Jack Maawatan: Leather is food in some places

I'm not sure how "Haan ko nga maawatan." became "Jak maawatan," but I do understand Ilokano food. And by understand I mean gorged tons of it while growing up.

Kilawen (Kambing)

Those are goat skin. Fur already torched, hence the nasty burnt hair smell which (i think) helps bring out the Kambing flavor. But oddly enough, I learned from Anthropology that all humans do not like the smell of burnt hair--has something to do with sleeping too close to bonfires and catching fire on hair and pelt.
Back to food. Those are grilled (or boiled) but not all the way cooked I believe, then sliced lovingly to thin strips (lovingly because even with the sharpest knife, if you have to turn leather to food, you have to have lots of love for people you're serving it to). Ginger, onions, kalamansi, salt and pepper are then mixed in.
Viola! Pulutan!

it is just me? or is this FT? (1)

cows aren't beef they're great

(salamat kay Joshua Cuanzon)

Everyone is Born Tangled in Blood Ties

January is the Feast of Sto. Niño (witow baby jesaaas) and my family is big on making noise and eating. Put one and one together you find me growing (1) wanting sometimes to be away from them, (2) debating myself about the existence of God (with a capitalist G there)and (3) made me think I was better than most of my family.

But being the pig that I am, I find myself joining and enjoying the merrymakings every time we have them because of—what the f else?—the great food. This January we had Lechon because we did not have a whole one on 2010’s Christmas. I woke up to the smell of crabs my dad got for free from the DA that he himself cooked (do I hear allergies and upset stomach?). And I went along with the rest of them to watch the Annual Ati-atihan Parade along Roxas Boulevard, because of the prospect of street food.

the guy that made my night a little less cold

wakey wakey crabs are ready

mmmhh fat

fruits are friends, not fruits
- Chesca Co

About the title? More than four years ago, I thought a blog title clever and apt—“Severing Ties”. That’s not hard to do. Batman has it worse. Severing Ties is brave too if you think about it; no springy spider web to fall into when your own guts fail you because you go on and cut it yourself. But why build ties thinner than blood? (p.s. if you make the connection, Neitzsche was a crazy ugly fag! You possing automaton) And why sever ties when it catches good food for you?