My Sister's Birthday Celebration In Subic

This was the first time that a member of the family celebrated her birthday for 3 consecutive days. For some reason we just thought of taking my sister's 26th birthday celebration out of town. It all started in a small conversation. Everytime we see each other we ask how everyone's doing in the family. So she opened up that since she got a job some 2 or 3 years ago, she didn't really had the time to go on long vacations and focused more on work. But this time, she chose to go at least for a long weekend break in celebration of her birthday.

As we were also planning on bringing the kids to the beach, my sister thought of making the said out of town trip as her birthday celebration as well.

Being the eldest, I planned something else with my other siblings and surprised the birthday celebrant for a weekend stay in Subic.

During the first day, we brought food to the beach to be grilled. I was in- charge of marinating everything. From the liempo, boneless bangus and shrimps. My brother took the responsibility to grill/ cook once we were at the resort.

It was a simple gathering where family, the beach and Filipino food made it all memorable. We stayed at the beach the whole day. Later in the afternoon, we went back to Forestview where we had a Deluxe Villa reserved a month before the said trip. Once all freshened up, my brother, my younger sister Les, my husband and me went to the Harbor Point Mall to buy a birthday cake, some beer and more food still in celebration of my sister's birthday.

When we got back, it was surely a surprise for the birthday celebrant to see more food, beer and of course a birthday cake. With all the waiting, she thought that we were just buying ice and she heated up the left- over food for dinner. "Forget about the left- over food, here's another feast for you."

Our evening went around singing for the birthday celebrant, enjoyed and shared with the birthday celebrant's favorite food from Max's Restaurant: Kare-Kare, 2 Whole Fried Chicken, Sizzling Tofu and Chopsuey.

The following day, we're suppose to continue our celebration at Meat Plus. When we thought that one of us called Meat Plus to have a table reserved, maybe to our excitement, turned out that no one did (hehehe!). Even with that, we tried our luck if we can still get a table, but Meat Plus was really full and the waiting line was very long. From there, we went to Aristocrat Restaurant near the Harbor Point Mall and had barbecue (pork, boneless chicken) 2 orders of birthday pancit (canton and guisado). Even if we didn't get a table at Meat Plus, this only proves that Filipino dishes can beat anything especially when it comes to celebrations. 

Our celebration continued when we got back in Manila the following day. We met up with our parents at the restaurant which my younger brother is managing. It was a fruitful gathering worth remembering. The family's complete, we had good food and lots of laughter. 

Mother's Day is near, until our next...

Easy Karioka Recipe

If you love eating Banana cue, Kamote cue and Maruya, you gotta love Karioka as well. Karioka is made of glutinous rice flour, deep-fried and coated with plain sugar or coconut- sugar mixture. Personally, anything made of glutinous rice flour is my favorite. These Filipino snacks including Karioka are prepared and cooked in almost every Filipino household. Just today, I decided to make some for the family as an afternoon snack.

The recipe I've prepared is easy. It's simple just by mixing the glutinous rice flour with water, make some balls out of it, coat each with sugar then fry.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups Glutinous Rice Flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• oil for frying

Tip: Prepackaged glutinous rice flour is now available in the market.

Procedure:

• In a bowl mix glutinous rice and baking powder.
• Slowly add water until a "sticky- but not too wet" consistency is achieved. Add glutinous rice if it becomes too sticky.
• Heat oil in pan.
• While heating oil, make rice flour balls and coat each with brown sugar.
• Deep or pan- fry balls until light- golden brown.

Tip: Flour hands to avoid sticking.

The over-all result was delicious. The Kariokas were soft, chewy, it's not messy to eat because of the sugar coating and it doesn't harden even if refrigerated and eaten the following day.

All- Natural Food in Baler, Aurora

If there will be a reason why my family will want to have a property in Baler... aside from the beaches, food is a big factor, everything in Baler is all- natural/ organic. It's a big blessing to have a friend from Baler. Every time we go there, we're served with home-cooked food from breakfast, lunch to dinner.

Upon our arrival, a local fisherman and his wife with their fresh catch paid us a visit. Who wants fresh Tanigue?! In Manila, a kilo of Tanigue costs from around 280-300+php and it's not as fresh anymore.

Aside from 2 big Tanigue's, the fisherman also brought some small fishes. The farm we stayed in is just 5 minutes away from the ocean, so imagine the freshness of these fishes they delivered to us that day. In the evening, our host grilled slices of the Tanigue for dinner and paired it with Pako Salad (Vegetable Fern Salad).

Pako is another organic vegetable that's very abundant in Baler, Aurora. It's by luck to find fresh Pako in Manila. Pako grows along "clean" riverbanks or sapa. The tips are often blanched then used for salads or to match with any Filipino viand.

Pako is one of the food I enjoyed when we were in Baler. As a matter of fact, I bought 6-7 bunches at the Baler market. It survived our 6 hours of travel back to Manila. Aside from fishes and vegetables, Aurora Province also offers a vast variety of seafood. During our 2011 visit, my husband and I was already at the Baler market as early as 6am picking and buying fresh squid to be taken home. Same with mangoes and other fruits like watermelon.

Other things that can be very useful in cooking which you can find in Baler is coconut vinegar or sukang tuba, red/salted eggs, rice, potatoes and onions. Life in Baler is very healthy because processed food is not part of their lifestyle. Not a fast- food chain around.

When in Baler, it's either you eat at the only 5 star hotel in Sabang beach, dine at the small eateries by the beach,  rent or get a house where you can cook the fresh ingredients you bought from the market and enjoy healthy home-cooked meals throughout your stay.

Crispy Kangkong

Kangkong also known as swamp cabbage is a green leafy vegetable that grows in water or in any moist soil. 

Crispy Kangkong is one of our favorite Filipino appetizers. It is healthy and it's easy to prepare. In choosing Kangkong, make sure that the bunch you're purchasing are the native ones with large Kangkong leaves. As for my choice of Kangkong, I added some small Kangkong stems to give it a little more crunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch or 1 tali of Kangkong leaves removed and washed well then dry.
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup corn starch
• cooking oil for deep frying
• salt and pepper

How to:

• In a bowl, prepare batter by mixing the following: cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper, cold water then beaten egg.
• Mix batter until smooth.
• In a sauce pan, heat oil for frying.
• When oil is all hot, dip each Kangkong leaf in batter then deep fry for 20-30 seconds until cooked.
• Set aside in a serving plate.

* never overcrowd a pan especially when deep frying for easy cooking.

Tartar Sauce Recipe:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp pickle relish
• 1/2 tsp minced onion or garlic
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste

Other Sauces: 

Sweet Chili Sauce

Mayo-Garlic

Thursday Breakfast: Tinapa at Sinangag

Tinapa: Smoked Fish
Sinangag: Fried Garlic Rice

Favorite breakfast meal of most Filipinos. The smoked fish can also be served with cane vinegar. I like mine with tomatoes and white onion.

I was originally planning to cook spam and eggs for breakfast today. I seldom cook dried fish or smoked fish for breakfast, my husband isn't really a fan of it. My son... he's learning to love it now. This morning, I made a quick visit to the market. I was one of the early birds so I was able to buy fresh Tinapa. The smell was not only tempting but it was inviting as well. When I got back, I immediately prepared Sinangag which has been the perfect match, some tomatoes and onions on the side.

FTF: Pancit Bihon

I prepared this for as merienda (snack) late this afternoon. But I purposely cooked good enough to last until tomorrow. I'm such a sucker for Pancit, especially Bihon Guisado. I love my Pancit Guisado with lots of Kinchay or small bunch of Chinese celery.The next ingredient that must be included is chicken sliced into small pieces.

I prefer boiling the chicken first then, I shred it into pieces. After sauteing, I use some of the chicken stock to cook the vegetables. Since my husband doesn't like gizzard and liver I completely eliminated it from my recipe. But to be honest, those 2 (gizzard and liver), they add flavor.

To make my pancit meal complete, I love pairing it with a cold glass of Coke and best eaten with Monay. Bread straight from a nearby bakery.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Adobong Puti

It's my first time to cook this Filipino dish. Adobo is the most famous Filipino viand. Ask anybody in the world related to a Filipino, most probably the first thing they'll answer about Filipino food is Adobo.

This kind of Adobo is basically cooked without the soy sauce which is the main ingredient in the original recipe. 

View related posts here: Filipino Stew and FTF: How Do You Like Your Adobo?

 Ingredients:
1/4 pork cutlets
1/2 cup coco vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper granules
2-3 psc. bay leaf
1 1/2 cup water
salt to taste
*Just boil everything together.

With my Adobong puti, I followed my usual adobo, minus the soy sauce. Boiled all the ingredients, when the pork's done, I separated it from the sauce, fried it in a small amount of oil and added the rest of the sauce again, then simmer for a few more seconds.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: How Do You Like Your Adobo?

My Pork Adobo is the usual dish we would often see cooked with soy sauce. I like it better than "Adobong Puti". After boiling my pork in soy sauce, coco vinegar, bay leaf, chopped garlic, a little sugar, salt and pepper, I fry it. But first, set aside the garlic after boiling. In a frying pan, I place a tbsp of oil, then I start frying the garlic that was set aside earlier, when it's all light brown,  then add fried potatoes and a cup of the marinate then simmer until the sauce is reduced..

I like my Pork Adobo a bit dry with a little oil coming from the fat of the pork, with a little hint of the remaining sauce.

Food Trip Friday

Filipino Spaghetti

I was having second thoughts a few months back if I should post a simple Filipino Spaghetti Recipe or not.  Since almost everyone knows how to cook Spaghetti, I really didn't pondered on posting it that much, until I found out that people are searching my food blog for a Pinoy Spaghetti recipe. I should really consider changing my site's domain and research on blog web hosting. Anyway, here I am, and as promised I am going to make this recipe easy. For our friends from other countries and would love to try our Filipino Spaghetti, you can use your regular Spaghetti Sauce just add sugar, banana ketchup and the rest of the ingredients  like some sausage bits.

There's no doubt that spaghetti is one of the few that Filipinos love the most. We Filipinos were able to concoct our own. Famous as the "Filipino Spaghetti" or "Pinoy Spaghetti", our spaghetti sauce is composed of different ingredients. From the usual Spaghetti sauce, most of us also include ketchup to add flavor and to improve the consistency of the sauce. We also add sugar, hotdog or sausage bits, aside from the ground meat that's also a highlight. And to top it, we use our local cheese. 

Recipe?

My Pinoy Spaghetti was kinda different, because I didn't add catsup. I used Del Monte's Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce instead.

* for every 1 Kilo of Ground Lean or any Ground Meat, I boil 1 Kilo of  Spaghetti, I use 2 Big Pouches of Del Monte Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce (which is equivalent for 2 Kilos of pasta) For me, I'd rather keep more of the sauce in my fridge, than left-over pasta without any sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo spagahetti (pasta al dente, set aside)
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 kilo regular hotdog (chopped) or 4 small cans of Vienna Sausage (chopped)
• 1 kilo ground lean meat (pre-boiled)
• 1 can button mushrooms (chopped into small pieces)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Grated cheese

How To:

• In a sauce pan, pour olive oil and saute garlic until light brown, then add chopped onions.
• Add pre-cooked ground meat stir for a few seconds.
• Add chopped hotdog or sausages and mushrooms, stir for about a minute.
• Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for about a minute
• When everything is cooked, add the Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce and stir for 30 seconds
• Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer again for a few seconds (add water if needed)

note: Since the Spaghetti Sauce is already sweetened, just add sugar to obtain your preferred sweetness.

• Pour sauce on your pasta and top it with your  favorite grated local cheese. I like Eden Cheese.

Kababayan With A Twist

Kababayan is a Filipino pastry bought from any local bakery in the Philippines. I grew up with this muffin. It is actually an all- time favorite of mine. I love it snack time late in the afternoon or early in the morning.

According to foodmood.over-blog.net, Kababayan means “Fellow Countryman”. This is a rich and creamy muffin which is usually shaped like Mexican Sombreros.

The Kababayan I found last Sunday over at SM Tiendesitas has blueberries. Same old tasting Kababayan, only it has blueberry to make it yummier. Sold for Php10.50 each.

Garlic- Thyme Rice

This weekend is just full of good news.

1. I was notified that my photo entry in a photography contest was chosen. Tomorrow I will be claiming my prize!!!

2. Ads/ opportunities has been flooding my website, and I consider that as something good.

3. Finally, I'm all set to change the domain name of one of my websites. Which one? I'm still thinking and gauging, but definitely it is going to happen next week.

4. I have been talking about business with my husband a Seo company would come in handy on securing our needs.
5. I have another kitchen experiment to share today.

Garlic- Thyme Rice

It's your typical home-cooked garlic rice in butter and thyme. I always use a small amount of butter everytime I cook fried rice. It makes the rice taste better and it binds all the flavors together. 

 Not too much butter though. With 1 tsp of unsalted- non cholesterol butter, you can saute  1 whole garlic- minced. I'm talking about whole not by cloves.

Perfect for breakfast with your favorite viand. My family likes it with german franks and spam. Don't forget the coffee!

The Treehouse

An open bar- restaurant located at the heart of Quezon City Philippines. Serves Filipino and International cuisines.

The Treehouse Restaurant

29, Matalino St.

Quezon City

It was a lazy, sunny afternoon. All I plan to do was to deposit money in the bank, in an instant , the day became  a family trip to the wild life center and an afternoon of delicious snacks. The Treehouse. It was my first time to visit this restaurant. My husband: a frequent guest especially with his Dad (my late father-in-law). The whole ambiance of the place was very homey. Trees surrounded the whole restaurant. It wasn't humid or hot considering that it is an open resto.

Saba Con Hielo with Icecream php75

Pancit Guisado php180
My favorite. This platter is good for 3. 

BLT Sandwich php99
 Too bad, it looks appetizing, but there's something missing with the taste.

Calamares Fritos php185

Photos Taken: SEP990i

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

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.

Food Trip Friday--- Homemade Turon

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

I prefer making Turon with white sugar. I coat the banana itself with sugar before wrapping it. Then, I will coat the whole wrapped banana again. I don't deep-fry my turon, I pan-fry them. That way, I have control on caramelizing the sugar. I would often buy Turon coated with burnt sugar and the taste is awful. And I also like making small, bite- size Turons.

Food Trip Friday--- Maruya

Banana FrittersOne Friday, I went to my favorite store to buy some soda, when I saw the sales lady took out a pan of this freshly cooked Banana Fritters. Perfect as a Filipino Snack. Maruya (what we call it) is a Philippine delicacy made of fried bananas dipped in batter, usually served sprinkled with sugar. This Maruya moment reminded me of my late father-in-law. I used to buy him Maruya. This is his favorite snack.

Mom's Sotanghon

Mommy's Sotanghon. We had this for dinner last Sunday. Went to my parent's place and my mom was cooking it when I went inside the kitchen. My reaction: Oh my gulay! It just so happen at that time, I was craving for it. My dad taught her a little secret on how to nail the right taste. I'm not a sotanghon person, really. But when I tasted my mom's recent concoction, it was the best! I totally forgot about her Meaty Carbonara.

Sotanghon: cellophane noodles

Best served with hot pandesal and calamansi (Calamodin)

Monggo With Alugbati Leaves

Alugbati is one of my favorite green, leafy source. In terms of its nutritional content, I would consider that it is one of the most nutritious. Easy to cook, easy to grow.

Alugbati

A succulent, branched, smooth, twining herbaceous vine, several meters in length. Stems are purplish or green.

Common market product, a popular leafy and stew vegetable, a good substitute for spinach.
The green and purple cultivated varieties are preferable to the wild ones.
Both the young shoots and stems are eaten.
Excellent source of calcium and iron; good source of vitamins A, B, and C, with a high roughage value.
-source-

As Requested By--- Pancit Bihon and Lumpiang Prito

The Pancit Bihon was requested by my husband. Early Monday, my parents brought us Pancit. It was so good. In a way, my husband got "bitin" (left hanging and craved for some more). We went out to buy the ingredients for the pancit he requested.

Pancit is noodles in Filipino cuisine. It was introduced by the Chinese and have been adopted into a local cuisine. The term pancit is derived from the Hokkien pian i sit which means "something conveniently cooked fast." Different kinds of noodles can be found in Filipino supermarkets which can then be cooked at home. Noodle dishes are also standard fare in local restaurants. Food establishments specializing in noodles are often referred to as panciterias.

The type of Pancit shown above is called--- Pancit Bihon Guisado

Thin rice noodles fried with soy sauce some citrus, possibly with patis, and some variation of sliced meat and chopped vegetables.-source-


My recipe includes:

17 oz Pancit Bihon
1 medium onion (chopped)
5 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
10 pcs of string beans (chopped into small pieces)
1/4 kilo of meat or ground meat (sliced into small pieces)
10 pcs. squid balls (cut into half)
1/ cup soy sauce
1/2 water
1/2 medium cabbage (chopped into small sizes)
2 bunches of Kinchay leaves (flat leaf parsley or 5 stalks of celery chopped)
5 pcs. Tainga ng Daga---a tropical mushroom known as Auricularia (soaked and chopped) Shitake will do
Salt and pepper to taste

To match our afternoon pancit snack, I requested my husband to buy some Lumpiang Prito for me.

Lumpiang Prito/Lumpiang Gulay

It's a good thing that our favorite vendor was around to sell us some straight from the frying pan.
It consists of spring roll wrapper filled with mung beans sprouts and various other vegetables such as string beans and carrots. Deep-fried then dipped in a special vinegar mixture when eaten.

As Requested By The Mr.--- Lumpiang Shanghai

Another week full of question marks on what dishes to prepare for the family. Sometimes, I just go blank even there's a lot of dishes in line. When this happens, my husband thinks for me. So let me start a new segment called "As Requested By" It could be a from a friend, my siblings, my parents, my son and most likely from my husband.

As requested by my other half. Lumpiang Shanghai for dinner!