cooking for Ninang

We had asked Abe and Helen to be one of our primary sponsors/godparents at our wedding. They were a couple we admired a lot and taught us many things about what it meant to be married for 25 years. Every few weeks or so we would stop by and discuss wedding plans. They had never had a big wedding so planning one was very exciting for her. She had never been ninang for a wedding. We discussed girlie accessories, invitations, outfits for the bridesmaids.

On one of our last visits, I had promised to cook her kaldereta kambing (goat stew). It had plenty of calories and protein that her diet at the time required. I didn't get a chance to cook it for her before she passed. But am cooking it for her for her memorial tonight.

Went to get the ingredients on Monday night. Ranch even had the goat on sale! It's simmering now on the stovetop. I'm sure the aroma will drift to wherever she is now.

Below is the recipe that a friend pulled from the Philippine Inquirer, translated roughly to our measurement system with a coconut milk suggestion from her mom. Don't ask me how Filipinos figured out to mix Sprite, liver spread, cheese, vegetables and goat together.

2.5 lbs goat meat, cut into large cubes
1 can Sprite
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 cup carrots, quartered, fried
1/2 cup potato, quartered, fried
1/4 cup red and green bell pepper
1/3 cup liver spread
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
50 ml olive oil
1/2 cup Spanish sausage
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 cup onion
3 pieces bay leaf
0.5 g siling labuyo
1/3 c vinegar (original recipe said 0.75 ml which is like a dash, but I've made the modification for it to be more)
3/4 cup fresh tomatoes, peeled and crushed
salt and pepper
coconut milk (Mom's suggestion)

1) Thoroughly wash goat meat in running water.

2) Drain and place in an open pan to let it dry.

3) In a saucepan, boil meat with soy sauce, Sprite, vinegar and bay leaf for two hours or until meat is soft and tender. Strain meat from the soy sauce mixture. Set aside meat, as well as the soy sauce mixture for later use.

4) In a separate pan, saute olive oil, garlic and onion, add black and green olives then mix in the liver spread.

5) Add freshly crushed tomatoes.

6) Add cheddar cheese. Stir well.

7) Add sausage.

8) Add bell pepper.

9) Add the soy sauce mixture.

10) Add the goat meat. Bring to a boil.

11) Then add potatoes and carrots in the pan and cook for a few minutes more. (Note: Add more chilies if prefer super hot.)