Cheesy Spinach Dip

I love eating at CIBO. hmmm, who doesn't? :)

It was my friend Sheila who recommended Spinaci Zola and when I tried it, i instantly liked it. I religiously order it whenever we go there.

Last Father's day, we found out that Javie likes it so much, that he did not want to share it with us. Hmph. haha! Well, of course we did not let that happen! ;)

Cibo's Spinaci Zola has Gorgonzola cheese. I would like to recreate the same thing at home, but it hurts to say I do not have any deli store nearby. Here we go with improvisations (or shall we say: maski-paps!).

So here's our home-made spinach dip:

Water for boiling

250 grams spinach (i bought 3 bunches from the grocery)

about 4 cloves of garlic

olive oil

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup + 1/4 cup guick melting cheese, grated (1/2 cup for the mix and 1/4 for topping)

salt and pepper

about 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated (for topping)

Prepare boiling water. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the spinach, drain and take off the leaves for boiling. Put spinach leaves in the pot of boiling water and allow 2 to 3 minutes to boil. drain well and wait for it to cool.

Chop spinach as fine as you can. You may want to use your electric chopper/food processor.

Pre-heat your oven toaster at 175C

Heat olive oil in a pan, sauté garlic, add the chopped spinach. Give it, say, 2 to 3 minutes to cook with the oil and garlic, then put off the heat, add the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the grated guick melting cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until everything is incorporated. At this point you may also want to add a glug or 2 of olive oil again.

Then put the mixture on your baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of  grated guick melting cheese,and parmesan cheese. Put baking dish into the oven for 10 to 12 mins or until you see the top bubbling and cheese is a bit toasted already.

Best eaten with toasted bread, or like what you see on the photo, I used Fita biscuits (my favorite combination!). The other time I ate it with soda crackers, but it was just so-so!

While it's not anywhere near Cibo's version, I am happy to say that it still is good n' cheesy no to forget healthy! What's important is, Javie really liked it! 

Ahhh, joys of motherhood :) 

Next project: Spinach and Artichoke dip!!! :)

Baked Salmon a la Conti's

I am definitely not one of the most updated people when it comes to the newest things in the universe: gadgets, movies, restos and famous resto foods. Name it.

So... new restos, food craze... I do have a wish list though ;)


It was just recently that I got to try Conti's baked salmon. Ok, I know you are just about to laugh or maybe you are now - hehehe that's ok! :)

I have been there waaaaay way back. I have heard of that baked salmon a couple of times from friends raving about how good and tasty it is and all that jazz. Fine. I just don't know why I didn't get to try it before.

so anyway, better late than never! Archie took me there for brunch just recently and finally, in my own taste buds, I'm already able to relate to my raving friends.

Sabi nga ni Kris Aquino once upon a time in a cooking segment in one of her talk shows--- ang sarrrrrrrrraaahhhhhhp!


*Fireworks*

At bilang nagustuhan ko siya, of course, I definitely had plans of re-creating it at home. Just to add a little personal touch, I put some breadcrumbs on top of the cheesy mixture.


Here goes the experiment:

1 salmon fillet
salt and pepper
Juice of half a lemon


Cheese Garlic-Mayo topping

½ block cream cheese - softened
About 3 tbsp mayo
1 to 1 and a half tbsp garlic chopped finely (if you want it more garlicky, just add a bit more)
About 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup for the cream mixture and 1/4 for the topping)
Salt and pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs (optional. I like it w/ breadcrumbs, but the one served at Conti's does not have this)


Garnish - Buttered Vegetables:

Mixed vegetables
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

Rub salmon fillet with salt and pepper, then lemon juice for about 20 minutes

While salmon is marinating, mix thoroughly the cream cheese, mayo, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. set aside.

Pan fry salmon about 2 to 3 mins on both sides

Pre-heat toaster/turbo. Assemble the fried fish on baking tray, then top w/ cheese garlic mayo mixture, sprinkle w/ remaining parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, bake in toaster/turbo for about 10 to 15 mins at 175C

Microwave mixed vegetables w/ 2 tbsp butter for about 20 to 30 seconds until butter is melted, season with salt and pepper.

Put out the baking tray and surround the baked salmon with butter vegetables. You can actually use other veggies like brocolli, cauliflower, baguio beans, sayote, carrots strips if desired.

It came out pretty much ok, and tastes fairly the same, less the paella rice as it is served in the resto.

If Salmon isn't too expensive, this can be a regular on my monthly menu! You might also want to try it if you are a Salmon lover! Hope you like it! :)

Now back to my resto-wanna-go-wish-list. By the way, Happy second birthday, Happy Tummy bloggy! :)

Almondigas

Happy Mother's Day to all drop dead gorgeous fabulous rockin' super mommies out there and that means all of us moms and moms at heart (kapal? sinali ko talaga sarili ko?!)

As a tribute to my Mommy Tess, I would like to feature a meal I learned from her. Almondigas (some call it Albondigas) Actually, pina sosyal ko lang! We just call it Miswa at Meatballs. Hehehe!

Mommy prepares this at home back in my childhood days. Sometimes I volunteer to help when it's time to form the ground pork into balls. I remember I had so much fun getting messy with my hands while forming the meatballs! This is one of my comfort foods aside from Adobo. Whether it's summertime or the rainy season you can't go wrong with this. My mom's recipe even has chopped singkamas to add crunch in the meatballs (but I have no time to add them in my recipe anymore! :P )

the recipe here at home is easy to prepare, here goes:

Meatballs:

1/2 kilo ground pork

1 small onion, chopped finely (you can use half the onion and just keep the other half in the fridge if you don't want a strong onion flavor)

1 small carrot grated (this adds color and a little bit of sweetness)

Salt and Pepper to taste

About 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or flour as binder (sometimes I don't use this anymore and they still hold together w/o it)

Vegetable Oil for frying

For the miswa soup:

about 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

2 small tomatoes, sliced

4 to 5 cups water

1 piece Chicken or Beef Bouillon Cube

about 100 g miswa noodles

Fish sauce to taste

Pepper to taste

Garnish:

a few pieces of spring onions, chopped

Mix the ingredients for the meatballs. Let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins. From experience, it's actually easier to form them when they are chilled. After the chilling process, form the mixture into 1 inch balls (or bigger if you want) and fry until cooked well. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

For the miswa soup:

sauté onion, garlic and tomatoes. Add water and bouillon cube and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then add the miswa noodles and simmer until cooked. Season with fish sauce and pepper to taste.

I like to put in the meatballs in a bowl of miswa soup and garnish it with spring onions. I also like to put some toasted garlic if it's available at home. yummy itey! :)

Mommy Tess has always been my idol and to her I owe a lot of my cooking know-hows. But that's not all! She became my instant Mom when my Mama went to heaven (she’s my Mama’s eldest sister). My Papa was very busy working to be able to provide for me that he couldn't really take care of me 24/7, as much as he wanted to, so for the first years of my life, he entrusted me to Mommy Tess and she worked together with Daddy Ed (her husband), my Lola (Nanay Floring) and my Yaya (my Mama’s Yaya too!), My Ate R and Kuyas J and O tagged along in the process. Boy, it took so many of them to raise the little me!

Wish I could tell you more about this part of my life but I don't want to take so much of your time! ;)

So anyway, this is for you, Mommy Tess! Thank you so much! I know you still cook miswa at meatballs there in California sometimes. I assume though you are now using ground chicken! ;)

To my Mama, thank you for your love and guidance, I know you are happy up there watching us. I know if WE had a choice, YOU are still here with us. Papa and I love you very much :)

Once again to all drop dead gorgeous fabulous rockin' super mommies… Happy Mother’s Day! ;)

Vegetable Samosas (Not so!)

I have been craving for Max's veggie lumpia bites that I have tasted during Cana's christening and Archie and I thought it's something close to Samosas. (Cana: my God daughter, daughter of my friend and former boss)

Tutal, it was the weekend and I had a little bit of time to do it since Javie was taking his siesta and Archie is sleeping the day away.

I know, I know they don't look exactly like the real samosas :P they are bordering empanaditas or triangular lumpia. Hehehe.

This was my first ever attempt to use Phyllo pastry, so please forgive me for violating her rights and not giving her some justice. I wanted to make some Baklava but I do not have enough goodies for it so I decided to make it into something healthy.

However, this did not come out really right - Aesthetically speaking. It appeared in other shapes and sizes and the ones on the photo are the nicer ones, mind you.

I wish I read more carefully on how to thaw it as it is indeed a delicate kind of pastry. I wish I researched more BEFORE I made these. This was too much excitement in action!

Being too excited/gullible is my weakness. Sad to say.

But I am happy to tell you that the filling recipe is really good. I just added some chopped cabbage and used chicken broth instead of vegetable stock. Then I wrapped them in various ways since the pastry is really breaking already, I was on panic mode. Then I fried, drained then placed on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

On how to wrap samosas properly, please watch this.

Therefore I learned.

So in the future, I shall be more diligent in following package instructions, get away with food waste and save money! Or else, use lumpia wrapper :P

Stir Fried Beef Strips and Peppers

While brain is still functioning on second wind motion, the little boy has gone to his dreamland of Backyardigans and Diego, and Archie is at work, I am now having my unexpected nevertheless enjoyable Me time.

Since it is a bit chaotic here lately, I have to make adjustments. And menu planning is part of it. Or is there such a thing now? :P

It's all about stir-fry's in some days! I am happy that I have a couple of recipes handy. And some of them, have been tried, tested and already made for a couple of times!

One of our favorite stir-fry recipes is Chichajo's Roast Pork Belly Stir-Fry. Way back, I remembered myself looking at its photo. It made me salivate as I also like eating Liempo (Pork Belly) very very much. My first attempt on it was during the holiday season of '08 using left over lechon cebu and we just loved it. I know, some may tell me I should have made Sinigang or Paksiw na lechon out of it but hey I had no regrets at all! And after a couple of days - due to recipe hangover, I made it again with left over Christmas ham! Wonderful! I believe you can just use any meat for that matter and I can say the recipe is universal. And it does not call for just left overs, of course. So here is a beef version of it!

Choose meat of really good quality and have your butcher slice them in thin strips, please. If you are in a situation like mine - my beef was not that good enough as it has unfriendly, uncooperative grains. The "cut through the grain" did not work for this batch. I discovered it because half of it was used for beef tapa. A blessing in disguise. So I decided to pressure cook my beef slices first, drained them (kept broth in freezer for future use), and sliced them to strips. They became really fork tender after the pressure cooking. Yahoo!

Stir Fried Beef Strips and Peppers
(inspired by Chichajo's recipe of Roast Pork Belly Stir-Fry)

1/4 k beef sirloin strips, sliced thinly
Cooking oil
1 small white onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (I like it with lots of garlic!)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of Knorr liquid seasoning
Pepper to taste
Extra Knorr seasoning (optional)

Sauté onion, garlic and pepper strips until soft but not wilted. Color check the peppers and make sure they are screaming Christmas.

Toss in the beef strips, stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes or until beef is cooked

Add the soy sauce, seasoning and pepper, toss again, turn off fire, then VOILA!

* For my dear friends who are not meat eaters (anymore), please try it with chicken strips and let me know what you think! :)


While Archie and I loved our first version of it with lechon, we absolutely like this version too! We love the sweet aftertaste of the beef and peppers! Serve it on top of a bowl of hot rice....and Iced tea! I had a second serving by the way. More than enough to last the day!

Did I say I was gonna go on a salad diet at night time?

Now, off to dreamland!


Nytie Nyt Y'all! :)

Stuffed and Baked Potatoes

Since baked potatoes were born in Wendy's I couldn't help but feel sad with the little amount of toppings. Now where is justice there? Can i just say bitin at tipid?

Then came my goal to make my own simple baked potatoes with oozing cheese and lots of bacon bits to die for.

I wanted to submit this recipe to Eden Cheese's Sarap ng Buhay event as a contribution but failed due to laziness. Sorry! Next year nalang! Anyways, I am still happy that my pizza made it there! Yey!


On the photo I used:

3 medium sized potatoes


Stuffing:

1 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup Cheez Whiz
1/4 cup All Purpose Cream
about 1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup Grated Eden Melt Sarap, and some extra for topping (optional)
Mashed Potatoes

Topping:

about 100 grams fried bacon bits (drain the oil!)


Because I would rather go the faster way, I boiled the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes until they're tender. Then after waiting a few minutes for it to cool, slice the top horizontally, scrape off the remaining potato meat then set aside. For the bigger potato slice, scoop out about 2 tbsp as if you are making a potato bowl. The scraped and mashed potatoes will be added to the cheese stuffing later on.



While boiling the potatoes, save time by making your cheese stuffing:

In a small saucepan, melt the butter then add the minced garlic, cheez whiz, cream, milk and grated cheese. Allow to simmer then set aside. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well



and then put about 2 tbps of cheese stuffing on the potato or until full.


Top with extra grated cheese if you want, then the bacon bits, then bake it in your toaster for only 10 minutes or until cheese melts




Now I wouldn't have to be sad with other baked potatoes :)

I started this blog because of other great bloggers and realized that it also came through as a therapy (well, until now it still is).

I was dreaming to reach a hundred entries this December, obviously I didn't. Maybe I will, when I reach my first birthday here! So wish me luck!

My making up for lost times with my blog still led to another moment of making up for lost time. What on earth happened to the last 33 days? P-L-E-N-T-Y.

Anyway, it's the holiday season! It's time to cram!

Until my next "making up for lost time"!

In case I don't get back sooner --- Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010 to you all!:)

Homemade Atchara

Huwhat? MASON JARS at 30% off at Handyman? I want. So hubby got them. It was a good catch. 12 750ml jars for only less than 600php. SKP? (Rica: San Ka Pa?)


Thinking of what to do and what to put in them, out of all the ideas I had in mind, I remembered my Mommy Tess' famous Atchara. I knew it was very famous in our neighborhood. I can still vividly remember the many containers she used to fill up with it and sends them to those who ordered from her or to some relatives who simply "requested" :)

By the way she even makes tinapang bangus from scratch (which they say is best eaten with atchara) --but I have no plans of trying it.

To be honest, I am not really an atchara eater. I have tried it a few times but I am okay without it. How ironic isn't it? I love food - but I am actually a boring eater when it comes to condiments. The few condiments I pair with food are: mayonnaise, fish sauce, calamansi, soy sauce and Knorr Seasoning... and I am not kidding!

B U T

Hubby loves atchara (and any pickled veggie for that matter), as well as our household's tres marias. For Little J, not sure yet. I have yet to know. My in-laws eat atchara, as well as my Dad.

In this light, I pretty much believe that putting a great effort to make homemade atchara for the ones I love will be very worthwhile, right?

So let me share with you Mommy Tess' recipe of homemade atchara:

For the Atchara Syrup

2 cups of white vinegar
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp salt

- Best to make this ahead of time. Stir all ingredients together until sugar and salt has dissolved. Then simmer on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes until it boils. Then set aside to cool on room temp.

Next, prepare:

2 medium size Green Papaya - peeled, washed and grated
1 medium size Sayote - peeled, washed and grated
2 tbsp salt

- Mix the grated papaya and sayote with the salt and leave for about 5 minutes.

- After 5 minutes, wash with water, drain and squeeze all the juices, then repeat this process (i did mine 5 times) until the saltyness is gone.

Then...

- either you air dry it (which may take longer) , or you dry it in your oven toaster for about 15 minutes at 300F/150C

- when they are dry, let cool and set aside:




Then prepare:

About 15 to 20 pieces of shallots/ sibuyas tagalog, peeled
1 head of garlic, peeled and sliced (or buy the peeled ones)
3 to 4 tbps of ginger cut into strips
1 green chilli, sliced (seeds and stem not included)
1 carrot sliced into strip and some in flowerettes (my favorite part! see photo below!)

I was so "kilig" when making these flowerettes!

When the syrup has cooled down, put all the veggies in the pot, mix them altogether until the veggies have absorbed most of the syrup, then start filling up your jars - unless you cannot stop appreciating the wonderful colors it has created:

Don't forget to sterilize your containers first!

After filling them up, put them in the fridge until consumption.

This recipe filled 2 Mason Jars (750ml each) and 1 250ml jar.

Looking at these beauties, I was happy that it was a success. Hubby took the taste test, so that's enough for an A plus! ;)

I suddenly thought I might be missing a lot. I know I am. Hubby told me so!

Please... just give me a little more time and maybe I will have the urge to finally put this on my condiments list ! :)


In the meantime, I will watch the atchara fanatics enjoy this with whatever fried, smoked or BBQd food we have! :)


Cheers! The weekend is here! :)


P.S. Credits to my angels for helping with the "grating" part. Thank you ates! :)

Sinigang na Liempo (Pork Belly in Sour Broth)

My good friend RC who is now thousands of miles away dancing the hoola, sent me a text message saying that he enjoys reading my blog. I AM SO TATSD! (I am so touched!)

I asked him about his favorite food so that I can dedicate a cyber dish to him. He answered (after 48 years.. JOKE lang!) that he and his wife, Lisa love the following: Pork Binagoongan, Crispy Pata and Pork Sinigang. Ah eh, hindi naman puro baboy noh??? :P

I am glad I have one dish ready for you now. So here it is! The beloved Pork Sinigang:

For this set, I used:

1/2 kilo of pork liempo
about 4 to 5 cups of rice wash (for the broth) (or water)
1 medium sized white onion chopped
2 small native tomatoes chopped
1 small pack of Knorr Sinigang sa Sampaloc with Gabi Mix (you can use two if you want it really sour)
1 small Gabi, grated
Fish Sauce to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Talong (Eggplant) sliced
1 Small Labanos (Raddish) sliced
1 bundle of Sitaw (String beans) cut into 2 inches long
1 bundle of Kangkong cut into 2 inches long

1 green chilli (optional)

Boil the pork in the rice wash/water until very tender. Then add the onions, tomatoes, sinigang mix, grated gabi, fish sauce and pepper and allow to boil again. Turn fire to low then add the eggplant, raddish and string beans, then simmer for a few minutes. Hold on till the last minute before adding the Kangkong as this cooks and wilts really fast. Turn off fire and let stand for about 2 minutes then serve.

Hubby loves the sinigang boiling hot (as well as our other soupy dishes!)


LoveNote: I grate my gabi in my sinigang because I don't eat the chunked one. The grated ones also make the broth thicker, faster!

RC, if only this Sinigang can come to life on your PC screen as you read this... I hope it's still boiling hot and ready to be served for you and Lisa! By the way, wish we can make on your church wedding! But we'll be there in spirit! (Plingkanting kanting!)


Enjoy! :)

Ginisang Munggo on a Friday

Is your family like my family? When Friday comes it's like "Hey, it's Friday, it's munggo day!"

This was something I grew up with in my Father's side. They, my dad, titos and titas have ginisang munggo in almost every Friday of their lives. They never get tired of it. What is it with family food traditions? :)

Anyway, here at home, we do not have ginisang munggo every Friday, but we have, for a couple of Fridays and one Friday is today.

It was perfect timing because it has been raining since Thursday night until early this morning, so I thought we should have it. It's a great dish on a rainy day! Our household's ginisang munggo recipe is not so different from yours. But there is just one "deadly" thing that we put as a topping.

We used to have chicharon with it until Mang Romy (the pork vendor in the market) highly recommended to use "batok ng baboy" (pig's nape) instead of the usual chicharon. So we did and we never went back to chicharon eversince.

If you enlarge the photo, you can see the crispy pig's nape on top of the munggo bean stew, beside the ampalaya leaves -- that's what I'm talking about!

The cut of the pig's nape looks a little like liempo but with more fat. It's cut is thicker as well. I wish I took a photo of it to show you!

In the meantime, let me share with you our household's ginisang munggo recipe:

For the Crispy batok ng baboy (pig's nape), I ordered 2 pieces of the pig's nape from Mang Romy.

The how to:

Cut the pig's nape in small cubes, marinate it for about 30 minutes in about 1 tsp of fish sauce and about 1 to 2 tbsp calamansi juice and pepper.

After 30 minutes or so, fry it until golden brown and crispy, drain the oil (please!) then set aside.


For the ginisang munggo:

1 cup of green munggo (mung beans)
3 cups of water (for boiling)
1 small onion, minced
about 1 tsp of minced garlic
2 small native tomatoes, chopped
2 medium sized smoked fish/tinapang galunggong, flaked
about 1/4 cup of dried shrimp (hibe)
1 Pork bouillion cube
Ampalaya leaves (sometimes we use Malunggay leaves, especially when I was still breastfeeding!)
Fish sauce to taste (optional)
Pepper to taste

The Way

Boil the Munggo beans until they are soft, drain. then set aside. Set aside the water as well to be used as the broth.

Sauté the onions, garlic and tomatoes. Stir in the munggo beans, tinapa flakes, hibe (dried shrimps) and water. Allow to simmer. Then add the Pork bouillion cube, fish sauce (optional) and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Then add the ampalaya leaves and simmer agian for about 5 minutes.

You may want to add some more water if you want it to be soupy. You can squish some of the beans using your ladle to make the soup thicker.

Serve it while it's hot: in a soup bowl, or as rice topping plus the crispy fried pig's nape on top!


Warning: ADDICTING


Happy Saturday and Sunday! :)

Pork Bacon Cuts in Garlic Soy Sauce: A Diary of a Pepper Lunch Fan

Let me start by saying that hubby, I and little J have been in and out of Pepper Lunch in most of our weekends for the last 2 months (ok, besides TGIFriday's)... Di naman kami sobrang adik noh? (Are you on drugs? - some Pinoy Joke)

And through it all, I had some nights thinking and dreaming about their Pepper Rice Beef and their irresistible garlic soy sauce (karakuchi), bugging hubby about my idea of trying to make a close copy of it here at home. So when the time comes when there's no budget for Pepper Lunch at least we have something close to it, right? Remember.. Recession!

So, my first attempt: Kikkoman + Water + Garlic Powder. BOINK!

Second Attempt: Kikkoman + Water + Garlic Powder + a little sesame oil. SUPER BOINK!!!

Jam: "Waaaaaaahh! Ayoko naaaaaaaa!!!"

Jam talking to Jam: "Hindi, kaya mo yan! One more time!"


Third Attempt: "Ok, super strong the Kikkoman. hmmm, I have light soy sauce here"

Light Soy Sauce + Water + Garlic Powder.... PWEDE!!!


Me, thinking out loud: "May kulang parin eh!" (something's missing!)


Then all of a sudden, I have thought of adding butter and Ajinomoto and remembered UMAMI.

Ok, Fourth Attempt: Light Soy Sauce + Water + Garlic Powder + Ajinomoto + butter
Pwedeng pwede!!! Yey!!!


So after four attempts, let me share with you the recipe of the garlic soy sauce:

(Without heat first) In a saucepan, mix:

1/2 cup of light soy sauce
1 and 1/2 cups of water
about 4 tbsp of garlic powder
about 1/4 tsp Ajinomoto
about 1/4 tsp of pepper
a tiny pinch of salt and white sugar

***you can make some more. store in airtight container and in the fridge so you can use it anytime you want :)

Put the saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to Medium High and allow the mixture to boil. Turn of the heat after boiling then add 1 tbsp of butter and allow the butter to melt in the hot mixture. Set aside.

For our Lunch today, we had Pork Bacon Cuts (50% of from Rustan's Shang!), stir fried them with some of the sauce, and assembled them around a cup of rice topped with corn, chopped chives and a little butter. I wanted to cook it using our sizzling plate but i was too lazy to reach for it as it was kept at the top most part of the kitchen cabinet. tsk. sigh.

If only i have that electromagnetic plate and induction cooker right here, right now! Oh, not to forget the japanese rice and the special butter! hahaaa!! ;)

So anyways, back to reality. I am at home: I placed the plate in a microwave to reheat and melt the butter, seasoned it with a little more of the sauce and mixed everything together!

Happiness!

To Ms. Cecile and Chef Jeroen, nothing beats the original, of course! If you ever come across this blog entry, I promise I was not one of those folks who stole your sauces and I promise I will always be a Pepper Lunch Fan! ;)


Cheers! :)

Easy Pork Stir-Fry

It was a Thursday and I found a nice Thursday recipe from Yummy Magazine's Weekday Cooking from their September 2008 issue. What a coincidence! And yes, you're reading it right. It's a 2008 ish. An old magazine can still serve its purpose! Especially food/cooking magazines!

Funny how I landed on this - I was looking into another dish however I did not have all the ingredients that day and there is no way I can make it. Good thing this recipe came to my rescue and I was lucky, like really lucky to have everything I needed! One more thing it's easy to prepare as it will only take 15 to 20 minutes to complete this dish. And it took just few minutes of dinner time for it to reach our tummies. Yeehaaa!

Here's the recipe for Pork Stir-Fry, page 47, Yummy Magazine September 2008

1/2 kilo of pork rounds/kasim, cut in strips (I used pork tenderloin strips)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves minced
1 small bunch green beans, chopped into 1/2 inch lengths
1 pack pf mixed frozen vegetables (green peas, carrots and corn kernels)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch strips
half of a 200 gram of button mushrooms, chopped
(I used everything in the can! we lurve mushrooms!)
Water for boiling
Pepper to season

1. Make the marinade: Mix soy sauce, honey and garlic. Marinate the pork and set aside.

2. Place green beans in boiling salted water for 2 minutes or until crisp tender. Add the frozen vegges to the pot and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from water. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in wok/pan and stir fry pork for about 30 seconds on high heat. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms. When pork is cooked, lower the flame and pour the excess marinade. Add all veggies and stir well. You may want to add a little pepper as well. Serve warm.

Just a thought: You may want to make another set of marinade and add it to the stir-fry if you want it to be a little more saucey.

And another thought: this works as well for beef strips and chicken strips!


I ate this using chopsticks! Feeling oriental! :)

Herbed Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

I'm back my friends! As you can see, this previous post has been long over due and has been in my draft for a while. Yeah, I once got a "pending" here! ;-)

Kidding aside, I have been sick for quite some time and been catching up on my sleep, chasing (Piolo and Hugh Dancy in) my dreams (just kidding, honey!) and trying to recover and get that energy back. I was not able to hang out in the kingdom for around two weeks.

So here I am, after two weeks of recovery. I think I am back! Thanks to Nafarin A (for my colds) as recommended by Karren, Mucosolvan for my cough, Katinko and Vicks Inhaler and a few capsules of the ever famous Fern C, the wonder drug! (I really think I should get a box of this moving forward!)

Screeeeeeeeech! Let me not fail to mention hubby's and Little J's TLC, plus prayers!!! + Amen!+

I told Ross, I'm a bit scared because being addicted to sleep is not me so I thought maybe I need to get myself checked. I hope I am still normal. :P

Ok. after all this mellow dramatic intro, let me start and share with you my comeback dish, which was happily made last Saturday for lunch (as if I was gone for years hehehe! feeling artista ang lola niyo?)

Herbed Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

1 whole Chicken

Marinate it for at least an hour (preferably 4 hours, best overnight) with:

about 3 to 4 pinches of salt
crushed pepper to taste
2 dashes of dried basil, oregano, marjoram and spanish paprika
2 tbsps of minced garlic (you can add more if you like)
1 glug of olive oil (make this the last installment)

Rub the chicken with all these with love and affection :-)

After marinating, set your turbo broiler on high (240C or 475F) and cook the chicken for about 45 minutes to an hour on until well done, with breast facing up (as it is the thickest part of the chicken and longer to cook).

For the vegetables, I used sliced carrots (2 pieces), baguio beans (about 1/4 kilo) and baby potatoes (about 1/4 kilo) (potato marbles)

Place the carrots and baguio beans for only two minutes in boiling water to soften them a bit, take them off the water by a slotted spoon and cold shock them. Then set aside for a little stir fry later on. Do not dispose the water yet please!

For the baby potatoes, just boil them in the water you used to boil the carrots and baguio beans (save water!) for about 10 to 15 minutes until tender but not too soft to mash. Check it by inserting a toothpick, on the 10th minute. After this process, drain and let cool. You may opt not to peel it. (Just add some more water if the saved water is not enough to boil the potatoes)

As soon as the veggies are ready, melt a tbsp or two of butter and throw in the veggies, then add a dash of each herb: dried basil, oregano, marjoram, about half a tsp of garlic and an itsy bitsy pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Just do this in about a minute and a half at the most.


Serve the chicken with veggies surrounding it or may be on the side of you like. Best with warm rice or eat it with the veggies on the side. You may want to start your meal with this as your appetizer soup!

You will love the smell of your kitchen, believe me. Herby yum yum!

Happy luchtime to all! :-)

Daddy Day! Hurray!

It was Father's day last Sunday and
we hosted a luncheon to celebrate it.

Same drill, different event - there is always
menu brainstorming with Rica.

So what happened? We came up with a couple of dishes that are manageable to cook
and will not add to our current stress levels! HAHAHA!

As a start, we had Nido Soup.

I admit I was quite lazy to sport a chowder or a boullabaise soup.
I am so glad to have my Knorr collection of instant soups, got the Knorr Nido Soup (cooked per instructions in the pack)
and just added quail eggs, peas,
corn and carrots to add more life and color to it!


I requested Rica to cook one of my favorite dishes of hers. I call it Talong and Lasting Love.

in reality, we have no idea about its official recipe name.
So I guess we can call it: Ground Pork with Mushrooms & Eggplant in Bean Paste - Chinese style. Yum!

Then I cooked Cream Dory in Lemon Butter Sauce,
a new family favorite

This was my second time to cook this, so the mastery of the subject was kind of already there... and all I can say is I can never get enough of it! How I wish I can breed this fish in our pond! *sigh*
A gazillion thanks to Mr. Marketman for sharing this recipe! Thank you!

We also had Chicken Barbeque...

The dream grill is still in the store waiting for hubby's return. So in the meantime, I used my ever reliable churbo (turbo) broiler. Is it still called Chicken Barbeque then?
Ok, it's Churbo Chicken Barbeque with Papaya Atchara on the side! ;-)
For this, I used the delicious Barbeque Marinade of Mama Sita's
and added lots of fresh pepper in the marinade.

OK, so my dad loves pancit canton. In lieu of the occassion,
I know he will be very delighted to see
this waiting for him on the table.

Since his (my dad's) ancient times, he orders pancit canton in any resto, as long as he sees it on the menu. Hindi siya nag sasawa. As in. Just like me with KFC, Jollibee Chicken Joy or Adobo.
May pinagmanahan ang lola niyo!

For a little change, I tried the Crispy-Fried Pancit Canton. Thank you TaGa_Luto for sharing your recipe! I just made a few changes using what I had available that day ;-)

Note: Put the snow peas as the grand finale to keep its crunchyness and its green lively color.
That, I failed to do! Look, o, the snow peas lost some of its happy greeness :(


Daddy Dino (hubby's dad) brought some Lechon cuts from Lydia's.
It just disappeared.
I think it lasted for only 5 minutes or less on the table.
I was not able to lay a finger on it.
So therefore, no photo op for the piggy = No lechon for me. Waaah!


Dessert was definitely effortless. Rica brought delicious cookies made by her cousin Aika and the famous Rocha's Delicious Puto-Kutsinta - Marikina's pride! My dad brought cake rolls and macapuno candies from Red Ribbon. Can you just imagine my blood sugar rising???
BOTH-FAMILIES-ARE-DIABETIC.
'nuff said. ;-)

This luncheon is another JUBIS episode in my life.

I WILL NOT EAT ANYMORE

You Know I'm Just Kidding!

~*~*~*~

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what food you have on the table. What matters most is how you shared it happily and lovingly with one another. What matters most is that your family sticks together
through thick and thin (in all aspects!).

And I am proud to have a family like that!

To my Papa Pepe and Daddy Eddie, to my daddy in law Daddy Dino and my dearest hubby,
thank you for being the great dads that you are!

There's this quote that says: a Mom is God's love in action...

And I say, so is a Dad!

Happy Father's Day! :-)

Football Photo of Little J with Dad courtesy of Kitty Buñag Photography

~*~*~*~

The SquaCarrot Soup (Squash and Carrot Soup)

Heto akooooooooo basang basa sa ulaaaaaaaaaan! Walang masisilungaaaaaaan, walang makakapitaaaaaan!

Ay.. sorry!!! Naku.. ehem. ehem.. I just got carried away. It's raining cats and dogs here and the wind is blowing so damn hard... and the soundtrack in my head is this famous jukebox song of one of my favorite jukebox groups. Haha!

I know it should have been "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." or "APO Hiking Society's "Pumapatak nanaman ang (j)ulan sa bubong ng bahay..." Hehe.. Maybe next time!

We all know that nothing beats a warm soup on a rainy day. May it be chicken soup, Nilaga, Sinigang, your Lucky Me Instant Noodles or your D-I-Y a.k.a. "Maski Paps" soup. :)

I am a BIG fan of the famous CIBO squash soup ~ Crema Di Zucca (summer squash, cream and bacon slab... Hello Tita Gaita! Etchos feeling close!) but when hubby took me to Felix (naks, nag date kami!), I fell in love with their Fuyubare - a mix of Pumpkin, Carrots and Chestnuts. So the recipe copycat in me wanted to try it at home, and just made a few changes to make it slightly original ;)

I like the Fuyubare because there's that sweet kick in the soup from the carrots that I wouldn't normally taste from a squash soup. Also, here in my world, I can only grab the native kalabasa from my suking palengke. Therefore, I have no access to any pumpkin , nor the summer, winter and autumn squash. Unless someone will be so kind to give me some. hihi. OR if hubby will take me to the Salcedo or Legaspi weekend market sometime soon. (OO, nagpaparinig ako!)

I am not a chestnut girl so this is X'd out but the major ones of course stays on stage - mr. squash and ms. carrots.

I call this The SquaCarrot Soup (say it using your call center accent, c'mon! Squakheret!)

On the photo I used:

Squash/Kalabasa about 1/4 K, cut in cubes
3 medium sized carrots, cut in cuubes
1 tbsp of butter
1 medium sized white onion, minced
Roasted Green and Red Bell Peppers, chopped
Squash and Carrot broth
1 Knorr Beef Cube
Nestlé All Purpose Cream (1 small carton)
Fresh Milk, about half a cup
a few dashes of Nutmeg to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parley Flakes for garnishing

The Way:
Boil the squash and carrots until tender then set aside the veggies and the broth.

On medium heat, in your pot, melt the butter and saute the onions and the roasted bell peppers.
Add the boiled squash and carrots and a bit of the broth, then simmer for about 5 minutes.

After simmering, put the mixture into your electric blender and purée it. Otherwise, you can also use your fork or potato masher (less kitchen tools to wash! saves electricity too!)

Then put the mixture again in the pot, then add some more broth until it looks "soupy" enough, then add the rest of the ingredients: Knorr Beef Cube, All Purpose Cream, Fresh Milk, about half, a few dashes of Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper to taste then bring to a boil. CAREFUL and don't come too close to the pot, the soup pops when it's really boiling hot! I know, natalsikan na kasi ako!

Note: If you don't want the soup to be very creamy, just lessen the amount of the all purpose cream and add more of the veggie broth.

Put the parsley flakes on top and some more pepper if you want when you are about to serve.

Best with croutons, or toasted garlic bread, or pair it with rice and fried fish or rice and roasted chicken! Yum! (bakit laging may kanin? hehe!)

Hope you can try this at home!

Now back to singing... :)