Callos

Filipino tripe dish cooked in tomato sauce, sausage, chickpeas, garbanzos, and for some, chorizo.

Ox's tripe is washed and cleaned properly. Boiled for two or three hours in water with salt. 

Recipe Here

Food Trip Friday--- Grilled Mussels

All time favorite seafood which is very abundant here in our country and easy to cook.

My Mussel stories:

1. When I was pregnant with Franky mussels was one of the food that I didn't like to eat or even smell. Odd, because Mussels is actually my favorite since I was a kid. 

2. I enjoy Sunday lunch with the whole family : sauteed mussels and seaweed salad. It's a regular  on our Sunday market list.

3. I also like baking mussels with butter and garlic, topped with cheese. I remember I would often bring baked mussels for my husband's parents (now my in-laws) every time I visit them. My father- in-law loves it.

Anyway, one Friday when I visited my parents, I went to our hometown wet market to buy fresh mussels and decided to grill it then served with garlic- butter.

Food Trip Friday

Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria

For the record, this is going to be the first when I will share a picture of me and family after our grocery shopping. Plus, the restaurant we would often go to.

I take about an hour and a half to do my groceries. It's fun and it will surely make you hungry. Sowhat's the next best thing to do : go to the nearest restaurant that serves the finest and the heaviest meal :D

Note: The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners.

Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria

It's Pasta All You Can @ php160 

You can choose between half and full orders 

3 kinds of pasta to be served

This could be the most extraordinary a restaurant can offer.

Pesto
Topped with the freshest greens. The flavor was just right.

Pasta del Tonno (Tuna)Tuna mixed in olive oil and bell pepper  and  

Aglio Olio (Spicy pasta but not in the picture)

 Aglio Olio is my favorite. I was told that it is a spicy pasta. It's mixed in olive oil, garlic and chili. It's spicy but I can't pass on all 3 dishes. It was an experience eating 3 kinds of pasta dishes all in one seating. 

I  suggest you take half an order so you can try all 3 pasta dishes.

Lastly, you shouldn't miss on another great offer by Joey Pepperoni and Pizzeria

2 8- inch Pizzas for the price of 1 @ php 199

Meat Lovers

Bacon Mushroom Special

The pizza was really good. But aside from that, here's a short story. My son doesn't really like thin crust pizza. But it's different when he tried Joey's. It's the only thin crust he ate. He loved everything. He almost finished the whole 8-inch all by himself.

For more: Joey Pepperoni Pizzeria

Easy Mushroom Gravy

Hey moms here is the recipe for my easy mushroom gravy.

• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• sliced button mushrooms (the more, the merrier)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3- 4 tbsps Knorr Original Seasoning
• dash of salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup water
• 3 tsps all purpose- flour

Note:
if you don't have Knorr Seasoning, you can use soy sauce.
mix 1 c water with all purpose flour

• Melt butter and saute minced garlic for about a minute
• Add sliced mushrooms
• Add Knorr Seasoning
• Stir for a few seconds 
• Add thickening agent ( water and flour mixture). Mix on low fire.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note:
Double the recipe for big portions
Add more Knorr Seasoning

Food Trip Friday: Dinner with A Healthy Salad

This evening, I was able to concoct 2 things.

1. My first successful Ampalaya (Bitter Gourd) Salad
2. My very own mushroom gravy

This is what I like about my kitchen, it makes my thinking broader. When I get bored I go to my pantry, grocery cabinet, then you will find me in my kitchen experimenting.  I gotta be honest, I've done a lot of research through time. Notes from my mom, my grandmother, my dad, my mother-in-law and even from my husband. Cookbooks, stuff I learned taking Hotel and Restaurant Management, Food Magazines and The Food Network! But having our/ my own recipe brings out  the best. Nothing can be greater than being original. It may take a lot of wasted ingredients, time and money just to nail the right taste, consistency and texture, but it's all worth it in the end and the family is happy. I'm happy!

My first attempt on bitter gourd salad wasn't as successful. And as expected it was very bitter. I really thought  that slicing the fruit thinly will do. Then I was able to see the difference. When I ate at a  Filipino buffet restaurant, I got some of their Bitter Gourd Salad. I noticed that aside from the thin slices , the slices itself were a bit dry too. So I assumed, they got rid of the juice. 

And so I tried it this evening, for dinner. I squeezed the juice out in order to get rid of the bitter taste. But I didn't squeeze all the way. I wanted a little bit of the bitter taste to stay. The bitterness is the source why Bitter Gourd is a healthy vegetable or a fruit for some.

Mixed it with some balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar,  tomato and onion slices.

Food Trip Friday

Wednesday Fresh Mango Milkshake

Here's my plan, everyday or at least in a week my goal is to prepare cold fresh fruit juices. It will depend on what fruit is available. So far, I already have some mangoes and watermelon waiting to be transformed ;)

Aside from water, I try my best to serve my family fresh juices all the time. One of the advantages of a tropical country is having almost all kinds of fruits all year round.

The ingredients are easy to find and the drink itself is easy to prepare.

• 1 Cup Ripe Mangoes
• 1 Cup Fresh Milk
• 1 Cup Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• Ice cubes
• Heavy Duty Blender

Just blend everything together.

Servings: 3-4 glasses

Ginataang Mais

Ginataan/ Guinataan is any food or dish cooked with coconut milk. My featured dish is a famous Filipino dessert.

Ginataang Mais is composed of fresh sweet corn kernels, sugar, coconut milk.

• 2 sweet corns (scrape kernels off the corn cob)
• 2 cups malagkit rice (Glutinous rice)
• 3-4 Cups of Water
• 1/2 Cup to 1 cup sugar
• 4 coconuts (grated and coconut milk extracted)

How To:

• Boil malagkit rice (Glutinous rice)and corn kernels in water until thick. Set aside.
• In the very same pan, boil coconut milk then add the thickened rice and corn.
• Mix well. Low fire.
• Add sugar
• Mix until well blended.

Strawberry Milkshake!

This is my first time to make a milkshake using an experimental recipe. To be honest, I even asked my sister's opinion if I'm doing it right or not. Well, everything went well. Consider this as my final recipe.

Bought fresh strawberries from the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio. Thank God it was handed to me fresh and sweet. I was having doubts on its freshness. Some weeks ago it was reported that Strawberries from Baguio were already dying out. 

They're very abundant right now and very cheap.

For my milkshake, I prepared an easy recipe. As usual. Most of all, I made it healthy by not including any additives like strawberry flavorings and coloring.

Main ingredient: Lots and lots of fresh Strawberries! 

Main Kitchenware: Heavy Duty Blender

• 1 Cup fresh strawberries
• 1 Cup Fresh Milk, 
• 1/2 Cup Sugar or 10 packets of any sweetener of your choice, 
• 1 Cup Strawberry Ice cream or Vanilla Ice cream
• Ice Cubes or crushed Ice

• Blend Fresh Strawberries, milk, Ice cream and sugar
• Add Ice Cubes 
• Blend all the way to your preferred consistency

Serve with freshly sliced Strawberries on top.

Servings: 3 tall glasses, 4-5 on small sizes

Unique T-shirts and Gifts

I've been to personalized t-shirts since the birth of the internet. It's hard to just buy in a boutique ready made, feels like there's something lacking that way. Unlike with having it made where you can get to choose from various designs and colors, that makes it worth saying, it is a personalized t-shirt. I have 5 or 6 personalized shirts with different designs stating what kind of a person I am, revealing my inner self  through  the statements I choose.

For years, I have been looking for a website that makes aprons where I can share my thoughts and passion for the kitchen. I found it... This white apron is magic for me. It's exactly what I have in mind and it comes in different colors. Another shirt that I like to purchase is this red one.

Nice right? because I really love tofu, and here in the Philippines Tofu is sold everywhere fresh in the morning and it is a healthy option. But don't worry, funny shirts are also available. Anything about t-shirts . From the type of shirt and clothing you want to have it printed on, the colors, designs and other stuff like mugs, magnets, calendars, home decor, sticker and flair. The best part, you have several categories to choose from for each.

Food Trip Friday: From Main to Dessert

Spicy Tuna Pasta with Black Olives

Just my usual Tuna Pasta. This time, I added black olives. Love olives by the way.

Mango Float

Franky was asking for cake. I told him that it's better and it's more fun if we make our own. Not the real cake though, but it sure is something cooler to enjoy on a very hot day.

Food Trip Friday

Japanese Fried Pork

Pork Tonkatsu

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. Butterfly Cut Pork Chops
• Panko Crumbs or any bread crumbs
• Salt and Ground pepper
• 1/2 Cup All Purpose flour
• Canola oil for deep-frying
• 3 eggs (beaten)

How To:

• Coat pork chops with salt and pepper
• Dip in beaten eggs
• Coat with flour
• Dip again in beaten eggs
• Coat with bread crumbs
• Deep fry until golden brown

Sauce:

In a bowl, mix  3 tbsp Tomato Catsup, 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce

Best if served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup