Day 92: Freshly Boiled

After many months of culinary hiatus, I found myself spending more time in the kitchen in just a span of 3 days. I realized that cooking is certainly just like riding a bike, once you learn how to do it, you have it for life.


I was like a kid let loose in a candy store when I discovered a nearby weekend market along an alley. Fresh produce - fruits and vegetables, live native chicken and eggs, and a whole lot of other good stuff were so enticing to see (watch out for my blog entry on this weekend market). 


I only had a few pesos stashed in my pocket, thinking that I was only planning to buy ingredients for a couple of vegetable dishes - Squash and String Beans in Coconut Milk (Guinataang Kalabasa at Sitaw) and Chop Suey.  Those farm fresh native eggs were so tempting that I couldn't help but want to buy a couple or so. However, my daughter spotted a vendor selling freshly harvested peanuts and dragged me to the stall and insisted I buy some. And so, the moolah I was supposedly saving to buy the eggs went to the peanuts...


My little girl was a happy camper on the way home...

Day 91: Weekend Market

The weekend market along the corner of Ramos Extension and Escario Streets.
It begins every Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.

Barely on my second day after our move from BXU, I started to miss home terribly...the familiar places, the traffic-free roads, the corner stores and outlets where I buy our needs, and all the other stuff I'm used to there.  Well, my spirits got an uplift when I was told of this weekend market nearby (across the road from where we live actually) that's teeming with fresh produce - fruits, vegetables, live chicken, farm fresh eggs. 

After learning about it, I couldn't contain my excitement and actually rushed to the location with my two girls in tow. It was indeed a sight to behold! Just looking at the cornucopia of goodies made my fingers itch to once again experiment in the kitchen. 

The only downside to this neighborly trip is the price...I was taken aback at how expensive it is here. Well, if I got the stuff in the supermarket, surely it'll be more pricey so this was the best alternative. Gosh!!! I so miss the "bagsak-presyo" produce of Butuan!!! Imagine, here, the bananas are priced per piece and not per kilo. There goes my kids' favorite fruit...we'd probably consume dramatically less here than we did back home...

With my small eco bag filled with as much as my budget would allow, I set for home, quickly planning in my head the cooking trip I'll have this weekend...dum dee dum...

Day 30: So you wanna be a chef eh?

"I want to do that, Mom" were the six words I heard my only son speak when he saw the very first episode of Junior MasterChef Australia.  Then he kept repeating, "I want to be a junior MasterChef too, Mom." 

So how does a Mom react to that? Well, my son has always been fascinated with food, at least eating it. I never considered him being interested in cooking although I've noticed he'd always ask things whenever he finds me doing something in the kitchen.

I thought it was wonderful that he's beginning to take interest in cooking so I told him that if he really wanted to be MasterChef, he needed to learn one of the most basic cooking skills - boiling rice. He pretty much did a great job the first time that he's gotten used to cooking the rice for dinner and weekends now. 

A few days ago, I found out that there's actually auditions going around for the Pinoy edition of Junior MasterChef and I thought that maybe under my tutelage, I can get Jarred ready to actually join the contest in the next year or so. Who knows? Maybe my son is destined to be a chef...not bad eh?

Day 243: Culinary Prize

Guess what was delivered to my doorstep today? The cookbook from Unilever Foodsolutions which I won at an online contest finally arrived! A few weeks ago, I "liked" a fan page on FB and learned a lot more about cooking. At the time, there was an online contest regarding "Your Adobo Story". I decided to submit my entry on Adobong Pusit and a week later, I received a message announcing that I won a copy of "Around the World in 80 Plates". Thanks to my good friend, Caren for hooking me up to So Pinoy Dishes in Facebook. It has truly inspired me to keep on exploring and discovering the culinary artist in me. 

Day 211: Mommy's Special Sinangag

Whenever I have the time, I love preparing breakfast for my family. One breakfast fare I love to cook is fried rice and its many varieties. If pressed for time, I quickly saute finely minced garlic and leftover rice from dinner and come up with garlic rice. Sometimes, I perk it up with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce or Asado sauce. I had more prep time today so I came up with this all-in-one special fried rice made more attractive and healthy with the colorful mixed veggies (carrots, corn and peas) and yummier with scrambled bits of egg. 

Don't you just love rice?

Day 177: On the side

What is it with this table top condiment that makes it such an irresistible food sidekick?

A few dashes of Knorr seasoning on hot rice surely perks up this otherwise boring carbohydrate staple. I find that it also works wonders on steaks and grilled dishes.

I guess it's the "umami" effect of monosodium glutamate that does the trick. Well, the presence of this chemical is also the reason why I don't keep stock of this food item at home despite the magic it weaves on food.

For me, it's enough that I get to taste a few dashes here and there whenever I come across it at restaurants or other households.

Day 66: LaPiS - SEAFOOD

This week's theme in Lasang Pinoy Sundays is SEAFOOD.  I thought I should feature one of my family's favorite seafood recipe - Tahong Soup (Mussel Soup).  It is such an easy and no-fuss dish to prepare.  What I love about it too is that it's packed with so much nutrition and doesn't really cost a lot to make. Being a breastfeeding Mom, I know that consuming shellfish together with malunggay (Moringana) leaves can greatly increase milk production and so that's another great reason why I love having this at home.

TAHONG SOUP (Mussel Soup)

1 kg fresh tahong (mussels) *** buy them live at the market

2 pcs thumb-size ginger, julienned 

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 cup malunggay leaves

3-4 stalks lemongrass, pounded

1 liter water or hugas bigas (rice wash water)

2 tbsp canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a casserole, heat oil and saute the aromatics - onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes.  Stir in the lemongrass and the mussels. Saute for 5 minutes then add the water, salt and pepper. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the malunggay leaves and remove from fire.  Serve.

Lasang Pinoy Sundays is a bi-monthly food photography meme, Pinoy style!

Day 53: Bagoong Guisado (Spicy Sauteed Shrimp Paste)

Ever since I learned to make this "cardiac delight" of a dish, I've made it a point to prepare it at home every other month.  Once cooked, it usually lasts about 1 week and a half since only a little amount is needed to flavor hot steamed rice.  A tweak on this is also to serve it on top of garlic fried rice with slivers of green mango (Bagoong Rice).  This particular serving has so much pork pieces in it, it might as well be called "Binagoongang Baboy".

Here is the recipe for BAGOONG GUISADO:

1/2 kg pork impilya, sliced

1/4 kg pork meat (boneless pork chop works best), sliced into bite-size pieces

7-8 pcs ripe tomatoes, chopped finely

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium red onions, minced

200 grams bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)

1 tbsp brown sugar

2-3 tsp powdered chili or 6-8 pcs bird's eye chilies, chopped

In a wok or saucepan, render all the fat from the pork impilya until only crunchy pieces of the pork are left.  Drain the pork pieces and set aside.  Retain about 2 tbsp of the rendered fat and set aside the rest.  In the heated oil, saute the pork meat pieces until browned.  Add the garlic, onions and tomatoes until translucent.  Add in the alamang, brown sugar and chili powder.  Add back the crunchy pork "chicharon" and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve with hot rice or green mangoes.  Remember, a little goes a long way with this dish.

Day 50: Sotanghon Sardines (#1 in the "Lutong Tamad" Series)

Have you ever had a day so busy that you just didn't have the time to prepare a decent meal?  Well, as a mom of three, this scenario pretty much happens often at home. So here is the first in my "Lutong Tamad" series - Sotanghon Sardines...

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion

1 tbsp canola oil

1 big can Sardines in Tomato Sauce

300-400 grams sotanghon noodles (vermicelli/green bean thread noodles)

*** pre-soaked in water

1-2 pcs scallion, chopped finely

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

In a wok, heat up oil. Saute onions and garlic until translucent.  Stir in sardines, mashing the sardine pieces while simmering.  Drain the noodles then combine with the sardines.  Add salt and water.  Stir noodles while it soaks up all the liquid.  Garnish with scallion pieces and serve hot with calamansi slices.

Day 34: Comfort Food (part 2)

Nothing beats the homey goodness of comfort food any time of the day or night.  For those who've watched the animated film "Ratatouille", savoring one's comfort food is so much like that image of Anton Ego going back to his childhood upon tasting the ratatouille served in Gustav's.  It takes you back to the good old days of Mom's or Lola's cooking of your favorite dishes.

Monggo Guisado would probably show up at the top of my list of all-time wonder comfort foods.  There's something about this steamy and starchy vegetable dish that reaches inside the soul.  It is but a simple fare of legumes, sauteed in garlic, onions and tomatoes, enriched with squash pieces and malunggay leaves and yet, it leaves the belly full and the soul so satisfied.  

Monggo Guisado

1 cup green monggo beans, washed and boiled until tender

1 liter of water

2 pcs pork cubes

2 tbsp canola oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, sliced

3 medium tomatoes, sliced,

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1.5 cups squash, cut into cubes

1/2 cup malunggay leaves

1 pc dried galunggong

water (optional) 

In a stock pot, boil the washed monggo beans in 1 liter water and 2 pork cubes until tender or "mashed" in consistency. Set aside. In the same pot, heat up some oil and saute the garlic, onions and tomatoes until wilted.  Add in the pepper and squash.  When squash is half cooked, put the monggo mash back in and add some water if desired.  Bring to a boil then add the dried fish.  Season with pepper and a little patis.  Add in the malunggay leaves then turn off fire.  Best served with hot rice and fried fish. Enjoy!!!

Day 28: The show must go on...preparing for a field trip

Even though I wasn't back to being my 100% self, I had to muster much needed strength to prepare for my son's field trip.  After all, this is going to be the first time that the entire family will accompany him and the entire preschool of BFCS.  

Since it was BYOB (bring your own baon), I decided to cook "Visayan Humba" for our lunch at Jurassic Park.  Humba, being similar to the Adobo, does not spoil easily and gets yummier as leftover.

I whipped up quite a huge batch so it pretty much solved our dinner and still had so much left over for our lunch tomorrow at the field trip.

Here is my recipe for Visayan Humba:

1.5 kg combined pork hocks (pata front) and belly, sliced and washed

1 1/2 heads of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp canola oil

3 pcs bay leaves

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 pcs star anise

1 tbsp salted black beans

2 tbsp dried banana blossom

1 cup vinegar

3/4 cup soy sauce

salt

2 tbsp brown sugar

water (optional)

In a casserole, heat up oil then saute garlic until fragrant.  At medium flame setting, add in the pork and some salt. When the meat is half cooked, add in the bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, soy sauce. Mix well and simmer under low fire.  When the meat is fork tender, add the salted black beans, banana blossom, star anise and sugar.  Simmer until sauce gets thick.  Adjust seasonings (vinegar, soy sauce and sugar) to taste.  If it gets too dry, add some water.  Serve hot with rice.

Day 15: Comfort Food and Leftovers

It has been raining here six days in a row and I'm pretty sure this kind of weather will drag on until early next week.  Weather like this always prompts me to prepare food that's warming to the belly.  

Ampalaya Guisado is always a winner for me and hubby, especially on a gloomy day like this one.  Served on piping hot rice, nothing beats the taste of bitter, salty and downright yummy all at the same time!

To reduce the bitterness of the ampalaya (bitter gourd), I usually soak the sliced ampalaya pieces in salt water for at least 2 hours.  To prepare the dish, I just saute onions, garlic and tomatoes in a little oil. Once translucent, I add some julienned red peppers and the drained ampalaya pieces.  I like my ampalaya to retain its rich green color and crispness so I just let it cook for about 7 minutes on high heat before adding 1-2 beaten eggs.  Once the eggs are almost cooked, I put off the heat and let the steam finish the cooking process.  Voila! Comfort food at its best!

I haven't been successful yet in having the kids love eating ampalaya so they feasted on the leftover "Fish-tek" from dinner the night before.  It's a simple dish of having "bariles" pieces marinated in some soy sauce, calamansi juice and a dash of pepper for about 30 minutes before pan frying them in hot oil.  Once brown, just add lots of red onion rings and the marinade.  It was even more delicious as a leftover since the sauce had already penetrated the fish pieces well.

Suffice to say, we were "belly-ful" today.