A Taste of Tradition This All Saints’ Day: My Homemade Binignit Made with Ingredients Harvested from Our Own Farm

Hello everyone,

Today, we celebrated All Saints’ Day. Whenever this special day comes, we make sure to prepare early because we also prepare food to offer at our altar in remembrance of our loved ones who have passed away.

I decided to make only a simple Binignit.

One thing I am thankful for is that some of our ingredients came straight from our farm. Our bananas, camote, and cassava were harvested from our own backyard. Since my husband went home here to the mountain, I asked him to buy sugar, pilit (glutinous rice), and sago from the store.

I started preparing everything by slicing the bananas, camote, and cassava into smaller pieces. While I was doing that, I also cooked the sago. Then, I washed and prepared the pilit and started making small round balls using my hands. We call these little balls tambong-tambong.

It takes a little time to prepare everything, but I actually enjoy doing it, especially when I know that my family will share this food later.

After preparing all the ingredients, I started cooking our Binignit. I just followed my usual way of cooking it, adding the ingredients and letting everything cook until soft and the mixture became thick and sweet.

While preparing this simple food, I couldn't help but remember how life was before. There were times when even buying ingredients for simple celebrations was difficult for us. We had to think carefully about what we could prepare because our budget was limited.

But look at us now. I am thankful that we can already get some ingredients from our own backyard. We only need to buy a few things from the store. It may look like an ordinary meal to other people, but for me, it is already a blessing.

There is also a special reason why I love preparing Binignit. This was one of my late Lola's favorite foods. Every time I cook it, I remember her. Especially today, when we remember our loved ones who are no longer with us, preparing her favorite food makes this celebration more meaningful to me.

And finally, our Binignit is ready! Yey! A simple homemade treat made with ingredients from our farm and a little help from the nearby store.

Sometimes, happiness is not about having a lot of food on the table. It is about being able to prepare something, share it with your family, and remember the people who made beautiful memories with you.

How about you, friends? What did you prepare for your All Saints’ Day celebration?

Thank you for reading. This is my own picture and edited in Canva.

Have a nice day!