Coffee Jelly

A no-cook, no-bake dessert. Mix, chill and serve, yup, that easy!

before chilling

Ingredients:

• jelly (gulaman) powder
• coffee
• condense milk
• all-purpose cream
• sugar, optional
  
• water (for the jelly mix)
  

close-up shot

Procedures:

• Cook the jelly (gulaman) powder according to package instructions. Be sure to add a liberal amount of coffee but not too much, as you don't want your jelly to become super bitter. If and when you went overboard, a sprinkle of sugar will do the trick *wink*. Cool and cut it into cubes.
• In a deep bowl, preferably one with a lid, mix the jelly with the rest of the ingredients (condense milk, all-purpose cream).
  
• Here's the deal - if and when you made the jelly a little bland, mix a little amount of coffee on the condense milk and all-purpose cream mixture like what you usually do in a tiramisu mix to reinforce the coffee taste in the cream and cover the lack thereof in the jelly.
• Taste test, tweak until you're satisfied and then, chill.
  

chilled coffee jelly

An ambrosia for the coffee lovers :)

Garlic Shrimp

Another easy dish to whip up for no-meat Fridays :)


Ingredients:

• fresh prawns (sugpo)
• garlic, minced
  
• oil
• butter
  
• hot water

Procedures:

• Blanch the prawns. Take off everything (shell, head, tail). Set aside.
  
• Heat a little oil before putting in the butter to prevent it from burning.
• Drop the minced garlic and peeled prawns, saute until the garlic is roasted and the prawns are coated with butter.
• Serve over steaming white rice.
• Chili vinegar dip is optional but recommended.
  

It's as easy as one, two, three, right?

Fresh Pick: Asugon (Barracuda)

Photo below is a Guinean Barracuda, one of the more timid kinds of barracuda, it comes in many names depending on the local you're in here in the Philippines, here in Navotas and I guess, mostly in Tagalog region, it is called Asugon. The asugon on the pic below measured up to 4ft in length, I have no idea, how much it weigh, I was just astonished to see (well not really, I grew up seeing huge fishes) how big it was so I asked my tatay to put a meter beside it, to illustrate how long it is, and took the shot. I have other shots, but I just can't post it the right way, I don't know why :(


My tatay cooked it in two ways - he sliced and fried the body (first) while he cooked the head and tail part plus the egg (and other whatnots) in sour broth (second). Before you question my pop's food preference, let me tell you a side story, he used to work as a chief cook in a cargo ship before he retired, and most of his co-workers during his years of work were Japs nationals, so his quirky palette sort of came from that.



No recipes from me, not a fan of fish and I don't think, I'll ever be :p

Fettuccine with Ham, Corn and Peas

I wasn't able to join the celebration at Presto Pasta Nights last week, boo for me! But, I am super proud to take part in one of the longest running food meme, I may not be a regular contributor but I love it no less. I'll let you in on a secret, with my love of pasta, I think I was Italian in my past life *grins*.

This week's pasta feast is hosted by Debbie of Debbie Does Dinner, if you're craving for more pasta recipes, go and visit her for the round-up on Friday.


Ingredients:

• fettuccine noodles
• corn kernels
  
• green peas
• sliced ham, cut into square bits
  
• evaporated milk
• all-purpose cream
• butter
• olive oil (any kind will do)
  
• ground black pepper
• salt
• dried basil leaves

Procedures:

• Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Set aside.
• Heat a bit of oil before melting the butter slab, that would prevent it from burning.
• Put the ham in, roll the pieces in butter for a while until it sizzles. Add the green peas and corn kernels and saute.
• Pour the evaporated milk and stir. Pour the all-purpose cream and stir a bit more thus preventing the sauce from sticking to the pan. Lower the heat down and let it simmer for three minutes.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper, try it out and do the necessary adjustments. Bring to a boil.
• Toss the fettuccine noodles in, sprinkle it with some dried basil leaves and mix until all the noodles are coated with the sauce.
• Let it cool for a few minutes and serve. (The sauce tends to thicken while it cools, the logic behind the let it cool phrase *grins*)

Try it and do tell me what you think, okie?

Dried Squid

Last Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) marked the beginning of the Lenten season, the coming long weekend this summer, parade of flagellants, and no-meat Fridays. So here's a simple way to stock on your seafood without the need for a refrigerator *wink*.

cooked/fried dried squid

clean and cut fresh squid

a closer view

air dried and done (don't mind the itty-bitty ants :D)

Ingredients:

• Squid (the bigger the better, it kind of shrinks when it dries and shrink a little more when you fry it)

Procedures:

• Cut the squid vertically in the middle and open it up, clean it thoroughly, taking off its whole digestive system (intestine, ink socket, etc.), and if you're feeding picky folks, I suggest cutting off the eyes, too (that's what we usually do).
• Lay it flat on a drying board and let it stay for a day or two, depending on the weather and humidity.
• It'll turn hard and purple-y brown in color and will smell a little, but that is its charm *lol*.
• Fry the dried squid and serve. Best paired with spicy vinegar dip.
  

Have a pleasant Friday!


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Ham Sandwich (My Way)

I think, this will be the last time I post something about Christmas left-over ham, hahaha, we've finally consumed all of it :)

You know what I did, I sliced the fiesta ham into thin slices like that of the regular ham and stored it in a sealed-in canister so that everyone who wants to grab a bite can just do so without all that fuzz. And it works, the ham was gone faster than me cooking pancakes, hahaha.

Photo below was the ham sandwich I made last I ate the left-over ham, we have some lettuce in the house, so I just put some mayo on a pair of white bread (have I mentioned that I love mayonnaise?), layer the some lettuce leaves, another dash of mayo, and fried ham.

Yummy!



Another non-recipe, maybe next time :)

Tikoy Ube (Chinese New Year's Cake)

Not a recipe but I still cooked it, so it still belong, hurhur.



All you need is a box of Tikoy or Nian Gao, in any color or flavor, I used Ube (purple yam), slice to your preferred thickness, dip in a bowl of beaten egg and fry until the tikoy turns soft and sticky again or until the egg coating browns. You can eat and serve it as it is or you can have some sugar dip. Good for afternoon snacks or after dinner treat :)

Pasta Negra

A leap of faith, I am joining Presto Pasta Nights, I know that me and my ways in the kitchen are still mediocre at best but I haven't read any rules that a newbie can't join so I am taking the plunge, que sera, sera! This is my second time joining, the first one was ages ago, it was one of those times when my bravery is at its peak *grins*. I, actually, love experimenting on new pasta dishes (I, even, think that I was an Italian in my past life *lol*) but as most of what I concoct doesn't follow a strict recipe, I seldom join any cooking meme, well, as I've said, this is a leap of faith.

This week's Presto Pasta Night round-up will be their 200th, so I'm kinda part of something special and it is hosted at Fuss Free Flavors. So, if you're in search for some great pasta recipes do visit that blog on Friday.



Ingredients:

• spaghetti noodles (any kind of pasta will do)
• fresh small to regular-sized squids
• all-purpose cream
• onion and garlic, diced
• butter
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• dried basil leaves

Procedures:

• Clean the squid thoroughly. Put the ink in a clean container, to be used as a coloring for the dish. Be sure to take out the white gooey thing that stick in the ink pouch, it's the source of that fishy smell so you better be careful about it. And remember to use fresh squid, the key to a flavorful dish is its freshness.
  
• Boil the squid until cooked. Set aside.
• Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• In a large pan, heat up some vegetable oil before dropping in the butter to prevent it from burning.
• Saute the garlic and onion, until the kitchen smells or until the onion is mildly translucent, please don't overdo it.
• Pour in the squid's ink, the amount depends on how dark you want your pasta to look, I didn't used much as my son doesn't like it super black. Saute and mush it thoroughly.
• Add the cooked squid, stir and bring it to a semi-boil.
  
• Add the all-purpose cream (I used one tetra pack of Nestle cream), stir until blended, add a little water and let it simmer.
• Season with salt, pepper and dried basil leaves, taste test and do the necessary tweaking.
  
• Stir it continuously to prevent the sauce from sticking in the pan, add some dissolved flour on cold water to make the sauce thick. The color won't blend well with the noodles if your sauce is watery/soupy. Bring it to its final boil and you're done.
• Toss the noodles in and work on it until the black sauce incorporates with every strands of the spaghetti noodles, your arms might feel a little sore afterwards but the smile on your family/guests will make it all worth it.
• Let it cool for a while before serving.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Ham in Scrambled Eggs

I think being a mother kind of force an individual to become thrifty, practical and innovative in some ways, and it applies in all aspects of our lives.

I've been posting recipes/dishes wherein last Christmas' ham leftovers were the main (or not) ingredients and this one is no different *smiles*.


Ingredients:

• ham
• eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• cooking oil for frying
  

Procedures:

• Beat the eggs, add some salt, pepper or any seasonings that you like.
• Slice the ham in small squares or in any size and shape that you prefer.
• Pour in the beaten eggs in a little amount of hot oil, then drop the sliced ham and toss mildly.
• It should be done in a matter of minutes, it varies according to your preference, though. My kid likes his eggs a little well-done while I want mine kind of raw :)
• Serve with some garlic rice and you have an easy but oh-so-yummy breakfast.

An entry for:

Have a great week food peeps!

I Got An Award

Yep, you read it right, I got an award! And it felt just like when I found out I was pregnant, you know that feeling of happiness and excitement when you get something that is totally unexpected, just like a surprise birthday party or a an old friend popping out in front of you *grins*, I may suck a little, alright a lot, in analogy but you're getting the drift right?

Anyway, Lee of Earn Money Online graciously passed the award on to me and I am very, very grateful to her, this is my first blogging award, you know *smiles*.


The Rules:
1. Thank and link back the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 great bloggers you know.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

So here goes:

• I am a frustrated baker, hehe, I love learning stuff about baking and making desserts but the oven and me has this hate and hate relationship *lol*.
• I love juice combo, pine-orange (pineapple and orange), orange-mango, etc. I don't know why, but I do love those drinks.
• I am a Royal Tru Orange loyalist!
• I love Pinipig Crunch.
• I suck as a socially active person, so I am a loner, homebody and a couch potato rolled into one.
• I love reading, I can live without any material things as long as I have my steady supply of literary materials.
• I love food, my two food blogs can attest to that :)

I've seen a lot of blogs that I visited with this award already so I will hold on to this award until I find other bloggers who can have it... yeah, yeah, I'm just basking in the glory *lol*.

Crispy Crablets

My first time cooking Crispy Crablets, it doesn't came out as pretty as I want it to be, but I don't have the heart to label it as a failed attempt *pout*, in all honesty, it didn't taste as bad as it looks *lol*. Just do better than me and let this poor baby be, okay?



Ingredients:

• crablets (pehe)
• egg, beaten
• flour
• salt
• pepper
• cooking oil

Procedures:

• Clean the little crabbies and take the top shell off. You can opt not to, I just did, hehe.
• Season with salt and pepper and let it seat while you prepare the egg and breadings.
  
• The coat or breading is a mixture of flour, a little iodized salt and a little pepper mixed together.
  
• Dip each crablets in the egg and and roll on the flour, be sure to coat each one evenly.
• Deep fry until golden brown.
• Serve with vinegar and chili dip.
• Perfect as an appetizer or pulutan, it can even be eaten with rice.
  
  
  Happy Sunday everyone!
  
  
  

Fresh Pick: Green Mangoes

After the Christmas season and the chilly wind and cold weather that it brings, the next most-awaited season for Pinoys is the summer. I am not a beach bum, though I love the water and the scenery, my incapability to swim and my not-so-beach-worthy physique kind of hinders me from being one, hehe. But as a foodie, one of the best perks summer could offer for me, is the availability of those summer fruits. My father-in-law bought a few parcels of land in Bulacan a couple of years back, the land came with a number of fruit-bearing trees, and other plants, and we're already reaping (literally, hahaha) the benefits of it all.

Photo below is that of the apple-mango tree in the backyard, adjacent to the dirty kitchen, I wasn't able to take pics of the other trees as the sun was blazing above me and I'm kinda not your regular happy sunny camper, I am more of a happy shady couch potato kind of person *grins*.

I'll do it next time...

Kekiam Balls

I learned this recipe from my pops, remember that I hailed from Malabon City, thus making stuff out of fish is kinda an in-bred quality among us citizens, hahaha.



Ingredients:

• ground fish meat
• ground pork
• carrots, minced
• green onions, minced
• onions, minced
• garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• egg
• flour
• cooking oil, for deep frying
  

Procedures:

Note: My mom told me that you can buy ground fish meat in the market, you just have to ask, and be willing to pay a minimal fee. But if you opt to do it yourself, be sure to pound on the fish first to loosen its meat before you scrape it off.

• Ratio of ground fish and pork is 1:1
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients listed above except for the cooking oil, be wary of the seasoning and the flour, you don't want your kekiam balls to be flour-full and meat-less, nor do you want it too salty or too hot, right?
  
• Shape it into balls, deep fry and you're done.
• One tip though, just to make sure that you got your desired taste, try deep frying one ball first and taste test, then do the necessary tweaking. After that, try frying another one and taste it again, just keep on trying until you perfected it. If I can live with estimates, so can you, hahaha, good luck with that :)
• This is good as a pica-pica food or as a viand, it can stand alone or you can serve it with ketchup or any dips/sauces that you want.

Happy cooking!

Failed Attempt 1 - Salad Drink

As much as would love everyone to think that I am getting better in this homemaking business, I know better, and to start something different in this blog, I decided that I will chronicle not only those recipes that I succeeded in doing but also those that miss. Well, nobody said it would be easy, they just said it would be worth it :)

So, for my very first entry in the failed attempt category, look and be amaze (more possibly the opposite of it) at my very own Salad Drink. This kind of thirst-quencher can be seen frequently among street peddlers and small kiosks around the mall, I am a fan so I decided to try making one on my own, oh well, practice makes perfect, hehe.


Truth is, it actually tasted good, it's just that, it didn't passed the aesthetic part, it doesn't look visually appetizing at all, right? It could have been something great *lol* but a few wrong moves and it resulted to this.

Let me count the ways (that I messed up):

• I shredded the jelly instead of cutting it into cubes, I thought, it would work just like that of Buco Pandan.
• I put it in it the freezer when I'm done and it's not yet time to serve it, I don't know why but those little Tapioca balls just won't show themselves anymore.
• Instead of using a gazillion ice tubes, I used a gazillion liter of cold water.
• I only used coconut milk, I think, it should be a mixture of canned and coconut milk.

There might be more that I don't know of, anyway, we'll find out the next time I try concocting one again.


This is a crappy post, well, it suits the topic, failed attempt in cooking and a failed attempt in blogging it *lol*.

Turbo Broiled Chicken

Lesson learned: Veggies and meat doesn't get cook at the same time, meat tends to cook longer than their soil-produced counterparts, so learn from my mistake, do not insert the vegetables in your chicken, hahaha. My carrots and potato chunks turned out burnt and mushy, the chicken tasted wonderful though, so that kind of made up for my itty bitty mistake, hehe.



Ingredients:

• fresh whole chicken
• lemongrass
• calamansi
• garlic
• soy sauce
• pepper
• paprika
• salt
• sugar (optional)
  

Procedures:

• Make a marinade out of the soy sauce, pepper, salt and calamansi. Set aside.
• Infused some garlicky taste to the chicken by rubbing minced garlic all over its body, inside and out.
• When you think you've had enough of the garlic smell on your hands, marinate the chicken. Let it sit overnight if you can, if not, give it at least a minimum of 4 hours. Be sure that the whole chicken is drench in the marinade, if you can't make that much of a mixture to submerge it whole, just turn it around from time to time just to be sure to marinate all parts equally. If you have those kitchen syringe thingy, do inject the prepared mixture to the chicken's body to lessen the marinading time.'
• When you're almost done, shake some paprika powder to its skin to enhance its color, paprika doesn't really give that spicy kick but it does make the food more picture-perfect.
• Put the lemongrass inside the chicken's body and tie the legs together to seal it.
  
• Roast the chicken in a turbo broiler, set the timer to an hour and gradually increase the temperature every 15minutes, start at 100 and end at 250. At this rate, you can be sure that you cooked the chicken meat thoroughly without burning the skin.
  
• When the machine dings, it means it's done.
• Serve with a dip, a sauce or none at all. It'll be yummy in any way *smirks*.

Happy broiling :))

Yang Chow

A no-seafood version of Yang Chow, I don't even know if it is still consider as such if the recipe doesn't follow the original version, ah basta, Yang Chow ito, hehe.



Ingredients:

• leftover/cold rice
• sliced ham, diced (I used two kinds, the regular and sweet one)
• Chinese sausage, dice
  
• eggs, beaten
  
• green peas
• carrots, diced
• garlic, minced
• soy sauce
• salt
• all-in-one seasoning granules
• cooking oil

Procedures:

• In a skillet, fry the beaten eggs. Slice thinly and set aside.
• In the same skillet, fry the ham and Chinese sausages, please do not overdo it, set aside.
• Still in the same skillet, saute the garlic, no need to brown it.
• Add the leftover rice and continuously mix.
• Season with salt and the all-in-one granules.
• Pour in the soy sauce and toss until the color is even.
• Add the ham, sausages, green peas, carrots and scrambled eggs, mix it up.
• Taste test, do revisions, if necessary.
• Mix and stir until done.
• Serve hot.
  

Easy does it :)


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Carbonara w/a Twist

My last post was about an experiment gone well, actually, great is a better term, hurhur. This one is not exactly an experiment but it was also done to maximize the benefits of an increase in our supply of Christmas ham, teehee.



Ingredients:

• pasta noodles (any kind will do)
  
• all-purpose cream
• ham, cubed (I used a honey-cured one)
  
• green peas
• corn kernels
• butter
  
• dried basil
  
• ground black pepper
• fish sauce/salt
• water

Procedures:

• Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Rinse and set aside.
• In medium heat, melt a quarter (of a bar) of margarine in a pan.
• Roll, not fry, the ham cubes in butter.
• Pour the all-purpose cream, add a bit of water and blend it all together.
  
• Add the seasonings - fish sauce or salt, ground black pepper and dried basil.
  
• Put the green peas and corn kernels last, stir and simmer until you get your preferred consistency.
• Taste test and do the necessary revisions, if there's a need to.
• Leave the sauce in low heat, drop the pasta noodles and toss.
  
• And you're done, let it cool for at least 15minutes, to make sure that the sauce are all stuck to the noodles, and then serve.
• I think, it will be great with garlic bread, sadly we have none *pouts*.

I think, I am Italian in my past life, with my obsession with pasta and all, hahaha.

Ham in Cheesy Cream Sauce

NOTICE: This is one of those dishes that just came out because we have the ingredients for it, it's not planned or expected, in other words, this is pure experiment. Lucky for us, it works, it actually tasted better than I can ever imagine.

You know like when it's Thanksgiving and there are lots of turkey leftovers and you make turkey sandwiches left and right, I have the same dilemma, we were given like three different variants of ham last Christmas season and there's only three of us, and we can't chow down on 1 ham each, right, so there were lots of leftovers and here's where mine and my younger bro's smart genes came in the picture - we decided to experiment *lol*.


Ingredients:

• ham (any brand will do but we used Purefoods Jamon de Bola)
• all-purpose cream (we used Nestle)
• cheddar cheese (we used Eden)
• butter (we used Dairy Creme)
• mushroom (small can)
  
• corn kernels (optional)

Procedures:

• Slice the ham in your preferred size and shape, I did it in jagged half-circles. One ball of ham is equals to a kilo, and I only used half of it. Set aside.
• Slice the mushrooms according to your preferred thickness. Set aside.
  
• Melt half a bar of butter in a frying fan.
• Drop the sliced ham and kind of saute it in the butter, I can't say fry as I didn't exactly fried mine, but if you want it like so, I guess you can.
• Add the all-purpose cream, blend it with the ham and butter until you get a consistent color and let it simmer.
• Drop the slice mushrooms.
  
• Add grated cheese, I used half of the regular-sized cheddar cheese, mix a little and then let it simmer.
• Add the corn kernels if you want to.
• Taste test. (Based on experience, there's no need to add any seasonings but to each its own, so do your deal)
• Perfect with rice and/or bread.

Try it and do tell me what happen, okay?

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