Comfort Food For The Rainy Days

One of the reasons why I went on a month-long hiatus was to improve my health. Since the start of the year, I noticed how I was losing weight. I have always been petite, maintaining my weight between 40 and 41 but about two months ago, I hit my all-time low at 37 kilograms. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't get sick but I found myself with colds and flu way too often. I had myself checked, of course. Our physician cleared me of any infection after blood tests and an X-Ray, but he gave me a prescription for vitamins that might aide my appetite. I was also advised to get more sleep.

Although I'm not really a fan of the rainy season, it's definitely helping with my goal to get my old weight back (and maybe a bit more). I don't know if you feel this too, but I have a lot more gusto when it's not stifling hot. I took advantage of the cooler weather brought about by the rains. Here are some of the staple dishes in my kitchen now that it's raining almost everyday.

Pancit Bihon - In my post My Recipe for Pancit Canton, I shared the ingredients I use and the steps I take to prepare Pancit Canton. Pancit Bihon is just another variation of Pancit. Instead of using the thick noodles called Canton, Bihon is used in this dish. I love to sprinkle this with calamansi, which I do not do with the canton.

Champorado - I wrote about Champorado in my post Tablea | The Philippines' Cocoa Rounds (Champorado Recipe Inside). This hot chocolate-based snack is something that is truly delightful when it gets too cold. My family and I enjoy this with lots of milk.

Chicken Sopas - You'll find the steps I take to prepare this dish in my post Sopas. This hot milky soup is one of my go-to whenever the cold weather gets too much.

Sotanghon - Yep, we love noodles! Chinese vermicelli is another type of noodles but this one, you can enjoy in a chicken soup with crispy vegetables topped with spring onions. My post Sotanghon | Chinese Vermicelli in Chicken Soup includes the steps on how I prepare this dish.

Nilagang Baboy - This dish is an absolute favorite since I was a little girl, and I learned how to prepare it early on because the steps are pretty straight-forward. It was only recently though that I tried adding saging na saba or cardava bananas. I have to say the addition makes the soup tastier.

Classes were again suspended today, as a precaution taken by the school after reports of a super typhoon being in the Philippine Area of Responsibility. It hasn't rained yet where I am, but the skies are all gray with no sign of the sun. It won't be long until the rain starts to pour and I'm already preparing my ingredients to make my Tinolang Manok, another chicken-based soup that I love to cook on days like this.

_{All photos are mine, taken using a Samsung S7 Edge camera phone}

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