Julie, her husband and her daughter, would eventually move into their own place, but lived close to Wayne’s parents and siblings and would get together with them often. She took over cooking for their small household, but at times, she would cook together with her husband who wasn’t as well versed in the kitchen. She would try to teach him to cook, but jokingly shared that he was too messy and would often tell him to go sit down.

Starting out, she cooked more Filipino food because it was what she was used to cooking; it was easy for her. However, she was interested in learning to cook other dishes and admittingly shared even the easier recipes like hamburgers intimidated her. It wasn’t until her husband, an avid book reader, took them to the local bookstore that Julie discovered a variety of cuisines from around the world. Her husband would buy himself a book, their daughter a book, and would ask Julie if she wanted something. She always picked the books filled with images of food and detailed instructions.

Cookbooks are how Julie learned to broaden her skills in the kitchen. “When I started reading these books, I learned more about seasoning and sauces,” says Julie. “I had never heard of Oyster sauce and had never used it until I came across this recipe. I was also introduced to new vegetables and different ways to prepare a variety of meats.”

During this time, Julie had started working at the local Safeway grocery store and would eventually work her way up to manager. While at work, she met a variety of people, always striking up conversations. It is also where she met most of the Filipino friends that would later become her community, the “family” that would help bring a bit of the Philippines to Texas, something she missed dearly.

“Filipinos like to get together, to be together,” shares Julie. “We would take turns hosting, but it would be a potluck and everyone would come over. Sometimes we play mahjong, but most of the time we talk, catch up and just like to be around each other.”

Whether it was potlucks with friends or celebrating special occasions at home, Julie loved to share her food with others. She would take what she learned and add in her own flair – using a recipe she had read, but adjusting it to her liking. She also had to adjust based on what ingredients were readily available to her. When making Monggo Beans, or Mung Beans, she learned to substitute the malunggay with spinach. She used ground beef instead of ground pork in her lumpia, and when making BBQ, she would throw in a splash of soy and other secret ingredients into her sauce.

“You don’t have to follow a recipe exactly,” says Julie. “It doesn’t mean it’s perfect and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s whatever you want to put together that makes it part of your own.”

Regardless of whether she is entertaining a group of 5 or 25, Julie often makes an excess amount of food so that people can always walk away with leftovers. Some could say it’s something she picked up from her parents or maybe it’s just the Filipino way, but it’s become part of who Julie is.

When people ask her for her recipes, she gladly shares them. Although she may accidentally omit an ingredient, something she says happens because they are “all in my head.” It wasn’t until these last ten years that she has had to recall most of her recipes – a request that has come directly from her daughter, who is now a married adult.

Cooking different cuisines makes Julie happy, but she shares that her traditional Filipino recipes are the most important to her because “it’s how I grew up and it’s what I inherited from my parents.”

Julie is still working with her daughter to recreate and document her favorite family recipes, and is toying with the idea of opening up a restaurant, at her daughter’s insistence. Through this process, Julie has come to recognize and appreciate the importance of sharing family recipes.

“It’s important to share your recipes so that others can learn and understand your culture, see how things are passed down,” says Julie. “It’s also a remembrance, so that people don’t forget…Like my parents and how I got my recipes from them; it’s a remembrance from them when they are gone.”

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