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!

Stir Fried Shrimps and Sitaw (Long Beans)

I harvested my first batch of organically grown sitaw (long beans) over the weekend from my side yard garden. It was an awesome harvest! Literally, they were very long - 20 inches and more!

Wasted no time in stir frying the fresh veggies with fresh vanna mei (white shrimps). The result was excellent! Perfectly cooked mouthwatering seafoods and veggies :-D

Best served with steamed rice!

All About Tomatoes

My garden of tomatoes finally yielded lots of vine ripened fruits. The harvest was awesome. I was not able to share yet my harvest with neighbors for I used all of the vine ripened tomatoes I picked in preparing our breakfast over the weekend :-D Promise, next time I'll be a lot more generous ;-)

the fried small dried fish went well with lots of juicy and crisp tomatoes

blanched freshly picked camote tops with onions and tomatoes
the dressing? organic vinegar and fish sauce :-D

along with these mouth watering dishes, I also made fried rice with basil . . .
. . . perfect!

ahhh tomatoes :-D

Easy Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients:
10 - 15 pcs shrimps
white wine
lots of garlic
pepper
red chilies
sesame oil

Thai fish sauce

you just mix all the ingredients in a pan and steam for six (6) minutes and voila! You have a a dish that is best served with white rice :-D and eaten with your bare hands :-D

My First Try with Thai Inspired Cooking

My holy basil (courtesy of Gay) is now in full bloom. I already tried making tea using its leaves and it was simply rejuvenating, now it's time to try cooking holy basil the way my friend does it!

I used ground pork, lots of garlic, a few Philippine chilies (my Thai chilies are due for harvesting few weeks from now :-D), a cupful of freshly picked holy basil. . .

I used the wok in stir frying all the ingredients . . .

the finished product!

bits and pieces:

• Holy basil is known as Kraphao in Thai language (best used for cooking!)
• According to Wikipedia, it is Ocimum tenuiflorum
• For the Indians, it is known as Tulsi or Tulasi (an anti-stress remedy)

:-D be prepared with your hankies while preparing this recipe because you will be sneezing all the way . . .

Roasted Chicken and Steamed Veggies

(tnx to Mam Gene Gales for the pic!)

I had a blast when I turned a year older two weeks ago. It was supposed to be an intimate dinner with my hubby and kids but friends and dear cousins came rushing in at dinner time to celebrate my day.

We had cakes, ice cream, noodles (spaghetti, palabok and pancit canton) and roasted chicken to feast on.

The cook in me turned into a kitchen masterpiece the simple roasted chicken pictured above and honestly, it was a big hit!

Green vegetables from my neighbor and mine's sideyard and backyard gardens completed my improvised recipe. I blanched in boiling water freshly picked okra, eggplant and kangkong leaves for a few minutes. I immediately dipped the blanched veggies in iced water and presto - we had green and crisp veggies ready to be served with fresh red tomatoes on top and sauteed bagoong on the side.

Cooking time and preparation took me less than five minutes! :-D