Pininyahang Adobong Manok

Original recipe from: Life Gets Better Del Monte Kitchenomics

The only thing I made to make my finished product land according to my preference, was instead of marinating the chicken, with a few adjustments on the measurements but still with the same ingredients:

•  I first cooked the chicken like a typical Adobo, then fried it. 
• Added the remaining sauce, pineapple tidbits and then topped it with additional red bell pepper for color and added flavor.

4 cloves garlic (minced)

2 tablespoons red cane vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon granulated black pepper

reserved pineapple syrup (equivalent to 2 small pouches) 

Peppered Pork Belly

If it weren't for a friend who asked for the recipe of this dish, I wouldn't be posting anything at all. So thanks! It's about time I update and post a recipe on this blog.

The story behind this pork dish goes around with my love for scallions or onion leeks. Recently, I've replaced the usual onion toppings with these attractive green vegetable.

 I love to top any of my prepared Filipino stews with fresh and finely chopped scallions. For some reason it enhances the food itself, makes it more delicious. Plus, the green garnish on top makes it even more enticing to eat.

The recipe will flow with my version of Teriyaki sauce minus the sesame seeds and the Japanese condiments. It will be sweet, peppery and the hint of ginger will make its taste like any Asian cuisine.

Yield: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo of thinly slice pork belly (Menudo cut for Pinoys)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium red onion (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger 
• 2 stalks of onion leeks thinly chopped
• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper granules
• 1 medium bell pepper
• a handful of chicharo or chickpea
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

Procedure:

• In a sauce pan, heat cooking oil.
• Saute onions, garlic until translucent.
• Add ginger and stir for a few seconds.
• Add pork belly and turn heat or fire to medium and stir until the meat is half- cooked.
• Add black pepper, soy sauce, honey, water and simmer until pork is cooked.
• Add vegetables (bell pepper and chickpeas) and oyster sauce.
• Simmer in low fire until vegetables are half- cooked.
• Transfer in serving platter.
• Garnish with onion leeks.

Note: You can add cornstarch to thicken the sauce and add roasted sesame seeds.

Tip: If you have sake/ mirin or white wine, add 1-2 tablespoons and you'll have a Teriyaki sauce.

Enjoy!

Popcorn Makeover

Like potato chips, popcorn has given us that "it" factor when it comes to munchies especially partnered while watching flicks. At home, one of our family past times is watching movies and television series. We always have popcorn on stock just for weekend movie nights and even game nights. It's light and at the same time you get to control the flavor you like. My husband like it plain and salted. But on a personal note, I'm not a fan of plain popcorn, I've always wanted mine buttered or flavoured. 

Popcorn is easy to eat and it is available all the time. Yet, the ways it's served is very limited. So let me share my thoughts on how to enhance popcorn to make it more enjoyable to eat. What I came up with is very simple. My only basis are the ff:

1. It should not be messy to eat.

2. Availability of basic ingredients at home.

3. A healthy side to it.

After popping some in the microwave, I placed my popcorn in a clean, dry bowl. Top your  popcorn with the following ingredients:

• 1- 2tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese mixed with garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of chopped scallions/ spring onions
• 1/2 teaspoon grated black pepper

Other options:
cayenne
paprika
melted butter
sour cream

Check out these flavors from SkinnyPop

Top it all and spread it out well. No need to mix. The olive oil will do its job by sticking to the rest of the dry ingredients, it won't be messy. As you dig in the bowl,  the ingredients will blend accordingly.

From Canned Fish to Glammed

As a homemaker, one of the things that is so important to me is to serve good, healthy food all the time.  But it doesn't often go our way right? There will be times when we want to rest so we buy food to go or we open a can or two.

Let me focus on how to make processed food more inviting to eat, particularly canned products. Personally, I love packing on sardines, Spanish- style sardines to be exact. My kids love it and I serve it for breakfast paired with hot rice.

I always assume that anything processed outside my kitchen is a risk. Though canned products follow a certain standard when it comes to preparing down to canning, still, just the idea that I don't see how they prepare these products makes me more meticulous. In order to meet the thought of making sure that what I serve my family is okay, I cook these canned products like any dish made from scratch. Believe me, it will taste better and somewhat being able to create your own out of some random sardine can is fun.

I brought life to this canned Spanish- style sardines by:

• Sauteing minced ginger, freshly- pressed garlic, red tomatoes and onions in olive oil. 
• Let it cook for a few seconds until the juice from the tomatoes comes out.
• Drain half of the oil from the canned sardines. Best to replace that oil with olive oil.
• Pour the sardines with the sauteed ingredients and mix everything well.
• Add black pepper and simmer for a few seconds.
• Serve!

I also use this very same dish for pasta drizzled with Parmesan cheese.

The Cheesecake Factory

Father's Day 2016 was extra special because my husband celebrated it with us and our dear ones in America. We arrived in Atlanta a day before Father's Day. Even with jet lag and with much excitement, we welcomed this special day with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

I've never tried anything from The Cheesecake Factory even though I see some of their pastries in S&R. I've always thought that it was all about cheesecakes and pastries, but I was surprised when I saw the menu. It was the perfect place to celebrate my husband's first Father's Day in America.

The Cheesecake Factory offers a fine dining appeal for customers ordering scrumptious dishes from their menu and they also have a bar for those who just want to have a drink or two. The ambiance of the whole restaurant is family- friendly and caters large groups especially those on tour. We're glad the queue wasn't that long considering that it was a weekend, there's an occasion and it's lunchtime. We were welcomed with a warm greeting and seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant.

Our food went around with orders of Filet Mignon, Grilled Rib- Eye Steak, Fettuccini Alfredo, Spaghetti and Meat Balls and tall glasses of sweet tea (not pictured).

My Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

Orange Chicken

All served in satisfying big portions.

Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.

My main dish (Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo) is a house specialty. It's always best to try house specialties when in a new restaurant. It was also my first time to try Godiva's  Chocolate Cheesecake and so far, the richest I've tasted.

The Keurig Corner

 A coffee machine and a coffee corner are the ones missing in our new home. I've searched for nice, affordable coffee makers but most of the time I end up with nothing because some are too expensive, some are too "complicated" in terms of maintenance, and others may be cheap but the taste and the availability of the capsules are compromised and difficult to find.

With our recent trip to America, one of the travel finds we made was a Keurig coffee machine. It's in every household we've visited. We stayed in the US for months and making coffee with my mom-in-law's Keurig was enough to say that it's worth our humble coffee corner. It didn't end there. Once we've decided that it's the machine we wanted, we needed to look for the right Keurig model with the best deal. From Walmart to Target and even Kroger all 3 had their own offers, but it was Costco that gave us the best option.

For $99 we got the ff: (sale price in Lazada: 17,000php updated 9/2018)

Keurig 2.0 K525C Plus Series

12 K-Cup pods Variety Pack

K- Cup reusable coffee filter (which we intend to use for our Kape Barako)

Water filter

We take that it was meant for us because with the no. of times we've been to Costco, it was only when we were about to leave for Manila that this Keurig model was made available, and without hesitation, we took it.

Finally, a coffee corner.

Coffee Wood Decor (Hobby Lobby)

The K- Cups was in our list of concerns when we got the Keurig. Aside from the reusable coffee filter that came with the machine, we made sure we have enough K- Cups. Aside from that, we discovered stores like S&R sell K- Cups.

I personally found Keurig as the most flexible coffee machine. It's affordable and at the same time, it can make your cuppa moment extraordinary with the wide variety of K-Cups both for coffee and tea. Most of the capsules contain fresh ground coffee. (see: http://coffeegearathome.com/is-keurig-instant-coffee-heres-whats-inside-your-k-cup/ ) I like the breakfast blend (any brand) then I mix it with a little cocoa, sugar and frothed milk. Plus, freshly brewed Tazo Peach Black tea.

I'm not a hardcore coffee drinker, a cup or two makes me happy. For me, having a coffee corner whether you're a coffee lover or not is a must in every household, at least something to serve your guests. Nowadays, coffee plays a big part in ones daily grind. A coffee break with co-workers, a relaxing and cozy afternoon with friends and just for the simple reason it completes us both inside and out.