Moms’ Day Out

Earlier she greeted me saying, “Now that I’m a mom, I’ve realized how both challenging and fulfilling it is to be one. Thank you for being a great example Mama . Thank you for helping me to become who I am today so I can also be a great mom to Nate. I love you! Happy Mother’s Day!”

My daughter is so thoughtful  when it comes to special occasions that we both treasure. Now that she is  a certified mom, it is more lovely to celebrate the beauty of  motherhood. Such endless stories  about the baby we both love. Nate is now almost six months old so everything that is new to Nissa’s eyes are all recorded in her cam.  They celebrated Mother’s Day by bringing Nate to the mall and had  dinner there, baby and all. It may not be a romantic way to celebrate with a baby in tow but he is precisely the reason why mother’s day exists.

Yesterday,  my daughter came over to cast her vote  and we later went to Burgoo for lunch, just the two of us. There was a time when we used to dine a lot in one of their branches when it was newly opened at Gateway Mall in Cubao. Though everything is a bit pricey, service is always good.  I remember spending a birthday there with the family and they gave me a small cake ( a larger version of a cupcake) with a matching candle to blow.  You can always draw or write anything on the large paper roll which they use as place mat while waiting for the food. Anyway, Nissa and I were both laughing when we were served what she ordered and that included some take-out for Josef.  Maybe the wait staff  was wondering  how we could finish all that food which I think would serve at least ten.   Hahaha, we were celebrating Mother’s Day, right?

This is their Supreme Sampler. They used to have spring rolls instead of those two large cheese sticks.  Those onion rings are old-time favorites.

I asked for their bestselling veggie salad and the staff recommended this. They call it Manhattan’s Best  with small slices of chicken, croutons, apples,  and pineapple slices on a bed of fresh lettuce leaves. I found it a little dry though.

This Shrimps and Ribs Platter was really pricey at P695.00 but I loved the spicy shrimps. It came with three kinds of dips and sauces and a small cup of corn and  diced carrots. One would think, these are more than enough for the two of us but Nissa said we’ll take  some of them home  so she ordered two more on the menu.

It’s a Seafood Jambalaya Supreme. Back in those days when  we used to frequent Burgoo, I loved ordering this since the mix of seafood,  sausage and chicken on a bed of rice was just an enticing meal. At P475.00, it would serve at least two , three if you are a picky eater. Their pasta would not compare of course to those they serve at Bellini’s  but we ordered a family sized one for take out.

The wait staff greeted me “Belated Happy Mother’s Day ma’am” and Nissa said, ” I am a mom too”. She smiled at us while she took our picture. It was really a great day spent with my daughter. And yes, being a mom and the joys of motherhood were the top topics on our list.

 

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Pickle Solution

This is something I learned from our Culinary Arts club when I was still working at Bank of PI.  Since fruits are in season this summer why not try pickling some of them for future use? I used to make pickled green papaya,  we call it atsara in Tagalog.  It will last in the ref for about a month. You can add in your favorite veggies too.  The good thing about pickles  is that they are so handy as side dish with  fried fish or pork.  I like the sweet and sour pickle solution.

Ingredients:

Sour Pickle1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt

Sweet and Sour Pickle
1 cup vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt

Sweet Pickle
1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt

 

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Random Side Of Things

It was one long weekend which means my son and I were quite busy with small household jobs that need attention.  Good thing yesterday was a holiday too. Gardening is such a rewarding but somewhat tedious job.  Re-potting, trimming the carabao grass, removing weeds from our peanut grass, you name it, we’ve done them all through the weekend.

Anyway, I guess it is time to reward myself  by relaxing a bit, finishing another book by Anita Shreve and checking our cupboards for grocery items that we have missed buying on our quick trip to the supermarket a few days ago.  And it is time to reward the senses and satisfy the palate so to speak. I haven’t baked anything for more than  a month I guess.  I was so lazy to prepare elaborate meals and desserts because of the heat. Several days here still register a hot 35°C. So I made three batches of Raising Oatmeal Cookies (all of 24 large pieces), good enough for several days for my son to munch on

Yeay, even without cinnamon and nuts, this came out so yummy and chewy. How I wish my daughter lives near enough so I can share with her some of these cookies.

For years, I used to blog about month endings and beginnings but I’ve missed blogging on this one. The month of May aside from December is one of my favorite months . It’s that month between the vapid heat of the summer and the  rainy season. May is the month of flowers, hence, I am documenting all the blooms in my garden now. And May is the month of Mama Mary. Yesterday was our village fiesta too. Although we don’t celebrate it as festive as those we have in the province, it is still  lovely to see and listen to the sound of a band playing so early in the morning.  And aside from the morning mass in honor of St. Joseph the Worker, there was a short procession around the village.

Hopefully in the next few days, I could start reading books which were put in the back shelves.  I miss reading Mary Oliver, Marianne Williamson and Rod McKuen’s poetry. They are my night read before retiring. Sometimes, I dream of the lines which are etched in my soul and I wish I were a poet too who could express the words beautifully like a song that rhymes. I’ve followed  a friend’s suggestion that I have a notebook anywhere I go but then the words sometimes come at those inopportune moments – while loading the washing machine, feeding the dogs or drenching our parched carabao grass. Why is it that one’s mind becomes pregnant with all these imaginings when it is so inconvenient to hold a pen and write?

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Fun Way To Cook Okoy

Okoy or Ukoy is a traditional Filipino dish. It is usually made of different ingredients common of which is shrimp or vegetables. It is the way that it is cooked that makes a little difference. It is usually eaten as a side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cups of fresh squash, cut into strips
1 medium size onion, diced
1 beaten egg
batter of cornstarch or flour to coat the squash
wanton or molo wrapper
dash of salt to taste
dash of fine ground pepper
oil for frying

Directions:
Cut the squash into thin, small strips, add a dash of salt and pepper then add diced onion. Set aside.Make the batter mixture, add one beaten egg.Coat the squash with the batter and put on top of each molo wrapper. Fry in hot oil, reduce heat while frying. You could add small shrimp on top but it is optional. The molo wrapper also serve as a binder and it makes the okoy crispy.

Serve hot with your favorite dish.

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And They Call This Maruya

I told you, I am now enjoying myself  taking  a trip to  the wet market to buy fruits and veggies. The other day, I bought saging na saba (plantain). It cost P2.00 each and I bought 20 pieces. I thought of cooking it for merienda.

My son love the crunchy maruya  which I made from  four pieces of  banana.  I put half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder and half a teaspoon of baking powder on the batter before frying.  Son said it is better than a burger The cinnamon gave it that extra twist. It was so yummy.

I boiled  some and used  a  few pieces for our nilaga, the P40 is really worth it. I also made ginatang saging, kamote and gabi.  You can also boil it and add sugar and tapioca pearls. Where could you find something this cheap and enjoy several ways of preparing it? It’s a comfort food and it is nutritious too. According to studies made, eating raw plantain reduces weight.

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Happy Thoughts On A Sunday Afternoon

It’s been a while and I really missed WordPress. There is something wrong with our server. For more than three  days now, the connection has been quite erratic.  When you’re blogging every day your thoughts come in burst of inspirations and it is easier to share. A week’s lapse seems a long time. I feel as if I have forgotten how to blog

Would you believe if I say that one of the highlights of the week is discovering new and old things in the wet market? I like going to the wet market twice or thrice a month with my son in tow, of course. Fruits and root crops are in season nowadays. I’m beginning to think it’s summer now because you can see summer fruits like mangoes aplenty.

Yeay, we bought fresh green mangoes to go with the bagoong alamang which I plan to cook with lots of chili. Sweet potato comes in different varieties, I bought the yellow ones. There are so many ways of preparing this, you can have it baked, simply boiled, make it into fritters or just mix it with other vegetables.  Turnips or what we locally know as singkamas are also in season now. I mix diced turnips with ground pork to make a simple siomai which is a favorite in our household.

I remember the times when I was in grade school and every summer break, we go to our relative’s farm in our place in Pangasinan and help them harvest peanuts. By the time we are ready to go home, we are loaded with a sack of freshly dug  sweet potato and peanuts. We boil them together in a large pot and enjoy eating them at night while we just relax and exchange ghost stories with my cousins.  Mom used to buy them in bulk and save them for rainy days for everyday snacks.  Those were the days when life was simple. I was fascinated seeing this sticky black rice and asked the vendor how it is cooked. He said that it is prepared same way you cook the white one. I bought half a kilo of this and two pieces of panocha, a type of mascuvado sugar made into rounded blocks and used for making sweets. This is the first time that I made use of  black rice, it needs more cooking than the regular sticky rice sold in the market.  Using two pieces of coconut and one piece of panocha, I made a rice cake which in our native dialect is called binanlay or biko in Tagalog. I love its purple color and the taste is a little different compared to the regular sticky rice sold in the market. It’s  another successful kitchen experiment, I guess

It tasted so yummy that I intend to cook more of  it and top it with latik.  My son is also interested to learn how to cook  so I taught him how to make a simple vegetable lumpia using the fresh ingredients we bought at the wet market – carrots, Baguio beans, sweet potato and turnips. I love any kind of lumpia and this is good with spicy vinegar used as dip.

It’s what I like about observing the season of Lent because we get to eat lots of fruits, fish and vegetables and a little of meat on the side. Abstaining from eating meat  most days of Lent and all Fridays of the year, we get to invent recipes that  need simple ingredients.  Eating healthy is eating well, don’t you think?

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Okra, Anyone?

Some people call it gumbo or lady finger but in our country, it is simply known as okra.

Since I’ve been diagnosed with colon cancer almost four years ago, undergone sigmoid surgery and six sessions chemotherapy, I’ve been so conscious of what I eat so most days, I have vegetables with a bit of meat on the side or skinless chicken breast. Okra is one vegetable that a friend suggested I take at least five times a week. Other than being an anti-oxidant (which I really need), it has lots of fiber that stabilizes blood sugar. Okra is believed to protect some forms of cancer expansion, especially colorectal cancer.

1. Okra helps lubricate the large intestines due to its bulk laxative qualities. The okra fiber absorbs water and ensures bulk in stools. This helps prevent and improve constipation. Unlike harsh wheat bran, which can irritate or injure the intestinal tract, okra’s mucilage soothes, and okra facilitates elimination more comfortably by its slippery characteristic. Okra binds excess cholesterol and
2. Okra’s mucilage binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.
3. toxins (in bile acids). These, if not evacuated, will cause many health problems. Okra also assures easy passage out of waste from the body. Okra is completely non-toxic, non-habit forming, has no adverse side effects, is full of nutrients, and is economically within reach of most individuals unlike over-the-counter drugs.
4. Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria (probiotics). This contributes to the health of the intestinal tract. (source: pyroenergen.com)

For these alone, I would eat okra everyday. It’s healthy, it’s cheap and you can buy it in any wet market or supermarket. You can plant it too in your own garden. It does not take much space since it grows even in pots.

 

 

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Longganisa and Turkey Meat Loaf Pasta Bake

Sometimes I crave for pasta dishes in lieu of regular rice. Nothing fancy, just using ingredients which are available in the fridge.  Dicing half a loaf of Spam Turkey and six small Vigan longganisa (they taste more garlicky than your ordinary longganisa in the market), onion, one red bell pepper and one medium-sized carrot was easy enough.  Sprinkle some dried herbs before baking. I used four-cheese Spaghetti sauce and 400 grams of shell macaroni pasta.  I baked it in the oven long enough to melt the cheese on top.

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Easy Banana Cake

Here’s another kitchen experiment. I was looking for the easiest way to bake banana cake and I found this on the net. Yes, it was easy enough and the smooth texture of the cake and the yummy taste makes me want to do more…with nuts if possible.  Here’s a list of what you will need:

125 grams butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla essence

1 egg

3 ripe medium-size bananas, mashed

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour ( you can use all-purpose flour for this and the ratio is: 1 tsp baking powder + 1/4 ts. salt to 1 cup of all-purpose flour)

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp. cinnamon powder (this is optional but I love cinnamon)

Melt the butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium-sized saucepan. Remove from heat. Add mashed bananas and stir through until just blended. Add egg and mix in well. Stir in flour, cinnamon powder then add milk and mix lightly. Bake at 170 C for about 40 to 50 minutes depending on the baking pan you’re going to use.  Let cool and slice.

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Yummy Puto Pao

Puto is simply steamed  rice cake which is prepared using a round mold  or muffin cups or several small plastic molds, whichever suits you is okay. There are varied ways to make puto one of which is puto pao -  it’s a puto recipe with filling. I used a puto mix here so it is pretty easy to prepare it.

Ingredients:

200 g White King Puto Mix

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

5 tsp. cooking oil

1 can corned beef (I used the Delimondo brand)

Cook corned beef until it is dry. Set aside.

Boil water in a steamer and grease puto molder. Since I used the smallest puto molds, there was no need to grease them since the mixture comes off easily once it’s done.

Combine puto mix and water until well blended. Add sugar gradually and mix. Gradually add cooking oil and continue mixing until smooth.

Pour batter up to 1/4 of the puto molder, add a half teaspoon of corned beef then continue pouring the batter until the molder is 3/4 full. You can put cheese strips before steaming but this is optional and since you are preparing bite-size puto pao, it becomes salty if you put too much cheese so a thin strip will do. Put a clean cloth between the steamer and the cover so water won’t mix with the puto while cooking.

Arrange puto molders inside steamer and steam for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the surface is shiny and bounces back when pressed.

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