Cheating is Allowed

If you're anything like me, I take cooking for my family seriously.  I believe that the main obligation of feeding my children is mine.  Don't get me wrong, occasionally of course, we eat out or have food delivered or buy take-outs.  For me though, it is still best for my kids to eat food that I cooked.  Besides, Dad loves my cooking.  He goes home everyday for lunch (or dinner, depending on his shift that month) even though there are lots of restaurants or food stalls in and near his office (of course it helps too that home is a walking distance away).

This means that at times I can get OC (obsessive-compulsive or oc-oc here in the Phils) when cooking.  Back in the days when I still had lots of time and energy, I would always want to do things the long way.  I didn't like making shortcuts and I even enjoyed doing unnecessary things just for everyday cooking (garnishing, additional ingredients, sauces, what have you).  Anything less would make me feel like a cheater or a short-changer. 

photo from http://pinoysarisari.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=127

But I don't have that much time and energy anymore so some shortcuts have actually become my bestfriend. One of them is the Mama Sita's Kare-Kare Mix. A few years back, I would've been too afraid to cook kare-kare*; my tito is from Pampanga and he makes a mean, authentic, kare-kare that I just don't feel worthy to make my own version.  But not anymore, Mama Sita's has made me feel like a kare-kare expert.  Actually, kare-kare has become a regular in our menu since it is so easy to cook with the help of this handy shortcut.  I've tried the other brands available but in my opinion, this is mix is the closest to authenticity you can get without having to grind peanuts.  I use the 100g pack even for just half a kilo of meat so that I can make more of the sauce that Dad loves.  Also unlike other brands, you don't need to add in peanut butter although I still do to make the sauce thicker.  Then paired with our favorite ginisang bagoong brand, it is most  certainly a treat.

kare-kare yesterday

kare-kare with bagoong from some months ago

*Kare-Kare is one of the most popular Filipino dishes from the province of Pampanga. It is a stew made from peanut sauce with, traditionally ox tripe but often also with pork or beef or even chicken.

**this post is just my opinion and i am in no way endorsing Mama Sita's ;)