everything's herbed.....

Powdered Ube

2011-12-11T18:00:00.095+08:00

I always associate Christmas with Haleyang Ube
[ha-leh-yang ooh-beh], a sweetened dessert of purple yam
(Dioscorea alata). We always make it from scratch.
Mashing the boiled ube, adding milk and sugar and stirring,
stirring, stirring over low heat. This could take an hour
so be sure to have a partner in stirring.

Ube is used in most Filipino desserts. Halo halo,
ube ice cream, ube silvanas, hopiang ube and ube cake.

In a recent trip to Bohol with friends, our host family
served us a delicious ube cake. I was not able to get
the cake recipe but I was able to watch the process
of making powdered ube which they supply in stores
around Tagbiliran City.

Ube is steamed, grinded and dried

Ube Cake

Catsup Packets and Shrimps

2011-11-30T06:00:00.021+08:00

I was surprised to see the jar of catsup packets in the kitchen.

I didn't know we had accumulated so much. We got these
from take out orders from our favorite fastfoods. Jollibee,
McDonald's, Greenwich, Pizza Hut. I like McDonald's catsup
packets since they serve Heinz, my favorite catsup.

What to do with these packets? We usually use them when
cooking tomato based dishes like afritada and kaldereta.
This time, I used them with shrimps.

The usual way to cook shrimps at home is "halabos" style.
That is, to cook the shrimps in its own juice and stir fry
in oil for a few minutes. Others would put a little sprite
or seven-up to add sweetness. I tweak it a little by adding
catsup and basil.

Shrimps with Basil

1/2 k shrimps
1 cup basil leaves
6-10 catsup packets
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Clean shrimps but do not removed shells. Saute garlic in oil
and add shrimps. Stir fry until shrimps changes color.
Add catsup and little water. Stir for about 2 minutes.
Add basil and stir until it changes color about 10 seconds.
Serve hot.

WHB #311: Kulawo

2011-11-23T06:00:00.117+08:00

I was introduced to Kulawo here in Pila. It’s an eggplant dish
with a smoky coconut flavor. Coconut meat is grilled before
squeezing out the milk to get that smoky taste. You can
split the nuts first before grilling or grate the coconut
and grill it by placing hot coals on it. . Either way, you’ll get
that rich smoky flavor.

Dad says my grandmother, Lola Angge sometimes use banana heart (puso ng saging ) instead of eggplant.

puso ng saging / bana heart bud

I was able to try it out the other day when Dad harvested
a few puso ng saging. I knew I had to share this recipe to
Weekend Herb Blogging. This week's host is Brii of Briiblog.

kulawo

Grate coconut meat and place in a bowl. Make a well in
the center and place a live coal. Cover with coconut meat to grill.
Repeat the process until the meat turns brownish and smells
burnt. Squeezed the milk from the meat and set aside.

Slice the puso ng saging into 4 and boil to cook.
Remove water and quickly shred using a fork. Add vinegar,
chopped garlic and minced onion. Season with salt and pepper.
Add coconut milk and mix well. Serve with fried or grilled fish.

tuna crisps

2011-11-19T06:00:00.001+08:00

My last trip to General Santos City, I was not able to buy

fresh tuna for pasalubong.

But I discovered these in Acharon market, dried tuna
skin sold for P300/kilo. These would make a good
pasalubong, plenty to distribute but not so heavy
in my baggage.

I cut the skin into strips and fry it into crisps.

makes a good pulutan and toppings for my salad

Chicken Inasal

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000+08:00

Mom rarely cooks but when she’s in the mood she goes
all out to prepare it. She likes to try out new recipes
from magazine. She does it usually on Sundays. If,
during the cooking, something would go wrong,
that’s when she talks to herself and makes adjustments.
This is her “bulong” or secret ingredient as Dad calls it.

Last Sunday she made Chicken Inasal, adapted from
Yummy magazine, September 2009 issue.

Chicken Inasal

2/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soda (7-up or sprite)
1 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tablespoon calamansi juice
(we didnt have calamansi so we used dayap juice instead)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp rock salt
1 tsp pepper
4 pcs chicken thigh

for the annatto oil:
3 tbsp corn oil
1/3 cup annato seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp local wine vinegar

1. In a bowl, mix, vinegar, soda, ginger, dayap juice,
     brown sugar,salt and pepper. Rub marinade into
     the chicken and chill overnight.
2. To make the annatto oil: add annatto seed in oil
     under low heat. Stir until the seeds releases color.
    Remove the seeds and add salt, butter and vinegar.
    Simmer for about 2 minutes.
3. Grill marinated chicken and bsate with annato oil
    until cooked. Served with rice and soysauce/dayap dip.

Crispy Gurami

2011-11-12T06:00:00.003+08:00

One dish I look forward during summer is crispy gurami.
We used to have a fish net before and a group of neighbors
would borrow it. They would be gone for a week and when
they come back, they would divide the fish they caught with us.

Gurami is a thick-scaled fish found in fresh waters like
Laguna Lake. We often cooked it Pangat style
(cooked in vinegar, garlic, pepper, salt and simmered
until its almost dry).

It is then fried into crisp and served with tomatoes
and the remaining sauce.

Mango, Pomelo and Orange Salad

2011-07-06T10:56:00.006+08:00

This is a Thai-inspired salad I learned from my sister.
She served it to some friends who surprised her with
an overnight stay at Lemlunay Resort in General Santos
City. Her friends sponsored the beach trip (read:
snorkeling and diving which I get to tag along!) as her
despedida before she goes to Thailand for work.

Mango, Pomelo and Orange Salad

large green mangoes
chopped fresh cilantro
dried salted fish
orange slices
pomelo slices
togue (mung bean sprouts)
torn leaf lettuce
crushed or chopped peanuts

1 pc siling labuyo (bird's eye chili )
patis (fish sauce )
brown sugar
dayap juice (local lemon)

Mix patis, brown sugar, siling labuyo and dayap juice. Set Aside.

Shred the mango by holding it firmly in one hand and with a
chopping motion, make slices into the cheek. Slice the fruit
thinly to create shreds. Repeat until all mangoes are used.

Place in a bowl and mix with remaining ingredients except
lettuce. Use small size salted fish like Dulong. If you got
big fish, slice into smaller pieces. Season with fish sauce
mixture. Toss well.

Arrange lettuce in a plate and add mango mixture on top.
Place the salad in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Easy Shrimp Tom Yum

2011-06-26T10:59:00.009+08:00

My sister bought some packets of Tom Yum paste from her trip
to Thailand.Since I was feeling adventurous, I decided to try it.

I bought some mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea)to go with it.
These mushrooms are dear to me. I took a Mushroom culture
class in UPLB. My family used to cultivate them using banana
leaves.

Everyday we would wake up around 3:00am to harvest the
mushrooms and by 5:00am I would be on a bus going to
Quezon City to deliver it to Crossings market in Cubao.
Traffic was not a problem then. The trip would only take me
an hour. By 8:00am I would be in UPLB for my first class.

Tom yum paste, checked. Mushrooms, checked. Shrimps
(I brought with me from my GenSan trip), checked.
From our garden I got kaffir leaves, lemon grass and dayap
(local lemon). Now I'm ready for my first Tom Yum.

1 packet Tom Yum paste
200g deveined shrimps
200g mushrooms
1-2 kaffir leaves
1 stalk of lemon grass
fish sauce
dayap juice to taste
3 cups water

Submerge the packet in hot water for a minute. Cut open,
the paste will come out easily.

Boil lemon grass and kaffir leaves in 3 cups water.
Add the paste and bring to a boil. Add the shrimps and
mushrooms. When cooked, add fish sauce and dayap
juice to taste. It's that easy!

Ampalaya with Egg

2011-06-15T11:01:00.003+08:00

Ampalaya /bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is popular in the
Philippines as an alternative remedy for diabetes. The Philippine
Department of Health has endorsed the use of ampalaya
capsule and tea to maintain blood sugar levels among diabetes
patients.

Ampalaya is bitter in taste hence it is not in my favorite list
of veggies. There are many suggestions on how to cook
ampalaya without the bitter taste. From slicing it thinly,
sprinkling it with salt, squeezing out the juice, blanching with
hot water and no over stirring. I know of someone who keeps
quiet when slicing it believing that the noise will make it bitter.

Ampalaya with egg is a common dish sold in carenderia together
with Ginisang Monggo, Menudo, Pakbet and Sinigang. It's easy
to cook, cheap and nutritious.

Ampalaya with Egg

1 1/2 cup ampalaya, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
salt to taste

Blanched ampalaya in hot water. Set aside.
Saute garlic and onion in oil. Add tomatoes and stir until wilted.
Add water, simmer for about 2 minutes. Add ampalaya, cover
and cooked for 3 minutes. Season with salt. Spread eggs all
over the vegetables, cooked over slow heat until the eggs are
slightly firm. Serve with hot rice.

Gensan Trip

2011-06-08T10:23:00.003+08:00

Spent a wonderful time in General Santos City last month.

I had my fill of seafood, snorkeling, visit to their palengke
and watched the Pacquiao-Mosley fight live on the big screen.

Picture taking first before attacking the Seafood galore:
slipper lobster in garlic sauce, stuffed squid,

seafood platter (crispy shrimps, fish and calamari),
salt & pepper prawns, king crab in coconut sauce.

slipper lobster in garlic sauce

salt and pepper prawns

mr. crab agree: one happy face

Pacquiao-Mosley fight on the big screen at KCC Convetion Center

Manny Pacquiao wins! and the crowd goes wild...

watching the fight with friends

My trip would not be complete without a visit to their palengke

this bunch for Tinola costs Php 10 only

dried fish sold at the market

bought some dried tuna skin for pasalubong

a view of the beach at Lemlunay Resort

looking for Nemo

Bread Machine Fun

2011-06-03T06:00:00.002+08:00

My sister recently bought a bread machine from her recent US trip.
We all had fun with it and enjoyed the freshly baked bread.

It so easy to use, just dump all ingredients in the machine, set the
cycle and wait for it to cook.

Dad with the bread machine

my sister checking out the manual

Me and mom checking out the baking process

Of course I have to pose with the machine

Voila! freshly baked bread

letting the sesame bread rest before cutting

basic white bread

Nutella goes well with hot bread

mom wanted some raisin bread but we didn't have raisins
that time, so we use trail mix instead

The Incredible Hulk's favorite green bread, Pandan bread :D

Inihaw na Bangus

2011-04-28T16:08:00.007+08:00

I got this method of cooking Inihaw na Bangus (Grilled Milkfish) from my
sister. Her secret? Remove the scales to enjoy the skin of the bangus
and wrap it in banana leaves to get a very moist fish.

You can use boneless bangus sold in the grocery but fresh ones from
your local market would be better. Ask the fish monger to remove the scales
and clean it for you. Have it sliced for daing na bangus (the fish is sliced from
the back to expose the whole cavity). Some fish monger would deboned it
for you, if not then you get to debone it yourself :D Remove the main spine
and whatever bones you see.

Mix the stuffing (chopped tomatoes, onions and ginger). Rub the fish with salt
and place the stuffing on one side. Fold back the other side to form the fish
and wrap in banana leaves.

I find it hard to measure the doneness(?) of the fish since since it is covered
with banana leaves. My sister suggests to wrap the fish in 3 layers of banana
leaves. When the inner layer is already charred it is time to turn it to the
other side. When cooked, you'll get a very moist fish with a burnt taste of
banana leaves. Fish sauce with kalamansi would be the ideal dipping sauce.

Summer Cooler : Ice Candy

2011-04-22T06:00:00.005+08:00

As a child, one thing I looked forward to summer is making
ice candy. It's a Popsicle in narrow plastic bags. We would make
it in the afternoon and freeze it overnight. The next day, we would
bring it to play and compare them with our playmate's version.
The flavor would vary depending on what is available in the kitchen
and what fruit is in season. The most common would be buko
(young coconut), mango and jack fruit. Other times we would use
chocolate milk like Milo or Ovaltine and coffee to make mocha flavor.

For fruit flavor ice candy, puree the fruit and mix with milk and sugar.
adjust the flavor to your liking. You can also add fruit bits to make
it special. Use a funnel to pour the mixture in special plastic
bags (1 1/2" x 10"). Leave about 2 inches space from the top and
make a knot to close it. Freeze overnight (24 hours would be better).
You can tot it for picnics, to play and travel with little fuss.

How to eat ice candy? Rip the sealed flat end of the ice candy using your
hand or teeth (this is more fun). Once opened, squeeze the knotted
end of the plastic,pushing the ice candy upward. Eat the ice candy,
pushing the ice upward until you finish it off.

I made ice candy using the sweetened jack fruit I made weeks ago.
I am sharing this to all Weekend Herb Blogger followers. Don't forget
to head over to Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything, our host for this week's
WHB #280 round up.

Easy Does It Puto

2011-04-15T06:00:00.007+08:00

We still have extra Queso de Bola from last Christmas I decided
to try out the recipe on the side of the box, Puto Queso Real.

Puto makes a great snack. It can be eaten alone or paired
with Dinuguan. I prefer it served with grated coconut.

Puto Queso Real

1 Cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup water
1 pc Magnolia Queso de Bola, cut into strips
1 pc salted egg, cut into strips (optional)

Boil water in a steamer. When boiling point is reached,
keep heat in medium flame. Mix all dry ingredients in
a bowl. Make a well at the center and add water.
Mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour into puto
mold (you can use a ramekin cup if you don't have one)
and place a strip of cheese and egg on top.
Steam for 15 minutes.

Puto

Dinuguang Manok

2011-04-10T06:00:00.001+08:00

Living in a farm, you get to raise your own chicken. And learn how to dressed
them whenever you need one for cooking. On special occasions, you'd get
yourself plenty of chicken blood in your hands having dressed about 15-20
chickens.

Mang Jovit, our neighbor, cooked this dish to use the chicken blood.
Dinuguang Manok. I got a recipe of Dinuguang Manok
from http://www.recipesphilippines.com

Dinuguang Manok

1 cup chicken meat and clean internal organs, finely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken blood
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon crush peppercorn
1/2 laurel leaf
2 long green chili peppers

Saute garlic in cooking oil. Add onion and cook until translucent.
Add chicken and stir to blend until chicken changes in color.
Add vinegar, salt, pepper, laurel and oregano and bring to a boil
without stirring. When chicken is tender, add chicken blood and water .
Continue cooking and stirring until it boils again. Add peppers.
cover for a few minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Chicken Pacham

2011-04-01T06:00:00.001+08:00

Dad surprised us with a new dish. He said he used to cook
this for his friends when he was still a bachelor. This is their
favorite pulutan (any food that accompanies an alcohol drink
during drinking sessions).

He doesn't have a name for this dish. He just calls it
"Pacham" a slang for Filipino term tsamba which means
fluke or chance.

Chicken "Pacham"

1/4 k chicken breast, sliced
1/4 k chicken gizzard, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2T Oyster Sauce
1/4 k string beans, cut into half
1/2 cup potatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, sliced
2Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

Saute garlic until golden brown. Add onions and cook
until translucent. Stir in chicken breast and gizzards.
Stir fry until chicken changes in color. Add Oyster sauce
and stir fry for a minute. Add water and bring to a boil.
Add potatoes, bell pepper and beans. Cover until the veggies
are cooked. Add water if necessary. Season with salt
and pepper before removing from heat.

Steamed Chicken w/ Mushrooms

2011-03-25T06:00:00.007+08:00

Mom got this recipe from the Del Monte Fruitful Celebrations
booklet. I was hesitant at first because I don't' like cooked
pineapples. But she convinced and I'm glad she did.

Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms

3/4 kg chicken thigh and leg
20 g dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1/4 cup tenga ng daga (Auricularia polytricha), soaked and sliced
1 stalk leek,sliced
1 large red bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 tbsp ginger strips
1 can (234g) Del Monte Fresh Cut Sliced Pineapple
banana leaf

marinade:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp iodized fine salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp liquid seasoning

Marinade chicken for 15 minutes. Layer a heat proof plate/dish with
banana leaf. Arrange chicken including marinade.Add Del Monte Fresh
Cut Sliced Pineapple with syrup and remaining ingredients except leeks.

Steam for 45 minutes. Add Leeks. Steam for 2 more minutes. Serve.

for more recipes from Del Monte, log on to http://www.kitchenomics.com

Minatamis na Langka (sweetened jackfruit)

2011-03-14T06:00:00.004+08:00

Jackfruit (langka) season is here again. We got 1 tree that supplies us plenty.

Often Dad would divide the fruits and distribute to our relatives.

I love the smell of jack fruit. The fruit is sweet and crunchy.

My favorite is to freeze the fruits before eating to make it more crispy.
The seeds can be boiled which makes a good snack.
Dip it in sugar to make it more appetizing.

With jackfruit, I always think of turon and halo-halo. Often we would make

minatamis na langka (sweetened jackfruit) to preserve it.

minatamis na langka

To make sweetened jackfruit, remove the seeds from the fruits.
Cut the fruit into strips. I also cut it in half so it won't get stuck in
my throat( it tends to be slippery when cooked). Boil 1 cup of sugar
and 1 cup of water. When the sugar is dissolve add jackfruit strips
about 2-3 cups. Cook until no liquid is left.

For a crispier sweetened jackfruit, no need to add water. Cook
the jackfruit with sugar until the sugar is dissolve.

Sharing this to all Weekend Herb Blogging lovers.
WHB#275 roundup is hosted by Chris of Melle Cotte,
the little blog that feeds a huge appetite for cooking.

flowers in our garden

2010-12-02T12:48:00.002+08:00

ampalaya (bitter gourd)

okra

Baguio Beans
I make use of these flowers at home for my flower arrangements.

Sometimes i used weeds and herbs whenever i can find some.

I Love My Basil

2010-11-15T06:00:00.005+08:00

I love basil in food. I love it's smell. I love it's taste.

I love it in my bread
hot pandesal + pesto + white cheese

I love it in my pasta

I love it in my shrimps
(stir fry shrimps in little oil, add some catsup and basil leaves)

and in my flower vase too!

Guess What?
Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB) is now 5 years old!

Sharing my love of Basil to all Weekend Herb Bloggers.
Our dear Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once
hosts our anniversary celebration.

Check out my Weekend Herb Blogging entries:

Lumpiang Shanghai and Malunggay,
my first WHB entry which was also hosted by Haalo

Lechon Manok w/ Tanglad
Roasted Chicken in Lemongrass

Inihaw na Tilipia sa Madre Cacao
(Grilled Tilapia using Madre Cacao)

Steamed Fish

2010-11-08T10:27:00.001+08:00

Mom got this recipe of steamed fish from a magazine years ago.
It was an advertisement for Amoy products.

She always use Tilapia for this but I was lucky to buy fresh lapu lapu
from my suki in Los Baños. You can substitute any white fish you like.

4-5 pcs sliced white fish fillet (you can also use small sized fish)
4-5 stalks pechay Baguio
5 stalks spring onions,minced
1 pc medium ginger, minced or grated
3-4T vegetable oil
2T Amoy gold label light soy sauce
2T Amoy sesame oil

Mix together light soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside.
Place slice of fish on top of pechay Baguio leaf. ( there's no
Baguio pechay in the picture, my fault. I forgot to buy :D).
Wrapped the fish in foil and steam until fish is cooked.
When fish is cooked, transfer each fish into a plate or served
it with foil. Sprinkle grated ginger and onions on top. Heat oil
until very hot but not smoking. Pour over fish just to cook
the onions and ginger. When frying subsides, pour sesame
soy mixture. Serve.

Mom's tip: when using whole fish, place a slice of ginger
inside the fish before steaming to remove the "lansa"
(fishy smell).

Check out these fishy tales:

Kaswela, Sauteed Sinigang?

Salmon Sardines

Paksiw na Isda

Plant Basil, Harvest Pesto!

2010-10-29T10:20:00.022+08:00

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

Oc tober 2009 ha rvest

I am linking this to Foodie Friday:

Binagoongang Talong

2010-10-23T15:29:00.004+08:00

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!

2010-10-15T09:21:00.013+08:00

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)

2010-10-04T02:22:00.000+08:00

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.

Turon

2010-09-26T10:56:00.015+08:00

Turon is a Filipino delicacy usually served as a merienda or snack.
It is also sold on the streets, near schools and offices since it is a
food-on-the-go and budget friendly.

Turon is actually a spring roll of ripe banana. Some would include
slices of jackfruit, chopped peanuts, cheese, peanut butter or cinnamon.

This afternoon I made some Turon with sliced jack fruit, chopped peanuts
and a sprinkle of sugar. To tweak the taste I added some mint. All
wrapped in a spring roll and fried into golden brown. Sarap!

Here's another banana recipe:

Ginang-gang

Hey, how about an appetizer?

Salted Eggs/ Itlog na Maalat

September Harvest:

Project Food Blog

2010-09-21T17:55:00.005+08:00

My sister is joining Project Food Blog!

Her name is Gay and she is a scientist in the kitchen.

This is here official entry.

Please vote for her..... salamat po!

Tolang Bisaya

2010-09-18T12:09:00.005+08:00

One of the things I missed in Iligan City is the availability
of fresh seafoods. Most fish sold in our local market here
in Pila came from Laguna Lake, bangus (milkfish), tilapia,
dalag (mudfish), hito and kanduli (catfish).

I get my supply of seafoods from my suki in Los Baños
who heads to Lucena City everyday to get them fresh.

The other day I got some fresh Pampano, which Mom
cook as Tolang Bisaya, an effortless soup to make.
Mom rarely cooks so when she's in the mood, we let her.
Tolang Bisaya as we call it, is one of her favorite dish.

Tolang Bisaya

1/2 k Pampano or any white-meat fish
1 bell pepper,quartered
1 stalk Salay (lemongrass)
3 tomatoes, quartered
2 onions, sliced in half
bunch of leeks
3 cups water

Place all ingredients in a casserole except fish.
Bring to a boil. Add the fish and boil again until
the fish is cooked. Serve hot.

Check out these fish recipes as well:

Kaswela

Ginisang Pechay

How about a banana snack?

Maruya

Salmon Sardines

2010-09-05T11:00:00.007+08:00

As a kid living in Iligan City (our house is just about 500 mtrs
from the ocean), I get the chance to help fishermen with their catch.

My cousins, sister and I would help remove tamban (herring)
caught in the fish nets. As a reward, we get to take home some fish.
Often we would have fried tamban, my favorite. I could finish off
a kilo of fried tamban in one sitting! Sometimes Mom would make
them into spanish sardines. I always associate homemade Spanish
sardines with my mom :)

It is difficult to get fresh tamban here in Pila, so i had to settle
with salmon, which I bought from my suki (my regular fish vendor)
in Los Baños. Mom cook them into spanish sardines.

Mom's Homemade Spanish Sardines

1k salmon or tamba (bangus/milkfish is also good)
3 bay leaves
8-10 pcs sliced pickle
1Tbsp salt
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium carrot, sliced
3-4 pcs siling labuyo (chilli pepper)
1 Tbsp black pepper
2-3 cups water

Clean fish and cut into serving pieces. Place in a heavy pan
(Mom used palayok, clay pot) with the rest of the ingredients.
Let it simmer for about 2-3 hours until the meat almost fell
off the bones. Add water if necessary.

If using a pressure cooker, use a little water, about 1 cup
and pressure cook for about 1 hour.

Enjoy!

You might want to try these recipes:

Pork and Liver Bistek

Tortang Talong

Minanok na Manok

Paksiw na Pata (Smoked Style)

2010-08-30T10:43:00.002+08:00

There are so many ways to cook Paksiw. The usual method is to cook it
with bulaklak ng saging (banana blossoms). But have you tried Paksiw
using smoked pata ng baboy (pork leg)? The smoky flavor adds a delicious
twist to the dish. I first tasted this dish here in Pila. But instead of pata
ng baboy, ulo ng baboy (pig's head) was used. I prefer using pata since
it is meatier than the head, especially if you use the front leg.

Paksiw na Pata ng Baboy- smoked style (Pig's leg Paksiw - smoked style)

1 pork pata, preferably front, sliced in half lengthwise
3/4 cups vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 whole garlic, crushed
1 tsp peppercorn, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced

Wash pork pata and smoke for about 30-45 minutes until color turns brown.

Chopped into small slices, about 1" thick.

Place all ingredients in a casserole and slow cook for about 1 1/2 hour,

add water if necessary, until meat is very tender.

Best served with boiled rice.

You might want to try my Fish Paksiw recipe:

Paksiw na Isda (Fish in Vinegar Sauce)

Phak Chee Farang / Sawtooth Coriander

2010-08-23T14:19:00.004+08:00

My contribution to this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB)
event is Phak Chee Farang, which I only recently learned is
also called Sawtooth coriander.

I was introduced to this plant by Tita Cora of Ning's Thai when she
served my Pad Thai garnished with Phak Chee. She even gave me
some plants to grow.

Sawtooth Coriander (Eryngium foetidum) is an uncommon herb.
The leaves are long and distinctly serrated along the hedge,
hence the name, sawtooth coriander. If you are a cilantro/coriander
lover then you will also love this herb. Their taste and smell is
very similar. The herb is easy to grow, tolerating hot humid weather
and can also grow well in shaded area.

Sawtooth coriander is used in many Thai ( known as Phak Chee Farang)
and Vietnamese (known as Ngo gai) dishes. I love sawtooth coriander
in my salsa and Tom Yum.

Check out the rest of the entries in the week's
WHB event, hosted by Astrid of Paulchen's Foodblog.

Haalo of Cook (Anything) AT Least Once
organizes the event.

Adobong Hito sa Gata

2010-08-03T05:03:00.002+08:00

Here in Pila, Laguna, hito (catfish) is often sold live in our local market.
These came from the fishpens along Laguna de Bay. When in season,
you can see hito being sold along the national highway.

Hito are slimy and sometimes "malansa" (fishy taste?). I can't find the
exact English term for this word but to describe it, it's like a taste of rotten
fish, when not cleaned properly. Ask the fish vendor to gut the fish for you
since it can be a little tricky. It's a sight to see the vendor going after a live hito
with his "pamalo"(whipping stick).

To remove the sliminess of the hito, rub it with used wood ash. If wood ash
is not available, you can use salt to rub it with. Others would soak the fish
in salt and vinegar for a few minutes. Wash with water thoroughly.

Hito at home is often cooked as Adobo. Luyang dilaw or yellow ginger
is added to help remove the "fishy" taste.

Adobong Hito sa Gata (Catfish Adobo in Coconut Milk)

1 k hito or catfish (about 4-5 pcs)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 c vinegar
1/2 c water
thumb size luyang dilaw, sliced
salt and pepper
2 cups coconut milk

After cleaning the fish thoroughly, cut the fish into half and place in a pan.
Add garlic, onion, vinegar, water, ginger. Bring to a boil without stirring.
Cook until almost dry before adding the coconut milk. Bring to a boil
and cook a few more minutes until oil appears on the side of the pan.
Season to taste. Serve with steamed rice.

Versatile Blogger Award

2010-07-30T10:19:00.002+08:00

A few days ago, I received a lovely surprised. My first blogger award.
Thella of I love. Therefore, I cook has honored me with the Versatile
Blogger Award! Thank you so much Thella. I am grateful and honored
that you consider me as one of the bloggers worthy of this award.

As part of accepting the award, I have to follow these guidelines:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award:
again, maraming salamat, Thella.

2. Share 7 things about yourself:

- i love the smell of freshly mowed grass

- i find it difficult to express myself in writing. My sister, Gay of
A Scientist in the Kitchen introduced me to blogging.
This helps me practice my writing composition.

- my favorite comfort food is Chicken Adobo sa Gata (chicken adobo
in coconut milk) and inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly)

- i love watching NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service)
and NCIS: Los Angeles tv series

- we don't have a food processor and oven at home. i would love
to have my own oven so I can bake and bake and bake

- i am more productive in the afternoon.

- i have difficulty keeping my rosemary plant alive.

3. Share the award to 15 other bloggers who you have recently
discovered and think are fantastic. Link to each of the recipients and
let them know they've won. I find this so difficult since there are so
many awesome blogs out there and am passing this award to those
I have recently discovered. In no particular order they are:

The Witchy Kitchen : Brew - Taste - Smile

Liv Life : Our attempts at living life to its fullest through food,
photography, and travel!

Foodiva's Kitchen : Adventures in my Haute kitchen.

Tes at Home : Home Cooked Food and Family Time

Speakeasy Kitchen : Law-abiding lawyer by day, renegade chef by night.
Food-obsessed at all times. I've dabbled in a lot of things over the years,
but one thing stays constant. I need to feed people almost as much as I need to eat.

Sheng of Anything goes...

My Delicious Life in San Francisco : Eating. Drinking. Loving. Living.
In the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area that I call home.

Joy's Misadventures

Surviving Suburbia : the job... the marriage... the kids... the mortgage...
life changes. but it doesn't have to stop.

The Mom Chef : Taking on recipes one magazine at a time

Christine's Kitchen Chronicles : A collection of recipes that will tickle
your taste buds and leave you wanting more

Jun-blog : San Francisco Food Photography

Liz' Test Kitchen : Family-tested food from a multitude of sources....

Kitchen Confidante : sharing taste and inspiration

Val and Mani of The Little Things

WHB - Cheese Sticks

2010-07-20T08:47:00.001+08:00

During my visit to General Santos City, I was able to watch my friend
Sheng prepare cheese sticks for her kids. I didn't realize it was easy
to do. Instead of wrapping the cheese in spring roll wrapper, she used
molo or siomai wrapper instead.

Sheng preparing the cheese sticks

Last Sunday I decided to make some cheese sticks for afternoon snacks.
I added some herbs (tarragon, dill & mint) with it to make it more exciting.
I made several herb combination and my favorite is tarragon & mint
cheese sticks.

mint, tarragon and dill on my cheese sticks

You will need:

Siomao or Molo wrappers
cheddar cheese , cut into 1/4 inch thick
herbs of your choice
watter
oil for frying
cayenne pepper (optional)

Wrap each cheese sticks in Siomai or Molo wrapper, together
with the herbs, folding the edge and sealing it with water. Fry
the cheese sticks until golden brown and drain oil in paper
towel. Sprinkle some cayenne pepper if you like before serving
it with mayonnaise. This is great for snacks or appetizer.

Cheese sticks goes well with

Salay Tea (Lemongrass Tea)

This dish is shared to all Weekend Herb Blogging(WHB) followers.
Thanks to Haalo who is managing the event and to Huan of Eat.Read.Live
who is our host this week.

PPN - Pinoy Style Spaghetti

2010-07-10T16:40:00.007+08:00

Pinoy (slang for Filipino) Spaghetti is sweet. The usual tomato
sauce is replaced with Banana catchup, which makes the sauce
sweeter. You may see someone pouring catchup on his spaghetti,
don't be surprised. He is just trying to "sweeten" it. I do this
sometimes :). Our neighbor like it so sweet that they add
condensed milk in the sauce (no kidding!).

Besides being sweet, what makes Pinoy Spaghetti special is the
presence of hotdog, along with ground pork or corned beef.
In kiddie parties, your dish is not "special" if hotdog is missing in it.
Pinoy Spaghetti is also commonly served with the pasta and sauce
already mixed.

There are many variations in cooking Pinoy Spaghetti but my
favorite is my Dad's. I requested him to cook for us last
Father's Day. He agreed as long as I provide his favorite
San Mig Lite Beer.

Dad's Pinoy Style Spaghetti

250 gms spaghetti
2 bot 300 gms UFC or Papa Banana Catsup
1 can 150 gms corned beef
3 pcs hotdog sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp soy sauce
pepper

Cook pasta according to package direction. In high heat,
saute garlic until light brown. Add onions and cook until
onions are limped. Add corned beef, hot dog, soy sauce
and pepper. Stir for 1 minute. Add banana catsup.
Simmer for 3 minutes. Add pasta and mix well.
Remove from heat and serve with grated cheese on top.

My first time to link to Foodie Friday: http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

I am also sharing this to all pasta lovers thru
Pam of Sidewalk Shoes who is hosting
this week's Presto Pasta Night(PPN)

You might want to try some of my PPN entries:

Sauteed Flat Noodles
(Stir fried noodles)

Batchoy Tagalog
(Have you tried pig's blood in your dish?)

Ginisang Kalabasa
(Sauteed Squash)

WHB - Nilaga w/ Spinach

2010-07-01T17:17:00.000+08:00

Probably the easiest Filipino dish, Nilaga (boiled) is usually found
in every Filipino home. Everything is boiled in a big pot and cooking
time varies on the ingredients. Beef or pork as meat with choice of
the ribs, pata (leg) or brisket part. Common vegetables used are
potato, cabbage and pechay (bok choi). Others also use carrots,
malunggay and in my case, spinach.

I bought a bunch of spinach a few weeks back and planted the stalk.
After my vacation from General Santos City, I was happy to see
my spinach thriving beautifully. I decided to use it for my Nilaga.

Pork Ribs Nilaga w/ spinach

1 K pork ribs
1/2 k marble potato
1 large onion, quartered
2 Tbsp fish sauce
bunch of spinach
salt and pepper
3-5 cups water
ginger (optional)

Boil pork ribs in a cooking pot together with the onions, ginger
(optional), pepper and fish sauce until tender. Add marble potato
and simmer until cook. Add in spinach and simmer for about 2
minutes. Season with salt and pepper before serving hot.

I am sharing this dish for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB),
an event started by Kalyn, now being managed by Haalo.
This week's host is Anh of A Food Lover's Journey.

Try my other WHB entries:

Lemongrass Juice

Smoke Fish w/ Cacawate

Gensan Eats

2010-06-17T14:52:00.002+08:00

from my sister's kitchen:

shrimps we bought from the market

grilled fish w/ dill

lunch at Isla Jardin Beach Resort:

sweet-style pancit Bihon

Tolang Isda

Piyesta:
located at the al fresco dining side of Robinson’s Place

Durian Float, great with brewed coffee

Barbecue place along San Pedro St, choose what you like and they will cook it for you:

pork barbecue at Php 5/stick

Seafoods galore

Nadine's Resort at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, freshly caught Tilapia:grilled Tilapia

Chicharon Tilapia (crispy Tilapia fillet)

GenSan Market

2010-06-12T14:01:00.013+08:00

I was able to visit General Santos City, the Tuna capital of the
Philippines and home of the famous Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.
The trip was sponsored by my sister. Since she can't leave her dog,
Pasta, to visit us I was the one who visited them.

Food lovers that we are, the trip won't be complete without
visiting the market. General Santos City or GenSan has 3 major
market. Malakas market, Lagao market and the main one along
Acharon St. I was only able to visit Malakas and the main market.

Here are some pictures during my visit:

the wet section

fresh tuna slices

a pose with the fish vendor

squid!

big and small

the shells are only Php 10/pile!

couldn't resist buying these shrimps for lunch

can't do without seaweeds

PPN- Sauteed Flat Noodles

2010-05-17T14:04:00.024+08:00

For Mother's Day, I decided to prepare sauteed flat noodles.
This recipe I learned from Nanay Cordia, mom's elder sister
who was a cook in our local hospital in Iligan City. She has
been a second mother to me and my sister. So this is also my
tribute to her.

Sauteed Flat Noodles

250gms flat noodles
1 medium size onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp fish sauce
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup carrots, sliced
100gms chicharo (snow peas)
250gms chicken breast (shredded or sliced)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook flat noodles according to package direction. Set aside.
Saute onions until caramelized and translucent. Add garlic
and fish sauce. Mix and add carrots. Season with salt and pepper.
Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add in chicharo
and flat noodles. Cook until sauce is well incorporated with
the noodles and chicharo turns bright green.
Remove from heat and serve.

Sending this recipe over to Susan,
The Well-Seasoned Cook
who is hosting PPN #164 and to all
pasta lovers of Presto Pasta Night.

Check out also my other Presto Pasta Night entries:

Ginisang Kalabasa at Miki
(sauteed squash with dried noodles)

Batchoy

Roasted Chicken with Tarragon

2010-05-07T14:10:00.009+08:00

Mom's request for her birthday menu was roasted chicken.
Instead of our usual Chicken w/ Lemongrass, we use
tarragon that has been growing nicely in our garden.

Rub chicken with salt and pepper. Stuffed fresh tarragon inside
the cavity. We used about 10-15 stems. But you can stuff as
many as you like. Mix 2-3 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 tablespoons
of kalamansi juice and rub on chicken skin. Cook in turbo broiler
for about 45 minutes at 375F until chicken is done. Let rest for
10 minutes before serving. Happy Birthday, Ma!

Love chicken? Try these recipes:

Chicken Adobo sa Gata

Chicken Krapao

Tomatoes in Coconut Sauce

2010-04-06T15:37:00.002+08:00

Here's an easy tomato recipe shared by our neighbor, Aling Elma.
Her father used to cook this for her and her siblings when tomatoes
are abundant during summer.

Boil a kilo of whole tomatoes in 3 cups coconut milk,
sliced thumb-size ginger and salt to taste. Cook until
tomatoes are tender. The tomatoes should have burst
already. Add a cup of coconut cream before removing
from heat. I find it best paired with fried foods. Enjoy!

Sampaloc Lake

2010-02-20T15:46:00.000+08:00

Instead of having a Christmas party, my barkada (group of friends)
and I decided to visit Sampalok Lake in San Pablo City, Laguna.
Known as the City of Seven Lakes, San Pablo City is an hour's drive
from Pila.

Sampalok lake is just 10 minutes walk from the main avenue.

The majestic Mt. Banahaw can be seen from the lake.

Don't leave San Pablo without trying the famous Mami ng San Pablo.

Julie's Bakeshop makes these lechon shape bread.
A cheaper substitute for the real one.

Don't like lechon? Try this giant shrimp bread instead.

Christmas Reunion

2010-02-17T14:38:00.012+08:00

I have been absent in blogging for more than 2 months now.
But I'm back on track.

Christmas was a busy month as usual. Couldn't help with shopping
late for christmas gifts and attending Christmas parties here and
there. This is also a time for our family reunion. My Dad's immediate
family usually held our family reunion on December 25. This year,
Dad decided to bring lechon (roasted pig) for the reunion. He has
been saving one of the pigs he raised in our backyard for this occasion.

Anthony Bourdain of "No Reservations" show did an episode on lechon
with Marketman last year. For our purpose, Mom called up a niece in
Iligan City for the recipe.

onions, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper, lemongrass
spices placed inside the pigs cavity

3-4 hours cooking in slow fire

finally!

WHB- Madre Cacao or Kakawate

2009-12-03T17:17:00.016+08:00

Kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) or Madre Cacao may not be very
well known but for farmers like my Dad, it is a very useful tree.
He would use it as a line fence around our property, as a trellis
for our pepper, ampalaya or bitter gourd and sayote.

kakawate tree as trellis for pepper

The kakawate leaves he would place with the banana fruits,
instead of using "kalboro" or Calcium Carbide (used as source
of acetylene gas, which is a ripening agent) to hasten the ripening
of the fruits.

A favorite at home is smoking fish using kakawate. Place the fish
on top of kakawate branch and cover with kakawate leaves.
Serve the fish with a dip of fish sauce and kalamansi (key lime).

Submitting this post to Marilyn of Just Making A Noise who
is hosting this week's WHB event.
Haalo of Cook Almost Anything oversees this event.

Try also my other WHB recipes:

Laksa

Lechon Manok with
Lemongrass

Sinigang sa Bayabas

2009-11-20T17:42:00.000+08:00

Today, cooking sinigang is very easy. Souring ingredients are
already available in powdered form (Mama Sita's, Knorr
Sinigang Mix, etc) Still nothing beats preparing your souring
ingredients from scratch. Boiling and mashing the tamarind
or Kalamyas or in this case guava fruit adds to the excitement
of cooking sinigang.

We get to cook Sinigang sa Bayabas when Typhoon Santi
(Internation name: Mirinae) hit our place last Oct 31.
One of our guava tree was partially uprooted and we were
forced to harvest the fruits.

Sinigang Sa Bayabas

You will need:

1 medium size fish sliced (Bangus or Tilapia)
4-5 pcs ripe guava (quartered)
1 medium tomato (quartered)
1 medium onion (quartered)
sili leaves or camote tops
2-3 tbsp fish sauce
3-4 cups water
salt

In a pot, boil tomato, onion and guava in water. Simmer
until guava is softened. Take out the guava (leave some
if you like to eat them) and place in a bowl. Mashed and
set aside. Add fish into the pot and simmer until fish is
tender. Strain juice from mashed guava into the pot.
Seasoned with fish sauce. Add the leaves, sprinkle
salt on top and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve hot.

October Harvest

2009-11-04T16:25:00.011+08:00

Typhoon Santi (international name: Mirinae) made landfall early
saturday morning Oct 31. Laguna was in storm signal no. 3.
Most of our fruit trees at home were down after the typhoon.

Papayas are not yet fully riped

Banana trees suffered the most

Balimbing / Star fruit got a beating from the typhoon

Daing na Bangus

2009-10-15T13:43:00.001+08:00

Typhoon Ondoy (international name KETSANA) flooded Metro Manila
and towns along the Laguna Lake last Sept. 26, 2009. In a matter of
8 hours, its has rained non stop, equivalent to a month's supply
of rain. Until now, places along the lake are submerged in water
which experts say will go down only after 3 months.

See video on Typhoon Ondoy's damage

Bangus (milkfish, the national fish of the Philippines) is plentiful after
a strong typhoon due to the wrecked fishpens in Laguna lake. Sold for
only Php40 a kilo, in ordinary days it can reach up to Php 120 a kilo.

When bangus is cheap, we usually make Daing na Bangus at home.
Daing na Bangus is milkfish marinated in vinegar, lots of garlic, salt
and pepper. The longer it is marinated, the tastier it gets. Fry the
fish until crispy and served with achara or salted eggs and tomatoes.

September Harvest

2009-10-05T13:05:00.005+08:00

Balimbing / Star Fruit

Papaya

Bayabas / Guava

Gulo Gulo and Maruya

2009-09-11T18:25:00.005+08:00

Gulo gulo in Filipino means messy. It is also the favorite snack my
Lola Angge used to cook for dad and his siblings. The same way to
cook Maruya but using unripe banana instead.

In cooking Maruya, the ripe banana slices are arranged like a fan
or formed in a square, coated with a batter of flour and water then
fried. Dipped in sugar before serving.

Gulo gulo as the name implies is cooked randomly. Thin slices
of unripe banana (preferably saba) is coated with batter then fried
without arranging.

Gulo gulo

Congratulations GROW YOUR OWN on
its 2nd anniversay!

Thanks to Praveen of Masala Heaven
who is hosting GYO #35 roundup.

Check out other banana recipes:

Ginanggang or Grilled Banana

Laksa , cooking with banana heart / bud

August Harvest

2009-09-07T17:04:00.007+08:00

Rambutan

Banana (Saba/Plantain)

Gabi/Taro

July Harvest

2009-08-13T14:55:00.004+08:00

Puso ng Saging (Banana Heart Bud)

Pomelo

Kalamansi and Siling Haba

Banana

Kaswela, sauteed sinigang?

2009-08-02T15:35:00.005+08:00

Kamias Tree

It was only when we transferred residence here in Pila, Laguna that I
have tasted Kaswela. Back in Iligan City, we also have Kamias or Iba
(Averrhoa bilimbi) tree but we didn't get to cooking Kaswela.

We usually use Kamias for our Sinigang, Ginataang Hipon or Sinaing
na Tulingan. During summer, when fruits are in season, my sister Gay
and I would eat raw Kamias dipped in rock salt. Kamias are also dried
and made into candies.

Because of its high acid content, Kamias fruits are also used to
remove stains from skin, clothing and rust from metal blades.

Kaswela, I think is just sauteed Sinigang. You boil with sinigang while
you saute with kaswela.

Kaswela

1/2 kilo fish, sliced
4-5 pcs. Kamyas, sliced
1 medium tomato
1 medium onion
1 - 1 1/2 cup water
2-3 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
2 TBsp cooking oil

Sautee onions and tomatoes until limp. Add sliced Kamias and stir fry
until kamias changes color. Add fish and patis and cover for 1 minute.
Add water and simmer until fish is cook. Served hot with rice.

Grow Your Own #33 roundup is hosted by
MomGateway.

For more GYO recipes, check out my entries:
Everything's Herbed Grow Your Own.

June Harvest

2009-07-20T14:42:00.002+08:00

makopa (Malay Rose Apple Tree)

siling haba (finger chilllies)

papaya and banana

Banana - saba

Chicken Krapao

2009-07-13T15:56:00.003+08:00

It's been a while since I last ate in my favorite Thai restaurant,
Ning's Thai in Los Baños,Laguna. The owner, Tita Cora gave me
some krapao seeds to plant at home. Krapao is Thai Basil.

This recipe is an attempt to try one of her best sellers,
Chicken Krapao.

Krapao plant

Chicken Krapao

1 chicken breast
crushed garlic
1 tsp sugar
chili powder
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 Baguio Beans, sliced
bunch of krapao
1 Tbsp oil

Saute garlic in oil. Stir in chicken, chili powder, sugar and fish sauce.
When chicken changes color,add Baguio beans and oyster sauce.
Stir fry until chicken and beans are cooked. Turn off heat and add
krapao. When krapao leaves are limp, transfer to a plate and serve.

May Harvest

2009-06-07T14:20:00.001+08:00

Puso ng Saging (Banana Heart/Bud)

Saging (Banana)

Papaya

Rice

GYO- Burong Mangga

2009-05-28T16:40:00.016+08:00

A week before the mangoes were due for harvest, a branch broke off

from the main trunk.

My uncle says it was because of the weight of the fruits.

So here we are with so many green mangoes.

A recipe that calls for green mangoes is Burong Mangga (Pickled Mangoes).

The usual way to do it is to cut the green mangoes into 1 centimeter
thick strips. Discard seeds. Place mangoes in small clean glass jars.
Add about 1 tsp salt and water barely to cover well the mangoes.
This will be ready to serve in 3-4 days.

Here is another recipe shared by chef Jackie Ang Po from Yummy
magazine (April 2009), perfect timing with our green mangoes!

you will need:
3 pieces green mangoes
4 cups water

for the syrup:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 tsp salt

Peel and cut green mangoes into strips. Discard seeds. Boil 4 cups
water and let cool completely. Soak sliced mangoes in the cooled
water overnight.

To make the syrup: Fill pan with water. Add in sugar and salt.
Boil and let cool completely.

Drain soaked mango strips. Place in airtight container. Pour syrup
over the mangoes and cover. Refrigerate 2-3 days.

This is usually served as a side dish. Enjoy!

This month's roundup of Grow Your Own
is hosted by the Daily Tiffin.

WHB-Laksa

2009-05-18T09:41:00.001+08:00

Puso ng Saging in
Filipino
literally means
heart of banana.
It is reddish in
color and heart
shaped.
A puso ng saging
is consist
of several layers
of red coverings
called bracts and
banana florets
in between.

Often used in Kare-kare or cooked in coconut cream,
as lumpia or spring rolls or even Pate.

A favorite dish at home for Puso ng Saging we call Laksa. It is a
vegetable dish of puso ng saging, squash, shrimps and vermicelli.

Laksa - Ginisang kalabasa at Puso ng Saging
(sauteed Squash w/ Banana Heart/Bud)

1 big Puso ng Saging (Banana Heart/Bud)
1/4 k Kalabasa (squash)
100 gms vermicelli noodles
200 gms small shrimps (you can opt to remove the shells)
1 medium size tomatoes
1 medium size onions
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 C water
salt and pepper to taste

Remove red layers of the puso ng saging until a yellowish core
is revealed. Sliced the core thinly and soaked in salted water.

In a pan, saute garlic until light brown in color. Add onions
and cooked until onions changes color and limped. Add tomatoes,
soy sauce and pepper. Saute for a minute. Add shrimps and cook
until shrimps changes in color. Add water and bring to a boil.
Add squash.

Remove water from Puso ng Saging and add in pan when squash
is already half cook. Sprinkle some salt. Cover and cook until
vegetables are tender. Stir in vermicelli noodles before removing
from heat.

This Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted by Cinzia of Cindystar .
Haalo of Cook Almost Anything oversees this event.

PPN- Batchoy Tagalog

2009-05-10T14:58:00.021+08:00

Batchoy Tagalog is very different from the famous LaPaz batchoy of
Iloilo. It uses pig's blood and Misua in its recipe. Fresh pig's blood is
available in local wet markets. Here in Pila, the butcher gives it for
free when you purchase meat.

Misua or MeeSua or Miswa is a very thin Chinese noodles made from
wheat flour. It signifies long life, hence it is a traditional birthday food.

Batchoy Tagalog

1/2 k. pork belly
1/4 k. pork liver, minced
2 c. pig’s blood
3 siling haba (chili peppers)
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly
3 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
green pepper leaves
1 or 2 bunches of Misua

Refrigerate pig’s blood until needed. Boil pork with water for 30
minutes. Let it cool before cutting pork into 1/2" X 2" pieces.
Save the broth, at least 3 to 4 cups.

In a heavy casserole, place pork slices and cook in medium heat until
the edges of the pork start to brown. Remove from heat. In the same
pan saute ginger with the leftover pork oil until fragrant. Add the
onions and cook until the onions are transparent. Add patis and pork
slices, season with salt and pepper. Add siling haba and simmer for
2-3 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil.Lower heat, cover and
simmer until pork is tender.

Strain pig’s blood into a clean bowl. Mashed solid masses to a pulp
using your hands. Pour into casserole and bring to a boil, stirring
constantly for about 5 minutes. Add liver and green pepper leaves,
cook for another minute or two. Add Misua and simmer for 2 more
minutes. Do not overcook Misua as it will melt and will become paste.
Remove from heat and serve hot.

Serving a bowl to all Presto Pasta
Night lovers through Patsy of
F amily Friends & Food who is
hosting this weeks PPN #113.

April Harvest

2009-05-02T13:05:00.009+08:00

Papaya and Mangoes

more Mangoes

Siling Haba / Finger Chilis

Kalabasa / Squash

Crispy Tofu

2009-04-28T12:54:00.009+08:00

I must admit, I am not fond of Tokwa or Tofu. But I like this crispy
tofu recipe we got from Del Monte Kitchenomics.

Crispy Tofu

3/4 k tofu
4 egg whites
2 C japanese bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt

Dip
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 c mirin
6 TBSP Del Monte red cane vinegar
1/2 c light soy sauce
2/3 c water
2 stalks green onions chopped

Slice tofu into 1/4" thick rectangles. The recipe calls for 1/2"
thickness but I prefer it to be crispier so I sliced it thinner.
Beat egg whites with salt until soft peak stage. Dip tofu.
Dredge in bread crumbs and deep fry. Drain in paper towels.
Set aside

For the dip, simmer together the first 5 ingredients for 5 minutes.
Cool. Add green onions before serving the crispy tofu. I didn't have
green onions so I got some dill from our garden for presentation.

You can also use broiled eggplants instead of tofu.

ETAG Paksiw

2009-04-22T15:30:00.009+08:00

I bought a kilo of ETAG (cured meat) during my trip in Sagada
last christmas. Half of it my sister Gay cooked with beans and
the other half we cooked as paksiw.

Etag costs Php180/kilo

ETAG PAKSIW

1/2 k ETAG, sliced into serving pieces
1/2 cup vinegar
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp peppercorn, crushed
2 cups water
2 Tbsp white sugar
potatoes slices (optional)

Boil etag for about 30 minutes. Discard broth. Check etag if saltiness
is to your liking. If still too salty for you, boil again for 10 minutes
and discard broth.

In a saucepan, place etag, and the rest of the ingredients. Cook over
slow fire and let simmer until meat is tender and sauce is thick.

If paksiw is too salty for your taste, add slices of potato and simmer
until potato is cooked.

Serve hot with rice.

WHB - Tanglad Juice (Lemongrass Juice)

2009-04-15T15:15:00.007+08:00

Since my sister Gay (Ascientistinthekitchen.net) started her food
blog, we have been buying food magazines. One of our favorite is
FOODIE magazine, published by ABS-CBN Publishing Inc. We have
tried some of their recipes and I am sharing one of my favorite,

Tanglad (Lemongrass) Juice
(modified from FOODIE magazine, vol 2 no 1)

3 cups water
6 stalks lemongrass
1/2cup mint leaves
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 3-4 calamansi or 1 lemon

Slice lemon grass about 1/4" in length and pound white part.
In a pot, bring water and lemongrass to a boil. Lower heat
and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off fire and add mint leaves.
Steep for 15 minutes then strain.

Heat sugar and 3 TBSP water until sugar is dissolve. Add to
infused liquid and stir in calamansi juice. Cool completely.

To serve, fill glasses with ice and pour tanglad juice.
Garnish with stalk of lemongrass and mint leaves on top.
I also tried using spearmint and it tasted ok.

Sharing this drink to all Weekend Herb Bloggers hosted by
Prof Kitty of The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty. Haalo of
CookAlmostAnything oversees the Weekend Herb Blogging
event. Happy Birthday dear Haalo!

We also use Tanglad/Lemongrass
when roasting chicken,
Lechon Manok w/ Tanglad

Boston Tsokolate Champorado

2009-04-09T12:43:00.001+08:00

Champorado is a Filipino sweet chocolate porridge.
It is usually served in a bowl with swirls of evaporated milk on top
and a side dish of fried "tuyo" or dried fish.

My grandfather, Lolo Elias, prefers to use Boston brand cocoa powder
whenever he makes champorado for us. And I've developed a likeness to it.
For my instant hot choco, I use 2 sachets of cocoa powder and a
tablespoon of creamer and sugar.

To make champorado, wash 1/2 cup malagkit or glutinous rice and
drain. Cook malagkit with 3 cups water over low heat. Stir constantly
to avoid scorching. Simmer until malagkit is cooked (transparent).
Add 4 sachets of Boston cocoa powder and 1/2 cup sugar. Adjust taste
to your liking. Stir and cook for 3 more minutes.

I prefer my champorado serving with blotches of milk and a sprinkle of sugar on top.

March Harvest

2009-04-01T14:33:00.005+08:00

Calamansi

Papaya

Saging (Banana)

Niyog (coconut)

Salted Eggs Making, 2nd time around

2009-03-26T15:21:00.007+08:00

I have already posted on salted egg making before. Friends were
curious on the use of mud. We have lots of anthill at home so its no
problem for us. Here's a more detailed process.

Gather anthill soil and soak in water until soften, about 5 hours.
Overnight soaking is preferred. Mashed the soil until smooth.
Strain using a fine net. Leave the "mashed" soil for about an hour.
Mud will settle at the bottom. Remove water on top.

Measure 1 part salt and 3 parts of the mud. Mix well.

Dip each duck egg in the mixture. Make sure the eggs are well coated
with mud.

Arrange coated eggs in a box lined with old newspapers. Cover
and leave for 18 days. Wash eggs and boil until egg yolk is hard.
While still hot, dip the eggs in a pot of boiling food color.
Dad uses food coloring called Grana. A cup of Grana can color about
5,000 to 6,000 eggs.

Check out also Kusina ni Manang's method using brine solution.

WHB - Lechon Manok with Tanglad

2009-03-20T11:46:00.008+08:00

Lemongrass (Cymboporon citratus) or Salay as we call it here in the Tagalog region is a fragrant grass commonly used in teas, soups and curries. It's a herb that complements well with poultry, fish, and seafood.

When we used to live in Mindano (they call it Tanglad over there), our "law-uy" or vegetable soup is not complete without.

On special occasions, you can find them stuffed in our roasted chicken.

Rub 1 whole chicken with rock salt inside and out. Set aside. Pound the white portion of the tanglad before putting inside the chicken. Stuff as many tanglad as you like. Rub chicken with soy sauce. Cook in turbo broiler for about 45 minutes at 375F. Rest chicken for 10 minutes before serving.

Sharing this recipe to all Weekend Herb Bloggers thru Yasmeen
of HealthNut who is hosting WHB#175. Weekend Herb Blogging is
created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Check out my first entry for WHB,
Lumpiang Shanghai and Malunggay
then hosted by Haalo of Cook (almost)
Anything At Least Once.

Adobong Pusit

2009-03-12T10:05:00.003+08:00

Pusit or squid is one of my favorite seafoods. It would be my choice
if I were to choose between shrimps or crabs. Cooked as adobo,
I usually mix the inky sauce with my rice to make "black rice".
As a kid, I like watching my teeth in the mirror, counting those
black stained teeth.

You will need:
1/2 k medium size squid
1 head garlic, peeled crushed
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

Clean squid, removing the clear membrane inside. Remove also the
filmsy skin. In a pan, combine vinegar, water, half of garlic
and squid. Simmer until squid changes color and “shrinks”,
about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain, reserving the juice.

In the same pan, saute remaining garlic in cooking oil. Stir in squid.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir fry for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Pour in reserved juice. Simmer until juice is reduced.
Serve with steamed rice.

You can also saute this dish with tomatoes and onions like my mom would do.

WHB - Lumpiang Shanghai and Malunggay

2009-03-06T16:07:00.010+08:00

Lumpia is spring roll in Filipino. We have Lumpiang Gulay (Vegetable Spring Rolls) and Lumpiang Shanghai. Nope, Lumpiang Shanghai is not made in China. Lumpiang Shanghai is Filipino spring rolls filled with meat filling. There are many variations of the meat filling. You may use pork, chicken or beef. Add your favorite veggies like carrots, celery, parsley, garlic, some spices perhaps. Just mixed all together, wrap in Lumpia (spring roll) wrapper and fry.

Malunggay is known as a miracle vegetable. Usually served in meals,
it is also a medicine. Malunggay promotes good eyesight and
digestion. It is used to clean wounds. Malunggay leaves are high in
calcium and breast-feeding mothers are advice to eat Malunggay
leaves to produce more milk.

We usually have Malunggay in soup. Now it's adding nutrients to my lumpia filling.

Filling:
1/4 k round lean pork
1 onion, chopped
1 cup singkamas (jicama), chopped
1/2 cup Malunggay leaves
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper

This is my first time to share a recipe to all Weekend Herb Blogging
(WHB) fanatics. Host for this roundup is Haalo of
Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once.

February Harvest

2009-03-01T15:43:00.014+08:00

papaya (carica papaya)

puso ng saging (banana heart/bud)

sayote (chayote)

gabi (taro)

coconut

Cooking with Tinapa

2009-02-21T11:26:00.011+08:00

Tinapa(smoked fish)

Tinapa (smoked fish) is served with tomatoes in a Filipino home.
We usually have it at breakfast with fried rice. It is also cooked
with vegetables. One dish I love with tinapa is Ginataang Puso ng
Saging (Banana Heart/Bud in Coconut Milk).

Ginataang Puso ng Saging

1 big puso ng saging (banana heart/bud)
3-4 pcs tinapa
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup thin coconut milk
1/3 cup vinegar
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

Remove all the red layers from puso ng saging until a yellowish core
is left. Sliced thinly and soaked in salted water (this is to prevent
darkening of the bud). Squeezed out water from the bud and place
in a saucepan. Add tinapa, thin coconut milk, vinegar, crushed garlic
and onions. Bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add coconut
cream and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Check out also my sister's Banana Heart Burger.

Tinolang Pata

2009-02-10T10:46:00.002+08:00

It had been raining lately and we were craving for some Tinola Soup
at home. Tinola is usually cooked with chicken, green papaya
and sili leaves. We didn't have chicken that time so Dad used
pork Pata (Hock). He also used Malunggay leaves (it was waving
outside the kitchen window, waiting to be picked) and sayote which
he picked that morning (see January Harvest).

Tinolang Pata

3/4 kilo pork pata (pork hock)
1 thumb-sized pc of ginger
1 onion, sliced
3 medium sized sayote (chayote)
1/2 cup Malunggay leaves
1 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp cooking oil
about 5 cups water

Saw cut pork pata crosswise at 1 1/2" thick slices. Peel ginger
and sliced thinly. In a large casserole, saute ginger until fragrant.
Add onion slices and cooked until limp. Add patis and pork pata.
Stir until meat is no longer pink on all sides. Season with pepper.
Pour water and bring to a boil. Simmer until meat is tender,
about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel sayote and cut half lengthwise. Remove the white
core and cut into wedges. When meat is tender, add sayote.
Adjust seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer until sayote is cooked.
Place Malunggay leaves on top but do not cover. Cook for 5 more
minutes. Serve hot.

I am submitting this to Andrea who is
hosting Grow Your Own Roundup #25.

Yummy Treats

2009-02-06T12:33:00.007+08:00

Thanks to Yummy Magazine for the nice prizes we got in their Yummy Treats Promo. I was lucky to win twice.

Mom won an 18-inch Masterclass saucepan (July 2008)

Krispy Kreme gift certificates for me (July 2008)

and Gift Pack from AVON (December 2008)

January Harvest

2009-02-01T19:22:00.003+08:00

sayote or chayote

singkamas or Jicama

Sagada

2009-01-27T18:47:00.013+08:00

I had a wonderful time in Sagada, Philippines last Christmas. I am sharing some pictures I took:

tourist friendly map

rough road along the way

wonderful views compensate the 13 hours bus ride

Echo Valley

Hanging Coffins
Bomod-ok Falls

Travel Food

2009-01-23T19:20:00.001+08:00

Got this great idea from my cousin during our Sagada trip. We decided to packed dinner for the 12hour bus ride. We had rice and pork adobo.

Cooked Adobo was mixed with rice and wrapped in foil

No need for spoon and fork

Unfold as you eat. No mess.

December Harvest

2009-01-16T13:36:00.019+08:00

pepper

banana heart

young coconuts, great for fruit salad

sayote

Pasko Na!

2008-12-24T08:55:00.007+08:00

God's love, peace and joy be with you always!

parol photo courtesy of profile.myspace.com

Buto Buto Nilaga

2008-12-19T09:32:00.007+08:00

Nilaga means boiled. Buto buto means ribs. Combine both and you got a tasty and easy to make dish for cold nights.

Place pork spare ribs in a big pot and cover with enough
water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer
until pork is tender. Remove all the resulting scum that will
rise to the top of the pot. Add some ginger about 2 inch knob
and sliced onions. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Add potatoes and continue to boil until potatoes are tender.
Add your choice of leafy vegetables like pechay, cabbage
and baguio beans. Serve hot.

Minanok na Manok

2008-12-07T09:02:00.004+08:00

We saw a recipe of Minanok na Talong from the maiden issue of Foodie magazine and my sister thought it would sound better if the title is Minanok na Manok. Instead of using Talong (eggplant) we used Manok (chicken).

Dad's version is basically the same with the Chicken Adobo sa Gata
that I posted before. The only difference is the use of "burnt" coconut cream.

To get that "burnt" taste, pan-grill grated coconut till lightly browned. Squeezed out the coconut cream. Noticed that the sauce of this version is darker than the previous dish. And the taste has a smoky flavor.

Its A Wonderful Life

2008-12-02T01:00:00.001+08:00

Finally i was able to get a copy of this movie. I have heard and read good reviews of this Christmas movie. A certified feel-good classic film!

Here's a sneak preview,

Espasol

2008-11-20T10:48:00.003+08:00

Our neighbor Aling Emma sells native kakanin or delicacies. Espasol is one
of her best seller. I got this Espasol recipe from the Philippine Cookery and Household Hints by Herminia Villacorta-Alvarez.

Espasol
1 c malagkit, boiled
4 c rice flour, toasted until light brown
2 c sugar
anise seeds
1 c coconut milk
1-1/2 c toasted shredded coconut

* Place sugar, anise seeds and coconut milk in a saucepan;
let boil until thick.
* Add toasted shredded coconut and cook for 3 minutes.
* Add boiled malagkit, stir and cook until thick.
* Remove from fire and add 3 c toasted rice flour.
* Mix with a wooden spoon and pass through a corn-meal grinder.
* Divide into parts and roll 1" diameter using the rest of the rice flour for rolling.
* Wrap in wax paper.

Undas 2008

2008-11-17T09:46:00.000+08:00

It was a wet All Saint's Day morning but Filipinos still troop to the cemeteries to pay respect to our dear departed. Fortunately the sun was cooperative in the late afternoon.

entrance to the Pila Public Cemetery

path leading to our family's niche

my family's dear departed

apartment-type niche

in remembrance of the victims of abortion

forgotten?

The day after.....

not so crowded anymore

garbage left behind after the celebration

clean up crew at work

Relova Memorial Park (beside the Pila Public Cemetery)
Unlike the public cemetery where it is crowded, there is enough space
here even for a picnic.

Every year we prepare candles to bring to the cemetery.

this year

last year's candles that we prepared

Birthday Fare

2008-11-07T14:00:00.006+08:00

I had a simple birthday celebration last month.
My family and I had lunch in our garden.

Dad cooked my favorite Chicken Adobo sa Gata using native
chickens which he raised in our backyard. My sister Gay
cooked pork barbecue and Bam-i (noodles). She also surprised
me with Choco-Banana Crepe for dessert.

Here's my dad's Chicken Adobo sa Gata (chicken in coconut milk):

1 medium size chicken, cut into pieces
1/2 cup vinegar
1 head garlic, crushed
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 c coconut milk
1-1/2 c coco cream

Bring to a boil chicken with vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Add coconut milk and simmer until chicken is tender.
Add coco cream and cook until it turns oily.
Serve hot.

I am submitting this to Ning
of Heart and Hearth who is hosting
GYO's # 20 round up.

October Harvest

2008-11-05T09:43:00.003+08:00

Rice

radish

kalamansi (key lime)

Durian

Papaya

Ginisang Kalabasa at Miki

2008-10-22T03:55:00.002+08:00

I've been hearing of Presto Pasta Night from my sister Gay so I decided to try out this dish for the event. It uses squash and dried noodles (miking tuyo). This dish is common in my father's hometown Pila, Laguna.

Ginisang Kalabasa at Miki (Sauteed Squash w/ Noodles)

1/2 k kalabasa (squash),peeled and cut into 1/4" thick
100 gms miking tuyo (dried noodles)
1/4 C shrimps, chopped (you can use ground pork)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbps soy sauce
3 Tbps cooking oil
1 C water
pepper to taste

Sauté garlic until golden brown. Add onion & tomato, sauté until wilted. Add shrimps, pepper and soy sauce. Add squash, stir-fry for a minute. Pour water and cook until squash is half-cooked. Put dried noodles. Simmer until squash and noodles are tender.

My first time to share this noodles dish with the Presto Pasta Nights community, hosted this week by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Pork and Liver Bistek

2008-10-15T15:11:00.000+08:00

Bistek is the Filipino style beefsteak. But don't expect to be served with a regular steak and mashed potatoes. This is cooked differently. Meat, Kalamansi or Lime juice, soy sauce and onions are the main ingredients. Our family favorite is the pork and liver bistek.

Pork and Liver Bistek
1/4 kilo Pork Tenderloin, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 kilo pork liver, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 pcs. kalamansi (key lime)
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 large red onions, sliced
1/2 C cooking oil for frying

Fry pork and liver until cook. Set Aside. In the same pan,
fry onions until tender. Add back the pork and liver
and cook for about 1 minute. Add soy sauce and simmer
for another minute. Add the juice of kalamansi
before turning off heat. Serve with rice. Enjoy.

Ginisang Pechay (Pak Choi) w/ Fried Tilapia

2008-10-08T13:17:00.000+08:00

Dad picked some Pechay this morning and of course he wants to cook his favorite dish,

Ginisang Pechay with Fried Tilapia

1 medium size Tilapia, cleaned
1/2 k Pechay
1 medium size onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
oil for frying and sauteing
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c water, enough to cook the Pechay

Fry Tilapia and set aside. Saute e garlic and onion. Add water. When boiling, add pechay. Sprinkle salt and cover until Pechay is cooked. Serve on top of Fried Tilapia.

I am submitting this to my sister, Gay of A Scientist in the Kitchen for the Grow Your Own event which she is hosting from Oct 1-15. Check out the round-up on her blog after the 15th for a collection of homegrown tasty dishes.

September Harvest

2008-10-01T21:37:00.003+08:00

rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum

Lansones, Lansium domesticdum

Paminta, Piper nigrum, pepper

Patola, Luffa acutangula, angled luffa, vegetable sponge

GawGaw (clothes starch)

2008-09-26T15:08:00.000+08:00

I grew up having my clothes starched. I like the feel of crisp, clean clothes. I love to lie in my bed and smell the newly starched beddings.

Sometimes I help Mom use Gawgaw on some of our clothes and linen.

Mix 3 packs of Boston Gawgaw with a cup of water in a basin. Pour boiling water on the mixture, about 1-2 liters, until it changes from milky white to a transparent color and keep stirring it to avoid any lumps. Let cool.

Add water (2 liters for heavy solution, 4 liters for medium and 6 liters for a light solution). Dip clothes in the starch solution and dry under the sun.

Before ironing, sprinkle water on the clothes and roll up. Cover with a large piece of cloth for 30 minutes until evenly moistened.

Enjoy your starched clothes!

Mamang Taho

2008-09-23T12:00:00.000+08:00

Everyday the Taho vendor would pass by our house around 8am. He has been selling Taho in our place for more than 5 years now. But I still don't know his name. I just call him Mamang Taho. He would always joke that I am already late for work when he sees me. I leave at 8am to get to Los Baños, Laguna where I work.

Yesterday, my sister and I bought some Taho. I like it with lots of Pearl Sago but not to sweet.

Paksiw na Isda (Fish in Vinegar Sauce)

2008-09-18T02:40:00.000+08:00

Almost every week, we have Paksiw na Isda at home.

Dad and I like to have it for breakfast paired with Singangag (Fried Rice).
Dad cooks the Paksiw and I do the Sinangag.

Though Paksiw is easy to cook, It is not really my forte.

Oming's Paksiw na Isda

1/2 k white fish, we used Bisugo (red mullet)
1 medium size Onion
about 1/2 inch Ginger, sliced
4-5 T Vinegar
2-3 pcs Finger Chillies or Siling Haba
1/2 C Water
1 T oil
Salt and Peper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a pan, except the oil. Simmer until
fish is done. Add oil before turning off heat. Serve hot
with Sinangag.

Breakfast: Tortang Talong

2008-09-02T12:26:00.000+08:00

One of my comfort food is Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette) with Dried Fish. I like having it for breakfast on a rainy day with Garlic Fried Rice and a cup of hot chocolate. Hmmmmm.
It's also easy to make.

Roast 3 medium size eggplants and peel.
Remove the stem. (Normally, the stem is not remove for easy handling).
Season with salt.
Beat 2 eggs in a separate bowl and add the eggplant.
Fry until done.

ChichaJo of 80 Breakfast likes Tortang Talong with some cold catsup.

Saba/ Plantain Banana : Ginang-gang

2008-08-29T14:30:00.000+08:00

Was browsing MarketMan's site when i came across Grilled Saba Banana. Reminds me of my childhood. But we do it in a different way.
We call it Ginang-gang.

We first peel the saba and thread them on BBQ sticks.
Grill until done (light brown, not too charred).
Brush with lots of margarine (I used Star Margarine) and sprinkle with sugar.
Hay, sarap!

I tried using Anchor butter but margarine tastes better.

Ning's Thai Noodle House

2008-08-25T16:00:00.000+08:00

Last month, I had cravings for Thai food. I still do.
Come lunch time, I go to Ning's Thai Noodle House in Los Baños.

Pa-siu, chicken with nuts, pork krapao, poppia.
These are some of their specialties.
Tita Cora and her Ate Mila will cook them personally for you.
You can even watch them cook. Just don't forget to tell them how hot you want
your food: no chili, mild, hot or crying hot!

All time favorite, Pa-siu
(noodles sauteed in garlic and pork w/ peanuts and kangkong)

my favorite, chicken w/ nuts
chicken sauteed in garlic, onions, bell pepper and peanuts

Ning's Thai is located along Lopez Avenue, in front of the old Agrix building.
They are open from 11:00am to 9:00pm (Mondays - Saturdays) and
5:00pm to 10:00pm on Sundays. You can contact Tita Cora +63 919 3599263

Itlog na Maalat (Salted Eggs)

2008-08-21T16:01:00.000+08:00

Dad used to make itlog na maalat (salted eggs) using duck eggs. Here's how he did it:

putik (mud) from ant hill is used, mixed with lots and lots of salt

dipping of eggs in the mixture

the eggs are then covered and left for 18 days

washed and boiled for 3 hours, they're ready to eat.
just don't forget the tomatoes!

Pila Day 2008

2008-08-16T23:08:00.000+08:00

July 29 was the 433rd foundation day celebration of our town of Pila, Laguna. While everybody was watching games and street dance, i was busy checking out food sold at the fair.

Wanna try a footlong?

ice scramble and fried chicken gizzards , perfect combination?

yellow and pink, that's popcorn and cotton candy!

local french fries? it's minani, fried cassava

mixed nuts and sweetened anchovies

hamburger, anyone?

after the walk, how about sago-gulaman to quench the thirst?

Don't forget to buy pasalubong for bunso
See you in next year's celebration!

Tornadoes Visit Los Baños

2008-08-16T14:34:00.000+08:00

Three tornadoes, yup you got it right, 3 tornadoes hit Los Baños, Laguna(where I work) last August 14. First time it happened here and everybody was in awe (read, busy taking pictures and capturing it on video). These pictures were taken by my friend Junel from his cellphone camera.

You can check out these sites for videos:
What's UP, Los Baños? (Blogs about the tornadoes that hit UPLB)
Blogging Pinoy (Tornadoes at UPLB)