she’s so elated to be able to tell the world who’s behind its success. In Mirsbin’s Kitchen, she talks about that wonderful person in the photo and her BBQ recipe!

There must be something real good cooking in grandma’s kitchen as Karen’s pots and pans present us with this suam mais and blogs about how she learned to cook as a child at her grandma’s side… step-by-step.

The round-up’s 4th LP first-timer, Edie shares her memories of her mom and fiesta with atchara, halayang ube at leche flan. Visit her kusina and find out why her 5-year old son likes it when she bakes cakes and cookies.

Sassy Connie thought of doing her own mini round-up presenting her kids’ kitchen experiments but decided against it the last minute. What is the Pinoycook cooking up this time? Get yourself this Thursday’s issue of Manila Standard when Lasang Pinoy goes to print!

More entries!

Homework and baseball practices set aside for a while as Ilocana chef Dexie and bump managed to get a ‘mommy & C’ time in the kitchen to present us with these rice crispy treats!

Alex and Sam concocted such sinfully delicious mocha and choco lattes that their mom couldn’t say no to. The result? Another LP8 entry from Connie! Get another glimpse inside the Pinoycook’s kitchen…

Ting of World Class Cuisine said… better late than never as her daughter baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

Lastly, a special mention to Baking Soda. Blogging from the Netherlands, non-pinoy and unfamiliar with the Filipino culture, she was touched with the theme that is LP8 and remembers her grandma. Visit her site over at Bake My Day and read about how she learnt of Lasang Pinoy through IMBB?.

Thank you to everyone who participated and to those of you out there who supports LP events! If I have missed anyone please let me know and I would be happy to include you in the round-up.

So… see you all in the next round of Lasang Pinoy… Lamang Loob, Odd Cuts and Guts!

Note: Entries are segregated into 2 groups and sorted according to date of post.

Related link: Global Voices Online: Kids in the kitchen

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.