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Happy Kainan Monday: Eating Together = Family Happiness

happy-kainan-mondays

Don’t we just love family meals together? It’s the perfect time and place to reconnect and to show my girls that they are our priority. Sitting across the table is where and when I find out more about my children’s likes, dislikes, and daily life. Now that they are adults, it is the place where I discover their career plans or frustrations at work. It is actually the family conversations that are important — they are one of the few times parents can find out what their children are up to (and vice versa). As my daughters’ social lives get even busier, it becomes a challenge to get the family to sit down. During these special meals, I make it a point that I dish up something new on the dinner table.

Happy family meals together are long-time tradition that is timeless.

A psychologist reported that ““eating together as a family is an important psychological ritual that echoes the hunt/kill/eat rituals of our ancestors. Although food is now in constant supply, it’s useful to maintain a ritual that was created when it was rare, as the feeling of celebration and team-work can have a therapeutic and bonding effect on the family unit.”

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For meals to be a fun celebration of family togetherness, I believe in balance. Indulging treats and setting limits is creating balance. When the kids were much younger, junk food was limited to Friday nights when school was over. It was also the time to watch TV. Junk food night as I called it.

These days, they don’t watch TV so the junk food habit died. One other treat is our favorite Coke that we often pair with pasta or pizza. Happy moments are when I work at the kitchen, cooking their favorite dishes and getting rave reviews. Sometimes it could be their dad cooking. There are occasions that my daughters experiment on a new pasta recipe. Their favorite pasta dishes are Carbonara, Putanesca, or Tuna spaghetti. We add green salads as our side dish to complement the meals. Balance is all we need in our family meals so I dub these pasta days as Happy Kainan Monday. Seeing my family smile after a hearty meal is worth all the tender loving care placed on the food preparation. There is nothing like happiness in family meals.

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In honor of family bonding moments through everyday kainan happiness, I want one of my readers to enjoy a family dinner at Chef Laudico Bistro Filipino worth 10,000 pesos!

chef laudico

I am holding a blog contest today, September 13, up to September 27, in cooperation with Coca-Cola. Joining is simple! All you need to do is write in the comments section and answer this question, ““What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?” The lucky winner will be determined by Coca-Cola.

You might also want to submit your photos through the creative banner at:
http://www.pep.ph/index.html
http://www.pep.ph/cokehappiness/index.php

45 thoughts on “Happy Kainan Monday: Eating Together = Family Happiness”

  1. my mom loves to cook and one reason why we all look forward to our birthdays is because she would prepare cha misua for us.

    this is no ordinary cha misua but rather its one prepared with love as my mom would have to wake up extra early to prepare the ingredients and to cook this as we have to eat this 1st thing in the morning on our birthdays. talk about labor of love. its our way of celebrating our birthday and a bowl of cha misua would be complete without a cold glass of coke. yes, a glass of coke in the morning to celebrate our special day. 🙂 it happens once a year but mommy and coke makes it extra special every year.
    .-= frannywanny´s last blog ..and we have 3 winners!!! Nestle Word Game =-.

  2. we normally drink coke while eating regardless if its a snack time, lunch or dinner…but wid d family , we always make a point to have coca cola in our table wid our favorite meal sinigang/nilagang pork/beef…or any pritong ulam fish meat or chicken…

  3. (reposting… not sure if it got through earlier, since I got a timeout message.)

    What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?

    Lunch or dinner with the family on Sundays, consisting of sizzling sisig, crunchy crispy pata and luscious liempo or lechon kawali. They always go together with sparkling and refreshing Coca-Cola. The meal is never complete without it.

    ;-

  4. Hi Ms. Noemi. Have been reading your blogs for a while and have been wanting to join your contests. Since I love food, let me try this one. 🙂

    What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?

    My family is Kapampangan so every meal time is special. But weekends are more special because there is more time for cooking and lounging around the house just to eat. With four children, my Mom usually has her hands full just preparing our food. With the additional in-laws and children, eating has got to be on a long table and have become more appetizing for all of us.

    My brother calls Sundays “Sunday Barbecue” so he makes sure that we spend either lunch or dinner of every Sunday cooking barbecue liempo or bangus. When it is an extra-special day, he cooks Kare-Kare along with the barbecue. The indispensable partner of these weekend meals is a bottle of Coke, or shall I say bottles, in our case, because one bottle is not even enough for our family size.

    Come snack time, our favorite “Banana-Cue” can never be munched away without a bottle of coke because I am sure many will agree, that banana-cue and coke complement each other in so many ways. 🙂

    Thanks Ms. Noemi! 🙂

  5. I’m a mom cooking and baking food is my passion. My family love when I cooked the recipe shared by Noemi in my emails and the best is PAELLA the Pinoy way which Noemi’s daughter shows in her blog. We drink Coke Zero anytime of the day because I always see to it that my refrigerator is always loaded with Coca-Cola products! But the best time is when I cooked the Pinoy PAELLA coz we consume almost 1-2 liters of Coke Zero in that meal during our Sunday Lunch with the whole family of 5 including my Kasambahay. . .

  6. I’ve been an avid reader of your blog.

    The filipino tradition of eating together is still alive within my family. Even though we are all grown up, we usually rush home after office to spend dinner with the whole family. My parents (already retired and at home) would wait for us and we usually eat dinner around 8:30pm every day! Exceptions during friends night out which is very seldom because we dedicate our whole saturday with friends, eating out and shoppping. But during Sunday it is a must for us to help in the kitchen and eat lunch together, we usually prepare grilled fish, salads, pinakbet, steamed rice and pork sinigang. and our meal will not be complete without our reliable “panulak” Coke!

    And during merienda, we have the old fashion turon or ginataang mais with a bottle of coke to finish the day!

    Thanks,
    Elma

  7. I grew up with the thought that COKE/COCA COLA is the only softdrink there is…
    Back in my younger years, in the province they refer to COKE as softdrink, all the while referring to another Cola Brand: “PAPALIT KO’G “COKE”, KANANG ___ BA’!”, in Visayan. (Can I buy softdrink…) 😉

    Hence, getting older and wiser, COKE continues to be the family’s “Mineral Water”, or water, so to speak. We are never without it, because no matter what food is laid/prepared on the table… it doesn’t really matter much, as long as the “ICE-COLD COKE” is always at hand and is shared by all!

    Indeed, “FOOD TASTES BETTER WITH COKE!”

    A GREAT THIRST QUENCHER… SHARED THROUGH GENERATIONS;
    A FAMILY TRADITION, PART OF PINOY CULTURE, AS ALWAYS!

    COKE IS LOVE AND HAPPINESS!

    <3<3<3

  8. Ang pinakamasarap inumin ang Coca-Cola habang kumakain kami ng aking pamilya ng mainit na goto na may kasamang tokwa at lumpia. Samahan mo pa ng matamis na akay-akay (rice delicacy) habang humihimas ng tyan. 🙂

  9. Since all four of us siblings are working in metro manila area, we always look forward to our weekly Saturday night movie marathons to keep up with each others lives and to see our loving mom in Laguna. Coke is the best one to pair with a superfamily pizza and special homemade spaghetti and/or pancit malabon (which mother prepares for us).

    On Sunday lunches at home, we never forget to drink coke along with mom’s specialty–kare kare!

    Coke makes this simple family gatherings so special.
    .-= emiliana´s last blog ..Kaitlyns Back-to-School Giveaway =-.

  10. Hi… My Mom left for the US when I was 13, and we never thought we would see her again, but on Sunday (September 19) she will be coming home for a brief stay. I am 34 years old now and I have kids of my own…we are all very excited to see her again… to share stories while we eat lunch, or merienda or dinner. It would be nice to eat her favorite tawilis (smoked, pinaksiw or inihaw) sinigang na hipon and “putong itim” (it’s like a black sapin-sapin) with a glass of ice cold coke while we reminisce the past and make new memories… family, laughter, tears with our favorite food and a glass of coke…what could be better? Thanks Ms. Noemi and have a very happy day! ^_^

  11. admittedly, my wife, kid and i decided to stop drinking coca-cola december of last year; but like a family member working abroad, we can’t help but miss the old happy times together. so we woke up one day, craving for that thirst-quenching drink and voila, we’ve resumed our love affair with coke.

    any gastronomic delight blends well with it. as simple as freshly baked pandesal or sliced monay brought from our favorite community bakery plus a liter and half of coke makes a complete family bonding.
    .-= docgelo´s last blog ..HOLIDAY- DAY ONE AT GURNEY DRIVE =-.

  12. Spicy laing, a popular Bicol dish, is the perfect meal that goes with Coke. The creamy and pungent taste of the laing coupled with steaming rice washed down with a glass of cold Coke, intensifies the taste and makes one devour the food with gusto. Before you know it, your plate is cleaned off with nary a morsel —– and you give out a satisfied sigh and instinctively kiss that bottle of Coke. Heaven!!

  13. I’m not a big fan of Coke but the rest of my family is. At times I drink Coke with them, we’re usually having a lunch of pork and chicken adobo! I dunno, but the oiliness and yummy-ness of our national dish goes well with the no.1 ice-cold beverage among Pinoys. Love it! 🙂
    .-= edelweiza´s last blog ..Mailboxes for Your Home =-.

  14. “Kulang pag walang coke, di ko feel pag walang coke!” is always the dialogue whenever we eat! be it a simply banana que or turon, or kropeck, to all time favorite adobo and sinigang to much complicated dish to prepare such as paella and pancit malabon which is the specialty of my mother..

    Specially during Sunday’s when the the pamangkin’s and pinsan’s are present, we have grilled feast of tuna belly and pork and eggplant.. plus the all time favorite pinakbet and diningding hay sarap.. everybody had a good burp with a refreshing Coca-Cola!

  15. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    Top reasons why our Sunday Salo-salo is perfect with Coke

    1.Pasta Pizza Perfect with a 1.5 Bottle of Coke to share!
    2. Inihaw na liempo becomes.. INIHAWESOME!
    3. Kare-kare, SIsig, and BBQ Doubles everything even the family fun.

    and of course, we don’t just eat during meals.. a simple Potluck becomes a small family occasion made even more special with Coke =)

  16. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    Any kind of food or meal, be it breakfast, lunch, merienda or dinner isn’t complete without a bottle of litro (the breakable one) coke for me and my kid.

  17. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    Read more: https://aboutmyrecovery.com/2010/09/13/happy-kainan-monday-eating-together-family-happiness/#ixzz0zT16rTBw

    It was my Mama’s 60th Birthday yesterday, my Mama prepared Kare-Kare and Ginataang Mais. She had 2 birthday cakes one from me and one from my brother, Pancit Canton, grilled liempo, fried chicken, hilabos ng hipon, lechon paksiw and of course iced cold Coke is the perfect match to served with these kind of Handa. It was a sort of a reunion for me and my sibs specially if there’s a birthday celebration in the family.

  18. Love love love to drink Coke with a very rich and hearty lunch composed of grilled liempo, caldereta, pancitc anton, pamplina and lechon. sounds sinful right? i know, but you just can’t resist gulping down a glass of brain-freezing Coca-cola to wash down all the richness to be replaced by the biting sweetness and coldness of Coke.

    I also remember my great grandmother saying that the best tasting of all Coke sizes would be the 8 oz. I don’t know the explanation but I quite agree with her. Coke definitely is a part of Filipino families’ meals.

  19. Coca-Cola has remained our favorite drink every weekend regardless of the meal. But one pairing I can never resist is my father’s sumptuous steamed tilapia and a 1.5L Coke.

    The idea of a steamed tilapia for dinner makes all of us rush home early even if we have dates or gimmicks. What’s really special about this meal is that my father rarely cooks it because it takes a lot of time and effort. So in order to be able to eat it more frequently, I and my other siblings participate in its cooking process, even in just the simple tasks of chopping the onion shoots, mincing and frying the garlic and spreading mayo over the steaming white fish.

    With this meal, the actual dinner doesn’t start with the eating but the onset of our whole family coming together to create a food success does.
    That plus a 1.5L of Coca-Cola is legen – wait for it – dary.

  20. Coca-Cola has remained our favorite drink every weekend regardless of the meal. But one pairing I can never resist is my father’s sumptuous steamed tilapia and a 1.5L Coke.
    The idea of a steamed tilapia for dinner makes all of us rush home early even if we have dates or gimmicks. What’s really special about this meal is that my father rarely cooks it because it takes a lot of time and effort. So in order to be able to eat it more frequently, I and my other siblings participate in its cooking process, even in just the simple tasks of chopping the onion shoots, mincing and frying the garlic and spreading mayo over the steaming white fish.
    With this meal, the actual dinner doesn’t start with the eating but the onset of our whole family coming together to create a food success does.
    That plus a 1.5L of Coca-Cola is legen – wait for it – dary.

  21. My family is the typical Pinoy family — extended, dubs Sunday as “family day” and cannot enjoy the food on the table that much without Coca-Cola. Ever since I was a kid, it has always been a family tradition to buy bottles of 1.5L of Coke to share every Sunday. We love to pair it with Filipino favorites (because these are the “mastered dishes” of the family members) — Kare-kare by Lola, Mechado by Nanay, Crispy Pata by Tito, Chicharon Bulaklak by Tatay and Sizzling Gambas by Ate. No matter how busy we all are in the family (there’s 20 of us), we make it a point and actually look forward to sharing one table for lunch every Sunday. Technically, it’s three small tables connected together to form a long one. 😛 Now that all of us are already grown-ups, the family tradition is still kept safe and running. I have come to realize that sharing meals together plays a huge part in each family member’s outlook in life. Sharing three small tables, scrumptious Filipino dishes and 5 bottles of 1.5L of Coke every Sunday sure did make a positive impact on all of us — that we, as a family, as long as we keep the silly stories and boisterous laughter alive, will remain strong and solid until the next X years. And as a future parent, I want to keep the tradition alive — to keep the dining table brimming with delicious food, overflowing with Coke, and filled only with fun, laughter and nice and happy stories from my loved ones.

  22. Weekends are always made special with Coca-cola!

    Saturday morning, I wake up early to cook breakfast/brunch for my husband, it’s either Spicy Tuna Spaghetti, Long-si-log, hungarian sausage sandwich or anything I want to experiment. A 1.5 L of Coke is already chillin’ at the freezer. =)

    Sunday lunch or dinner is when we enjoy Liempo, complete with my own dipping sauce or calamansi, vinegar, soy sauce, onions and siling labuyo. To cut the liempo’s richness or the kick of the chili, ice-cold Coke is a must in the table.

  23. MAMA MAGUITS BAKED CHICKEN

    Sunday lunches in my in laws house in neg.occ is always pleasant and delicious adventure. When she was alive, my mother in law,maguit prepared this chicken dish stuffed with lemon grass(tanglad) seasoned with salt and pepper and smothered with mustard then baked till golden brown.Juicy inside and crunchy outside, served with mashed potato and buttered kernel corn.And she always had bottles of coke and coke light ( she was diabetic) to go with it.
    Now that she is not here with us, when we go home to the south, we still request the cook to make mama’s baked chicken .Her children and us,in laws and grandchildren look forward to having this dish served with Coke, of course, in our family get togethers and we lovingly remember her.

  24. Sunday lunches in my in laws house in neg.occ is always pleasant and delicious adventure. When she was alive, my mother in law,maguit prepared this chicken dish stuffed with lemon grass(tanglad) seasoned with salt and pepper and smothered with mustard then baked till golden brown.Juicy inside and crunchy outside, served with mashed potato and buttered kernel corn.And she always had bottles of coke and coke light ( she was diabetic) to go with it.
    Now that she is not here with us, when we go home to the south, we still request the cook to make mama’s baked chicken .Her children and us,in laws and grandchildren look forward to having this dish served with Coke, of course, in our family get togethers and we lovingly remember her.

  25. My family of five consisting of me, my hubby and our 3 daughters look forward to weekends especially when we all sit down together and enjoy having our usual Saturday lunch meal time at the comforts of our home. Our usual Saturday lunch fare consists of inihaw na liempo (just massaged with a little rock salt) and pakbet. For our dessert, we would usually have fresh fruits such as mangoes or melon (whatever fruits are in season). Not to be missed is the 1.5 liter of Coca-Cola poured over some ice cubes into a clear glass for me and my hubby and plastic tumblers for my daughters. It’s like a mini picnic on our table. The refreshing Coke definitely completes our meal and never fails to make every meal in our household much more enjoyable. Not to mention, it gives us all a satisfying “burp”. 🙂 Oh, we just love that feeling!
    .-= Vivian´s last blog ..PAGBABAGO =-.

  26. What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?

    My family enjoys Coke all the time so choosing just a single meal will be impossible! Coke is especially perfect when we are having the Pascual signature pansit on our dinner table. Some think that having that kind of pansit is only prepared on special ocassions. But my parents reminds me and my sister that everyday is a special day if we are complete at the table. Aside from that, I am blessed to have a great family who enjoy a great round of laughs.

    There are times when we dont get together especially back then when I was working for a call center. Since my schedule is different from them, I didnt get to eat dinners with them. My sister was also working full time as a nurse at a school so sometimes she needs to log extra hours.

    Much recently though, we were able to have this long missed dinners . And nothing hits our sweet spot more than nice bottle of Coke and another great time with the family.

  27. Reposting: there was an error a moment ago.

    What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?

    Choosing just one meal my family loves to pair with Coke is impossible! Dinner at our house usually means it is the best meal of the day and we usually pair it with an ice cold Coke. One of the best meals with Coke however the signature Pascual pancit and lumpiang shanghai. Mmmm. Sometimes, people will think that these are only prepared during special ocassions. However, our parents remind us that everyday is a special day and we shouldnt wait for any date just to make it special. I am also blessed to be in a family that has a great sense of humor so we enjoy an awesome round of laughs.

    Last year, we didnt spend enough time at the table. I was working as a callcenter agent which means my schedule is different from them. Sometimes I will eat dinner alone since I go to work late. My sister was working as a school nurse at the time which sometimes meant logging extra hours at the school. As corny as it may sound, I really did miss seeing and having a meal with them.

    Much recently, we have been spending a great deal of time and we are having these family dinners. And nothing hits our sweet spot more than a tall bottle of Coke and an endless supply of jokes 🙂

    Here’s hoping we win the family dinner for this experience ^_^

  28. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    I remember summers during my childhood. It’s the time of the year when we (my sister and I), together with the rest of my maternal cousins, are left in the care of our grandparents on a suburb farm area. Picture it as very countryside, no electricity, no ready to use water; you have to fetch water all the way from the river for cooking, drinking, bathing, etc. Life was uncomplicated yet it was so much fun. During Saturdays, which is a market day, my Lola would bring home a case of 1 liter Coke as pasalubong. We cannot drink upfront because it is reserved during mealtimes. And since they don’t own a fridge, my Lola would chill the bottles of Coke by soaking it on big clay pot full of water. Imagine us during the waiting period.

    My Lola loves to cook homegrown vegetables; she also raised native chicken and pork for family consumption. And what I can remember was her Tinolang Manok, which uses native chicken. It was concoct with green papaya and chili tops (talbos ng sili), with plenty of ginger for that strong flavor. Everyone get to drink a glass of Coke after. It was so filling and the moment was so priceless because everyone is present during mealtimes for fear that there will be no leftover later on 🙂 Kidding aside, my grandparents taught us the value of eating together.

    During mid afternoon snack, the treat would be grilled white corn (corn on the cob) or boiled corn with shredded coconut and sugar. Alternatively, during times, that corn is not available; we are served with boiled banana or boiled root crops. The solace of being deprived to eat chips that time would be the bubbling glass of Coke. The spirit contain on each bottle of Coke is the same spirit of happiness we have every time we would gather around the dining table.

    Thirty more years had passed and recollection of our childhood was not forgotten, it was frozen. Every bottle of Coke symbolizes the magic of my childhood and the magic it brought my family and me.
    .-= january´s last blog ..countdown to FN’s Cutest Pet =-.

  29. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    There is no need for anything special for our family to enjoy a bottle of Coca-cola. Especially with hubby’s family, coke is like water and every meal should be enjoyed with a bottle of Coke. I remember having lived with them for awhile and I was shocked to know that even during breakfast they serve Coke.

    Even though I try to limit soda drinks with my kids, my mom-in-law would always tell me, “Coke adds life!” So no matter what kind of meal, coke has to be present.
    .-= sassy mom´s last blog ..Wish I was a child again =-.

  30. I grew up always seeing a bottle of Coke on our dining table. It’s staple along with rice, it’s the main dish that change every meal in our household. But what we usually pair with Coke is Banana Q, whether home-made or bought from the kanto. It’s the happiness and bonding all through the years and our sole witness has always been the empty Coke bottle that sits at the table waiting for the next family.
    .-= Fedoran´s last blog ..Charice on GLEE =-.

  31. I grew up always seeing a bottle of Coke on our dining table. It’s staple along with rice, it’s the main dish that change every meal in our household. But what we usually pair with Coke is Banana Q, whether home-made or bought from the kanto. It’s the happiness and bonding all through the years and our sole witness has always been the empty Coke bottle that sits at the table waiting for the next family.

  32. We are a family of foodies. Our motto is “The family that cooks and eats together stays together.”

    Everyone in our family knows how to cook. I myself have been taught to cook when I was just seven. I remember that during that time, I would perch on top of a step stool because I wasn’t tall enough to reach the pots on top of the stove. I learned how to cook and bake from the best: my dad and my grandmother. They taught me the family recipes that have been handed down from one generation to another.

    Every other Sunday, we would have a family lunch at my Lola’s house. My lola would cook her specialties such as lengua and caldereta and everybody’s favorite, homemade pork and beans. She had 11 kids including my mom, and each one would bring another dish since it was a potluck lunch. My lolo and uncles were in charge of manning the grill filled with yummy barbecued liempo, chicken and a Davao favorite, tuna belly or panga. My mom always brings some kind of bangus dish because it was her favorite dish. My dad, being from Luzon, would prepare Tagalog and Bicolano dishes such as kare-kare and laing. My aunts who liked to bake always brought the yummiest dessert. There was brazo de mercedes, chocolate cake, cookies, macaroons and mango float.

    While the adults were preparing lunch, us kids were tasked with setting the table with the plates and the utensils. We would also go to the sari-sari store to buy ice and of course one case of Coke to complete our meal. Back in those days, it came in the glass 1-Liter bottles.

    We would all gather and sit together in this huge round table. It was a tight fit but we managed to squeeze everyone there. We would pile our plates high with food, grab an ice cold glass of Coke and enjoy our meal. Perfect combination!

    My mother always said that when one eats a lot, it’s important to drink a glass of coke “para matunawan ka” and to prevent indigestion. After all, lunch takes about two to three hours, with all the eating and the chismis. Sundays were a big deal for us kids because aside from the really good food, we get to drink as much Coke as we can. Hooray!

    Nowadays, the gatherings aren’t as big as before. My Lola has been gone for more than a year now and a lot of our relatives have migrated to other countries. For us, who remain here in Davao, we still continue to have our Sunday lunches. I am the one usually in charge of planning the menu for Sunday. Now it’s my turn to cook the special dishes that Lola taught me. And Sunday would never be complete if there wasn’t any Coke around. Even if the one liter glass bottle has now transformed into the 1.5 and 2 liter plastic bottles and half of the bottles we buy are now Coke Zero and Coke Light for those watching their sugar intake, we would never ever forget to drink Coke with our lunch.

    Coke has been definitely part of our foodie family lives. Every time I drink Coke, it takes me back to all the happy memories I have of the different generations of family members laughing, arguing and eating together in my grandparents’ house on Sundays. I’ll definitely be continuing this tradition once I have my own family.

  33. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    As a busy dad, dinner time is the meal time I get to sit at the dining table with my children. We always enjoy home-cooked meals. During weekends, my family and I share more home-cooked meals like chicken tinola, pork humba, roasted chicken, pan-grilled steak or grilled fish. We usually have a supply of 1.5L Coca-Cola at home so that we can have this with our meals.

    Last night, we had warm siopao. The ice-cold Coke we had with that was bought at the nearby sari-sari store because we ran out of our Coke supply at home.

    We love the fizz whenever we open a bottle of Coca Cola. Truly, everyday is Kainan Happiness with Coca-Cola! 🙂

  34. “What kind of food or favorite meal do your family enjoy drinking with a bottle of Coke?”

    Any food goes well with Coke but we love it more with Corn bits. As a family, we love having panghimagas after a meal and its usually corn bits. The salty cornbits and the sweet and cold coke is just about the perfect combination.
    .-= Dinah´s last blog ..Mommy Moments- Snack Time! =-.

  35. Back when I was little, my mother’s side of the family would get together for reunions every Sunday. We’d play board games and multi-course meals at my aunt’s house; chow down on pizza, fried chicken, and anything else that could be delivered after a good swim at my lola’s home; and reserve God knows how many tables at swanky restaurants. On each of those occasions, my brother, my cousins and I would sweeten the meal with a refreshing glass of Coke. We’d pretend to be grown-ups, toasting our cola like it was expensive wine. Our parents found that really cute, and they’d join in with their own glasses of Coke/fake wine.

    As the years passed, the family gatherings came few and far between. I guess it was a result of our ever-changing fortunes that we didn’t really go out that much anymore because we had to be a little more responsible with our money. The Sunday dinners changed; instead of multi-course meals at my aunt’s, we’d have a big bowl of sinigang. Instead of ordering the whole gamut of deliverables, we’d grill hotdogs on my lola’s stove. Most of the time, though, we’d stay home and have a good old-fashioned home-cooked meal.

    Although the food changed, one thing remained: the liter of Coke at every table. It occurs to me that it doesn’t really matter what you were eating, where you were eating it, or how much the whole meal set you back – all it really took to have a good meal was the company of loved ones.

    And, just like it has ever since I can remember, a cool glass of Coke, toasted between loved ones, sweetens the meal.

  36. If there’s one thing that keeps our family bond as strong as ever – aside from love for each other, of course – is our forever love for FOOD! Food has always been the icing-on-the-cake for our gatherings (no pun intended). Even if the meal is as simple as tuyo with salted egg, tomatoes and rice OR as complex as shrimp in alavar sauce or lamb in orzo pasta, as long sa we are together as a family, that meal will fill any empty void in our stomachs. And of course, the meal wouldn’t be complete without a bucket of ice our families’ national drink – Coca Cola!!!

    My wife and I love to cook and bake. We love to eat out and try different cuisines, and try to replicate it back home with our own styles and twists in the recipe. Whether it be Filipino, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, etc – we love food! We love sampling these cuisines and we love going to the grocery to buy ingredients that we think would replicate those dishes. Just like eating, grocery time is also family time! One time, we went to the grocery and our daughter saw ingredients for pizza. It gave us an idea, and we asked her if she would like to make her own pizza at home. She was ecstatic! So we bought the ingredients and went straight home for a Saturday night pizza fest! We had fun with our daughter who took pride in creating her own pizza. She also had fun munching on the cheese before it even touched the pizza! Now even cooking time is indeed family time! And to finish off the night, we finally got to bake our pizzas and enjoyed them freshly baked with glasses and glasses of ice-cold Coca Cola. Sometimes, simplicity is the best and could go a long, long way!

  37. If there’s one thing that keeps our family bond as strong as ever – aside from love for each other, of course – is our forever love for FOOD! Food has always been the icing-on-the-cake for our gatherings (no pun intended). Even if the meal is as simple as tuyo with salted egg, tomatoes and rice OR as complex as shrimp in alavar sauce or lamb in orzo pasta, as long sa we are together as a family, that meal will fill any empty void in our stomachs. And of course, the meal wouldn’t be complete without our families’ national drink – ice cold Coca Cola!!!

    My wife and I love to cook and bake. We love to eat out and try different cuisines, and try to replicate it back home with our own styles and twists in the recipe. Whether it be Filipino, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, etc – we love food! We love sampling these cuisines and we love going to the grocery to buy ingredients that we think would replicate those dishes. Just like eating, grocery time is also family time! One time, we went to the grocery and our daughter saw ingredients for pizza. It gave us an idea, and we asked her if she would like to make her own pizza at home. She was ecstatic! So we bought the ingredients and went straight home for a Saturday night pizza fest! We had fun with our daughter who took pride in creating her own pizza. She also had fun munching on the cheese before it even touched the pizza! Now even cooking time is indeed family time! And to finish off the night, we finally got to bake our pizzas and enjoyed them freshly baked with glasses and glasses of ice-cold Coca Cola. Sometimes, simplicity is the best and could go a long, long way!

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