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A Peculiar Green

Her comfort, his horror

By Tricia De Jesus-Gutierrez (Phynne~Belle)Published 4 years ago 4 min read
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Photo by Mgg Vitchakorn on Unsplash

The sisters had not seen Tiffany for a few months now and they were excited to finally be making another trip to Millbrae. Tiff was a dear college friend of Jenna, the older of the sisters, and had moved to the Bay Area a few years ago with her husband and two young children. The younger sister, Minnie, was especially looking forward to the visit; she would be bringing her new boyfriend with her, and she was eager for Tiff to meet him and find out what she thought of him.

Cruz, Minnie’s boyfriend insisted that they take his mom’s silver Toyota 4runner instead of riding with Jenna in her sedan. Minnie would have preferred they all go together so they could hang out in the city afterward, but Cruz was adamant about taking a separate car. Okay, thought Minnie, not a big deal. It wasn’t going to derail the day’s plans, but she still felt a little guilty that she would be leaving her sister to travel alone, knowing how she hated driving longer distances.

Tiff buzzed them in as they pulled into the lot and was in the lobby to greet them as they entered the building. As Cruz walked ahead to hail the elevator, Tiff mouthed with exaggerated lip movement behind his back, “he’s handsome!” to which Minnie beamed back an “I know!”

An unspoken part of the Filipino Commandments of Hosting Guests: be the gathering big or small, cook and prepare like you are feeding a small country. And an unspoken Rule of Being a Polite Guest in a Filipino Household: accept all the food offered, praise its unparalleled deliciousness, take seconds, thank the hostess profusely.

Tiff was the Empress of Filipino Hosting; she dressed impeccably, her makeup game was on point, she smelled as yummy as the dishes she spent the morning cooking.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

While she was putting the finishing touches on the lunch she had prepared for them—scents of grilled squid, pinakbet, and pancit Malabon wafting through the divider to the kitchen—she entertained the girls and Cruz with anecdotes about her kids and work, as well as putting on a VHS of the latest hot ticket movies for them to watch. This was interspersed with the clank of pots, and sizzling on the stove, accompanying the music of the blender whirring. When she emerged, she had a tray of tall glasses with a green substance in it. Minnie clapped in pure foodie bliss—one of her old Pinoy refreshment favorites, avocado smoothie!

Avocado shakes were a comfort food born out of lack of abundant food resources and a lot of ingenuity with what was readily available to make something that was delicious and substantial to satiate a starving belly. It was made from ripe avocados, condensed milk, and crushed ice. It was a heaven sent on the hottest tropical weather days.

Minnie could tell from the growing moue on Cruz’ face that he was shocked by the idea of a green drink and increasingly revolted when he found out what the main ingredient was. Cruz was Nicaraguense—in his culinary world, avocados had no business being anywhere but complementing carne asada in a chopped salad, or decorating the corners of yucca con chicharron. No smoothies, no sweetness, no way. He refused to even go through the motions of fake sipping the drink, as Jenna glanced in pity in her sister’s direction, Minnie was becoming increasingly pink and made to feel discomfited by this faux pas, and Tiff, in typical Filipina fashion was gracious and apologetic, offering to make another type of refreshment (that she probably didn’t have and had to send her husband out to get).

Cruz was immovable and was blooming into a shade not far from the verdant-bright drink. The frown still firmly in place, he was also beginning to remind Minnie of a petulant child not wanting to eat his veggies. As infatuated as she was by the electric novelty of the relationship, she experienced a brief revulsion herself, an incredulity—or maybe premonition?—of how stupid and uncouth this boy could be. Cute enough, but uh-uh, really not marriage material.

Glossary:

Pinakbet: a northern Filipino dish of mixed vegetables steamed in fish or shrimp sauce.

Pancit Malabon: a stir-fried noodle dish, seasoned with achuete seed and shrimp reduction, and garnished with shrimp, squid, smoked bangus (milkfish), mussels, or oysters. The dish can also include hard boiled egg, crushed chicharron, sautéed minced garlic, and calamansi on the side.

Nicaraguense: Nicaraguan.

Carne asada: grilled skirt steak, marinated and seared.

Yucca con chicharron: a popular dish from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, made of cassava and prepared with raw cabbage and lemon, tipped with pork rind, tomato sauce, garlic, and onion.

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About the Creator

Tricia De Jesus-Gutierrez (Phynne~Belle)

Poet Organizer of Phynnecabulary and Co-Director at the Poetry Global Network. Has too many cats and dogs a-plenty. Enjoys karaoke way too much. https://linktr.ee/phynnebelle/

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