snap♥eat

NEW BLOG

2011-09-01T10:50:00.002+04:00

Hi... Just dropping by to tell you that i have opened up a new iscrap blog, it's HERE. Update your bookmark to that new link (http://iscrapbying.blogspot.com). I will have my latest update theretogether with my digital scrapbooking blog. i will delete this blog in days to come until I am able to print/save a backup of my old posts. =D

Do visit me there and I have a surprise for you, too.

Thanks for dropping by.
ing
♥

CHICKEN CURRY

2010-02-26T15:46:00.002+04:00

I've been wanting to cook chicken curry but the curry powder or curry paste here in UAE is soooo strong. I like our curry powder in the Philippines, just right for my palate. So, when my mother-in-law came here last December to visit us, I asked her to bring me some curry powder. I cooked chicken curry a few weeks ago but it wasn't good. The sauce was so thick because I used coconut cream instead of coconut milk. This time around, it was a success and I never thought it was so easy to prepare... really. *wink*

CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast, cut into serving portions
1 large potato, cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced into rings
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 small tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (optional)
1 tsp. ginger powder (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 tbsp. butter

Procedure:
In a bowl, mix the chicken breast with 1 tbsp. curry powder, ginger powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Leave for a few minutes.

In a wok, heat some cooking oil and pan fry the potatoes until brown. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

In the same wok, heat olive oil and butter. Saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomato until aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken are a little bit browned and the oil from the chicken come out, about 5-10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. curry powder and mix until fully combined, about 2-3 minutes..

Add the coconut milk, fried potato and carrots. Do not stir and cover just yet to let the oil from the coconut milk to come out, just for a couple of minutes or so. Then cover and continue to simmer until the vegetables are a bit tender. Add the bell pepper and season with salt and pepper according to your preference.

Pour the chicken broth with cornstarch and mix slowly until a little thickenned in consistency. Taste and season again if desired.

Serve over steamed rice.

TOMATO - LETTUCE SALAD WITH SALTED EGG

2010-02-26T15:14:00.002+04:00

I prepared this along with my Oven Roasted Chicken Breast. I usually prepare tomato-lettuce salad and this time I added salted egg and it turned out quite okay. It's just that the salted egg turned mushy after quite awhile maybe because I didn't drained the lettuce too well. Here's the recipe if you like.

TOMATO - LETTUCE SALAD WITH SALTED EGG

Ingredients:
1 salted egg, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
7 lettuce leaves, chopped
1/2 lime juice*
olive oil
salt and pepper

Procedure:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the lime juice, a little amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix together. Add the vegetables then mix again. Then add the salted egg and mix carefully.
Serve immediately.

• • • • • • •

* We use Indian lime since it's the closest to our calamansi with what's available here in UAE but you can use calamansi, lemon or the regular lime.

OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST

2010-02-26T13:57:00.002+04:00

I was looking for a recipe for the chicken breast since it's the only meat left in the refrigerator. Then I stumbled upon this classic baked chicken recipe from Simply Recipes. I just twisted it a bit by adding some more spices. I though that it would make the chicken breast more tastier... and it did. If you want the Simply Recipe for this dish, click here.

OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, halved
1 tomato, halved
7 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, quartered
2 spring onion, quartered
1 lemon grass, quartered
1/4 bell pepper, sliced
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in
1/4 cup chicken broth

Procedure:
Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Coat the bottom of roasting pan with olive oil. Rub some olive oil all over the chicken breast in the roasting pan. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the chicken breast skin side up on the roasting pan. Arrange them with a little space in between and around them that they are neither touching each other not touching the roasting pan. Arrange the garlic, onion, spring onion, lemongrass and bell pepper into the sides and between the chicken breast. Place the half of the tomato at the top of the roasting pan and the other half at the bottom of the roasting pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 400ºF. Then lower the heat to 350ºF for about 20 minutes more (10 minutes per side). You will know it's cooked when the juices comes out clear (not pink) when poked with a knife or toothpick. If your chicken aren't browning to your satisfaction, you can put them under the broiler for about 5 minutes until it turned brown as per your desire.

Remove roasting pan from the oven. Place the chicken on the serving dish with the spices and the tomato. Cover with aluminum foil for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

To make the sauce:
Take the roasting pan where you baked the chicken with the drippings and place over the stovetop on a medium heat. Using a metal spatula, scrape off the drippings stuck on the bottom of the roasting pan. Add a chicken broth to the pan to deglaze it. Pour the deglazed drippings on a sauce pan with the butter. Continue cooking over medium heat until it reaches your desired consistency (not too thick and not too flowy).

Serve your oven roasted chicken breast with steam rice. Or even make it a filling for your flour tortilla with sliced tomato, cucumber and lettuce.

I'm still here

2010-01-14T22:15:00.002+04:00

I'm still here. Kinda really busy with scrapbooking which I will tell you the details on some other time. Just wanna let you know, I miss being here. I've got a mountain of recipes to post. *giggles*. When everything's ironed out and I'm already settled down on the other side, I'll definitely come running back here to post my recipes.

For the meantine, I'd like you to know that I just created a new blog to showcase my photo-a-day journey called Project365. I aim to finish this year without missing a day. *crossing fingers and toes*. Come and visit me there... iscrap•project365. *biggrin*

I shall return...
{iNg}

Just wrote a wishlist :)

2009-12-06T10:24:00.004+04:00

Wishlist... wishlist... wishlist... *huge sigh* When will I be able to get even 1 item from my wishlist. Hehehe... Just want to share to you my list (in no particular order) LOL!

1. Wii Fit
A good friend introduced me to this since she has this and she's having a real good time playing and at the same time getting physical work outs. I needed one, I believe. It's also something to share with the rest of the family, Kim can use it and even Makuy since it's like your playing a video game (onl healthier). Hehehe...

2. DSLR Camera Tripod
I've been longing to have one since I have a shaky hands. This is very useful indeed. :)

3. DSLR Camera Wireless Remote
Very useful, too. Specially when I wanted to take photos with myself included or take photos of the whole family, with Kim, or with the kids. ;D

4. Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED AF-0S DX VR Zoom Lens
I wanted to explore more on photography... zoom lens or micro. This is nice when I'm taking photos from a distance or would like to zoom a particular subject. LOL!

6. Laptop
Handy computer to store and edit my photos and even do some scrapping. It's would be nice to bring this anywhere and surf the net anytime if on the go. I just like to have one. :))

7. Pen Tablet
This is already answered by my sister. Thanks Sis!!! *smiling*. I wanted to have pen tablet for scrapbooking since I'm starting to design and it's nice in doodling or freehand drawings. LOL!

I also have a wishlist for Kim, Makuy and Yano.

8. Kim - A shoe that he really likes and a slipper he can wear just anywhere. Because even if we would just go to the market he wears rubbershoes since his slipper's very worn out already. He doesn't say it but I know he wanted a new mobile phone... and a guitar he could play while at home or just relaxing.

9. Makuy - I would want to get him a new Crocs since his old ones getting smaller for his getting bigger feet. I like Crocs since it's very comfortable, non-slippery and light to the feet. Other than the Cros, I'd like to get him a rubber shoes since his rubber shoes doesn't feet anymore (we gave it to the relief goods already). I also would like to buy him some shirts and pants. It's embarrasing to admit we haven't bought him new clothes (his old clothes still fits well). We get hesitated to buy new ones since it's really expensive here and when you buy cheaper ones, it easily get's destroyed, worn out, stretched. And perhaps a portable DVD player where he can view his audio and video cds. This is also good for the baby music and so handy we can bring it in the car. He's saving up for his toy, so that's a relief for me. Hehehe...

10. Yano - For the baby, I just wanted to get verything I see and like at the store. Hahaha... But as of now, I's like to get him some educational toys like clothbooks/sound books, a gym mat, some developmental toys and soothing light toys. It's too early I know but I also wanted to get him a Crocs he can use while learning how to walk. Hehehe...

11. Lastly, for our househelp, Marites. I also would like to get her clothes and shoes/sandals or anything that she likes that I can afford. Hehehe... She's new with us, 2 months. We got her from Philippines to help us here at home specially with the baby since I'm trying to find work again. So far, so good... she's never failed us on our expectations (I hope so). This will be her first Christmas away from home and family so we wanted to comfort her when loneliness comes.

P.S. I also wanted to give to my parents, brother and sister. I pray that I'll be financially blessed this month so that I can send them money for their little celebration and that they could have something new this holodays. :)) *praying*

This is it... Those are my list... Hahaha... My wishlist... always a wishlist... just a wishlist... LOL!

Thanks for looking :)

Holiday Giveaway from Jbreezy...

2009-12-01T10:59:00.001+04:00

This is not connected to any scrapbooking stuff but I got interested with Jbreezy's "surprise giveaway" at her blog for this Christmas time. Hehehe... Come and join. I think it's fun :). Just visit Jbreezy's blog and learn what it's all about.

Deadline for her Giveway is on Wednesday, DECEMBER 16, 2009 @ 11:59 pm Central Time.

I hope I get chosen. LOL!

lime chicken in oyster sauce

2009-10-31T10:15:00.002+04:00

This was simply an update to my previous post on Chicken in Oyster Sauce. Actually, this is the fourth version of my Chicken in Oyster Sauce, you can view them here, here and here. Hehehe... The difference?... I just marinated the chicken with lime. It's a bit sour because of the lime but I liked it.

Ingredients:
2 pcs. chicken breast, cut into serving portion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp. ginger, minced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 pcs. lime
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. cooking oil

Procedure:
Marinate the chicken with lime juice for a few minutes.

In a wok heat olive oil and butter and saute garlic, ginger and onion until aromatic.

Add the marinated chicken (optional: you can include or exclude any remaining juice from the marinade) and cook until a little browned and cooked.

Before putting off the fire, add the oyster sauce. Stir until chicken are fully coated with sauce.

Place in a serving dish and sprinkle with some spring onions on top.

pork with potato and carrot in spaghetti sauce

2009-10-31T10:00:00.002+04:00

Menudo or not or something like that... Hehehe... Whatever. Just couldn't think of anyhting to prepare that time. We were still arranging and getting sttled at the new house... and no internet. I was lazy I didn't like to cook... really... too lazy all I want to do is sleep because I was tired arranging the house (boxes and platics of things were piled after each other). But somehow I was able to prepare our lunch and dinner... same dish since Kim and I are not eating dinner (die-eat... hahaha).

With some pork belly slices, a potato and a carrot, and some spaghetti sauce at hand, lunch and dinner were solved. I placed the pork belly slices with a lot of fat in a wok with a little water and seasoned with salt. I let it simmer and when the liquid has evaporated it released it's own oil and I let it cooked in it until the pork belly slices are brown and crisp. I took it from the wok and set aside. Then I sauteed minced garlic, sliced onion and jullienned ginger (in the same wok with the oil from the pork belly) until aromatic. Added the remaining pork belly slices (the ones with less or no fat) and sauteed until brown. Then added the carrot and potato (cubed) and sauteed again for a few minutes. Then added about a cup of the spaghetti sauce. Seasoned with salt and pepper and even a little bit of brown sugar (so that the sauce would not be too sour or just to make it a little bitty sweet). That's basically it. I just placed it in a bowl and sprinkled some pring onion leaves on top and the pork belly that I browned and reserved earlier.

quick canton

2009-10-31T09:00:00.002+04:00

Another quick dish. Quick in a sense that it's done very quickly while baby was sleeping and the ingredients were only a few. We're consuming almost everything now since we're going to transfer house in a few more days. So everything in the pantry box and refrigerator should go before we transfered. I was successful in preparing this dish because I done this inless than 30 minutes. I started just after I put the baby to sleep and immediately do the chopping, slicing, sauteing. And just a few minutes after I took some photos, the baby started to wake up. Hahaha... success right? Hehehe... Well, good thing the baby cooperated.

I minced 3 cloves garlic, sliced a small onion, 1 carrot, 1 large cabbage leaf, and sliced into thin strip some pork belly and seasoned it with salt and pepper. In a wok I put 2 tbsp. olive oil and sauteed the onion and garlic until fragrant then added the pork belly and cooked them until the pork is browned. Then I added half of a pork broth cube and continued to saute. Then I added about a cup of water and 2 tbsp. oyster sauce and let it simmer. I tasted it according to my preference. Then added the canton noodles in... then mixed and mixed until the noodles are almost cooked and the liquid almost evaporated. Then I added the carrot and cabbage in... I mixed again until the liquid has fully evaporated. That's it... quick canton.

potato and pork with black beans

2009-10-31T06:53:00.002+04:00

I know I promised to post a recipe yesterday but obviously I didn't... I got caught up with the scrapbooking kit I have in mind. Hehehe... But here I am, I'll try to post all the dishes I was able to prepare within the last month.

I prepared this one when Kim decided not to go home for lunch since school has not yet started and I assured him that it's okay, I can take care of Kuya and the baby. This was just a quick dish. I ran out of oyster sauce that's why I used black beans instead.

I didn't measure the ingredients here but everything will be upon your preference anyway. The pork part that I used was with no fat and I believed this would be much tastier if using pork belly or even pork pata as long as there's fat. Hehehe...

First, I cut the pork and potato into chunks, minced a few cloves of garlic, a little onion and ginger and mushed some black beans. In a wok, I placed the pork and potato chunks and add a little water (not too little that it would evaporated quickly; just a little water to simmer the pork and the potato). When the water have evaporated, take out the potato chunks and set aside. Put a little olive oil in the same wok and fry the simmered pork chunks just until it started to get browned. Then add the garlic, ginger and onion. Saute with the pork until aromatic and the garlic well browned. Then add the black beans and season with pepper (you can season with salt if your black beans are not pre-salted). Then add the potato chunks and continue mixing just until everything is well blended.

i'm here...

2009-10-29T10:23:00.002+04:00

hallerrrr... i'm here again. it's been a while really. we just got our internet connection lately and i opted to update my scrapblog first since i was so excited to post the freebies i created while i was off. but i'm here now and hopefully be able to start posting some recipe by tomorrow.

as for the new house, everything was okay. moving and transfering was very tiring indeed. kim and i decided not to move again. hahaha... this was our second move and this was more tiring than the first one since we have so many things now. hahaha... well the house was nice even if the partition wall was not yet painted, the house is clean and it looks more organized now. and you know what i like the most here at the new house? the bathtub! yes we have a bathtub... hahaha... we just had to buy a new drain cap so that we could enjoy it. hehehe... but the front yard needs quite a lot of work since it's all sand and water is almost flooding. the dates trees planted outside our main door need to be trimmed, too. i told kim i wanted paving tiles in the front yard just along our perimeter area and some rocks/stones should be placed around the 2 dates trees. we also allocated the area around the trees for our kangkong, lemon grass and tomato plants since the owner of the house keeps a water hose with holes passing through all their dates to water them, so it will also water our plants. then as for the perimeter fence, we planned to plant some vines to screen our house from the main street. but we cannot do these just yet because the other houses inside the villa are not yet finished, they are still working on it, and they have to use some of our perimeter area to place some of their materials. it will be quite a while really. i can't wait. i wanted it started a.s.a.p... hahaha...

as for the cooking and baking... not really. i was busy arranging the house and applying for work. i wanted to bake a couple of cakes and cookies but i was lazy to do it. hehehe... sorry... but i will, i will. hehehe...

so just here for now. i'll start posting recipe tomorrow. :)

OFF for a while...

2009-10-04T13:04:00.002+04:00

Heloo people. I've been out for a while... cleaning stuff and packing (haven't finished packing yet). This is a short post.

I will be out for a few days or week or a month. We will be transfering to a new house near the town (right now, we live quite away from the town and our neighbors are local here, so, I really don't want to go out and ride a taxi to the town, or just stroll/walk around outside --- I don't feel that secure as well). Our new house is located near the hospital, grocery store and there are a lot of Filipinos living there, too. I'll be blogging about it as soon as we're settled there and the internet connection is available already. Yay... no net for a month? even cable tv? Yay... what will I do?! No Eat Bulaga... no Bubble Gang... no Survivor Philippines 2... no Stairway to Heaven... no Darna... no 24 Oras?! Huhuhu... Anyways, that's the time I'll be able to organize the house and look for work since the househelp already arrived. Woohooo...

So, see you soon... :) Hope to post a few recipe when I resumed blogging. :)

banana cake with buttercream topping

2009-09-19T17:33:00.004+04:00

Banana bread/cake has never failed our palate. I've baked it many times since I was still single many years ago and we always consumed it right away. I've tried a few banana cake recipe and this one's what I liked the best so far. The original recipe was from Lydia Teh.

I already posted a banana bread recipe here; however, I'll post it here again. I like the outcome of my banana cake this time. I divided the batter in 4 2-1/2 x 7 x 3" aluminum loaf pan because I intended to share the other 3 with my friends. It was however right on time when they invited us on an iftar at the park the next day. As I've said, I liked the outcome of my banana cake this time, the color and the sweetnes was just right. Maybe because of the bananas that I used? I used the banana that's in the verge of really getting spoiled. I believe that the best banana for a banana cake is of that kind. Another difference is that I topped or shall I say frosted the top with buttercream frosted (the recipe I got from Confession Nook). Hehehe... I was really happy with the outcome and taste of the buttermilk frosting I made for my chocolate cocoa cake that I baked a few days ago, that's why I decided to try it on my banana cake. Hehehe... The outcome? It was okay... It tasted well with the banana cake.

For the Banana Cake
Ingredients:
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1-1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas*
1-1/2 cup cake flour, sifted**

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour 4 2-1/2 x 7 x 3" aluminum loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and beat well.

Dissolve baking soda in the sour cream, add it into the butter mixture. Beat well.

Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla then fold in cake flour.

Pour batter into the loaf pans and bake for 35 minutes or until done.

For the Buttercream Frosting:
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure:
Whip butter until light and fluffy; add sifted icing sugar little by little until well-incorporated. Beat in the yolk. Add vanilla extract to mix.

• • • • • • •

* The banana that I used was those that's almost in the verge of spoiling.

** To make 1 cup cake flour, in 1 cup measuring cup, place 1 tbsp. cornstarch then fill with all-purpose flour.

sinabawang hipon with alugbati leaves

2009-09-16T15:11:00.003+04:00

Still have remaining 13 medium shrimps in the freezer and a handful of alugbati leaves. With that, I prepared shrimp soup... mmmmmm... so nice to sip the soup. The alugbati leaves enhanced the flavor of the soup. Hehehe... The alugbati leaves were given to us by Mommy Sue when we visited them a week ago I think. I wrapped it in a plastic and we forgotten all about it since it was place under the vegetable bin. Hehehe... When I was looking for something to add to my shrimp soup, I saw the plastic and there it was, the alugbati leaves. Good thing most of it are still in good condition (not wilted, not yet yet spoiled, not yet discolored).

I don't know what's gotten in to me, I wanted to share a little something about alugbati... Alugbati leaves (malabar spinach in English) is common in our homeland, Cebu, Philippines. It easily grows anywhere with very little supervision needed. Not only the leaves but also the stem and the seeds can be eaten as well. It is an excellent source of antioxidants and a good source of vitamins A, B, and C, calcium and iron. It is also a good source of roughage (fiber) and it's easy to digest. It can also be prepared/cooked with other vegetables and meat or just as is (just sauteed lightly in oil with garlic and onion).

Alugbati also has medicinal uses. "Roots are employed as rubefacient. Poultice of leaves used to reduce local swelling. Sap is applied to acne eruptions to reduce inflammation. Decoction of leaves used for its mild laxative effects. Pulped leaves applied to boils and ulcers to hasten suppuration. Sugared juice of leaves useful for catarrhal afflictions. Leaf-juice, mixed with butter, is soothing and colling when applied to burns and scalds. In Ayurveda, used for hemorrhages, skin diseases, sexual weakness, ulcers and as laxative in children and pregnant women. In Nigeria, use for fertility enhancement in women."* However, the source said these are folkloric only but I hope these are for real.

Now here's a recipe with alugbati. Very easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients:
13 medium shrimps
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 small onion, quartered
1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
spring onion, separate white part from green part
a handful alugbati leaves
4 cups water
1/2 shrimp broth cube
salt and pepper

Procedure:
Boil water with ginger, onion, white part of spring onion and broth cube. Then add the shrimp and tomato. Boil for 1-2 minutes or just until the shrimp turned orange.

Add salt and pepper and the alugbati leaves. Turn off the heat after 1 minute.

Serve hot.

• • • • • • •

Alugbati photo and * from www.stuartxchange.org

chocolate cocoa cake with buttercream frosting

2009-09-13T20:32:00.002+04:00

I'm back baking cake and trying my luck again in decorating/frosting them. I don't know... I suck at decorating/frosting. I feel that I'm terrible at it. Hehehe... shameful. I badly need to enrol in a cake decorating class. Hahaha... Well, anyway, here's my another cake decorating/frosting attempt that seemed to be still "needs improvement" or somehow improved? Hahaha...

I used 6" cake pan here and the rst of the cake batter I made into cupcakes. Small cakes seemed to attract me these days. Perhaps that's where I'd start my decorating/frosting attempts. Kim said that the cake was yummy and best paired with his coffee. Hehehe... I'm smiling... =D

Here's another cake recipe using ready cake mix. I'm still sticking to cake mix these days because of busy schedule (taking care of kuya and the baby). Hopefully when the househelp comes by next month, everything will be okay and I'd be able to do more cooking and baking and picture taking. Hehehe...

Thanks to ACDEE of Confession Nook for sharing her buttercream frosting recipe. I've been trying many recipe to frost my cakes and cupcakes and so far I found her recipe suited well with what I am looking for. I just suck in cake decoration/frosting. Hahaha...

Chocolate Cocoa Cake
Ingredients:
485 g. cake mix
275 ml. water
60ml. vegetable oil
3 eggs
butter for greasing
flour for dusting

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 180°C .

Grease 6" round cake pan lightly with butter and lightly flour before lining bottom with wax paper and put cupcake paper on the cupcake mold.

Beat cake mix with water, vegetable oil and eggs in a large bowl until moistened. Pour into the cake pan and cupcake molds halfway only (since the cake will rise as it is cooked).

Bake for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched in the center or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Buttercream frosting
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure:
Whip butter until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar little by little until well-incorporated. Beat in the yolk. Add vanilla extract to mix.

Note: You can add range of colors you like to the buttercream frosting.

shrimp in oyster sauce

2009-09-13T18:18:00.002+04:00

Kim went to the grocery yesterday and he was able to buy shrimps. I super miss shrimp with oyster sauce. It's been a couple of months... or longer that I was able to prepare this. Before I used frozen shrimps so I didn't took a photo of it. Now this is much better. I like the sauce penetrating the shrimp specially the heads. Hehehe... Donna taught me this recipe and I liked it from the very first time I cooked it. This is quick and easy to prepare and yummy, too. I think I cooked this in less than 5 minutes...

Ingredients:
12 medium sized shrimps
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
peper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter

Procedure:
In a wok, heat oil and butter. Saute garlic and onion until aromatic.

Add in the shrimps and cook just until it turned orange about 2-3 minutes.

Then add the oyster sauce and mix until all shrimps are fully coated with sauce, about 1 minute. Season with crushed pepper. (I prefer not to add salt since oyster sauce is a bit salty already for me)

Turn off the heat and sprinkle with chopped onion leaves (the green part only).

I love this over steamed rice and I usually put the rice in the wok after transferring the shrimp in a plate. I coat my rice with the remaining sauce in the wok... yummy... Hehehe...

La.Pi.S: freestyle

2009-09-09T16:35:00.004+04:00

It's good to be able to participate in Lasang Pinoy Sunday Edition again after quite sometime now. It's freestyle for the whole month and here's my entry, malunggay soup.

Malunggay, kamunggay in our native tongue Bisaya... full of nutritional values. I've been craving for this for so long and at last, last weekend we went to visit a friend and they gave us a bunch of malunggay leaves. wow... we immediate add it in our tinolang manok. sumptuous dinner indeed. I was glad that Makuy loved it, too. As for the remaining malunggay leaves, I made it into malunggay soup. We had a small fish remaining in the freezer and that's what I prepared two days ago tinolang isda with a lot ofg malunggay leaves! It was heaven for me while sipping my cup of malunggay soup (never mind the fish, Kim or Makuy can have it... I just wanted a lot of malunggay leaves on my cup of soup... hehehe...)

Have a nice week people... :)

5-minute chocolate cake?... and yano @ 2 months

2009-08-22T22:27:00.001+04:00

Ying... Frem... if you both happen to visit me here. You might want to try this...

I was blog hopping one day looking for some nice freebies for my scrapbooking when I came to this scrapblog The Daily Digi. She has some good stuff other than scrapbooking. One blog she posted made me so curious to try was this 5-Minute Chocolate Cake just using microwave. I was so curious I immediately tried it yesterday just in time for my youngest son turning 2 months. I thought that if this would be for real and if it would come out satisfactorily for me, then chocolate cakes or cupcakes would be frequent at home. Hehehe...

You can get the recipe at her blog; however, I made my own step-by-step photos as well.

What you'll be needing:
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of oil
a splash of vanilla extract
a coffee mug
some mini m&m's (optional)

Here's how:

1. Combine flour, sugar and cocoa in a coffee mug. Mix very well.

2. Add egg and mix thoroughly until combined.

3. Add the milk, oil and vanilla. Mix again until combined. (If you are using chocolate chips, now is the time to add them in as well. Mix well again.)

4. Place the coffee mug in the microwave and cook for 2-1/2 minutes at 1200 watts. (Just adjust the time - more or less - depending on the wattage of your microwave.)

5. Take it out of the microwave and cool before turning over to a plate or saucer. Don't worry if the cake rises over the coffee mug.

6. Then decorate as you desire or just leave it as is. What I did with mine was topped with cream and sprinkle some mini m&m's.

This was what I made to mark Baby Yano's turning 2 months yesterday. Kuya Makuy ate most of it. As for my verdict... maybe I cooked it a little longer as for the wattage of my microwave. It was soggy when I turned it over to a saucer but turned harder when fully cooled! Huh! Perhaps i'll try it next time and experiment more on the timing of the microwave. I found another recipe for this 5-minute chocolate cake. I wanted to try this one since she made an effort to investigate on this matter. You might want to try this at home... get the recipe here.

• • • • • • •

Another matter to post... a celebration of my youngest son's turning 2 months old. Yes, Baby Yano turned 2 months yesterday and he became very heavy now. "Tabakokoy" (chubby), that's what we call him now. And here's a layout I made for his special day.

chicken mushroom

2009-08-19T16:59:00.002+04:00

Today Kim woke up a little bit late already and he was not able to prepare for lunch today. He cooks for lunch before he goes to work in the morning since I'm always too sleepy to do it (sleepless nights taking care of the baby... hehehe...) So, I have to prepare our lunch, for me and Makuy that is, and Kim will have to buy lunch at the Lulu Supermarket near their office.

I still have half of the chicken breast at the refrigerator and I kinda miss chicken in oyster sauce. It's easy to make and since Baby Yano's still sleeping I had to prepare this quick one. Hehehe... And since I only have half of the chicken breast, I just added some button mushroom to make it enough for me and Makuy.

This recipe can serve 1-2 persons.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cut into serving portions
1/2 cup button mushroom, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil

Procedure:
Season chicken slices with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a wok, heat oil and butter. Add chicken slices and cook until golden brown.

Then add onion, garlic and ginger. Continue sauteing until aromatic.

Add mushroom and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Add oyster sauce and mix until chicken and mushroom are coated well with the sauce.

Season with pepper (you can add salt if you desire but for me oyster sauce will give it the saltiness). Turn off the heat and serve.

cakes for kuya mak...

2009-08-15T08:18:00.000+04:00

Here it goes… my 2 birthday cakes for my eldest son’s 5th birthday. I just used the ready cake mix since I am still having a bit of a hard time moving around especially with a baby and a boy at home alone. Hehehe… Excuses I know. Hehehe… I was thinking of not baking him a cake instead just order from the bakeshop but I planned to make him his birthday cake months ago. Yes, its cake mix but I still failed in decorating, icing and frosting the cakes. Huhuhu… Now I know that it’s much easier to decorate and frost cupcakes rather than cakes. Hahaha… Anyway, I’m still glad though, friends liked my vanilla moist cake with choco frosting. They ate it all. Hmmm… maybe because they’re my friends? Hahaha… As for the moist dark chocolate cake with buttercream frosting? We end up scraping the icing and just consuming the chocolate cake. The cake was yummy but the icing was too sweet and rough for our tongue. Hehehe… As I said, it’s failure.

Here are some shots of the moist dark chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. I’d rather not share my failed recipes here. I’ll try this again someday and when it becomes a success, I’ll definitely post it here… right away.

Here are some shots of the vanilla moist cake with choco frosting. Here, my frosting was a bit runny and it didn’t really set. When I touched it after an hour, it’s still wet. Hehehe…

Even the candles didn’t do well… because of the hot weather, the candles almost melted.

Anyway… what matters most to me was that I made my birthday boy happy on his 5th birthday. Hopefully, next year, I’ll be able to bake him a successful birthday cake. *crossing fingers*

• • • • • • •

To all: I’m very much open for suggestions, advices regarding baking cakes and icing and frosting cakes. I really wanted to develop my skill on this and I’m eager to learn more. If I could only enroll in baking class or cake decorating class I would; but time, finances just don’t allow me. *sigh*

By the way, here are some photos from the 2 birthday celebration of our kuya makuy.

This one's "just us" celebration at the house. Kuya was so happy because Papa Kim bought him the skate shoes last August 9 which he requested a few months ago. Then on his birthday, Papa Kim surprised him with a Hot Wheels bike. It was a very simple celebration... just us... with spaghetti, garlic sliced bread, almost like corn dogs, peaches and cream, birthday cake and juice.

This one was yesterday at the park near our house. We celebrated his birthday with friends from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and around Al Ain. It was also a weekend get-together for the big ones and play time for the kids.

Thanks for looking... =)

Scrapping again...

2009-08-14T12:32:00.007+04:00

While I was taking it slow on cooking and baking, I’m having so much fun with digital scrapbooking once again. I have been taking time off with scrapbooking before and it’s been a while until a few days after I gave birth to my second son that I started doing scrap layouts again… it feels so good. I even wanted to enhance and learn more in making materials (papers and elements) for digital scrapbooking. Hehehe…

I have a scrapbooking blog but I was not able to update it for a long time now. I am thinking of canceling that blog and creating a new one… and hopefully maintain it with this blog and my multiply site. I will update you guys soon if ever I opened a new blog for my scrapbooking layouts. For now, here are my first layouts.

Credits:
Bouille Template 8
Taylor Made Mere Modesty
Feifei Stuff Ray of Light Solids & Prints

Credits:
Bouille Template 11
Taylor Made Revive
Taylor made Mere Modesty

Credits:
Three Paper Peonies California Itty Bitty Kit
Three Paper Peonies Birthday Itty Bitty Kit
Three Paper Peonies Sunshine Itty Bitty Kit
Three paper peonies Lemonade Itty Bitty Kit

Credits:
Paislee Press Ecologie
Other freebies

Thank you for looking… =))

mango-cream cake

2009-08-06T17:11:00.005+04:00

i've been craving for something sweet lately... i thought of asking kim to buy some ripe mangoes since i still have a lot of graham crackers in the pantry. so, last night, while kim was watching baby yano, i had the chance to make this dish. i even asked kim to buy canned peaches since mangoes here in uae are far different from our philippine mangoes... really. i was thinking ahead; if mangoes don't work, i already have the peaches ready for substitute. hehehe...

i have been making mango float or mango refrigerator cake way-way back but since we arrived here in uae i was able to make it just now. this is very easy and no-bake cake. although it has a different procedure or looks from what i usually do it's still the same.

i saw this recipe peaches and cream from pinoy cook and i based it from there. but since i have canned peaches already, after consuming this mango cream cake, i'll make the peaches and cream. hehehe... i just scraped the remaining meat from the mango seeds then added it to the cream and milk mixture for added flavor.

ingredients:
1 cup of crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup of melted butter, cooled
2 cup of all-purpose cream
1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
3 pcs. ripe mangoes, sliced
scraped mango meat from the mango seeds

procedure:
chill the cream and sweetened condensed milk for several hours in the fridge — not the freezer. the cream should no longer be of pouring consistency after chilling. instead, if you scoop it with a spoon, the cream shouldn’t fall off.

mix together the melted butter and graham crackers and press onto the bottom of a glass dish which must be at least three inches in height.

stir the chilled cream and milk together. scrap the remaining mango meat from the seeds of the mangoes and add to the cream-milk mixture. mix well until fully incorporated. pour over the graham cracker crust.

arrange the mango slices on top. cover with cling film and keep chilled until needed.

orange juice popsicle

2009-08-06T14:14:00.003+04:00

went to the new daiso store at bawadi mall a couple of weeks ago and found this 'popsicle' maker. even if i was so excited to try this right away, the soreness of my belly still made me stay away from the kitchen until now. last night after makung the mango-cream cake, i made this one. this is nice specially during hot weather... like now.

i just poured some orange juice just until almost full. then placed placed the holder back. then placed inside the freezer until fully frozen. i used orange juice since it was what's available in the refrigerator. i'd like to experiment with other flavors soon.

obviously, makuy loved it!

^_^

photo mosaic of the latest happenings

2009-08-05T18:35:00.007+04:00

just taking a rest from cooking, baking & posting recipes to show you these. these are the photos of the past 1-1/2 months since yano arrived and it's nice to see them grouped together in a mosaic like these.

some of the photos are from aying & frema. thanks to them.

elyzee of paislee press inspired me to do a photo mosaic of my own.

... happy viewing ^_^...

hard-boiled eggs with garlic & herb spaghetti sauce

2009-08-04T00:23:00.003+04:00

after almost 2 months after my extraordinaire childbirth and not cooking, today, i decided to cook this very simple dish. i got it from feast asia months before i gave birth; i wasn't able to cook it since kim is not an egg-fan. today, kim went to grocery after work and arrived home a bit late already and makuy was asking me to cook since he's hungry already. hmmmm... what i had were 3 hard-boiled eggs. so what i did was re-heat the spaghetti sauce and add the hard-boiled eggs. fortunately, makuy liked it, he ate almost 2 eggs. hehehe...

the recipe is here. i just used garlic and herbed spaghetti sauce; however, you can opt to use other 'style' of spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce. but i'd like to try miss connie's chili tomato sauce next time.

ingrdients:
3 hardboiled eggs, shell removed
1 cup garlic & herbs spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup cheese, grated

procedure:
heat about 2 cups of cooking oil in a wok. when the oil is smoking, add the hard boiled eggs and fry over very high heat until the egg whites are lightly browned in spots and blistered. remove eggs and drain on paper towel.

in a sauce pan, heat about 1 tbsp. of cooking oil and then pour in the spaghetti sauce. coook, stirring, for a few minutes or until very fragrant. add the cheese then add the eggs. lower the heat, cover and simmer for a few minutes.

transfer eggs to a plate then pour over with the sauce. sprinkle with chopped onion leaves.

^_^

Lasang Pinoy, Sundays : from ROOTs to ENDs

2009-08-02T15:37:00.006+04:00

this is my entry for this week's la.pi.s. theme... i was just blog hopping since the baby's sleeping, so i had the chance. i've been out for quite some time now and although i'm not totally back, i hope to be really back into cooking and baking soon... i miss it already... i already can start with light activities now but i still had to take it easy, for full recovery.

i admit, i don't have agreen thumb. as much as i wanted to grow plants, they always die. on the other hand, kim has a green thumb and these are the proof.

this is our tanglad (lemongrass) plant kim planted late last year and now the pot is already full and some of the leaves are turning brown already but we were able to use it for our food.

this is our kangkong plant. kim planted this just early this year. we wanted to frequently eat kangkong since he said that it's full of nutritions and affordable but we would like the organically grown one. we tried planting an entire rectagular pot but these are the ones that only grew, the rest died. still, kim planted more. he took out the ones that died and replaced it with new stalks and fortunately it all grew. we've been able to harvest quite a bunch from it and used it in our dishes like adobong kangkong, kangkong salad, and fish tinola.

we are still planning to plant more vegetables like tomato and string beans. i even requested for a malunggay plant but it's quite difficult here in our house since we only have pots and i think malunggay plants requires a larger area of soil. i believe i will have malunggay plant in the future, i'll just think of some other ways to grow it here.

hoping you'll have a happy week... =))

chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips & almond toppings

2009-07-21T12:45:00.002+04:00

same thing with the vanilla cupcake, this entry has been on my hard drive for months now… i was not able to post them here. so, here it is, a simple ready-mix cake that I’ve only added some chocolate chips and almonds for toppings.

m as well as k enjoyed it.

ingredients:
485 g. cake mix
275 ml. water*
60ml. vegetable oil
3 eggs
butter for greasing
flour for dusting
24 cupcake paper
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond flakes

procedure:
preheat oven to 180°c .grease cupcake mold lightly with butter and lightly flour before putting the cupcake paper.beat cake mix with water, vegetable oil and eggs in a large bowl until moistened. pour into cupcake molds halfway only (since the cake will rise as it is cooked).

top with either chocolate chips or almond flakes.

bake for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched in the center or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. cool completely on wire rack.

• • • • • • •

* instead of water, you can use fresh milk.

vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting

2009-07-21T12:19:00.004+04:00

just had to post this entry. i had this since late last year on my hard drive and i thought i have posted this already but not. i made this as a gift to a friend whose daughter was celebrating her 3rd birthday and they invited me and m. i was not able to buy a gift, that’s why i just baked some cupcakes for her.

i got this recipe from ms. connie of pinoycook and i was happy to try it. easy and yummy.

makes 14 large cupcakes.

for vanilla cupcake:
ingredients:
3/4 c. of butter, softened
1-2/3 c. of white sugar
2 large eggs
2-2/3 c. of all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsps. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. of salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbsps. of skim milk
2 tsps. of vanilla extract

procedure:
in a bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.

in another bowl, stir together the milk and vanilla extract.

in a large bowl, beat the butter (with a wire whisk or a hand mixer) until light and fluffy. add

the sugar and continue beating until well combined. add the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.

add the flour and milk in batches to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour.

spoon into paper-lined cupcake pans to about 3/4 full.

bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

cool the cupcakes before frosting.

for the cream cheese frosting:
ingredients:
1 225 g. block of butter
1 255 g. block of cream cheese
2 tbsps. of vanilla extract
4 cups of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

procedure:
in a bowl, beat the butter until light. add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. stir in the vanilla extract. add the confectioner’s sugar, a cup at a time, until a smooth paste is formed. add a few drops of food color if you like. pipe on cooled cupcakes and top with your favorite sprinkles.
you can also use this cream cheese frosting for your chocolate cupcakes.

it's been a while...

2009-07-16T09:23:00.006+04:00

hello... yes, it's been a while since my last post. it is because our new boy has arrived earlier than we thought. he arrived on fathers day at 36 weeks & 4 days... quite a surprise really.

well, here he is... i'd like all of you to meet...
YANO UNABIA LIM
june 21, 2009
7:04 am
2.42 kls.
45 cm height
oasis hospital, al ain, uae

it was quite an ordeal for our family. i delivered him via cesarean section and an unexpected circumstances happened but praise God all went well and the baby's healthy... and i'm still recovering.

thank you to all our friends who came to visit, pray and support... for our family and friends who called... for all the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, the chaplain and their filipino pastor.

xoxo

choco cornflakes

2009-06-19T10:22:00.002+04:00

this will be a short post. just like to share a very simple snack little children will love... because my son likes it so much. this is cornflakes coated in chocolate.

very simple to prepare: i just melted some chocolate chips on the microwave and then added fresh milk and then i mixed them together. you can omit or add more fresh milk if you like. when the desired consistency was achieved, i then added cornflakes and then mix well to fully coat the cornflakes. then i sccoped 1 tablespoon of coated cornflakes and placed it on a baking tray lines with baking paper. i let it dry for 1 hour. you can store these choco cornflakes in an airtight container.

enjoy.

spare ribs with salted black beans

2009-06-15T09:37:00.002+04:00

k was not able to go to the grocery last night after his work, he had an overtime. fortunately, we still have a few spare ribs slices in the freezer. that will do for k's lunch at work and for me and m at home. i just planned to prepare spare ribs with oyster sauce, so last night i had the pork ribs boiling already until tender (just to avoid the hassle of waking really early to prepare this). then when i was about to prepare the marinade... toinks... there was no more oyster sauce... yaiks!!! what to do?! hehehe... well, anyways, i continued boiling the pork ribs until tender then i'll decide tomorrow when i wake up what to do.

and so the morning came, i went to the kitchen and looked around. i couldn't just deep-fry the pork ribs, k's not really a fan of just frying and couldn't turn it into soup since we don't have vegetables anymore. i saw this can of black beans, why not. so, i prepared this pork ribs with black beans and i asked kim to taste it and if it's okay for him... he approved it and said just like the ones he tasted during fiestas. hehehe...

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
1 small onion, quatered
1 pork cube
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 thumbsized ginger, minced
3 tbsp. black beans, drained, washed and mashed

procedure:
in a small casserole, place the first 4 ingredients. pour enough water just to cover the pork ribs. boil and then simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until the pork ribs are tender. you may keep on adding water along the way.

when the pork ribs are tender, drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the broth. set aside.

in a wok, heat the olive oil. saute the ginger and garlic until aromatic and a little browned. add the pork ribs and the reserved broth. continue mixing over high heat until the broth has evaporated.

then lower the heat and continue frying the pork ribs until light brown. then add the mashed black beans and sliced onions. continue mixing until cooked and so as to avoid burning the pork ribs and the black beans.

• • • • • • •

no need to add salt and pepper since the black beans are salted already.

pineapple upside down cake

2009-06-12T12:09:00.004+04:00

pineapple upside down cake, k said it's one of his favorite. and so i tried baking it. i was just wondering what made my cake so crumbly. i thought maybe because of the baking powder. instead of teaspoon, i used tablespoon. then when i realized that i put a tablespoon, i immediately took it out and placed the right measurement of the baking powder. hmmmm... maybe that's the reason for my crumbly cake? well, anyways, it crumbly yes but it's good. a comment from k... it's too sweet for him. hehehe... maybe because i used muscovado sugar instead of just regular brown sugar... hehehe...

next time, i hope it would be much better.

i used the recipe here, just omitted the cherries since i didn't have it at that moment.

ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

procedure:
heat oven to 350°F. in 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven. sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar.

in medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. pour batter over pineapple and cherries.

bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. serve warm. store cake loosely covered.

chicken barbecue

2009-06-10T13:30:00.002+04:00

i wanted to use my griddle today, so i decided to try stovetop grilling chicken barbeque. i used this recipe here for the chicken barbecue, i just made some changes. it was alright but k commented that it tasted more like a kebabs. hehehe... maybe... i should have just add bell pepper and pineapple then it would be chicken kebab. hehehe... i served the chicken with tomato and cucumber salad.

ingredients:
1 chicken breast, skinless, boneless, cubed
1 cup tomato ketchup ketchup
3 tbsp. calamansi juice
5 cloves garlic
1 cup soy Sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
salt and pepper
wooden skewers

procedure:
mix all ingredients on a bowl and let marinade for 30 minutes.

thread chicken pieces on skewers, then place skewers on a tray. (before threading the chicken, dip the wooden skewers in the water for 30 minutes to avoid burning it later during the grilling).

grill chicken skewers until cooked through.

bananacue

2009-06-10T13:06:00.002+04:00

remembered that i made banana turon just a few days ago and then left some bananas fo bananacue. this is the day for bananacue. i had to cook the bananas already since it's starting to get soggy. because of the heat, spoiling is fast. same thing with the pinaypay and turon, this is another favorite snack during college.

i peeled the bananas and fried in a wok then when halfway cooked, i added brown sugar. i kept mixing so as not to burn the sugar and that the bananas would be evenly coated with sugar. i really loved that the sugar are crystallized.

super, it's heaven with banana this week. hehehe...

La.Pi.S: RESTO-rant

2009-06-08T16:09:00.006+04:00

hello... good thing is that i'm still able to blog even now that i'm nearing my due date. so excited though at the same time really scared of giving birth. hahaha...

well here's my entry for this weeks la.pi.s. theme resto-rant.

i've been into a really fine dining just once (i think), when k proposed to me. we don't usually go to eat at fine dining since it's expensive and we don't have enough resources for that. hehehe... although we have been into a few good restaurants in cebu, davao and here in uae... but there should be an occassion for that; and if we were invited to a wedding... hehehe...

i wanted to share this one occassion that we went to chili's here in al ain, uae... it was our 5th wedding anniversary last year. it was our first time there, we didn't know how and what to order. good thing was the crew assigned to our table was a filipino and he was really accomodating and gave us some good choices as to what to order... it was really good... thanks to that crew.

was not able to take a good photo of the place since there were so many people inside. so, i just took photo of the table napkin as a proof that we've been there. hahaha...

family photo just before we started eating our baby back ribs with rice and fries and cheese macaroni for m.

makuy enjoyed his mini entertainment sheet for the children from chili's. it was nice and we hoped that there would be a next time for chili's. hehehe...

enjoy the rest of the week... ingat... :p

banana turon

2009-06-07T09:14:00.002+04:00

another favorite... turon. yummy. i was able to buy cardava bananas at the supermarket last weekend and since i already made pinaypay (banana fritters) and minatamis na saging, i wanted to prepare turon this time. i even left some banana for bananacue later on. hehehe... i really miss this food. i always buy this during college outside the school.

some included a slice of langka with the banana inside and it's much yummy. what i did was i rolled the banana over a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. then rolled with lumpia wrapper. then fried for a few minutes and drained on paper towel. then placed some brown sugar at the cooking oil until almost melted. then i put the fried bananas again just to be coated with the melted sugar.

cool so as not to burn the tongue.

puto (steamed rice cake)

2009-06-05T19:18:00.006+04:00

i saw this recipe for a puto and since i have rice flour in the kitchen i decided to give it a try. i got it here from cafe munchkin. this is a puto you would want to pair with a chocolate drink. i didn't know what went wrong with my recipe because the puto came out very crumbly but it really tasted like the puto though. however, i still prefer the previous puto i've made, the puto cheese.

ingredients:
2 cups rice flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 400ml can (approximately 2 cups) coconut milk

procedure:
sift all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. then add the coconut milk and blend well until smooth.

fill greased puto/muffin molds 2/3 full.

steam for 30 minutes and test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the puto. the putos are done when the toothpick comes out clean.

chocolatety champorado

2009-06-05T19:16:00.004+04:00

i've been craving for champorado lately and searched the net for a good recipe. i came up on this recipe and tried and liked it. the recipe is here but i'd like to post it here as well for my easy access. note that this particular recipe is chocolatey but not too sweet. you can always add sugar according to your taste and if you wanted a thinner champorado, don't hesitate to add water.

according to wikipedia, champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge. it is traditionally made by boiling sticky/sweet rice and cocoa powder giving it a distinctly brown color. it can be served hot or cold and with milk and sugar to taste. it is served usually at breakfast and sometimes together with dried fish locally known as tuyo or bulad in our native language. but i liked it as is.

ingredients:
1 cup glutinous rice (sticky rice)
3 cups water
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1/2 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

procedure:
wash the glutinous rice in water around 3 times or so, until the water runs noticeably clearer.

put the rice and water in a medium saucepan then bring to boil, occasionally stirring to prevent it from burning.

once it boils, stir continuously and make sure to lower the heat to a minimum.

in a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder, sugar and salt. add a small amount of water, just enough to turn the dry ingredients into a thick paste.

pour the paste mixture into the pot, mixing until well blended.

continue cooking the champorado until the rice is clear (no white centers), soft and fluffy.

serve with evaporated, condensed or fresh milk.

simple celebration

2009-06-01T19:37:00.002+04:00

june 1, 1997, cebu city... k and i became officially on. from then on, we always see to it that we could celebrate our monthsary (so to speak) for the first year and our yearly anniversary for the following years. today, even if we are already married, we still somehow celebrate the day we became boyfriend-girlfriend even in little ways... cooking food or eating out. this time, i chose to prepare a simple pasta dish with my first time-to-make frozen brazo.

this was our dinner, for the 3 of us. still quick and easy to make, my spaghetti with shrimp and tomato sauce.

ingredients:
a handful of spaghetti, cooked as per package direction
1 cup shrimp, cleaned, shelled, deveined, heads discarded
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup cheese, grated
1/2 cup cheese, grated for the topping
2 tbsp. cooking oil

procedure:
season shrimps with salt and pepper. heat oil in a wok and fry the shrimps for 2-3 minutes. set aside.

using the same wok, saute garlic and onion until aromatic. then add chicken stock. let simmer until the stock is reduced in half. then add the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. let boil. season with salt and pepper, sugar and cheese. mix well. then add the cooked shrimps. simmer for another 3-5 mintes more.

pour over the cooked spaghetti and topped with the grated cheese.

then for the dessert, something special for a special occasion... frozen brazo de mercedes. i saw this recipe in a cooking show at qtv11, true confection and seemed to be easy to prepare... just changed an ingredient and then instead of using a 4x7 pan, i used 2, 2-1/2x6-1/2 pans. k and m loved it so much that they kept on asking for more. hehehe...

ingredients:
for the meringue:
4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. confectioner's sugar

for the graham crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. sugar

for the custard:
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup butter, cubed

for the ice cream layer:
1 liter vanilla ice cream

procedure:
for the meringue:
preheat oven to 250ºF.

grease and line the bottom of an 8x12 inch pan. grease and flour the paper again then spread the meringue on the pan.

beat the egg whites with cream of tartar in a bowl of an electric mixer on high until fine bubbles form. then gradually add the sugar. whip to stiff peaks but not dry.

using an offset spatula, spread the meringue over the prepared pan making sure to fill even the edges. use a cake comb to create texture on the meringue.

bake in the oven for 30 minutes. dust with confectioner's sugar and allow to cool until ready to use.

for the graham crust:
combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl. mix well. place the graham cracker crumbs in a 4x7 rectangular baking dish and evenly spread on the bottom of the pan.

for the custard:
in a double broiler, mix the eggs, condensed milk and vanilla. stir for about 30 minutes or until pouring consistency.

add butter a little at a time until melted and blended in. cook longer to make it thicker. pour over the graham crust and allow to cool to room temp.

for the frozen layer:
leave ice cream at room temperature for about 15 minutes or until softened. mix until consistency of soft serve ice cream. place over the custard layer.

finish off by cutting a 4x7 rectangle from the meringue to fit the size of the container and placing over the ice cream.

place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or until stable before serving.

• • • • • • •

happy 12 years of togetherness to us... xoxo

beef ribs in oyster sauce

2009-06-01T13:33:00.002+04:00

i was scanning through my old recipe collection notebook that i had since college, when i saw this dish. fortunately we still had a few remaining beef ribs in the freezer and then it seemed easy and quick to prepare. so, since i didn't want to spend much time in the kitchen now a adays, i tried this dish. the result was satisfying, k and m loved it. i forgot from where i got this recipe but this sure was good.

ingredients:
for the ribs:
1 kl. beef short ribs, cut into 1-1/2" pieces
1 pc. onion, sliced
2 pcs. beef cubes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. garlic, minced
3 tbsp. cooking oil

for the marinade:
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. liquid seasoning
1/4 cup stock from short ribs

procedure:
boil short ribs in enough water to cover. add onion and beef cubes. season with salt and pepper. simmer until tender. you may need to add additional water along the way. drain. reserve 1/4 cup of the stock.

marinate short ribs for 30 minutes in oyster sauce mixture. you can marinate it for more than 30 minutes if you desire.

saute garlic in cooking oil. when the garlic starts to brown, add ribs and cook for a few minutes. then add the marinade and continue mixing until short ribs are fully coated with the sauce.

serve while hot over rice.

grilled ham and cheese sandwich

2009-05-31T20:27:00.004+04:00

this is is our dinner for tonight as per k's request of a light meal since we had a heavy lunch. simple and quick.

i grilled the sliced bread. spread some mayonnaise. placed a lettuce leaf, then a slice of cheese, then panfried ham slice, then cucumber and tomato slices. then put some ketchup and hot sauce. ready in a few minutes.

macaroni fruit salad

2009-05-31T11:28:00.004+04:00

we have always been enjoying fruit salads and we always see to it that we have some in the refrigerator. so that everytime we wanted to have some dessert or snack, there'll always be a bowl ready to enjoy.

everytime we go for a grocery at carrefour, i always make sure i grab this biscocho... so perfect for my macaroni fruit salad. i always enjoy my biscocho with warm milk or chocolate drink or cold juice or simply as it is.

well, my macaroni fruit salad is so simple to prepare and nothing special about it. i just combined a cup of cooked macaroni with a 500gm. fruit cocktail, a bottle of kaong and a bottle nata de coco (everything should be well drained. i reserved the syrup of the fruit cocktail for later use.) then i added diced cheddar cheese. then i added 4 tbsp. cream, 4 tbsp. mayonnaise and 1 tbsp. condensed milk. just mixed everything together and chill before serving.

La.Pi.S: pearlySHELLS

2009-05-31T08:42:00.002+04:00

don't wanna be late this time... hehehe...

this is my entry for this week's la.pi.s... my sinabawang halaan. i like this so much and here in uae specially here in our place in al ain, you seldom find shellfish at the market. the reason behind this is maybe because al ain is located in the main land... far from the sea or any body of water. and fish, shellfish, crabs or shrimps are really expensive here. luckily, k was able to find a batch of still fresh clams at the supermarket. we cooked it right away and paired it with sinugbang isda (grilled fish). but i like the soup with the malunggay leaves much better. that's another plant we rearly see here.

if you like the recipe, click here. happy la.pi.s... enjoy the week everyone.

La.Pi.S: Fluffy

2009-05-30T10:02:00.002+04:00

this is very, very late already... my entry for this week's la.pi.s. theme fluffy. this is my berry pillow recipe which you can find here.

the pastry really was fluffy and we enjoyed eating it more the next day. just one mistake with this one... i over measure the butter (not that familiar then as to how to measure butter). hahaha...

enjoy the rest of the week... xoxo :p

apple pie with streusel topping

2009-05-26T20:03:00.002+04:00

i was watching this cooking show/baking show on tv and they featured this one. it was a new way of presenting an apple pie and i got interested. i have here an entry about apple pie and this is another apple pie presentation.

k said it's good but just too sweet for him (he's not that into sweet as i am) but maybe i should have lessen the streusel topping i placed. but for me, i'm satisfied. below is the recipe i used for this. i was not able to take note of the recipe while watching the show, just remembered the ingredients they used. i just used the recipe of the pie crust from the apple pie and the streusel from the strawberry steusel cake.

ingredients:
for the pie crust:
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
iced water

for the apple filling:
4 apples, peeled and sliced into wedges
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. butter

for the streusel topping:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. powdered cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into very small cubes

procedure:
do the pie crust:
place butter in a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt and sugar. mix with your hands, rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

pour iced-water (water with pieces of ice in it) little by little, about a tablespoon of so at a time, while stiring the dough lightly. when the dough starts to stick together, you've poured in enough water. gather the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge (an hour would make it even easier to roll out).

place the dough on a sheet of baking paper. flatten slightly with your hand. place another sheet of baking paper over it and roll from the center outward with light smooth strokes until the dough is about 1/8 of an inch thick. note that the rolled dough should be larger that the pie pan.

remove the top sheet of baking paper. lift the dough by holding on to the remaining sheet of baking paper. carefully invert into the pie pan. use your fingers to make sure that the dough fits snugly into the pan. press the dough along the edges of the pan to remove the excess. if you're not using a pan with fluted edges, use kitchen shears to cut off the excess. place the pan with the prepared crust in the fridge while preparing the top crust.

prepare the apple filling:
in a bowl, mix the apples and the sugar well. leave for a few minutes, about 10-15 minutes, until the apples releases some liquid.

then place the liquid from the apple in a sauce pan and add the butter. let simmer for about 5 minutes or until the liquid caramelizes.

add the apple slices and cook for about 10 minutes or until the apple slices are soft but not mushy. discard the remaining sauce. set aside.

prepare the streusel topping:
mix the ingredients for the streusel topping together in a mixing bowl until the texture resembles coarse crumbs. you can either mix it using your hand, a fork, or a wire whisk.

arrange:
take out the pie crust from the refrigerator and arrange the cooked apple inside the pie crust. then topped with the streusel topping.

with the remaining dough flattened on a surface, cut shapes using cookie cutter and place on top of the streusel topping for decoration.

baked in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the pie crust is well browned and the filling is bubbly (i was able to bake mine for 50 minutes on a 230°c oven).

once cooked, take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack before taking out of the pie pan or slicing.

spaghetti with tomato and mushroom sauce

2009-05-23T19:38:00.003+04:00

this is a very simple dish to make. don't want to spend so much time in the kitchen since it's so hot now. but this spaghatti dish is simple and quick... finished it just in time for dinner.

i just saute 2 cloves garlic and 1 small onion until aromatic then added 4-6 tbsp. ground pork. cook until ground pork is a bit browned. then added 2 diced tomatoes. then added 1/2 cup button mushroom and 1 cup spaghetti sauce. then added 1 tbsp. brown sugar and some cheddar cheese. seasoned with salt and pepper. then tossed the cooked spaghetti over and added more cheese (since makuy loves cheese).

served it with grilled bread slices.

puto maya

2009-05-22T19:26:00.004+04:00

puto maya, usually eaten early in the morning with cocoa/tsokolate; wrapped in banana leaves in triangle shape. this is very common in our province in cebu and davao. i like eating my puto maya just with sugar and sometimes, powedered milk and sugar.

this is my puto maya... a bit of disaster but still eatable. hahaha... i asked this recipe from my mother through texting. i just reduced the ingredients since i just wanted to try it and just missed eating puto maya. it was soggy and mushy maybe because i used rice cooker instead of cooking it over low heat over the stove top. when the rice cooker lighted on warm, the glutinous rice wasn't yet cooked. so i decided to transfer it to the satove top and added coconut milk since the bottom was starting to get burned. i almost lost hope and thought that it will be a disaster! it tasted puto maya, only mushy. i melted some chocolate chips and drizzle over the puto maya but the rest, i just had addtional sugar.

this was from my mother: cook the 1 kl. glutinous rice with 3 cups coconut milk, thumb-size ginger, 2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. salt. combine the sugar and salt with the coconut milk before pouring over the glutinous rice. cook over low heat just until the rice is cooked.

i hope the next time i make this, it will be much better.

grilled chicken quesadilla

2009-05-20T21:36:00.004+04:00

got to consume the remaining chicken breast from the freezer and the 2 remaining flour tortillas in the refrigerator. i wanted something else beside wraps and i remembered this flour tortilla used just like pizza with toppings. since i have 2 flour tortillas, i decided to make quesadilla instead.

ingredients:
chicken breast
tomato, sliced
onion, sliced
bell pepper, sliced
button mushroom, sliced
mozarella cheese, grated
flour tortillas
tomato sauce

procedure:
season the chicken breast with salt and pepper and then grill until cooked. slice into strips and set aside.

in the same griddle, place 1 tortilla then spread tomato sauce. then top with the chicken, tomato, onion, bell pepper, mushroom and cheese. then place the other tortilla on top.

grill for1 more minute. then slowly, flip over to grill the top tortilla.

• • • • • • •

i later found out that you can also pan-fry the tortilla instead of grilling it.

La.Pi.S.:SLICE it up!

2009-05-20T12:08:00.004+04:00

missed the la.pi.s. last week again. this pregnancy makes me really feelt tired these days since i'm already in my third trimester. 2 more months to go and another boy will be added to our little family. because of this event coming closer and closer each day, i'm finding it harder to move around and even blog since i still do household chores (we don't have any helper). but i as i can still manage, i will do my best to update my blog and even join the weekly la.pi.s.

well, for this week's theme, these are my entries.

i've always loved banana cake/bread. it was the first cake i was able to bake with my table top oven when i was still single in cebu. although this recipe was much more different with the usual recipe i had, i liked this one better... not too sweet for me and k. recipe here which i got from my kitchen if you're interested.

this... i like. instead of deep frying the pork belly, i tried cooking it in the oven. even if the skin was not that crisp, i still liked this much better than the deep-fried one. maybe because this was less oily since the oil/fat dripped from the meat to the pan while the deep-fried, you cooked it with oil... maybe? as per the recipe, i sliced the half of the pork belly slab meat just until almost into the skin, keeping it still intact, so that the seasoning could penetrate through the meat. recipe is here from pinoycook.

enjoy the week and hoping to see you next week in la.pi.s. again... :p

banana - ice cream delight

2009-05-20T10:56:00.003+04:00

just wanted to share my sweet morning snack for today... chocolate ice cream with sliced banana, yummy... k bought this magnolia chocolate ice cream from choitram yesterday. we all missed our philippine ice cream. hehehe... and it's so refreshing to eat ice cream specially these days... sooo hot summer in uae. as you noticed that my ice cream was already melting. it has only been 2 minutes since i started taking photos of it and it's melting already... so just took a couple of shots and got to eat it right away. hahaha... :p

grilled pineapple with cream and roasted cashew

2009-05-19T11:19:00.003+04:00

wondering what grilled pineapple tastes like... so, i gril a couple over a griddle just until the marks appear. then topped it with all-purpose cream with a little lemon and roated cashew nuts. the grilled pineapple tasted a little sweet and the acidic taste was gone and the roated cashew was just right with the pineapple and cream. this was a healthy snack and i kinda enjoyed it.

adobong pusit

2009-05-18T13:34:00.005+04:00

this is adobong pusit without the gata. i already have an entry here for the adobong pusit sa gata. we were able to buy fresh pusit/squid at the grocery and we decided to cook adobo.

ingredients:
6 pcs. medium pusit
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 thumb-size ginger, cut into thin strips
1 tomato, diced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbspo. cooking oil

procedure:
clean the pusit well, remove the transparent spine. carefully separate the heads from the body so as not to break the ink sacks. retain the ink sacks and the tentacles from the head and discard the rest of the heads. cut the pusit into rings.

in a wok, heat oil and then saute the garlic, onion and ginger until aromatic. add the tomato and continue cooking until tomatoes are wilted.

then add the pusit then mix a little bit. then add the vinegar and oyster sauce. simmer but do not mix for about 1 minute.

season with salt and pepper and mix well, about 7 minutes. do not overcook pusit as overcooking it will make it rubbery.

lastly, add the sugar. then mix again for 1-2 minutes.

minatamis na saging

2009-05-16T16:26:00.004+04:00

at last... i was able to buy cardava bananas again. i was confused on as to what to prepare with my limited cardava bananas; either bananacue, turon or minatamis. but i finally decided to prepare the lats one, minatamis na saging (banana in sugar syrup). then hopefully, next time, prepare the bananacue and turon.

i missed this dish. i was even smiling all ears as i savor every bit of my minatamis na saging.. and i almost eat everything. hahaha...

i peeled seven cardava/saba bananas and then sliced them into two. i placed them in a sauce pan, added about 1/2 cup of brown sugar (i used muscovado sugar) and poured enough water to cover the bananas. slow cooked for about 30 minutes or until the sugar-water syrup was reduced to more than half. cool and then placed in a container and chill before eating. if you eat it right away witout cooling it first, surely, you'll burn your tongue. hehehe...

nilagang baka

2009-05-13T12:54:00.004+04:00

nilagang baka or beef stew. we were able to purchase beef ribs from the grocery since we are refraining from eating pork due to the swine flu outbreak. it has been a long time since we had beef in our meal.

this already taste really good but k would have preferred if i added tomato sauce/paste. hehehe... the beef ribs were cooked over low heat for 2 hours with tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. that even made the soup really tasty.

ingredients:
6 pcs. beef short ribs
1 thumb-size ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion, quartered
1 medium tomato, quartered
salt and pepper
water¹
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and sliced
1 medium carrots, chopped
1 handful string beans, sliced into 2" long
6 pcs. young corn
3 cabbage leaves, quartered

procedure:
boil the beef ribs with ginger, tomato, onion, garlic and salt and pepper. bring to simmer and continue cooking the beef over low heat until tender. you might be able to keep on adding water along the way.

once tender, add the carrots and potato. cook until slightly tender.

then add the bell peppers and young corns. season with salt and pepper to taste. cook for about 5 minutes.

then turn off the heat and add the cabbage and string beans and then cover for a few minute. the heat from the soup will be the one to cook the cabbage and string beans just right, still crunchy.

serve hot

• • • • • • •

¹ you can use beef broth.

chopsuey rice topping

2009-05-11T13:41:00.004+04:00

this was supposed to be my entry for the la.pi.s. over the top theme last week. unfortunately i was not able to post it... laziness that is. i'm starting to be very tired these days, because of my getting bigger and heavier preggy tummy. hehehe... but anyways, i'm posting this here.

first, i saute garlic, onion and ginger in olive oil until aromatic. then i added the chicken strips and cooked until a little brown. then added the shrimp and continue cooking until shrimps are cooked, just a couple of minutes. next, i added the red and green bell peppers and button mushroom. next, i added the cornstarch which i dissolved in water. continued simmering until sauce is a little bit sticky. then , added the vegetables like cauliflower, young corn, carrots and cabbage. then season to taste. lastly, served hot over steam rice.

rich fudge and marshmallow crusted chocolate cake

2009-05-10T20:15:00.002+04:00

remembered that i won this marvelous set of gifts from munchkin mommy's blog anniversary a few months ago? and i've been wanting to try this chocolate cake recipe from one of the cookbook which i received from her, "crazy for chocolate". at last i was able to bake one.

it didn't looked like the one in the cookbook photo since i didn't have a template that created a nice design on top. i just sprinkled powdered sugar instead. hehehe...

here's the recipe from the book...

ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup soft brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla essence
60 gm. butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
125 gm. mini marshmallow¹

procedure:
preheat oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/gas 4).

brush a deep 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tin with melted butter or oil. line base with baking paper.

sift flours, cocoa and soda into a large bowl. add the sugars; make a well in the center.

add combined egg, vanilla essence, butter and milk. using a wooden spoon, stir ingredients until mixture is smooth. stir through marshmallows.

pour mixture evenly into prepared tin; smooth surface. bake 40-45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted at the center of cake. leave cake in tin for 25 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.

dust with icing sugar using a template before serving.²

• • • • • • •

¹ if mini marshmallows are not available, use chopped larger ones which i used.

² just dust the top with powdered/icing sugar if you have no template.

to all mothers and mothers-to-be...

2009-05-10T08:02:00.001+04:00

Proverbs 31:10-31

A Virtuous Woman

“Who can find a virtues woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,
so that he shall no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax,
and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like a merchants’ ships;
she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, a
nd giveth meat to her household,
and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a fiels, and buyeth it:
with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,
and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle;
and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;
yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen,
and selleth it and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing;
and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

sarciadong bulad

2009-05-08T12:41:00.004+04:00

last weekend we went to a friend who had just came back from his vacation in cebu. my parents sent some stuff for the baby and so we drove more than 2 hours to their house. it was also a time to visit close friends since we were not able to visit abu dhabi since december last year. before we left, jason gave us bulad (dried fish). we were actually glad since we didn't have bulad for some time now.

bulad/buwad is how we call dried fish/tuyo in my homeplace cebu. never mind the lingering pungent smell after frying the bulad as long as i'm satisfied eating the delicious bulad. i'll just spray some air freshner or light a scented candle. hehehe...

it's weekend here in uae and our refrigerator's empty. this is what i had in mind for lunch. we all liked it even m. but as for me, i just have to eat in moderation since it is dried fish and a bit salty.

to prepare, soak the bulad in warm water and rinse it in cool water for a few minutes to remove the excess salt from the bulad. fry the bulad until cooked, we like our bulad a bit crispy, drain on paper towel and set aside. in a frying pan, heat some oil and saute some sliced onion, garlic and julienned ginger until aromatic. then add several ripe chopped tomatoes, a few teaspoon of sugar, a little vinegar and a little water. mix well to incorporate the flavors. then the bulad into the mixture to let the juices infused with the bulad for 3-5 minutes.

thanks to intsik for the bulad... :)

pork empanada

2009-05-07T20:22:00.006+04:00

at last, i was able to cook empanada. i've been wanting to cook empanada for quite some time now, i just didn't have the guts. i was afraid of failing or it might not taste well or it might not turn out right or just spoil everything. but i found this empanada recipe in a multiply site, measuring life with love. i used her pastry dough recipe while i made my own filling.

last month i went to daiso and i saw this dumpling maker and pizza cutter. i bought it right away thinking that it would be useful for me. i thought of trying it in making empanada. my empanada turned out to be a smaller version, a dumpling size version. k can eat it at one time or as for me, i had it at 2 bites. hehehe...

ingredients:
for the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup refined sugar
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

for the filling:
2/3 cup ground pork, seasoned with salt and pepper
2/3 cup frozen shrimp, thawed and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 carrot, diced
4 pcs. prune, diced¹
1 cup green peas
3 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 egg, hardboiled and sliced
cheese, sliced into strips

procedure:
for the pastry:
mix all ingredients together (using your hand, mixer, food processor or fork) and knead until smooth to touch and gathers together into a ball. wrap in cling plastic wrap. let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

for the filling:
in a wok heat oil, cook the shrimp for 2 minutes, drain and set aside.

using the same wok cook the ground pork until brown. add the onion and garlic and continue cooking until aromatic.

add the carrot, prune and green peas. mix well.

add the soysauce and season with salt and pepper according to your taste.

put back the cooked shrimp and mix until well combined. cool down before using for the filling.

to assemble:
divide the pastry dough using a knife into 36 pcs. (24 if you intend to make 4" diameter empanada, mine depended on the size of my dumpling maker).

roll each piece 1/8" thick on a floured board. then put over the dumpling maker. make sure that the pastry dough is slightly larger than the dumpling maker.

put a teaspoonful of filling on the center. arranged an egg slice and cheese on top. slowly fold the dumpling maker and then press a bit firmly to seal the edges. open carefully halfway and take out your empanada. repeat until you finished all.

deep fry in a hot oil for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or just until golden brown in color (i set a timer as i deep fried my empanada and it turned out to be just between 1-1/2 to minutes).

• • • • • • •

¹ i used prunes since i didn't have raisins.

squash - beans - shrimp guinataan

2009-05-06T13:33:00.002+04:00

still another variations of squash-beans love team. this time with shrimp and coconut cream.

ingredients:
2 cups frozen shrimp, thawed¹
3 cups squash, cut into cubes
2 cups string beans, sliced in to 2" long
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 thumb-sized ginger, sliced

1 cup coconut cream
salt and pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

procedure:
season shrimp with salt and pepper. heat oil in a wok and saute shrimp until cooked, about 2 minutes. drain and set aside.

in the same wok saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant.

add squash and cook for 3-5 minutes. then add the coconut cream and let boil to release it's oil and until squash is cooked.

add the beans and shrimp. season with salt and pepper and taste according to your preference.

cook for another 1-2 minutes.

• • • • • • •

¹ you can use fresh shrimp or prawns.

² i used canned coconut cream but you can also use fresh coconut cream which is the first extraction.

orange - lemon juice

2009-05-05T13:56:00.004+04:00

no more juice in the refrigerator and i was thirsty for some juice. i grabbed a few oranges sitting on the dinning table and lemons.

i made a sugar syrup by combing 1 cup hot water with 1/2 cup sugar and mixed well until sugar is dissolved. then i squeezed about 5 oranges and i came up with 1 cup orange juice. i also squeezed about 2 lemons. i mixed everything together in a pitcher then added about 3-4 more cups of cold water and stirred.

placed some ice cubes on a glass and poured some orange-lemon juice... yummm... soothing. :)

fried chicken ala max's

2009-05-05T13:15:00.003+04:00

wanted to cook a fried chicken or baked chicken for lunch today. i started surfing the net for easy and quick recipe and then i came to this nice foodblog oversea pinoy cooking with his max's style fried chicken. he uses whole chicken and since we're just three in the house, i just used the 2 chicken legs. i wanted to try it since i have been enjoying max fried chicken ever sice... "simut to the bones". it just so sad that while i was deep-frying the second leg that i ran out of lpg! hehehe... so we ended up sharing the one leg that's been cooked (at least we have a leg to eat for lunch rather than nothing at all... hehehe...)

you can view the original recipe here.

ingredients:
2 chicken legs
salt
patis, fish sauce
black pepper

procedure:
wash chicken thoroughly and drain well.

generously rub chicken with salt including cavities and let stand for 15 minutes.

in a steamer put 3 cups of water 1/2 cup of patis/fish sauce and 1/2 tsp. black pepper, bring to a boil.

now arrange chicken legs side by side in the steamer and steam for 15 to 20 minutes, add more water if required.

remove chicken from the steamer let cool down. using your finger lightly rub the steamed chicken with patis, chill in a refrigerator until ready for frying.

deep fry chicken for 5-8 minutes each side until color change to golden brown. for maximum crispiness, after the first frying re-chill and when ready to serve refry for 2-3 minutes each side.

serve with your favorite sauce.

wish list...

2009-05-05T12:24:00.004+04:00

blender... one of the items in my wish list.

i've been wanting to buy a blender but kim said to wait until it will be available again at the megamart bravo or until the summer ends. hahaha... when the summer ends, there's no more need to use blender to make coolers. although it will still be useful during winter, it's what i want now, to make coolers and crushed ice specially for the hot weather.

this photo was sent to me by mads. she said she has one like this which is so handy that you could just brings it to philippines everytime you wanted to or carry it anywhere... and it's cheaper.

so, we've been looking all over carrefour here but i couldn't find one like this. i'll keep on searching until i find one or kim gets tired of looking for this and just decides to buy me some other kind. yehey... that would be nice. hahaha... i wish...

kamote roll with chocolate drizzle

2009-05-05T12:09:00.005+04:00

last week i had kamotecue and i still have 1 more kamote remaining. i wanted to boil it and dip it in ginamos but we didn't have ginamos at home. i miss that afternoon snack so much and along with the other snacks that i always enjoyed eating when i was still in the philippines.

so i decided to try something else. i still boiled it. i mashed it and put aome cinnamon powder and cheese. mixed well. then wrap a tablespoonful of the mixture using lumpia wrapper. rolled the same way i rolled lumpia. then dredge in eggwhite and then in dessicated coconut and deep fry until golden brown. drain excess oil in a paper towel. then arranged in a plate and drizzled some melted bittersweet chocolate (i melted some bittersweet chocolate chips in a microvawe then mixed with a little fresh milk).

i was excited to try but had to wait for a few more minutes to cool it down or else i will burn my tongue with the hot filling. hehehe... then when i finally ate it... mmmmmm... quite good and satisfying. the wrapper didn't turned out crispy as that of the lumpia as i imagined it would be; instead, it was soft and chewy with the filling. the kamote taste was not empowered by the cinnamon or cheese although you can still staste them. overall, i enjoyed it.

grilled chicken wrap

2009-05-04T19:38:00.004+04:00

this was as per k's request of a light dinner every evening... he's dieting... trying to loose weight. hehehe... as for me, i also liked it this way. i don't like to sleep with heavy tummy even if i'm 7 months preggy already. i think i can sleep better if i eat lighter. hehehe...

i was eager to buy a grill pan so that i could grill even inside the house and it has been a while since i was craving to buy one. now that i owned a grill pan (thanks to k), i was so excited to try it with the grilled chicken wrap, or fajitas, or sandwich...

this is simple to make without any complications or special sauce. this is good for 2 persons.

ingredients:
1 chicken breast, sliced into 2
salt and pepper
cumin
1 tomato, seeded and sliced
1 cucumber, sliced into thin strips
1 small white onion, sliced thinly
cheddar cheese, sliced thinly
4 leaves, romaine lettuce¹
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 pcs. flour tortillas

procedure:
season chicken with salt, pepper and cumin. rest for a few minutes.

mix the mayonnasie and lemon juice. set aside.

heat grill pan and coat with a little oil. grill chicken until cooked. rest for a few minutes before slicing into thin pieces. set aside.

grill the flour tortillas both sides just until heated and you could see the grill marks.

assemble: line a cutting board with foil/wax paper. lay a flour tortilla. spread with mayonnaise-lemon mixture. then lay 1 lettuce leaves on the center (horizontally). put the grilled chicken slices on over the lettuce leaves. then put tomato, cucumber, onion and cheese on top. top with another lettuce leaves. fold bottom of the flour tortilla to the center, the top to the center and the right side to the center. then wrap with the foil/wax paper until secured.

enjoy...

La.Pi.S: shades of spring and summer

2009-05-04T17:13:00.004+04:00

this week's lasang pinoy sunday theme is shades of spring and summer.

everytime i see these colors or see these desserts, i always remember the wonderful summer at home (philippines). i always crave for these desserts specially now that it's so summer here in uae. it's so hot i always wanted to have halo-halo or mais con yelo or cold fruit salad or just avocado with crushed ice in the afternoons.

colorful fruits always reminds me of spring and summer... even crushed ice reminds me of it. hehehe...

fruit salad

mais con yelo

quick fix halo-halo

avocado delight

happy la.pi.s. to everyone... :p

chicken in oyster sauce with pechay

2009-05-04T13:34:00.004+04:00

still wondering what to prepare for lunch today that's just simple and fast. weather's terribly hotter now here in uae and i simply couldn't stand the heat in the kitchen. and since we're refraining from eating pork these days (because of the swine flu and uae temporarily banned importing and selling of pork), we only have chicken in the freezer... i requested that we buy beef next time even if it's a bit expensive here.

i just simply cooked the chicken with oyster sauce and added pechay for vegetable. it's easy and fast and yet delicious.

i already have an entry for chicken with oyster sauce and i put potato wedges, and now i used pechay and i liked it much better and did some revisions.

ingredients:
chicken wings and legs, cut into serving portion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp. ginger, minced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch pechay, separate white part and leaves, chopped

procedure:
season chicken slices with salt and pepper.

in a wok, heat oil and butter. add chicken slices and cook until golden brown.

then add onion, garlic and ginger. continue sauteing until aromatic.

add oyster sauce and mix until chicken are coated well with oyster sauce.

season with salt and pepper according to your taste. add the white part of pechay and cook for about 1 minute. then add the pechay leaves and cook for another 1 minute stirring. turn off the heat and serve.

7-up bunt cake

2009-05-02T23:03:00.002+04:00

i saw this bunt cake recipe at blog chef's foodblog and since i have the ingredients in my kitchen and i have a new bunt pan, i tried the recipe. i was glad on the outcome and it looks similar the bunt cake of blog chef. hehehe... i specially enjoyed the glazing part, it's my first time to do glazing. i'm just happy to have a successful bunt cake for my first attempt. lol...

my bunt cake turned out to be moist with crunchy crust and with a lemony kick on it. k said that it's delicious but it's too lemony for me and you can really taste the 7-up. maybe i should have just added 1 tbsp. lemon extract and 1/2 cup 7-up. but if you're into citrus, then you'll definitely enjoy this cake. m also liked it and that's good to know.

you can view the recipe here. i just adjusted a bit.

ingredients:
1-1/2 cup butter, soften at room temperature
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. lemon extract
3/4 cup 7 up¹

for the glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice

procedure:
pre-heat the oven to 230°C. in a large bowl cream butter and sugar for 20 minutes. add eggs one at a time beating and scraping the sides and bottom after each addition. add flour and lemon extract. fold in 7 up. pour into a greased bunt cake pan.

bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. remove from oven and allow to cool.

to make glaze:
in a bowl mix powered sugar and lemon juice.

when the cake has cooled drizzle the glaze over it.

because my bunt cake pan was not large enough for the batter, i was able to make 2 little cake more which i shared to a couple of good friends.

• • • • • • •

¹ if you don’t want to use 7-Up any carbonated lemon-lime beverage will work as well.

La.Pi.S: Swirls and Twirls

2009-04-30T15:55:00.004+04:00

my very late entry for this week's lasang pinoy, sundays. i've been wanting to bake this cinnamon roll and ensaymada for so long now and i thought this week's my chance, since i'll have either one for my lapis entry this week. but unfortunately, the very hot summer weather here in uae hindered me to bake or stay in the kitchen for long. if i stay in the kitchen even just for 2 minutes, my sweat is dripping all over me already. yes... really hot now and we don't have ac in the living room or kitchen. the summer just started here and it will even get hotter by july (my delivery month!) and the hottest will be on august. huh... i hope summer would fly so fast. i'd rather like winter than summer this hot. hehehe...

so, i had to scan my archive for a possible entry for this week's theme and this is just what i found... my self-frosting nutella cupcake which i got the recipe from miss connie. the frosting of the cupscakes are swirls and twirls of nutella spread.

have a good day... :p

mais con yelo updated

2009-04-30T11:46:00.004+04:00

this is my updated mais con yelo. you can find the old version here. there's not a big change though, just want to update it since i liked this better.

i placed cream style corn 3/4 of the glass. you can also use corn kernel since it's nice to have some pieces to bite. then pour over some fresh milk. instead of fresh milk, you can also use evaporated milk. then put a lot of crushed ice. same thing as before, i used hammer to crush my ice cubes. (huh... i better buy a blender that would crush ice... hehehe...) then top with cornflakes for some crunch.

very soothing during hot weather.

kamotecue

2009-04-29T17:42:00.004+04:00

craving for kamotecue lately and i asked kim to buy me some kamote at the supermarket near his office. i wanted my kamotecue to have plenty of sugar coatings... mmmmm... yummmmyyyy... hehehe...

just peel and slice 1-2 the kamote in rings. wash them and pat dry. in a wok, heat about 1 cup of cooking oil and fry the kamote rings for 6-8 minutes. set aside. in the same wok, pour about 1 cup of brown sugar and about 1 tbsp. cinnamon powder over the cooking oil. stir until a little melted. then bring back the fried kamote rings in the wok and stir until coated well with sugar and cinnamon. drain excess oil using strainer or wire rack. when it has cooled a bit, you can place it in a skewer.

i enjoyed the crunchiness of the sugar with cinnamon and the softness of the kamote.

spare ribs sinigang

2009-04-29T13:47:00.003+04:00

sinigang is another dish and its characteristic flavor comes from tamarind which gives it a sour taste and overwhelms the taste of its meat. another variety is prepared with guava and is less sour than those with tamarind. raw mango, calamansi and bilimbi can also be utilized. however, i chose to use powdered soup base or bouillon cubes for sinigang in place of natural fruits since it is available in my kitchen. however, i'd like to try using the sampalok fruit the next time.

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 small tomato, sliced
1 medium bisol, sliced into chunks
1 handful string beans, sliced into 2" long
1 bunch pechay, separate white part from green part
1 tbsp. sinigang mix¹
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. cooking oil

procedure:
in a sauce bowl, heat oil and saute onion, garli and ginger until aromatuc.

add pork spare ribs and cook until brown (pour excess oil if necessary). pour enough water until meat are covered. boil and simmer over low heat until meat is tender. you may need to add more water along the way.

when meat is tender, add the bisol and cook for another 5 minutes.

add the sinigang mix. season with salt and pepper. adjust according to your taste.

add the string beans and the white part of the pechay and simmer for 1 minute.

turn off the heat and add the pechay leaves. cover for 1 more minute. serve hot.

• • • • • • •

¹ you can add more if you like it more sour.

banatella sandwich

2009-04-28T18:32:00.004+04:00

m was playing non-stop today. he got hungry and asked me to make him a sandwich since he said that he's not hungry with rice and viand yet. hehehe... so i made him banatella sandwich.

how to prepare: spread some nutella spread over the two slices of bread. then lay some sliced bananas over the first bread. then cover with the other bread. done.

m enjoyed it well with his very cold favorite strawberry milk.

xoxo

fruit salad

2009-04-28T14:34:00.004+04:00

yesterday i made fruit salad. this is for k since he's been dieting now. he told me that he just wanted to eat salad everynight and it's also nice to have salad within reach everytime we wnated some healthy snacks throughout the day. i tried my salad with cornflakes and it was good as well.

still simple to prepare with all the ingredients readily available and accessible at the supermarket: i drained well 3 small cans of fruit cocktail and 2 bottles of nata de coco; and set them aside. then i mixed 4 tbsp. of cream and 1 tbsp. of condensed milk (if you like it more sweeter, you can add 1 tbsp. more). then i combined the fruit cocktail, nata de coco and the cream-milk mixture together in a bowl. sprinkled with some grated cheese and chill before serving.

yes... really simple. :P

kangkong salad

2009-04-28T13:45:00.004+04:00

k bought a bunch of kangkong from the souk last weekend. some i used to cook adobong kangkong, some for the fish, and now for the salad. this is so easy to make and very nutritious. kim even planted some of the stalks since he liked kangkong so much and kangkong grows easily.

ingredients:
2 handfuls kangkong leaves, stalk not included
1 tomato, seeded and sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. vinegar¹
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

procedure:
wash the kangkong leaves thoroughly. blanch the kangkong leaves in boiling water. drain and set aside.

in a small bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. taste according to your preference.

in another bowl, toss together the blanched kangkong leaves, tomato, onion and ginger. then pour the vinegar-lemon mixture over and toss again to combine.

serve.

• • • • • • •

note:
you can also put a little patis if you likebut since kim doesn't like patis, i omitted it.

¹ as for the vinegar, tuba vinegar is much better to use. but you can also use the white vinegar which i used since it is the only available at the moment. you can also use apple cider vinegar.

homemade potato chips with cheese-cinnamon dip

2009-04-28T09:02:00.002+04:00

i bought this new vegetable peeler from daiso and i got so interested in peeling the potato, so easy compare to my previous peeler. hehehe... then i started to shave the potato after peeling it since i enjoyed what i was doing. hehehe... then i realized what should i do with the shaved potatoes now? so, i line a tray with papers and lay each shaved potato one by one on the paper and placed it outside to dry, i'll make it into potato chips.

i started drying it in the morning (almost noon) and intented to cook it in the evening but since i didn't want to spend so much time in the kitchen that day i cooked it in the morning the next day. i should have cooked it yesterday because it literally turned into starch! almost half of it turned into waste. i couldn't take it off of the paper, i couldn't hold it because it breaks everytime i pick it up.

fortunately, i was able to cook most of it. i deep-fried the pieces of shaved potatoes until golden brown. drained on paper towel. good thing was the cooked ones turned out good. k & m liked it so much they were asking if there were still more. hehehe... it's all natural since i didn't put any salt in it. i dipped it in the cheesed spread i had in the refrigerator and sprinkle some cinnamon powder... and it tasted good as well.

pork afritada

2009-04-26T20:12:00.002+04:00

it has been a while since i was able to cook a tomato based stew. afritada was a dish introduced to us by the spaniards. just like the menudo, caldereta, callos and pochero. this is easy to prepare and nutritious as well. i cooked this last night for our dinner.

i based my afritada miss connie's recipe here. i just changed some of the ingredients based on what's available at my kitchen and just for the 3 of us.

ingredients:
3 slices pork liempo
1 potatoes
1 carrots
1 red or green bell peppers
1 tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce¹
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1 small onions
1 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. olive oil

procedure:
cut the pork into 2 x 2 inch cubes.

peel and finely mince the garlic. coarsely chop the tomatoes.

heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed casserole. when hot, add the pork cubes and cook over high heat until the edges start to brown. the pork will initially expel water. just keep the heat up until the mixture dries up and the pork starts to render fat. then cook the pork in the mixture of fat and oil until the edges start to brown. at this point, you can pour off the fat.

add the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves and spaghetti sauce to the pork and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. pour in the water, stir, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables. peel the carrot and cut into half-rings, and peel the potato and cut into cubes. peel the onions and chop. core and seed the bell pepper and cut chop.

add the vegetables to the stew. stir well. add the oregano. cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are done. add more water if necessary. add only about half a cup each time to avoid thinning the sauce. adjust the seasonings. finally, add the sweet peas and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes.

let stand for 10 minutes to infuse the flavors.

serve hot.

• • • • • • •

¹ i used spaghetti sauce since i ran out of tomato sauce or tomato paste.

corn muffin

2009-04-25T20:11:00.003+04:00

second attempt in baking muffins. still not satisfied with the result and still no high peaks or breaking top even. huhuhu... i'll rest for a while in baking muffins. can somebody help me out here? tnx... :p

i got the recipe here.

ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
shredded corn from 2 cobs¹

procedure:
shred the corn using a sharp knife. don’t cut too close to the cob. you can scrape off what you can’t cut.

place the softened butter, sugar, honey and eggs in a large mixing bowl. beat with a wire whisk (you can use a hand mixer but it really isn’t necessary) until smooth.

add the flour, baking powder, salt and yellow cornmeal. mix together, pouring in the milk as you do.

when the batter is smooth, add the shredded corn and fold in.

bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 25 minutes.

• • • • • • •

¹ i used canned corn kernels. i just drained it well.

candied orange peel

2009-04-24T21:07:00.004+04:00

got interested with this candied orange peel i saw in the magazine. since we always have oranges at home (mandarin, navel, etc.) i started searching the net for recipe and i found this. it tasted similar to the sugar-coated gummies makuy buy at the mall but mine was a little bitter. maybe because i wasn't able to remove all the pith from the peel. and it was not translucent enough, this, i should have boiled it a little longer with the sugar and water.

ingredients:
6 medium oranges
1 tbsp. salt
2 cups sugar

procedure:
cut peel of orange in sixths; loosen from pulp with spoon and remove most pith (white membrane) from peel. add salt and peel to 4 cups water and let stand overnight.

drain and rinse thoroughly.

in a pot, cover peels with cold water. heat to boiling and drain. repeat 3 times (this is to remove any bitter taste).

cut peel into strips. in a sauce pan, combine peel, sugar and 1/2 cup water. heat and stir until sugar dissolves. continue to cook until peel is transluscent. drain any liquid and roll peel in granulated sugar. allow to dry.

• • • • • • •

note: if desired, melt dark or bittersweet chocolate over double boiler and dip each dried strip in. refrigerate until chocolate is firm.

banana bread

2009-04-24T19:02:00.005+04:00

banana bread, the very first cake i baked when i was still single and finally bought my table top oven. then i have been enjoying baking them for years. then when we got here in uae i stopped since we didn't have oven until last year. but wasn't able to bake banana cake... no banana for the banana cake. in the philippines, i baked banana cake using the right banana for it (oopppssss... i forgot the name... hehehe...). then i couldn't find it here in uae.

because of the hot weather now, fruits and vegetables easily get spoiled specially when not placed in the refrigerator. and before the 4 remaining bananas on the table go to waste, i tried to use it for banana bread (didn't know what the result would be, since as far as i was concerned, it was not the kind for the banana bread).

and so i baked this banana bread and the result was extremely satisfying. hehehe... it tasted and smelled like banana bread. i liked it much better than the usual recipe i used before since this just had the right sweetness. i can bake this now often specially when there's banana on the verge of getting spoiled. hahaha...

got the recipe here but i'm posting it here as well.

ingredients:
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1-1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas
1-1/2 cup cake flour, sifted¹

procedure:
preheat oven to 175°C. grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan.²

in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light.

add eggs and beat well.

dissolve baking soda in the sour cream, add it into the butter mixture. beat well.

stir in mashed bananas and vanilla then fold in cake flour.

pour batter into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done.

• • • • • • •

¹ to make 1 cup cake flour, in 1 cup measuring cup, place 1 tbsp. cornstarch then fill with all-purpose flour.

² i used 2 3-1/2" x 7" loaf pans.

La.Pi.S: easter Egg hunt

2009-04-21T09:00:00.006+04:00

my second time to join the lasang pinoy, sundays. i missed out on last two weeks ago... hehehe...

i was wondering what entry to have for easter egg hunt but since it's all about egg, i tried for the second time this egg pie recipe which i got from english patis.

my first attempt was a total failure. i ate some but everything else ended up in the trash. i knew i made something wrong... i didn't slowly mix the syrup with the egg mixture. hehehe... i tried to search the net for other egg pie recipe and i found one that i'd like to try hoping it would be successful this time.

the out come?... it came out good and taste like egg pie although a little bit wobbly and not that sweet as i expected. but we ate it and it didn't end up in trash. it's a good indication that i'm improving with my egg pie. hehehe... however, i still planned to do the first egg pie recipe i got next time since k is not really an "egg fan".

i used the pie crust recipe from the previous egg pie recipe i got here and the filling/custard recipe from here. i just added brown sugar for the pie crust.

ingredients:
for the pie crust:
1/3 cup butter or margarine (chilled)
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
2 tbsp. brown sugar¹
about 1/4 cup ice cold water

for the filling/custard:
2-1/3 cup milk²
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar (superfine)³
1-1/2 tbsp. cornflour (cornstarch)

procedure:
for the pie crust:
cut the butter into small pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.

stir together the flour and salt and sugar and add to the butter. mix using your hands until the texture resembles coarse crumbs.

pour in the cold iced water (water with pieces of ice in it) little by little until the mixture can be gathered into a ball. wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge (an hour would make it even easier to roll out).

place on a flat surface and roll until about 1/4 inch thick (note that the rolled dough should be larger than the pie pan).

for the filling/custard:
preheat oven to 230c.

in a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and egg yolks.

stir in the milk into the mixture.

beat the egg white to soft peaks and fold into the milk-egg yolk mixture.

take out the prepared pie crust from the refrigerator and pour the filling in. bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the custard is just set. the center should wobble a little.

remove from oven and cool completely.

• • • • • • •

¹ i used muscovado sugar. i just like the smell of the dough using it.

² i'm not sure what milk to use. i used fresh milk and the outcome was not a sweet egg pie.

³ i didn't have caster sugar, instead i just used granulated sugar.

pork enchiladas

2009-04-20T20:30:00.005+04:00

a light dinner for the three of us tonight. my version of enchiladas. i didn't have any exact ingredients in mind except for the ground pork i have in the freezer. so, as i looked around and inside the refrigerator, i saw these ingredients that ends up a filling with the ground pork.

sorry, no exact measurements for this. as for the filling, i sauted onion and garlic until fragrant and then add in the ground pork; cooked it until pork was golden brown and a bit crunchy. then i added diced bell pepper, corn kernels and shreded cabbage. seasoned with salt and pepper. set aside to cool a little bit.

while preheating the oven to the lowest temperature (mine was 230°C), i laid a slice of flour tortilla on a plate and spread tomato sauce over it. put filling and slices of cheddar cheese on top. then rolled. then placed the rolled tortilla on a baking dish, seam side down. with the filling i cooked, i was able to make 3 tortilla wraps and just good for my baking dish.

after my 3 tortilla wraps are placed on the baking dish, i poured tomato sauce on top and spread with mozarella cheese. baked for 15-25 minutes or until the cheese melted and the tomato sauce bubbled.

note: i believed that home made tomato sauce is always better than the store bought ones. and when time allows me, i'll definitely make this one or another enchiladas using homemade tomato sauce. thanks to miss connie for sharing this wonderful homemade tomato sauce recipe.

squash - beans with tausi

2009-04-20T13:39:00.002+04:00

another way to prepare squash and beans tandem. still quick and easy for the hot weather here in uae.

ingredients:
1 slice pork belly, cut into thin slices
3 cups squash, cut into cubes
2 cups kentucky beans, sliced in to 2" long
2 tbsp. tausi
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1/2 cup water
freshly ground pepper

procedure:
wash tausi in water, drain and mash with the back of the fork. set aside.

place the pork belly slices on a wok with little water and salt. let boil until water evaporated and pork renders its own oil. cook until golden brown.

take away the cooked pork slices and drain on paper towel. set aside.

in the same wok saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant. add the tausi and oyster sauce. continue mixing for 1 minute.

add water and squash. mix and let squash cook covered for about 3-5 minutes.

add the kentucky beans and mix. season with pepper and taste according to your preference. cook for another 1-2 minutes.

chiken frank pastry puff

2009-04-19T16:45:00.004+04:00

i was looking for molo wrapper in the supermarket when i saw this package of pastry puff. i'm not exactly sure how to use it even if there's direction at the back of the package. it’s like ready-made pastry dough, you just have to put your desired filling and bake in the oven and it’s done.

m didn’t eat his baon at school since a classmate celebrated his/her birthday and they were treated with spaghetti. so his chicken frank was neglected. this was what i used in filling my pastry puff. i rolled the pastry puff dough in a slightly floured surface as to my prefered thickness. then i cut 2" x 2" square. placed the chicken frank diagonally at the center. fold the opposite corners together to meet at the center. pinch a bit to secure. brushed with eggwash. placed in a foil lined baking sheet. first baked in a preheated 230°C oven for 20 minutes but when i took it out of the oven, it's not nicely browned yat. so i placed it back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

it went out well for the first time user. maybe tomorrow i’ll try pizza filling on my pastry puff… why not? hehehe…

• • • • • • •

have a nice day pipol...

adobong talong with breaded chicken fillets

2009-04-19T13:30:00.003+04:00

prepared a quick lunch for today. it's getting real hot here in uae and feels like in a sauna when i'm in the kitchen. i can't even enjoy cooking and baking anymore because of the very hot weather. how much more for the next few months before winter starts... hhmmm... can't wait for winter. hehehe...

as for the quick lunch, i prepared adobong talong with breaded chicken fillets for makuy. this is quick even the chicken, i just used a ready breading mix for that.

for the adobong talong
ingredients:
1 pork belly slice, cut into thin strips
3-4 eggplants, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 onion, sliced
1 siling haba
1 bay leaf
5-7 peppercorns
3 tbsp. soysauce
3 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper

procedure:
place pork belly slices on a wok with a little water and salt. boil until water evaporates and pork render it's own oil. continue cooking until golden brown. take away the browned pork slices and drain excess oil on paper towels. set aside.

with the oil in the wok, saute onion and garlic until fragrant and onion is wilted. add the soy sauce, vinegar and water. let boil for a few minutes before mixing. add bay leaf, peppercorns and siling haba.

add the eggplant and mix to coat with sauce. you can add soy sauce, vinegar and water if you want to have more sauce. cook for 5 minutes or just until the eggplant is cooked but not too wilted or soggy. taste according to your preference. season with salt and pepper if desired.

for the breaded chicken fillets
ingredients:
1 chicken breast, deboned and sliced thinly
1 cup fruit cocktail syrup¹
ready breading mix²
cooking oil for deep frying

procedure:
marinate the chicken slices with the fruit coctail syrup for at least 1 hour or longer. drain very well and discard liquid.

heat the oil in a sauce pan.

dredge the chicken slices in the ready breading mix until coated well. shake off excess coating. deep fry until golden brown. drain on paper towel.

• • • • • • •

¹ i have frozen the fruit coctail syrup i used when i made a fruit cocktail. that's why i decided to try it on the chicken. but you can use lemon or calamansi for this.

² if you don't have ready breading mix at hand, use cornstarch or flour, egg and breadcrumbs. just season your cornstarch or flour with salt and pepper.

fruit pockets

2009-04-16T21:37:00.002+04:00

i saw this recipe in a foodblog no special effects and got interested in making his pineapple galette. But intead of making it look like his, I thought of making pie pockets instead. Hehehe…

the dough i used was the same with the apple pie crust i found at pinoycook. i made 3 different fruit pockets, 2 for pineapple (the square); 2 for peaches (with the round edges); and 1 for apple (the long one). it’s like pie made into pockets. i brushed the top with eggwash and prick with fork; and secure the edges just like the empanada way.

the first thing i did was to prepare the crust; cut 1/2 cup of butter into very small pieces. place the butter in a large mixing bowl and add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. mix with your hands, rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

pour in iced water (water with pieces of ice in it) little by little, about a tablespoonful of so at a time, while stirring the dough lightly. when the dough starts to stick together, you’ve poured in enough water. gather the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes in the fridge (an hour would make it even easier to roll out).

while chilling the dough, i then prepared the fruits i'll be filling the dough with. i sliced the pineapple into thin strips, the peaches into thin wedges, and the apple into thin slices. i also prepared the cinnamon powder and brown sugar. at the same time prepared 1 beaten egg with a little water for the eggwash.

take out the dough from the fridge and place on a sheet of baking paper. flatten slightly with your hand. place another sheet of baking paper over it and roll from the center outward with light smooth strokes until the dough is about 1/8 of an inch thick.

i made 5 rectangles from the flattened dough and placed each fruit in one side making sure i still have some space around to be able to seal the dough. then sprinkle cinnamon powder and brown sugar. then i fold the other half to meet the ends and using the back of the fork, i pressed the sides of the dough to secure it. then i brushed eggwash on the top of the dough and pricked the top with the fork to create steam vents. i placed it in a baking tray lined with wax paper and baked in a preheated oven at 230°C (the lowest my oven can get) for 45-60 minutes, or just until the pastry is nicely browned.

amongst the 3, i most like the apple pocket. i intend to make apple pockets in the future or perhaps make some combination just like the ones in mcdonalds. hehehe…

basic pound cake

2009-04-16T19:48:00.003+04:00

this is a basic pound cake recipe I got here. but i liked the condensed pound cake much better than this one. but maybe i missed out on something that’s why it didn’t look like the one in the internet. although it still tasted good, i just didn’t like the appearance.

i baked a couple of this for k’s after basketball practice. he was the one who brought the food (pork pata nilaga) and i baked this for their dessert.

ingredients:
3/4 cups (230 grams) cake flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup (226 grams) (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) superfine or castor sugar¹
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
zest of a lemon or orange (optional)

procedure:
preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and place rack in center of oven. butter or spray with a pan spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter or spray the paper.

in a large bowl, sift together twice, the flour, baking powder, and salt.

in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until creamy and smooth. gradually add the sugar, beating continuously on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (this will take about 5 minutes). scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. after about five minutes the batter should be light in color and fluffy in texture. then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. you will notice that the batter will look curdled. don't worry as the batter will come together again after you add the flour mixture. add the vanilla and lemon zest, if using, and beat until incorporated.

add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. remove the cake from the pan and cool completely. serve warm or at room temperature.

will keep several days well wrapped or it can be frozen for a month.

• • • • • • •

¹ to make your own superfine sugar - place 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar in the bowl of your food processor. Process until very fine, about 30 seconds.

lemon - condensed pound cake

2009-04-11T19:40:00.003+04:00

this was my second pound cake. my first was the condensed pound cake i got from simply anne's. i added lemon zest to my batter and the result was much better. i can really taste the lemon and the lemony kick was nice for my taste bud. the last pound cake i baked, i used loaf pan and this time i used my round cake pan and sprinkled some powdered sugar on top (i even made a pattern for a design).

you can view her recipe here.

ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/3 cups cake flour¹
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk²
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. lemon zest

procedure:
preheat oven to 325°F. butter and line a 8-inch cake pan and set aside.

sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

in a bowl beat butter and white sugar until light and fluffy about 2 minutes. add condensed milk and vanilla beat until well incorporated.

add the sifted dry ingredients and beat until no traces of flour remains. add the lemon zest.

beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each additions.

transfer batter into the prepared pan. bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

cool, sprinkle top with powdered sugar... and slice.

• • • • • • •

¹ since i didn't have cake flour, i substituted it with cornstarch and all-purpose flour. (in 1 cup measuring cup, i placed 1 tbsp. cornstarch and then fill it with all-purpose flour to make 1 cup cake flour.)

² condensed milk was used as the primary sweetener thereby resulting in a buttery cake rich in texture. it added richness to the cake but not at all sweet. (from simply anne's)

it's here!!!

2009-04-10T09:03:00.005+04:00

at last, my package from munchkin mommy has arrived yesterday. it took 2 weeks to arrived uae and another week to arrived at kim's office. yes, that long (the customs here in uae had to open the package for security reason perhaps). the package was fine, it's just dirty but the contents are complete and in good condition. :-)

last february 23, i participated in a fellow food blogger's blog birthday contest... cafe munchkin's birthday blowout. i just posted an entry on my blog about who or what i considered to be the greatest influence/s on my cooking, food preferences or views on food and how that influence came through. i was not expecting really but to my surprise, i WON... hehehe... :p (the winner was chosen through random.org) i got the FIRST PRIZE...

and here are my prizzzeeesssss...

this was the package... dirty already but intact...

here are the contents... for the first prize... a pasta recipe book, a chocolate recipe book, a writing pad, a recipe card and a chico bag... including munchkin mommy's note.

this is the chocolate recipe books... kim was browsing throught the pages and he was telling me that i should try some of the recipe in the book and it looks yummy...

this is the pasta recipe book... same thing, kim wanted to try some of the pasta dishes at home for some variety...

and here's my chico bag... a reuseable shopping bag which can carry a load of upto 25 lbs. and it can be folded into it's attached pouch that can fit your pockets. the next time i go to buy the ingredients that i need for baking, i'll be using this one. :-)

THANK YOU WENG (a.k.a. munchkin mommy) for the package. :p

pork giniling chicken frank bread pizza

2009-04-09T20:37:00.002+04:00

i was craving for pizza one saturday afternoon but k said “no” this time. he said that i’m already big and i seemed to make it a habit to eat pizza on weekend. hahaha… but i wanted to eat pizza!!!

i saw 3 sliced bread on the table and i started looking for tomato sauce and something to top my pizza with. i found chicken franks, mozzarella cheese, spaghetti sauce, and ground pork. so, i decided to make my bread pizza. i just added bell pepper and onion.

very simple:
preheat oven to 230°C (it's the lowest my oven can get).

place the sliced bread or any bread of your choice on a baking sheet lined with foil. spread some tomato sauce (i used spaghetti sauce - more flavor).

topped with cooked sliced chicken franks, cooked ground pork, sliced bell pepper, sliced tomato and sliced onion (you can choose your own toppings).

sprinkle mozarella cheese on top.

bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts.

i had it with tabasco sauce... hot, spicy and yummy...

craving… satisfied… hehehe… even k was able to eat a slice… only 1 slice and 2 for me. he said it was yummy and he wished there were still plenty of sliced bread left. hahaha… he wished…
i’ll try other variations next time and i’ll try using french bread or bagels.

pork giniling

2009-04-09T13:41:00.003+04:00

i seldom cook this here in uae since i consume the entire ground pork in making lumpia, bola-bola, and longganisa for our breakfast and for those lazy times. hehehe… but since i ran out of dishes to prepare for k & m, and our refrigerator’s almost empty, i just decided to make giniling. i just needed a carrot, a potato, a little portion of bell pepper, some green peas and added tomato sauce for more flavor; then i was able to fix our lunch. hehehe…

ingredients:
2 cups ground pork, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 small bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 small carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 small potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper
cooking oil

procedure:
in a work, heat oil and brown the ground pork.

when the ground pork is done, pushed it on the side of the wok and saute onion and garlic until fragrant. mix together with the pork.

add the bell pepper, carrot, potato and green peas. mix. cook for 3-5 minutes.

add the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper.mix well and cook for another 2 minutes.

serve warm.

chicken baked macaroni

2009-04-07T20:55:00.006+04:00

...or perhaps baked chicken macaroni… hehehe… i found this recipe on the web. i was searching the web for an easy baked macaroni since i have limited ingredients in my kitchen. i found this article in a newspaper website with the baled chicken macaroni (i forgot the site).

it was easy but i didn't follow it since i don’t have the other ingredients. k & m liked it and that was good. i still have some left for their baon the and for my breakfast the next day. a couple of things though, i should have added more sauce so that it won’t be a bit dry; and i think i added breadcrumbs more that what was asked.

the next time i make baked mac, i’ll try ground pork or ground beef instead. i’m sure it would be more tasty that the chicken or another variation of baked macaroni. lol...

ingredients:
250 gm. macaroni, cooked as per package directions
1 chicken breast, without skin, deboned and minced
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, sliced
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup cheddar cheese grated
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup mozarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

procedure:
pre-heat oven to 230°C.

in a work, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until fragrant and a garlic a bit brown.

add minced chicken and season with salt and pepper. saute until chicken are brown.

add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, brown sugar, water and the 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. season with salt and pepper if needed. mix and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

turn off the heat. combine with the cooked macaroni and mix until fully combined. transfer to a baking dish.

in a separate bowl, mix togthere the cheddar cheese, mozarella cheese and the breadcrumbs. top over the combines macaroni. bake for 15-30 minutes or until the cheeses melt.

fried rice with pork spare ribs adobo

2009-04-07T13:40:00.005+04:00

last week i prepared this pork belly adobo with a twist, i added pineapple chunks and syrup. it was tasty and a different way to prepare adobo. i was not able to take photo of it since k & m arrived early for lunch and i just finished cooking. hehehe…

this time, i wanted to try it with the pork spare ribs i had left in the freezer. the ribs k bought have plenty of meat and fewer bones and easily become tender. the outcome was still as good as the pork belly.

i also prepared fried rice with shrimp, carrots and green peas. still delicious and the typical rice becomes more flavorful because of the shrimp.

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp peppercorns
1 cup pineaple syrup
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soysauce
1 cup pineaple chunks
salt and pepper

procedure:
in a casserole, put together the first 9 ingredients and pour enough water to cover the meat. bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer until pork are tender. you may need to add water so as not to dry the sauce.

when the meat are tender and the sauce are almost dry but not dry (there should be a little sauce left). season with salt and pepper if necessary. add the pineapple chunks and mix.

serve with the steamed rice or as for me, i served it with fried rice.

for the fried rice:
in a wok, heat 2 tbsp. cooking oil. season the shrimp and fry. add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant. add 1 beaten egg and continue mixing until egg is torn into pieces. add 3-4 cups rice and continue mixing until combined. add 1 small peeled and diced carrots and a handful of green peas. season with salt and pepper. continue mixing until fully combined and everything are well distributed. turn off the heat and add chopped spring onion. toss for the last time. serve.

first muffin

2009-04-05T22:15:00.004+04:00

not really satisfied with the result but i still intend to bake muffin the next time. i found the recipe at manang's foodblog with some tips on how to achieve muffins with high peaks. i tried to follow it but i obviously failed since i was not able to achieve that high peaks. i don’t know exactly where i went wrong (mmmmm... maybe the oven temperature?) and my muffin’s a bit tough the next day. since it was my first time to bake muffin, i just used the basic muffin recipe manang posted. next time, i’ll try the ones with fruits or variations.

even if it’s a failure, it’s still edible and k still ate it and brought some in the office for his coffee break (he has to, or else i will have to eat it all... hahaha...)

you can view the recipe here but i'm posting it here also. she got the recipe from KAF.
yield: 12 muffins, 24 mini-muffins, or six "crown" muffins.

ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil or softened butter (optional)¹
2 large eggs

procedure:
preheat your oven to 500°F.

blend together the dry ingredients as long and as vigorously as you want. if you use a little whole wheat flour in your mixture, it's easy to tell when everything is thoroughly mixed.

beat the liquid ingredients together -- milk, oil or butter, and eggs -- until they are light. if you have a 2-cup liquid measure (one with a lip above the 2-cup mark) it makes mixing the liquid ingredients very easy. most eggbeaters will fit right in the cup, so you can use it both as a measure, and as a small mixing bowl.

pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. take a fork or wire whisk and blend the two for 20 seconds -- no more! the secret to light and tender muffins lies in this final blending. it's ok if you've left some lumps that look as if they want more stirring; they really don't. so, no matter how hard it is, resist the impulse.

fill cups of a lightly greased muffin tin two-thirds to three-quarters full. place muffins in the oven and immediately drop temperature to 400°F². bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done.

• • • • • •

¹ if you leave the oil out, you can reduce the calories in your muffins by about 30%; the flavor will still be excellent, but muffins won't be quite as tender, and won't keep as well should you happen to have any left over.

² when you put muffins in a very hot oven and immediately drop the temperature, you help create the high peaks that make them so appealing.

my comfort food...

2009-04-05T11:44:00.006+04:00

this is my entry for iska's 4th blog anniversary in two months time. she's having a blowout with awesome prices. :)

as for comfort food, i have a few of them but the one that i've been coming back more often specially leaving here in uae is pork barbeque. whether we go in a picnic in the park or beach or just have celebration with family and friends, this should always be in the menu. sometimes, if i really crave for it, i just prepare it; marinate overnight, grill, and serve for lunch the next day.

to iska: happy birthday and more blessings to come. :))

quick fix halo-halo

2009-04-03T11:27:00.003+04:00

i was looking for ube jam in lulu supermarket filipino section and i also found this halo-halo mix. i got so excited i bought a couple of jar. hehehe… it’s summer here and it would be nice to have halo-halo at home. i didn’t mind if i didn’t have any crushed/shaved ice. i thought that i’ll be able to find a way to have crushed ice on my halo-halo. we had this one saturday afternoon when the weather was really hot and we didn’t have any ac in the living room.

for a jar of halo-halo mix i was able to prepare 2 glasses (for k & i; m didn’t like it maybe because he was ignorant and he doesn’t know what it is). as for the crushed ice, i place a handful of ice cubes inside a ziplock plastic and covered it with a towelette and started hammering until it crushed into pieces. i topped the halo-halo with ube jam and vanilla ice cream (which i asked k to buy at a ducan near our place). i totally forgot to put milk but when we tasted it, it was sweet already and no need of milk. had i added milk, it would be too sweet already. hehehe…

i still have a jar of halo-halo mix and the next time i’ll make halo-halo, i’ll surely have leche flan and sweetened banana. mmmm… can’t wait for the next one. hehehe…

potato omelet

2009-04-01T08:39:00.002+04:00

i always have eggs for breakfast these days and i was wondering what egg dish should i prepare today since i’ve been having scrambled eggs, sunny-side-up eggs in the past days. i remembered frema preparing this egg dish with potato slices and i thought of making it for this day.

i just grated the potato instead of slicing. then i squeezed out as many juice as possible not to make my omelet soggy. i scrambled 2 eggs and season with salt and pepper. then heat oil in the pan and cooked the scrambled eggs just like i used to. when it started to settle, i added the squeezed grated potato on the top of the scrambled eggs. seasoned with salt and pepper. using a plate, i inverted it on top of the pan and inverted again the pan to put the omelet on the plate. then slowly, i slide the omelet on to the pan to cook the other side (the side with the grated potato). i cooked it for 1-2 minutes.

La.Pi.S: hip to be square

2009-03-31T10:41:00.001+04:00

at last i'm able to join the lasang pinoy sundays. it's been quite a while that i've been reading through/scanning the entries for their weekly theme and it's so inspirational.

here's my take on this week's theme: hip to be square. just like miss ces, i'm also a fan of anything square specially when it comes to plates, saucers, cups, or just anything for the kitchen. but for now, i only have a couple of this square small plate/saucer which i got at ikea in dubai. i really love it and i hope to buy more 4-angled stuff for my kitchen. my husband's not allowing me to purchase some more since we already have plates and we don't have anymore place to store extras. hehehe...

along with my favorite square plate is a square-cut chocolate fudge brownies i baked last weekend. i loved putting a scoop or two of any vanilla ice cream on top of my brownies, it's just a perfect pair for me. first is that i heat my brownies in the microwave for a few seconds; then top a scoop of a very cold vanilla ice... mmmmm... yummy... hehehe... (but i just have to limit my sugar intake since i'm pregnant and about to take my sugar-glucose test next month :p).

i got the chocolate fudge brownies recipe from miss connie veneracion's foodblog, just made a few substitutions, depending on the availability of the ingredients in my kitchen. i don't know the effect on the finished product when i substituted pancake syrup with honey... (i just thought that pancake syrup's for pancake and honey can also be used in pancake) but it still came out nicely for a first timer and it taste like brownies. my husband and son really loves it since it's not too sweet.

thanks to miss ces for giving me the chance to join. :p

ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. corn oil
1/2 cup chopped cashew nuts
1 small bar milk chocolate with crispies, chopped coarsely

procedure:
preheat the oven to 350of. grease a 9″x6″ cake pan.

in a large bowl, beat the eggs until light in color. add the flour and sugar and mix until blended.

over low heat, melt the butter then stir in the cocoa, honey and corn oil. cool for a few minutes. stir into the flour mixture until well blended. fold in the chopped cashew nuts. pour into the greased pan, top with the chopped milk chocolate bar and bake for 25-30 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. do not over bake.

cool before cutting. for best results, cool to room temperature then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before slicing.

battered pork spare ribs with baked potato wedges

2009-03-30T13:40:00.003+04:00

this time, k bought pork spare ribs that's full of meat and less bones unlike the previous spare ribs he bought. i was getting lazy today and i didn't have enought time to boil the spare ribs till tender. so i just decided to put batter and deep-fried the spare ribs.

k liked it but he preferred that i should have just made it into nilaga. well, there's still half of it remaining in the freezer... i'll prepare nilaga agin next time. hehehe...

ingredients:
7 slices pork spare ribs
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg, beaten
corn starch
salt and pepper
cooking oil for deep frying

procedure:
boil the pork spare ribs with garlic, salt and pepper until tender. drain and let dry at room temperature. set aside.

in a bowl, place the beaten egg and then another bowl next to it place the cornstarch and season with salt and pepper.

heat cooking oil in a sauce pan.

dredge each slices of pork spare ribs in beaten egg then in cornstarch. deep fry until golden brown. make sure that the oil is very hot since the meat is already cooked, we just wanted to sear the outside. and if the oil is not hot enough, the meat will absorb too much the oil.

drain excess oil on paper towels.

for the baked potato wedges:
peel and slice in wedges a potato. place in a bowl and season with salt, a little pepper and a little oil. arrange in a greased baking sheet. bake dor 15-20 minutes or until brown on the edges.

serve together with the battered pork spare ribs.