Happy Mother's Day to all the super awesome moms out there!

When we catch our favorite bands live, we sway and swoon or mosh and surf, and have a good time. But have you ever thought about what life was like for these heroes onstage before they blessed the mic for the first time—specifically what their moms put on the table to fill their tummies so they could get the creative energy to learn how to rock? No? Well now that the thought is in your head, it's time to take a look back at your favorite artists' beginnings and what kinds of food turn bad days into good ones with a single bite.

To commemorate the awesome and wonderful things our moms have blessed us with, Bandwagon caught up with Myrene Academia of Sandwich and Imago, Bombee Duerme of Giniling Festival, DJ Joey Santos, and Kai Honasan of Autotelic to share their favorite recipes they learned from their mothers.

Myrene Academia of Sandwich, Imago

Corn Soup

Corn is in my top three favorite foods and this is my favorite corn soup.

It's from my lola, and my mom later taught it to me. I like it because there's no sautéing required, it tastes clean and straightforward, and the garlic goes really well with the soup, so don't forget that.

You need fresh corn on the cob (I used 3 here), one piece of garlic, salt to taste, and optional dahon ng sili or malunggay.

The stickier the corn the better, so we use usually local sweet corn with the fat round cobs. White corn is good too. Slice the corn off the cob. Then put those kernels aside. Next scrape the cobs with a knife to squeeze out the leftover sticky stuff inside. That goes to a different pile.

Put the kernels you sliced first in a pan with water, we eyeball it to the amount of final soup you want, maybe an inch of water above the kernels.
Cover and bring to a boil. Put that smashed clove of garlic in. Let it boil for about 15 minutes.

Next put in the second scrapings of corn. Try not to mix it because you want the sticky stuff to make little clumps in the soup which is a nice surprise when you're eating it. Sometimes it doesn’t make clumps but that's ok.

Salt to taste. Add the leaves. Turn off heat.

I like it just by itself or poured over rice to eat with something fried and salty. When we were kids my mom would serve it with fried chicken or porkchops. Hope you like it too.

Bombee Duerme of Giniling Festival

Sinigang na Baka

My mom is a wizard in the kitchen. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy her food. From your basic home cooked meals to baking, she’s the best! I gotta be thankful I got to pick up some of that skill when it comes to cooking. One of my all time favorites is her Sinigang na Baka. Here goes:

You will need:

Beef (camto)
Garlic
Onions
Tomatoes
Gabi (taro)
Sampaloc (tamarind)
Labanos (radish)
Okra
Talong (eggplant)
Sitaw (string beans)
Kangkong (water spinach)
Siling Haba (green chili)
Oil
Salt and Pepper

Boil your beef (camto) in water for about 3-4 hours. Best to throw in the gabi halfway through. In a separate pot, boil the sampaloc to extract flavor. Don’t use too much water though, you want that tamarind flavor to be concentrated.

After all the boiling, sauté your garlic, onions, and your tomatoes on a separate pan. Turn on the heat on your boiled beef and add the sampaloc concentrate along with the sautéed garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep simmering then add your okra,  sliced labanos, and sliced talong. When the veggies are soft enough, add your sitaw and your siling haba. Lastly, add your kangkong to complete.

And that’s it! Time to enjoy the food! Remember to add lots of love, just like my mom. Happy Mother’s Day!

DJ Joey Santos

Blueberry Cheesecake

My favorite dessert is my mom’s blueberry cheesecake. I’ve been eating this since I was five—she’d make it in our kitchen and serve it for special occasions and family gatherings. When she asks me what cake I want for my birthday, this is the one I ask for!

You can get it at Mom & Tina’s as a mini cheesecake or as a whole cake.

Kai Honasan of Autotelic

Mama Jane’s 2 Style Gambas

One regular and one exxxxtra hot!

V1 Ingredients:

shrimps
an insane amount of garlic
green sili
olive oil
chili flakes
salt

V2 Ingredients:

same except add a pack of tomato sauce
Tabasco to your heart’s content

According to my mom, her decision to experiment was because we used to frequent this restaurant that had a gambas dish but she said she was nabitin so she decided to come up with her own recipe.

One is your regular gambas bathed in olive oil and garlic but she makes a special one for my brother that is SO GOOD but not for the faint of heart because it’s drenched in a Tabasco and tomato sauce combo and comes out fiery RED.

Thankfully, I’ve been locked down at my parents’ and we’ve probably had gambas 4-5 times during this ECQ. BOTH versions. Never gets old.