Pork Sinigang for A Lazy Sunday Lunch

I woke up really late today - just before 11AM; not surprising since I nodded off at around 3AM (can't put down The Romanov Prophecy!). As soon as I got up, the first thing I did was start preparing the food for lunch. Since it was already late, I wanted to cook something that wouldn't take too much time and effort to prepare, but I also wanted comfort food. After checking what we had in our freezer and vegetable crisper, I decided on pork sinigang.

Pork sinigang brings to mind images of being in the comfort of one's home, warm and safe, while the rain steadily pours outside. This simple yet very comforting dish makes me want to go back to my childhood, when my sister and I would stay home because of the strong rains (no classes! yey!); we can get up later than usual, without the rush associated with a normal school day. Our mom would usually cook something swimming in hot broth - just what we're all craving for when the days and nights turn cold. I smile at the memory, thinking of how simple life was then - the extent of my dilemmas might well be how I was going to style my hair the next day, or how I can get away with sleeping later than usual that night.

As we grow old(er), life throws bigger and more complicated challenges our way. How we deal with those challenges mould us into who and what we are at present, and who we can be in the future. But I believe there are times that we should go back to the basics, and look at the grownup challenges the way a child does - who knows, a kid's simplistic approach to problem-solving might just result to surprisingly effective results!

Or we can just turn to a steaming bowl of pork sinigang to make things simpler, and a whole lot better...