Kiss the Cook

Breakfast or Dessert? Easy Yoghurt Parfait

2010-08-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

It sounds fancy, but practically a no-brainer! There is NO cooking required.

Like many "working Moms", I found out today that I have yet to do what my husband and I call a "major grocery"--that is to shop for all important household stuff, including replenishing the freezer and pantry. Goodness!

This morning after cooking the hot meals, in my fridge I saw that I still had 1 fuji apple left, 2 bananas, and a small container of pineapple chunks. I still had 2 personal-size favored yoghurt,too. I thought then of capping our brunch with something that looks fun, fancy and yummy.

This I thought was a great idea for my first-born who just had is braces on and wanted something easy to eat.

Ingredients:

1 medium apple, sliced into squares
2 bananas, sliced into small squares
1 c fresh or canned pineapple chunks
2 containers of yoghurt , plain or flavored (If you're on a diet, don't forget to read the label because flavored yoghurt may be hig in sugar or fat)
(Other fruits that you can use: kiwi, mango, melo, papaya, seedles grapes sliced in halves)

After slicing the apple and banana, put these in a small bowl with a little lemon or calamansi juice to prevent it from darkening. Drain and put on paper towel to avoid making the parfait watery.

To Assemble:

Get 4 wine glasses or any fancy glass
Divide all fruits in 4 parts, start with the apple then spoon the yogurt on top (about 2 spoonfuls). Then the bananas, top that with yoghurt,too. Then the pineapple and top with the rest of the yoghurt. Chill in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with cornflakes, granola or rice crispies (or whatever breakfast cereal you might have in your pantry) and serve immediately.
Remember: To spoon carefully so that you can still see the layers of fruit between the yoghurt.

TIP: If you're thinking of serving friends with this as a dessert--I suggest a color combination of fruit. So have an apple in one layer, kiwing as another layer and mango as another! Or, how about grapes, banana then melon!

Happy healthy eating!

Chicken Tettrazini--simple, easy but goooood!

2010-08-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

My memory of this dish is of my late Father, Ben. He saw the recipe in a Sunday magazine and it caught his attention, because it was said to be a favorite of the late Cardinal Sin (Yes, that is actually a church leader's title and last name.) My dad told me to try it for a party he and my Mom were hosting. I was in high school, then.

It was a hit, especially in a household where the typical pasta sauce is tomato-based. This is a simple, creamy dish that pleases both the grown-ups and kids. The ingredients are easy to find and can be prepared like an everyday meal. I don't have the original recipe anymore, but I have taken the ingredients to heart since then.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken breast with bone
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into small squares
1 small pack frozen veggies (carrots/corn and peas)--really convenient
1 can of mushrooms, sliced
1 small block cheese, grated (cheddar for a sharper flavor or ordinary cheesefood for everyday cooking. It's affordable and kids like it)
1 can good quality cream
2 T butter or butter compound
1 pack pasta, about 400 gms cooked al dente: spaghetti, linguini,penne
salt and pepper for seasoning

As I've said, this is really easy to do. The key is preparation. With things in place, it will turn out good everytime.

Boil chicken breast in about 2-3 cups water seasoned with salt and pepper, till cooked. Make sure that the chicken is submerged to ensure even cooking. When done, set broth aside and slice cooked chicken meat into small squares/pieces.

Prepare a deep pan and put on medium heat, add butter and saute the onions till transparent and aromatic, add the green bell peppr, then mushrooms. Continue stirring in the next 3 minutes, then add the cooked chicken and about 2 cups of broth. Should the broth not be enough, just add water. Bring to a boil.

Put the heat on low and add the frozen vegetables, cream and half of the grated cheese. I included frozen veggies for added color and nutrients. (You can blanch your own carrots and peas if you wish) Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper if needed. Immediately add the cooked pasta and turn off the heat. Toss the pasta till totally coated with the chicken-veggie-cream mix. If it appears dry, just add another half cup of broth or milk.

Transfer to a baking dish and top with the rest of the grated cheese. Sometimes, depending on the cream brand and I find the sauce runny, I put the baking dish in the microwave oven for about 3-5 minutes, let it rest a bit then serve.

This is for you Pops!

Easy Mushroom & Tofu

2010-07-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

Whenever I go to a chinese restaurant and I'm handed a menu-- my eyes jump straight to the vegetable and the tofu selection. Tofu has gotten popular, that it merits its own section. I usually get braised Tofu with vegetables or braised Tofu with mushrooms or stuffed Tofu.
Usually, at the chiller section at a supermarket 10 minutes away from my home, you would find a choice of mushrooms from oyster to shitake. I got myself the usual button, some shitake and another favorite--enoki. I also wanted to add straw mushrooms even if they came in cans-- but unfortunately they were out of stock.

The great thing about this recipe is it can be a melange of mushrooms whichever is available(button, straw, enoki, oyster, shitake). You can mix any desired combination or in fact have it all in one dish! The squid/cuttlefish balls are a yummy, filling addition especially when serving a big group.

Ingredients:
1 medium block firm tofu
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
half a thumb size ginger, sliced thinly
2 T vegetable or canola
10-12 squidballs cut in half
1/2 cup whole button mushrooms cut in half
1/2 cup whole shitake mushrooms cut in half ( if fresh are available and are reatively big, you can slice it into quarters)
1 bunch of enoki mushrooms
*you can mix and match other kinds of mushrooms like straw and oyster)
2 T oyster sauce
1 T dark soy sauce
1/2 c water with 1/2 T cornstarch to make a slurry
ground pepper to taste
Oil for deep frying the squid balls

Preparation:
Cut tofu in 4 blocks and deep fry on high heat till lightly golden in color, drain on paper towels. Deep fry squid balls on high heat till puffed and also drain on paper towels.
(My personal taste is I don't like the paste-y texture of squid balls so it must be deep-fried first. It becomes a bit chewy to the bite.)
Cut the fried tofu in smaller cubes. Set aside.
In a wok or deep non-stick pan, saute garlic and ginger in oil till aromatic, be careful not to burn the garlic. Immediately add the mushrooms, increase heat to high. Stir-fry for a minute then add the tofu and squid balls. Sprinkle with ground pepper.
Mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water and cornstarch to make a slurry and pour into the pan. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and adheres to the tofu, mushrooms and squidballs. Turn off the heat immediately.

Get the rice and chopsticks ready!

A wonderful discovery at Boracay

2010-06-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have to say that in 2010, my most jam packed exciting month this year, thus far is this month of June. The last days of summer were spent in beautiful Boracay, with the beginnings of "hanging habagat". Two weeks later, I was savouring Cebu in a reunion with long-time friends. Then a week later, I attended a romantic Tagaytay Garden wedding.

Boracay was spent with those that were dearest to me, my 3 boys-- my hubby and my sons. I called it "ang huling hirit sa tag-init", loosely translated as the mad dash for the last days of summer. What I feared to be quite an expensive last-minute arrangement, turned out to be a blessing. My friend helped me arrange for a family room at non-peak prices and for some fortunate timing, my plane fare was cheaper than my first booking!

We left Manila very early and found ourselves enjoying Station 1 with sunny skies and a cool breeze at about 9 in the morning. I could feel the frazzle of Manila ebbing away.

One sunset walk led me to an interesting beach bar that said "Mojito to Go". This was at Discovery Shores. It was a proposition that was difficult to say no to.

I decided to take my boys for cocktails at this cool spot with low chairs and relaxing music. My husband and I with teens-in-tow got ourselves mango mojitos and lychee mojitos. I made a mental note to myself to make one of those back home. A stone's throw away, a beach buffet set-up was being prepared for hungry guests.

We bumped into Discovery Shores General Manager, Jun Parreno, a charming, charming person with a ready smile. His personality is a perfect fit for this place. We exchanged some updates and he invited us for next day's dinner at a resto he launched...his baby he said.

Bronze and glistening after another day of swimming, walking and beach combing--we found ourselves in a beautiful corner of the resort, still facing the ocean but with a bit of privacy. Actually, this place is perfect for dates and I wouldn't be surprised if it is all too often a place where marriage proposals are made. The place is called INDIGO.

We were treated to a menu of good eats--clean and refreshing to the palate. The flavours sing and my sons were thrilled with the new tastes they were enjoying. My hubby ordered fish fillet, perfectly cooked. The huge meat was naturally sweet and the rice crust added the crunch. My first-born ordered prawns and lemon pasta ( I think). It wasn't overwhelming so it leaves you wanting for more. My younger son had perhaps the heartiest meal with what is like a fish steak sitting on top of a bed of ratatouille, crowned with egg. He savoured the whole thing, down to the sauce that was drizzled all over the plate. I got myself seared tuna, crusted with white and black sesame seeds. Oh let me not forget the appetizer which is an interesting combination of salmon, apples and celery. If my children could have had a plate each, they would!

Now, what seems to be a healthy meal isn't complete without the sinful dessert. And INDIGO gave us the dessert fix we craved for! My sons didn't want to eat it at first because it looked like an abstract painting with a brush stroke of chocolate,and banana flambe and ice cream on one side and mousse-like malt chocolate on another. We also went spoon-fencing over the dark chocolate tart ala mode which was served with I figured out as crumbled macadamia pralines. No matter-- we ate them all up!

INDIGO is not just the only beautful spot there, it's truthfully the whole resort. The layout is airy--great to catch the balmy breezes on a typically gorgeous Boracay day. You get the very best of both worlds, really.

Salads and Sidings

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am not a vegetarian but I am a veggie-fanatic. Cooked the right way, slathered with the right sauce or dressing, it is definitely yummy! I figured, many people tire of veggies easily because it appears that there is not enough variety.

Ahhh but there is a wide array of options! It just takes taste-bud adventure and research.

Take for example my new discovery--Clara Ole Vinairgrette series, wittily called the "Salad Squad". They are delicious with salad greens and the customary tomatoes, cucumber, carrots and jicama (singkamas to true blue pinoys). My favorites undoubtedly are My My Parmesan, Pesto and Sesame Mucho (like the Japanese Salad Dressing in small bottles).

What I do, after a weekend of family-centered meals, I detox on a Monday and Tuesday with fruits and salad. I buy a bottle and leave it in the office. I just cross the street to Hypermart; buy about 45 pesos worth of assorted lettuce and drizzle away!

But, it shouldn't stop there. With a little imagination, the same Clara Ole has given me my veggie fix in new ways. Drawn from inspiration, I brought out my 2 favorites and whipped up a siding and a veggie meal without breaking a sweat!

Warm Potato Salad

1/2 k potatoes, boiled in their skin
1 small carrot, boiled in its skin
4 rashers of bacon, fried to a crisp and sliced into bits. OR 4 slices of ham cut into cubes
1-2 T of coaresly chopped flat-leaf italian parsley
2 T of grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)
1/2 c of Clara Ole My My Parmesa Vinaigrette
1 boiled egg, sliced or quartered for topping

Remove potato skin while warm and cut into medium size cubes. Same with the carrot. In a big bowl, put potato, carrots, bacon,flat-leaf parsley, grated cheese and toss with the vinaigrette.Top with slices of egg. As an option, you may add about 1/2 c frozen green peas that have been blanched and drained. EASY!

Serve while warm and as siding to grilled sausages like kielbasa, hungarian, bratwourst or shublig. You may drizzle a little bit of the dressing as a last touch, if you like more oomph. We enjoyed this with fish fillet.

Gado gado-inspired sesame and peanut dressing

1 bunch blanched baguio beans
2 carrots, sliced into sticks or batons, blanched
Other veggies can be potatoes, jicama (singkamas), cucumber)
Small block of tofu, fried and sliced into strips
2 eggs, coarsely chopped
1/4 c Clara Ole ,Sesame Mucho vinaigrette
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
Optional: chili flakes or cayenne pepper

Blanch veggies and drain. Shock them in cold water to stop the cooking to keep it crunchy. This also keeps the color vibrant. Veggies such as jicama and cucumber of course, should not be cooked. Arrange on a platter.

In a bowl, whisk the sesame vinaigrette and peanut butter until smooth. If you want more tanginess, add about 2-3 more tablespoons of the dressing. I could not wait and soon as I put the whisk down, I got a veggie stick and dunked it!

This is a good idea for a dip with veggie crudites especially if you're planning an Asian-theme dinner. Or serve as a hearty main dish for an Indonesian-inspired meal. (This is my going to be in my lunch pack tomorrow.)

Be a veggie-fanatic!

Soooo Pinoy, Soooo Sarap!

2010-05-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

I attended the Sooo Pinoy Event spearheaded by Unilever Food Solutions together with the DOT and Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The doors opened by about 7:30, I think. And when it did, we were greeted with dancers garbed in typical fiesta-hala-bira-outfits. When you get past them, it was like a Pinoy Food- Lover who had died and gone to heaven: Before you, well across the huge function hall of the SMX are rows and rows and rows of food laid out according to "ulam".

Here, the participating restuarants presented their best pinoy offerings, shortlisted for voting.

So, if you like adobo, there is an entire row of adobo... If you like kare-kare, there is an ENTIRE row of kare-kare... There are the heart-stopping specialties like bualo...sisig and crispy pata.

There is sinigang...pancit canton...bangus...and chicken inasal...

There was so much tasting and trying to be done, I don't think it was possible to try them all! Even for a person with a hefty appetite such as mine. But I did leave room for halo-halo by Razon's. Talk about sweet endings!

I must say, it was an evening that allows you to debate with fellow foodies and even with yourself, which indeed is THE soooooo pinoy dish.

Do you look at it from a comfort food standpoint?

Do you look at it as a dish that can sit side by side with others on the global table?

From what I've read, the public has spoken and that Singiang takes the crown. True, it can be global like the Tom Yum of Thailand. For me, the beauty of sinigang is it hits the core of what is local, depending on the souring agent and ingredient that is abundant in that particular place.

Sinigang is an easy dish to make, now made easier with a pack of sinigang mix. The best tip I got is to simmer it lovingly over low heat and for a long time, till the meat literally falls-off-the-bone. And to combine beef and pork for Sinigang na Karne:

Ingredients:

1/2 k pork sinigang cut
1/2 k beef neck, sliced into chunks
2 onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 packet sampaloc sinigang mix
patis and ground pepper to taste

Assorted Fresh Veggies:

kangkong leaves (Swamp cabbage)
sitaw (string beans)
gabi (native taro)
labanos (white radish)
2 siling haba (finger green chilies)

Boil the meat separately, each with onions and tomatoes. Reason being is pork cooks faster than beef. When you combine the broth later, the taste is such comfort, because the subtle flavor of the pork balances the overwhelming flavor and smell of beef.

When tender to perfection, combine the meats in a pot, add enough broth from both as prescribed by the packet. Now, if you like "sabaw" like my first born does, simply add another flavor packet and more broth!
When it comes to a simmering boil, add the labanos and gabi first. Cover pot for 5-8 minutes. Slit the siling haba, if you want subtle heat into the dish.
Finally add the sitaw and kangkong. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the steam and heat cook the veggies. That way, when you serve it, it retains its appetizingly bright green color and its wonderful crunch.

Hot, steaming sinigang is a joy in itself. Double the enjoyment with fried tilapia or inihaw na isda (fish grilled over hot coals).

Make sure you serve extra rice, ok?

3-Mushroom and Tofu

2010-04-24T10:33:00.001-07:00

Usually, at the chiller section at a supermarket 10 minutes away from my home, you would find a choice of mushrooms from oyster to shitake. I got myself the usual button, some shitake and another favorite--enoki. I also wanted to add straw mushrooms even if they came in cans-- but unfortunately they were out of stock.

Ingredients:

1 medium block firm tofu

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

half a thumb size ginger, sliced thinly

2 T vegetable or canola

10-12 squidballs cut in half

1/2 cup whole button mushrooms cut in half

1/2 cup whole shitake mushrooms cut in half ( if fresh are available and are reatively big, you can slice it into quarters)

1 bunch of enoki mushrooms

*you can mix and match other kinds of mushrooms like straw and oyster)

2 T oyster sauce

1 T dark soy sauce

1/2 c water with 1/2 T cornstarch to make a slurry

ground pepper to taste

Oil for deep frying the squid balls

Preparation:

Cut tofu in 4 blocks and deep fry on high heat till lightly golden in color, drain on paper towels. Deep fry squid balls on high heat till puffed and also drain on paper towels.

(My personal taste is I don't like the paste-y texture of squid balls so it must be deep-fried first. It becomes a bit chewy to the bite.)

Cut the fried tofu in smaller cubes. Set aside.

In a wok or deep non-stick pan, saute garlic and ginger in oil till aromatic, be careful not to burn the garlic. Immediately add the mushrooms, increase heat to high. Stir-fry for a minute then add the tofu and squid balls. Sprinkle with ground pepper.

Mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water and cornstarch to make a slurry and pour into the pan. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and adheres to the tofu, mushrooms and squidballs. Turn off the heat immediately.

Get the rice and chopsticks ready!

Vegetarian Canneloni that kids will love!

2010-04-24T09:41:00.001-07:00

I introduced veggies to my kids at an early age, wanting them to pick up a good eating habit from the very beginning. But when my first born turned 3, it was as if he just woke up one day and decided he will not each vegetables anymore!

And so began my many innovative efforts to "hide" the veggies somewhere in the dish whenever I can. Thankfully, they are now coming around and have gotten back to it, slowly but surely. They now eat pansit and veggies, sans the meat as well as the all-tomato spaghetti sauce and garlic and mushroom pasta with no fuss nor negotiations.

I call myself a pseudo-vegetarian, feasting on lovely greens, carrots and fruits on weekedays. But giving in to the temptation on weekends when I'm with my family. Then it's back to fruit detox on a monday. I eat meat just so I don't feel deprived. I prefer fish, seafood and chicken. I do enjoy pork ribs and sausages... and I do fall prey to an occassional prime rib--only and only if it is THAT good. But I digress...

I blanched and froze a big batch of spinach a couple of weeks ago. And as my younger boy would say, it's a special dish to welcome his brother home from a weekend youth retreat.

Special it is-- because its filling,albeit slighty rich and nonetheless healthy.

Ingredients:
Spinach Filling

2 cups, frozen spinach, excess water squeezed, then chopped, THEN measured
1/2 c coarsely chopped button mushrooms
1 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 block light cream cheese
10 - 12 tubes of canneloni pasta
1-2 cups tomato/spaghetti sauce

Homemade Tomato Sauce:

2 T olive oil
1 T finely chopped garlic
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely minced carrot
1/2 cup finely minced celery
2 cups stewed tomatoes with tomato paste* OR 2 cups canned pureed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
About 1 tsp of dried oregano or italian herb seasoning

In a non-stick pan, saute onions in butter then add mushroom and spinach. Since the spinach is already cooked, simply heat the mixture through. Put in a bowl and mash in the cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can sprinkle a little cayenne pepper if you like some heat. Set aside.

In a pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil till aromatic, simply add the vegetables and heat through. Add the tomatoes and herbs and simmer on low to medium heat for about 30-45 minutes, stir every now and then. Unless the sauce is served on spaghetti, I don't put fresh basil. Because it will overwhelm the creamy taste of the spinach-mushroom filling. Bay and oregano is just the kind of herb that you taste but somehow stays in the background and not get the attention away from the central ingredient.

I personally let it cool down and throw in the blender for a smooth and velvety finish.

To assemble:

Put the spinach mixture in a piping or plastic bag, cut at the corner and squeeze filling into the canneloni tubes. Pour sauce over filled canneloni. And proceed to bake for about 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve while piping hot!

TIP: Let the sauce sit on the uncooked pasta first to soften it, for about at least 30 minutes. That way, when you pop it in the oven, it will cook more easily. This is the type of dish you can make ahead of time. Assemble and put in the fridge, to be popped in the oven the next day.

*Remember my homage to the tomato last month? I've cooked quite a number of pots and turned in some very good stewed tomatoes. Get about 8-10 fresh,red, ripe tomatoes and cook in boiling, salted water for about 5-10 minutes; until the skin breaks making it easy to peel off. You can choose to coarsely slice or keep whole, mix in a small can of tomato paste, put in a freezer container (tomato juices,seeds and all) and keep in freezer till needed.

Local tomatoes are yummy but are not as bright red as italian plum tomatoes. The tomato paste boosts not only its color but its flavor. My version of this homemade sauce can get orangy at times because local tomatoes are quite pale--but hey! it beats synthetic color red#41 anytime. Happy Healthy Eating!

Ho Chi Minh Hangover-- Springroll spin-off!

2010-04-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

I still have the Ho Chi Minh hangover, I must admit. And though I am in no way connected to the tourism board of Vietnam, I have encouraged a lot of people to visit the place. It's budget-friendly and a must for BFFs.

Time was when Hong Kong was the cheapest travel abroad. Today, I venture to guess Vietnam is the one that's easiest on the pocket, but not lacking in adventure. If fashion shopping is high on your list though , then this is NOT the place to go. It's a foodie haven. Add to that lacquerware, embroidered linen, coffee and dried fruits.

I'm scrimping on the dried jackfruit to make my supply last. Its crunch and bite rivals the best chips, without the sodium and oil.And I still have my dried candied tomato safely hidden in my fridge. I'm saving it to go with my pan-fried white cheese. We only have one bag of coffee beans left, since we got home.

Fortunately, there are some foodie memories that are relatively easy to re-live and enjoy once again at our dinner table.

Springroll is a wonderful Asian staple, and there are indeed many versions which include our very own lumpiang shanghai and piniritong lumpiang gulay o ubod. The vietnamese version has a couple of twists that add novelty to the meal. For one, it has an odd kind of mushroom which we Filipinos call tenga ng daga (not an appetizing name if you ask me). Not really an ear of a you-know-what; but a dried fungus that when re-hydrated in water grows big 5-6 times its size!

It is best eaten wrapped in lettuce and dipped in sweet-sour fish sauce. So what you have is a combination of crunch, mildly sweet-sour-salty with the lettuce's counter-cooling effect.

What's great about this recipe is you can make your own tweaking. For example you can change ground pork into ground chicken...or make it half pork and half chopped shrimps...it's that versatile.

Ingredients:

250 gms ground lean pork
1/4 cup chopped dried fungus (tenga ng daga), soak first, chop, then measure
1/2 cup finely minced carrot
1/2 cup cut-up vermicelli (soak first, before measuring). It can be rice vermicelli (bihon) or mung bean vermicelli (sotanghon)
1 finely chopped onion
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste (you may opt just a dash of soy sauce, but use sparingly, otherwise it will overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients)
spring roll wrappers
1/2 c water with a few drops of lemon or calamansi
oil for deep frying

Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Prepare on your work table a kitchen cloth towel to make sure the wrapper doesn't stick.You can use springroll wrapper from the wet market or the chiller section of the supermarket.

For authenticity, try your hand at the vietnamese dried wrapper. With water and lemon in a bowl, slightly dampen the dried rice paper using a silicon or regular pastry brush. If it's too wet, the wrapper becomes limp, sticky and hard to work with.

Quickly place about 1 spoon of the meat mixture and wrap tightly into a sausage, roughly 2 inches long. Tuck the sides in, roll and seal the corner tip with water.

Prepare a deep wok or deep fryer and pre-heat the oil. Cook your springrolls till golden brown.

At the table, wrap your cooked springroll in lettuce and dip in the sauce!

Best to eat with your hands.

Dipping Sauce: Sweet-Sour Fish Sauce

2 T fish sauce (good quality patis)
4 T water
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced chili
1 T lime, lemon or calamansi juice
1/2 carrot, grated. Sprinkle with 1 t salt and after 10 minutes, squeeze to dry.

In a small sauce pot, heat fish sauce, water and sugar till dissolved. Let cool. Add the rest of ingredients.

SSS- Superb Salmon & Spinach!

2010-04-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

When I think of Salmon, what comes to mind is “special occasion”. Salmon screams “restaurant or hotel fare”. Truth to tell, I don’t buy Salmon often enough as it gets pricey.

I once bought this beautiful head which yielded me a comforting hot bowl of Sinigang sa miso. And a couple of times I bought salmon belly strips which I marinated in sweet teriyaki sauce, wrapped in banana leaves and baked. My youngest boy ate it up.

About 2 weeks ago, my sister-in-law texted us to say that salmon steaks were on sale in a particular supermarket. I was skeptical as to how affordable it truly was and what a pleasant surprise to see it at half the price! That is rare treat. I got 2 kilos and would've bought more, but that's all my freezer could take, along with great pork ribs and beef shanks.

Salmon is not a house favorite as much as the cream dory and it was a challenge to prepare something that all family members would like to partake of. Remembering this entrée that my husband enjoyed in a friend’s party one time, I proceeded with my experiment.

Now my recipes aren’t 100% original. I take my inspiration from cookbooks and magazines. When the mood and opportunity hits me--then I do my own measurements and my add-ons. That’s the joy of weekend cooking. The kitchen is my domain and my critics are those who love me :-)

Thankfully my SSS turned out well and my critics raved over it.
My reward? Of course! This Cook gets ALL the kisses.

Ingredients:
· 1 kilo salmon stakes (about 4-5 pcs) or salmon fillet
· 1 cup of chopped spinach (squeeze out excess water first,chop then measure)

· 2 T butter
· 1 small onion or shallot , chopped
· 1 container all-purpose cream
· 100 -150 grams grated cheddar cheese
· Salt and pepper to taste
· Dash of nutmeg, optional

Remove the skin and remove any visible fishbone. Season with salt and pepper and put in a baking dish. Keep in fridge to chill and prevent it from getting spoiled and smelly.
Squeeze out the excess water of your spinach. While you can get frozen spinach from the deli store or frozen section of the supermarket, you can always make your own. When I find that spinach is cheap in the produce section, I’d buy about 2 to 3 bunches. I would simply wash, blanch in salted water, drain and freeze.*

In a non-stick pan, sauté chopped onions in butter until it turns translucent. Add chopped spinach, stir till heated through. Add cream and about ½ c water, grated cheese, a pinch of nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste. (You can use parmesan or romano cheese but about 30-40 gms only as it is salty enough.) Heat through but not boil.

Pour your spinach and cream mix over salmon fillets and proceed to bake.
About 30-40 minutes, until fish is flakey. The spinach and cream gets richer as it gets cooked so it becomes a decadent savoury sauce.
Serve immediately.

*Prepare your own frozen spinach:In a pot, salted water to a brisk boil, about 2 liters of water and 1 T sea salt. Drop spinach leaves which will wilt immediately. Turn off as soon as the leaves turn bright green and drain right away. To overcook spinach will turn the leaves murky green. You want to keep that bright green to keep it looking good on the plate and tasting good.

When cool, divide the leaves into 1 cup portions and put in a ziplock bag. Freeze for future needs like SSS or a thick bowl of spinach cream soup.

Vietnamese-inspired Grilled Beef

2010-04-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Nope! Not Pho Hoa (pronounced as “Pha”) as one might expect. This noodle dish might as well be Vietnam’s national dish—hot steaming broth with beef slices and egg or rice vermicelli noodles served with fresh herbs and aromatics. The smell alone, assures me satisfaction. But I digress.

Instead, I’d like to share an evening of barbecue cookout we had on the third floor, roof top in Ho Chi Minh. We ordered beef slices, fish fillet, manila clams baked with cheese, fried spring rolls and Chinese-style fried rice.

In the middle of the table is a stove top round, somewhat flat grill, where we cooked our own food. We were served with various sauces and dips. Including one saucer that has salt and pepper with lime on the side. The salt I understand was “toasted” first.

Our interactive menu consisted of beef slices with 5-spice powder and fish fillet both in oil marinade. What I enjoyed the most were the beef slices marinated in lemongrass and chili.

I thoroughly enjoyed the food trip we had in Ho Chi Minh. While it was easy to gain weight especially since I had a checklist of must-try eating places; we walked the calories off as we went from place to place, museum to museum. Really, a strategy so we had more reasons to eat. To be honest, I don’t mind going back to Vietnam for second servings.

Now that we’re home in Manila, I decided to make a fusion dish—give it that Pinoy touch.

With my trusty mortar and pestle, I pounded away lemon grass and chili, added a little salt. I mixed with a local bbq marinade brand to make it sweet and savory at the same time. The lemon grass or tanglad gives it a delicious flavor and aroma that is unlike the usual. It is best with plain, steaming rice if you ask me.

Ingredients:
· 750gms- 1 k beef bite-size slices, sirloin- pounded with meat mallet. I have to say that pounding the meat makes it tender and absorbs more marinade. So, this is a worthwhile step.
· 8 stalks of lemongrass, just the tender, white part
· 1 piece of chili
· 1 pack of Mama Sita’s BBQ marinade, 160 ml (or your favorite Filipino –style bbq marinade)
· 1/4 – 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· Salt and pepper to taste

Get the white part of the lemongrass and pound in mortar and pestle, along with the fresh chili. If you are a chili head, then add another piece. Add the liquid BBQ marinade and oil and mix thoroughly with the meat. Chill in the ref for at least 30 minutes. I prefer it over hot iron grill because somehow it becomes watery when cooked in the pan.
I found that the marinade was completely absorbed by the meat, so every bite was perfectly packed with flavor. Should you want to stay authentic, simply used lemongrass, chili, garlic, salt and pepper and oil.

I was so excited over this that I served it to a couple-friend of ours, along with my version of Vietnamese-Filipino spring roll. Suffice to say, we had a good time enjoying our meal, exchanging plenty of stories,ideas and encouraging one another.

Ahhh, that’s in the next blog!

Tuna Stuffed Surprise

2010-03-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

Holy Week is perhaps one of the most look-foward-to event of the year. Families go on vacation and it signals the summer holiday for the kids. My family and I are taking our adventure to Vietnam so there will be interesting recipes to bring home.

In the meantime, here's one that is so close to my heart. It's a great picnic treat because apart from being easy to do-- it's easy to pack and something big and hearty to share.

My son Miggy, (diagnosed with PDD-NOS) and I joined the Century Tuna Culinary Meet years ago and we made it to the Parent-Child Category, sandwich shortlist. When I was putting this recipe together, I was thinking I'll do the cooking, he'll do the assembling and we both do the plating. When we were briefed before the cook-off, we were told that parents were not allowed to assist-- just verbal directions. We can only put the ingredients in place beforehand and supervise. The rest is the child's job-from slicing to cooking to plating--EVERYTHING!

If you're a parent of a child with special needs, you'd understand a feeling of trepidation. But you also have that gut feel that with the right preparation, they can have the same crack as any other child at the competiton.

Miggy and I practised the day before, with timer and all.

On contest day-- Miggy was cool, calm and focused.

The result?--We won First Place!

I can still see the movie in my mind. And how joyous he was--how confidently he answered the tv crew's questions. To anyone who ever doubted children with special needs-- they really ought to give these amazing youth a second look.

Ingredients:

1 round country bread (rye usually)
1-2 cans of tuna (your choice of variant. If you like it chunks or flakes in vegetable oil or if you like it spicy like spanish style)
1/4 c coarsely chopped mushrooms (canned, fresh white button or if you're feeling indulgent-portobello)
1 T butter
1/2 c black olives,chopped
1 green bell pepper
1/4-1/2 block grated cheese
4-6 lettuce leaves, preferably romaine
salt and pepper to taste

Slice off the top of the country bread--just a thin slice to expose the soft, chewy part. Keep this "bread cover". Then carefully remove the bread inside, and leave the crusty case intact.

Drain the oil from the tuna. Set the oil aside in small bowl. Then cut open, de-seed and grill the green bell pepper, remove the charred skin, slice into strips and marinade in the tuna oil. Set aside.

Saute chopped onions and mushrooms in butter and add tuna. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper to taste. Also set aside.

To assemble sandwich, layer ingredients in this order:

Line bottom of bread case with 2-3 pcs of lettuce, then spread half of the bell pepper strips. Next, spread half of the tuna-mushroom mixture. Sprinkle half of the black olives and half of the grated cheese. Repeat the steps with the remaining ingredients. Make sure that it is evenly spread.

Should there be space left at the top, add the bread bits that were removed earlier to make the layers compact. Top with the bread cover. Wrap in foil and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Serve cold. Carefully slice to reveal the layers of the filling.Optional: you can add slices of boiled egg if you like.

This is healthy and hearty served with steamed veggies like asparagus, tossed in a simple olive oil and lemon dressing, OR slices of cool, crisp, apples to balance the palate.We like to combine red and green apples for color and tartness. It's a wonderful, wonderful contrast to the savoury sandwich.

It's easy to pack when you go on a day trip especially this coming Holy Week. Pack your bags and your picnic baskets. The days of summer are here.

Have a great time!

The Colors of Summer

2010-03-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

The great thing about summer when it comes to food is the abundance of fruits-- mangoes, watermelon, cantaloupe. Succulent and oh-so-sweet.

Another favorite fruit of mine is... tomato!

Red, ripe, juicy and really cheap! You can buy them as low as P15.00 per kilo!

When we went for grocery one weekend, it was only P17.00! I got really excited and I bought around 4 kilos--much to my husband's surprise. 1 kilo was oven-roasted with olive oil and 2 kilos were stewed, peeled and popped into the freezer for future pasta sauces. The rest were for cooking.

Many,many years ago, I had a client, a vegetarian who had tomato as filling for her sandwich. I said to myself-- "yan lang???!" Then, I just could not fathom the thought of tomato as filling sans the bacon,lettuce and a bit of mayo. Just tomato! Which is usually, neglected and rejected, usually reserved as side dish if not decoration. Why would anybody eat it that plain?

Today, I don't tire of it. On Sunday brunches, I have to have mine grilled. Sliced in half, sprinkled with a little parmesan, or just salt and pepper-- in the toaster oven it goes, till half cooked, the skin wrinkled and easy to peel off. Goes well with rice and viand or newly toasted bread and some other yummy toppings like spanish sardines.

Here is an easy snack pick-me-upper. A jumble of many textures that party in my mouth. Satisfying but not fattening. My summer tomato sandwich:

small baguette or slice of french bread. (it can be plain or whole wheat)
pesto sauce (about 2-3 spoonfulls)
2 big tomatoes, in thick slices
cheese slivers (cheese of your choice. Here I used swiss cheese. I also like emmenthal)

Put tomato slices on a pre-heated teflon pan. Pan grill it till soft. Split open the baguette and toast till crunchy on the outside. A really good french bread or baguette for me is one that is crunchy on the outside, with a bit of chewiness on the inside. Spread it with pesto. Layer with grilled tomatoes and top with slivered cheese.
A no-brainer! It's so easy to do!

Dig in and enjoy the crunchiness of the baguette, paired with the warm, juicy, sweet-yet-with-a-hint-of-sourness-tomato. Add to that the kick of the pesto, fragrant with basil and garlic. This to me is the perfect example of healthy and yet flavorful food. Most of all, it is absolutely enjoyable. I actually close my eyes when I get the first bite.

If you want to share, you can cut the french bread into rounds and turn them into crostinis. Spread with basil, top with grilled tomato and finish off with shaved cheese.

Yellow, red, greed--the colors of summer on my plate :-)

Let's wrap and roll!

2010-03-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I did a "Rachel Ray"... meaning I made dinner that basically uses off-the-shelf ingredients. Fast and convenient AND in 30 minutes.

In the Philippines, there is no particular tex-mex section as you would a japanese section or an oriental section of ingredients. And so, with a little innovation and tweaking, I made my own version. Thankfully we have the likes of McCormick Taco Seasoning so that pretty much removed any thinking of spices to mix.

I have been wanting to experiment on some sorta tex-mex food as my youngest is a Taco Bell fan. And since my boys (hubby and 2 teens) have to have rice, I figured a hearty burrito would do it nicely. Plus, I can hide some greens like lettuce in it so my eldest would have more vegetables in his diet.

What I made was heavily flavored with a little heat so salsa is optional. What could complement this is sour cream if you want some coolness and tartness to balance the meal.

On a summer's evening, we capped dinner with fresh pineapple, one of the many succulent fruits in season. Just get yourself a golden ripe pineapple, peel of the skin and eyes, remove the core and cut into small chunks. Pop it in the refrigerator/freezer. This sweet, tart, icy cold fruit counters the heat of the burrito. And cools you down.

Satisfying and healthy.

1/4 kilo ground sirloin
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pack McCormick Taco Seasoning less 1 tsp, set this aside
1/2 small can of tomato paste

1/2 can of red kidney beans, mashed

2 to 2 1/2 cups cooked rice (white, brown or red)
3 T annatto or achuete oil for color (To render color from annatto, put 1/4 c oil in small pan or sauce pan, add 3-4 T annatto/achuete seeds. Put over low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Set extra oil aside for future use like java rice)

2 cups shredded lettuce (Any kind will do.I used green and purple baby oak)
1/2 block cheese, grated
4 pcs large soft flour tortilla

Saute onions and add ground beef. Add taco seasoning and tomato paste. Stir and put on low heat till cooked. Meanwhile mash the beans and set aside.

In a teflon pan, put annatto oil and stir in cooked rice. Add the 1 tsp taco seasoning that was set aside earlier. This gives the rice flavor and binds the tex-mex flavor and feel together. Stir until fragrant and the orange color of the annatto is evenly spread. This deep orang-y flavor also gives it an appetizing, inviting look. Set aside.

Getting it together!

Get your large flour tortilla, and spread about 2 T of mashed red kidney beans on 1/2 side. On this same side, spread about 3 T meat mix on top of the bean.

Again, pile on the rice mix, about a little over 1/2 heaping cup. Pile on the shredded lettuce and sprinkle with grated cheese. You can add more cheese if you want to--it's not a crime :-)

Proceed to roll. It's a hefty roll that you might want to wrap in tin foil and heat in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.

What I did was place the burrito seam side down on the silicon mat and put in the toaster over low heat for no more than 10 minutes. I just wanted my brood to have a warm meal.

So, to put it simply: spread(mashed beans)- spread (meat mixture)- pile (rice)- pile(lettuce)-top( with cheese)-then roll!

This is not only great for a summer's evening. This is also a smart "baon"and picnic idea.

It's summer and my kids are spending more time at home-- so that means I'll be doing more wrap and roll. Watch out for it!

Chicken and Sausage Rice Pot

2010-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

I enjoy watching the Asian Food Channel, including the shows that go to hawker stalls and out-of-the-way food stalls. Even if I don't understand the language and get by with the english subtitles-it's as if there were times I could almost imagine how the dish tastes like!

There was one such time when I saw a feature (in Malaysia I'm guessing) where the stall is known for its chicken and sausage rice. What caught my attention were the clay pots that were being cooked over wood fire. I see it in Japanese 99 peso stores and have wondered if one can actually cook with it and how. I like the partly glazed and partly rough parts which reminds me of pottery and white "palayok".

Now, I actually had the good excuse to buy and try! I got 2 pieces from the Daisu store one Sunday. I thought to myself, if I were successful I would have multiple servings OR if I were to break one pot, I would still have one left!

The process seemed easy enough and the ingredients are something I often have in my refrigerator. In fact, I have a similar dish months ago. Since it was a feature story, there were no recipes nor measurements which made the experimentation more fun. When I got home, I placed about a cup of water and let it boil. I figured I should "warm it up" so it won't crack when I began to cook. (But that's just me).

Next, I didn't want to slave over hot coals and decided to try on my trusty stove in the meantime. The only effort in this dish was the simple prepping and slicing. No sauteing, no braising. Just the melting of flavors in a pot as the rice gets cooked! How easy is THAT!?!

1 cup of rice, uncooked. Washed and made to sit in water for about 5 minutes before draining
1 T grated ginger, 1-2 cloves grated garlic, pinch of salt
3 T vegetable oil
1 1/4 c water
Chicken fillet, remove skin. About 200-250 gms, salt and pepper to taste (I removed meat from a leg, thigh and breast)
2 chinese sausages, also called chorizong macau

Put the rice in the pot and add water. In a small sauce pan, I warmed the vegetable oil and added the grated ginger and garlic. I gently cooked these so as not to burn them less they become bitter. I added this ginger-garlic-oil mixture to the rice and stirred. Don't forget the pinch of salt to taste.

Cook it as you would regular rice: put on high heat and when it begins to boil, turn down the heat. (When cooking rice we would usually use 1 cup water to 1 cup rice. But I learned that you have to add a little more as I guess water evaporates easily because the clay is porous.)

After a few minutes when there is less water and the rice grains begin to swell, simply put the chicken pieces and the sausage slices on top. Put back the cover and simply wait till the rice is fully cooked. Finally: serve hot, hot,hot!

In the TV show at AFC, the diners poured a thin swirl of sweet soy sauce on top and mixed it up before partaking. I prefer it, as is. The chicken juices and sausage fatty flavor seep into the rice at the bottom. Every spoonful is packed with flavor.

My kids enjoy this dish, and counts it as among their roster of comfort food.

I plan to buy 2 more claypots. So when we have the chance, I'll serve this to friends, with a side dish of blanched veggies like bokchoy or petchay. Add to that fried spring rolls for crunch and contrast, and maybe... stuffed tofu.

What if you don't have this pot? No worries! I think it works just as well with your rice cooker.

Now, how simple is THAT!?!

P&P-- Prawn on Pasta

2010-02-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

No one needs a special occasion to make dinner special. It's the company and conversation. Well... a glass of good wine can help the conversation going. This dish is an example of something simple but looks gorgeous and tastes really good. It's sort of down home if you serve it family style and it can also look classy as dinner-for-two and wine.

My husband loooves shrimps and prawns. Apparently, it's contagious because so do my sons. And because it can get pricey-- serving shrimps or prawns IS in itself an occasion! And so it always deserves a place in the weekend table.

When there is time to savor every bite...to talk about stuff from serious to utterly mundane... to laugh at unexpected jokes. Then again, when you have males at the diner table, somehow eating is at a rocket's pace!

My Mom's default gift for my husband is always 2 packs of succulent prawns, and obviously he is not complaining. So one I'm-not-yet-done-with-the-grocery weekend, with a pack defrosting in the refrigerator, I whipped out what could be found in my pantry and fridge.

I saw light mayo, grated quezo de bola, all-purpose cream, fresh tomatoes, spaghetti noodles.

Hmmmm, there's a possibility here I told myself. I really have no recipe as basis on this one, but I think it's like thermidore or croque monsiuer inspired.

It turned out pre-tty gooood and a change from the usual. I plated it for picture's sake, but I served it family style for my small but hungry brood. If you have all-male diners, you make sure everybody has an equal share. I kept the prawn head on, because it looks more appetizing that way. Besides, I get to eat them :-)

12 prawns- split the back and devein, leave tail in-tact
1 T light mayo
4-5 T grated cheese (quezon de bola, parmesan or romano)
1/2 T all purpose cream
ground pepper to taste
Optional: 1 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

200 grm pack spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente in water with lots of salt

1/2 k fresh tomatoes, sliced and dried over low heat in the oven

olive oil

2 T garlic slivers

salt and pepper to taste

Mix light mayo, grated cheese, all-purpose cream to form a soft paste. Put a small knob in the slit made on the back of the prawn. Drizzle some olive oil on a pyrex dish and lay prawns side by side. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Cook in the oven till orangy-pink.

Be carefull not to overcook as you will have shrivelled and rubber prawns. Set aside.

In a deep pan, simply saute garlic in olive oil, add oven-dried tomatoes. Get the noodles out of the pot and put into the pan. Mix well, add salt and pepper to taste. For family-style serving, get a big platter, place shrimps on top, pour the oil and prawn juices from the pyrex dish onto the pasta.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve immediately. It's a healthy, clean-tasting, good-for-you dish. Enjoy!

Shortcut Tip: If you have no time for oven-dried tomatoes, you can always get a jar of sundried tomato pesto. :-)

Send me a mail! It's kitchen.kitchie.koo@gmail.com

I would love to hear from you.

Fusion for Two

2010-02-13T07:02:00.000-08:00

I find it amusing that tomorrow, we will either celebrate Valentine's Day or Chinese New Year. One is typically an intimate dinner for two and the other, a lauriat for a group. To get the best of both worlds, the eve is reserved for the romantic in me. And tomorrow, will be reserved for the gourmand in me. Not a bad deal at all.

I checked my fridge and pantry and whipped up this pasta dinner I consider a japanese-italian fusion. Wierd? Unique? But I guarantee is yummy. And absolutely simple to do.

I found a pack of enoki mushrooms,also called golden needle mushrooms. They have tiny, tiny white, shiney caps and best for me when fresh. I usually see this in Japanese restaurants wrapped in bacon or beef bacon and pan fried. Another time I had it, it was simply cooked in little butter and served as a side dish with small japanese grilled meats.

Instead of being eaten as an appetizer, I figured if it is wrapped in bacon-- it can certainly go well with a cream-base sauce for pasta, like carbonnara or al fredo. The bacon, ties the fusion concept neatly together! I served it with crispy ciabatta slathered with garlic, basil and oil. Accompanied with chardonnay-- my husband enjoyed our simple yet satisfying dinner for two.

Enoki Wrap:

1 pack of enoki mushrooms, cut off the roots and wash thoroughly. Drain and divide into 10-12 batches
About 5-6 strips of bacon, sliced in half, yielding 10-12 shorter strips

Pasta with Cream Sauce:

2 cups of cooked pasta, spaghetti or fettucini
1 T of butter
6 T all-purpose cream
1/3 c parmesan cheese
1-2 T extra parmesan cheese on the side
freshly ground pepper
optional: thin ribbons of 2 basil leaves (chiffonade)

Cut your enoki mushrooms to a length of 2 inches. If you got a long one, cut the stalk in half and combine to make a thicker bunch. Simply wrap this with bacon and set aside, seam side down. You may secure with toothpicks.
Heat your pan or grill pan, then place the wraps, seam side down. Bacon shrinks and so as this cooks , it begins to tighly wrap the enoki mushrooms. You may also choose to bake especially when cooking a big batch for plenty guests. Set aside when thoroughly cooked.

In another pan, heat butter with all-purpose cream until it melts but not bubbling. Add the pasta and gingerly mix. Sprinkle 1/3 c of parmesan to evenly coat the pasta as you toss it. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and ribbons of basil. Split servings on 2 plates, give a final sprinkle of cheese and arrange the enoki wraps on top.

I enjoy different textures when eating, so a crusty bread for me, completes the experience.

Garlic Basil Olive Oil Bath:

Pound about 5-6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped in a mortar and pestl
Add about 6-8 leaves of basil cut into small ribbons (chiffonade)
pinch of sea salt
1/4 -1/3 c olive oil

Slather this mixture on crusty bread like french bread or ciabatta. Grill on high heat until crunchy.

Who says you have to go out in a fancy restaurant, get upset with the traffic and the crowd? When you can enjoy dinner and wine at home. Have great conversation, kiss every now and then, dance the slow dance without music. And cap it with an indulgent Royce's chocolate.

Happy Valentine!

Mussels in white wine, post holiday recipe

2010-02-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry, it has been a while since I posted on my blog. Christmas was hectic and January just flew by so fast! Plus, my camera needed a new lense and I just couldn't post without the aid of a picture. To share the meal with you by way of a picture is just so important.

Well, the lense had been purchased finally and more cooking will commence soon.

Let me jumpstart with a simple, simple, SIMPLE recipe. I'm not sure if this is Italian or French, but I do know that it's a favorite of ours. It's an appropriate post holiday recipe, in case you have left over white wine. I find that this recipe is wonderful for two over intimate dinner...and just as great for a dinner of twelve guests.

I order my mussels (tahong) from a nearby grocery that orders it all the way from Roxas City. It's a good deal because it's only about P10.00 more expensive compared to the Cavite source-- yet it's big and plump and sweet. And nary a fear for red tide.

This is a great appetizer, served with garlic bread.

Then, serve a main course of pasta afterwards. And top it off with a simple dessert.

We use the mussel shell to spoon the broth. And slurp to the last drop!

2 kilos mussels, washed, cleaned, bearded and drained

2 T of finely chopped garlic

2 T olive oil plus 3 T butter

1 c white wine

1/2 - 1 c water

salt and pepper to taste

chili flakes

Get a deep pot, heat olive oil and butter until melted. The oil prevents the butter from burning.

Cook the chopped garlic until yellow. Not brown.

Add the mussels, then add white wine and water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a high boil and cover the pot.

After 5-8 minutes, the shells would have opened and this is a sign that it is cooked.

Stir a bit to make sure the broth bathes each and every mussel.

Sprinkle chili flakes for a subtle heat and serve in a deep bowl, immediately.

Serve with garlic bread. Accompany with a lovely bottle of wine and great music.

Pinsec Frito- Traditional Chinese dish with a Spanish name

2009-11-30T06:56:00.001-08:00

My 15 year old son had an assignment. His group was to suggest a kind of food that they can serve on International Culture Day. They were appointed to research on chinese food and bring bite-size samples to school. My immediate response was dimsum-- --perfect! However, if my son had his way, he wanted yang chow rice.

Of the 5 suggestions, his team chose Pinsec Frito. It doesn't sound chinese at all like "siomai", or "Bam-i", or "chop suey". Pinsec Frito is as traditional a chinese dish as fried noodles, sweet sour pork and steamed wontons. It is a Spanish term for fried dumplings, part of "La Comida China". And like the pansit, pinsec frito is so much a part of the history of our foodscape.

So last saturday, Miggy and I tested the recipe so we could be ready for the big day.He did the prep from chopping, to mixing, to wrapping. It is so simple, even a younger child can do it.

1/2 kilo finely ground pork
2 t finely chopped or grated ginger
2 t sugar
1/4 c chopped pork fat (optional)
1/4 c finely chopped singkamas (jicama)
1/4 c finely chopped carrots
2 T finely chopped scallions
1 egg
3-4 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1 T cornstarch
1 pack large size wonton wrappers (molo wrappers)
Oil for frying

Simply prep all ingredients and mix them well in a bowl. Fill the middle of the wonton wrapper with 1 t of the meat mixture and gather up the sides to wrap around the filling. Try to keep the corners upright so it will "bloom" when deep fried. The difficulty with wonton wrappers is they get easily wet or damp, and stick to the tray or plate, causing it to rip. The trick is to line the tray with a cloth or tea towel.

Heat oil through, but make sure it is not smoking or else you will end up with cooked wrappers but raw meat. Without the benefit of an oil thermometer, I got this easy to follow tip: Dip a barbecue stick in the oil, and when the bubbles run up the stick, it is ready.

Gently drop about 4-5 pieces at a time. Too many pieces will cause the temperature of the oil to drop, resulting in greasy dumplings. What you want are golden brown and crispy bites.

To remove excess oil, place newly fried wontons on kitchen paper towels. Sweet chili sauce is the perfect dip for these crunchy morsels. Just dip and pop them into your mouth. We eat it with yang chow- chinese style fried rice or as my parents would call it "morosquieta". With a side bowl of egg-drop soup or noodle soup.

I was so proud of Miggy as he took his assignment a step further. He not only researched, but tested it himself. I must say, he was successful as we had a wonderful lunch last Saturday.

Lemon Meringue Torte

2009-11-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

I like many things that has lemon in it... I like it as lemonade... I like it with extra-virgin olive oil as a simple dressing...I love it as gremolata (lemon zest with chopped garlic and basil--heavenly)...I like it squeezed over paella or mussels cooked in white wine... and I love it as dessert.

My version is a cross between a lemon pie and a lemon square. I particularly like the strong tartness of the lemon square because it is more pronounced. The meringue just adds a bit of depth and creaminess to the bite.

I was especially happy when I experimented on this as I was never consistently successful with beating egg whites. I have yet to succeed in making my son's favorite dessert which is sans rival. I was a dismal failure so I will try and try again.

Plus, this time I was challenged to do it by hand and not rely on a mixer ( To be truthful about it, I was just too lazy to bring out the heavy mixer from the shelf in my pantry. To get it was a greater challenge for me at the time.)

I find that this a perfect ending to a heavy meal or a meal that had very strong flavors like beef and pork dishes, or spicy dishes, because it cools the palate. Though sweet, the lemon seems to cleanse the tongue.

This recipe is not intimidating as the crust does not require much skill, except mixing and pressing onto the pan. The zest is really important because I find that this gives the round flavor and it just makes the dessert more appetizing even on the first whiff. The best couple of tips I ever got to beating egg whites to a fluff are: they should be at room temperature and the bowl should be absolutely dry.

Pucker up and enjoy.

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 butter or butter compound

1/4 c powdered or confectioner's sugar

2 large eggs plus 2 yolks

1 1/2 c sugar

Lemon zest, chopped (about 1 1/2 T)

Juice from 2 lemons (about 6-7 T)

1 t baking powder

Prepare a shallow pie pan or tart pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend together flour and powdered sugar. Then combine it with softened butter.

Simply press this on the pan. And bake in oven for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, beat eggs and sugar till creamy and fluffy. Add your lemon zest, lemon juice and baking powder. Pour over pre-baked crust and bake for another 15-20 minutes till the top layer is set. Let cool.

To prepare meringue, beat eggwhites with 1 t cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 c sugar and beat continuously until stiff but not dry. Spread on top of pie and bake or broil until it is lightly browned.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Fiesta Fare for City Kids

2009-11-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

I've had the good fortune of growing up in the best of both worlds (no tribute to Hannah Montana here), where I grew up in the city but spent a sizeable chunk of my childhood vacations in the province. These were in the towns where my parents grew up.

And so I've seen the bucolic countryside, complete with fields, nipa huts, fishing villages with no electricity. Hating the boredom at times... scared of the "tuko", a scary-looking thorny lizard... eating fresh young coconut meat--creamy and syrupy after swimming at the beach... enjoying sugary sweet and pulpy atis (custard apple)...blowing the steam off newly-cooked chicken "gata"(cooked in coconut cream) resting on top of a mound of rice and fried fish on the side...playing under the moonlight and waking up to the free-for-all crowing of the roosters.

My children are city kids who moan at the thought of a blackout after a typhoon hits the country. That meant no TV and no computer. This also meant that they didn't get to climb trees...never swam in the ocean with the help of floaters made out of tire inner tubes ("salbabida")... never caught a gold beetle (salaginto)... nor ate with bare hands with banana leaves as plates while sitting on the seashore with underwear full of sand...

My eldest once said, everything seems to taste better when wrapped in banana leaves. And so for my husband's birthday very recently, I promised a family dinner reminiscent of how it was done during his childhood. An entire table lined with banana leaves and viands right at the center for everyone to pick; to enjoy every morsel with their bare hands.

Now where my parents come from, eating with the hands is an art form: you should only use your fingertips and keep the rest of the palm clean.

The menu was pork belly and pompano fish stuffed with onions and tomatoes, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over hot coals. Fresh shrimps simply seasoned with salt and pepper, flash-cooked in little water and topped off with a dollop of butter, mussels soup, laing , diced red egg and tomatoes with the all important hot and fluffy rice. Dessert was a bowl of chilled lychees and served with ice.

It was I must say a feast!

We had a grand time. Much as we were nowhere near a farm nor a fishing village, I was just happy that my boys were enjoying this time, having a ball and literally getting a taste of what it was like for me and my husband when we were growing up.

I tell myself there will be MORE of this.

On the practical side, all we did was fold the banana leaves and the clean-up was done!

Charcoal-grilled pork belly (Inihaw na Liempo)

1 kilo of pork belly (about 1/4 in thick), about 6-7 slices
1 c vinegar
1/2 head of garlic finely chopped. Or better yet, pound away into a paste in mortar and pestle
1 T sea salt
black pepper

When using a mortar and pestle, put the salt with the garlic to prevent the garlic from jumping out. Mix all the ingredients together and this is your marinade. Keep the pork soaked in this mixture in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Mussel Soup (Tahong na may sabaw)

1 kilo mussels, cleaned and bearded
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 thumb size ginger, julienned
Fish sauce (patis) or salt
pepper to taste
Optional: handful of chili leaves (dahon ng sili)

In a pot, heat a little oil and saute your garlic and ginger till fragrant. Careful not to burn your garlic as it gets bitter. Simply put in the mussels and add 2-3 cups of water. Add fish sauce or salt to taste. Balance with a pinch of pepper. Turn on high heat to boil.

When all the mussels have opened, this means it is cooked. Turn off the heat. A handful of chili leaves does not add any heat nor spice at all. It just gives a nice touch of fresh frgrance and a mild herb-y flavor to the broth.

Brunch at my Home-- "Kain Tayo!"

2009-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Since I am a full-time working mom, I try to make up among other things, by making meal times special for my family. I cook Saturday and Sunday dinners and Sunday Brunch. On Sundays, we tend to linger longer at the table before heading for worship service at midday.

It has been such a habit that my youngest, now 15 years old would wake me up in the morning, less I forget to cook! They look forward to that. I'm glad.

I cook depending on what's in the pantry. Or when I happen to be in the grocery on a Saturday, I start buying for my brunch menu. Pinoy breakfast is hearty. And while I add things of my own, revise bits here and there-- you will find my family heritage at our table.

The latest pinoy theme included chicken tocino, crispy boneless dilis, spanish sardines, sunny side-up, puting keso ng calabao (carabao white cheese) pan fried in butter and tsokolate eh (spanish chocolate). with the pre-requisite sinangag (fried rice) and bread. For toasted bread, it's a toss-up for me between pandesal, french bread, whole wheat or rye.

Both my parents hail from Batangas, so I grew up with native white cheese, although then it was saltier and wrapped in banana leaves...

tocino, although then it was with fatty pork...

The rest especially the spanish chocolate is still the same--dark and thick. The way I imagine the Spanish Friars had them in the olden days. Tablea is basically roasted cacao seeds ground and placed in small tin molds till dry.

6-9 unsweetened chocolate tablets
3 cups water
1/2 c sugar

Simmer the chocolate tablets in water till it dissolves. The traditional way is to beat it until frothy with a batirol. In the meantime, a wire wisk will do. Add sugar. This istill quite bitter. Just offer milk and sugar or condensed milk at the table. Let them add according to taste. We enjoy ours bittersweet.

I cherish this time with my children and I hope that they will remember these sunday brunches with fondness. That they too, will make it a point to keep the weekly tradition alive where their own families are able to bond and make up for the hectic week that had just passed.

Summer in the midst of a Storm

2009-10-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Despite the incessant rain and typhoon-- I dream of summer and the cornucopia of fruits that it yields.

I was so thrilled when I accidentally stumbled upon a mound of native guavas, the small, sweet and fragrant kind. They were at the peak of ripeness that I just could not resist! And so I bought 2 1/2 kilos giddy with the thought that I will get to experiment on making guava jam.

What I see in supermarkets (which are rare these days) is guava jelly. What I wanted to make is true to the fruit, the result of which is a spread that is a dessert in itself!

I remember my grandmother had a lone guava tree in her backyard in Quezon City, next to the fruit-laden tamarind tree. The flesh of the guava was pink and almost sugar-sweet. The tree was short and easy to climb on. And my cousins and I would excitedly devour it. (on other days, we would pick from the neighbor's aratelis tree).

And so, I washed my guavas well and removed the seeds. The ones with soft and mushy pulp were the sweetest and I couldn't resist popping a few in my mouth. It was like going back to my childhood days of summer. The tougher ones, about less than ten pieces had to be removed, otherwise they will leave a bitter (mapakla) aftertaste. So my guess is, I was left with 2 kilos of guavas to cook.

I didn't put much sugar because the guavas were already sweet. I just needed the sugar to heighten the flavor and preserve it.

2 kilos ripe guavas, pitted, discard seeds

2 1/2 to 3 /2 c sugar

1 t salt

juice of 1 lemon

In a deep pot or wok, put the sliced guavas, add about a half to full cup of water, and when boiling, bring the flame down to a simmering heat, leave to cook for 30 minutes. Add salt and sugar and cook for another 15 minutes. Finally, add the lemon juice. When the fruit is soft, let it cool a bit and put in blender. You don't have to liquefy it as a few chunky bits make more enjoyable to eat. Put back in pot or wok and cook till thick and of spreadable consistency. It's like thick fruit sauce.

For me it's still best with thin crackers, with it's sweetness and crunch dancing in my mouth. Or on toasted wholewheat mainly because of the crunch and the earthiness of the bread.

As I was savoring my guava jam one cool morning, I thought it would probably go great with panna cotta. Too late-- my stash was almost gone! However, I have saved a little because I heard that it's wonderful sauce for baked ham. So, I'm saving some for Christmas. And that's not too far away. :-)

Kiss the Cook: Typhoon Pepeng and Hainanese Chicken Rice

2009-10-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Kiss the Cook: Typhoon Pepeng and Hainanese Chicken Rice

Typhoon Pepeng and Hainanese Chicken Rice

2009-10-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday, many waited for Typhoon Pepeng's fury with bated breath-- as they indulged in their favorite comfort food. So did we.

Among those eats that we truly enjoy as a family is Hainanese Chicken Rice. I love this dish because it's simple yet flavorful. It feeds the senses--from the smell to the mouth feel to the taste.

For many who have gone to Singapore, I bet their shopping expeditions were mostly for clothes and shoes. As for me? My luggage had a box which contained the following: A couple of jars of chicken rice mix, 3 bottles of premium soy sauce, 2 small jars of chicken rice chili, 1 bottle of laksa paste, curry mix and black pepper mix and 6 bottles of kaya jam for pasalubong. I also brought home difficult to find spices like cardammon. And given the chance to go back--I will bring home more of the same things!

Because I won't be going to Singapore anytime soon, I've learned to make my own chicken rice mix and kaya jam (coconut cream jam). I wanted to get as close to the original taste that I so thoroughly enjoyed! I intend to bottle these and join bazaars one of these days.

Hainanese Chicken Rice is not hard to do. I've checked different recipes and they varied a bit from each other. So what I'm sharing is what works best for me. I've tried the boiling-chicken-and-plunge-in-ice-water method...but I find that what I like to do best is steam it. The chicken stays succulent that way. The trick I believe is in the prep.

1 whole medium to big chicken
dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder
thumb size ginger, cut into thin slices

Remove excess chicken fat--the yellowish mass under the skin, near the thighs. Gently run your fingers under the chicken skin, to separate it from the meat, especially at the breast area. Massage with the mix of salt, pepper and garlic powder on the meaty side. So as the chicken cooks ,it is already infused with flavor. Under the skin, put the ginger slices in strategic areas: breasts, legs, thighs.

Steam chicken in a steamer or wok. The water for steaming itself should have a couple of slices of ginger,too. The water must remain a rolling boil. Steam for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the chicken. Cover tighly, and add water every now and then to prevent it from drying up. The water used to steam the chicken will catch the juices and basically becomes the broth. Set this aside for the chicken rice.

Chicken Rice

Thumb size ginger,sliced into thin strips (matchsticks)
2 big segments of garlic, sliced into thin strips (match sticks)
1 t salt
1/3 c of oil
3 c uncooked rice

Heat oil in the pot (or the rice cooker pot on stove flame). It should be a gentle heat...add the ginger and garlic, just to release the aroma-about 30- seconds to 1 minute, then add the uncooked rice so as to coat the grains with oil. Use the chicken broth as the water (about 3 cups) ,add the salt--stir and let cook as you normally would with rice. (Likewise with the rice cooker pot-- after the open flame--let it cook in the rice cooker).

Chop chicken into smaller pieces, serve chicken rice heaping in bowls and a siding of really good soy sauce and chili paste. What I like about the premium soy sauce is its syrupy thick and mild sweet-salty taste. My friend prefers the salty variety. To contrast with crunch, serve with cucumber slices. It is a lovely and cool counterpart to the chili. If you don't have chili paste-- a little tabasco will do the trick.

The rice has to be piping hot!

Once we took the first spoonful-- Pepeng was soon forgotten.

Gising-gising

2009-10-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

The latest recipes from Kiss the Cook-- enjoy

http://kissthecook88.blogspot.com/

Gising gising

2009-09-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I don't know the roots of this dish. I assume it's from Bicol (South of Luzon, about 9 hours from Manila), because of the chili and coconut cream. It seems to be related to the "Bicol Express" but a much milder version.
The transliteration of gising-gising is "wake-up! wake-up!". And I suppose it's because the strong flavors wake your taste buds up.
It is a viand by itself, but it's always a great partner to grilled or fried fish and hot steaming rice: pinoy staples. Plus, it is economical as the main ingredients are inexpensive. I cook a big batch and it finds its way as a side dish for lunch or dinner.

Again, it's easy to do. Helpful for beginners and young housewives. Here goes!

- 2 big bunches of kangkong (also known as water cabbage)Remove the tough stalk at the bottom end of the kangkong. Separate the leaves from the stems and sliced into small pieces. Wash and drain.
- coconut cream from 2 small coconuts (about 2 cups yield)
-1 onion or shallot, sliced. (shallot is to the pinoy's pulang sibuyas)
-About 1/2 cup shrimps, shelled and deveined.
-About 1 cup of lean ground pork
-3 green chilies (siling pang-sigang) slice diagonally in half.
-fish sauce (patis) to taste or salt
-pepper to taste

Heat your pan (not too hot, otherwise you'll burn your onions in seconds!). Add a little oil and saute the onion/shallot until clear. Add the ground meat and stir fry for a couple of minutes so as to cook the meat evenly. Add the shrimp till light pink.
Proceed to add the small pieces of kangkong stalks and continue to stir for about 3 minutes.
Add the coconut cream, add the leaves and cover the pan till the mixture begins to boil.
Veggies appear plenty when they are raw, but when you begin to cook them, you realize it isn't as much as you thought!
Add the chillies. (Some people prefer the biting heat of the small red chillies, also called "siling labuyo".) Use whatever suits you.
Lower the heat to get a gentle boil. Let it simmer till the coco cream thickens a bit.
Add fish sauce or salt, and pepper to taste.

Gising gising is also a vegetarian's delight. Simply skip the meat and it can be just as good.
This is because the coco cream has a distinct flavor which for me caressess the ingredients just so.
I happen to like freshly squeezed coco cream with grilled eggplant and chopped onions...but THAT is another recipe, for another day.

Tortang Giniling...Meat Frittata...

2009-09-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

If you check Wikipedia, torta is a mexican sandwich or spanish for round cake. By the looks of this particular torta, it is more like meat frittata (an italian omelet).

The Pinoy version of torta is wonderful anytime of the day. And parents like me can "hide" the veggies which some kids shun. My family loves it with rice. Although an extra helping in the fridge makes it a hefty filling for pandesal, soft roll or wheat bread for snack on school days.

It doesn't take much skill to cook torta, however, creating the perfectly round torta can be a challenge. So it is always good to look back at tradition and do it the way our parents did it back when there where no teflon, non-stick pans. The secret is using banana leaf. Not only will you get a perfect torta all the time, it also smells good and has a slight hint of smokey taste that the banana leaf gives.

This is what my husband grew up with-- a cooking tradition I find worth passing on.

1 onion, coarsely chopped

300 to 350 grams of ground meat. I use either all pork or half pork/half beef

Make sure it's lean.

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into small cubes

small to medium potato, cut into small cubes

small to medium carrot, cut into small cubes

(tiny cubes about the size of crumbled ground meat is advisable when you want to add veggies to your child's diet)

1 T soy sauce

1-2 T ketchup

salt and pepper to taste

3 eggs

Heat pan through, preferably non-stick pan. Add 1 T of oil and saute the onions till transparent. Add the red bell pepper, then the ground meat and stir till the pink meat color is gone.

Add the veggies and cover for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the seasoning until mixture is relatively dry, (not watery). Should your meat be fatty, drain the oil. Set aside to cool.

In the meantime, beat 3 eggs till frothy. Once the meat mixture is cool, add to the eggs and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Get a banana leaf and remove the mid rib. Cut into 2 pieces, which should be 2-3 inches bigger all around than the pan. Heat the banana leaf over stove flame quickly. This is to wilt the leaf to make it easy to handle.

Heat your pan through and line it with banana leaf. Pour the meat and egg mixture. And cover.

Keep heat low to ensure even cooking and prevent the banana leaf from scorching. Cover the pan for about 10 minutes. Check to see if the mixture has set. At the edges, the egg will begin to cook. If it is still runny, give it another 5 minutes.

Here's the challenging part: put the second banana leaf on top of the pan, get a plate bigger than the pan and use this to cover the leaf. Keep the plate firm with one hand and with some serious wrist action, flip the pan. This would have turned the torta, revealing the cooked side. Simply slide the banana leaf on the pan to cook the eggs completely.

Let it cool a bit before serving. Because by then, the torta is firm and easy to slice into wedges. Keep in its leaf lining so your family or guests will appreciate the aroma of the warm banana leaf.

Enjoy!

Chinese Steamed or Braised Chicken

2009-09-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I joke around that if I were to base my past life on food preference, I couldn't decide if I were italian... thai... or chinese.

I have a favorite dish that to my knowledge is chinese given it has garlic...ginger and chinese chorizo (referred to by my parents as chorizo macau.) This is also the dried, cured sausage bits I see in yang chow rice. Sometimes the cooking method I do is steam, like you would with dimsum or braise in a clay pot. And eat it with steaming hot rice. Yum.

It's been raining non-stop in Manila and this lists as one of my comfort food. I like the tender chicken bits...chewy, sweet mushrooms and the salty bite of the chorizo. For me, this should go with steamed or blanched bokchoy, which they also call at the supermarket as chinese pechay. (Not to be mistaken with pechay baguio).

1 thumb size ginger, sliced

3 segments of garlic, sliced

1-2 pcs chorizo macao, sliced

1 c mushrooms (buttons, shitake, or dried mushrooms soaked in warm water and sliced)

1 spring chicken cut into pieces

1 T oyster sauce

2-3 tsp soy sauce

pepper to taste

2 t chives, chopped

Marinade chicken in oyster sauce and soy sauce. Set aside.

Heat pan thoroughly, add 1 T oil and add chorizo macau until you render the fat a bit. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry. Keep the heat at medium so as not to burn the garlic. Burnt garlic is bitter.

Add chicken pieces and stir fry till the meat turns from pink to opaque white. Sprinkle with pepper.

Option 1: Transfer to a container and steam like dimsum. About 30 minutes until chicken is tender.

Option 2 is to put in a clay pot, put the cover and cook over low heat. (Chinese clay pots can be cooked over fire.) Add a little water to add moisture and prevent chicken from drying out.

Sprinkle with chop chives before serving.

This is also great served as rice topping and let the sauce and juices drizzle down the rice to soak up all the flavors!

I find that the chorizo macau, mushrooms already pack a lot of flavor so if at all, have soy sauce ready on the side. Chili paste or dried chili flakes for chili heads give it a nice kick,too.

It's oriental night--so bring out the chopsticks!

(A friend reminded me that a dash of sesame oil to top it off--gives that aroma, that is distinctly oriental. I agree!)

Caramelized Bananas

2009-08-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

In short, "minatamis na saging".

I surmise for many Filipino households, this is quite common. Alongside turon (crunchy, wrapped in rice paper with sugar, jackfruit and deep-fried, maruya (enveloped in batter and panfried) and banana cue; it is a ubiquitous merienda fare.

As a child, I remember adding crushed ice and a little milk. Since we didn't have an ice-shaver, we would put ice cubes in cheesecloth and pound away with a clean hammer. It was one of the many summer treats in my grandmother's house.

Today, I simply enjoy its syrupy goodness with a cup of hot tea.

I got to make a big batch as I was talked into buying 2 "buwig"or bunches-on-a-trunk for peanuts. I also bought 9 kilos of sweet, sweet rambutan freshly picked from the tree with black ants still all over it.

This is one of the things I enjoy in a road trip. The anticipation of the destination and knowing that there will be road-side shopping going home. This was especially exciting as we were on our way to Ugu Bigyan to shop for his beautiful pottery.

Through the years, I've collected his works which grace my dining table and many parts of my home. Plates, bowls, cups, serving dishes,vase, soup tureen, tea pots... so this year my husband and I agreed that what we would like to get are additional statement pieces for our lanai. Apart from pottery, one can simply go there to enjoy breakfast or lunch which showcases tagalog fare. That deserves another blog...

For my version of caramelized bananas, I add a little twist:

20-25 small saging na saba, I think they are called plantains

or about 15 big ones

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c honey

1/2-1 c water

1 t cinnamon

In a deep pan, combine white and brown sugar. Put on medium heat and wait for the sugars to caramelize a bit. Don't leave the stove as burnt sugar is bitter. Add honey and water and stir. (Sometimes I add a little bit of acid like a tablespoon of lemon juice or juice of 1-2 calamansi).

Add the bananas. My mom advised that I put on low heat because this way, what you get is a chewy, "makunat"texture. Stir once in a while to make sure each banana gets coated. After 30 minutes, the sugar will begin to thicken. Sprinkled the cinnamon and gently mix. If you're like me, you may cook it for another 10 to 15 mintues to get a thicker consistency.

Wonderful as is...or serve with vanilla ice cream.

My Boys' Breakfast

2009-08-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

The perfect bacon.

Though it is store bought and presumably easy to prepare, the perfect bacon eluded me for a long, long time. I followed tips but still experimented to see what worked for me. And when I did get it right-- I paired it with my favorite kiddie treat-- french toast! The last thing my son Jam and I have to have with this pair, is a bowl of beans (canned pork and beans).

We have this once in a while as it isn't exactly the most healthy of foods. But hey! Throwing caution to the wind and enjoying a crispy bite of bacon is what's eating is all about!

French toast and pancakes are also the easiest for kids to do and they tend to appreciate what they eat when they get to help in the kitchen once in a while. I used to put pancake mix in a squeeze bottle and my sons would "draw"on the pan. But I digress...

I add a bit of sugar or honey to the french toast for a hint of sweetness as my sons do not particularly like pancake syrup.

This adds to a long list of choices for Sunday Brunch. Our mid-morning time together is more leisurely, peppered with stories, browsing the headlines, blind-items and comic strips. Then it's off to worship service, late lunch and when there is one--a good movie.

The perfect bacon:

1. Get the frozen pack out of the freezer the night before and thaw it in the fridge.

2. While non-stick pans are definitely healthier to use, bacon is best with regular pans-- particularly the thick bottom pans. (thin pans scorch and burn the bacon-not good).

3. Heat the pan thoroughly then lay strips beside each other. Keep on low to medium heat only.

It will begin to render the fat but not enough to crisp the sides. Add a little oil to "help it".

Be patient. Flip the strips to brown the other side.

4. When you pick it up with the tong and it is stiff, place on paper towels to absorb the oil. (that's the attempt to make bacon less sinful :-). A limp bacon is not what you're looking for.

French Toast:

Left over bread is always a good sign to have french toast.

1. Whole wheat bread or raisin bread is always the yummiest for me.

2. For every egg, add 1/3 cup milk (non-fat or soya is what I use. go ahead and use whatever you have in the pantry)

3. 1 T of honey or sugar.

4. Mix thoroughly. Dip bread on both sides.

5. Heat your trust, reliable non-stick pan through. It's ok to brush with a little oil the first time around.

Option 1: Pork and Beans

Option 2: 2 thinly sliced bananas, 1-2 T slivered almonds lightly mixed with 1/2- 3/4 cup of pancake syrup. This is another way ot top your french toast.

Then again, who says you can't have both!

Herbs in my Garden

2009-08-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

There is something about growing your own herbs that makes cooking more profound. Does that make any sense to you?

I recall in high school, I would look at the old imported women's magazines, hard-bound and well-preserved by the nuns. I would read the recipes and somehow in my mind I could taste them as they were described. And in as much as then, herbs like dill and basil were not popular nor common in the Philippines, nor have I ever tasted them--I was just imagining how good it could be.

I knew the basics of cooking like frying and sauteing :-) And all because I was hungry saturday mornings. So I began with sardines, fried egg, sauteed corned beef with the prerequisite garlic fried rice. Eventually, I graduated to sweet sour pork, calamares, hotdogs with onions. Then on to baking like marble cake and brownies.

My Father would indulge me by letting me plan and cook the family Noche Buena and media noche which meant a bigger budget for crown roast, lasagne, turkey, galantina, paella and so on.

I used to hate onions, uncooked or undercooked garlic, leeks and ginger (unless I had to take salabat or ginger tea because I kept losing my voice!) Today, i enjoy practically all kinds of veggies and couldn't imagine my tastebuds without sweet basil (mmmm pesto...gremolata...)... lemongrass (ohhh tom yum)... pandan (kaya jam) ...dill (with smoked salmon or with my version of the spanish omellete)... ginger (ginger and green onion leaves sauce...hainanese chicken)...rosemary (heavenly roasted chicken or pork roast)...

As to growing my own herbs-- I've had hits and misses. Meaning, some have died on me before I can enjoy them! So I'm still learning. To date, I have a couple of sweet basil, rosemary, italian organo, a small patch just for pandan and turmeric. We grew lemongrass last year, but they became too grassy in such a small area at our backyard. I'm now trying mint and stevia.

I'm imagining that someday soon I will have a small patch of land somewhere near Tagaytay, so I can grow more that a few pots of herbs. I romanticize the thought of tomato plants for my own consumption... a couple of cocoa trees to make my own "tsokolate tablea"... perhaps a row of magic fruit trees (you know, the one with the small red berry that when you eat, will make any sour fruit taste really sweet for a few minutes.)

It's so clear in the movie in my mind that someday, I get to serve guests tarragon tea after a satisfying meal of grilled rosemary-garlic chicken... roasted vegetable salad...lemon and basil pasta...

I imagine that you will be visiting me someday.

Osso Bucco

2009-07-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big meat eater... however , there are meat dishes that are hard to resist. Like the Osso Bucco. Best when tender and fall-off-the-bone. It's the slow cooking process that allows all the ingredients' flavors meld into one yummy stew.

For me, it's not even the meat that gives me the oomph, but the topping that gives the kick of aroma and flavor that is divine-- called "gremolata".

1 kilo of good quality beef shank. (More meat than bone, ok?)

I find that the most consistent in meat quality is Montana at S&R.

2-3 carrots, finely chopped

2-3 onions, finely chopped

about 3-4 stalks of celery, finely chopped

1 big can or a tray of button mushrooms, finely chopped.

(If I find oyster mushrooms in the supermarket chiller, I get them,too)

Optional: 1 c red wine

1 can of dice tomatoes, or stew whole tomatoes

1 can of good quality tomato sauce

Salt and Pepper

Gremolata:

Zest, finely chopped from 2 lemons

1 cup of sweet basil leaves, stems removed

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.

This is such an easy dish which for me requires little skill. If you happen to have a slow cooker lying around, you pretty much leave everything to simmer.

If not, here's the typical way: Heat a deep pot with 1/4 c olive oil, saute onions and celery, till onions have become transparent. Add mushrooms and carrots and saute for about 3 minutes more. Then, add the shank. Allow the meat to turn light, then add water until it is submerged. Add red wine and put on high heat till it boils. (While it is optional, I highly suggest you use red wine. When you find that you have leftover wine, don't throw it away. It's also good when cooking fabada) Once boiling, simmer on low, low heat. Let it cook until tender, which is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours later.

By then, add tomato sauce and can diced tomatoes. (If you happen to have the stewed tomatoes, simply mashed them in the pot) Add salt and pepper and simmer until sauce is thick.

In the meantime, get the zest of 2 lemons and finely chop it, likewise with the basil leaves. (After washing the basil leaves, best to remove the excess water with a salad spin dryer. If you don't have, here's a tip: put the leaves in the middle of a tea towel, get the corners together and spin it round and round. Smart,huh?) Likwise, chop the garlic and simply mix all 3 ingredients in a bowl. Put a lid on it, to keep the aroma concentrated. Let it do its magic later.

Serve with steaming rice or top on pasta. While it is hot, sprinkle the gremolata on top and you will immediately smell the sweetness of the basil, alongside the faint, pungent smell of garlic and the fragrant citrusy lemon. Once mixed-- I just enjoy the sauce with my eyes closed.

This dish is all you need. Throw in a first course salad just to get a balance meal.

Healthy Pomelo Salad

2009-07-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a delicious break from typical salads like cesar salad or chef's salad. It is light, juicy and healthy as it does not require oil in its dressing. Serve chilled from the fridge makes it a refreshing course or side dish to grilled chicken, baked fish or anything just as light.

Best of all, it is easy to do-- hardly any technique. What is important though is getting the best ingredients:

Bowl-full of fresh salad greens, mixed lettuce

1/2 to 1 pc pomelo (depending on size), peeled, seeded and segmented

(must be succulent and sweet)

1/2 cup of cashew nuts

Optional: 15-20 pcs of cooked shrimp

Dressing:

Juice of 2-3 lemons

fish sauce or patis

honey

Wash and dry greens (If you love salads, a salad spinner is a must have).

Pomelo picking can be a tricky thing so get from a reliable source. Some pomelos are already dry and bitter. My Mom's advise to me which seems to work most of the time, is to choose pomelos that are still green. That way it is still plump and juicy on the inside. The guarantee of sweetness it seems is based on which farm it came from. Check the label and make sure it's a reliable brand.

Cut the pomelo segments with your fingers and gently arrange them on the greens. I would tuck pieces of of this fruit under the lettuce as well. Top with shrimps although this is purely optional. Shrimp may be boiled or grilled, then cooled before adding to the salad.

Then finish by sprinkling cashew nuts. I would usually add a little more than required :-) Let it chill in the ref.

In the meantime, prepare the dressing in a medium size bowl.

There is no specific measurement here because it's all about the balance of flavors. Add fish sauce and honey to the lemon juice a little at a time and whisk until you get the perfect balance of sourness, saltiness and sweetness. DON'T substitute sugar for honey.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad only when you are about to eat. Toss lightly, then serve.

What I find enjoyable about this salad is when the pomelo bits burst inside your mouth--juicy and sweet, add to that the crunch of the lettuce and the nutty taste of the cashew. Honey gives this dressing its distinct taste. I've had guests who initially found this to be different,but was happily surprised at how good and refreshing it is.

Hope you like it-- enjoy!

Macaroon Cookies my Grandmother made

2009-07-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

In the past few months, I have been longing for food that I remember from my youth but have not had them for a loooong time. I recall my favorite "pan de coco" from the Tasterite Bakery at Project 6 Market. It's not the typical coconut and brown sugar filling but it seems like coconut moistened with condensed milk. Thinking about it, makes me want to drive there and buy a dozen!

Another one is my Grandmother's macaroon cookies. She would drop small spoonfuls on squares of wax paper. Her's was chewy and difficult to peel off the paper. But I just loved it so much-- it didn't matter that I was eating the bit of wax paper stubbornly stuck to my morsel!

One afternoon, I decided to give it a shot and make a batch, again, based on taste bud memory.

It's not as chewy, but almost like my childhood. And with silicon mats-- I don't have to chew on wax paper ever again. :-)

3 cups dessicated coconut

1 can or tetrapack of condensed milk (250 ml)

3 eggs

2/3 c butter, melted

2 t vanilla extract

1/2 c flour mixed with 1/2 t baking soda

optional: 1 zest of dayap

Preheat oven to about 275-300 degrees. Beat eggs, add condensed milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and hand mix.(Not much arm action here, don't worry.) Slowly add flour and baking soda mixture. Add zest. Drop spoonfuls and bake for about 10-12 minutes.

For a bit of decoration, top with glazed pili nuts before putting in the oven. (Glazed pili nuts can be bought from the grocery.) I'm not really much of a baker, so I check the cookies in the oven every now and then.

Now, I get to share another bite of my childhood with my own kids :-)

Adobong Bisaya

2009-07-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

My husband is an adobo fan--and I mean FAN.

He absolutely loves the adobo I learned from my Batanguena mother which uses soy sauce: fall-off the bone tender, lots of garlic with whole pepper corns and bay leaves. Sauce reduced until thick, with a coating of pork fat.

I also immensely enjoyed a college friend's adobo which she calls adobong bisaya. And I thought, i'd make this one based on taste bud memory. So it's the "mestiza"one, cooked till dry, a mix of tender and crispy bits. Best for breakfast...

heck great for lunch and dinner,too.

Liempo is really the best part but is a killer-- so kasim will do. My version sort of throws caution to the wind. For those who just have to watch their cholesterol, stick to kasim or make it all chicken. (But...where's the fun in that?)

1/2 k liempo cut into big cubes (get the one with the least fat all the same)

1/2 k kasim cut into big cubes

1 kilo chicken cut into pieces

1 to 1/2 cups vinegar

3-4 T salt

1 head garlic finely chopped

2 T whole peppercorn

6-8 bay leaves

2 T oil

1 T annato seeds (achuete) for color
1 c water

Marinade meat and chicken in vinegar, salt,garlic and peppercorn for at least 15 minutes. Drain and set aside the marinade.

In the meantime, put oil in pan and heat the annato seeds. Remove annato seeds.

Put on high heat and use this oil to quickly sear the meat/chicken until the pink flesh turns white. Add the marinade and water,tear the bay leaves, turn to low heat and slow cook adobo till tender.

By the time it is cooked, the liquid would have dried up and the fat from the meat already rendered. Now put on medium-high heat. The oil will now "toast"the garlic to light brown, giving off an aroma that begs for rice!

Keep stirring to avoid burning the garlic. Turn down the heat if you have to, because burnt garlic is bitter.

A little patience and arm power will result in crispy bits on the sides of the meat and skin.

This is the type of adobo that gets better with age. Won't spoil so it's the best to take for picnics and out-of-town trips.

What about you? What's your version of the adobo? I'd love to hear from you.

Bangus Sisig

2009-06-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

When you make a trip to the supermarket's frozen section. you will find that bangus or milkfish has been cut and sold in different ways, the way you would with chicken parts.

The yummiest and most expensive of course, is the prime bangus belly. Perhaps the most "boring"of them all is the back fillet. It is obviously the trimmings of the belly cut. For budget reasons, I get that and serve it the easy way-- breaded fish fingers.

Late last year I thought of coming up with a more novel way to serving it-- thus, Bangus Sisig.

Easy to prep, no rocket science involved. A healthy alternative.

However, it isn't sisig unless you serve it sizzling on a hot plate!

1 pack back fillet

1 red onion finely chopped

1 knob of ginger

1-2 green chili fingers (sili for sinigang)

salt and pepper

soy sauce (optional)

Pre-cook bangus fillet in little water with salt and pepper. Let it cool, remove the skin and separate into flakes.

Finely chop red onions or shallots. Get a knob of ginger and finely chop it as well.

Finally, slice the chili fingers, really thin. Keep the seeds to keep the heat of the dish. If you are a chili head then use siling labuyo instead (tiny red chilis).

(Simply sprinkle all of those on the bangus flakes.)

Just heat mixture in a teflon pan with little oil, add a little soy sauce of you wish, salt and pepper to finish. Toss or stir quickly just to get the spices mixed and to bring out the aroma.

Heat the sizzling plate thoroughly, brush with some oil (to get the best sizzling sound).

And transfer the bangus mix. Serve with calamansi or lemon wedges and eat it while it's hot!

(I suggest you serve the typical soy sauce,shallot,chili mix on the side to control the saltiness.)
Personally, I prefer it simple, with a light gingery taste and mild heat. That way you still get to taste the fish.

I usually serve it with hot steaming rice and munggo soup (mung bean soup). Happiness.

Some of my favorite things in Davao Part 1

2009-06-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

I went to Davao, Southern Philippines for work but found enough time to engage in my simple joys. More than a year ago, I discovered their wet market called "Bangkerohan". I make it a point to go to the market wherever I go because this is where you really feel the pulse of the town...and where you discover great things to eat.

Before our prelude-to-a-buffet-breakfast-at-marco-polo-hotel, we dropped by a small stall that agreed to do freshly-made peanut butter according to our specifications. This is another story.

Growing up on "tsokolate eh"or Chocolate Espresso, I never knew that I could enjoy that heavenly brew in Davao. Somewhere in the small alleys of the market they call "painitan". I guess it means to "heat something--like coffee or chocolate!".

And so this opportunity allowed me to indulge (again) in 2 cups of thick tsokolate, with a hint of brown sugar sans milk. I felt milk was taking the zing away.

My friend and I, bought bread from the local bakery and a local delicacy-- I failed to ask the name. It was as fluffy as puto (steamed rice cake) but had a charred top like a bibingka (rich rice cake cooked via hot coals).

The norm is to eat "puto maya"which is neither a puto (steamed rice cake) nor a maya (native bird). Other stalls use white sticky rice, but I like the one that is reddish which they call "tapul". It was cooked with coconut milk, sugar, hint of ginger and anise. I like it served in a packet made of banana leaf.

This lovely brew I can get to make in my own home as they also sell "tablea"(chocolate tablets) which would also be wonderful for "champorado"(sticky rice chocolate porridge).

I also bought for starters 1/2 kilo of cocoa beans. I was instructed to dry-roast it in a pan, the way you would dry-roast chestnuts. And the skins would be easier to peel. Afterwhich, I can grind it into a paste and mold it in the fashion of "tableas". I will update you on this mini project of mine.

Whenever I get the chance to visit Davao-- this remains to be my personal ritual.

Risotto Balls

2009-05-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

Risotto balls aren't as difficult as they sound.
In fact they could be your leftover rice-- at least that's what I did. It turned out to be a great summer afternoon snack. It could also be a wonderful appetizer.
My experiment turned out to be great the first time around :-)

4 cups of cooked rice (brown or white)

1 cup of milk

1 block or about 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

4-5 slices of ham, coarsely chopped

3-4 T coarsely chopped herbs (it could be flat-leaf parsley, basil or chives)

salt and pepper to taste

3 eggs, beat till fluffy, flour, Bread crumbs (ordinary or japanese type)

Simply heat milk till warm and add to the cooked rice. (You may add the milk to the rice and heat in the microwave for about a minute). This allows the starch to act up and make the rice stick better. Simply add the grated cheese, chopped ham and herbs. Form into balls.

(I would use a small ice cream scooper for uniform sizes).

Prepare a plate of flour, a bowl of eggs, and a plate of bread crumbs.

Now get ready to assemble.

Simply roll the rice balls on the flour, then dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs.

Put on a tray and you may chill them a bit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep pan. There should be enough oil that will accomodate the rice balls. Just put about 3-4 at a time in order to keep the heat consistent. Otherwise,you will not achieve that crunchy exterior.

When the balls turn golden brown, put on kitchen paper towels to drain the excess oil.

Serve while piping, gooey hot! Just as good served by itself or with salsa.

(If you're feeling a little bit more Italian, tuck-in a small cube of mozzarella--to get a stringy bite everytime. If you're the meat lover type, instead of chopped ham, tuck-in a small cube of any cooked sausage of your choice.)

Kiss the Cook

2009-05-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to start a blog but never got around to. Maybe it's because I haven't found the title that I thought was apt and so precise about what I like to do the most.
I just had a conversation with my eldest boy who told me that he feels my presence even if I had gone back to corporate life...and that of course if he misses anything, it would be more of my cooking. And since they were small, everytime they wiped their plate clean, I get a resounding kiss-- such a big reward for a small task. And I thought-- yup--that's it... And so Kiss the Cook is born.

It's not about fancy recipes, but easy to do food stuffs-- from a non-chef but avid cook like me. I try to cook during weekends, mostly making sunday brunches extra special.

It may be my own recipes, something I learned from my own parents, something a friend suggested to me, something I thoroughly enjoyed from a cook book or magazine...
When it lands on this blog, it is certified friend-tested and kid-approved.