#32: My Inconvenient Sinigang

The tamarind has a nice profile pic
here in the tropicalfruitnursery. :-)

I was shopping in a supermarket a few days ago when a lady came up to me asking me to try this new and improved tamarind soup mix. It's supposed to be 2-in1 because it has the tamarind powder and "umami" powder that gives this more delicious taste.
 I told her cheerfully that I will not need it because I do it the traditional way using the actual tamarind fruit. Then she told me, "Ay ma'am, mahihirapan pa kayo." (Oh, ma'am, it will be inconvenient for you).  But I told her I don't mind doing it.


I don't mind placing the tamarind fruit in a metal strainer and dunk it in the broth where my pork is simmering. I don't mind waiting for 10 minutes then mashing the fruit in the strainer to get all those sour and fruity  flavors out. Soon as the fruit is mashed to just the peel and seeds, then the broth should be deliciously sour by then. What's so difficult about that?


Good healthy food should not be a hassle. It just takes a little less laziness, a bit more effort and a teeny bit more sacrifice. Sure, sometimes, there are exceptions when we're really pinned against the wall of time and we have no choice but to cheat a bit here and there but it should be an exception, not the norm. What is love doing making the world go round if you can't even boil and mash a fruit for your family and children?


So friends, let's make a toast for the goodness of a little bit of inconvenience. :-D