Plant Basil, Harvest Pesto!

I got basil seedlings from my Tia Aring last month and now I am
harvesting them! Good thing my sister was here last weekend
to show me how to make pesto. She even brought her portable
food processor for our use (all the way from General Santos City).

Eager to test her new camera, Olympus SP-800ux (it has 30x
optical speed!), she was shooting early Sunday morning outside
the house. I went along, even if i just woke up, because I was
also eager to show off my basil plants.


She didn't use exact measurements for the pesto. Just trusted her
her taste and feeling. In a food processor, basil was mixed with
olive oil, garlic, pepper, anchovies and nuts. I also got some pine
nuts from Tia Aring which we used but run out of them so we
used some Chedeng's roasted peanuts (a favorite pasalubong
from Iligan City).

My sister is right. Plant basil, harvest pesto!



You might also like:

My General Santos City Adventures : GenSan Market and GenSan Eats




October 2008 harvest








October 2009 harvest





I am linking this to Foodie Friday:

Binagoongang Talong

Talong or eggplant ( Solanum melongena) is a favored vegetable
in the Philippines. In the province, it is one of the vegetables
planted in the backyard together with pechay, mustasa and
ampalaya (bitter gourd). Talong is a mainstay ingredient
in pakbet, dinengdeng and sinigang.

Whenever we have excess talong from our backyard,
Dad's favorite, talong binagoongan, is surely in the dinner table.

Talong Binagoongan (Eggplant in Shrimp paste) is a poor man's
version of Pork Binagoongan, replacing pork with talong.

Binagoongang Talong (Eggplant in Shrimp Paste)

100 gms pork fat (optional)
1K talong, sliced diagonally
2T oil (no need if adding pork fat)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
2T Bagoong (shrimp paste)
1/2t sugar
1/2 cup water

Render oil from fat. Remove oil if too many, just leave enough for
sauteing. Saute garlic until golden brown and add onions. Cook
until onions are caramelized. Add tomatoes, cook until softened.
Add Bagoong and stir fry until aromatic. Add talong and stir fry until
talong is well coated. Add water and simmer until talong is cooked,
about 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Sprinkle kalamansi (key lime) juice before serving.






Tortang Talong is another eggplant dish








Buto-buto Nilaga, a hearty dish for cold nights

Inagurasyon!

Inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly cuts) is a family favorite
in our lazy Sunday breakfast. Dad call it "inagurasyon" (inauguration).

It started when he bought a new grill on a weekday. He so wanted to
use it, he can't wait for our Sunday breakfast. So he made the excuse
of inaugurating the new grill and cooked inihaw na liempo.

Since then, whenever we have something new at home (a new chopping
board, a new potholder or new place mats) Dad always make an excuse to
inaugurate it by cooking inihaw na liempo.

No special marinade, just rub both sides with salt and grill away. This is
served with our favorite sawsawan (dip) of tomatoes, onions, vinegar,
soy sauce and siling labuyo (Bird's Eye chili pepper). Topped with pakchee,
of course.

our favorite dip

Burong Mangga goes well with grilled foods.













if you like squid, then Adobong Pusit is for you!









Craving for something Thai?
check out Chicken Krapao

Ginataang Sitaw (Long Beans in Coconut Milk)

One of the cooking method that I like here in Pila is "tapâ"
or smoked. This is done by smoking the fish or meat using
bunot or coconut husks to make smoke and covering the fish
or meat with banana leaves or cacawate leaves to trap
the smoke.



Often we would have Tinapang Tilapia when we have visitors.
This is paired with Chicken Adobo sa Gata.

Some days, we had tinapang kanduli (smoked catfish),
the fish usually given by an uncle who have a fish pond.

Smoked kanduli is great with steamed kamote tops
dipped in fish sauce and kalamansi.

The excess smoked kanduli we would cook with
Ginataang Sitaw (Long Beans in coconut milk).

Ginataang Sitaw

1 bunch of sitaw (long beans, cut in 2" length)
2 cups coconut milk
1 medium onion, sliced
1 thumb-size ginger, sliced
2-3 smoked kanduli
salt to taste

Bring to a boil the coconut milk, onion and ginger. Add sitaw and kanduli.
Simmer uncovered until sitaw is cooked, stirring occasionally. Served with
rice.