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
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! :)
Whoa!!! It's almost MARCH?!! And I said I will write often! Now what on earth have I been busy with?
Having a 2 year old is one of the things that's keeping my day action-packed. It's just a surprise my little boy suddenly became really really clingy. Yah you can say that again, like BOOM!
"Me time" is currently not so used in my book right now - my me time a.k.a. blog time, reading, watching TV or DVDs, other errands and the list goes on and on...
As for "Us time", Archie and I see to it that we have that no matter what happens! ;)
Javie is now on his "mommy addict" mode. It' on-going for the past 7 weeks. He somewhat developed this strong sense of time that he knows when I am about to start work and when I should be back. He follows me almost everywhere I go. He rants when he could not see a morsel of me. It's really cute as he looks and sounds funny when he looks for me. I find it cuter when I see his delight when he finds me. He giggles, jumps/skips and says "Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" As if I was a balikbayan who didn't come home for years!
Though during the "rush hours" here (rush hours at home - this term I learned from my friend Sally), it can be itty bitty frustrating.
As told by relatives and an online source, having a clingy toddler is natural and common. So Archie, I and the Ates are trying our best to make things work for all of us and make Javie understand that Mommy needs to be just a bit away for a while! And the "a bit away" I am talking about my dear party people is just being one room away from his room. For the benefit of your imagination, okay, I counted the steps from my work area to the doorstep of his room, it's roughly 10 steps away. Malayo ba? :P
We are really finding ways on how to manage/deal with it positively! We just really hope that soon, Javie will be a bit "OK" if I or Archie will be away for just a while, that we won't have to sneak out and that his Ates, his toys, crayons and pens will suffice and keep him busy and happy.
Sometimes, I miss the little freedom of doing what I like in my own time and pace. I miss putting check marks on my To-do list. And yah-I miss cleaning up my brows twice a week. Which now, I can only do once a week! *LOL*
Earlier I said that he follows me almost everywhere I go: So name it. bathroom, bedroom, work area, garden and yes, you guessed it right, in the kitchen.
Before he is already satisfied by simply watching me cook. Now, he wants to do what Mommy is doing:
Or at least close enough...
HEhehehehehe. NOw should I buy him his small kitchen gadgets?
But you see, I won't have it any other way. I know in the future things will change and he will not be this way again. So I am savoring this time :)
That's my cute, clingy, sweet and funny little boy.
Just a little mommy moment :)
