Simple and Successful

After those sumptuous, sinful dishes of the holidays, I'm sure many of us are hankering for simple, basic comfort food. And so we bring you the late great chef Nora Daza's Chicken Tinola Soup recipe for our Happy Home Cook this week. 

In picturesque Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, stands the Bayanihan Community Centre, the pride of the island's Filipino community. Purportedly the envy of other Canadian cities with sizeable Filipino communities, the Bayanihan Community Centre's longevity is attributed to its solid financial management and accountability and its active organization. First-time contributor Ben Pires, who has been involved in the center since its inception, writes its story.

How to pay tribute to someone you admire but hardly knew? FilAm author/academic Laurel Fantauzzo, who just came out with a highly acclaimed creative non-fiction book, shows us how as she honors the late Congresswoman Dina Abad, her mother's friend.

Oh, and by the way, this issue marks the sixth year of Positively Filipino's existence and as is our wont, we list down our ten most popular stories of the past year so you can read them again or for the first time. See below.

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Top Stories of 2017

1) An Incident at LAX Immigration 

2) Escape Through Death's Door

3) Filipino Terms of Endearment 

4) A Brief Look at the CIA in the Philippines 

5) The Untold Story of Nina Thomas

6) Surprising Facts about Ferdinand Magellan and his Voyage to the Philippines 

7) My Dad, a Daring Dreamer 

8) The Timeless Nora Aunor 

9) Arsenio H. Lacson: The Best President the Philippines Never Had 

10) Important Information Regarding The U.S. Travel Ban 

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Once again, our In The Know links for this week. We can't possibly monitor all the stories from other publications to include in our list so if you come across stories about Filipinos and the Philippines in your local newspapers, please send the link to pfeditor@yahoo.com.

Duterte Threatens to Dethrone the Jeepney as King of Filipino Roads
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/asia/philippines-jeepney-duterte.html

House panel passes bill declaring Kalayaan Islands as 'alienable, disposable land'
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/12/26/house-panel-kalayaan-islands.html

Zuckerberg Under Fire For Facebook’s Deal With Rodrigo Duterte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk_ns1ynSRo

Celebrating Brown Skin
https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/1072515149556658/

For Video of the Week, NBC Asian America features dance troupe Kinding Sindaw as they teach and preserve the traditions of southern Philippine culture.

Where Are You Going in 2018 (Literally)?

So here we are once again -- another year over, and what an emotionally taxing year it has been.

Now we get to start again and we send our wishes for a more peaceful and meaningful 2018 for everyone.

Will this coming year be filled with travel for you? Here's a reality check for one of the most desired destinations in our motherland -- Coron in Palawan. PF contributor Bella Bonner visited the place for the first time and shares her astute observations of what awaits you in one of the most talked about places in anyone's bucket list.

In another part of the world, Joe Santos posts his encounters with Filipinos of various kinds during his cruise earlier this year. 

And for a delicious New Year's meal, Elizabeth Ann Quirino once again puts together a menu consisting of Spanish-style Cocido, which is a complete meal in itself, and Coconut Leche Flan.

As for our In The Know links, we always try to give you a variety of stories for your reading pleasure:

Women of Manila ‘killing field’ count on power of silence
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/949345/war-on-drugs-drug-killings-extrajudicial-killings#ixzz52TTjA1gP

Decolonizing With Betel Nuts
https://medium.com/@margostebbing/decolonizing-with-beetle-nuts-3785731297fc

5 famous personalities around the world who have nothing but praise for Filipino nannies
https://www.facebook.com/FilipinoTimes/videos/1278772492230043/

What's wrong with this statue of a comfort woman?
https://www.rappler.com/nation/192301-comfort-woman-statue-roxas-boulevard-manila-issues

For Video of the Week, we wind up the year with renowned shadow dance group El Gamma Penumbra's rendition of Pentatonix's “Mary, Did You Know?”

Have a Joyous, Restorative Holiday Season!

Wherever you are, whatever your beliefs, we wish you all a joyous and enchanting season with your family and friends of choice.

Who doesn't love Filipino fruit salad -- that sweet, creamy concoction made from canned fruit cocktail, condensed milk and heavy cream that accompanies most Filipino holiday feasts? Fil-Am writer Jen Palmares Meadows offers a tribute to her dad who learned to make this fave dessert not in the Philippines but in the US, and makes the dish a metaphor for all the things immigrants go through in their quest not just to belong but also for their American children to have a taste of their heritage. "My Father's Fruit Salad" is a savory read in time for the biggest holiday celebration of the year.

We know of many art and artists but few know about the tedious, exacting demands of art restoration, mainly because there are relatively few of them around. Which makes PF Correspondent Serina Aidasani's feature on June Poticar-Dalisay a valuable contribution to our art knowledge. "June Dalisay: Art Healer" gives us a peek into a craft that is unique, important and necessary. 

Here are some heartwarming Christmas stories to Read Again:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/lulus-fifty-peso-christmas-gift

http://www.positivelyfilipino. com/magazine/theyre-all-we- shall-ever-want-for-christmas

And if you're still looking for books to give and some interesting stories to read, check out our In The Know list this week:

Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo's 27 Books to Give as Christmas Gifts
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/72308/filipino-books-christmas-gifts-a1877-20171212-lfrm8

The Party's Over
https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/191559-party-over-keeping-democracy-alive-philippines-yearend-2017?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=thought-leaders

Faking your own death: How the Philippines became the global leader for a macabre trade
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/faking-own-death-philippines-became-172955277.html

The Sun Writers Club: Meet the maids reporting Hong Kong’s hidden stories
https://coconuts.co/custom-feature/sun-writers-club/

Egg-Yolk Hair and a Glitter Cake: Chef Angela Dimayuga gets ready to party
https://www.thecut.com/2017/12/profile-chef-angela-dimayuga.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=s3&utm_campaign=sharebutton-b

For another sumptuous Christmas meal that you can make yourself, PF culinary correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her recipes for Pancit Sotanghon with shrimps, ham and vegetables; Carne Asado Kapampangan and Bibingka. 

For Video of the Week, David DiMuzio, an American singer who won online fans through his Tagalog language cover songs, offers advice to Filipinos who struggle with money.