Lunch break at work today and I have no idea what to eat for lunch. So I asked myself what the best thing I ever ate was? It seemed easy enough, until I realized I have no ready answer. I closed my eyes and reached far back into my memories, willing something — anything — to rise to the surface. I made a deal with myself, the first one I remember most probably is the best, or at the very least, one of the best.

All of a sudden, I am a kid again, finding myself stepping into Ta Eve's kitchen, being nourished with a meal cooked with lots of love.... pochero!!! Oh. Sweet. Heaven. It was always perfect. It was chunks of beef shanks — bone marrow in, fat, meat, litid (tendon) gently boiled for hours until the meat is so tender it just falls off the bone if you so much as nudge it with your fork. It sits serenely, in individual soup bowls, like a king in clear broth so tasty (and somewhat greasy), needing little else than plain white rice (admittedly and decadently, heaps of it.)

Ta Eve's pochero would make you want to save every bit of your appetite to savor every last bite of it. It is sublime and simple, the way this dish has been made. There is no great manner upon which it must be enjoyed to the hilt either; in fact, it seems all so natural and ordinary. The basic rules of enjoying good soup apply — you sip the broth steaming hot just right. You “ooh” and “aah” and smile at the sheer pleasure of a good meal that is, in your heart blessing the cook and whoever came up with such perfection. Nothing like a comforting bowl of soup... this was a HOME RUN!

Then you reach that point when you know you must already start enjoying it with and on rice, so you spoon some more of the broth over the grains (adding a dash of Kikkoman), taking some meat that's just FALLING OFF the bone, pushing that beautiful, perfect spoonful past your lips and into your mouth. Simply put, the Ta Eve's pochero was like this bad boy every young girl is told to stay away from but can’t. 

It was, hands down, the best thing I ever ate. “Heartwarming” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you talk about Ta Eve's pochero. However, a meal like this shared with family really is all that’s needed for a heartwarming meal.

To this day, we still do Pochero Sundays, however enjoying it with a less wanton than I used to. See, the reality is that I should not be mindlessly eating copious amounts of bone marrow and fat as often as I want to. These are special treats, to be had only once in a while. Only teenagers can afford to do that.

Thankfully the original recipe was handed down from generation to generation and we are still able to maintain the taste (and smell) that brings back a lot of wonderful memories. I am glad we are able to do that. Some things change, but really, some things are so good they just have to stay the same.