As I was kneading dough for dinner rolls this early afternoon, I was thinking about family traditions and how they leave us with lasting memories and they always have a story to tell that lasts from generation to generation.

My Lola (grandmother in Tagalog) Norma used to live in the Philippines where there is lots of poverty, homelessness, starvation, and lots of people stealing things and money just so they can have a meal that day. Because of that, when she married my papa John and came to live in the U.S. with him, when she would cook and bake, she would make plenty of food for multiple people eat and there would always be leftovers. My Lola Norma loved to feed people and she loved to hear that you were stuffed so stupid that you had food coming out of your ears.
When my parents first met, after they got back to my grandparents house from a dinner date, my Lola Norma would insist that my dad ate the dinner that she had prepared that night even if he were already incredibly full! She would not let him leave the house until he ate her food.

My mom learned to make lots of delicious Filipino recipes from my Lola Norma and has taught me to make a few of them. Can you believe that I didn’t know that corn beef and cabbage was actually a stew?! I was so used to my Lola Norma’s Filipino version and the way that her and my mama would make it that the first time I had “real” corn beef and cabbage is when my husband and I were dating for nine months and we went to his parents house for Saint Patrick’s Day. I was honestly a little disappointed because I was looking forward to how I was used to it being made that the stew just didn’t cut it or hold a candle to my Lola Norma’s recipe. 😉

I think it is so important to have family traditions and to even start a few of our own because they always hold a special story to tell about someone very close to our hearts or maybe it’s even a tradition one of our ancestors started, and how amazing would it be to start your own tradition and it be passed on?
I still remember cooking in the kitchen with my Lola Norma the mornings after I would spend the night at her house and the evenings when my family and I would go over for supper. I loved to watch her cook and bake and I loved helping her!
It is so amazing to make my Lola Norma’s recipes with my mama in her kitchen and listen to the stories she tells me about my Lola Norma and how she was brought up.

I am going to show Amaura how to make the same Filipino recipes that my Lola Norma taught my mama to make and I am going to share the story that I shared with you all with her. I’m going to tell Amaura how strong, amazing and loving her great grandmother was and I hope that one day Amaura will do the same with her future children.
I not only want to carry on the tradition my Lola Norma started with Amaura, but I also want to teach her how to make the rolls that I just learned to make and will be making every Sunday.
And I hope that I will always be remembered and that my story and new tradition will be passed down from generation to generation. ❤