A Rare Treat

Your Lola making homemade lumpia is a rare treat. How rare? Odds are we will see the Bears in the Super Bowl as well as a lunar eclipse before we are blessed once again with these crispy, golden Filipino snacks. They require the patience and precision of a skilled surgeon's hands. It's a tedious process, but well worth the effort. She agreed to share with us her recipe so that one day you and your Dad can share in this family recipe. I am decidedly out of the equation because let's be realistic, patience and precision are not my middle names...in fact, they never were in contention, right Mom?

So Jerry and Ella, I took notes.
Cook one pound of ground pork with two cloves of minced garlic and 1/4 cup of water. Add one large yellow onion, chopped. Once meat is almost cooked add patis (two tablespoons), 1 cup of water, 4 carrots, one small cabbage, 1# green beans and one package of bean sprouts (all veggies are small matchstick sized). Once cooked through, drain and cool. Here comes the tough part. Delicately separate lumpia wrappers, add cooled mixture and seal with water. Place in shallow fry pan. The bottom should be covered with oil. Brown. Serve piping hot and get ready to be showered in praise.

Pictures of course were necessary to document this rare event. I busily snapped shots of Lola's nimble hands folding the lumpia wrappers. I captured the golden glisten as they came out of the pan. It wasn't until much later that I realized the CF card was not in the camera. What the what? Disappointment was an understatement. How can we wait ten more long years? Hint, hint Nanang.