Minatamis na Saging na Saba or Plantain Bananas in Syrup
Minatamis na Saging na Saba or Plantain bananas cooked and boiled in syrup. Yummy!
Imagining a bowl of it in front of me makes me feel like I could very well taste the irresistible sweetness of the melted brown sugar on my tongue. The softness of the sweet, plantain bananas as I take a bite of it. Even a spoonful of tiny sago added to it mixed with the sweet, thick, smooth sauce of the dessert. Mmmmmm.... Yummy!
This "pinoy meriyenda" or usual afternoon snacks is one of my favorite desserts.
Mommy would cook these sweet saba bananas way back when we were young. She would first boil a pot of water. Then, add into it spoonfuls of brown sugar or for a much better sweetness, they use the so-called " panutsa de bao".
(Photo from Google)
The " panutsa " is used in many recipes. For this dessert, a certain measurement of the panutsa is melted into the boiling water. Depending on the strength of sweetness or how potent the sweet flavor that your recipe requires, the amount of panutsa that you're going to melt would be in proportion to the strength of flavor you're aiming for.
You prepare the saba bananas by peeling off or taking off each banana peel and placing each piece into a plate. When the pot of mixture of sugar or panutsa and water are boiling already, you then turn down the heat or the flames of the stove into minimum. Place the bananas one by one into the hot pot of water mixture. When all the bananas are in place, put the lid on. Wait for the banana to sipped in all the sweetness of the panutsa or sugar or until all the bananas are evenly cooked. You'd know they're already cooked when you prick one of the banana with a fork and if it's soft that your fork easily gets through the surface of it then, it's cooked already. Repeat doing this to all the other bananas to check if they're all equally cooked. You then, turn off the stove. Let it cool down, After they've cool down, put them all in a large container. Place the container where the saba are in the fridge to achieve a cold, delicious dessert. Then serve.
Mommy would serve a piece or two soft bananas on a bowl. Pour some sweet, brown, smooth, a bit thick sauce on top7 of the bananas. Add up a few spoonfuls of the little yummy sago.
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She then calls the four of us her children to get our own bowls full of these sweet saba desserts.
We get ourselves our fill of the sweet banana dessert enjoying every tinny mini bite of it knowing that there's only a few pieces of them enough for all of us.
Yup! We're given just one to two pieces each and that's it. We have to adjust to what is set before us. Simply because there's no more. There's only enough for everybody.
That's how our Mom raised us.
Well, Dad who's always been a very good provider never understood why Mom is like that. She seems to be always in a tight budget when we know for a fact that the family business which Dad manages could provide more than enough for the needs and daily sustenance of our family.
Though Dad's always disappointed with how Mom manages the finances, he ends up just accepting things as they are.
Our parents didn't have any problems with us, their children. We're simple kids who never complained. We just accepted whatever our Mom gave us.
Well, looking back now, I realized we're actually very good kids.
We know how to adapt to whatever life throws at us.
We were never taught to ask or demand. We just simply accept the situation we're dealt with.
Unfortunately, in life, that's not how things work. You have to learn how to ask. You have to express what or when you need something. You have to let the people around you know when you're feeling hurt or not. You have to speak up for people to understand you.
I've learned it the hard way all these facts of life especially the part where you need to speak up and let the people around you know what or how you feel, to express your thoughts and opinions on things, or else most of them wouldn't know they're already offending you by what they're doing or saying.
The first time I was taught on expressing my emotions and thoughts, it felt like I've been liberated from years of being imprisoned from an invisible cell that kept me from being my genuine self.
It was as if we've always been putting up with the norm, with what is usually expected of us. To not complain but just to accept everything as it is.
To be that so called "goodie-goodie" a person is. That person who always pleases everybody.
I remember my High school teacher in Practicum.
One time I happened to ride the same jeepney she was riding on. So, we enjoyed the ride home talking and exchanging views.
She taught me something i could never forget. That one truth I, at those times thought was somewhat a lie and that one could change such belief with some sets of actions and efforts.
She told me, " Vivien, I hope you would always remember this. You cannot please everybody. Don't be a people pleaser. Life is already difficult to bear and if you're going to live a life pleasing all the people around you, you would end up being so miserable and frustrated. Life would be a tragedy to such people. As I said, you cannot please everybody. I would want you to remember that okay? "
At that very moment I was wondering why my teacher was telling me that. I actually end up asking myself, "was I a people pleaser myself?"
Since i grew up in that manner, every parent in High school that I've come to know was very fond of me because of my simplicity and because unlike every other kids or teenagers, I don't demand anything from my parents. Whatever they provide I just accept.
Oftentimes, I hear most of our grandparents praising our Dad and Mom for all of us, their four children behaving superbly well unlike other wild and free kids who does everything that comes to mind.
Yes. It does feel good to see your kids behaving so well to the point that people praise you and compliment you. However there's a downside to it all. I know because that's how i used to live my life.
That's how we, I and my siblings lived our lives since we were kids and up to being young adults. Even up to this present time, most of us are having a hard time getting ourselves off the usual patterns of being a people - pleaser.
Somehow despite all the difficulties we've been through, we managed to survive it all by the grace of God.
Still, having lived lives as a people-pleaser, we tend to tolerate even those wicked people who badly treat us. Thus, we always end up being victims of injustices done by most people who loves to take advantage of us and abuse our kindness.
Indeed, my Highschool teacher was right. My life is full of miseries and heartaches. And it's all because I put priority on pleasing others inspite of the fact that these same people are violating my boundaries.
I've experienced how people stepped all over me to the point of crushing my whole being. Truly, it's a tragedy for an individual to live in such predicament when it could have been avoided and prevented.
I'm now in my 50's. I'm still being treated in like manner but I'm learning how to express my opinions and defend my rights.
Through the years I've met a lot of people from different walks of life. I could say there are three kinds of people.
There are those who would take every opportunity to use you. I call them "user-friendly". They're friendly because they're happily using you. I'm right now flashing a fake smile stretched from one ear to the other. Yup! They're bunch of fake people. They see you as a valuable friend if they could 100% use you. If not, you'd end up being a plain old rug pushed aside and kicked out of the way.
Then, there are those who just don't care at all. They mind their own lives. They mind their own business. They just don't give a damn. I like them because they don't add up to the heavy burdens I've been carrying upon my shoulders for years.
The third kind of people are the ones that made me see the world in a different ight. They showed me a better perspective. A totally different view of life. They're the ones that made life worth living for. They're those who give me reasons and a purpose to wake up each day and keep on fighting the good fight of life. They give me the zest for reaching out to newer heights of success. They're the very reason I wanted to give more and do more for the world, for them, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They're the representatives of Jesus in this gloomy world. They're the so called salt of the world. They hold up the light of Jesus unto this world swallowed up by evil that many end up being in the darkness. I call them as the "Jesus" in my life. For the reasons that they tend to be the "Jesus" I need at those moments of desperation and helplessness. They're the people who have the heart of Jesus. They get out of their way to help others in need. They spread around the love of God everywhere they go. They could easily turn this world into a glimpse of what heaven is all about. Yes! They make this life beautiful and this world a better place to live in. It's because of such people that gives you hope for a better tomorrow. They make you believe that "heaven" here on earth is possible in this world.
I hope upon reading this sharing of a portion of my life, you may end up living your life as one of those who bear the light of Christ. Giving hope to those who are downtrodden. Comforting those who are afflicted. Encouraging and strengthening those who feel like giving up and are hopeless.
Be "Jesus" to all the people you meet.
You'll never know you might have just saved someone from committing suicide.
You'll never know if the person you meet is going through a really tough time and your simple smile or "Hello! I hope you have a great day!" could've made a big difference in that person's life.
So, next time be like these sweet saba dessert to all the people you meet!
Reminding them that there's an awesome, sweet dessert after a heavy downpour of bitterness in their lives!