Eat!

Nineteen days before Christmas and we're pretty sure you're stressing over the meals you plan to make for your family. Well, stress no more as starting with this issue and the whole of December, our PF culinary correspondent/cookbook author Elizabeth Ann Quirino will share with you recipes she chose for proper holiday meals. This issue, she offers Estofado de Vaca, Lobster Thermidor and Almond Jelly with Lychees for The Happy Home Cook.

Ms. Quirino also writes about the successful culinary tour of Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, owners of Purple Yam in Brooklyn and Manila, in "Savoring Hidden Flavors of the Philippine Kitchen." 

Cape Town, South Africa, despite its storied legacy of apartheid, remains a favorite tourist destination. But did you know that in Kalk Bay, one of the city's picturesque suburb, some 80% of the original fishing families are descended from Filipinos? Former Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. tells us the story of how Filipinos landed in Cape Town sometime in the 1860s in "Filipinos in Cape Town -- A Valuable Presence Since the 19th Century."

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo asks the question, "Will the Philippine Jeepney Soon Be Extinct?" as plans for a more modern, safer and more environmentally friendly transport system are about to be implemented.

Our In The Know links this week covers a variety of interesting topics you will want to bookmark: 

An Investment Boom in Philippines Leaves Neighbors in the Dust
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-28/an-investment-boom-in-philippines-leaves-neighbors-in-the-dust

14 Amazing Filipina Heroines You Don't Know But Should
http://www.filipiknow.net/greatest-filipina-heroines/

The Desirability of Storytellers
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/12/the-origins-of-storytelling/547502/

Young businessman reveals rivers of success bridged by enthusiasm
http://businessmirror.com.ph/young-businessman-reveals-rivers-of-success-bridged-by-enthusiasm/

For our video of the week, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presents Frank Chi's film which was inspired by Carlos Bulosan's "America Is In Heart."

Young Voices In This Time of Distress

Last Sunday, at the Glide Memorial Church, a San Francisco landmark, the uplifting service -- famous for its celebratory music, its soaring homilies and its inclusiveness -- was the perfect salve for wounded souls. And the whole congregation that day was still aching from the tragedy of November 8, 2016, surely a day of infamy for the United States and the free world. In the Philippines, there was the double whammy of the Supreme Court deciding to honor a dictator as a hero on that day. 

What does the election of Donald Trump mean for people of color? For starters, within 24 hours of the election, hundreds of racially charged harassments of minorities were reported. With the Ku Klux Klan already emboldened to come out openly, bullying of not just blacks but anyone not Caucasian (certainly including Filipinos) can be the new normal in this America that seems to have changed overnight. Millions have gathered to protest and we can only hope that the momentum for pushbacks against racism, misogyny and hate will continue for as long as they are happening.

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) fired the initial volley for the community a few days ago when it publicly denounced the racist tweet of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee which said, “If HRC wins she will appoint her Filipino maid to head CIA. She already has access to all the secrets anyway. No need to train her.” Calling the tweet as "deeply offensive, NaFFAA demanded an apology from the former (and possibly future) presidential aspirant. 

This week we feature the writings of two young people: 18-year old Annika Olives airs her reaction to the results of the election in "Make America Beautiful Again." From Manila, 12-year old Luis Yuchengco wrote and recites a stirring Spoken Wordcall for his peers to "Dream Big." We don't usually publish poetry in Positively Filipino, but we can't help but share our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's pride in her nephew.

And for those who are visiting the country and would like to take the iconic jeepney, Rene M. Astudillo lists down some tips that will get you through the harrowing/exciting experience in "Riding a Filipino Jeepney 101."

Positively Filipino Contributing Writer and resident foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares another recipe, this time her own take on the traditional Italian apple cake, Torta de Mele in the Happy Home Cook.

For our Video of the Week, we feature the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City from OurPhilippines.tv.