Beef Mechado

Mechado is a famous beef stew here in the Philippines. This originated from a Spanish recipe called Mecha. A recipe whose name originally referred to the strips of pork back-fat that are threaded through thick pieces of cheaper lean beef to render them more tender and less dry.-wiki-

It involves a boiling process in order to get the right texture and softness of the beef. Similar procedure is also being used for other beef recipes such as Kaldereta and Lengua.

On the personal side of this recipe, it was first time to actually cook it. I was a little hesitant without my mom instructing or helping me. But then...I thought...if I can cook Kaldereta, why not Mechado. And so I based it on my mom's recipe of Kaldereta and added soy sauce, vinegar and bay leaf. My first Mechado attempt was a big success.

What you will be needing:

1/2 K beef cubes (beef stew)

200g tomato sauce

5 cloves of garlic chopped

1 medium onion (chopped)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper/ 1/2 tsp peppercorns

5 medium potatoes (cut into quarters)

1 medium carrot (cut into quarters)

2 medium green or red bellpeppers ( cut into quarters)

4-5 pieces of bay leaf

1tbsp soy sauce (1/2 tbsp fish sauce)

1/2 tsp vinegar

salt to taste

2 tbsps. olive oil

How To:

Others would marinate the beef in soy sauce and calamansi juice.

1.In a sauce pan, boil beef until soft & tender. Then set aside.

note: traditional boiling of meat may take 3-4 hours. If you know an easier way, I advise you rely on your trusted procedure. PressureCooking is an option.

2.Fry potatoes, in a separate pan,then set aside.
3.In a separate pan (again) saute garlic until medium brown. Add chopped onions, stir for a few seconds.

4.Add boiled beef (beef only)

5.Add carrots, keep stirring for a few seconds.

6. Add half of the beef broth.

7. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

8.Add bay leaf and tomato sauce. Simmer for a few more minutes.

9. Add the remaining beef broth, soy sauce, vinegar and fried potatoes.

10. Simmer until sauce is thick.

11.Add bellpepper

12. Add salt and pepper to taste

Sevings: 3-4

Served best with hot rice! Happy eating!

& Have a yummy weekend!

Lemonade My First!

I would like to thank Cherry for this awesome award. It sure is a fresh start for this Food Blog:

What's Cookin' From My Kitchen & Stuff

Rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.5. Nominate your favorites and link to this blog.

I now pass this award to Liza, who also created her own Food Blog, another site full of yummy goodness.

Here's to Us!!!

Fresh Strawberries In Cream

My husband brought home fresh Strawberries from Baguio City. I love mixing it with cream like any other fruit salad. Only, mine is sugarfree. I let the fruit's flavor play with the cream. Best served cold. You can add sugar, condensed milk, any sweetner, chocolate syrup and other fresh fruits like melon or mango bits. Any all purpose cream will do.

Here's one of the best way to do it:

Basic cream mix, topped with chocolate syrup and whipped cream plus almonds. Serve super cold. How's that? yummy right?
We enjoyed these as one of our desserts during my husband's birthday celebration. It's a good thing he was able to purchase some. I was expecting that it's going to be expensive (since it's out of season). It's being sold at the local market for 100 bucks per kilo. It would be a lot cheaper if you buy straight from the farm. Anyway, its rare they sell this fresh in a local grocery here in Manila. So, thank God for out of town conventions! I was able to prepare some for a very special ocassion.

Have a great week everyone!

BananaCue and Turon

2 of the most popular Filipino afternoon snack.

Turon or fried caramelized banana. Banana wrapped in spring roll wrappers.

I had to research and look for the English term or words that would best describe and name the Banana used for Turon and BananaCue.

According to ManongKen, Saging na saba is known as Philippine's cooking bananas. It is a variety very abundant in every corner of the country.

What you will be needing:

Banana (preferrably SABA, thick banana)

Spring roll wrappers

Brown or white sugar

Jackfruit Preserve

Cooking Oil

How To:

Slice Banana into 2 lengthwise

Roll each slice on sugar of choice

Top each slice with some Jackfruit strips from the preserve

Wrap with Spring Roll Wrapper

Seal wrapper by putting water on the edge of the wrapper

Roll Wrapped Banana again on sugar until all covered

Fry until golden brown.

A Closer Look at these Yummy Goodness...

BananaCue was named after Barbecue because its exactly being sticked on a Barbecue stick. Only, its a banana.

What You will be needing:

Whole banana (preferrably SABA, thick banana)

Brown Sugar

Cooking Oil

Barbecue Sticks (bamboo skewers)

How To:

Cover whole banana with brown sugar.

Deep fry bananas

Pour more sugar and stir ocassionally until sugar is cameralized. Once it reaches its golden brown state, remove.

Stick two bananas for each bamboo skewer.

Enjoy! and have a Yummy weekend everyone!

Macaroni Soup

My favorite grub everytime I get sick. I've been down with flu since Monday. My son had it first and eventually, it was passed over to the Mom.

It's easy to prepare and serves like a whole meal.

The brand of ingredients are of the author's choice. I have been using these products for a very long time.

I used a pack of Chicken noodle soup to add flavor. I can't conclude that it's a healthy soup, but it will surely keep you warm and full.

I also used some left-over shrimps we had for lunch. Chopped it into bits. Ground meat (1/4K lean) or chicken(shredded meat or chopped into small pieces) are also some of the great choices .

And my main highlight for this soup dish is adding some full cream milk. Any milk will do, but full cream makes it richer and tasteful.

What you will be needing:

1 Cup Full cream Milk

3 cups water

200g elbow macaroni (or any pasta of your choice)

1 Knorr Chicken Soup (optional)

1 medium carrot chopped into thin pieces

1 medium green bell pepper chopped in to bits

1 quarter of cabbage chopped

4 small red tomatoes sliced into quarters

1 medium onio chopped

5 cloves garlic chopped/minced

Salt and Pepper

How To:

In a sauce pan, saute garlic until light brown

Add onion, tomatoes and shrimps

Keep stirring for a few seconds

Add elbow macaroni stir until all mixed together

Add 3 Cups water, stir every 2 minutes and simmer until macaroni is half cooked

Add the Knorr Chicken Noodle Soup, carrots, bellpepper

Simmer until everything is cooked

Add milk and cabbage

Simmer for another 2 minutes

Add water if needed

Salt and Pepper to taste

Enjoy!

I Just Gotta Have Some Blueberry Cheesecake!

Since my last entry, I have been craving for some Blueberry Cheesecake...I was trying to resist it...but I fell victim for my own heart's desire...I was never a fan of Cheesecake. Until, I tasted Starbuck's Blueberry. Best with coffee or with their coffee jelly frapp. Not too sweet and it is very rich.

Berry Picking

This is definitely one of my dreams---to experience Berry Picking with my family. My husband amazes me with stories he experienced, growing up travelling. Apple picking, pumpkin picking and the likes. Surely, it is something that every little kid will enjoy and remember. In the Philippines, it is not a usual thing. The only available Berry we have are Strawberries, maybe some Blueberries or blackberries, which will only be found in Northern part of the country. And you can't just pick them up, mostly are provided by privately owned farms. And are being sold for a very high price.

Just the other night, I was watching this lifestyle show online. That made me share my cravings to have a Berry Picking adventure. Part showed that berries of Raspberry, Blueberry and Dewberry are very abundant in the forest of Ontario Canada. Which the locals use as preserves, pies and for other sweet delights.
I'll be honest, one berry I am dying to taste are fresh Raspberries. Blueberry cakes and cookies are being sold everywhere. But still, I wouldn't mind having some fresh and taste the difference. I would like mine mixed with other fresh fruits, chocolate coated or topped on any pastry of my choice. Yummy!

-more here-

photos: google images

Shawarma

The name shawarma comes from the Turkish word çevirme. Meaning turning, and has its origins in Anatolia. It is quite similar to doner kebab in Turkey (for which it is another name - turning roast), though differing from it in the type of meat and spices used. The composition of the salad can be quite different as well.

The classic shawarma combination is pita bread, hummus, tomatoes & cucumber and of course the shawarma. -source-

I had some for my afternoon snack today. I am very particular with the taste, the right spice and the freshness of the meat used. I fell victim by some Shawarma sellers before. Where they served hard meat, if not, with spoiled vegetables. It is the essence of the whole delicacy, why ruin buy serving it the wrong way.

Eventually, I was able to find my regular Shawarma hot spots, and now I can enjoy a Shawarma moment anytime I want to...

Menudo

Who likes Liver? I do!!! I learned to love it when I found out sometime in my childhood I was Anemic. According to some medical findings, it contains all the things to rebuild blood. With my recipe today, Liver is used as a main ingredient to add texture and flavor. Menudo is a tomato-based dish, that the Filipinos love.

I have taken this recipe from the family's traditional way of cooking it. I learned it from my grandmother. Best Menudo I tasted was from her.
What You Will be Needing:
1/4 K of fresh liver cut into small cubes
1/2 K of pork cut into cubes
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves of garlic minced
4 medium potatoes cut into cubes
1 medium carrot cut into cubes
2 medium green bellpeppers cut into small cubes
100g raisins
2 200g tomato sauce (as seen in picture)
2tbsp olive oil for sauteing
1 C water
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (if needed)

How to:
In a sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil until light brown
Add chopped onions stir for a few seconds
Add the pork meat
Add 1C water, simmer until half-cooked
When the meat is almost cooked, Add potatoes, raisins and carrots
Add water if necessary and simmer until pork, potatoes and carrots are cooked
Add Liver and bellpepper,and simmer for about a minute
Add tomato sauce, add water if necessary, simmer again for a minute
Add salt and pepper
Sugar to satisfy your taste
VIOLA!

Servings: 4-6

Happy Eating!

and Have A Great Weekend!

Welcome To My Food Blog

WHAT'S COOKIN' FROM MY KITCHEN & STUFF

Let me now, intoduce my new site---my very own food blog. This will contain things of all sorts related to food and other delights that makes one's tummy full and keeps a person smiling all day. It may also include restaurant reviews based on the author's opinions and own effort to create a fair article, kitchen tips, and health tips. I was caught in between creating a Photo or Food blog. As gauged, cooking's been part of my life since I was a kid. My Mother is Kapampangan...and the family loves to cook native dishes and the likes. Plus we love having celebrations and parties!

Some of the food I'm going to share are mostly from our own list of family recipes.

It's easy to follow a recipe or a common dish...what makes each unique are the methods of preparation, cooking and taste.

Come and join me, and let's enjoy another fun cookin adventure!

Have a Yummylicious day!