Chicken Salpicao

I was buying chicken lumpia mix one afternoon from Magnolia Chicken Station when a saleslady from the store approached me and gave me a leaflet with 3 recipes written on it. The 3 recipes main ingredient is Magnolia Chicken Menudo Cut. It is plainly boneless chicken meat cut into cubes.

I ordered ½ kilo of Chicken Menudo Cut so that I can try the Chicken Salpicao recipe written in the leaflet. The nicest thing about buying chicken from this station is that you can get what cut or part you really want from the fowl. You can buy boneless chicken breast, lumpia mix, pulutan mix, chicken barbecue, boneless menudo cut, etc. Although it is a little expensive when you buy chicken from this outlet but what’s important is that you’re paying for convenience and the high quality of the product you are buying. They guarantee also that their products are safe to eat and clean.

This recipe is a little spicy, but you can adjust the ingredients according to your preference.


Ingredients:
½ kg MAGNOLIA CHICKEN MENUDO CUT
2 tbsp hot sauce
3 tbsp liquid seasoning
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup minced garlic
1 pc finger pepper (siling haba), seeded and sliced diagonally (optional)
1 tbsp chopped parsley (optional), for garnish

Procedures:
Marinate Chicken menudo cut in hot sauce, liquid seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper for about 5 minutes. Heat oil in pan. Saute 1 tbsp of garlic over moderate heat until golden brown. Remove garlic and set aside. In the same pan, melt butter and sauté the 1/3 cup minced garlic moderate heat until fragrant. Drain chicken from marinade and set aside. In the same pan, add chicken and continue sautéing over high heat until chicken turns brown. Immediately add marinade. Let simmer for a minute. Continue cooking until sauce reduces. Remove from heat and add finger pepper. Mix well. Transfer to sizzling plate or serving platter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and fried garlic.

Homemade Pork and Beans

Pork and beans is not included in the list of my favourite foods. Since I was a child, I don’t remember my father or mother buying canned pork and beans. But when I got married, I learned that my hubby really loves pork and beans. So every time I go to the grocery store to buy things for the house, pork and beans is always in my list of canned goods to buy. Even my son loves pork and beans now. But as much as possible I am trying to lessen the consumption of canned and preserved foods. I know that in the long run, it isn’t good for the health of my family. And if you notice when you buy canned pork and beans, you can hardly find the pork in the can; maybe if you’re really lucky you will find three small pieces of pork or is it ground pork? (lol)

As I was browsing my old issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, I saw this home-made pork and beans recipe. It is a very easy recipe.

Ingredients:

½ kilo white beans (Great northern or navy beans)
1 tablespoon corn oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sized onion, chopped finely
½ kilo pork belly or liempo, sliced ½” thick
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 ½ to 2 cups water
½ cup tomato catsup
¼ cup corn oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dispersed in 1 tablespoon water

Procedure:

Soak the beans in enough water overnight. Drain and rinse. In a saucepan, heat oil then sauté garlic and onions. Add sliced pork and cook until brown. Add soy sauce and water. Add the beans and cook covered until tender. You can also do this in a pressure cooker. Add catsup, oil, salt, and sugar. Stir carefully to prevent beans from getting mashed. Thicken sauce with dispersed cornstarch. Cook 1 minute more.

You’ll never buy canned pork and beans after trying this simple recipe. Believe me, it tastes good.

Lasang Pinoy 15: Guinataang Kalabasa (Squash with Coconut Milk)

I grew up in an animal-lover family. We had many cats and dogs as pet, and we even had chicken and pigs in our backyard. So left-over foods had no place in our refrigerator, it belonged to the tummy of our pets.

When I got married, we lived separately from our family. Even if I really want to have a pet in our house, it isn’t allowed in the place we live in. Early on in our marriage, I usually threw left-over food in the trash can. The only left-over food then that I re-create into another dish is lechon, turning it into paksiw na lechon. As I learned the science of being a true homemaker, I learned ways to create dishes using left-over foods. I observed my cousin adding fish in his hamburger recipe. So, I started using flaked fried fish in many different dishes. I mix it with ground beef or pork to make lumpiang shanghai, sweet and sour meatballs, or torta. I also use left-over fried or grilled fish in my dinengdeng or pinakbet recipe.

Instead of using crab or shrimp, I used flaked fried fish for my guinataang kalabasa recipe which is my contribution for LP 15.


Ingredients:

2 cups cubed squash
1 tbsp. crushed garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 green chillies
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup flaked fried fish (boneless)
1 tbsp. shrimp paste

Procedure:

In a pan, sauté garlic and onion, add green chillies, flaked fried fish and shrimp paste. Add the coconut milk and squash. Simmer until the squash is cooked (actually, I overcooked the squash)

Thank you Mang Mike for hosting LP 15 and for waiting for my late entry.

Chocolate Cupcakes

A cup cake also known as fairy cake is a small cake. It is designed to serve one person. I usually make cupcakes for my hubby and son. They usually bring it to the office (for my hubby) and to school (for my son). My hubby always shares it with his officemates. It is easy to bring cupcakes because they don’t require plates and it is served individually. I usually don’t put frosting for my cupcakes unless I will bring it to birthday parties or celebrations.

I got my chocolate cupcake recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine (Philippine edition). But I find it a little dry. I want my cupcakes moist and a little spongey so I changed some of the ingredients and suit it for my taste.



Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups refined sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup hot water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
cashew or walnuts (optional)

Procedure:

Line muffin pans with paper bake cups. Stir together all purpose flour, refined sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I usually sift dry ingredients thrice. Add the butter, canola oil, milk, hot water and vanilla extract. Beat with mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating until smooth. Fill cups ½ full with batter. In on oven preheated to 350°F bake 15-20 minutes until center of cupcake springs back when touched lightly. Remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup butter, and I changed it to the mixture of 1/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup canola oil. Good Housekeeping recipe also calls for 2/3 cup milk but I also changed it to 1 cup instead. I also add cashew nuts or walnuts.

Lasang Pinoy 14: Asado

This month’s theme for Lasang Pinoy entitled A La Espanyola is about Spanish influence in Filipino cuisine. The strongest culinary influence is from Spain which ruled the Philippines for almost 400 years. Food historians claim that 80 per cent of Philippine dishes are of Spanish origin. Because the Spaniards formed the elite, dishes adapted by upper-class Filipinos were also Spanish-inspired. In our house, we usually prepare relleno, paella, morcon, and callos whenever we have parties and/or celebrations.

The usual technique of sautéing tomatoes, garlic and onions with olive oil was introduced by the Spaniards (according to some famous chefs, good quality olive oil comes from Spain). Add to that, as in popular baked good and desserts like Pan de Sal (a crusty dinner roll), Flan (an egg custard), Ensaymada (cheese buns), rice dishes as in Arroz Valenciana or Arroz Con Pollo, etc. Most Spanish recipes had been modified to accommodate what ingredients were readily available in our country Thus, the emergence of a cuisine Filipinos called their own, adapted to their tastes. Even our favorite adobo shows Mexican and Spanish influences but with regional variations.

Spanish-influenced dishes are usually part of my weekly menu. I love to cook caldereta, mechado, embutido, and afritada. Asado is one of my favourites so I asked my aunt to give me her asado recipe. In Spain, asado means “cooked in the oven.” But my aunt’s version of asado recipe is very Filipino. The meat should be cooked in a very low fire until tender. This is my first time to cook this dish and it tastes good. The taste of our Filipino asado resembles that of our paksiw na pata.

Ingredients:
800 gms. pork (kasim or porkloin, whole)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soysauce
1/3 cup sugar
Salt
Pepper
Bay leaf
Spring onion

Procedure:
1. Sliced the pork thinly.
2. Mix the water, sugar and soy sauce in a large frying pan. Add salt and pepper. And the bay leaf and bring it up to medium high heat.
3. Lay pork pieces in the sauce, cover and cook on low heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes and flip the pork, cooking an additional 10-15 minutes until the meat is tender.
4. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Drizzle the sauce over the pork and sprinkle with spring onion.

I would like to thank Purple Girl for hosting this month's LP.

Meatloaf Embotido

I make it a point to serve rice for breakfast. Having a full breakfast meal makes us more energetic and alert in the morning.

I should prepare viands for breakfast different from our lunch and dinner food. I also consider the preparation time when I’m cooking our early morning food. I don’t want to feed my family processed and canned foods always because these are not good for our health.

Ground meat is the main ingredient in many traditional dishes from almost every culture. I always choose lean ground meat for cooking. I know that there are recipes which benefited from slightly higher fat contents, but still I want lean mince.

We can cook embotido, meat loaf, relleno, galantina, longganiza, and others from mince. I have many embotido and meat loaf recipes but I didn’t have the complete ingredients for embotido and also for the meat loaf when I cooked this food so I just combined what was available in my fridge and pantry to come out with this dish. I called this dish meatloaf embotido (lol) which tastes like longganiza (according to my son).

Ingredients:

½ kilo ground lean pork

1 bulb garlic, crushed

1 large egg

100 gm grated cheese

½ tbsp. sweet pickle relish

¼ cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients. Grease 1 standard-sided loaf pan. Bake at 220°C for 50 minutes. Serve with catsup or gravy.

my EMPANADA adventure

Empanada is one of my favourite foods. I usually go to Joni’s cake house when I was younger to buy empanada. I also tried Red Ribbon’s empanada, Empanada Royale and Jamaican pies. I love the crispiness of the Jamaican pies. And before I forget, Ilocos empanada is on my list, too.

I read Connie and tita Celia’s entry in their blogs on how to cook empanada. They unselfishly shared their recipe and expertise. I’m really inspired by their entries to try cooking empanadas. Last Monday, I succeeded in cooking this. I combined the knowledge I learned from Connie and tita Celia.

Actually, at first I was hesitant to make the dough/crust. I asked some foodies where I can buy ready-rolled puff pastry. Many told me that I can find it at Santi’s Deli. I called up Santi’s Deli and I was shocked to learn that it’s very expensive. So, I told myself, “hey Lani, you can make the pie crust from scratch, come on try it.”

I admitted that I almost surrender making the crust. It was so hard for me. I don’t have a large working space in my kitchen to roll the pin and flatten the dough. The mess I created in my kitchen was really unbelievable (lol). But when I tasted the cooked empanada, I was very satisfied. I got the right crispiness of the crust and the filling was very tasty (I used ground pork and ground chicken). And the nice thing was even if I put it in the fridge for storing, the crust didn't lose its crispiness (yipeee). My hubby and my son loved it so much.

Ok, do you want to know if I will make/cook empanada again? My answer is Y-E-S. As long as my family loves what I cook, I will always do it for them.

Lasang Pinoy: Unang Annibersaryo

Napakabilis ng panahon, isang taon na pala ang Lasang Pinoy. Isang grupo ng mga Pinoy sa web na nagtipon-tipon upang bigyang halaga ang mga putaheng Pilipino. Sa loob ng isang taong pagkakaibigan at pagbibigayan ay naipahayag ng bawa't isa ang malaking pagmamalaki sa mga putaheng nagpapakita ng ating kultura bilang mga Pilipino.

Sa paggunita ng aming anibersaryo ay isinulat ko ang aking kontribusyon sa wikang Tagalog. Minarapat ni Stef na gawing paksa ng Lasang Pinoy ngayong buwan ng Agosto ang mga pagkaing nagpapakilala ng ating pagiging Pilipino. Mga putaheng sa amoy pa lamang ay alam mo ng pinoy na pinoy ito. Mga pagkaing iyong ipagmamalaking ihanda sa mga tao na hindi pa pamilyar sa mga pagkaing Pilipino. Kung ikaw naman ay nasa ibayong dagat, ito ang mga pagkaing iyong kinasasabikan at nagbabalik alaala sa iyong Inang Bayan.

Sa buwang ito ay nais kong ibahagi ang dalawa sa mga paborito kong pagkain. Ito ay ang sinigang na baka sa bayabas at inihaw na bangus.

Tubong San Ildefonso, Bulacan ang aking lola subalit hindi namin nakagisnan na magpunta sa San Ildefonso. Sa Sibul, San Miguel, Bulacan naroon ang malaking alaala ng mga tag-araw ng aking kabataan. Sa Sibul nagkaroon ng 2 ektaryang mahigit na lupa ang aking lolo. Doon kami laging nagbabakasyon. Doon ko natutunan ang pag-aani ng mani at pamimitas ng kamatis, talong, sitaw at okra. Maraming puno ng prutas tulad ng camatsile, bayabas, at kaimito ang inaakyat naming magkakapatid. Sa malinis na bukal kami naliligo, damang-dama ko pa ang lamig ng tubig na lumalabas sa gilid ng mga bundok. Kay sarap ng mga pagkaing inihahain ng kasama ng lolo ko sa lupa. Merong sinampalukang manok, corn soup, prito o inihaw na hito/dalag bukid, sariwang gatas ng kalabaw, native na itlog. Kapag nagpapatay ng baka ay iniihaw ito at ang ibang parte ay ginagawang sinigang sa bayabas. Dito ko natutunan ang pagluluto nito. Mula pa lang sa pagpitas ng hinog na bayabas ay aliw na aliw na ako. Napakabango ng amoy ng hinog na bayabas. Kinukuha rin namin ang ginagamit na mga sangkap sa mga tanim na nasa bukid katulad ng sili, talbos ng kamote, at puso ng saging. Lasang-lasa ang tamis ng sariwang gulay at prutas.

Habang niluluto ko ang sinigang na ito ay punong-puno ng amoy ng bayabas ang aming bahay. Pati nga mga kapitbahay ko ay alam na alam ang ulam namin. Ipagmamalaki kong ihanda ito sa aking magiging bisita na hindi sanay sa pagkain ng ating putahe. Alam kong magugustuhan nila ito, ang naghahalong asim at tamis ng bayabas ang nagbibigay ng kakaibang lasa sa putaheng ito.

Katerno ng sinigang ay ihahanda ko rin ang inihaw na bangus na may palamang sibuyas at kamatis. At siempre may sawsawang kalamansi at patis. Kung mapapansin natin, laging may katernong sawsawan ang ating mga pagkain, nakasanayan natin ito.

Ang pagiging pinoy ay nasa puso, isip, salita at sa gawa. Narito man tayo sa Pilipinas o nasa malayong bayan ay maipagmamalaki natin ang ating pagka-Pilipino. Kaya halina na, kumain tayo ng masarap na putaheng sariling atin. Maligayang kaarawan, mga katoto!!!

Salamat din sa iyo, Stef sa pagho-host ng ating Lasang Pinoy.

Sinigang na baka sa bayabas

Mga sangkap:

1 kilo baka

1/2 kilo hinog na bayabas

4 kamatis

2 puso ng saging

siling pansigang

4 tali talbos ng kamote

asin

Paraan:

1. Palambutin ang baka.

2. Ilagay ang kamatis, bayabas, at sili. Pakuluan hanggang sa maluto ang bayabas at kamatis.

3. Ilagay ang puso ng saging at timplahan ng asin.

4. Pagkaraan ng 5 minuto ay ilagay na ang talbos ng kamote, patayin ang apoy at takpan ang

kaldero.

Tofu and Pork with Black Beans

I love pork and tofu especially when paired with congee. It is one of my favorite combinations.

Aside from pairing tofu and pork with congee, I also have this recipe using the two ingredients. And this I want to share with you.


Ingredients:

500 grams pork, cubed (preferably kasim or porkloin)
1 block tofu, fried and cubed
1 cup pork broth
garlic, crushed
onion, diced
ginger, stripped
1/2 c black beans
1 115 g. tomato sauce
kinchay
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Boil pork until tender, reserve the broth. Saute ginger, garlic, onion and black beans. Add the pork, tomato sauce and pork broth. Simmer for 12 minutes. Add the tofu, season with salt and pepper, simmer for 3 minutes. Add the kinchay and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Roast Chicken

I want to dedicate this post to Avi, my friend from Australia. She generously shared with me the recipe for this roast chicken. It is very easy to do. My family and friends love it so much, delicioso!!!

Roast Chicken

whole chicken

1 whole head of garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp dried oregano, finely chopped

2 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tbsp. oil

juice from 1 lemon


Marinate the whole chicken in all of the above ingredients (best to marinate it overnight). Put chicken into roasting tin or pyrex dish and roast for an hour or so on 400 degrees Farenheit oven. I roasted it for 1 1/2 hours because I like the skin to be a little crispy.

Tip: How to tell if the chicken is cook already? Prick the part between thigh and breast and if clear juices come out it's cooked.

Lasang Pinoy 12: Pinoy Pizza

Fusion is the topic of this month’s Lasang Pinoy event which is hosted by Ces. According to Encarta Dictionary fusion food is food with international influences: a style of cooking that uses ingredients and techniques from around the world, especially one that combines Eastern and Western influences.

Globalization plays an important role in the evolution of Filipino fusion cuisine. High-paying jobs overseas lure many Filipinos away from the Philippines. I can say that there’s nothing wrong with migration because it improves lives of our countrymen. Immigrants to a country bring in their culture traits and some kind of exchange of cultural characteristics will ensue.

Many pinoy fusion cuisines were created out of sheer desire of our “kababayans” to bring with them the taste of food back home. Not all local ingredients can be found in other countries, that’s why Filipinos substitute the ingredients which are available in their host country just to satisfy their longing for pinoy food. And from that Filipino ingenuity, I think pinoy fusion foods were born. In London, they used English leeks and lemons for their sinigang because our souring agents like kamias (bilimbi), sampaloc or santol are not available there.

With regards to Cendrillon (although I haven’t yet been to NY), they offer fusion cuisine not only for Filipino palates but also because they want to capture the taste of other nationalities.

For this LP event, I chose Pinoy Pizza as my entry. Filipinos love to eat pizza, that’s why there are many pizza parlors here in the country and also some restaurants here are offering different kinds of pizza.

According to Wikipedia, in its original form, a pizza is an oven-baked, flat, usually circular bread covered with tomato sauce and cheese with optional toppings. The cheese is usually mozzarella, or sometimes mixture of several cheeses such as parmesan, romano, and ricotta. Various other toppings may be added.

The etymology of the word pizza is disputed. The form pizza first appears in Naples in 16th century. Pizzo, which means point in Italian, may have been an influence.

Our family loves pizza. Well, I would say that not all day can we afford to buy pizza at Yellow Cab, Shakeys, Don Henricos, CPK or Pizza Hut that’s why I always make it a point to find some way to serve it to my family without spending too much. Like Lumen in the Surf detergent soap commercial, I’m also a wais (wise) mom.

This is my version of pinoy pizza. I used sisig, diced onion and cheese as toppings. You can also use pork or chicken adobo as topping.





Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
6 (individual size) pizza crust (store-bought)
1 can sisig (either Argentina or Purefoods)
2 onions, diced
cheese, grated
1 small pouch Del Monte Pizza Sauce (Italian Style)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread a layer of cheese on the dough before brushing with the sauce (this makes for a crispier crust). After putting the sauce, add the toppings then put more cheese if desired. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melted.

Note: I was listening to GMA's grandstanding (ngek SONA pala) while cooking this.

Lasang Pinoy 11: SUMMERTIME

I always remember my summer days spent in Sibul, San Miguel, Bulacan. My grandparents from my father’s side purchased a parcel of agricultural land there. It was our vacation house. A small spring was located in our land. There, we got our water supply for drinking, cooking, taking a bath, etc. The water was very clean and we didn’t experience stomach upset drinking spring water.

I remember the food being served by my lolo’s kasama. Every morning we always had fresh carabao’s milk poured in very hot cooked rice. My brother always seasoned it with sugar but I preferred salt. They also served us crispy fried small bulig and/or hito which they got from the rice field. As dipping for the fried fish, they boiled young tamarind fruits and mashed it. The desserts were either fresh watermelon or pastillas de leche. San Miguel Bulacan is very famous for their pastillas. They are using fresh carabao’s milk in making this.

For lunch, we usually had sinampalukang native chicken or native chicken adobo. The corn soup they prepared was also very tasty. What they used for the soup were native corns they planted.

I also loved the taste of boiled native corn. So sweet, soft and delicious, and they also called it lagkitan because it was sticky.



I also remember the camatsile trees; I can say that the fruit was big and so sweet. I never tasted sweet camatsile here in Manila. At night, we always had a game with my siblings. We took out the black covering of the camatsile seeds, the first one to finish 10 camatsile seeds without showing the white flesh just only the brown covering of the seeds was the winner.

That time there was no electricity in Sibul. We used gas lamp or coleman. And the trees outside the house were full of flying fireflies. What a sight to behold. There were no mosquitoes there.

Unfortunately, when my grandfather died, his children sold the land. So now what remains of this land are only memories.

Thanks for hosting our LP 11, JMom.

Lasang Pinoy 10: Food Memories from Childhood

Cocinero of Buhay Cocinero hosted this Lasang Pinoy event for May. It is all about the food we enjoyed eating during our childhood.

I would say that I'm a Marcos baby. Being born a year after Marcos assumed the presidency. I was 6 years old when Marcos declared Martial Law. My middle childhood years were spent outside our house. It was still safe then to let the children play outside. In the afternoon around 4pm, because that was the time my mom would allow us to go outside after sleeping, we always bought binatog or nilupak. My siblings and I collected used bottles to be exchanged from a pack of caramel popcorn.

(my version of nilupak, boiled cassava with butter and brown sugar)

After playing with siato or capture, we always bought scramble (strawberry flavor for me). It was really a wonderful treat after all the running and sweating. We always watched the basketball tournament every summer in the basketball court about 50 meters from our house. We really enjoyed cheering for our favorite team. There, we bought fish balls and sago't gulaman or cotton candy from an ambulatory vendor.

In school, I used to eat nutribun with star margarine during recess period, I loved it so much. After school, I used to buy manggang hilaw with eco (shrimp paste and salt). I remember that I always bought mansanitas and buko-bukohan (that's a small fruit which looks like a very small buko and the flesh of it tastes like buko, too). Unfortunately, I don't see these fruits now in the market.

Tira-tira, sergs, curly tops, milo, flat tops were some of my favorite candies.

When we were sick, my mother would always give us Royco noodle soup or santa softdrinks and sky flakes. Well, santa and sky flakes cracker are still available in the market now but I don't know with Royco.

It is very refreshing to reminisce our childhood days. Those are unforgettable memories that make me happy.

Lasang Pinoy 9: Chicken Liver Hawaiian

Lasang Pinoy 9 which is hosted by Cia of Pabulum focuses on internal organs of animals (offal). Offal is discarded by some people as refuse. Filipinos love to eat internal organs of animals like gizzard, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, intestines and even the blood.

There are many of my favorite recipes wherein we use offal, like bopis, papaitan, batchoy, kare-kare, adobong atay/balun-balunan, igado, liver steak and my entry for this LP event which is the chicken liver hawaiian. Some pinoys cook kare-kare with oxtail and tripe only, and some cook it with ox feet and tripe. In our family, we cook kare-kare with oxtail, ox feet, tripe, and ox intestines.

Since I was a child, I really loved to eat liver. I usually asked my mom to cook fried ox liver for me. My mom was the one who influenced me so much with my preference for liver because I always saw her eating it that time because she had anemia. Her doctor advised her to eat liver, sweet potato tops, and bitter gourd (ampalaya).

I remember also that my brother hated liver so much. He had a yucky feeling with liver-eating; he told me he usually thought of aswang every time he saw me eating fried liver. But when we were studying in Quiapo, that was from 1979-1982, we found this restaurant at the last floor of the old Good Earth Emporium. This restaurant served the most delicious liver sandwich I ever tasted. As proof of its deliciousness, my brother finally ate liver. We really tried to save our allowances, so that every Friday we could go and eat to that restaurant. We used to order liver sandwich and milk shake. After the closed down of Good Earth Emporium, my brother stopped eating liver.

I went to Carriedo about a month ago because I heard that Good Earth Emporium is open again. But I was really disappointed when I found out that the old restaurant is not there anymore. And the new building looks like 168 Mall in Divisoria not the Good Earth Emporium before.

Enough of my reminiscing, I would like to share this chicken liver recipe which I got from Kitchenomics. I’m a loyal user of Del Monte products that’s why I usually try all of the recipes I got from the net, booklets, and recipe books.

Chicken Liver Hawaiian

Ingredients:
½ kilo chicken liver, cut in half
1 can (439 g) Del Monte Fresh Cut Pineapple Tidbits, drained (reserve syrup)
3 medium saba bananas, sliced and fried
1 medium carrot, cut into strips
1 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

Procedure:
Marinate liver in 1 tbsp. soy sauce, pineapple syrup, ¼ tsp. pepper and ¼ tsp. iodized salt for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve marinade. Fry liver in oil until light brown. Set aside.
Stir-fry carrot in 2 tbsp. margarine until half tender. Add ¾ cup water, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, ¾ tsp. iodized salt (or 1 ½ tsp. rock salt), ¼ tsp. pepper and marinade. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add fried liver, dissolved cornstarch, banana and Del Monte Fresh Cut Pineapple Tidbits. Continue simmering for 3 minutes.

Baked Milkfish in Teriyaki Sauce

We went to my sister-in-law’s house in Paranaque last Sunday. It was her son’s 6th birthday and at the same time, a family get-together. We had Italian-style spaghetti, roasted chicken, fresh vegetable salad, and baked milkfish (bangus) for lunch. We really loved the taste of the baked fish, and from what I learned from my sis-in-law, she used teriyaki sauce for this recipe. She was quite busy at that time that’s why I didn’t have a chance to ask her what some of the ingredients in this recipe are.

Since I bought a big milkfish last Monday (about a kilo/piece), I decided to bake the fish. I will just name my recipe as “Baked Milkfish in Teriyaki Sauce” since I just invented this recipe inspired by my sis-in-law’s version of baked milkfish.



I deboned the milkfish, removed the scales, and cut it into four. I placed it in a square pyrex dish. I added some salt and pepper, crushed garlic, diced onions, basil leaves (the one from McCormick), few drops of sesame oil, and 5 small sachets of teriyaki sauce (this teriyaki sauce I got from an eyeball (EB) I attended last year courtesy of Sysu). I baked it for around 35 minutes at 350˚F. Before serving, I put some onion leeks.

What can I say with my experiment? Well, we loved it so much. It’s really delicious, actually more delicious than my sis-in-law’s version (hehehe, so boastful of me). But I think I will do some justice with this recipe if you will also try to cook it. Enjoy eating!!!

Food Trip: UVA

Internet helps me to find some of my friends online. I found my long-lost bestfriend from the net. She lives in Los Angeles, California. She is 3 years my senior but we became very closed to each other when we were in high school. For me, she is the older sister I never had. She came to visit us last February. The last time I saw her (prior to the visit) was more than 25 years ago. I really missed her a lot and I was very very happy to see her again.

We met at Galleria, Makati. I hugged her so tightly when I finally saw her. I could say that she still looked young. We laughed a lot reminiscing our old days together; talking about our teenage experiences, our crushes, etc. Some of our conversations about our present life situation were already discussed from a hundred and one phone calls (uber) from her before her visit.

One of the restaurants she wanted to visit here is UVA. She has a TFC channel in the US, and one time she saw UVA being featured in one of the channel's lifestyle show. What stucked in her mind is the "chocnut ice cream" of UVA. So we went to UVA to have lunch, that's in Greenbelt 3 (restaurant strip of Greenbelt).

UVA's interior has a Filipino touch. They used tables made of wood. Upon entering the resto, you will see a table in the center full of different wines. The place is not brightly-lit, some drop-lights adorned the ceiling.

This bowl of different fried foods is being served before our main course arrived. It is composed of garlic bread, fried thinly-sliced camote and banana.


We ordered this UVA salad. It has lettuce, white cheese, seedless grapes, and walnuts. I would say that this is the best vegetable salad I've ever tasted. I really love the slight saltiness of the white cheese (kesong puti), the sweetness of the grapes, and the sourness of the dressing. Plus the fact that the lettuce were very crispy and the walnuts so crunchy. The right combination of flavor satisfied my palate. I think they used lemon juice and some olive oil for dressing.



My friend ordered this "pesang lapu-lapu" which was wrapped in a banana leaf. The aroma of the fish permeates once she opened the wrapper. The food was really delicious.

I ordered callos. It was served with yellow rice and ensalada made up of onion, tomatoes, coriander, and some sigarillas (I don't know the English term, sorry). I actually didn't enjoy the taste of the callos. I think they should add more tomato/tomato paste. UVA's callos was bland.

We also ordered bagnet. It is served with tofu, mung beans soup, and white rice. The bagnet was delicious and crispy also but still incomparable with the genuine Ilocos bagnet.

We didn't forget to order the famous "chocnut dirty ice cream" of UVA, unfortunately, I forgot to take the picture of it. It tastes like the real chocnut, only creamy and cold.

Lasang Pinoy 8: Tuna Spread

I learned my basic knowledge on cooking from my mother. She started to take me to the wet market to buy ingredients for our meals when I was around 10 years old. She taught me how to choose fresh meat or fish and even fruits and vegetables. My mom is not the type who haggles for merchandise, what’s important for her is the freshness and the quality of the things we buy. I am not good in buying goods from Divisoria or tiangge because of my mom's influence, instead of getting the merchandise cheaper, I usually end up paying more.

If I'm not busy with my studies she would asked me to help her in the kitchen. She first taught me to prepare ingredients; slicing and paring vegetables. She patiently explained to me that one of the secrets of delicious cooking is in the sautéing; many of the viands we cooked (that’s the tagalog way) start from sautéing. “Always make the garlic a little brown (do not roast it unless you’re using it as topping for congee or other soups); when the onion is translucent in color, that’s the time you should add the tomatoes; cook the tomatoes thoroughly until you squeeze all the juices; put the ginger first in sautéing before the garlic (when the ingredients has ginger on it).” That’s some of her tips in sautéing.

I started to teach my son, Aldrin, to cook when he was 11 years old. Even though he is a boy, he should still learn to cook or prepare meals. I told him that time will come that he will live away from us or he will have his own family, and he will definitely use this cooking knowledge. I explained to him that helping his wife (when he’s married already), will not lessen his masculinity. I didn’t get a hard time teaching him because he is a great fan of “Iron Chef” and one of his dreams is to become a chef. I also know that he got his inspiration from me because he always sees me enjoying my cooking and baking.

Since he is a little busy nowadays because of his graduation practices, I instructed him to make this easy sandwich spread. It’s a no-cooking recipe. He loves tuna spread very much that’s why I chose this as my entry to our LP8 which is hosted by pretty Iska of Edible Experiments.

Tuna Spread
Ingredients:
1 pack mayonnaise or mayo magic
1 small can tuna flakes in oil
salt to taste

Procedure:

Drain the tuna, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Himbabao

I mentioned himbabao in my previous blog. I included this vegetable in my pinakbet recipe which I learned from a panggalatok vegetable vendor. Many of my fellow bloggers requested me to show a picture of this vegetable. I described it as caterpillar-like veggies. Since himbabao is only available every summer (because I don’t see himbabao in the market when summer is over), I can now post it in my blog.

Himbabao (Broussonetia luzonica (Blanco) Bur. var. luzonica family Moraceae) or alucon (tagalog version according to the veggie vendor) is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a height of 15 meters and a diameter of 30 cm. The leaves are alternate with pointed apex and rounded base. The lower surface is hairy. The flowers are very small and are borne on very long, slender, spike-like flowering branches.

This species is distributed in the Philippines, from Luzon to Mindanao. It is commonly found in thickets and second-growth forests at low and medium altitudes.

The young leaves and flowers are cooked and eaten as vegetables. They could be cooked solely, or in mixture with other vegetables just like what I’m doing with my pinakbet. The flowers can also be made into a delicious salad. Actually, the caterpillar-like part of the vegetable is the flower.

Just like other plants, himbabao can be propagated by seeds, or by cutting from matured branches. Alucon is considered as wildfood plants.

Lasang Pinoy 7: Eggs

Gising, mag-ALMUSAL na tayo is the topic for Lasang Pinoy 7 which is hosted by Joey of 80 breakfasts. Breakfast, agahan, or almusal is the day’s first meal. Eating breakfast not only fuels the body to help provide stamina, it is also very important for weight management and weight loss. It helps curb our hunger and prevent binge eating later in the day. We really should "Breakfast like a King, lunch like a lord and dine like a pauper…."

When I was a child, breakfast for our family usually composed of hot toasted pandesal from Juat bakery, different kinds of spread; kesong puti, cheese with anchor butter, fried eggs; and hot coffee or milk.

When I reached my teenage years, I started skipping breakfast. I just drink coffee or milk before going to school. I didn’t have enough time to eat because I usually woke up late (typical teenage habit).

I started eating rice for breakfast when I was working already. I need extra energy to be able to work efficiently. I feel exhausted every time I don’t eat enough.

According to a book I read, breakfast is even better with protein. Eggs are a great source of protein, vitamins like B and K as well as folic acid. And since there are many easy ways in preparing eggs, I usually cook it for breakfast. But as much as possible I limit our egg intake for 2-3 times a week.

Whenever I want the pares-type (pair) breakfast; like tapsilog, longsilog, tuyosilog, I usually cook egg sunny-side up or omelette-style. Sometimes I add garlic, onion and tomatoes for my scrambled egg.



I also cook corned beef with scrambled egg. My son loves it so much. I just mix the corned beef with egg and fry it just like in tortang giniling.

Carrot-Raisin Bars

Now that I’m enjoying baking, I gain extra pounds as a consequence. I couldn’t resist eating a lot. I really made a point to use the freshest and finest ingredients every time I bake. My hubby and son love to eat what I bake. My hubby is also giving his officemates some of the goodies because he is really so proud of the taste of it.

Every time I eat, guilt sets in. How can I lose weight or even maintain my present weight if I don’t get rid of those calories from cakes? Well, I read from many dieting books, eating vegetables is healthy. So, since I love to eat, I chose this cake recipe with carrots. Since carrot is a vegetable then I’m now eating healthy (hahaha, what a logic!). I have this carrot-raisin bars recipe which is really delicious and nutritious but still loaded with fats and calories. At least, I actually get rid of a little of the guilt I feel because there's vegetable in my cake.

Do I make sense here? Oh, well never mind. I just love to share this recipe with you and from now on I’ll tell myself that even I’m plump, I still look beautiful and sexy (hahaha).

Carrot-Raisin Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup softened margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup unsifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9”x13” baking pan. Mix sugar and margarine. Add eggs and vanilla; beat. Stir in dry ingredients. Add raisins and carrots; stir. Spread mixture into baking pan; sprinkle with walnuts.
Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool; cut into bars.

Hello, Baking!

After my unsuccessful attempt in baking about 7 years ago, I found the courage to try it again. But before I started, I bought some baking equipment especially the oven thermometer. It is necessary that you have the right oven temperature while baking. Now I know that the failure in baking lies in the temperature and measurement of ingredients.

I started baking banana cake. My friend Nora shared to me her simple banana cake recipe. Hooray!!! I got it right. Well, maybe it’s just a simple recipe that’s why I successfully made it.

I became a little adventurous, I started baking brownies. The first attempt of baking brownies was a real failure; I called it “roasted brownies.” But I don’t lose hope and said to myself, “C’mon Lani, you can try it again.” Here’s my recipe for brownies which I got from Del Monte kitchenomics website. And I’m happy I did it perfectly.

Fruit Cocktail Brownies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup margarine or butter
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 pcs eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp iodized fine salt
1 can (439 g) Del Monte Fiesta Fruit Cocktail
½ cup roasted cashew nuts

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Melt margarine in sauce pan over low heat. Add cocoa. Remove from heat. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, fruit cocktail and nuts.
Pour onto greased rectangular pan (13” x 9”). Bake for 45 minutes or until brownies start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool slightly. Cut into bars.


Moral of my story: “Try and try until you succeed.”