Being a predominantly Catholic country, most Filipino households are faced with a challenge, menu-wise, all the Fridays of Lent. Like many people, I realize how hard it is to have something taken away from you... which in this case is meat. The only day of the week you can't have meat is the one day you seem to crave it, or dream of it even. By choice I've gone a whole day without meat, and no biggie, my world did not come tumbling down. But the one day I'm told I can't have meat... it's as if I can't live without it... I go crazy thinking about it... like I'm going to lose it if I don't get my hands on it. Maybe it has something to do with the saying "You don't know what you've got until it's gone." So the Pork Sinigang or the Chicken Adobo I snubbed a few days ago seem like a rare delicacy come Friday. Or maybe I just have control issues... yeah, maybe that's it. "You can't have it," therefore "I want it!"
So fine, no meat on all Fridays of Lent. But you can only have so much tilapia, galunggong or adobong pusit. Of course in the middle of the week I started dreaming of Spaghetti Vongole and so on market day we asked Helen, my parents' cook, to buy "Halaan" also known as "Manila Clams." I think watching re-runs of Junior Master Chef has inspired me to get my hands dirty in the kitchen. I recall watching Giada De Laurentiis make something like this a while back so I searched for the recipe. And to my surprise... it's one of the easiest pasta dishes you could ever make. I highly suggest you guys try it. I made it with Luke, my youngest, and served it for lunch. I think my Mom, Dad & Stefi, my eldest, liked it but Luke and I enjoyed it the most. It's simple yet flavorful. No heavy sauces smothering the pasta, just the wonderful flavor of the clams and its natural juices. So, of course, going meatless is doable as you can see. Now only one question remains: "Why couldn't I have thought of this on a Friday?"
Here's the link to the recipe. Enjoy!
