Like the dessert itself, our friendship was never meant to be admired from afar like a perfect tower in a glass. It had to be stirred, mixed, and sometimes shaken by the years—marriages, careers, triumphs, disappointments, and the long distances life imposed on us. Yet once blended again, the sweetness returns as if no time had passed at all.

I’ve discovered the secret to entertaining at home—without the stress and spectacle of party-throwing. I do my cooking in batches, usually during those rare weeks when my office workload is lighter and I’m in the mood for domestic pursuits. In one dedicated shopping day, I buy everything I need to cook seven to eleven dishes, my favorites, enough to sustain me for three weeks, sometimes even a month.

That is, until friends come calling.

We would never have dared if not for the sentimentality over a long-held ancestral property, a robust U.S. stock market, and the unwavering encouragement of our children. But once the deal was sealed, someone had to do the heavy lifting of becoming the kapatas—project head, operations manager, designer, accountant, decision maker, disciplinarian, and crisis-absorber. That someone, inevitably, was me.

For Filipinos, no party or feast is complete without the centerpiece: lechon, a spit-roasted pig. A whole roasted pig is an imposing sight, serving not only as a surefire way to impress guests but also as a subtle marker of the host’s social standing. It’s common for guests to ask, “May lechon ba?” (Is there lechon?) even before confirming their attendance—a positive answer nearly guarantees an enthusiastic RSVP.

Watching my German friends sip sinigang and navigate fish sauce was like witnessing a delightful culinary adventure—one spoonful, one laugh, one curious glance at a time. They may have started a bit wary, but by the end, they were pros, balancing broth with rice and embracing the bold flavors. That night, they didn’t just eat sinigang; they got a taste of what it means to eat like a Filipino.

One dish she likely learned from Inang and passed down to my eldest brother Jim is a unique variant of the traditional Tagalog adobo, known as adobong tuyo or "dry adobo." To my mother, however, it was called adobong halo-halo, a name referring to the mixture of organ meats used in the preparation.