...when a programmer enjoys good food, and starts to cook (sometimes).

Simply spaghetti

2014-09-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is the version 3 of my spaghetti. I really didn't plan/overthink this one. I just sauteed some corned beef, onions, garlic, RAM spaghetti sauce, and evap milk. And that's it! Of couse, there was some cheddar cheese added. ;) Just that, and it tastes terrific! My mother and baby loved it.

mars-o-spaghetti

Curry noodle soup

2014-07-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

For the love of curry, I tried creating a noodle version of it.We're all used to chicken/pork curry with potatoes and carrots. Why not try that on some egg noodles instead?

So, I tried, and the outcome is amazingly spicy and delicious for me. I love everything spicy, so I was enjoying every sip and slurp from this curry soup. But don't be too amazed, 'coz the ingredients of this are just basic - carrots, green peppers, cabbage/pechay, spring onions, fresh noodles, some meat (i used pork), and the curry powder of course. That's it, simple right? I just add a piece or 2 of bay leaves when the soup is about to get done, just to add aroma.

mars-o's curry noodle soup

This soup is suited for the brave hearted, the adventurous, and the spicy addicts! ;) But of course, anyone can try this dish. Just adjust the amount of curry powder to use to fit your spice level.

the same soup (taken from another angle) :)

Again, this is best served on a rainy day, or if you want to sweat a lot on a hot day.

The naked pasta

2014-06-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of a term naked spaghetti? It's a spaghetti with no spaghetti sauce, just some other flavorings added. But, we don't want that. We want our spaghetti to look and taste saucy as much as possible. So, to make that possible, I just added more milk to my sauce to make it appear more whitish (similar to the color of the pasta).

On first look, you might think this spaghetti lacks sauce, but don't let your eyes be fooled, for this pasta dish is lusciously filled with my specialty sauce mixed with ground pork, bell peppers, cheese, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and some chopped kinchay.

the naked spaghetti with mushrooms and cheese

For solid evidence on how saucy our mixture is, please see below photo. ;)

the naked spaghetti's mushroom sauce

Violet salad

2014-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever someone jogs in the morning, he would need a healthy breakfast to pair with that. And so, this violet salad was born! It's a colorful mix of violet cabbage, sweet corn, white onions, and a sprinkle of kinchay - the tiny green leafy things you see in there.

violet cabbage salad with sweetcorn

For the dressing, I just used an all-purpose mayo, and sprinkled it with chopped white onions, kinchay, and cheese. I mixed them well so the flavor is blended evenly. After a few minutes, I add the mayo mixture on the veggies, and mixed them as well.

And voila! a violet salad is now ready to brighten up your morning! :)

the violet...salad with mayo dressing on the side

This is nice to share with your morning jog mates. This is what I did few months ago. And it makes me smile knowing that they liked it. :)

Chicken macaroni soup for the soul

2014-03-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have done many versions of this chicken macaroni soup, and this time, I think I have perfected it already, in a sense that the soup looks so simple (with simple ingredients), yet every sip of its soup soothes your soul.

I still used chicken on this, and some carrots, milk (any would do), a little bit of curry powder to spice it up, and some bay leaves to add the soothing aroma.

This is one perfect soup to serve on a rainy day.

the classic chicken soup (with lots of carrots)

The yummy sisig!

2013-03-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

Yes. I started to love a sizzling sisig since college. I used to eat this meal for lunch occasionally with my college classmates, three years ago. I was still in Manila that time. And now, I ordered a sizzling sisig meal when I went out to town with my mother,and my baby. And I swear to God, this is the tastiest sisg I've ever tasted. I didn't even ask a vinegar & soy sauce mix with chili for it, which I usually do when I eat oily stuff. At first sight, I thought, why did they scramble the egg. It should still be whole and freshly placed on top of a smoking pork cubes (sisig), just like how I had eat way back in college. But after taking my first bite, I concluded, that it doesn't matter.

Ernie's sizzling sisig

This yummy sisig I was talking about above is served at Ernie's Pizza. Its a snack house which is packed with lots of people during weekends. If you're living in Catbalogan City, you would definitely know this place. Its in Rizal Ave. - just near the town's well-known Imelda park.

If you could see through the windows, they have a few lovely sets of dining tables with pink seats. I really wanted to sit on those pink cusions, but unfortunately, they're all occupied when we got there. It doesn't matter though, since I had a delicious meal during snack time (around 4-5pm). And I definitely would come back here again just for their sisig!

By the way, I also tried their pizza, and I chose their new flavor - carbonara pizza. I thought this place's specialty is the pizza, as visualized in their logo, but when I tried a slice at home (since we just ordered for take-out), it just tastes fine. I would still go for their sisig on my next visit, or maybe try another flavor of their pizza to prove me wrong on my judgement for their pizza taste.

How about you? Do you know some places which serve a tasty sisig? Please let me know. I would be glad and happy to try them out. :)

Want some crushed ice?

2013-02-04T05:59:00.001-08:00

I've been here in Catbalogan City, Samar for about a week, and will be here for good in a year or so. And I've been checking the town (sawang) for some places to hangout/dine. And for today, my uncle took us out to Tina's Garden.

They're known for their special halo-halo. But not just halo-halo, they also served other flavors like mais con yelo, etc. Just see below list for details :)

Budget-friendly snack items at Tina's

They also serve not just ice but also other goodies, at a very affordable price. (Now, I sound like some salesperson here) I like their cassave cake and pudding.

Snack items starts at 6 pesos only, max 15 pesos

I would really empty this glass if there weren't lots of monggo and beans at the bottom :)

So, that's it. If you happen to pass by Catbalogan City, Samar, make sure to stop by this place not later than 3PM and fill your stomach with their very cheap home-made snacks. And don't forget to cool yourself after with their yummy halo-halo/other crushed iced desserts.

P.S. I would just update this post for the location of this snack house.

Saucy spaghetti version 2 (the perfect mix)

2013-01-01T04:39:00.004-08:00

This isn't the first time I've cooked spaghetti, and every time I do it, it tastes different every time - think of evolution (uh, spaghetti evolution?). And so far, from all the versions I've cooked, this one's the one I most like.

For me to not forget how to do this, I'm sharing the ingredients and steps to you.

Ingredients:

Chopped spices ( garlic, onions, bell pepper)
Olive oil (or any cooking oil would do, better if you use/add butter)
Ground pork (or beef) - marinated with salt and soy sauce for a few hours
Sliced hotdogs (optional)
250 - 300 g. Spaghetti sauce (Hunt's party style pasta sauce)
Brown sugar
Grated cheddar cheese
Evaporated milk (I use Alaska evaporada, since its the cheapest)
300 - 400 g. pasta strands

Steps:

Saute the spices on a hot pan with oil
Add the ground pork, and cook for a few minutes
Once the ground pork is nearly done, add the hotdogs, and cook for a few minutes also
Add a little brown sugar, and pepper to taste
Once the meat & hotdogs are well done, add some grated cheese
When you see the grated cheese slightly melted, add some evaporated milk, and let the mixture for a few minutes
Finally, add the spaghetti sauce, and let it simmer for a few minutes as well

After doing above steps,you can pour the sauce on your cooked pasta, mix a little, and your sweet, milky, and cheesy spaghetti is ready to eat.

Sweet, milky and cheesy spaghetti

If you're curious how I cook the pasta, I do with the steps below.

Put the pasta in an ample amount of water in a rice cooker
Add some salt to taste and cooking oil (so the pasta won't stick to each other when cooked)
Bring this to boil
Once its boiling, stir the pasta occasionally to avoid sticking.
Once the pasta is already cooked - al dente, turn off the rice cooker, and just let it sit for a few minutes, so the pasta will still be cooked (I do it this way, 'cause I like my pasta be so soft)
When you do step 5, you'll notice that the water would be gone, since its already absorbed by the pasta, so all you need to do is directly add the pasta sauce to the pasta, and do the mixing

The above picture was taken when the spaghetti was already cold. Before it went cold, the pasta was slick and saucy with milk and cheese. (I promise to take a nice shot of the freshly cooked spaghetti the next time i cook this recipe, and add it in this post.)

By the way, the above spaghetti was cooked (by me) and eaten on New year's eve, together with the other good stuff my mother cooked. :)

Hope you enjoyed your New year's eve also, and more blessings and happy cooking/eating to all of you this 2013! ^___^

Somewhat stir-fried shrimp

2012-12-25T04:04:00.000-08:00

Its the 24th of December, 2012, and Christmas eve is just a few hours away. I have awaken early, as usual during no-work days. And since I got up early, its the best time to go to the market, and buy some fresh seafoods - this is my weekend early morning hobby (or needed routine in other words - for health and satiety). I didn't bought much seafoods actually, just a few shrimps, since I'm lazy to cook to much today. I just bought already-cooked food for my other viands.

You might be thinking what I did to those pretty little shrimps. Well, I just clean them with tap water, then toss them in a hot pan filled with garlic and green chili. I also added salt and pepper to taste. :)

Stir-fried shrimp with garlic and chili

So, that's it for lunch. Its just sad that these shrimps didn't make it alive until Christmas day.

Bread on breakfast

2012-11-11T03:30:00.001-08:00

One Monday morning, we had lots of bread in stock, and yes, we seemed to get tired of eating rice always. So, I made some simple healthy veggie sandwich with egg omelet. As you can see, the ingredients are just simple. Its just a few thinly sliced cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, and the egg omelet. I just toast the slice bread also to give it a hint of crispiness. You can also add some mayo to add some fats to this bread meal.

Toasted veggie sandwich with egg omelet

If you think, that i ate these all that day, you're wrong; as I shared this meal with my loving mother who visited me last few weeks. :)

Going green with some beans

2012-10-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Baguio beans is naturally sweet? Yes, they really taste sweet. I just fried a few strands of them this dinner, and I love how it taste - sweet, crunchy, with a little bit of salty. While I was munching a few pieces, my subconscious keeps on repeating, "I want to eat this crunchy sweet thing again...".

I didn't just fry all of the beans I bought, I also saute some of them with some garlic and tomatoes. Yes, this is a very veggie dinner tonight, except that I paired these with a sunny-side up egg, that came out to be heart-shaped.

I think I don't need to show you the steps how to do a light meal like. Its just easy. It just took me 30 minutes to get this done. Actually, its just 15-20 minutes, but then, I left the beans under residual heat, so it got overcooked after the additional 10-15 minutes of me waiting.. Anyway, here's my hearty healthy dinner for tonight.

Heart-shaped sunny side up egg, with fried beans

I plan it to be with no rice, but I just cant. So, i just had a cup of rice.

Ginisang Baguio beans (with garlic and tomatoes)

After, I feel full, but light. And I like this kind of feeling. :) How about you? Do you also like these kind of beans? If so, please share some of your recipes.

Cebu's Chinese Ngohiong

2012-10-11T05:09:00.002-07:00

I feel like I'm having the hype to write these days, or not really these days, just as of the moment. So, even if I haven't cooked anything today, I will write something. And this is something that I ate a few months ago. Actually I used to eat this stuff from time to time before when we just lived within Cebu City, where some malls and snack stores are just a walk away from our place.

If you're a Cebuano/ Chinese, you should have known Ngohiong. If you live in Cebu, you can see this almost in every fry food kiosk, and in some carinderia. And usually, this is paired with hanging rice which is a staple in Cebu. And of all types of the Ngohiong that I've tried, this one old store always rings a bell in my taste buds. I'm not sure why. Maybe its because they use pork fat as their frying oil or maybe its their super spicy special sauce. If you're familiar with below meal (see if below sauce dish looks familiar), then I'm sure you have eaten in this Ngohiong house, and I'm pretty sure you all know why you always keep coming back there for lunch/ some snacks.

Chinese Ngohiong

I haven't been to the city lately, so my tongue now is actually salivating just by looking at this picture. For those who haven't been there yet. This store is just located behind Gaisano Main. And beside this Ngohiong house is also a food store which sells noodle soup, and Lanciao.

But recently, I've discovered a small stall that serves delicious ngohiong. And its just a one tricycle ride from my place. Its just near Opon mercado. Their sauce is quite different though. Its a sweet with a tinge of spicy, very different from the other ngohiong sauce I mentioned earlier, but then, they're equally delicious for me.

I think we had so much ngohiong talk for today. Now, its time for me to do some other stuff at home.

P.S. I'll try to take a pic of that sweet style ngohiong for you to see.

Palabok + Halo-halo @ Razon's

2012-10-05T06:34:00.002-07:00

Hello my fellow readers, if there's any :). I am feeling guilty, and would be, maybe, in the next few days, since I was not able to cook something special these days. And surely this coming weekend, still I can't, because of some activities (Company sportsfest, Hotel Transalvannia movie, and my prenatal check-up). So, to ease myself out of that guilt. I would just share to you some few food I've tasted outside home - just in town though.

I have really been curious about Razon's specialty, their halo-halo, ever since I saw them featured in Kris TV. I've been planning to drop by one of their branches here in Cebu sometime, but only done so today (just this afternoon, after work). They only have two branches here in Cebu that I know of - the one in Mango Ave., and here in A.C. Cortez St., Mandaue (near Mandaue Coliseum). I opt to go to the Mandaue branch, since its near my place, and I'll also be heading to a massage parlor nearby. So, its 2 birds in 1 stone kind of trip/ expense. :) So, of course I ordered their specialty as what I've seen - palabok, and halo-halo - I just ordered regular, to see if the plain thing (without the special toppings of ube/langka) would still amaze me. And yes, it did't fail me. My 135 peso worth of snacks was very worth it. Their palabok was great -its the real palabok. Its taste made me reminisce Manila. (There was a cheap palabok and lugaw stand near my boarding house back then, and I used to eat palabok there for just 20+ pesos. They also have an option of thick/ thin bihon for your preference.) And now, that I'm in Cebu, I really miss those. Thank God there's Razon, and Red Ribbon. Yes. Red Ribbon's palabok is delicious also. (I'll post another blog about it the next time I could eat at Red Ribbon.) So, after I'm done with the hot savory palabok, I now indulge myself in the coldness of their regular yet amazing halo-halo. What I like about their halo-halo is it just have a few ingredients - just macapuno, caramelized/sweetened bananas, leche flan, and their specialty milk. That's all. No other fancy colors, and various beans (which I hate), like in other restaurant's halo-halo. I remember when I was young, and me and my mother would eat halo-halo outside, the last thing left on my glass would be the monggo, and other beans. They just ruin the smooth and milky texture of your dessert. That's why I'm just glad I finally tasted this simple halo-halo by Razon's, and I would surely come back next time and bring my friends/ family with me. And I would then try their special (the one with ube/ langka). It would just cost 85 - 100 pesos anyway. I think I've said too much. Maybe its just that my taste buds was so happy with what I ate earlier. So, to picture out what I've been talking about. Here it is. :)

Razon's original halo-halo, and palabok

Wait. I still want to tell something. Have you seen Ratatouille? If yes, do you remember when that tough critic tasted Remy's specialty dish - that veggie-kind-of-dish-for-the-poor, which was named Ratatouille? If you could see, the taste of the dish made him remember his childhood. That's what struck me also after tasting this Razon's palabok. Its like, "Oh my, my college days... I hate it, but I miss it somehow". Its just amazing how a few flavors could awaken your senses, and reconnect you to some moments in the past.

To end this post, have you also tried Razon's? If so, what are your favorites? Please let me know. So, I would try them too in my next visit. :)

Egg omelet part 3 (with alugbati)

2012-09-30T08:41:00.002-07:00

I started my day with lots of greens. And yes, I'm talking about veggies - green leafy veggies. I had bought last night some alugbati leaves, and been thinking last night what to do with it today. The usual recipe with alugbati is the usual and classic Cebuano dish - utan bisaya/ laswa. But I'm kinda tired of eating an all veggie soup. And i don't want my Sunday to be all-veggie day. So, instead, I made an egg omelet! Yes, you heard it right. My breakfast this morning was an egg omelet with onions and alugbati. I just paired it with a large piece of yellow banana. :)

I guess I was inspired with Kitchen Boss' baked omelet w/ spinach and cheese. I'm not really sure if this is what the recipe is called, but they had eggs, milk, cheese, and spinach as ingredients. So there, I got the idea of having some greens tossed in your omelet, or adding egg to your greens rather. This is just simple to make by the way. I just saute the onions in olive oil on a hot pan, then add the alugbati leaves. After a little sauteing, I add the battered 2 eggs with salt. Your omelet should should be circular, if you know how to carefully flip it while still on pan. Sadly on my part, its not perfectly circular.

Alugbati egg omelet

I didn't eat just alugbati leaves today. I also had a dose of malunggay, chili leaves, and saluyot for late lunch and dinner, since I made a crazy chicken tinola soup with all those greens mentioned, plus the second batch of alugbati (see picture above).

Its seems that today is such a green leafy day. So much for my iron needs for my growing baby. :)

The classic pork sinigang

2012-09-18T07:14:00.002-07:00

It was Saturday, the last day of my work week. So, after i got out of the office, I excitedly went to the market to buy some stuff to cook for dinner, and for tomorrow's meal. But first, I went to church, to pray for a few minutes. Then, went to some thrift shops (second-hand clothing stores - ukay-ukay as how it is known locally). Lastly, I bought some veggies, and some pork cuts (just a half kilo and a little bit more). I bought hanging rice (puso) also, so i don't have to cook rice at home.

So, when I got home, I quickly slice the few veggies I bought - radish, few string beans, bisol (Yautia in English, pretty weird name), onion bulb (I just had 1 big piece), green chili, and some leaves - kangkong (Water Spinach - nice name). While I was cutting these veggies, I already washed the pork, and marinated it with just some rock salt.

When all the ingredients are set, I start to boil some 2-3 cups water, then add the pork cuts. I think i waited around 30-45 minutes until the pork became tender. Then, I add the bisol, since this will take a little longer to soften, and its better if this is really soft, so the soup will have a little sticky texture. When these root crop is already tender, I add the sinigang mix to have a sour sinigang taste, of course. Its hard to find real tamarind this season, so forgive me for the preservatives. Then, I add the sliced onions, radish, and green chili. And in a little bit, I add the kangkong leaves. The soup shoult still be boiling before you turn off the heat, to kill the germs in those veggies.

And after an hour and a little bit more of cooking this dish, I finally arrive at the finish line. My first attempt of this pork sinigang soup is successful and edible, at last.

1 serving of the classic Pinoy favorite - pork sinigang
1 serving = 3 pork cuts =)

But wait, there's more...

Do you find my recipe just right? Or is there something missing? Please let me know.

Milk fish stewed in vinegar (paskiw na bangus)

2012-09-01T19:10:00.001-07:00

I cooked this last Monday, and just got tired to post it here right away. And because of that (or not really because of this), I got sick on Tuesday, and had to rest for 2 days (Yey, an excuse from work!...:) Oops..).

So, I bought a big piece of Milk fish (Bangus) last Sunday, and had it cut into slices, as you could see :). I fried some these last Sunday, and had the left slices cooked in this way the next day. This is just simple - another lazy recipe that could just be prepared and cooked in very few minutes. The stuff i had to slice are just the garlic, and onions, and some green chili (siling espada) i think. You can add some veggies if you want (e.g. tomatoes, eggplant). Then, I place the fish slices in the pan in way that all of them would fit, add the spices, vinegar, a little water, some whole black pepper (paminta), and ground black pepper. (I'm just a pepper fan. Its good for the body anyway). I didn't add salt, bec. the fist was marinated in much salt already. So, that's it. Just let it boil, and simmer for a few minutes, then, flip the fish so the other side will be cooked as well. Then, let it simmer again for a few minutes, and you're done.

Milk fish stewed in vinegar (paskiw na bangus)

Another lazy recipe for the lazy. :) Now, i'll enjoy my lazy Sunday today. :)

Plain shrimp soup

2012-08-26T20:07:00.002-07:00

I got bored with all the pork/chicken stuff that i cook, so i wanted something else this weekend. And since i miss that sweetness a shrimp could give, i bought lots of them, and put them in a large bowl of soup. :)

There's nothing fancy in today's dish. Its also one of the quick meals for the lazy, but you just have to have a lot of patience in getting the malunggay leaves done (pulled out of its large branches).

I just bought a half kilo shrimp yesterday morning, some greens (malunggay), tomatoes, ginger, green chili (siling espada), and red hot chili (the red small ones - labuyo). As I've said nothing fancy, just get 2-3 cups of water to boil - you may not wait for it to boil, and add the shrimps, but its better to wait for the water to boil, then add the shrimps (and some salt), so they won't be overcooked (like what happened to mine yesterday). I remember that during the last time i cook this, i waited for it to boil, and the result was nice. :) I just got a little lazy to wait yesterday - that's it. After that, immediately add your spices and veggies. Then, lastly, the malunggay leaves. There you have it, a nice healthy seafood soup dish.

Plain shrimp soup with malunggay

Plain shrimp soup with malunggay (straight from the pot)

Did you know that as i watched the shrimp getting into orange color, and see their black cirle eyes, just as big as a pepper corn, I would remember those krill in the movie Happy Feet 2. And i wonder what if these pretty little big krill would talk and curse me to death because i drown them into a hot boiling water. Anyway, these are just my imaginations, and i still enjoy looking at their tiny shiny black eyes :)

Yesterday was a shrimp day for me - another ideal and healthy Sunday for me, just at home.

Just an ordinary noodle soup

2012-08-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tired of eating rice every meal three times a day, I plan to eat just noodles for dinner last Thursday. I had some leftover pork slices, so i just bought noodles, garlic, onions, and some green leafy veggies (I just had some pechay - the one with super green leaves).

When i got home, I prepared the ingredients - just washed and sliced pechay leaves, then the garlic, onions, and pork. I also add some fish balls - 'coz i think fishball is one of the ingredients for some noodles soup (like lomi right?) So there, I started heating some 2-3 cups of water, while i am sauteing the spices, pork, and fish ball. I just add soy sauce, black pepper and salt to flavor. On another pot, I cooked the noodles into the boiling water, and I can't believe that a 12-pesos worth of noodles could grow so much that it could serve 3-4 persons. I had cheat here - I add some pork knorr cubes, since i was not able to create a broth from boiling pork for several minutes until tender. When I feel that the noodles has grown well, (of course after the water has boiled), I then add the sauteed spices and pork, and the pechay. And its ready to serve after a few minutes under residual heat from the rice cooker.

pork and fishball noodles soup

This is just the first serving (good for 2 persons), and there's still much left in the casserole.

I was so full after this Thursday night dinner. I should properly adjust my proportions and serving sizes next time. ;)

Menudo Negro

2012-08-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

Its been a while since my last post. I think I just get a little lazy with this little baby inside my belly these days. :) But despite that, I was able to cook some simple recipes last week or last few weeks. You maybe a little curious about the title of my post today. You'll know why a little later :)

Last Monday, I wanted to cooked pork menudo, but i got no tomato sauce in stock, and i forgot to buy when i bought some pork cuts. So, I had to improvise. The ingredients I had were just potato, carrots, garlic, and onion. No bell peppers for now.

Preparing this is just simple. We just have to cut the carrots, and potatoes into cubes. I already had the pork cut in the store, so i don't have to do it myself. We need to slice the garlic and onions too. After these, we'll just toss the garlic and onions into a hot pan with some oil. When you could already smell the aroma of the spices, you can add the pork cuts. At this point, so the pork could be sauteed properly, I add some soy sauce, and i overdo it making my dish a little dark (a.k.a. negro). In just a few minutes, I then add the potatoes and carrots, so i it would be tender also. I add a little water for the sauce, then the banana ketchup (because I don't have tomato sauce). To flavor, I also add black pepper, honey, brown sugar, a little salt. And that's it. I just let it simmer for few more minutes until the potatoes, and carrots are tender. I may miss some ingredients, but I swear this menudo tastes sweet and saucy, and this made my dinner last Monday just right. :)

Menudo Negro (Pork menudo with ketchup, soy sauce and honey)

Next time, I'll try to cook a new version of pork menudo with all the ingredients right, and we'll see how it goes ;)

Sweet, salty, and sour combined is Escabeche

2012-07-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is is my first time to cook fish escabeche. I know i may miss some ingredients again, but still my creation taste good. I don't why i thought of cooking this recipe today; maybe its because i don't like to eat again the fried fish leftover as plain fried fish again or maybe my taste buds is just searching for something sweet and salty and a little bit sour combined - i think both. :)

So here's my home-made tuna escabeche version 1.0.

tuna escabeche (straight from the pan)

This is just very simple to make. Just pull out any fried fish leftover you had in the fridge. Then slice into thin strips some carrots, ginger, garlic (I always want to add garlic), bell pepper (if you have, in my case, i don't). And that's it - very simple ingredients we need here.

So first, as usual, we would heat the pan with some oil (I used olive oil). Saute the garlic, ginger, then add the carrots after a few. You need to create your base sauce at this point (before adding the fish). So, we just need to add in the pan some soy sauce, brown sugar, a little water. The sugar here would be the one to make the sauce a little rich/sticky. You can add a little salt too to add saltiness instead of soy sauce, so your sauce won't be too dark. Don't forget to add a little vinegar to spike up the taste. Some commercial escabeche looks a little orange and gluey in color - i think they add some cornstarch and some food coloring there. I just chose not to add those - I don't need additional starch and fake color when eating at home. So, when you feel that you're sauce now taste good and ready, you can add your fish slices - so the sauce would have a fishy taste. Let it simmer for just a very few minutes/seconds rather. Then you're done.

tuna escabeche (with a little presentation)

I cooked this yesterday for lunch. And my father came over to pick up some stuff, so packed some of it for him. I hope he likes it :)

I cooked Pochero because I love sweetcorn

2012-07-22T04:09:00.003-07:00

I'm having another soup dish for today. Its because I so wanted to eat sweetcorn (the super yellow one). So, i guess you aready have a hint on what i cooked today. Its also a Filipino classic dish - Pochero. I just hope I have the ingredients right, which I apparently didn't. I just checked google now, and i forgot to add saging na saba, Baguio beans, and coconut shoots. Anyway, I just put the veggies that I want to eat. So it really doesn't matter, as long as the resulting dish tastes delicious right? And this dish really is delicious, not to brag. Again, i didn't use any artificial flavorings. (Why would i need those anyway?) I already had enough of the preservatives from eating food outside home on busy weekdays. So I'd like to have my weekends preservative-free and healthy. :)

So, here is my version of the all-time Pinoy favorite Pochero.

Pochero (incomplete version)

If you could notice it has less soup. It's because only use 2 cups of water here, and some of those overflowed due to boiling. So, its like this. They say, you would appreciate anything that comes in less. So, every spoonful of soup of this dish was deeply savored and the soup was finish up to the last drop.

I'm not sure if you still need a recipe for this, but here it is anyway. Here's a bulleted list of my ingredients:

a half-kilo and a little more pork bones. (I forgot how much it really weighs.)
1 large piece Japanese sweetcorn
1 medium-large size potato
1 piece red bell pepper
1 piece and a half violet onion bulbs
4-5 cloves of garlic
few slices of ginger
a quarter cabbage (you may use chinese pechay also)
calamnsi and chili ( to season and adjust soup taste when its served)

So, first things first. I wash the pork bones (you would always wash meat - always, to get rid of some dirt), then season it with iodized rock salt - an ample amount so you would no longer need to add salt in the middle of cooking. I just let the meat sit for 30 mins to an hour while i prepare the veggies. When you're done with all the ingredients, you can start heating up some 2-3 cups water, then add the pork bones a little later. Let it boil and boil until the meat gets a little tender, then add the garlic, ginger, bell pepper, and onions to add flavor.When the aroma is already there, add the potatos and sweetcorn so they can be tender too. Just let this mixture boil and boil for a few more minutes depending on how tender you want your meat and veggies to be. Make sure to put the pot cover partially ajar - to avoid spilling your precious broth. When you feel your dish is already cooked, you may add the cabbage, and just cover the pot for a very few more minutes while the stove is off . By this time, the soup is still boiling, and the steam that goes up from the hot soup will cook your greens.

After my meal is ready, and the rice is cooked, I also prepared some side dish which is full of iodine - Lato with lots of tomatoes.

Lato with lots of tomatoes, some onions and ginger

So, that's it for today. I'm now going to enjoy the rest of my Sunday.

Tinolang manok on a Saturday

2012-07-20T21:14:00.002-07:00

While waiting for the rice to cook, I thought of writing this blog first. I'm just excited to share this classic Filipino dish I cooked just few minutes ago. I'm excited because it taste so good. :) A picture would always speak more than a thousand words, so here I'd rather show you a picture first, before telling you the ingredients and steps needed to make this.

Tinolang manok (Our favorite classic Filipino dish)

I have cooked tinolang manok a few times before, and it would always taste great, even with different vegetables used. And take note, I didn't use any MSG or Knorr cubes for this. Yes, I didn't. Why would I need those, when i already have a good few fresh cuts of chicken meat. The umami taste naturally comes from meat (pork, chicken, beef, etc.), so if you already have a good amount of meat in your dish, you wouldn't need those artificial flavorings which are full of preservatives as well.

For this dish, I used a half-kilo chicken, some slices of garlic (lots of garlic, as usual - its almost 1 bulb of garlic), ginger (this is important to add if you cook chicken, so it will take away the sting smell of chicken - the langto smell), spring onions (just to add another veggie and nutrients of course), siling espada (since i love everything spicy), tomatoes (additional veggies, since i didn't use sayote/ papaya for this version i had today.), and lastly, malunggay (and lots of it - 1 big bowl I think).

And so, that's it. You just have to put the chicken (already marinated with salt) on 2-3 cups water, and let it boil, then add the ginger and garlic after it has boiled, and after a few minutes of simmering (at this point, you could already smell the nice aroma of chicken with ginger and garlic). Then, when you feel the ghicken is already tender, you can add the other veggies, and lastly add the malunggay leaves. And you're done!

I know you might think that the tomatoes seem out of place here, but its not. Its a replacement of calamansi, since i don't have any of those mini limes for today. When it comes to soup dish, i usually squeeze some calamansi juice to the soup to minimize the saltiness, and refine the taste of the soup to the extent that my taste buds desire. And without the calamansi, adding tomatoes is a fix.

So, i think i'm done blogging here, and am ready to eat what i've made! :)

Pancit guisado and some other stuff

2012-07-12T05:20:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, I'm eager to wake up early because my father would be coming over and would bring some seafoods with him, and i love seafoods. So, to compliment his effort, I cooked a Pinoy classic merienda/ side dish - bihon guisado. I quickly sliced the carrots i bought last night into thin strips, then some garlic (always add garlic if the recipe calls it), onion. I didn't need to slice the marinated pork, because i had it chopped into cubes already when i bought it. Cooking this dish just needs a simple sauteing of the spices and pork on some heated oil, and then adding some soy sauce and salt to flavor. We also need to add an ample amount of water, so the bihon (glass noodles) can grow a little more inside the pan. Take note that i pre-soaked the noodles into a bowl of tap water first, so it can get soft. This would take around 30 minutes to 1 hour. So, its better to do this before your start chopping your ingredients. In this way, the noodles will be easy and quicker to cook, and it will also create more servings, because of it grew bigger. :)

So, this is the final look of my creation.

Pancit guisado (ala pobre)

Actually, i miscalculated how much bihon to use, that i end up storing about 1 bowl of uncooked glass noodles in the fridge. And if you can see, my bihon guisado lacks meat and other toppings. Did i ever told you that i love glass noodles so much? Well, i think now, you see how much that love is.

You might think that I ate the above thing whole day, but your wrong. This was just a side dish for something bigger - grilled bangus, and Spider Conch soup (locally called Saang - a kind of kinhason). If you could see, the seashell's meat didn't go out, that we had to hammer the shell of this pretty hard little thing just to eat its tasty meat, as they say/ i'd say rather - Kapag walang tiyaga, walang Spider conch.

And haven't i told you that i make good vinegar/soy sauce dips? Yes, I do, as you can see in the middle of the table. Its a delicious mix of soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi extracts, and fresh cuts of tomato and garlic. I would usually add chili to any sauce i make, but the chilis was all in the soup. Yet, the dip is still spicy because the vinegar is already spicy, and fresh garlic adds a spike to it. I think its the anti-bacterial properties of the garlic that makes it spicy. :)

sunday coastal meal at home

This lunch made me so full, that i ended up taking a nice long afternoon nap after it. Such a lazy sunday I had.

Saucy spaghetti

2012-07-10T04:07:00.001-07:00

One saturday night, I crave for a Jolly spaghetti. I then thought I could make some cheesy macaroni, because i had some macaroni leftover, and some spaghetti sauce leftover from my baked macaroni recipe weeks ago. But still want the long spaghetti strands to eat, and not macaroni. So i had no choice but to go out and buy some uncooked spaghetti, and some other stuff. My bad because I intentionally forget to buy some hotdogs.

Making spaghetti is just easy. The important thing is just you choose the right spaghetti sauce to make cooking easy and yummy. Since i want a healthy kind of spaghetti tonight, I used corned tuna, instead of corned beef. But a piece of advice, its better to use corned beef or ground pork instead of tuna. Just use tuna if you use white sauce. :) My technique in cooking food that needs garlic, is to use so much garlic. More garlic means more flavor, and more allicin. Allicin is one of garlic's anti-bacterial properties. It just doesn't kill bacteria but other dirty stuff inside your body. Just google it out for more details. After sauteing the garlic, onions, and corned tuna, I add the spaghetti sauce, then grated cheese, and condensed milk (for a change, and since this is what i have in the storage for now.) Its just like that. You just have to let this saucy mixture simmer for a few minutes. Of course, you should have your pasta ready on another pan. That's common sense. :) With just a few minutes, my saucy red tuna spaghetti is done.

I ate this serving. Its like twice the serving size of Jolly spaghetti. :)

saucy red tuna spaghetti (without the hotdog) - snack size

And this is bigger service size. I thought i was too hungry to eat this, but this full plate just ended in the fridge after a few hours. I think i'll eat this tomorrow. :)

saucy red tuna spaghetti (without the hotdog) - meal size

After finishing my saucy meal tonight, there's something inside me that still wants to have a Jolly spaghetti. Its not that my recipe tastes awful, its just because nothing can beat the delicious taste of Jollibee's all-time favorite Filipino-style spaghetti. :)

Now, i'm really really hungry. Gotta eat my dinner for now.

Egg omelet part 2 (good for 2)

2012-07-05T03:24:00.000-07:00

Usually, eggs are for breakfast, but i'm having them for dinner today. Yes, after i got home from work, I cooked a super healthy egg omelet with tomatoes and onions. I also used sunflower oil for cooking this. I used two large eggs (slightly beaten with salt), two pieces of tomatoes (sliced), and 2 half-cut onions (one piece of onions cut into half, then cut into stripes). I would actually use 2 onions but i ran out of time, and the oil on the pan is hot already. I think i don't have to explain how to have this omelet done, as this is just so easy - a child can do it. :) I'll just show you a picture, instead. I was not able to make it a perfect circle or half circle, since my frying pan is just small.

tomato and onion egg omelet

And here's my breakfast meal for dinner. I also had 2 pieces of lumpia shanghai (bought from my favorite local carinderia)

lumpiasilog w/ rice

Now, my tummy's full. And i'm ready to spend hours in front my computer to start the pink design concept i was planning few months ago.