What A Dad Will Do For His Daughter
by Cheryl D'Aprix
What a Dad will do for his daughter is rock his sick baby girl
until the sun peeks through the darkness
letting him know the night of worry is over.
He will take her small hand in his and walk slowly
as she takes her first walk to the ice cream shop
to share a cone full of heaven on earth.
He will sip from the tiny tea cup she has set in front of him
and in harmony with the stuffed animals carefully placed in their seats
he will sing the praises of her great hospitality.
He will sit through dance recitals and fashion shows
where he is the only audience
and will clap with the enthusiasm of a thousand people.
He will take her fishing and play soccer,
and introduce her to the world outside
as if just experiencing it for the first time himself.
Perhaps he is.
He will sit with her through sweat and tears over homework
that was supposed to be turned in the day before
and he'll smile as they finish, seeing her relief.
He will place a firm hand on the shoulder of the young man
that comes to take her to the school dance
silently letting him know where he stands and what he expects.
He will watch with overflowing pride
as his young lady accepts her high school diploma
and will silently pray to God to calm his fears
and get him throughout the day.
He will be full of conversation and more than happy to listen
when she calls home now and then.
Even when the game of the year is on.
He will gently fold her arm around his
and with all the courage and faith he can hold onto
he will stroll down the aisle, giving her hand but keeping her youth.
He will be the first one in the maternity ward ,
at the nursery window, carefully inspecting the activities
of his new family member.
Another part of her, another part of him.
He will reassure her as time rages on
and the signs of his old age start to frighten her.
He will caress her hand with a passion to which she has never felt
as he whispers his last wishes to her.
He will come to her heart for all her life
as she sees his manner in herself or his features in her children.
He will live in the smiles that grace her face
as she remembers the things he did for her.
And he will teach her how to make paella... :)
My dad is the family paella-maker. It's pretty much the only thing I've ever seen him cook in my life, now that I think about it. He always makes it on the exact same spot in the garden where he ignites the flame and fans the coals while he waits as his 'assistants' (read: my mom and kitchen staff) do all the prep work in the kitchen and bring these out to him. They then have to assembled just so. There's something almost theatrical in his manner and it's always amusing to watch. (Except for the time a burst of flames from the coals engulfed his hand :( )
Last weekend, my sisters and I asked him to teach us how to make his paella. Which he did all too willingly and happily while we followed his instructions and documented the whole process. We each had our assigned roles: cook, scribe and photographer. Guess which role was mine? ;)
Mise-en-place
The equipment
The equipment
Saute, pour, simmer...
Ooohh almost there...
Ta dah!
Buen provecho! :)
22 comments:
Now I'm craving for paella. :-) Such a nice entry to start off my week.
That paella looks super yummy Nens! It's great having a recipe passed down no? :) You want to hear a strange coincidence? My mom made paella for us in bulacan this weekend! And it was the first time I think that I stood there and really watched everything :) So I almost fell off my chair when I saw this post! Is this another fig incident? :)
Looks good. I'd love to try cooking paella outdoors.
Hi op, I'm actually craving some now too! And while I was putting the post together last night, my stomach started to rumble, even if it was so full of Japanese food! Thanks for dropping by! :)
Hey jo, it is! I swear I'm beginning to think it's no longer coincidence. How funny! Wonder what our next fig incident will be? :)
Wysgal, I think you'll enjoy it more. It's so much more pleasant and fun. Not to mention the most important reason, the paella is cooked more evenly. What happens sometimes on a stove top, is the center gets cooked faster, while the area around the outer rim is still raw.
Oh, Christine, I've been craving for paella... and now this post! My weekend was uneventful, food-wise. So I'm really hungry for something like this.
It looks so good!! Wowowoweeee!! :) Cooking outdoors is really fun!! I can't help but imagine the 'tutong' parts!! I love the 'tutong' of the paella!!
That paella is a rockin'...what a super dad! And you lucky girls!
the only meal my pops was able to teach me was ginisang sardinas...
Looks yummy! Your father definitely knows how to cook!
Hey socky, wish I could offer you some but it didn't last more than 2 days. :) Paella is really so much easier than it looks. Have you tried making your own?
Didi, me too!! The tutong (burnt, crunchy rice, for those of you who might be wondering) and the roasted garlic is my favorite part of the paella haha. Ok and the shrimp too. :)
Hi Rowena! We are definitely lucky to have him as our dad for countless reasons. He's a sweetheart! :)
Vina, I love ginisang sardinas with garlic fried rice! Yum!:)
Hi Sidney, my dad definitely knows his paella! The only thing I would do different is add even more chorizo & bacon slabs & roasted garlic! :)
OMG Nens! The poem made me cry. The paella looks great. It was great of you Dad to show you and your sisters how to make it. I will certainly be adding it to my list of Sunday Dinners to make. I am excited to try it out na!
That is a true paella! Love the way it looks....what's keeping the scratch 'n sniff screen....
This is inspiring, Nena! It's one of those experiences that you tuck away and never forget.
Aww Mieke! I'm so sorry it made you cry. I hope they were happy tears? Big hug!!
Yes, Karen, what is keeping it?! They need to invent scratch-n-sniff screens and smellavision! Imagine how much fun we would have with all the wonderful food blogs out there like yours?
Hi Lori! Yes it is. :) Just like the ones you share with Boo and your Bin. :)
Oh Nena, you really know how to tug on my heart-strings. I ff your poem to tboy to make him konsensya :-)
The only thing the men in my family (dad, bro, titos) feel that is "macho" enough to cook is steak, chorizo and paella. I must say, they do it better then the women folk do. I think Weber's dad is the same.
I'm guessing you were the scribe. :-)
Paella...yummmm! One of my fave Spanish dishes. And the pictures are great.
Loved the poem. Your daddy sounds so cool.
Miri, I noticed that with my dad & most men I know too! Why is that? Not to mention they think you can't grill those steaks and burgers and make the chorizo better than they can. I guess that's them channeling their inner cave man, which they can't do with a tuna casserole hehe.
Hi Lizza thanks, he is! :) Actually, I was the photographer. And I don't have my hands on the recipe & procedure yet as of press time. Which reminds me....!
sarap naman nyan lalo na yung work of love
just last friday we had paella at Casa Armas in Greebelt 3
you got the inner-caveman thing right sistah! but like i said, they DO do it well, so pagbigyan na lang :-)
Hi Tutubi, did you like the paella at Casa Armas? If I order paella in restaurants I usually order paella negra (paella in squid ink) because I'm very picky with the regular kind. And I've found there's a better chance I'll like the paella negra, which I love!m I guess it's a safer choice. :)
Exactly Mirs, at least they're doing something instead of lying there with one hand holding a beer can, and the other one tucked into the waistband of their shorts. ;)
Hahahahaha! you just described all the guys we grew up with( i wont name names just in case their reading )
Exactly, Mirs! Heehee :)
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