baby rambutan

if you're here....

2011-07-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

you are a friend of mine.
i transferred this blog to the worst host that could possibly be allowed to operate in the www....basically baby rambutan got kidnapped for ransom and now i'm agonizing about whether i should keep it up, in the long arduous process of transferring and keeping up her presence on the web i feel like i'm a fish swimming against the current.
there might be a grizzly waiting to devour me.

a new space

2005-08-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

..with lots of counterspace and storage, state of the art appliances, and a fresh clean start.
the new babyrambutan kitchen awaits you...

upside down cake

2005-08-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

this is the first cake i remember eating. my ma must have perfected it and served it as her signature mainstay eye popping dessert to countless family parties. i remember that her sisters (she has seven!) all had almost similar versions: canned pineapple slices which come out on top of a sponge cake base as you flip the pan over.
i haven't made this in a very long time--so long that my resident cake critic(#1 son) couldn't remember when was the last time.

i'd plucked a plump pineapple out of a very fragrant batch of Chiquita's at a very low price*, and when i sliced off its top the perfume was just so juicy sweet, i was tempted to eat it fresh. by myself heehee.
but no i resisted because i'd read it in another cookbook that upside down cake made from fresh pineapples is incomparable. i also used a buttery cake batter.

prepare a 10-inch pan by lightly greasing with butter. preheat the oven to 350F.
make the topping: in a heavy sauce pan, melt 4 tbsps. unsalted butter with 1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar . mix well until blended and syrupy.
spread the topping on to the greased pan. arrange slices of pineapple with maraschino cherries (make sure the fruits are well drained and patted dry).
set aside. (additional toppings, which i omitted for my ~~finicky~~discerningly tastebudded children: raisins, pecans or almonds.)
whisk together in a bowl 1 & 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 2 tsps. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt.
mix together 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup pineapple juice (if using canned, use the drained unsweetened juice, or from the carton, or orange juice), and 1/4 cup buttermilk.
in the bowl of your mixer, cream 6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, with 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar until fluffy. add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. beat in 1 tbsp. pure vanilla and 1/2 tsp. orange extract or Grand Marnier (orange liqueur).
add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in thirds, alternating with the rum juice mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
blend well until flour is well incorporated and batter is smooth.
scrape down the bowl.
pour the batter over the fruit in the pan.
bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake, but not down to the fruit, comes out with a few moist crumbs.
let cool in a rack for 10 minutes. set the serving platter on top, flip, and let rest for 10 minutes more. remove the pan. if some of the fruit is stuck to the bottom, just gently lift out w/ a thin spatula and rearrange...

(based on debbi fields' great american desserts. i omitted the addition of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves and used a simpler sugar topping).

*fellow Filipino foodfloggers...if i say my sentence above out loud, you will find out why i'm shy about speaking American English. apter a while my p's and f's and b's and v's get all wonky!

homey pizza

2005-08-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

i have to post this most delicious pizza dough that i found from "baking with julia."
it never fails to receive standing ovations from my favorite patrons...i think the thinner you can manage to roll it out on a nice stone peel (pizza pan thingy) --the crustier. i don't have one of those though...i just use 2 metal nonstick pans--one is perforated with holes and it comes out really crunchy, the other one just plain solid comes out softer and thicker.

the method seems involved and arduous but it really isn't. all it takes is timing: start the dough about 4 hours before you plan to serve. this recipe is enough for 2 10-inch pizzas. one kid friendly and one adult.

1 1/2 tsps. active dry yeast, i used Fleischmann
1 & 1/2 cups tepid water (80F--use an instant read thermometer, this is important to have the temp right
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 & 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, such as King Arthur's

this is the sponge or starter dough.
sprinkle water into the yeast in the bowl of your mixer. stir well until yeast starts to get creamy and let stand 5 minutes.

mix in olive oil and pour in 2 & 1/4 cups flour gradually until dough is blended well--texture will be loose and sticky. let rise in a warm place--85F--until doubled, about 1 & 1/2 hours, covered with a kitchen towel, undisturbed.

punch down dough with a spatula and in the mixer with a dough hook, add 2 cups flour and 3 tsps. salt on low speed. increase speed to medium and beat 4 to 5 minutes until dough is soft and sticks only a bit to your hands as you work it--add up to a 1/4 cup more dough by the spoonful until it is of right consistency.
set on a bowl that has been wiped with olive oil lightly and then turn around and around to coat evenly with the oil. cover with towel again and let rise until double, about an hour and a half more.

divide dough into two, and bake pizza one at a time.

preheat oven to 475F. roll out pizza on a cool surface (such as a marble slab) and roll out thinly to a round that fits the pan. allow the dough to rest every few minutes as you stretch it out.
spread your favorite pasta sauce (we like Classico Roasted Garlic), cover with grated mozzarella, parmesan, or romano, then pepperoni. my kids' all time favorite!

(my adult pizza toppings: thinly sliced fresh tomatoes, torn up anchovies, thinly sliced basil and oregano fresh from the garden, thinly sliced fresh mozzarella ball, thinly sliced red onion slivers and freshly ground black pepper. optional: crushed red pepper flakes. ahh! it was heavenly.)

bake for 13 minutes until edges are slightly puffed and deeply golden....
well worth the extra effort for the freshly baked dough.

okoy

2005-08-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

(or ukoy) vegetable fritters with shrimp

it's festival time. if you go to international food festivals around this area you will invariably bump into the Filipino booth where they serve deep fried spring rolls and pancit (stir fried noodle medley). sometimes you get lucky and find okoy.
you can use grated papaya, bean sprouts, grated potatoes, sweet potatoes or a combination! i love it with bean sprouts (trimmed rinsed, salted, drained, patted dry) and sweet potatoes and white potatoes, totaling about 4 cups of grated vegetables. i tried a new batter recipe. (adapted from "Asian Cookin", Sallie Morris and Deh-ta Hsiung.)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup potato starch
1 tsp. baking powder
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp. salt
(water to thin the batter as you desire)

mix together batter ingredients. you can do this two ways: mix in the grated vegetables into the batter before frying, or pour the batter into a shallow panful of hot vegetable oil, and,working quickly, spoon the vegetables over. constantly scoop the hot oil over the top. as it starts to set add the peeled deveined shrimps and julienned scallions. flip over very carefully.

or you can deep fry the okoy in very hot oil.

drain into paper towels and serve with a dip of coco vinegar, garlic, bird chilis and salt and pepper.

gustatory Tagalog

2005-08-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

a meditative post on the colorful language that i love...many words cannot be translated into English satisfactorily but i will try my best. i also noticed that almost all of the words can be applied to non food contexts, such as to people who behave in ways that leave that flavor in your mind.
see i grew up with a lola(grandma) who used to say: tela, add some hot water now!
tela: how hot, lol?
lola: maligamgam
tela: huh? how hot is that lol?
lola: malahininga (as hot as the breath you take)....

it occurred to me that there are so many words to describe the tastes and textures of food that i had to write them down as i remember them. please feel free to correct me: i am out of practice, as my husband is not Filipino and i am always a phone call away from speaking in my beloved native tongue.

masarap=delicious
malasa=tasty, flavorful
malinamnam=luscious, delectable
katakam-takam=appetizing
nalalasap=appetizing, lipsmacking good
matabang=lacking flavor (also applies to non-food situations, as in describing a person who fails to display enthusiasm or provides a lackluster effort; beware if you detect this flavor in a lover, potential lover, work colleague)
matapang (matindi)=strong as in coffee, or to describe intensely flavored food (contrast to above)
maasim=sour
matamis=sweet
nakakangilo=sweet to the point of toothache
maalat=salty
mapait=bitter
maango=smelly old stale?
maanghang=peppery, spicey hot
mapakla=acrid, leaves an unpleasant coating in the tongue such as when one eats fruit that is not quite ripe or when one witnesses meanness in another
nakakasunok or nakakasuya or nakakasawa=inducing a feeling of fullness to the point of nausea, or tiredness from eating the same food over and over again (same feeling you get when you feel like you've blogged the same food over and over again in different guises)
malansa=fishy, gamey; also applies to Filipinos who do not acknowledge their roots, according to Jose Rizal
madulas=slimey, as in okra
hilaw=unripe, uncooked; also refers to a half-baked effort or half-cooked strategy
(i.e., the post is so hilaw, it makes you wonder if it's...)
hinog sa pilit=refers to fruit that is picked before its prime (did blogger participate in something unwillingly?)and forced to speed-ripen far from the tree; therefore not as sweet or juicy
lihi=a pregnant mother's craved-for food; thought to imbue the infant in amnio with the food's qualities. i.e, if it is a sour food, the infant will be of sour countenance. i only remember the craving i had for my 3rd child, which was the Vietnamese beef soup, pho...i don't know yet how that has influenced my #2 son.
napaglihihan describes the food for which the mother craved for.
makati=induces a scratchy feeling in the throat, such as when anaphylactic shock is about to set in and choke the living daylights out of you for eating a forbidden allergenic food

and then there are the words to describe how a person enjoys food;
matakaw, masiba=gluttonous (one of the seven cardinal sins,#4 )
mahilig=(extreme) fondness bordering on lust(#7 on the list)
maganid=avaricious, greedy (#6 and #3 in the list that i had to memorize for the missionary sisters of saint joseph)
matipid=skimpy on money, portions or ingredients

i will be adding on to this list as i remember my words better. and i will try to add the appropriate accent/emphasized syllable.
see. i think if you undertake to do something you can't do it half heartedly.
otherwise, don't do it at all. you don't do it for others, you do it for yourself.
otherwise don't do it.
at all.

puchero story

2005-08-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

(kuwentong puchero)
a chicken and pork version of what we always used to have as beef and pork. interestingly, i adapted this recipe from "Asian Cooking", edited by Sallie Morris and Deh Ta Hsiung, where our cuisine is puzzlingly lumped together with Vietnamese.

put 3 chicken leg quarters and 4 country style spareribs (bone in) in a large pot. cover with enough cold water to cover by an inch. bring up to a slow boil, take out meats onto a colander, rinse lightly; discard the broth and clean the pot. yes it seems like a lot of work, but this i find produces a clearer broth.

return meats to pot, cover with water again, and bring to a boil. season with sea salt and peppercorns and a bay leaf and let simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.
remove spareribs and chicken from broth. separate chicken thigh from drum stick. reserve the broth.

in a large saute pan or wok, heat oil and saute 2 garlic cloves, smashed and sliced, 1 sliced medium onion, and 2 tomatoes, minced.

stir fry until onions are translucent and tomatoes are meltingly soft. add the chicken and pork and mix gently. pour about a quarter cup of broth and 1 14-oz can of chick peas, drained and rinsed. add 2 pieces of chorizo, sliced on the diagonal, 2 plantains, sliced into 3 inch pieces. (you may also add sweet potato, preferably the purple skinned white fleshed kind, typically labeled Japanese yam).
simmer gently until plantains and sweet potatoes are soft, about 12 minutes.
season with salt and pepper.

to the broth you may add your choice of green leafy vegetables. i prefer to use sliced Napa cabbage and baby bok choy (bok choy muoy) but others you can use are green beans, cabbage, broccoli or sweet pea pods. i also didn't have sweet potatoes on hand so i boiled baby white potatoes in the broth.

serve the sauted chicken and chicken pea mixture in a serving platter with bowls of soup, topped with the vegetables, alongside.
my kids loved the combination of chicken and sweet plantains and chorizos...they made what i call "rice floats" in their bowls of soup.

Lasang Pinoy #1: joy and pain

2005-08-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan. (for the country's progress, we need discipline.)
tangkilikin ang sariling atin. (buy Filipino)
ang Bagong Lipunan. (the New Society).

remember these Martial Law-era catch phrases?

i grew up with a strong awareness of the political events swirling all around in the years before 1972. i eavesdropped on the adults' discussions and sneaked away with the Philippine Free Press magazines that exposed the payola scandal, Congressman Quinteros, Dovie Beams, the Bloody Plaza Miranda rally.
my grandparents were loyal government servants in the presidencies of Magsaysay, Garcia and Macapagal...imagine their disgust, horror, and demoralization as they witnessed Marcos systematically dismantling the democratic processes and openly pillaging the treasury.
thus, to them Ninoy Aquino was a living, breathing, hero. they spoke of him as if they knew him intimately, as if he were a close relative.
on the declaration of Martial Law i remember that my lola bitterly proclaimed that it was a good thing lolo was gone, or else he would have been picked up and jailed alongside Ninoy for all his vehement opposition to the tyrannical ruler emerging...

i can't seem to tell this story without relating it with my lola (grandma).

in the spring of 1983 my lola suffered cardiac arrest following her mastectomy in a hospital in upstate New York. she thankfully bounced back and i was summoned to help her recover, taking a leave of absence from my remote job site in the mountains near Morong, Bataan.
around this time Ninoy was strategizing for his return home from exile, meeting with oppositionists and expatriates from all over the US.
we thought we had a chance to meet Ninoy when he was rumored to be giving a speech near our late great-uncle Miting's place in Norwich, NY. lola was strong enough to travel by then, and we all hied off only to be disappointed. also around that time we watched an interview with Ninoy on American television which greatly thrilled us by his eloquence and charisma. he said he yearned to go back, to touch the people's hands and to just be with the people.

so the hope of Ninoy coming home to challenge the dictatorship, the joy of seeing a healthy invigorated ex-political prisoner aboard a plane full of journalists, wearing a white travelling suit...all these dreams were dashed with a bullet to the head.

the country was stunned. the assassination was so bold and brazen, as if the perpetrators were completely assured of invincibility. it was the last straw for the Filipinos...most of whom were valiantly bearing hardship, breaking their backs, in the name of sustaining their families, in the midst of the harsh military regime masquerading as the New Society.

ninoy packing up at his home in Newton, Ma. (photo from "Aquino", World Leaders Series, Howard Chua-Eoan)

joy and pain, sunshine and rain...

for the first Lasang Pinoy food event cooked up by Karen and Stef i post two humble dishes that my lola prepared always together. she had many combinations: pancit luglog always with sinigang (tamarind soup), kare kare with adobo. puchero with broiled eggplant salad. no telling how the combinations came about but we just happily ate them. monggo guisado(stir fried mung bean) and lola's plain escabeche(sweet and sour fish sans embellishments) are two healthy and economical dishes that is typical of a home cooked meal, the kind that one would have on an ordinary day, or on a day when one sought comfort from sorrow.
it is unthinkable to have one without the other.

homely escabeche
1 cleaned and gutted white fleshed fish, preferably milkfish, or sea bass, grouper, salted
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1/3 cup shredded ginger
1 whole onions, sliced thinly
2 tsps. conrstarch dissolved in 2 tbsps. water

rice vinegar
granulated sugar
soy sauce

pan fry the fish, about 4 minutes per side, depending on its size, in a pan with vegetable oil. drain off excess oil. set aside to cool.
the proportions of vinegar, soy and sugar are according to your taste. i start off with equal amounts of each, then taste until it is to my liking. add water if necessary.
heat the solution to simmering. meanwhile stir fry the garlic, onions and ginger until fragrant. add the soy solution, bring up to a slow boil, and add the cornstarch mixture. stir until thickened. season with salt and pepper.
pour the sweet and sour sauce over the fried fish.

monggo guisado:
1 cup mung beans, rinsed, drained, boiled in 6 cups water until soft
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
2 tomatoes
1/2 lb. fatty pork
1/2 lb. shrimps, shelled, deveined, chopped
2 tbsps. bagoong (preserved bottled shrimp fry)
1 cup shrimp extract (pound the shrimp heads and shells and pour luke warm water over a strainer)
a cup of young pepper leaves, or a pack of frozen pepper leaves

put the fatty pork in a wok with enough water to cover. add salt and pepper, bring up to a boil, then when the water is almost gone, turn up the heat and brown the pork. remove to a plate and drain over paper towels.
in the rendered fat from the pork (add vegetable oil if it is too little), saute garlic, onions, tomatoes. add the extract, pork , and bagoong.
mix well and let simmer 5 minutes. add the monggo with its liquid, stirring constantly. add the shrimp and when it is pink and firm, add the pepper leaves.

never forget

"A time comes in a man's life when he must prefer a meaningful death to a meaningless life. I would rather die on my feet with honor, than live on bended knees in shame."
--Ninoy Aquino, from speech at his trial.

i returned to work. i remember the sultry Sunday afternoon when it happened. i felt a heaviness, hopelessness, disgust. unfortunately i was never able to witness the rallies and demonstrations; there were very few television sets in the place where i worked. word was sent up by my parents to stay put.
lola was back in Manila by then.
she lived three more years to see the day when Ninoy's widow would triumph over Marcos.

"L" right back at you thess!!!

saucy chocolate pudding

2005-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

...or messy cake?

this is my second attempt at a saucy chocolate pudding from Jacqueline Bellefontaine's "chocolates" from the how to cook series.

my kids love the messy gooey icing on the bottom. the batter is poured into a dish, then on top goes a watery chocolatey sauce. the whole thing bakes together then the sauce separates on the bottom for a pudding like consistency. yum!
(the first time i gave in to my self-doubts and let the cake bake longer...the sauce got absorbed by the cake. still great tasting and moist, but not pudding-y at all.)

sauce:
3 tbsps. Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
4 tbsps. light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot boiling water

mix together cocoa and sugar well. pour in enough water to make a smooth paste. pour in the rest of the water, whisking well to blend.

cake batter:
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 & 1/4 cups self rising flour
2 tbsp. Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
1 & 1/4 cups whole milk
2 & 3/4 ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up into pieces

preheat oven to 350F.
whisk flour and cocoa together.
heat milk gently, add chocolate and mix until melted.
cream butter and sugar until light.
add flour and cocoa to butter and sugar, then add the melted chocolate, beating well, until batter is smooth.
pour into greased pan (i used a 2-qt. pyrex oval). pour the sauce on top without mixing. bake 40 minutes until top is dry but still springy. let stand 5 minutes and sprinkle with pearl sugar (or confectioners' sugar). scoop with a large spoon into bowls.

strawberry raspberry gelato

2005-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

a visit to my friend mommyspots prompted this experiment. she's been trying out her battery powered ice cream maker that churns inside the freezer, coming up with English rose tea gelato.
how cool is that!
so i dug out my ice cream book and, under the influence of spots, and tried this gelato.

i added the raspberries because ~~they are on sale this week~~ i am a big fan of tangy.

3 cups of strawberries (a little less than a quart), washed, hulled, patted dry
1 cup raspberries (6 ozs.), briefly rinsed, dried
2 tbsps. sugar
3 tbps. lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup heavy cream

mix 2/3 cup sugar and water in a pan and bring up to a slow boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. cool to room temperature.

puree fruits with sugar in blender or food processor.
add fruit puree and lemon juice to the syrup, cover, and chill in refrigerator 2 hours.
stir in the cream, and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

prepared without a custard base, gelato is lighter, softer, and intensely flavored. the kids really loved the tangy sweetness, perfect for this hot steamy Saturday...
(based on a recipe from Sorbets and Ice Creams by Lou Seibert Pappas.)

oysters with ginger and scallions

2005-08-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

craving shellfish, i checked out the pint of shucked oysters...they raised the price by a dollar! hmph. still a bargain though--for 8 large pieces you get the dish for much less than ordering at the restaurant, and husband has graciously demurred, it is better. thanks hon.

the recipe is from Grace Young's compilation, The Breath of a Wok. it is tucked away under the title "Nevil Lim's Oyster Chicken", using chicken meat. but a closer look at the recipe made me think it'd be perfect for my fat oysters.

marinate the pint of oysters (i did not drain off its liquor) in 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. canola oil, 1 tsp. rice wine, 1/2 tsp. soy sauce, 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper and a drop of sesame oil. set aside.

in a small bowl combine 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tbsps. oyster sauce, 1/8 tsp. black soy sauce, 1/8 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. rice wine, 1/8 tsp. pepper, and a drop of sesame oil (notice i don't like to use too much of this strong flavor.)
set aside.

chop a bunch of scallions into 2-inch pieces, and lightly pound the white parts.
finely shred enough peeled ginger to make 1/4 cup.
finely slice a clove of garlic.
dredge the drained oysters in 1/3 cup of potato starch (cornstarch is a passable substitute) and let dry in a rack for 15 minutes.

heat up 1 cup of canola oil (or other flavorless oil) in a wok to 325F (test with a wooden chopstick to sizzling hot). carefully add the oysters, spreading out evenly in the wok. cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until light golden brown, turning with tongs. remove the oysters with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel-lined platter.

remove the oil and clean the wok. heat it again and add 1 tbsp. of oil. add the scallions and stir fry for 10 seconds. add the garlic and ginger, and stir fry 10 seconds more. add the oysters and stir in the broth mixture swirling and stir frying until just combined and the oysters are warmed through.

they turned out so sweet and luscious...

fine wheat vermicelli soup with meatballs and green gourd (miswa, bola bola at patola)

2005-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

i've wrestled with this bug so long it seems. i've tried to get rid of it naturally with ginger tea, chicken and ginger congee (rice soup or lugaw) , dozens of throat lozenges and honey ricola, fountains of water...it is one tough bug. i now have the gravelly raspy voice of a heavy cigarette smoker--better than yesterday when i teetered between squeaks and stage whispers--and my ears seem to be stuffed with cotton.
there's nothing like feeling sick to make you forlorn for the carefree days of youth, when all you had to do was seek solace from the warmth of a grandmother's lap....so i conjured up more soup visions, despite the sweltering heat, to transport me back to the days when my lola nursed me back from asthma attacks, hives, and the flu.
i had to consult with my ma in california for help with this recipe. the result: everyone liked it... i think we cranked up the a/c too high the kittens craved soup as well!

miswa con patola et bolabola, ole!

i found this beautiful gourd at the market and it smelled like it had just been picked. the scent of green. they're quite a sight, hanging down from trellises in the summer gardens around here where there are many Asian immigrant neighbors.

first start off with making your favorite chicken broth recipe. mine is quite plain, just three chicken "torsos" or about 2 lbs. of chicken bones, or 1 whole chicken leg quarter, with enough cold water to cover 1 inch, seasoned with 1-inch piece of peeled ginger, one peeled shallot, and enough salt and peppercorns according to your liking.

bring up to a boil, skim off the scum and simmer uninterrupted about 3 hours.

prepare pork meatballs:

1/2 lb. ground pork
2 tbsps. finely chopped onion
1 quail egg (or 1 egg, beaten but use only half; save the rest for another use)
a few drops of soy sauce or kikkoman
2 tsps. potato starch or corn starch
salt and pepper.

mix all ingredients well.

pinch off a teaspoonful with your fingers and roll around between the palms of your hands to shape into little balls.
heat vegetable oil, then pan fry until lightly browned. drain on paper towels.

for the miswa soup:
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 green gourd (patola) trimmed of top and bottom and sliced 1/8 inch across into rounds
4 ozs. misua (fine wheat vermicelli)
saute garlic, onions, and patola in vegetable oil until onions are fragrant and translucent. pour in about 6 cups of strained chicken broth. bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer about 10 minutes until the vegetable is somewhat soft but retains shape. add meatballs and 4 ounces misua(4 bundles from this box) and let boil 1 minute. immediately remove from heat and serve.

"detective" work ; shrugging off a bug

2005-08-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

i've been felled by a bug. same one that got #2 son last week when i took him to the pediatrician. we were isolated in the "sick" waiting room where there were four other children languishing with the same symptoms. so of course i shouldn't be so surprised i caught it too...it's just that it's always inconvenient (a luxury? i can't afford) for a mom to get sick, and i always say i'm oxen-like when it comes to resisting these little viruses.
i do want to share that my "detective work" has paid off and i was able to find a fellow foodie from Boston to invite her to the Lasang Pinoy food blogging event, though her upcoming vacation might prevent her from joining this one. thank you Rachel, for being so nice even as i bugged you at work :) .
looking for articles on Filipino restaurants in New York specifically Kuma Inn and Cendrillon, i stumbled upon the first and only Filipino-American winery. i can't wait to purchase a bottle to sample! "tangkilikin ang sariling atin..." (a Martial Law-era slogan--let that be a reminder and plug for the upcoming launch of the Lasang Pinoy food blogging event, Aug. 18.)
let me shake off this awful bug first...
i will probably make a little pot of lugaw, with chicken and ginger shreds, but i'm craving these. in a 14-course lauriat these are usually the highlights # 10, 11, 12???

fantasy dishes are from China Pearl, Boston

"cendrillon"

2005-08-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

i've been wanting to visit this
Filipino restaurant in Manhattan since my friend ling told me about it years ago.
now, i know all about the barbeque-han places in Woodside, Queens (Roosevelt ave.) alongside the bakeries and homestyle Pinoy take-out joints. but cendrillon is extra special, like ensaymada (Filipino brioche) with cheese and macapuno(grated "mutant" coconut) .
i remember downloading a recipe for black rice paella from there. cendrillon, 45 Mercer Street (Broome Street), SoHo; (212) 343-9012,
is now almost 10 years old!!! and i still haven't gone. if you're in the area, please go and sample their fare...in the New York Times review, by Frank Bruni, it says that the chef is now concentrating on traditional Pinoy food versus fusion....read about adobo, kare kare, bibingka, kalamansi, ube, and the fatty duck!
i'm going! asap.

blueberry muffins

2005-08-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

IMBB#17: tasteTEA!

2005-07-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

it was P.G. Wodehouse.
my lolo (grandpa) had a library where i loved to hang out as a child. it was there that i discovered all his Jeeves books. my lola (grandma) bought me Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott books. i read of the rituals and the pinky up and the white gloves and tea cakes and scones...i'd only ever encountered tea as a ginger brew to cure throat ailments before then.
that is why when i got my hands on my mother's teabags--they must have been Lipton--i started having them in big mugs with milk. powdered milk, more often than not. i remember experimenting with calamansi/native lemon squirts, then with milk, then together. ugh.
i met an Englishman who introduced me to Earl Grey. he used to send them up to me from Manila to the boondocks where i used to work, with instructions on adding "just a splash of milk," and thus was sealed my lingering love affair with tea.
then i married into a Chinese family. they drank it with their fancy lauriat-banquets! after every meal! i was told that it helped digestion immensely. with dimsum it is a must. husband canNOT have the dumplings and morsels without the tiny cups of tea. i learned how to summon more pots just by turning the lid just so....

clement of alacuisine is kindly hosting what promises to be days and days of posts on tea related dishes for this month's edition of Is My Blog Burning? #17.
tea-smoked duck legs and chicken eggs...this i first encountered in an ancient issue of Gourmet magazine found in our second apartment. i served it to my in-laws who pronounced it a winner and since then i've contributed it to many a family gathering.

for the same price as a whole duck, 6 duck legs proffer more meat and palatable skin, we now conclude.
roast 2 tbsps. coarse sea salt and 2 tbsps. peppercorns in a heavy saucepan or wok until fragrant. let cool and rub into 6 duck legs. cover tightly with foil, store in refrigerator overnight.

if you want the smoked eggs:
set 3 large eggs in a pot with cold water to cover by a half inch. turn up burner to medium and bring up to a boil. turn off the water and set the timer to 3 minutes.
immediately remove from heat and let run under a cold water tap. carefully peel the eggs and set aside to cool completely. soak in 2 tbsps. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. sesame oil and 1/2 tsp. salt. turn eggs to coat evenly.

wipe off salt and peppercorns from duck legs.
steam duck legs over a rack, with water coming up to 3/4 inch in the pan, in a platter, for about 45 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 160F. let cool completely to room temperature before smoking.

set duck legs and hard boiled eggs over rack in a roasting pan (or wok) with a tight fitting lid which has been fitted with aluminum foil. sprinkle 1/4 cup black tea leaves (i used oolong) and 1/4 cup raw long-grain rice, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 2 large pieces of dehydrated citrus peel. cover with a large piece of aluminum foil tightly then cover with the lid.

i used a cheap little single burner, OUTDOORS, because we do not have a ventilator/extractor hood. our 110 year old house cannot take it.

heat the burner up to high and smoke for about 4 minutes. the duck legs and hardboiled eggs should brown by then.

...and green tea ice cream! my all time favorite, one of many green coloured ice creams i adore...pandan and pistachio among them.
i tried this first in a Japanese sushi restaurant in lower Manhattan, and i have tried it deep-fried. once. the flavor is deep and smokey and leafy. an acquired taste yes, but quite addictive.

(from Gourmet, July 2002)

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp. salt
6 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsps. matcha (powdered Japanese green tea)

bring cream, milk, and salt to a boil in a 3 to 4 quart heavy saucepan and remove from heat.
whisk together eggs, sugar, and matcha in a bowl (tea will not be completely dissolved), then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking vigorously. whisk custard into remaining cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spooon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 F on an instand-read thermometer (do not let boil).
immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. chill covered, until cold, at least 1 hour.
freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.
daughter's garnish is green tea pocky; we spirited away two madeleine cookies from big brother...perfect foil for the mildly bitter and smokey aftertaste of matcha.

thank you to celiaK for pointing out my error of omission of a very important step!!! steaming the duck legs....i've added it in italics above...mea culpa, so sorry, patawad po...*contrite*

pinoy food news and a tasty nibble

2005-07-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

i've stolen a quiet solitary moment. husband has taken the kids out for the afternoon. wheeee.
in between my good housekeeping moments i bring you some tidbits of Pinoy food news.

photo from the Globe

Rachel Kelso of Winthrop and formerly of Newton was featured in the Boston Globe with her riff on Filipino cuisine. her recipe forspicy ginger beef is based on the humble humba.

The Pilgrim is hosting the launch of the first Lasang Pinoy Food Blogging Event to commemorate a beloved hero, Benigno Aquino Jr., fondly called Ninoy by everyone. his tragic assassination on August 21, 1983 reverberates and resonates still throughout the archipelago. now more than ever we need to remember what he died for.
we hope to highlight the complexities of Filipino cuisine with this food event: how it is so much more than ingredients and processes, and how its preparation reflects values we adhere to, like loyalty, resilience, family, and humor.
everyone welcome! please check out the details on Karen's The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans.

"A time comes in a man's life when he must prefer a meaningful death to a meaningless life. I would rather die on my feet with honor, than live on bended knees in shame."
--Ninoy Aquino, from speech at his trial.

(from Aquino, World Leaders Past and Present)

the tasty nibble: fried wonton, by husband-ever-helpful.
just take your favorite wonton recipe (ground pork or chicken, shrimp, rehydrated black mushrooms, finely chopped water chestnuts, salt and white pepper) and deep fry. our children devour these as quickly as husband can serve them up. i like it with the following dip: Chinkiang vinegar or Chinese black vinegar, shredded ginger, light soy sauce and a drop or two each of chili oil and roasted sesame oil.

fishy dishes

2005-07-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

if i could i'd eat fish and shellfish most of the time. *sigh* i keep trying to convince the kids there's more to fish eating than fried filleted unrecognizable seafood.
i put the recent fish dishes together in this post so it wouldn't seem too hodge podge. or is it too late? :)

another go at the gravlax recipe from my Swedish Finn friend, cathi.
only daughter tried it, at least. i thought it was great, and satisfied the craving brought on by the trip to Ikea New Haven.

Cantonese steamed fish
this is one of the whole fish, head and tail intact recipes they agree to try.

i zeroed in on the freshest fish (there was no English word though) displayed on ice at the Asian grocers, and immediately thought of steaming it, just like mother-in-law's dish. i dug out the voluminous "the food of China" for authenticity.

marinate cleaned, scaled, gutted whole fish in 2 tbsps. rice wine, 1 & 1/2 tsps. light soy sauce, and 1 tbsp. of finely chopped ginger for 10 minutes.
prepare 3 tbsps. finely shredded scallions, 2 tbsps. finely shredded ginger.

steam fish, along with its marinade, in a large wok or dutch oven with a tightly fitting lid, over simmering water, about 15 minutes (depends on the size of the fish. check for doneness by pricking with a fork--flesh should easily flake). lift fish out of platter onto serving plate and let rest.

heat 2 tbsps. vegetable oil to smoking hot. arrange shredded scallions and ginger over fish, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and pour the heated oil all over the top.

stuffed roasted bangus (inihaw na bangus)

there's nothing like the bangus belly. it cooks up so sweet and luscious, whether smoked, in sinigang (sour stew), or marinated and fried (daing). my sister and i used to race to the table when our cook or mother made roasted stuffed milkfish. when she was out on study groups or with her barkada(posse/entourage?)...guess who won? *smirk*

i figured out the way to keep the belly whole : ask the fishmonger just to scale the milkfish. cut all along the backbone and proceed to cleaning (remove the gills and innards carefully to keep the belly intact). rinse well and salt thoroughly.
chop red onions and tomatoes (amount depends on the size of the fish) and season with salt and pepper. add bruised lemon balm leaves or cilantro or dill (optional).
stuff the belly and wrap with banana leaves or foil. if using leaves, tie all around with kitchen twine. roast over the charcoal grill or in a 425F preheated oven, or under a broiler, turning once, for a total of 20 to 25 minutes or until flesh easily flakes with a fork.

wrapped in banana leaves

serve with your favorite dip (mine--and my ate's--is vinegar, garlic, bird chili, salt and pepper.
others use soy sauce and calamansi/lemon).

a refreshing cooling fruity drink, and a tag

2005-07-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

have to do so many things at home...as my friend thess said, you can tell the manager of the house does not have internet connection when it is meticulously clean.
so i have to destroy the evidence: lint, dustbunnies, murphyfur, and the rest you can just imagine!
meanwhile we are sweating it out in another heatwave so my kittens are very parched and scorched. must make cooling drinks and turn on the a.c.

"snow" maker

grated cantaloupe, simple syrup (two to one ratio of water to sugar, heated until sugar is dissolved, then chilled), and "snow" in summer.

this "homework" (aaayaaah, i thought i was done with all that? ;p ) is from dear beng of Dusseldorf (sali ko sa windowshopping benggay dear ha)
what are the things you enjoy, even when no one around you wants to go out and play?
solitude is a precious commodity for me, so i have a lot of fun things i enjoy, as circumstances permit:
* i replace a stressful activity with a quiet trance-like chore, like folding laundry, cleaning the fish tank. am a multi-tasking mama.
*dicing, chopping, stirring, mashing and bashing. assembling the mise en place for a new dish takes my mind off stresses.
* swimming non-stop laps...the ultimate fantasy, for me! ahhh if only. it's just me and the water and concentrating on the strokes and not drowning. i'd build an Olympic length pool in the basement if i could...
* dancing, alone, stereo turned up, windows closed
* singing along, a la diva to regine, angela bofill, patti austin (my family all hie off to their corners, thus guaranteeing my solitude, heehee)
escaping into the Travel Channel or a compelling book
bad de-stresser, terribly hard to give up: potato chips and beer.

what lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level? make a list, post it in your journal.
cozaar, metoprolol, hydrochlorothiazide, champagne...oh you mean, not imbibables?
hmm. first, what causes stress for me?
happily the stress of my life is not much, it's just really "meeting deadlines" and being on time. i get distressed by visitors who drop in without warning because i'm a horrible housekeeper.
it's not good to be a clockwatcher, but i am one, sadly. plus i've had hypertension all my life it seems.
i just stop everything, and be quiet and meditate.
gaze at my babies, my fish tank, cuddle up with...my cat heehee. i water my plants to relax. i look for a new recipe to tackle.

tag 5 friends and ask them to post it in their blogs.
oh oh. seems like everyone's been tagged already.
i don't know if he'll agree to a tag : braless,.
Karen so she'll stop and exhale and inhale slowly. i suspect she thrives on deadlines?
boks when she comes back from her holiday. all refreshed and tanned.
i have a couple of friends who aren't in blogworld i'd love to ask...

where i'd like to be: the best place in the world to de-stress...

cookbook meme: tagged by sha!

2005-07-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

i was given some homework by schatzli...i enjoy these things because i get to find out about my blog friends and i get to examine myself some more....

mein cookbooks
1. total number of cookbooks i own. embarrassingly high number. 109. must weed out. billions of magazines i can't bear to throw/give away
2. last cookbook i bought. The Food of China, Deh Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds.

3. last food/cookbook read. Shiok! Terry Tan and Christopher Tan.

4. 5 cookbooks that mean a lot to me.
Cake Bible--explanations for the magic of baking
Betty Crocker--sentimental, i referred to it quite a lot as a very young wanna be
cook
Nora Daza's Galing Galing, guide to anyone starting up a pinoy kitchen
Recipes of the Philippines, Enriqueta David-Perez, ed.
Lutuing Pilipino ni Aling Charing--makes me daydream that i'm having a
conversation with my Lola, who never owned a cookbook, who taught me how to cook,
who loved our language greatly.

extra: my favorite food books "French Lessons" by Peter Mayle, and the novel
"Five Quarters of the Orange," Joanne Harris.

5. 5 other people whom you'd like to see fill in this tag...my blog "kumares": jmom,
celiaK., manang K (yoohoo manang!!!), ting-aling, purplegirl when she comes back to us (am praying for you ms. ppg!)....

food trip loot

2005-07-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

loot from IKEA: horseradish mustard sauce, marabou chocolate bars, ginger thins (ginger, orange, lemon in a cute tin), elderberry syrup

loot from the Reading Terminal market: file powder (ground sassafras! been looking for this for so long--now i can make gumbo!), orange flower water, cherry compote--i adore jars, i collect jars! this one i just couldn't pass up

Ethiopian, from Old City Coffee (the hotel coffee packets just would not do)

Philadelphia

2005-07-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

we're back from visiting the City of Brotherly Love.

image fr Been There, Saw That

on our way we stopped at our favorite superstore for a quick pitstop lunch--it is right at the end of the exit ramp off Interstate 95. New Haven, CT.

if you MUST have fast food...Ikea's cafeteria where i had the gravlax platter and my guys had the meatballs and fries. and a round of Marabou chocolate bars.

koi in the suite hotel atrium

pampered guests...free breakfast buffet and daily "beverage hours"... swimming in the indoor pool

Benjamin Franklin recruited two little Bostonians...

into the Continental Army to fight a worthy war...

ring THIS bell

Betsy Ross' kitchen

Reading Terminal Market...my heart pounded, i got dizzy, goosebumpy...thanks to the one and only stef, she who understands of what i speak, for tipping us off. we'll meet next time for sure, okay stef?!

can't not have cheesesteak in Philly. hmmm. i thought, what's the big deal? perhaps i need to try some more.

Vietnam Restaurant
we'd opted for a Vietnamese dinner instead of Chinese, because the week before we'd had a surfeit from all the family reunion dinners. (of course we found a great dimsum lunch place, the H.K. Golden Phoenix.) Vietnam, a cozy elegant place, with dark woods and soft lights--we felt slightly out of place with our little brood but quickly lost all sense of self-consciousness as we dug in. large portions, reasonably priced. it's always great to be daring and risky and just try someplace new. and find the food up to par! it's right next to the 6th district police station, on 11th and Race Sts.

this is the best bun i've encountered so far...the house special with cha gio, grilled chicken, pork, and sausages (they ran out of the squid and shrimp, hmph!)

we enjoyed ourselves immensely. we found it very clean and tourist- and family-friendly. too bad it is far, we want to return again and again. the streets are easy to navigate! the Chinatown is clean! no one honked us despite our touristy pace! the vendors are polite! well i AM comparing it to our hometown ;)
800 miles round trip, our elderly minivan has brought us back safe and sound, next year again NOT same time?...we will return when there is no heatwave.

pandan ice cream

2005-07-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

this is it.
my "orig" recipe born out of some desperation.
#2 son took a lick and declared it his favorite when we first discovered it in an Asian superstore in Boston. the only place to get it.
*sigh* $1 per bar. steep, albeit quite delicious. i promised to make it for him instead of trekking all the way there (a couple of times they didn't have it and baby boy went "wahhh!") and plunking down the hard-earned cash.
yesterday's family reunion cookout for husband's family was the perfect occasion and i ended up giving them a foodie lesson on "pandan" ("you know, it's a kind of grass, screwpine? we use it for giving flavoring and scent," and trotting out the frozen packet of leaves from the freezer).
the family pronounced it a winner, worthy of marketing! heehee, i need an ice cream cart and bell. *blush* i'm just so happy that #2 son is now a contented boy and i can claim that i made this up on my own....with a little help from a couple of cookbooks: "Shiok" and "Sorbets and Ice Creams" by Lou Seibert Pappas.
the next quest is to score an extra freezer bowl for the krups ice cream maker so i can make more than 1 quart at a time.

2/3 cup pandan syrup concentrate*, cooled to room temperature
1 & 1/2 cups half and half
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 & 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

in a double boiler, heat the half and half over barely simmering water until scalded. whsik the pandan syrup into the egg yolks. whisk in some of the hot half and half, return the mixture ot the pan, and cook over barely simmering water, stirring constantly until the custard coats the spoon (slightly thickened). immediately place the pan in a bowl of cold ice water and stir to cool to room temperature. stir in the heavy cream.
cover and refrigerate the mixture for 2 to 3 hours at least, or until thoroughly chilled. freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (for this it took about 25 minutes to get a creamy but firm texture).
makes 1 quart.

*pandan syrup:
1 can pandan juice (Maesri brand) or equivalent of a big bunch of pandan, snipped and processed, placed in cheesecloth, squeezed with water, enough to make 2 cups)
1 cup sugar

mix and bring to boil, until sugar is dissolved. if you have it, add more pandan cut to 1 inch pieces and add to syrup. simmer to reduce to 2/3 cup (it will be somewhat thick). drain and let cool.
add in 1 tsp. pandan essence/extract, if desired.

an easy tasty adaptation

2005-07-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

we took 6 "kids" ages 19 to 5 out yesterday to the friendly neighborhood mini golf course (free ice cream bonus after 18 innocent looking but somewhat sinister holes)
and it was a screaming good time. the five year old finished first but was the kulelat (bottom) scorer...he didn't mind at all, he had so much fun. the winner was the score-keeper so we teased him no end.
we cooled off at home, ordered take out, Chinese of course, and i brought this out of the refrigerator, quickly toasting some thawed grated coconut.
maja blanca is a popular afternoon snack lumped in the kakanin section of my memory ...one of the items my ma or lola (grandma) would bring home as uwi (take home gift) from the wet market. this is what my ma and i came up with years ago when she came to help with birthing the youngest. in trying to figure out how to make our version of tasty maja we tried to guess at how to set it properly. maja is originally made with rice flour but i much prefer the corn-y version. with the use of agar-agar powder and substituting vegetable or canola oil for greasing the pan or mold, or lining the pan with a sheet of washed and gently warmed banana leaf, it could be a palatable dessert dish to bring to a vegetarian pot luck...

maja blanca maiz

grease the pan (i used an oblong pyrex dish, 7 & 1/2 " by 11") with butter.
mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup cornstarch. whisk in 1 cup water slowly until well blended.
boil 1 14-15 oz. can of cream style corn and equal amount of coconut milk together in a saucepan. whisk in 3 tsps. of agar agar powder and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
whisk the sugar, cornstarch and water solution again to ensure no lumps, then gradually stir into the corn and coconut milk. stir occasionally and simmer 5 minutes more.
let cool slightly then pour into prepared dish. chill in refrigerator until firm.
slice on the diagonal and serve with toasted coconut.

*schatzli! this is for you...though i haven't tried using agar agar or gelatin for the classic white maja, i think you'll like this. not too sweet.
to substitute powdered gelatin, dissolve 2 packets of Knox in 1 cup cold water stirring until dissolved, then add to boiling coconut milk and corn mixture.

a quick one

2005-07-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

first thank you to my friends who still keep dropping by my little kitchen to say hi despite the paucity of my posts...
i miss bloghopping so much, but my real life is "happening" all around me right now. i owe a lot of stuff from a lot of nice people, i feel awful! :(
thank you too to the talented and prolific ajay for the feature in Manila Bulletin Technews about Pinay Food Bloggers, Part Two... she has a foodblog too! munchin' in manila is a wonderful repository of recipes and restaurant reviews. salamat ajay! it was great fun answering the questions and feeling like a fantasy celebrity for a day! heehee.

lately we have been the lucky recipients of takehome and takeout ("doggy bags"--i read these are unheard of in the EU! no super-sizing over there?) from our nearest and dearest. it's a great gift for these summer days when it feels like i should wear a hairnet and a whitecoat as a 24 hour lunch matron.
there's a time when i need to get away from all the left overs and i just gotta have something from my secret stash in the deep recesses of my pinay-stocked freezer...so i made this salad today to accompany my Saranggani Bay tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish).

salted duck eggs, red onions, and vine-ripened tomatoes salad...liberally sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. and the forbidden (by husband) cilantro.

summer golden cherries

2005-07-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

"broke my piggy bank" cherries
my ma told me they have lots of these where they are (southern california)...so when i spotted them at the Asian grocery i just closed my eyes to the eye-popping price and got a bag. it was worth it though: sweet and juicy, i had to yield to the kitties though. then they had the pit-spitting contest. aargh. oh well, summer fun food?

salt baked chicken

2005-07-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

from the food of china, a great big hunk of a cookbook which i picked up from the wholesale club...by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds.
this method produced a remarkably succulent and tasty bird. not salty as the cooking method implies. just tasty. my customers demolished it in one sitting.

a 3-lb fresh whole chicken
2 tbsps. light soy sauce
4 lbs. coarse sea salt
rinse the chicken, drain, and remove any fat. blanch in a sauce pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then refresh under cold water and dry well. brush the chicken with the soy sauce and hang it up to dry in a cool and airy place for a couple of hours, or keep it uncovered in the fridge.

chilling out
combine 1 scallion, chopped, 1 tsp. grated ginger, 1 crushed star anise, 1/2 tsp. salt, 4 tbsps. brandy (or Mei Kuei Lu Chiew), pour in to the cavity of the chicken. wrap the chicken tightly with a large sheet of cheese cloth.

chicken mummy
heat the salt in a large clay pot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, very slowly until very hot, then turn off the heat and remove and reserve about half the salt. make an indentation in the center of the salt and place the chicken in it, breast side up. cover with the remaining salt until chicken is completely buried. cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 45-50 minutes. allow to sit for at least 15-20 minutes (no peeking!) before taking the chicken out. (the top dry layer of salt can be reused).

salt mountain
make a dipping sauce:
heat 1 tbsp. oil in a small wok or saucepan. fry chopped scallion(1 stalk) and a teaspoon of chopped ginger for 1 minute, then add 1 half tsp. of salt and 1/4 cup of chicken stock. bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes.

2005-07-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

will post recipes soon as possible...PC willing!!! it has some bad awful moods + i gotta snag computer time from the summer vacationing little kitties. hope everyone who celebrated had a jolly peaceful fourth of July! things come into sharp focus on this day that we celebrate. freedom, democracy, independence=responsibility and accountability...
made way too much food (Asian way right?) but it was such a lovely evening, not too hot and not too cold and i had a long portable table set out with candles...the children had a little fireplace to toast marshmallows in; #2 son calls it "firewooding"...

scallop, dill and bacon skewers, along with Pinoy bbq sticks, chicken yakitori, Mama Sita chicken wings, squid in olive oil, garlic, lemon and oregano, herbed shrimp with tarragon and basil, roast milkfish bangus stuffed with tomatoes and onions and lemon balm...oh yes i tried to put herbs from my garden in every dish.
my honored guest brought us the best California maki rolls i ever tasted in the U.S. of A...perfectly steamed and rolled rice with nori (seaweed) sheets that were tender ...i told her let's sell this stuff! she gamely tried my disastrous sushi roll rice salad (rushy mistake of putting too much wasabi, i read 1 1/4 tbsp. when it said tsp.! no wonder my eyes were getting teary as i mixed the salad!) will do it right next time, it was a wonderful dish otherwise.

2005-07-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

here's the link to the recipe for the sushi roll rice salad. i followed it to the letter except for my misstep with the wasabi and it turned out wonderfully. perfectly steamed sushi rice, seasoned vinegar, chopped pickled ginger, chopped carrot and cucumber, sliced scallions, and roasted snipped nori seaweed. i didn't have the shiso leaves for garnish so i used romaine lettuce. i also added a leftover lobster tail, peeled and sliced thinly, and sprinkled with the lobster roe. all sorts of possibilities are tickling my appetite: bits of unagi (roasted eel) drizzled with the sweet sauce, real crab meat and tarama or cod roe, strips of raw tuna or gravlax...i call this lazy chef's sushi or something someone invented when they accidentally lost or incinerated their sushi mat.

2005-07-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Boston Blobs
this is from Rosie's Baking Book, Judy Rosenberg. originally named "Soho Globs" i didn't have all the ingredients so i had to make do...so that makes it Boston Blobs.
it has a soft and brownie like chewiness interrupted by the crunch of nuts and the sqoooshy melted chips....

5 ozs. semisweet chocolate
3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate
6 tbsps. unsalted butter, room temp.
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt.
2 large eggs, room temp.
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped roasted pistachios
1/3 cup chopped roasted cashews

preheat the oven to 325 F.
line several cookie sheets with parchment or lightly grease with butter or olive oil.
melt the chocolates and butter on top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. let cool.
sift flour, b.p., and salt together in a small bowl.
using electric mixer on medium, beat the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder until they are well incorporated.
add the sugar to the egg mixture and blend it all until thick. scrape the bowl.
add the melted chocolate and blend some more.
add the flour mixture on low speed, mix only until moistened. fold in chocolate chips by hand or with mixer on low.
drop the dough by generously rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
bake cookies until they rise slightly and form a thin crust, about 13 minutes. immediately remove cookies from the sheet, gently lifting onto rack to cool.
makes about 20 cookies, which quickly disappear from view...

2005-07-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

red white and blue tart
designed by daughter, from organic strawberries from Middleboro, Ma., and NJ blueberries, on a cream cheese base and packaged puff pastry.

cooking "meme"! i've been tagged by spots!

2005-07-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

i have been absent from the blogworld for what seems like such a long time...actually just a few days but feels like forever to me. i cook a lot more than usual but am able to blog less, due to the fact that...after all year long with their hard working teachers my kids have been returned to me for the summer!!! tee hee.
what a surprise therefore to find that i've been tagged by my infanticipating blogfriend from far off Singapore...spottiswoode! thank you ruth.. i've been counting down the days with you too, yours will be the first baby in blogdom for me :) ... in the Filipino culture we must indulge your every whim and give in to all your requests! and! neither must we take from your plate! ;)
i had to check first if i could answer well and if the friends i had in mind to pass on this tag had been preempted...so here goes:
Meme asks: What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
it's gotta be the Maya pancakes from the box. my all time favorite from childhood which i just had to learn how to make. now i have a memorized recipe from Betty Crocker which i can make in my sleep.
Who had the most influence on your cooking?
it's gotta be my lola, paternal grandmother, first and foremost, who taught me how to wield a knife and who yelled down the instructions from the library upstairs while she typed her short stories. she taught me to enjoy the scents and textures and processes of cooking...and i must mention my childhood friend Chichay whom i met when i was 10 years old and who was my co conspirator in countless kitchen experiments and disasters. bless you Chi wherever you are now.
Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
i have a lot of photos eating...but this one is my memorable photo of playing chef with my old friend Melinda... i was allowed to light fires in my clay pots and pans ("palayok-palayukan") and pretend to cook in my meticulously designed outdoor kitchen. i used grasses, leaves, flowers...i even had play cooking oil from the hibiscus (gumamela) and i used annatto seeds from our tree to color my dishes! that's me in white and in the Princess Leia hairdo, and that's my Ma's shadow taking the photo of us in the extra cinderblocks of our newly built house in Quezon City. i had just met Melinda at my new school!

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
i think i have opened the cookbooks to the "souffle" page often enough for it to qualify as my only cooking phobia left...i've no qualms at all about disemboweling or dismembering the critters in the food hierarchy...but the souffle remains unconquered. hopefully not for long though.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
early in our marriage when it felt like i wanted to leave the Boston tundra and disengage...i vowed to bring my sturdy stainless Rival mixer with me. after 10 years it is still a faithful workhorse. loud but loyal, through thick (bread and cookie dough) and thin (meringues and creams). i don't ever feel like leaving anymore but it's coming with me anywhere i go.
biggest letdown? hmm. the potato masher i think.
Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like and probably no one else.
okay...takes a deep breath and announces...my grandmother taught me to pour hot pork fat and fish sauce over newly steamed rice and eat that with finely chopped green mangoes and fish in vinegar stew (paksiw)...she called it "sariling bahay" literally "my own home" and to this day i think i'm the only one who knows about this.
What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without?
sashimi. roast pork. green mangoes. fishy oinky drooly.
3 quickies:
favorite ice cream...green tea.
you will probably never eat..uni. sea urchin roe. and "pet" meat. (i come from that part of the world where...okay enough said.)
tag 3 people...english patis. stefoodie. schatzli.
signature dish: smoked duck.

thank you mommy spots, that was fun!

a shiok! chicken

2005-06-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

it was a bit too sweet for me but perfect for the kids. it was demolished fairly quickly...
i changed the method from the book by Terry Tan and Christopher Tan because i used "variety pack" chicken--all dark meat of course--instead of the skinless boneless thighs called for.

spicy-sour stir fried chicken
ayam tempra, or spicy-sour stir-fried chicken

3 thighs, 3 legs, 3 wings (about a pound and a half) of chicken

marinade:
3 cloves of garlic sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed cut diagonally, pounded
1 tsp. shrimp paste (blachan)
3 tablespoons ketjap manis (thick soy sauce), or dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoon crushed palm sugar

in a mortar and pestle mix and mash all marinade ingredients and pour over chicken. let sit at least an hour. (reserve marinade for the stir fry.)

heat 2 tbsps. vegetable oil over medium high heat. saute 2 cloves of garlic, 1 large onion, halved lengthwise and quartered, 1 trimmed stalk lemongrass, cut diagonally & pounded, 1 sliced long green chili pepper, and 1 sliced bird chili, until fragrant.
add chicken pieces and stir fry until chicken is well browned. pour in the marinade and 1/2 cup chicken broth. stir continuously, adding more broth or water a little at a time if it gets too dry. you should have enough to coat the chicken well...it makes for luscious finger licking too. cook until chicken is tender, about 25 minutes.
pour in 3 tbsps. fresh lime juice and sliced Kaffir lime leaves (middle rib cut, leaves snipped finely) and salt to taste. stir well and remove from heat.
serve with plenty of hot jasmine rice. and lots of table napkins.

(if using boneless chicken thighs or breast meat, cooking time is cut drastically and you may not need the broth-water step.)

is my blog burning #16: eggs!

2005-06-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

canonigo
viv of seattle bon vivant is the gracious host of this month's EGGy event...it's no yolk, it is a lot of work to do the round up so thank you viv.
i knew right away what i'd post. this is a dessert that's commonly served on special occasions in the Philippines, especially during the Christmas season. it is no doubt of Spanish origin, though i've not found it in either of my 2 Spanish cookbooks. it is a deconstructed version of the brazo de Mercedes, which i already knew my children loved even though i feel like i haven't perfected it yet... i decided to make the delicate, ethereal canonigo--a meringue cake with custard sauce--you can make in a bundt or tube pan (the one-piece kind, not the one with a removable bottom because it has to bake in a hot water bath) so they'd think it's a bit of a change. :)

paella pan to the rescue!
caramelize 1 & 1/2 cups sugar with 1/2 cup water (mix sugar and water constantly over medium heat until sugar dissolves; bring to a boil without stirring and hover over the pan till you see it golden brown and thick). immediately pour into warmed bundt pan making sure to coat all surfaces well. allow to cool and grease lightly with butter.
for the bundt cake: preheat oven to 350F. prepare the bain mairie--hot water bath--have ready a pan big enough to hold the bundt pan [almost in a panic before i spotted my paella pan! whew!] and pour enough warm water to come up to half the bundt pan.
in an electric mixer, using a metal bowl, whip 8 egg whites till frothy, and gradually add 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar and 1 tsp baking powder and beat until stiff. pour into prepared bundt pan. cut into the meringue batter with a spatula knife to eliminate huge air bubbles and tap the pan on the kitchen counter top.
bake for 35 minutes. cake is done when it is not jiggly and a long seafood pick or toothpick comes out clean and dry. let cool 5 minutes then tip over to a serving platter. be careful as the caramel willbe quite hot as it cascades over the meringue cake.
while cake is baking, prepare the custard sauce:
in a bowl set over a double boiler combine 8 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 can of evaporated milk, whisking well until sugar dissolves. whisk constantly over the gently simmering water until the mixture thickens, about 20 minutes. add 1/4 cup rum (i used only 2 teaspoons as this is a PG kind of cake) and 1 tsp. vanilla. (substitute 3 tbsps. orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier for adults only version).
>
slice and serve with custard sauce poured over, or on the side.

grilled lobster

2005-06-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

with pesto butter or anchovy butter

in the previous post i featured poor babyrambutan's lobster, monkfish, but in reality it is really nowadays poor b.r.'s monkfish, lobster, the latter costing $2 less as of this moment in the grocery store where the lobsters are on special, the lowest they've cost all winter and spring and now summer.
so of course i had to catch me some. i even taught the clueless young clerk guy how to tell the males from the females (the first pair of swimmerets are soft and thin on a female, sharp and saber-like on a male). i like the females for the coral roe, some others prefer the male for the meatier and sweeter flesh.
i have no fear of "working" with a live lobster and splitting it right down the middle but my kittens were hovering in the kitchen so i resorted to the boiling method first. didn't want to traumatize them and put their sweet mommy in a whole new light heehee.

in a pot large enough to hold the lobsters bring water to a boil with sea salt, then plunge lobsters head first in and put on its tight fitting lid. start timing when it comes back up to a rolling boil and turn down to a simmer (5 minutes for the first pound, 3 minutes for each additional pound).
remove from heat and set in a platter to cool.

prepare anchovy butter.
mix together:
8 oz. unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
6-8 anchovy fillets from a freshly opened can, snipped up
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
juice from one half of a lemon
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt to taste (anchovies are salty so be careful)

mash and bash everything together or process briefly in Cuisinart or blender.
tip over to a sheet of cling wrap/plastic wrap and form into a log, and chill until firm. (recipe from julia and jacques cooking at home)

split the lobsters down the middle into halves.
preheat the broiler or light up your charcoal grill.
dot the anchovy butter (alternatively, softened butter plus a bit of pesto if you don't like anchovies) over the length of the lobsters.
grill for about 3 minutes under the broiler or on top of the grill until butter is melted and shells are slightly browned.

serve with lemon slices and snippets of dill or fresh basil leaves. YUM.

a monkfish tale

2005-06-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

gigot of monkfish romarin with anchovies, and tomato vinaigrette

i've been longing to make this dish since i first saw the two fat ladies many years ago on the food network.
but the odds of snagging a monkfish tail in this neck of the woods are as long as the lottery odds....so when i spotted a few of them at the upscale market in the ritzy town quite a bit of a drive away, i immediately grabbed them. i think the fisherpeople must be delivering them straight to the restaurants these days.
Andreas Viestad showed a live freshly caught monkfish on his Norwegian tourist board cooking show...and one immediately understands why it took so long for anyone to figure out that they were delicious to eat. it looks like it's all mouth with nasty jagged teeth.
"ankoh" teppanyaki table-top grilled, Japanese style, served with grated radish and wasabi, would be my next dream dish if i catch any more. i have yet to taste monkfish liver too...*sigh*
but the meat itself is...dare i say it?....lobster-like. it cooks up white and firm, not flaky, and it was called "poor man's lobster" but now it costs even more per pound. shall we call lobster "poor man's monkfish" then?
Clarissa Dickson-Wright says in the book "cooking with the two fat ladies" that this is a Scots dish.
my husband took a bite and said, "isn't this the way you cook your lamb chops?" i think i've trained him well.

sprinkle the tails with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. marinate in smashed garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil at least an hour, turning once or twice.
preheat oven to 350F.
make crosswise slits on the tails, just deep enough to tuck in anchovy fillets.
in an oven proof dish, scatter as much rosemary as you like, place monkfish on top, sprinkle the garlic from the marinade, and the olive oil (plus extra to moisten the rosemary completely).
roast for 45 minutes. remove from oven, let rest 5 minutes, then pour tomato vinaigrette over.

for the tomato vinaigrette:
4 tsps. sherry wine vinegar
2 tbsps. finely diced tomatoes
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.

mix ingredients in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring.
season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

tod man

2005-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

fish and shrimp cakes, Thai style

another recipe i learned while sitting in front of the tv with my newborn first baby. we didn't have cable then so it was the local public television station, WGBH. it seemed so easy! and i could make so much more for the price of a take out order!
the wild lime leaves are widely available in Asian grocers here and really, there is no substitute for the strong floral note it lends to dishes...lime zest is a wimpy stand-in. i recommend grabbing a pack if you ever see one and store in the freezer.

wild lime leaves

recipe from "The Frugal Gourmet."

3/4 lb. chopped peeled deveined shrimp
1/2 lb. ground fish fillets (i used bluefish, it was the freshest looking one in the bunch, but you can use other firm fleshed fish like snapper, sea bass, etc..)
3 stalks of yard long beans, sliced thinly
2 eggs
2 tbsps. cornstarch
fish sauce, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 leaves of wild "Kaffir" lime, cut down the middle, spine removed and snipped very finely, or 1 tsp. lime zest
1 tbsp. red curry paste (i used Maesri brand).

mix all ingredients. drop by the rounded tablespoonful into very hot oil (preheated to 350F) and deep fry about 4 minutes total, allowing the oil to heat up before adding each scoop.
drain on paper towels and serve with cucumber-red onion pickles or the following dip:

green chili dipping sauce:
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 long green chili, seeds and veins removed and sliced thinly
2 bird chilis, if you can take them, seeded, finely sliced
2 tbsps. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. grated palm sugar or brown sugar
2 tbsps. fish sauce

mix together until sugar dissolves. add more or less of above ingredients, according to your taste.

sugar high friday #9 : tarts

2005-06-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

this is the tart i'd make if you asked me to make a tart.
this is a sugar high friday event, but our host jarrett of life in flow has kindly announced a savory tart permissible as long as it's a prelude to a sweet.
i thought i'd make the late great Pierre Franey's vegetable tart from "Pierre Franey Cooks with his Friends." it beckoned to me from the cover of the last compilation of his recipes. the tart is from the chapter with his fellow Burgundian Marc Meneau. it seemed a great new way to get my kids to eat vegetables and at the same time make use of summer's bounty and the herbs from my garden. you may substitute other vegetables or herbs and sprinkle cumin or ground coriander. i omitted the spices to increase the chance of my children having a bite. they loved it, especially the pastry that had absorbed the vegetables' juices.
when they saw it on the table they proclaimed, "hey mom! is that the same idea as a Chinese fried noodle basket?" well, what do you know, they're right.

vegetable tart
1 12-oz. sheet of store-bought fresh or frozen puff pastry
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. of finely minced garlic
1 cup of sliced carrots
1 cup of sliced zucchini
4 small white onions
8 sprigs of chives cut into 3-inch lengths
1/2 pound asparagus
1/4 pound baby portobella mushrooms
8 sprigs of fresh chervil
1/4 tsp. ground cumin (optional)
1/4 cup water or broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper

preheat the oven to 375F.
place the puff pastry in a lightly buttered 10-inch tart or quiche pan, making sure to line the sides as well.
place a sheet of aluminum foil over the bottom and cover with pie weights or dried beans. bake for about 15 minutes or until sides are lightly browned. remove the beans and aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until the bottom is brown. remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

trim and cut the carrots, zucchini and asparagus to be about the same size/lengths.
heat the oil and butter in large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. add half the chives and garlic and saute briefly, stirring. add the mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes. add the carrots, zucchini, asparagus, and onions. add about 1/4 cup water or broth, the cumin if using, half the chervil and salt and pepper. cover tightly, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until crisp-tender.
place in the tart shell and return to the oven for 5 minutes. garnish with the remaining chervil and serve immediately.

the sweet tart is from "chocolate," the What's Cooking Series, recipes by Jacqueline Bellefontaine.
my husband had tasted a brownie topped with pears in syrup served at a graduation party and that gave me the idea of making a tart with chocolate and fruit. not with pears, because my children prefer them fresh and crisp. i used a jar of the sweet-tart dark morello cherries that went well with the chocolate and almond flavors. i'll give the canned pears a chance another time.

chocolate cherry almond tart, with warm chocolate sauce

crust:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup butter, chilled
about 3 tbsps. ice water

filling:
2 cups dark morello cherries in syrup, drained well, patted dry
4 tbsps. butter, room temperature
4 tbsps. superfine sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup ground almonds
2 tbsps. unsweetened Dutch cocoa
1/4 tsp. amaretto or a few drops of almond extract

lightly grease an 8-inch quiche or tart pan with butter. sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the almonds. blend in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. add water 1 tbsp. at a time, just enough to mix to a soft dough. flatten to a disk, wrap in cling film/plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes, then roll out and use to line the pan. prick the base all over with a fork and chill.

for the filling, preheat the oven to 400F. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. beat in the eggs. fold in the almonds, unsweetened cocoa, and liqueur/extract. spread the chocolate mixture in the pieshell and arrange the cherries on top, pressing down lightly. bake in the center of preheated oven for 30 minutes. on until the filling has risen. cool slightly.

chocolate sauce:
place 4 tbsp. sugar, 3 tbsp. golden syrup, and 1/3 cup water in a pan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. boil gently for 1 minute. remove the pan from the heat, add 6 oz. broken-up dark (70% cocoa solids) chocolate, and 2 tbsps. butter and stir until melted. serve with the tart.

pancit Bataan

2005-06-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

pancit ng Orani, Bataan (one of husband's favorite Filipino dishes)

i have posted this before but i wanted to show Beng the pancit from my lola's hometown, Orani, famous for its seafood and patis (fish sauce) and arrowroot cookies (araro).
it is made with extra thick rice noodles and palabok sauce (fried garlic, shallots, shrimp head extract) and large quantities of seafood (shrimp and/or flaked crabmeat) and tinapa (smoked milkfish/bangus). here i used canned smoked mussels (couldn't find smoked bangus boohoo) , sliced salted egg, scallions, and ground chicharon (fried pork rinds). my lola used to add sliced camias (bilimbi fruit) for tartness; she told me finely sliced green mangoes or pajo would work too. serve with calamansi or lime wedges and fish sauce. just like how anna banana takes it.

kangkong blachan

2005-06-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

i didn't eat vegetables as a child. a stubborn child.
but when i started eating them i loved crunchy kangkong in any fashion: adobo, in sinigang, or just steamed simply. when i found greenhouse grown kangkong water spinach, water convolvulus, at the Asian market, vivid green and no grit or mud i decided to try it in a new recipe, and am quite pleased to announce, the whole family ate it.
*sigh of relief.* #2son just requested less chili (told him, take a mouthful of rice sonnyboy! it's good! but he was unconvinced).
the original recipes called for dried shrimp and even more chilis. (i only had dried scallops but it turned out very well).

kangkong blachan from Shiok! by Terry Tan and Christopher Tan
9 oz. kangkong
1 tbsp. shrimp paste
2 tbsps. dried scallops, soaked for at least 3 hours, drained
2 red chilis
4 cloves garlic
4 tbsps. oil
2/3 cup water

cut off and discard 1 inch from kangkong root ends. slice stalks into 3-inch lengths, then rinse very well in a basin of cold water to remove any grit.
grind shrimp paste with dried scallops, chilies and garlic until fine (i used my mortar and pestle). heat oil in a wok over medium high heat and fry paste vigorously for 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
add kangkong and stir fry to 2 minutes, then add water and stir 1 minute more. serve immediately.

shrimp paste

my frying amnesia

2005-06-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

vegetable mix for lumpia*

lumpia

i was so traumatized by my last attempt at cooking lumpiang prito (egg rolls, spring rolls, poh pia). a disaster. the contents spilled out into the oil, the wrappers unfurled, a soggy inedible mess. for an obsessive cook with multiple clientele--hee hee--it was a new low.
but. daughter kept badgering me with her sweet round eyes, "mama, please???" that i had to give it another try.
so it became like a new cooking lesson. i have to remember what to do. i'm getting forgetful.

tips for preventing another lumpia disaster:
keep vegetables just almost cooked.
keep the mixture cool and drain the cooking liquid before wrapping. (i scooped the vegetables into a large sieve/ strainer on the wok before rolling them up in the spring roll pastry wraps.)
follow the instructions on thawing the wrappers, if using the frozen kind. (sounds simple right? in general, remove from freezer only 30 minutes before rolling. i had been getting arrogant and not reading! aargh, for shame for shame!)
after wrapping, place rolls in one layer on a wax-paper-lined flat cookie sheet or freezer-proof platter, and put in the freezer until ready to fry.
get the oil hot. 350F for deep frying, meaning frying in oil deep enough for the lumpia to float. allow the oil to get hot again before adding in more.
do not crowd the lumpia (lest they get mad at you and hurl out their contents).
and it only takes about 3 minutes so they don't soak up the oil.
remove with a wire spatula or bamboo net strainer, letting excess oil drip out and then place on a paper towel or brown paper-lined platter.

serve with garlic chili vinegar dip, seasoned with salt and pepper, humbly.

*vegetable mix:
1/4 pound of pork belly, skin removed, cubed
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 small red or white onion
1/4 pound of shrimp, shelled, deveined, chopped
combination of thinly sliced vegetables:
celery
carrots
snow pea pods
bean sprouts (sprinkle with salt, let stand in strainer so it exudes excess water)
cabbage
drained firm tofu cubes

saute pork in small amount of peanut oil until browned. add a cup of water and let boil until tender, adding more water as needed.
when water has evaporated and pork is tender add garlic and brown. add onions and cook until softened. add shrimp and cook until pink. add carrots, celery and snow pea pods and stir fry for 1 minute. pour in about 1/2 cup of water and a tbsp. of oyster sauce and a splash of soy. add cabbage, tofu and bean sprouts. mix well and turn off the heat. season with salt and pepper. they will be undercooked at this point but they will be well done in the deep fryer.
let cool completely and drain off liquid.

i also put in sliced boiled eggs in some of the lumpia rolls.

(other options: rehydrated tree ear fungus, bamboo shoots, thinly sliced jicama "singkamas", Japanese sweet potatoes, garbanzos)

2005-06-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

"chicken parm"

yes, i'm still cooking and feeding the kids. it's just that they're creatures of habit, and it's been hot as in dog day pant-pant-pant hot, and busy as well with their end of school activities. so i've been dishing up their favorite least-effort kinds of viands: rib roast, roast or steamed chicken, boiled beef dinner, sinigang, fried fish. you know, the kind that i put on the stove, leave, then when i come back, it's done! so they've been having their old favorites.
my version of the Italian-American dish that my kittens love..."chicken parm" for parmesan took a bit more effort and gallons of sweat but it was well worth it all. i made this up as i went along and it turned out so much better than the store-bought frozen chicken patties husband is so fond of. it is usually breaded chicken breast meat served with pasta on the side and topped with sauce and cheese. i wanted to make it less rich and do away with the egg dip; and i wanted it to be very tasty hence the chicken thighs.

combine the following in a shallow glass bowl or pan:
6 boneless chicken thighs ( you may use lean pork or veal cutlets), pounded and flattened with a meat mallet
4 garlic cloves, smashed
fresh oregano and thyme sprigs and
basil leaves (from my little tiny garden!)
a few grinds of fresh black pepper
sea salt
a splash of Maggi liquid seasoning (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, or enough to cover the chicken

mix well and cover with foil or cling film and marinate at least a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
scrape away the garlic and herbs and shake off the excess oil. dip in bread crumbs, making sure to coat every every nook and cranny of the meat.
warm up 2 tbsps. butter and 2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil in nonstick wide skillet, and brown the chicken cutlets over medium heat about 3-4 minutes per side. keep warm on a rack in a pre warmed oven about 250F as you brown the rest of the chicken.
serve with pasta tossed with marinara sauce and topped with parmesan and melted mozzarella.
(the kids also loved it in bread bun; you may add lettuce and mayonnaise and pickles as you wish.)

pancit miki

2005-06-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

years and years ago, when i was teaching at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center, we'd take a short break and there would be an enterprising husband and wife team from Morong town with their pots and plastic plates and tin forks dishing out delicious pancit miki, thick egg noodles with mostly vegetables and smidgens of meat and shrimp. the sauce was savory and thick and rich...just right for our "merienda" (snack time). we'd wolf it down under the mango trees and go back to the classrooms teaching our adult students assembly line work and American workplace practices...

since then i've been trying HARD to make a good pancit miki but never had much success until this time. i tried a new pack of "cooked noodles", Epicurean's Choice brand, made in New York City: it did not fall apart but it was al dente enough after a good short soak in boiling water. for the sauce, which is crucial to a good pancit miki, i used chicken broth (boiled chicken legs with shallot, salt and peppercorns), soaking liquid from Chinese dried black mushrooms, oyster sauce, a splash of fish sauce and freshly ground black pepper.

saute garlic, red onions, flaked chicken leg meat, sliced cha-shu (leftover from previous ramen recipe), sliced carrots, a small amount of shrimp, sliced fish cakes, soaked and softened black mushrooms, fresh baby portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced snow pea pods, shredded cabbage, and bean sprouts.
stir fry and add on the broth mixture, on high heat, adding more as necessary until vegetables are tender crisp. thicken with a cornstarch water solution (2 tsps. of cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. of water) then garnish with sliced hardboiled eggs and scallions. other toppings you could use: shredded fried egg, que-kiam (fish and pork rolls in tofu skins), and sliced fried tofu.

surprise! everyone ate it. husband asked me to PLEASE remember this method...

a day's celebrations

2005-06-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

we braved it out into Boston traffic and on to the Fish Pier where a lot of development and building has been going on, but an old institution steadfastly attracts tourists and natives alike.
when i first came to Boston i was eighteen, newly arrived from Manila, on holiday with relatives from New York, who had friends, who had three handsome college boys... who took me out (heehee, i felt like the belle of the ball!) walking and riding the trains and to the no name restaurant.
...a-couple-of-decades-plus later i return for lunch with my little family of Bostonians....who'd have thought!

they serve traditional New England fare, mostly deep fried seafood. lobster rolls (lobster salad on hotdog buns), broiled seafood, steaks, french fries, simple pies.
i ordered my favorite, deep fried whole clams which i've loved since i was 18.

the children all ordered fried scrod and french fries ("fish n' chips") with fresh crunchy coleslaw and tangy zesty tartar sauce (they all giggled because they all love spongebob and in his world tartar sauce is a bad bad word).
no frills no nonsense no name restaurant

paper plates, placemats, cups and a pitcher of cold ice water plonked down by sometimes surly servers (lucky we got the affable one, but you never know)... it's in the heart of the touristic area and easily accessible by public transportation. plenty of parking too.

no name restaurant, Boston Fish Pier, Atlantic Avenue. (you can watch airplanes landing and launching from Logan Int'l Airport from a nice windy corner of the pier, and we heard Keane playing at the Bank of America soundstage next door).

for dinner i made the birthday boy er guy his favorite noodles, ramen, but this time from scratch.
the toppings: cha-shu. i rolled up a pork shoulder and sauteed it in scallions, ginger, sake, sugar and soy, then simmered with enough water to cover for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

assorted Japanese style fish cakes, nori, hard boiled eggs, cha-shu, sliced bamboo shoots (could not find the required memna--sweet simmered dried bamboo shoots), scallions, and chuka soba noodles.

the broth formula is from Hiroko Shimbo's "The Japanese Kitchen" a recipe guaranteed to give Tampopo-like success (chicken bones, pork hocks, ginger, scallions, garlic, onion, konbu)..the broth is clear and tasty and satisfying.

birthday noodles for the birthday boy: tokyo style ramen

our little emperor went to a party hosted by our Finnish-American friends and demanded ahem requested the same cake for his daddy's birthday, the traditional berry cream cake that is served at most birthdays and celebrations.
so it is strawberry again, since it's the season for the juiciest and sweetest berries from California. pretty soon we will be able to pick our own in the fields of Massachusetts. hopefully the wet and wild spring didn't ruin them.
i just used a genoise (French sponge) cake split horizontally then filled with sliced hulled berries (macerated in sugar) and sweetened whipped cream (confectioners' sugar and vanilla). easy and lighthearted. just like daddy...

angel hair pasta with white clam sauce

2005-06-02T04:17:00.000-07:00

using freshly steamed clams and its cooking liquor would elevate this dish to clam heaven...but i used an Italian brand (Flott) of baby clams and it turned out very well.

prepare 1/2 lb. pasta according to package directions.
saute 2 crushed garlic cloves in 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil until lightly golden. add drained clams (4 oz. drained weight, clam juice from jar reserved) and toss it about in the olive oil. add 1/3 cup white wine (i used Pinot Grigio), reserved clam juice plus extra, bottled clam juice to total about 1 & 1/4 cup) and snipped up parsley or chervil. let simmer for about 15 minutes until somewhat reduced. (husband likes the sauce slightly thicker so i stir in 2 tbsps. grated parmesan cheese.)
toss with pasta and garnish with more parsley/chervil.

chicken with lemongrass and purple basil

2005-05-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

based on a recipe by Corinne Trang, "Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine."

you like intensely flavored food? this one's for you. make sure to use Vietnamese fish sauce, nuoc mam, "made in Vietnam".

marinate 1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut in to bite-size pieces, in 4 tbsps. fish sauce, 4 tsps. sugar(thoroughly dissolved), 2 tbsps. vegetable oil, 4 large cloves of garlic (well-smashed), 2 stalks of lemongrass (trimmed, ground), at least two hours. reserve marinade.

cut 2 bird or Thai chilis lengthwise and remove seeds. cut diagonally into thin slices. slice 4-6 leaves of purple or thai basil. heat 2 tbsps. vegetable oil in large wok or nonstick saute pan. brown chicken well with sliced chilis and basil. add marinade, freshly ground pepper, and 1/2 cup water, and cover, and let cook at least 30 minutes (add more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if needed). when chicken is tender and well-cooked turn off heat and garnish with more basil leaves. serve hot with jasmine rice.

...summer WILL be here

2005-05-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

summer WILL be here...(my new mantra).
one day of sunshine...*sigh* just as i had set up our charcoal grill for Filipino barbecued pork skewers...a hugh grey storm cloud rolled in and ruined it all.
good thing i had this cooling in the rack. it's very easy to make and almost identical to the peach cake i made last summer. when i bit into it, visions of Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines flashed in my head. strawberry jam, wine, strawberries in baskets...
strawberry cake, fr. Martha Stewart Living, June 2005.

preheat oven to 350F.
butter a ten inch pie plate or quiche dish.
wash, drain, and blot dry, then hull and halve 1 pound of strawberries.
whisk together 1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 & 1/2 tsps. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt.
cream 6 tbsps. unsalted butter, at room temp., and 1 cup sugar. add 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 cup whole milk. (you may use the mixer for this).
add flour mixture and mix by hand, just until incorporated. pour into pie plate.
arrange strawberries on top and sift 2 tbsps. of fine granulated sugar over.

bake at 350F for ten minutes, then lower heat to 325F and bake an hour or until golden brown and set. let cool in wire rack then cut into slices.

the winners!

2005-05-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

i made the same cake from nigella lawson that i "lifted" ahem from emily's baking beast but this time tried a new icing from the donna hay cookbook that WAS up for grabs in the raffle.
i love it. i think i'm sticking to this recipe for now. use the best quality chocolate--it's really worth it. i recommend Trader Joe's Belgian Pound Plus dark chocolate but i've heard scharffen berger, valrhona, callebaut, are good. ghirardelli, baker's
...just read the label for the "minimum cocoa solids" content. mmm-mmm.
truffle icing

15 ozs. couverture chocolate (70% cocoa solids, "dark chocolate")--learned from chef schatzli
2 cups light cream
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup white (granulated) superfine sugar (caster)

in a sauce pan melt the chocolate and cream over low heat, stirring occasionally until very smooth.
over simmering water in a double boiler, beat egg yolks and sugar until light and lemony.
remove from heat. slowly pour in melted chocolate and beat (i used my hand mixer for this) for about 5 minutes until cooled. refrigerate 30 minutes.
pour half of the mixture between cake layers (that have been baked, cooled, then set in springform pan deep enough to fit the cake and icing.)
put in second layer, pour the rest of the mixture but leave about 1/3 cup for spreading on the sides. let sit in refrigerator 5 hours to set the truffle icing...

and now the winners!!!
before i announce, let me just say that my #2 son so enjoyed drawing the winning names from the magic cookie monster "tambiolo" and i so loved seeing his face light up, that we promise to do this again in the very near future.
the magic "tambiolo"

the donna hay baking book goes to....

congratulations JMom!

and the ken keyes, jr. road map goes to...
[she said she has never won a raffle before, well well well! looks like you just did] annabanana!

please email me your snailymaily addresses so i can send them pronto.
....thank you friends

pinoy style party...girls' night out!!!

2005-05-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

what a night!
despite the nasty nor'easter and all the timezone bloghopping, we were able to pull it off.
my cup (of happiness)*, and the buffet table runneth over with all the delicious enticing dishes (and a very interesting chicken entry from Canada), from all over the blogmap..

thessiree, the early-song-bird arrived first with a handsome babypug whose smile will melt your heart. he carried the bagfull of goodies from the land of tulips and windmills...chef thess prepared honeylicious ribs, vermicelli, fresh lumpia with hazelnut sauce, celiak's Southern-fried chicken wings, and her signature suplada coffee with a kick (guaranteed to pick you up or knock you out). make sure you visit her new kitchen!
eet smakelijk, thess!

anna banana prepared a most festive table full of Korean pica pica so beautiful to look at, and suspiciously healthy too...i don't have too many chances to have Korean food, and anna takes us on a wonderful culinary tour...now i have yooboo chobap, sanjok, sujungkwa, sikhye, and toppoki to try, and venture beyond bibimbop and kimchi (hers is homemade!!!). thank you annabanana, i must have nutritious food once in a while.

from ting-aling's newly renovated kitchen came the catch of the day, large lobsters two styles... may i have extra helpings of the lobsters in coconut milk? (had to dig out our baby bibs and break out the paper towels)...essential and perfect finger food, finger-licking good.

from the land of BMW and VW, Gewurtztraminer and Beck's,cheH our fantasy party planner brought a luscious seafood paella, bloggerburgers, a wine cellar full of spirits, ticklish entertainers--check out their coconuts...ahem!...she even solved the problem of party favors...you get to pick goodies! we have to distract the husbands and boyfriends who insisted on crashing this girls' night out...

i was worried that she wouldn't arrive, but chef schatzli was able to break out of an impasse with Norse trolls and brought me her promised trolls' and Greek gods' treasures--parmesan tuiles and goat cheese tart, sure to transport us to Viking heaven, ja!

our only entry so far from Inang Bayan, the Philippines, our pilgrim, Karen brought the pilgrim's fish balls & buchi and to showcase such skewered fantastic food that made us remember the itinerant hawker and street food of our youth, i rented a little fishball cart with a gas burner and the three requisite dips...thank you Karen, i feel reassured now that we have a recipe for these little snacks. the buko (young coconut) juice is just the perfect refreshing accompaniment! a basketfull of sweet mangoes too (thess will share, yes thess?).
my nearest neighbor in the Northeast, stefoodie, who made sure her children were well-fed before coming over, brought my favorite "pulutan" of all time, and my children's favorite cake, sisig and tiramisu ...thank you for making time for us stef! and now you can indulge your cheese cravings because...

chefceliaKtraveled to Spain from the UK and she must have soaked up all the ambience and flavors because she brought her cheesy nachos, pinchitos, and sangria (i think i'm stealing that word pinchitos it's so cute celiaK! )...beware the sangria folks, it's a fruity and dangerous drink...

it led us to the surprises of the evening when atinna flashed her red and flaming flamenco skirt (along with some very scrumptiously unique Japanese tidbits of nishime, edamame and taramo, and assorted Japanese snacks) and castanets. after the twirling and stomping and clapping...well our Filipino festive DNA broke free, and we tossed her roses and Bravos! and Encores! thank you my dear... it was heart-stopping and electrifying. another beloved friend from Germany beng of aromatic blend broke out in an itik-itik, the most glamorous version we've ever seen (remember you have to sing/dance if you don't bring a dish!) and then...

the lights dimmed and my make shift stage curtain drew to a close, where the sultry and elusive cacofonix presented her signature manok sa dilim (chicken in the dark) and even better, serenaded us with her jazzy yet silky renditions of two classic party songs. it was a career-defining moment, there was stunned silence, and then a standing whooping ovation. two award-winning performances, by two beauteous and sparring long-time friends....applause, more roses, more refreshments passed around and we spotted scanns ...their other long-time friend and now ours too...with her cases of vintage classic coke and a huge cake for even more dessert*...singing my daughter's favorite song, "reflection", christina aguilera style..."who is the girl i see...?" thank you daday, i'm so thrilled you're here. (you can tell me about cacof and atinna later when they've gone home)...

so the eating and the singing and dancing so integral to the Filipino concept of a party...wait! at last, my neighbor from the South, the one and only JMom has brought us her delectable
spinach-stuffed mushrooms sshhh! JMom i think this is all mine now...ooops, i've just been caught trying to hide the platter, sorry...okay pass it around. whew! i was so worried you weren't coming JMom, thank you for rushing over, i doubly appreciate it.

and now the winner of the talent contest....

muffy doing her impression of Madonna
heehee, just kidding.

see, i hope i haven't left anyone out and late comers are still welcome. everyone please enjoy, i've so missed the Filipino-style parties full of food, song, and laughter. you know, the good old "ati-atihan" spirit where we all laugh out loud and long and sway to the beat of the music?

the essence and style of a Pinoy party...it can never be too much, and too much is not enough. i think we soaked some of it up from the Chinese , because my husband's family serves food this way too. but then again, we share the party spirit with the Spanish and its former colonies too don't we...

let's do this again. soon. please?

*p.s. parang sumabog na pinyata...i got "found out" and was showered with love. thank you for all the birthday greetings but this party is all about you, my dear new found friends. if only we could do this for real. thank you thank you thank you...

tonight...tonight....

2005-05-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

maraming maraming salamat sa lahat nang dumating nang maaga, at ang daming bitbit pati inumin at entertainment ;) it is terribly endearing...
i hope i haven't intimidated everyone else by my demands er requests...ok you don't have to sing or perform if you have no entry or recipe...although the liquids are all set to lubricate our vocal bravura and unleash all inhibitions (sa kanta lang ha, pa wholesome kuno!)

yes it is tonight! don't forget the raffle, girls. accepting your entries up to today...then check back for the hang overs este...the round up. thank you all for being such warm and wonderful friends [akin lahat ng tira ha:) ] you've really added so much excitement to my blogworld [tulungan niyo akong magligpit]
i hope we will do this again and again [para makapuslit ako sa housework]...

* * * * * * * *
scroll down, you'll see the raffle items: please specify if you'd like to enter both raffles, just the baking book, just the ken keyes book, or none. i will have a magic tambiolo (jackpot device that mixes up all the names and my little son's hand will pick the winners) to mix up all the names and the winner will receive the book in as quick a manner as i can manage (sorry...i can't guarantee speed as i am a hardworking mommy--in my dreams! heehee).
the "donna hay" book is new, albeit from the salvage store so it's been marked by the store not moi. the ken keyes jr. book is brand new from amazon, just a little self-help book i've never read before but i might take a peek at it while waiting for the raffle date. not guaranteed to give you lifelong happiness--that's up to the winner--but just my way of giving you all a "peace, man" sign. groovy.
fire up those recipes, vocal cords, dancing legs....we're gonna parteyyyy.

*****************************

when we were kids my mom attended what they called "hen parties": girls' get togethers, no husbands, kids included only if absolutely necessary (breastfeeding moms?) and remembering the photos she brought home, i thought she looked positively happy and..well, girly.
cacofonix and atinna started the party idea, and now i hereby announce, our very own...
a Blogging GIRLS' NIGHT OUT!!! in the spirit of Is My Blog Burning?
bring your favorite finger or party food, hors d'oeuvres, canape, pica pica... you don't have to make it, you can bring store-bought (a picture would be a treat). also! a must! the beverage you prefer for your "pulutan" este finger food.
everyone welcome, girls and people who like girls or wanna be girls or girls-at-heart, i'll dust off my old karaoke machine (start warming up those pipes!).
if you show up without food then you must sing. post your song.

i'm announcing early so you can make plans for baby sitting. if absolutely necessary, i've hired a child-minder but you may want to make alternate plans ;P.
to sweeten the deal, participants' names or nom de blogs will be included in a raffle(unless you don't want to, just specify) for a brand new cookbook and a Ken Keyes, Jr. book about Happiness .
the coup de grace....sleeping bags and futons provided for those who cannot go home...
and need to sleep it off :)

*****
please submit your party food by May 25, Wednesday. post your entry--recipe, photo, song, dance--video ha, heehee...email me your link, drstel@yahoo.com, and i'll organize them all into a fun buffet table in time for memorial day weekend i hope and pray..tell everybody!

girls' night out: appetizers

2005-05-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

i know i know...i'm always posting recipes that are not politically correct any more. can't help it. i do want to eat healthy, but why are the most delicious luscious foods so shockingly bad for our bodies?
so, the cholesterolic carbolicious red meat inner innards all lend themselves to being eaten in *sigh* tiny bite size portions, perfect eating with oxidant rich red wine (good for you right?)...i like to think the champagne bubbles and beer fizz have got to have health benefits too--because those are my preferred poisons.
so here's to the girls who need the iron, from the duck livers (for absorbing calcium--or is it the other way around?--help, manangK! where are you? we miss you!, for avoiding osteoporosis),
and the occasional animal fat from the pork intestine (is that good for anything???). heehee....

duck liver parfait...one of the first things i made by myself as an excuse to raid my dad's liquor cabinet

saute 2 thinly sliced shallots in 2 tbsp. of melted butter until soft and translucent. scoop out shallots into a food processor. put 3/4 lb. duck (or chicken)livers in the butter, and saute until firm and slightly browned but still pink in the center.
scoop out into the food processor. let cool slightly and add 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp. Courvoisier, salt and freshly ground pepper (and ground cloves if you like them). blend 4-5 minutes until smooth. pass through a strainer into bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours. serve on mini "Paris" toasts with sliced cornichons or pickled onions.

bituka

boil pork intestines in enough water to cover. drain and discard water after vigorous boiling.
re-boil with 2 tbsps. rock salt, black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 2 tsps. dried thyme, until fork tender. scoop out and spread out on a rack and let dry preferably in refrigerator.
using a long thin seafood fork scrape off the white greasy lining and stuff with long thin slivers of chile or mild sweet peppers.
deep fry in vegetable oil. let drain on paper towels, slice on the diagonal and serve immediately with a garlic-coconut vinegar-bird pepper(labuyo) dip...
chicharong bituka...my wild invention, based on a "pica-pica" i had from "Penang" restaurant in Boston's Chinatown, which reminds me of my ma's chicharong bulaklak

lambanog...dug out from my "wine cellar"--dungeon--the label fell off as i washed the dust away, vintage 1999 from a Lucban roadside market (?)

anticipating...reminiscing

2005-05-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

nostalgic party food

my mom had a few dependable always-there party dishes. she'd order these rainbow bread loaves, literally multicolored neons of pink, green, blue, yellow, then we'd grate the canned Kraft cheese and slice the jarred pimiento and mix them all up for pinwheel canapes. she'd also serve chicken-potato salad and my sister and i were assigned the task of peeling and dicing the hot boiled potatoes...
this version might not pass my ma's standards but i made it in the memory of those family parties when cousins and her godchildren and friend's kids would come and we'd have lots of little games in the driveway...ay! to be a child again...

i cut my boiled peeled red potatoes bigger and flake my boiled chicken leg meat chunkier than ma did. she also used boiled carrots instead of raw. i add dijon mustard and these other ingredients, which you may add on to as you wish: sliced red onions, hellman's mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, diced celery, diced or grated carrots, a splash of rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

"jambonettes de volaille au persille... "

2005-05-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

boned stuffed leg of chicken with blue cheese
no no i still don't speak French.
but it was a cold, grey, rainy saturday. again.

we needed to do a lot of yard and back garden work but it just kept on raining.
so i thought i'd experiment with a recipe i noticed from madeleine kamman's "when French women cook"...i don't know why, it was time consuming and tedious work. i was very intrigued and wanted to taste it. the result was thrilling. i can't claim that it is authentic French because i didn't have the veal stock (which had to be homemade!) and committed the ultimate sacrilege of using ....aaargh...canned beef broth. but it was so tasty the children AND husband ate it. certainly a nice change from the usual. we all agreed, next time we'll skip the blue cheese or substitute a milder one. perhaps feta?

debone the chicken legs with very sharp knife and poultry shears

stuffing w/pistachio, mushrooms, bread crumbs, egg yolks, blue cheese, salt and pepper

in stitches

"little hams"

jambonettes

...even better the next day

the recipe is here.

IMBB #15: "has my blog jelled yet?"

2005-05-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

this is my entry for the Is My Blog Burning? event hosted by elise: "has my blog jelled yet?"
i used agar-agar powder in place of powdered gelatin (inspired by santos' entry for the IMBB orange event) because agar-agar or kanten in Japan and gulaman as we call it in the Philippines, seems healthier (being derived from seaweed). this is what my sister and i used, in its other form of dried sticks (in white, red or green), when we made our sweet cold treats in the hot dry months. just remember that it only takes 1 tsp. of agar agar powder to gel 1 & 1/4 cups of liquid and that after being dissolved in hot liquid it cools down and works very quickly.
mango pudding is standard fare on the dessert cart at most dimsum places. every single one i've tasted didn't taste much like mango, so i decided to try and give it a go using a puree of canned mangoes in syrup and garnishing with slices of fresh Champagne mangoes from Mexico and the the fruit that's prickly spiky on the outside yet delectable on the inside, rrrrrambutan....
i get to spotlight rambutan fruit in a recipe!
the june 2005 issue of bon appetit features it ignobly as "freaky fruit". why not exotic? unusual? odd?

finally i saw it here in this part of the world, and it was expensive! but i had to have the kids take a taste. only my daughter was brave enough but she loved it, describing it as milder than lychee

IMBB# 15

mango and rambutan gulaman
2 tsps. agar agar powder
1 cup water
1 can mango in syrup, drained, syrup reserved
2/3 cup mango syrup from can
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 can rambutan in syrup, drained, sliced
slices of fresh mango
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
(cubes of pandan flavored nata de coco, optional)

puree drained mango slices in blender or food processor.
stir agar agar powder in water over medium heat until dissolved, stirring occasionally. add mango puree, syrup and sugar, and stir until smooth and sugar is dissolved.
remove from heat and add heavy cream and sliced rambutan.
pour into a glass loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. let set in refrigerator about 30 minutes to a couple of hours. (alternatively, pour mixture into ramekins or small juice glasses for individual servings.)

unmold onto a plate. slice and dice into cubes and serve in little bowls. garnish with pandan flavored nata de coco, whipped cream, and slices of fresh mango.

note:
agar agar powder is sold in little plastic packets in the dried goods aisle of most Asian groceries.
nata de coco from the Philippines or Thailand, rambutan in syrup, and canned mangoes are all also readily available from Asian groceries.
(posting early. our PC is throwing tantrums...)

the round-up is here!

Sugar High Friday #8: "pucker up with citrus!"

2005-05-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

orange calamansi tart

my good friend alerted me on wednesday to the SHF#8 event being hosted by the Breadbox...last day today!...and i immediately went on a search for calamansi, our native citrus fruit from the Philippines. had to have it! have to spotlight it!
i couldn't find any, not even frozen packets--only had 4 left, each with 1 tbsp. of precious juice--but i did have some more thawed frozen juice with syrup. it would have to do.

calamansi is everywhere in the Philippines, and we use them for everything that requires a citrus zing. they are green like limes but tiny, even smaller than key limes so it is laborious to squeeze for juice. the flavor is more subtle than lemon, more like lemon with a spritz of orange, but only just. it is quite unique. of course here where i am it is like gold. in fact, that's the brand of frozen packets i use: Manila Gold. i'll gladly break my piggy bank each time i see it in the grocery.
substitute lemon if you must...

the recipe for the tart is from donna hay's "Modern Classics 2" and the caramelized orange topping is from madeleine kamman's "When French Women Cook."

first prepare the crust:
into the bowl of a food processor measure 2 cups flour, 3 tbsps. sugar, and a pinch of salt. process 5 seconds to combine. drop in 5 ozs. cold butter (cut into little squares) and process until it looks like fine meal. through the feed tube add 2-3 tbsps. ice cold water and process until just until it forms a ball of dough. do not overmix. (alternatively, cut in butter with knife or pastry blender and mix in water by hand).
form doughball into a flat thick disk, and wrap in plastic/cling wrap. refrigerate 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 350F. roll out pastry, in between sheets of cling wrap, into 14-inch round and transfer into 10-in tart pan with removable bottom. line with parchment or wax paper and pie weights and bake 10 minutes. remove pie weights and paper and bake 10 minutes more or until golden brown.

make the filling as the crust cools.
over a double boiler, over medium heat, in a heat proof bowl, mix 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup calamansi or lemon juice and 2 tsps. finely grated orange zest until sugar is dissolved. keep whisking and add 3/4 cup light (single or pouring) cream and 3 eggs. mix continuously over simmering water, for five minutes. pour into the pie crust over a strainer.
bake for 25 minutes (350F) until set. cool completely.

optional topping:
cut 2 oranges very thinly using a sharp chef's knife. remove pith and seeds if any. in a frying pan pour water up to 1/3 inch deep and add 2 tbsps. white sugar (and optional 2 tbsps. of Grand Marnier or Cognac. allow sugar to melt over medium high heat, and add the orange slices. caramelize, watching closely so they don't scorch. let cool in butter-lined parchment or wax paper.
melt 1/2 cup orange marmalade and strain.
when cool, arrange caramelized orange slices over the tart decoratively. brush with melted marmalade.
remove the tart ring and transfer to a serving platter. use a sharp serrated knife to slice through....pucker up and enjoy...

they came back

2005-05-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

not bad for someone with an infamous black thumb.
i usually get squeamish when i see earthworms and bumblebees, and am not too fond of squishy mud, but i'm trying to put on false bravado because i have little kiddies who watch my every move and reaction. so i'm terribly grateful, despite the unseasonable unreasonable cold, the baby herbs grew back and i was able to sustain some living things in the little ledge. i counted 12. peppermint, spearmint, basil, Greek oregano, German thyme(the favorite), sage, lemon balm, and chives came back from last year. new this year are dill, chervil, lavender, cilantro; am on the lookout for rosemary for my lamb chops...
a dozen herbs!!

and one little critter
...i didn't even scream eeeeeeek. #2 son found him scurrying across the patio and it stayed long enough for my daughter to see, and for a photo pose before leaping off to the neighbor's garden...(it was about 2 inches long, sooo cute, the kids named it "squeaker" and they're waiting for his return).

raspberry almond gems

2005-05-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

delivered with the help of Her Majesty's Royal Mail and the hardworking mail carriers of the U.S.P.S. were these beautiful heavy duty non-stick muffin pans...i'd been itching to use them and finally cleared enough space in the counter and got out of my cooking inertia to bake again. thank you sweet and gentle friend.
"mom, you should sell these..."--rave from daughter, regarding these little gems from judy rosenberg's "chocolate-packed jam-filled butter-rich no-holds-barred cookie book."
i used my electric mixer though the recipe specified a food processor. it worked just fine. just ask my kids.

how to:
preheat oven to 350F. line 2 mini muffin pans (24 minis in each pan) with paper cup liners.
whisk together 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/8 tsp. salt.

grate 7 ounces of almond paste into a large bowl. cut in 1/2 cup sugar and mix well.
add 1 & 1/2 tsps. of lemon zest.
scatter 12 tbsps. of room temperature butter on top of almond paste mixture and blend well until creamy.
add 1/2 tsp. lemon extract and 1/2 tsp. almond extract.

beat 4 large eggs and 6 tbsps. sugar until thick and pale (about 5-6 minutes).

sift the flour mixture over the almond paste mixture, beat about 1 minute and then pour in the beaten eggs. mix well just until combined.

scoop a rounded 1/2 tsp. of batter over each mini muffin cup. top with 1/8 tsp. of raspberry preserves (or strawberry), then scoop another rounded 1/2 tsp. of batter.
bake for 20 to 25 minutes. let cool before glazing*.

*glaze:
10 tbsps. confectioners' (powdered)sugar
1 tbsp. hot boiling water
1 tsp. almond extract

mix well until glassy-smooth.

dip the tops of each cake. suggested decor: almond halves, raspberries, strawberry slices.

pinoy burger

2005-05-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

no i won't mess with the way you eat your burger...my personal add-ons include swiss cheese, dijon mustard, a thick slice of tomato, crispy lettuce, heinz ketchup, sliced baby cornichons, lightly grilled onion...but i only want the pinoy patty to star in between the onion rolls.
during childhood our parents didn't go to the supermarket too often. there weren't very many around. but when they did we all tried to wrangle a seat in the car because invariably they'd go to "tropical hut" food mart on Quezon Boulevard (?, behind the TV studios? in Quezon City) where there was a little counter with high stools and all four of us kids would order the big burger. (i think our parents tried to sneak away without us many times). this was just about the only burger we ate, unless we stopped by the A&W Burger& Root Beer joint near the Luneta Park.
1992 i brought my husband and then-only child to Boracay and there it was, i encountered it again, at the Club Panoly beach resort: the juicy, rich, oniony tasty pinoy patty. i dissected and sliced and tasted it and came up with this: my attempt to duplicate that luscious flavorful slab of protein.

2 lbs. ground beef (up to 80% lean)
2 medium shallots, finely minced
2 tbsps. pinoy soy sauce (such as silver swan or lauriat or pinya)
ground pepper

mix well all above ingredients. let marinate at least 2 hours. form into patties and grill or broil. pile on to your favorite roll (kaiser, onion, Wonder, etc..) the kids love to top their own after i grill their burger and let the cheese melt in a warmed oven.

beef caldereta

2005-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

growing up, caldereta meant goat meat, thus we never had it. my ma dislikes goat, describing the taste thusly, "maanggo," which translates loosely into gamey-smelly. so we only ever had it at town fiestas, those saints' days of towns when the processions and lavish buffet meals are cooked for family and friends to enjoy.
moving away from the Mother Land meant missing those things i hardly ever used to eat. so i had to search for a recipe.
this one is culled from several sources: books, the foodsites, bloggers. one, sorry i forgot who or where, advocated for marinating first. sassy pinoy cook must be acknowledged for the chicken liver substitution in place of pork liver, and the rest to the "Filipino Homestyle Recipes" by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco. while i would have loved to use lamb instead of stewing beef cubes, no one else but me and maybe my only daughter would have it. good thing they all love this type of meaty, saucy, potato-ey "ulam" (entree) that's so luscious over hot jasmine rice.
the procedure, due to a lapse in concentration, deviates from the pinoy norm: no sauteeing of onions and tomatoes. the sauce is made separately from the beef as it tenderizes but the resulting dish was flavorful, tangy, not too spicy, not too rich (fiesta worthy?).

1 & 1/2 lbs. stewing beef, cut into chunks
1/3 cup pineapple juice or calamansi syrup
1 tbsp. maggi
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp. peppercorns, lightly pounded
1 bay leaf
marinate beef in this mixture for at least 2 hours. reserve the liquid.

3 tbsps. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
6 cups water
1 lb. chicken livers, poached, grilled, mashed *
2 spanish sausages "chorizos", thinly sliced
3/4 cup minced garlic
1 small can tomato paste
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsps. sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
4 potatoes, peeled, quartered and fried
2 medium carrots, cut into big chunks
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed (i substituted edamame, my kids don't like green peas)
1/2 cup pimiento stuffed olives
2-4 hard boiled eggs, optional

heat 2 tbsps. of the oil in a large casserole and saute the beef until evenly browned. place the beef and oil in a stockpot. add the onions and pour in the water and the marinade. bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

in a large sauce pan, heat remaining olive oil and saute the chorizos until browned, about 2 minutes. remove from the pan and set aside.
saute the garlic in the same oil until fragrant. stir in the livers, tomato paste, 1 & 1/2 cups water, tomatoes, and vinegar. let simmer 5 minutes. add the cheese, sugar, salt and pepper. mix thoroughly and simmer 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally until mixture forms a smooth sauce.
pour the liver mixture into the simmering beef in the casserole. stir to combine well and simmer for 30 minutes or until almost tender. add the potatoes and carrots and simmer until the potatoes, carrots are cooked and beef is fork tender, about 30 minutes more.
stir in the reserved chorizos, bell peppers, edamame or green peas, olives and hard-boiled eggs. serve hot with lots of rice.

*to prepare chicken livers:
boil water with thyme sprigs, peppercorns, salt, and a bay leaf. poach livers in this liquid just until firm, about 1 and a half minutes. remove to a grill pan and let cool completely. grill briefly until brown all over. let cool, then mash finely. (this is also the same way i prepare them for rumaki: wrapping in bacon slices after poaching, then skewering & grilling, watching carefully so as not to set the bacon aflame).

feeling blah?

2005-05-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

tastebuds feeling dull?
my lola (grandmother) called it "sunok."
she had a way with words: "suya" she applied to irritating, annoying commercials on tv, lascivious dance numbers on lunchtime shows with "nakakasuya" tv hosts like Ariel Rivera (bemoustached curly haired Manila celebrity from the '70s...)
"sunok" she reserved for food that she couldn't stomach (especially cheesy, rich sauces). she also used it the describe the feeling when she couldn't think of anything to cook and all the dishes seemed tired and unsavory. (this happened to her often when she lived in a remote upstate New York town.) sorry i can't think of English translations that would accurately depict the sensations of the Tagalog...

so there comes a time when a foodie needs a break from saucy and thick and heavy...

formula #1: kinilaw (ceviche) of oysters, though this recipe is more like adobo in that the marinade is brought up to the boil ("you're actually cooking it, huh?", husband remarked quite cheekily.)

anti-"sunok" formula #2: husband's mother's day eve offering, sashimi deluxe platter from a famous organic supermarket with the best wasabi packets i ever met: "Genji Express" brand

tastebuds woke up yet?

kinilaw na talaba(ceviche of oysters) ala adobo ( based on "Recipes of the Philippines" by Enriqueta David Perez)

1 pint shucked oysters in their own liquor, available in sealed jars from most supermarkets & Asian groceries
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 shallots, sliced thinly
salt
crushed peppercorns
1/3 to 1/2 cup Marukan rice vinegar

mix all ingredients in a saucepan and let marinate for 2 hours. bring up to a boil
and simmer for 2 minutes. remove from heat, let cool and serve with sliced bird chilis, if desired.

2005-05-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

... happy mother's day...

traditionally the second sunday of May is the biggest brunch day for the restaurants around here. i think it's mostly a greeting card moment...well anyway it's sweet. i get to receive handmade presents from my kids, crafted at school. frankly i'd rather be feted by my children, like i deserve it, all year. wishful wishful thinking.
here's a bouquet for all the mommies, on earth and in heaven, and those who have a nurturing, mothering nature and take in "orphaned" souls...and especially for those whose children are far away.
(just don't pin a corsage on me yet!)

2005-05-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

taramosalata

my former co-worker served me this when she invited me for a little visit to Hampshire, England, and when i came back i had to make my own. since neither taramasalata nor tarama were sold anywhere within an hour drive, i improvised with either red lumpfish or salmon roe. the recipe from Craig Claiborne is the best but i've since found a source for the ready-made dip which is great with baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, potato chips or corn chips.

3 slices white bread
3 tbsps. bottled tarama
2 tbsps. lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped scallions

trim crusts from the bread and soak the slices in cold water. squeeze the bread thoroughly.

place the tarama and the lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and break the bread into the mixture. pulse on and off until thoroughly blended. add the oil gradually. the mixture should thicken to the consistency of thick mayonnaise. stir in the scallions. serve as a dip in the center of a salad tray ringed with slices of green pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. or serve with buttered toast.

tamarind in the dinuguan & pandan in the puto

2005-05-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

love and marriage, horse and carriage...for me it's not a good dinuguan (blood and meat stew) without a spongy puto(steamed rice cake).
i've posted dinuguan here before but my dear anggiwa in tokyoland, pining for her mommy's cooking, mentioned the addition of tamarind leaves. i've also seen it mentioned in other food blogs that sinigang mix (the powdered kind sold in packets) made a good souring agent.
i had neither tamarind leaves nor sinigang mix.
but i had this:
tamarind block

simply cut off a piece, using as much or as little as you wish, soak in medium-hot water for at least 15 minutes, then extract the liquid and strain into your dinuguan pot.

the puto came from a box...white king puto mix, following the instructions on the back for the pandan variation. the only disobedient thing i did was to use up a whole pack of frozen pandan (boiling in 4 cups of water & reducing down to 2 cups; the recipe needs only a cup, so freeze the rest and use up later), figuring that the freezing might have lessened the power of its flavoring. it tasted terribly...GOOD.
the mildly sweet puto gets along very well with the tangy rich stew. #1 son saw me dunking the puto into the "black dish" and asked "but why MOM?" they love it as a snack/dessert item only for now. *sigh* i need to bring them to Manila for some cultural orientation....

2005-05-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

summer motto: bbq often

whenever the thermometer hits 70F we rejoice, we dance, we giggle, we laugh...it's so rare lately.
this was our first cook out and meal outside since spring's arrival.
our most often featured item of course is pork sticks --pork butt, cubed, marinated in soy, garlic, sprite, banana ketchup,pineapple juice, calamansi/lemon, ground pepper...everyone's got their own recipe. i just splash everything into a glass jar, tasting all along before pouring into the pork. let sit at least an hour.

i also love broiled squid, in this case the gigantic squid that's been turning up at the Chinese grocery lately. just one, marinated in olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and a splash of lemon right before cooking. the scent of squid grilled over charcoal...ahhh. smells like the corner beer garden in my old Diliman neighborhood!
a whole fish is great too, to quickly cook covered in foil or banana leaf...just salt and pepper rubbed all over.

now if only it would warm up again! i've finally found a stable supply of cowboy charcoal--hardwood chunks, please no briquets! this drives husband nuts when i make him search high and low for real charcoal. my obsessive self ascending.

sunshine cake

2005-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

sunshine cake w/ chocolate buttercream

a cake with soft crumb and delectable taste...
...recipe finally here!...sorry dears.

this was my antidote to a venomous gloomy weekend. cold rain grey rain buckets of rain, saturday AND sunday. in tagalog, we were "batong bato" from cabin fever and staying in.
i've heard it said that the back of the box recipes are tried-and-true, and this one certainly is. i found it on the back of my lemon extract box, those teeny tiny jars from a little spice company in the US that are priced humongously...it provided a bite of sunshine at least.
i added lemon and orange zest to the original though, because i like zingy tangy flavors, and since i had a lone blood orange i used that for the juice, AND i also used the last splash out of my Grand Marnier nip.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. orange juice
2 tsps. pure lemon extract (or, zest of one lemon and 1 orange, grated w/ Microplane grater--fluffier and lighter, so use it all)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

have all ingredients at room temperature.
preheat oven to 325F.
beat butter and sugar until creamy. add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. in another bowl, mix flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream. stir in remaining ingredients. spoon batter into greased and floured Bundt pan.
bake 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

remove from oven and set pan on a rack to cool ten minutes. invert into a cake platter and cool completely before frosting with a half recipe of milk chocolate buttercream.

2005-05-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

skewers

Vietnamese style meatballs

adapted from Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine, Corinne Trang. i made it easy on myself and used all ground meat--she started with a hunk of meat (pork solely) that was thinly sliced, marinated, then ground, then marinated some more. i added ground chicken to lighten it up a bit.

3/4 lb. ground pork
3/4 lb. ground chicken
2 shallots, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, slightly smashed but kept whole
4 tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp.sugar
freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsps. potato starch
(cilantro leaves, chopped, optional)

mix shallots, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar. pour over ground meat mixture
and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, up to 6 hours.
before grilling add potato starch and ground pepper and mix well. (top photo shows a few skewers with cilantro...husband can't stand cilantro, which i looove.)
form into 1& 1/2 inch balls and skewer into pre-soaked bamboo sticks. grill or broil about 2 minutes per side (watch closely), or until meatballs are cooked through and browned.

serve with nuoc cham or peanut dipping sauce,if desired. ( i used Maesri brand sweet chilli sauce with lemon juice and fish sauce, and garlic.)

2005-05-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sisig: Diced meats seasoned with spices and served
on a sizzling hot platter

Which Filipino Food Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

chestnut crepes

2005-05-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

our new Sunday brunch item...i wanted to use up the chestnut flour before it got stale.
this is a nutty brown crepe, from Martha Stewart.

1 & 1/2 cups chestnut flour, sifted or whisked very well
1/8 tsp. salt
1 & 1/4 cups whole milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. melted butter (have some extra melted butter on hand, for brushing on crepes before filling)

whisk together flour and salt. add milk in a steady stream while whisking to make a smooth paste. add the eggs and melted butter and mix just until combined.
heat non-stick crepe pan or griddle. pour 2 tbsps. batter into the middle of the pan and immediately twirl to spread it out thinly. cook until top is set and dry and then flip.
brush melted butter, or sift powdered sugar and fill with jam or nutella or chestnut cream (available from Italian grocers). above photo shows powdered sugar, flecks of ricotta cheese and chopped up strawberries.

2005-04-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

love and affection

..to send us off to a well-earned weekend. i still have heaps of laundry! it's just that i can't bear for the kids to re-use their clothes (jeans at least). i can't let go of the idea that school is a virus buffet when they get home i make sure they wash their hands and change. the forecast is for a grey and rainy weekend so...that means time for housework??
i was searching for chocnut and curly tops at the Asian groceries here. no such luck, but i picked up these goodies from Japan and Switzerland. "Apollo" and "choco baby" were gambles that paid off...delicious, on the sweet side, chocolatey. Toblerone, well it's a nostalgic thing: reminds me of Christmases in Manila when they seemed to suddenly sprout out in the stores and be gifted to ma and dad from their workplaces.

i was moved enough by the chocolate to sing a love song...to chocolate. and for my sweet friends.

"i am not in love
but i'm open to persuasion
east or west
where's the best
for romancing
with a friend
i can smile
but with a lover
i could hold my head back
i could really laugh
really laugh
thank you
you took me dancing
'cross the floor
cheek to cheek
but with a lover
i could really move
really move
i could really dance
really dance

i could really move
really move

now if i can feel the sun
in my eyes
and the rain on my face
why can't i
feel love
i can really love
really love

now i got all
the friends that i want
i may need more
but i shall just stick to those
that i have got
with friends i still feel
so insecure
little darling i believe you could
help me a lot
just take my hand
and lead me where you will
no conversation
no wave goodnight
just make love
with affection
sing me another love song
but this time
with a little dedication
sing it, sing it
you know that's what i like
once more with feeling
give me love

love..."

-joan armatrading, "love and affection"

2005-04-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

i'm baaaack...
back to reality, back to routines and schedules. back to my mommybus as chauffeur.
a few weeks ago i read a post by sweet toni on how she wished to be there to make lunch boxes for her kids and it struck me. that's me. c'est moi! it's fun and cute and sweet. i make this little bento box style for my #2son everyday, because he starts school a little later than the older two, i have more time to make him a more thoughtful lunch. the other two have very definite tastes already, and they eat well and healthy (brainwashed at school too), but this youngest one i want to be able to shape more.
he doesn't really need it--he's a blue blooded foodie, dyed in the wool, genuine, "can i try that mom?" kind of guy. but they reach a certain age and there's a danger of bowing to peer pressure. you know, chicken-nuggets-and-burgers-and-fries-only types might exert their influence. so i make him these kind of lunches....

monday he had 8 delights lo mein and the box came back empty! heehee.

2005-04-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

ear shaped pasta with three peas

orecchiette pasta tossed in crisped bacon, sugar snap peas, pea shoots (my kids laugh everytime i say this, they can barely eat!), thawed frozen petite peas and parmesan. (spinach or watercress can be substituted for the pea shoots if they are not available.)
the recipe is here.
a dish that evokes springtime very well. but.
next time i make it i will brown some garlic in the bacon fat, with a few anchovy fillets and saute until the anchovies melt before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. i will also substitute basil for the mint just to add a bit more ooomph and vavavavoom to the dish.

2005-04-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

tuna and cannellini salad, recipe from Delia Smith's How to Cook

assemble just before serving.

make the spice paste: grind in a mortar 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsps. sea salt, 1 & 1/4 tsps. peppercorns, and 1/2 tsp. powdered mustard (such as Colman's), until quite pasty.
scrape into a jar w/ a lid and add 3 tbps. oil from tuna, 3 tbsps. lemon juice, lemon zest from 1 lemon, & 3 tbsps. olive oil. shut tightly and shake. (can be made a day ahead.)

warm up 2 15-oz. cans of cannellini (white kidney beans) in a saucepan. drain and add 2 cans of drained tuna in oil (i used Pastene brand)--oil reserved for the dressing. mix well and arrange over a bed of rocket (arugula)* or green leaf lettuce. pour well -shaken dressing over and garnish with thinly sliced red onions.

i love this salad because of the assertive flavors of garlic, mustard, tuna, pepper...but i guess it is anathema to anyone who hates any of those above, as many of my husband's family are...*sigh*sigh*sigh*. more for me i guess...

*whoa! my first time to try rocket and i was quite surprised at how pungent it was. dear friends, please let me know if this is 'normal' or maybe i just happened upon a bad bunch...i don't like adding to my list of "can't eat" because i pride myself on eating most things! my can't eat list right now only consists of sea urchin roe.

2005-04-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

handaan
clockwise: honey mustard wings, seafood (squid, shrimp and scallop) with vegetables, beef in oyster sauce, yang chow fried rice, roast cuttlefish, scallion chicken, 8 delight lo mein, shrimp lo mein, roast duck, char siu, carrot and cucumber platter w/ TGIF spinach-artichoke dip. center: tuna and cannellini with lemon pepper dressing.

#1son's party with the clan...he said it would be his last big cake and candle and presents party, which made me sniffle a bit. he's trying to be a grown up already??
we took a short cut and bought mostly take out from the Chinese grocery's butchers (the line was long but the meats were fresh and hot!), and noodles, seafood and rice from the newish Chinese restaurant in town. i only made three "anti-Chinese-food" dishes--strictly in the sense of anti pasti, mind) : honey mustard wings, tuna and bean salad with lemon pepper dressing (tastes better than it sounds, promise!) and orecchiette pasta with three peas. both dishes were not too popular with the folks. *sigh* but i thought they were great. husby says it's too novel for them. oh well.
i had to use up some canned chestnuts and thought i'd make a chestnut cake but i got cold feet and asked husband to buy a little ice cream cake for the kiddies...

recipes for the tuna and bean salad, orecchiette pasta and chestnut cake (chestnut genoise frosted with chestnut mousse cream with a filling of milk chocolate buttercream) to follow....

a little respite

2005-04-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

the basin, kancamagus highway, new hampshire

a much needed getaway. we communed with mighty momma nature in the great white mountains. she formed this smooth granite "basin" with the force of churning melting snow water from the tops of the mountain caps. the water was fearsomely powerful. i held on to the little ones really tight despite the fencing all around.
mountains, birch, pine and maple trees. a few hours away from concrete, steel, traffic, grumpy pedestrians...

i was just a tad disappointed that it wasn't a log cabin this time, though it did have a lovely fireplace and more than enough rooms. (off season for skiers, great bargains for non skiers.)
fireplace bug

when we came back there was a package at the door from the great mommy lola who sent her grandchildren the sweet treats that never fail to transport the kid-at-heart in me.
i know where to get the best Lindt, Droste, Tobler, Milka (at deep discounts!) ...but my heart belongs to ...
chocnut and curly tops....thanks ma.

grandfather's birthday dinner

2005-04-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

(marinated sliced jelly fish, roast chicken, roast pork, marinated boiled sliced beef)
from grandfather's favorite restaurant in the heart of Chinatown.
we were the only group there that was not part of a wedding banquet--on that level there was a lion dance (which according to the family was NOT a traditional part of awedding party, but was probably provided to entertain the non-Chinese guests) and raucous toasts and karaoke from people who need some champagne to unleash their inhibitions...my kids and i laughed because at one point we heard someone squawking like when we accidentally step on murphy's tail!
this is the only photo from 13 courses total, that i could take. so sorry. it was a table full of people (13 in our table), it took 3 hours from start to finish, and...i got too shy to take the camera out at each serving...(translation: too intent on eating.) by the time the birthday cake (Chinatown style, a sponge cake with cream and peaches as frosting, children's favorite) was served, we were stuffed like turkeys.
from start to finish:
appetizer meat platter
stir fried scallops (sent back, it tasted awful and was replaced by seafood in nest)
stir fried prawns
seafood soup
lobster with ginger and scallion
braised mustard and black mushroom
fried whole chicken
beef in oyster sauce
stir fried sliced chicken
whole steamed fish with scallions
yee mien birthday noodles with chives
yang chow fried rice
red bean sweet soup

husband and siblings thought it was "too much"...but to see grandpa's face so bright and smiley, i admonished husband to just enjoy the meal for his dad!

2005-04-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

bday cake for my first babehlove...

i tried tita nigella's recipe for cocoa fudge cake, which i "purloined" from emily's baking beast. when it came time to measure out dry ingredients i got a bit apprehensive though...i decided to use more Droste cocoa (one packed and heaped tablespoon--Dutch processed cocoa with alkali--) than she called for--my chocolate cake experts put the fear in me, they might complain!, and added left over black coffee (about 1/4 cup) to the chilled water to total still the same amount of liquid ( 1 & 1/3 cup).

i also frosted with milk chocolate buttercream from "The Cake Bible" of Rose Levy Beranbaum: melt 16 ounces of milk chocolate and 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler (very low heat, and remove bowl when almost completely melted and let residual heat do the rest of the melting). whip 12 ounces of softened butter then add the melted cooled chocolate. this makes enough to frost an 8-in round two-layer cake.
the birthday boy er guy raved over it, as much as a 16 year old can rave ("what's in the icing, mom?" "why what's the matter?"--defensive mom-- "nothing, it's good...")
the cake itself was moist, deep, and luscious.

my cool dude

chocolate almond macaroons

2005-04-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Schokoladenmakronen

[husband has implored me to stop cooking! no, he is not tired of my cuisine, yet, but our refrigerator is bulging and bursting at the seams...but he didn't say "no baking"... ;P]
the little German i know, i learned from the Professor Bhaer of Josephine March ("Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott was required reading by my grandmother/lola)...liebling! liebchen! Gott in Himmel, bitte, nein!
hopefully i've spelled it out right but-just-can't-say-it-for-sure, our present favorite German word.
i first had a taste of this nutty macaroon from a German mom, who wouldn't part with the recipe...
this i found in a "Christmas in Germany" book we borrowed from the library (looking for an authentic gingerbread house recipe). it is a perfect mate to the madeleines to use up the egg whites. they're quite plain looking, so you can dress them up with a drizzle of or a quick dip in melted chocolate, or fondant icing. but they're delicious as is: dark, nutty, deep.

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups finely ground almonds
4 ozs. of unsweetened chocolate, finely grated
1 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, finely grated
3 tbsps. water
a heaping 1/4 tsp. of ground Australian wattle seed,* optional (original recipe calls for cinnamon plus a dash each of nutmeg and all spice; my kids like none of these though)

preheat oven to 300F. line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.
beat egg whites until stiff, adding sugar gradually just as egg whites start to gain volume.
fold in gently the almonds, chocolates, water, and spices, if using.
drop by teaspoonfuls into the cookie sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are set and dry.
let cool 2 minutes then carefully lift off of wax paper lined sheets.

store in air-tight container.
*i got intrigued when santos whipped up some magic with this at her food blog. it gives an unusual coffee/hazelnut/mild chocolate/vanilla scent. on the tiny little jar it says that it goes well with chocolate and nuts. amen. my kittens are sold on it.

madeleines

2005-04-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

when #1 son saw that the madeleine plaques,newly washed and rinsed, were spread out on the table, he shot me an extra loving look. (which is pretty incredible coming from an almost sweet-sixteen-NOT! boy...)
"mom, could it be... you're making...madeleines?"
poor baby, i haven't made these in years. when it was just him and me i made them for him pretty regularly. so i made it for them over the weekend...and they're all incredibly...gone.
i tried another recipe this time, from Baking with Julia, edited by Dorie Greenspan, and based on the eponymous TV series with the beloved venerable chef and her guests.
i think i like the Craig Claiborne version from "The Best of the New York Times" cookbook, being softer and crumblier, but the sweeties loved them.

once the batter is mixed it must be baked right away to have a good and soft "crumb".

preheat oven to 400F.

melt 4 tbsps. butter.
use 1 tbsp. to grease generously, and then flour every nook and cranny of the shell shaped plaques. tap out excess flour (i tap the plaque upside down against the padding of my hand over the sink).
measure out 2/3 cup sugar, scoop out 1 tbsp. for the flour mixture.
sift together 1 & 1/4 cups cake flour with 1 tbsp. of the sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt.

beat 4 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs with the rest of the sugar until light and lemony and the consistency of soft whipped cream. add 1 tsp. of vanilla during the last few minutes of whipping. add the flour in thirds, folding gently , by hand, only until flour disappears into the batter before adding the next batch.

mix in the remaining 3 tbps. of melted butter and fold gently until fully incorporated. do not over beat or the cookies become tough.
bake for about 10 minutes or until the tops are set, and there is a little "bump". remove plaques from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 1 minute. carefully pry the cookies off the plaques with a gentle rocking motion, or use the sharp tip of a knife to pop them out. cool completely. sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or serve with whipped cream if desired.

"plaques"

but by then my kids have waited long enough...

food court in the "University Belt"

2005-04-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

dimsum time again. yes we gotta have it. (come to think of it, every city we visit we always plan around whether they have a chinatown or not).
this saturday after daughter's extra curricular enrichment program we picked her up and went straight to Brookline/Brighton border, which abuts the "University Belt": hereabouts is Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern Univ. and across the river Charles is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Univ. Many other colleges are nearby (Simmons, Wheelock, Newbury, Berklee College of Music), so when you walk around you're swamped by college students.
on the junction where Commonwealth Avenue meets Brighton Ave. is a branch of the "Super 88" chain of Asian groceries and in this location is a little food court. our kids love the fastfood joint "kantin" where they order their rice plates and steaming wonton soup bowls. daughter always goes for the roast duck rice plate, and both sons the soup noodles with fish balls or dumplings. the portions are large and satisfying and the tastes are...well, just alright.

kids' favorite stall

this time though our eyes were bigger than our stomachs ("takaw mata"). we were so hungry by the time we got there that husband and i ticked off too many items from the "dimsum chef" order form.

after a 10 minute wait our number came up, and this is how our table looked...all the items came out hot and steaming in little styrofoam "clam" boxes. tastes were once again, just alright.

there is a Korean food stall too, and i always go for the bibimbap in a stone pot, 'okdol'.
this time i tried seafood, instead of the beef bulgogi (sweet barbecue). the super-heated okdol holds rice on the bottom, still crackling, and little heaps of vegetables-sauteed zucchini, bean sprouts, & spinach, and carrot and radish pickles all around. the seafood portion was meager(1 mussel, 3 medium shrimps, 2 pieces of fish cake, 2 of surimi-imitation crab meat--) though, and was overwhelmed by the red chili paste but still a good buy.
there are a few other food stalls--among them Japanese, Thai, and a bubble tea place, but we tend to focus on just this one little corner.
we hopped over the the grocery's freezer section to buy 2 packs of pandan ice cream pops for dessert.
this is a place where young studious hungry college kids can refurbish their stores without going all the way to the "big city".
ahh, but the traffic! the traffic! the blooming Boston traffic...

grilled lamb shoulder chops

2005-04-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

i would love to prepare a whole leg of lamb with this marinade but...only my daughter and i like lamb in this household. we've done this with lamb rib chops but i had a few packs of shoulder chops in the freezer intended for caldereta (stew with liver sauce). somehow i could not get around to making it--the thought that only i would eat it as one of my secret pots didn't move me.
so i experimented with this. and it turned out wonderfully. they had pizza from the young Greek guys around the corner, and i had these. after her meat lovers slice, daughter said, okay now i'll have some mom.

marinate chops in olive oil, enough to coat each piece generously, 4 fat garlic cloves, smashed well, freshly ground black pepper, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and a couple of teaspoons of Maggi liquid seasoning.
my rosemary plants have passed away in the awful brutal winter that we just endured so i rummaged in my vegetable bin and tried one stalk of smashed young garlic instead. grate a lemon and use about 1 tsp. of zest and mix everything well. marinate for at least an hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.
grill or broil about 3 minutes per side.
it was garlicky great! i will try this with pork butt cubes next time too, until i can recruit more members of this family to try lamb...

steamed black rice pudding with coconut custard topping

2005-04-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

i had to have some kind of kalamay or kakanin, a steamed rice pudding with sweet coconut jam or custard, the kind my ma used to bring home on Saturday mornings from the wet market. the craving got stronger and stronger, then i saw celia k's biko.

i decided to use up my black rice, left over from countless experiments searching for a "puto bumbong" substitute.
this recipe is from "Classic Asian Cakes and Desserts", one of a series of little spiral bound books i found at my friendly neighborhood salvage store. (the original calls for plain glutinous rice.)

2 cups black rice, soaked at least 4 hours, preferably overnight
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup rich coconut milk (used frozen "handaan" brand)
1 pandan leaf, torn lengthwise and tied into a knot (optional: my bamboo steamer provided fragrance)

drain the black rice ("pirurutong") and mix with coconut milk, salt, and pandan bundle (if using). pour in to 8-inch cake pan lined with banana leaf or aluminum foil. butter lightly.
steam for 2 hours, or until rice is set and tender ( the time will also depend on how long black rice is soaked; replenish steaming water occasionally, taking care not to dry it out or your bamboo steamer will burn)

meanwhile make coconut custard topping:
beat 2 eggs with 1 cup packed light brown sugar (use dark if you like it more molasses-like) until sugar is dissolved. add 3/4 cup thick coconut milk and whisk in 1 tbsp. rice flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat, stirring all the time until the mixture starts to coat the back of a spoon. remove from the heat immediately and pour over the black rice layer. steam some more over gentle heat for 25 minutes or until topping sets.
cool rice cake thoroughly before cutting into slices.

bibingkang pirurutong

the kids spent a long time "hmmmm"-ing. they liked the chewy nutty texture of the pirurutong paired with the luscious coconut custard layer on top. next time i might try for a combination of white glutinous and black rice. yes we will do this again!

2005-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

golden brown fried grated potatoes (potato pancakes, hash browns)

kids were craving bistek so i got a nice Angus beef flank steak (marinated in sweet soy and sweetened calamansi juice and a crushed garlic clove this time) and instead of deep-frying potato slices, i decided to make something i'd seen in a friend's food blog.
boil about a two pounds of peeled white potatoes only until fork can pierce about 1/2 inch through (inside will be firm) and plunge into ice cold water. drain completely on clean towels. when cool enough to handle grate coarsely. (you may add 2 tbsps. finely grated white onions.) season with salt and pepper and toss. form into patties and fry in 2 tbsps. butter and 2 tbsps. olive oil.
makes about 6 patties.
paired with caramelized onion rings, it was delectable. it was crunchy. it was gone in a flash.
another great food idea from the suplada chef. my children thank you, husband thanks you, i thank you!

clay pot pork

2005-04-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

from Gourmet, April 2004

...or Dutch oven pork? in any case, use a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid for this dish, which won rave reviews from my in-house critics. i made a tiny portion (intending it as a secret pot for myself, with a roast chicken dinner for my little guys), but as it was cooking the aromas circling around the house spiked their appetites. they kept coming into the kitchen "what's that i smell?" one by one.
i didn't make much because they don't usually enjoy my fish-sauce-based dishes. it's that thing where you either love it or you hate it. i switched to Vietnamese nuoc mam, specifically labeled "phu quoc" and "product of Vietnam", after the article came out in Gourmet. they touted it as the top of the line fish sauce for purity of ingredients and deep complex flavor. and i say amen to that: the kids finished off the dish, #1 son asked me to make some more right away, daughter announced this is the first dish she will cook by herself, and #2 son said, verbatim: "mom, i wonder why this reminds me of cha gio[Vietnamese spring roll]?"
(the original recipe calls for boneless pork shoulder but i prefer to have some fat and bone in this so i used country style spare ribs. just cut around the bone into chunks, as even in size as you can manage.)

1/3 cup fish sauce, preferably Vietnamese brand
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water or chicken or pork broth
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 large shallots, sliced thinly
3 scallions, sliced diagonally into thin slices, green and white parts separated
1 to 1 & 1/2 lb. pork spare ribs, country style, cut into chunks, or boneless pork shoulder, cubed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

toss pork with black pepper and set aside.
cook the sugar in the bottom of a heavy pot, such as a clay pot or Dutch oven, over moderate heat, without stirring, until it begins to melt. stir gently with a fork until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. carefully pour in broth or water and fish sauce (caramel will harden and steam vigorously) and cook over moderate heat stirring until caramel is dissolved.
add shallots, garlic, and white parts of scallions, and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, about 4 minutes. stir pork into sauce. bring to a simmer, then cover pan and braise over low heat, stirring once in a while, for about 1 & 1/4 to 1 & 1/2 hours, until pork is very tender.
stir in scallion greens just before serving.

squid in shrimp sauce

2005-04-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

i "caught" this sea monster yesterday. i'd never seen it like this before! it was more than a foot long, not counting the tentacles, it was 2 lbs., and it scared #2 son ("is it alive, mom? will you be alright cooking that?") but it made a fine large platter of squid in shrimp sauce.
in some Chinese restaurants it will be brought out to your table and poured ceremoniously on to a sizzling hot cast iron plate.

3 2-in pieces of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 large red onion, cut in half lengthwise then sliced thinly
about a tbsp. of fine shrimp sauce (i used Lee Kum Kee)
2 to 3 tsps. of Shao Hsing rice wine
a splash of broth or water
1 & 1/2 lbs. of squid, rinsed, peeled, tentacles removed, cut into squares and scored lightly
2 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch slivers

heat wok over medium high heat. add about 2 tbsps. of peanut oil, stir fry ginger unti fragrant. add sliced red onions and saute until translucent. add squid and stir fry over high heat until it curls and firms up, then add the rest of the ingredients. adjust seasoning, and add freshly ground black pepper.

squid in shrimp sauce

igado

2005-04-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

.. according to ma, who learned it from her Pangasinan/Baguio cousins.
this is a pinoy style recipe: no measuring, no set ingredients. according to her, it is like making dinuguan without blood.
saute garlic, add diced onions and stir fry until translucent. add 2 inch knob of ginger, sliced, and long green sili peppers or bird or serrano chilis, according to your heat index.
add sliced lean pork or pork butt, and a combination of the following "variety" or special meats: pork heart, pork intestines, or kidney, (previously boiled and tenderized in seasoned water), sliced into bite size pieces. saute until pork meat is browned, then add 3/4 cup or more coconut vinegar (i used datu puti brand). cook until tender, about 40 to 45 minutes.
add pork liver if desired. (ma prefers chicken livers so that's what i used). season to taste with fish sauce or salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
it is meant to be spicy and savoury and very good with fresh hot rice.
i think i can convince at least one of the kids to try: my daughter who already likes dinuguan.
to my chef friends from Pangasinan or Baguio, please tell me if this is something close to your igado.

corn relish

2005-03-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

back in the days...when i had just one child, we used to play "super columns" on #1 son's Genesis?, nono Game Gear, (hand held gaming device), and when i first made this my sonny said, mom, the corn looks like the magic gems!

this is ridiculously easy to make and a great side dish for deep fried chicken or grilled meats. yes i have warm weather on the brain, and warm weather food cravings. we're itching to bring out our patio and deck chairs and our grill. thank heavens we seem to have emerged from the seeming snowstorm-blizzard-brutal-weather time warp.

thaw a 1-lb bag of frozen white and yellow corn. rinse and drain well.
slice 1 stalk of scallions, green and white parts.
slice 1 piece of roasted red peppers, store bought in jar, (or make your own by roasting over an open gas flame or under a broiler until charred. put in a brown paper bag, close tightly, let steam for 5 minutes, then peel when cool enough to handle.)
whisk together 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 3 tbsps. of maple syrup, 1 scant tsp. turmeric, 1 or more tsps. salt, and a few 'dash'es of hot pepper sauce (Mama Sita's pure labuyo for me). slowly drop by drop mix in 2 tbsps. vegetable or canola oil. whisk together well and pour into corn. mix in scallions and red peppers. let stand in refrigerator overnight or for at least 3 hours before serving.
adapted from Bon Appetit, Nov. 1994.

chocolate orange mousse cake

2005-03-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

dark chocolate sponge cake with a hint of orange, split into two layers then filled with luscious orange mousse

layers

slice
this week feels like it's stretching on and on...good thing i have a new chocolate cookbook and a treasure trove of recipes to experiment with. nothing like chocolate to make you feel renewed, reinvigorated, refreshed. (heehee. O.A. ano?)
anyway, it's a special treat for my kittens who are SO looking forward to spring break, which is three. more. weeks. away! the recipe is from the "what's cooking" series for chocolate by jacqueline bellefontaine.

2005-03-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

designed and created by the kids, using crayons and food coloring.

paula peck's garlic and chicken stew

2005-03-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

when i first made this it was an unmitigated disaster. that was 15 years ago and i think i was sleep deprived? an unfocused beginner?
i saved the recipe because i had a feeling it was worth keeping.
despite the large number of garlic it is very mild tasting with a faintly sweetish undertone from the tarragon. even #1son (mr. "chicken again?") loved it. so there.

served with thin spaghetti tossed with olive oil infused with garlic and chopped red long pepper.

this is for 8-9 chicken thighs, or 5 chicken leg quarters,split.
preheat oven to 375F. in a pot with a tight-fitting oven-proof lid (e.g. a dutch oven), pour 3 tbsps. of olive oil.
peel 40 cloves of garlic, from about 2 heads.
combine 1 tbsp. of kosher or sea salt, 1 tsp. of monosodium glutamate (omit if you abhor it, increase salt), 1 tsp. of ground white pepper, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and a DASH of allspice.
mix 1/2 cup chopped celery leaves and 3 sprigs fresh tarragon,stems removed, leaves finely chopped. (or use dried tarragon and mix into dry seasonings above).
put 1/3 of garlic cloves on olive oil, layer 3-4 chicken thighs, sprinkle 1/3 of salt and pepper and spice mixture all over, and finally sprinkle 1/3 of celery leaves and tarragon all over. repeat two times. pour 1 & 1/2 cups of dry white wine, put the lid on and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (15 years ago i put the pot in the oven without the white wine...yikes.)
the chicken will be almost meltingly soft but not crispy skinned. the garlic is good for smashing and spreading on toasted baguette slices.

IMBB #13: my little cupcake

2005-03-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

this being a babyblog, well, i had to do babycakes. i couldn't decide which one to submit for the Is My Blog Burning? #13 event kindly hosted by maki. fickleminded woman am i. so i submit both. the recipes are based on Marcel Desaulniers' Death by Chocolate Cakes which sat on the shelf because the pictures and recipes intimidated me. seeking inspiration, i examined them more closely and decided that if i read them over and over and break them into steps...maybe i could make them too! and i did! many thanks to chef toni for posting her method of internalizing recipes... ;)

one in fancy dress...

cocoa-cashew babycakes with raspberry puree and cashew-chocolate bark

babychef, assistant and tester

the other one that bespeaks "spring has sprung!"...

lemon poppyseed babycakes: plain, and with chocolate frosting and pearl sugar

i've made hundreds of cupcakes in my mommy lifetime, for school birthdays and donations and bake sales, and i find that baby cakes tend to disappear faster...my own kittens eat them like POPCORN...
the recipes are here.

chicken skewers, yakitori style

2005-03-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

of course grilling on a charcoal grill would be the best way...but for us, those summery days are a mere daydream for now. the weathermen in these parts are almost apologetic; more snow on the way, and they seem remorseful about announcing the 4 to 8 inches expected tonight.
oh well, let's broil some chicken.
cut boneless skinless chicken thighs into biggish chunks. marinate in a 1/4 cup of kikkoman and a splash of sake, and season with salt and pepper, at least 15 minutes. trim, wash, and slice a bunch of scallions into 1 & 1/2 inch pieces (on the diagonal). skewer into bamboo sticks that have been soaked in cold water for at least a half an hour (to prevent burning under the broiler).
make a sauce to paint on:
2/3 cup Yamasa or Kikkoman soy sauce
scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tbsps. sake
1 tbsp. flour

in a small saucepan, whisk together all ingredients very well and bring to a boil. simmer about 10 minutes until reduced by a third.

paint this sauce on to the chicken and scallion skewers and set under the broiler for a total of ten minutes, brushing on more sauce 2-3 times and turning. chicken should be moist but well cooked.

chicken yakitori
(adapted from "Asian Cooking," by Sallie Morris and Deh-ta Hsung)

a new place for dimsum

2005-03-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

husband heard about the change of management at an old established restaurant in the tiny Chinatown of Boston, through the Chinese restaurant grapevine at his office.
we wanted a quieter place--our old favorite was turning quite raucous and i was getting pretty alarmed at the safety issues (you know, a mommy's paranoia about fire exits and crowd control)--so we were delighted at the rediscovery of "New Shanghai" at Hudson street right on the edge of Chinatown. it is small and manageable. and quiet.
dimsum was fresh and hot, though because we arrived pretty late the carts must have been parked away in preparation for dinner. they let us order off the menu so husband ticked off the usual and the classic: hargaw (shrimp dumplings), pork and shrimp sio mai, spinach dumplings (both steamed and deep fried), steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce...all beyond good and above standard! the kids really enjoyed their lunch and mom and dad happily watched them as they ate...(#2 son wanted to lick his plate as he waited for the next delivery!)
we ordered an 8 delights fried noodle and it was perfectly crispy but without the greasiness, the pork, chicken, shrimp, scallops, squid, dried squid, roast pork, and vegetables generously endowed on the topping with a lightly flavored sauce. (husband has been trying to make this at home and he concedes this is very well made.)

8 delights

then we decided to try a szechuan dish of scallops in garlic sauce...though the scallops were a wee bit off, the sauce was spicy and dark and great with hot rice. i think we'll try this with shrimp next time.

2005-03-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

the latest breakfast-snack-appetizer item that my kids have gone overboard for...
i used to give them wheat crackers spread with brie straight out of the wheel or wedge, but with the last one we got, i thought i'd offer it toasted on this really great pan de sal (crusty bread rolls) from "Philippine Bread House" in New Jersey. it is fluffy and light inside but stands up well to toasting--so different from our usual brand which gets crumbly and dry too quickly.
toast the pan de sal lightly before spreading brie on top. grill just until melted.
serve at once.

pandesal with brie please, mom!
(the frothy coffee is for mom).

beef masaman curry

2005-03-18T15:09:00.001-08:00

i was reading a blogger's post about her life in kiwiland...it was heart rending! suspenseful! action-filled! and ultimately, heart-breaking...yet in the back of my avaricious foodie's brain a little demon whispered "beef curry, beef curry..." because it was the main item in one of her "adventures." it had been mentioned before by a suplada chef(di ba thess??) and i had several recipes in my collection. then the NYTimes featured an article by Mark Bittman, the minimalist chef, mentioning that slow-braised cheap cuts of beef are all the rage this season (winter-into-spring transition season?).
so it was time to try beef masaman curry. i've had fish curry, vegetable curry, and chicken curry, but never beef.
the whole house is quite fragrant right now with all the spices. based on a recipe from Asian Cooking, by Sallie Morris and Deh-ta Hsiung.

ingredients:
2 & 1/2 cups of coconut milk (used Handaan brand frozen "gata", available in the freezer section of Asian groceries, diluted with enough water)
1.6 pounds of beef "chuck" for stew
1 cup canned coconut cream, skimmed from canned coconut milk, (discard watery liquid that collects on the bottom of the can)
1 can Maesri masaman curry paste
6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp. palm sugar or packed brown sugar
2 tbsps. of fish sauce
3 tbsps. of tamarind puree
2 wild lime leaves (also known as kaffir)
2-3 red potatoes, quartered
1 large red onion, quartered

1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

simmer beef in coconut milk for about 40 minutes till almost tender. remove from heat.
in a separate pot, boil the coconut cream, watching closely so that it doesn't scorch, until it curdles slightly. turn down the heat and add the curry paste.
pour the cream-curry paste mixture into the beef and coconut milk and add the rest of the ingredients except the peanuts.
simmer 15-20 minutes. adjust the seasonings with fish sauce or salt and pepper.
add the peanuts and simmer 5 minutes more.
garnish with sliced red chili peppers or cilantro. serve with plenty of hot jasmine rice or French bread. the flavors are rich, and complex, a tangy and spicy hot curry.

CORRECTED!, thanks to the astute and dedicated chef of Our Kitchen, JMom! i forgot to list the onion and potato ingredients. whew! salamat JMom.

chewy chocolate chip and cherry oatmeal cookies

2005-03-18T05:37:00.000-08:00

i always want to sneak in something healthy like oatmeal to the kids' cookies. #1son is wise to my sneaky ways and had been requesting a different type of sweet treat, but the two little ones wanted chocolate chip. i thought i'd make them with dried sour cherries which i picked up from trader joe's on our last food foray. i tried one and whoa did i pucker up! super sour! and i love sour. i decided to dump more chocolate chips than i'd planned on using to counter the sourness. and it worked! reminded me of black forest cake somehow--the cherries don't taste that tart in the cookie dough. we all loved it. or should i say devoured it.

Preheat oven to 375F. lightly grease cookie sheets with butter.
have all ingredients at room temperature.
in large mixing bowl, cream 1 & 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) of butter and 3/4 cup fine granulated sugar and 3/4 cup light brown sugar. add 1 egg and 2 tsps. of vanilla.

in small mixing bowl whisk 3/4 cup all purpose flour with 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 3/4 tsp. salt. add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar mixture and beat dry ingredients are moistened. stir in 3 cups uncooked oats (i used McCain's Irish quick cooking oatmeal), scant 3/4 cup dried sour cherries, and 1 & 1/2 cups Ghirardelli double chocolate chips.

drop by rounded spoonfuls into prepared cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. bake about 10 minutes or just until edges of cookie dough are golden brown. let cookies stand in sheets for 2 minutes and gently lift to wire racks to cool completely.

optional: drizzle melted white chocolate over cookies and let set until firm. (*sigh* my kittens ran out of patience for that though...)

of doodleboards and duck gizzards

2005-03-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

to all my bloggerbuddies,
the doodle board still works! can't view it with mozilla, even with my constant nagging--am particularly expert at that :) -- but there doesn't seem to be anyone home over there (except to take the fee that they suddenly started charging to keep the cute smilies and enhance with photo messages...) so anyone who wants to say hi, it works but when you press "go" it disappears unless you use IE.

***************

inspired by John Patrick's recent post on the Westernized Kusina: a slight variation of lugaw or arroz caldo or pospas or congee as my children and husband refer to it at home.
i added pack of duck gizzards, available at Asian groceries. tenderize separately in a pot of boiling, seasoned water with a whole peeled onion (or a few shallots), one whole unpeeled garlic clove, and a knob of peeled ginger. skim off any scum that surfaces and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until fork tender.
add to the lugaw or congee when chicken is almost done. garnish with finely sliced scallions and lime slivers. splash on patis (fish sauce) and bits of golden fried garlic...hmm, i'm making myself hungry again.
and yes the kids loved the gizzards.

to spatchcock a chicken...

2005-03-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

a different way to roast a bird: cut the backbone out with poultry shears and "spread eagle" the bird. marinate with your favorite flavors (for this i rubbed crushed garlic and black pepper paste all over the chicken, and poured about a quarter cup of equal parts sweet soy and fish sauce and 2 tsps. of calamansi juice).
roast in the usual way...i find that with this method a whole chicken is more evenly marinated and the roasting time is a bit quicker. let the chicken rest 15 minutes before carving.

bistek Tagalog

2005-03-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

marinated (dark and light soy sauce, a spritz of calamansi or lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper) skirt steak sizzled in a grill pan, served over a bed of deep fried sliced waxy potatoes and smothered with sauteed onion slices with reduced marinade poured over.
my kittens were joyous. this is one of their favorite beef dishes.

home style food: crispy lechong kawali

2005-03-11T05:15:00.000-08:00

it takes some planning, as the pork belly must be boiled and tenderized in seasoned water with salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, peeled shallot, and 1 unpeeled whole garlic clove (45 minutes at simmer, not falling off the bone but just tender); then cooled and air-dried on a rack.

a deep heavy cast iron pot for deep frying lechong kawali: holds the heat evenly and its lid won't fly off should the pork belly splatter.

crispy lechong kawali...deep fried (preboiled and dried) pork belly with sassy's achara papaya relish (and "cincalok"--a Malacca fermented shrimp sauce--simmered with deep fried garlic chips on the side. a great lunch for a wintry day!).

deep fried potato and chickpea "pillows" with coriander and mango relish

2005-03-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

...a la samosas

used spring rolls wrappers that were too small to stuff and shape into triangles so i call them pillows.
i have taken liberties with a recipe from a little cookbook "the best of India," by Balraj Khanna to try and duplicate the first-time-bite-experience. a British friend persuaded me to try samosas at a little bazaar in the courtyard of what used to be the Quad complex in Makati. way back when. after one batch of big bites i went back for more from the little tent and asked the nice lady for extra chutney: a heavenly green mango cilantro "pesto"-like concoction which went perfectly with the samosas.
my ma's recent batch of pickled green mango turned out too salty so i thought i'd lighten it up with a whirl of cilantro and "calamansi" citron juice. it turned out really refreshingly green and sour tasting.

for the samosas:1 2-in. piece fresh ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. pomegranate seeds (anardana)
5 tbsps. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds, crushed
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 & 1/2 tsp. garam masala*
1 pound potatoes (about 2 large), peeled, boiled & coarsely chopped
1 cup chickpeas "garbanzos," canned
1/3 cup thawed frozen peas
spring rolls wrappers
vegetable oil for deep frying

process chili, ginger and pomegranate seeds in a blender until fine.
in a medium saucepan, heat 3 tbsps. of the oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. add the cumin and coriander seeds and cook, stirring constantly,
30 seconds, or until the seeds pop and blacken.
add the onions and the remaining oil. cook, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes, or until the onions are golden brown. reduce the heat to low, add the chili-ginger mixture, and cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes. stir in the garam masala, potatoes, and peas, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. set aside to cool completely.

wrap in spring roll wrappers and deep fry for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.
drain in paper towels and serve with cilantro-green mango chutney.
there's a little "punjab cafe" a stone's throw away from home where i get a quick fix, very rarely since i am the only one who adores this cuisine in my household. they serve their samosas with a tangy tamarind-onion chutney.

*garam masala can be store-bought or home made (grind together in a spice mill or with mortar and pestle, 1 tbsp. black peppercorns, 2 tsps. cumin seeds, 1 1-inch pc. of cinnamon stick, 10 green cardamom pods, 1 tsp. cloves, and 3 bay leaves. store in an airtight container. this makes about 3 tbsps.).