Cooking Tips

Here are some practical cooking tips from my kitchen to yours . . .

cooking eggs (hard boiled)

- 7 minutes at boiling temperature for chicken eggs

- 5 minutes at boiling temperature for quail eggs

peeling garlic

- it is very tiring to peel  garlic in big bunch - try submerging it in water for around

10 minutes and it will peel off easily ;-D

excessive salt when cooking

this can be remedied by adding diced potatoes, tomatoes or a little sugar to the dish you are cooking

teary-eyed  when slicing onions

try smiling he he he . . . refrigerate the onion for a little while before slicing, it helps!

making tomatoes last longer

try putting you tomatoes on your kitchen counter not inside your ref ;-D . . .

more kitchen tips coming up!

hope this could help in making our days in the kitchen super sunny ;-D

Back to My World!

 The cooking mom is back and this time with a big bang! :-D

Taking inspiration from a very good friend's cooking, I did not hesitated at all to appear on TV and showcase my passion for homecooking!  Yes, mamma mia! Am on TV and it's for real :-D

I'm confident that what we've prepared for the show tasted well because I've been doing those dishes over and over again.  Those were recipes I learned to cook through my friend's blog.

Of course, I had the jitters but it was very inspiring on my part to be rubbing elbows with ABS CBN's Mario Valentino since not all creatures has the same luck as mine ;-D  Many thanks too to his crew for the good angles as shown on TV.

With this very enriching experience, my passion for blogging and cooking has been awakened and am proudly declaring, I AM BACK!

Thank you dear friends for the very overwhelming support.  It meant a lot and won't be forgotten for a long, long time.

Best of my Garden Nowadays

pechay by golly wow!

A taste of Atis (sugar-apple)

Gardening - my favorite pastime always makes me stress-free!  The greens are a sight to behold while the sweet fruits of the atis could make you utter  - life is good!

I still have a lot of seeds waiting to be sown.  I am just waiting for the right time - the rainy season! 

A few months from now, I'll no longer wish  for fresh veggie overload!

Fresh and Green

Comfort food from my garden ;-D

Sinigang na Hipon at Bangus

The weather here is Gensan is getting colder nowadays owing to the  rainshowers every now and then.  On days like this, I always make sure that  the kids have a  soupy dish to partake on at meal time.  I tried  combining fish and shrimp for sinigang and the result was simply irresistible!

Ingredients:

1 pc boneless bangus (around 400 gms)

1/2 kilo of fresh shrimps

sitaw, talong, kangkong (the vegies available in my garden)

souring agent ( sampalok/kamias/kalamansi)

tomatoes, onions, green chili, and a little vegetable oil

fish sauce to taste

• Saute the onions and tomatoes.
• Add the fish and the shrimp and put in water.
• Bring to a boil for a few minutes.
• Add in the veggies (make sure you don't overcook it ;-D)
• Add  lastly, the souring agent (sampalok/camias/kalamansi) and the fish sauce.
•  Serve with newly cooked plain rice!  Enjoy!

Super Baby Shrimps

I came across these super fresh baby shrimps during the early morning mangrove planting we had yesterday. Can't help it but beg the lady carrying a bagful of this to sell a portion of it to me. Good thing that she succumbed to my charm and persistence ;-D

During brunch, I prepared these two simple dishes out of the 10-peso worth of baby shrimps I bought earlier.

okoy

This used to be a childhood fave of mine. I  could still remember  the smell of of our house then - an aroma that could make everybody present there - frown ;-D However, buying those freshly caught from the bay shrimps made me see the difference between fresh and not so fresh seafood commodities. It's glaring! Yes, mamma mia, even my kid who was awakened by the delicious smelling dish I was frying can attest to my findings ;-D

Ingredients:
baby shrimps
beaten eggs
salt, pepper, garlic powder
spring onions
vegetable oil

Mix the first four ingredients and deep fry in vegetable til it turns golden brown.
Best served with vinegar and garlic dipping sauce.

law-uy

so easy to prepare . . . I just picked all the available veggies in my garden. Cooked in boiling water without oil . . . ahhh so refreshing to the palate!  Could make you crave for more . . .

Hmmm Marang

This is one of my favorite fruits

The marang tree of my uncle is at the peak of its fruiting season now. Fruits looking like christmas lanterns made me salivate everytime I look at them ;-D

I was awakened this morning by the very sweet smell of this heavenly treat. My uncle picked several tree-ripened marangs and with his generosity it reached our dining table at once. ;-D

True enough, it was bliss!

flesh so white, sweet, and tender
what more can I ask for?

Can't hardly wait for the next batch of fruits to ripen ;-D