Dinners with the Helper

We don't have pets, children or elderly folks who require constant care. So our domestic helpers don't need to accompany us anywhere. They could sort groceries on their own on Saturdays or order non-perishables online, and go off on leisure Sundays. What we occasionally do, is to allocate time and include the helpers for lunches or dinners. Over the years, I also thought it's a good idea to pick up Tagalog and progress beyond reading the names of foods. I like this helper's adobo gulay (using eggplant).

Since there's no pork at home and NN definitely misses the meat, we go to makan venues with pork on the menu, and other items she doesn't cook. She totally digs the peppery pig stomach soup. Speaking of soups, I'm not fond of the sour sinigang. It's really not itek tim. But her hometown's recipes are unsurprisingly typical of Asian soups without spices or herbs- like that mee sua with egg, manok na sopas or sotanghon noodle soup. She has learnt to use dried squid, oysters, scallops and red dates in our usual clear Asian soups at home.

NN's term with us is almost up. We're not in a habit of encouraging helpers to stay on. They should head home and spend time with their families, and check out new opportunities. We hope that they would have sufficient savings to perhaps run a little home business, equipped with extra sets of skills from the courses they've attended. What they make of it, is up to them.