Waiting for the Meat to Thaw

That's exactly what I'm doing right now. I have some cooking to do today, and I'm right now waiting for the meat to thaw. I'm cooking pork afritada and chicken adobo. The last time I cooked afritada, it was really good, so I'm hoping to achieve the same result today. I cook adobo regularly, because it's one of those dishes that are just really easy to do, but I haven't tried chicken adobo yet. It's because, well, I'm allergic to chicken.

I know. It's sad, especially since I love chicken and actually grew up eating a lot of it. Para kong si Niknok, ang batang napakahilig sa manok. Hehe. Anyone who remembers Niknok? Well, if you didn't read Funny Komiks as a kid, then I don't think you'd know of him, in the first place. Anyway, going back to my chicken allergy, it was actually a recent development. Some ten years ago, to be exact. I know that doesn't sound recent, hehe, but what I meant by recent was, I didn't have it when I was a kid.

I blame this allergy on Chicken Bacolod. You see there was that period, two weeks to be exact, some ten years ago when all I ate for lunch and dinner--and I swear, breakfast too(!), if the resto only opened that early--was chicken from Chicken Bacolod. I'd have the chicken inasal (breast part), garlic rice, and chicken skin. I think ultimately, it was the chicken skin that caused the allergy. But god, it tasted so good!

Anyway, when the allergic reaction first appeared, it was in the form of an extremely itchy rash all over my fingers and toes. The itchiness soon gave way to a burning sensation, and my fingers and toes started swelling and became really red. I can still remember what my brother told me when he saw the rash: 'Wag kang mag-alala, Ate, dadalawin ka naman namin sa Tala.' Panicked and afraid, I rushed to see a derma, who then asked me about my recent activities and the food I'd been eating in the last few weeks. That visit to the derma signaled the end of my happy days at Chicken Bacolod. Sigh.

Well, maybe, I still go to Chicken Bacolod from time to time and still eat chicken from time to time. Hehe. I just make sure I have my antihistamines with me. Also, the key phrases are 'in moderation' and 'from time to time' as I can't definitely eat a lot of chicken now or eat chicken for days in a row. Sometimes, when I forget myself though, there is still some allergic reaction, but now, it appears in the form of a redness around my mouth, pretty much like a windburn. So if you see me sporting a windburn, you know someone's been eating what she's not supposed to. Hehe.

Okay, I have to check on the meat now. Happy day, all.