Simple Christmas Feast

Noche Buena

Barbecued spareribs

appetizer (chili spring rolls)

lumpia shanghai

shrimps in chives and chili sauce

steamed blue crabs

Merry Christmas, everyone!

from: your cooking mom and her family!

Bistek, Alimango at Biko

My eldest daughter, Rafee, is here for a short Christmas vacation. She arrived last Saturday morning via the early Cebu Pacific flight from Manila.

Upon arriving home, we had this ground beef cooked Pinoy Bistek style with fried potatoes on the side served for brunch.

For Sunday, I prepared steamed crabs with lots of garlic bits . . . and

my very special biko!

My daughter will be here for only two weeks before she goes back to Manila for her studies so am doing all I can despite the busy sched to prepare dishes special to my heart! :-D

Stir Fried Eggplant

My eggplant in the garden is in the peak of its fruiting season. Much to mine and my neighbor's delight. There is not a single day now that we do not have eggplant in our dish.

Over the weekend, I made this stir fried eggplants with thai chilies. So easy to make with all the ingredients around.

ciao!

Jasmine's Treat

My youngest kid, Jasmine, surprised me with her honors card and ribbon proudly posted in our ref when I arrived home from an out of town trip yesterday. The ever busy mom felt guilty upon realizing the effort exerted by my baby to be acknowledged :-D

Aside from the hugs and kisses we gave her, I prepared extra special tuna balls for her and her classmates to feast on during their christmas party today.

The busy mom woke up very early to prepare a super healthy piece for the KD II of GSC Elementary School for the Arts :-D. Sliced into small bits a lot of carrots, bell pepper, and spring onions. Opened a 1.8 kilo can of tuna flakes in oil, drained this thoroughly and seasoned it with a dash of salt, pepper and sesame oil. Combined everything in a bowl and with the freshest eggs around, the mixture was completed.

I then formed the mixture into balls and fried it in vegetable oil. The end result made me heave a big sigh of relief for Jasmine now has the tastiest and healthiest tuna meatballs to bring to their potluck.

Sweet blend catsup served as dip. My food tasters in the house all exclaimed "ang sarap!" when given a sample. :-D

I hope the KD II pupils of GSCSA enjoyed it as much also!

Another Yummy Weekend Brunch

Again, woke up very early last Saturday and had my morning walk at Gensan's wet market. Fresh seafoods spread out by the vendors in front of the bustling supermarket crowd made me wish for more weekends to come :-D

Here are my top picks for our Saturday brunch!

Seaweed (lato) salad

This is very rich in iodine and several minerals. Best served with sliced fresh tomatoes, calamansi, onions and Thai chilies. Drizzling it with organic vinegar is a welcome add on.

Paksiw na Buntot ng Tuna (Tuna Tail)

This is not only tasty but budget-friendly as well :-D

Ingredients:
ginger, garlic, pepper corns, thai chilies, fresh from the garden talong/eggplant
organic vinegar, vegetable oil, water, salt

Best cooked in a pot that is open while it is boiling - to let the acid escape. After awhile cover the pot again and simmer over low heat.

This dish is best served with plain rice (lots of it!) :-D

Another Weekend Lunch

I just love Saturdays and Sundays because of this . . .

tinolang danggit with the freshest camote tops

steamed freshwater beaming with fats crablets

Herbs in the Kitchen

Inside my kitchen, herbs such as dill, basil and oregano are not only used for cooking. They also serve as air freshener :-D I so love scents of these herbs . . . .

Pork Hamonadobo

Jinky's Pork Hamonadobo

My way of cooking Pork Hamonado is very much the same with that of my Pork Adobo. I don't use vinegar anymore in preparing this dish. I use pure pineapple juice instead that is coupled with pineapple tidbits.

My kids love this as much as I do!

So Pinoy Weekend Lunch

steamed veggies with tomatoes and fish sauce

sinabawang Imbao

biko as dessert

a typical weekend lunch for us! :-D

Crisp Squid Calamari

Crispy squid calamari is easy to make! This is good for appetizer or party food recipe.

I went to the market last Saturday morning to scout for fresh seafoods. True enough, seafoods of all shapes and sizes were available (octopus, squids, tuna, anchovies, sea eels, mussels, etc. :-D name it and you have it!)!

My purchase for the day was composed of the following:

Big squid
(we call this kobotan - the kind with the cuttlebone for feeding to the birds)
Imbao
( a type of white clams - good for soups or may be grilled or cooked in butter and garlic)
Seaweeds
( we call this guso - good for kinilaw)
Sliced blue marlin
( best for tinola/prito/steak)

I will be sharing now with you my calamari recipe for the squid . . .

Ingredients:

• 3/4 kilo squid (sliced 1/2 inch thick)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 2 pcs. calamansi (squeezed)
  
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
  
• a pinch of ground black/white pepper

• flour
• 2 pcs. beaten eggs
  
• bread crumbs
  
• 1 cup (or more) vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients and marinate for at least an hour.
   
2. Coat one by one the marinated squid with flour. Place floured squid on a clean plate next to the beaten eggs, bread crumbs and stove.
3. Pour vegetable oil (about 1 inch deep) into a medium-sized frying pan. Once the oil heats up, turn the stove fire into medium-low to avoid oil splattering.
4. Dip the floured squid in beaten eggs and coat with the bread crumbs. Then it's ready for frying.
5. Fry coated squid slices for about 1 or 2 minutes. The calamari should turn light golden brown before taking out of the pan. Avoid over-cooking, or your calamari will turn rubbery.
6. When done frying, remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve immediately while still hot. Best served with mayonnaise and catsup as dip.
ENJOY!

Recipes of my other market finds will also be featured here soon :-D

Halloween Mini Feast

I made some preparation for my kids and their dear cousins during the halloween. It was quite taxing for me but the smiles I saw on their faces made me swear that I'll make it a lot better next time. For the kids, I can do anything, anytime :-D

Find it hard to look for mini pumpkin shaped baskets for the treats
so I settled for these masks instead :-D (next time, I hope there will be costumes already)

my dear friend Presy helped me in preparing these cookies . . .

while other stuffs, I bought from our supermarkets. . .

also made this

bloody red juice with hand-shaped ice

the kids enjoyed it a lot, so do I!

Birthday Fun and Food

It was a blast when my youngest daughter, Jasmine, celebrated her 6th birthday recently. She was in euphoria because all her friends and sisters were present on that day. Also happier was the mom who prepared all the food to be served because my daughters were there to lend their helping hands during the preparation. At the end of the day, I could still smile for I was not dead tired from all the cooking with them in attendance.

Only a few of the foods we prepared were captured on cam by my daughter -Mimi. But it's all worth it for they all came appealing to the eyes :-D

prepared choco fondue with marshmallows and stickos for dipping

our maja blanca with crushed nuts on top

kropeck with organic vinegar and chilies straight from my garden

octopus shaped hotdogs (Inspired by cooking mom-bloggers)

sweet spaghetti loved by the kiddos!

mixed noodles for long life!

there's a lot more to show but nevertheless, thank you, Mimi! you've done a great job in capturing these photos with the IPod . . .

Let's Eat Tuna Omelette

Gensan is best known for our tuna. According to the wikipedia, tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus.

Tuna meat/flakes can be sourced out here at much cheaper price. I usually stock on tuna for easy reach during times when I can't go to supermarkets. Just like last week, because of work and other activities overload I had, I was left with no choice but to cook meals with whatever available ingredients in the pantry.

I still have tuna cans and eggs so I decided to make an omelette.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 eggs
  
• 1 can of water-packed tuna
• garlic, onions, tomatoes
  
• cheese
  
• corn oil
  
• catsup
  

I sauteed in corn oil the garlic, onion, tomatoes and tuna. Seasoned it with a little bit of cheese, salt, and pepper. Once cooked, I set this aside.

I then pour blended eggs into a non-stick pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. While cooking over low heat, I added in the pre cooked tuna mixture. When eggs begin to firm, folded it in half and cooked for a couple more minutes on each side. Then placed on plate and drizzled with sweet blend DM catsup. Presto! I have a yummy fare for breakfast that is best served with rice or bread. :-D

Pancit Canton

I have been very busy the past few days. Busy with my job and my role as a mother. Nevertheless, I was still able to do some cooking for my kids.

I have to cook recipes that can be done in a jiffy. Whipped up this Pancit Canton Guisado in a matter of fifteen minutes :-D

The manner of cooking is very much like that of my stir fried Ramen. :-D

Stir Fried Fresh Veggies

Harvested this bunch of assorted veggies last Saturday morning.
Got some left over fried fish from our previous dinner.
Wasted no time in stir frying all of the above.
Resulted to a very crisp and green breakfast fare ! :-D

Gardening Perks and My Nilaga

I've been into gardening for almost five months now and the perks it is giving me is simply priceless!

Gardening now serves as my stress buster. It is very rewarding indeed because, aside from being able to share with others the fruits of my harvest, I am given the chance to have access to fresh veggies at all times.

Just this morning, I picked from the garden two ears of sweet corn and several string beans to become ingredients for my nilaga. A neighbor raising hogs organically, slaughtered one and gave me some "buto-buto" to be cooked according to my liking. :-D Thanks to Ms. Tina who came up with a very inspiring dish I would love to do too.

Pork Nilaga
Ingredients:
pork bones with lots of meat still intact
sweet corn
string beans
onions, garlic and ginger
peppercorns
Thai fish sauce

Boil in water the meat together with the spices for an hour or until the meat falls off from the bones. Add the sweet corn until it's cooked and lastly, put in the green veggies ( I just used string beans because I have not planted pechay/cabbage yet :-D). Season with Thai fish sauce.

Best served piping hot. Of course, please don't forget the steamed rice :-D!

Sauteed Shrimp Paste with lots of Tomatoes

According to wikipedia, the word "tomato" comes from the Nahuatl word tomatl, which means "the swelling fruit". It is known to be rich in lycopene. Botanically, it is known as a fruit but for culinary purposes, it is a vegetable.

For me, it doesn't matter at all if it's a fruit or a vegetable as long as I have a steady supply of it :-D

For several weeks now, literally, we had an abundant supply of these tomatoes fresh from my sideyard garden. It is very seldom that I prepare food without tomatoes as one of the ingredients now. From salad to soups to main courses, it's always there!

Last night, I tried using it as an appetizer. Sauteed lots of it with shrimp paste and some pork fats.

Ingredients:
oil from pork fats
garlic
onion
ripe tomatoes
thai chilies
locally produced shrimp paste

The result? An appetizing piece that would make you want or crave for more rice :-D

Scrambled Eggs with Hotdogs and Parsley

Got some parsley in my vegetable crisper so I decided to give my scrambled egg a little twist.

Frying some thinly sliced chicken hotdogs and sprinkling little salt and pepper completed my simple breakfast fare.

Bon appetit!