Fish soup and endives

We are still on vacation! Actually, when we shopped for food i never forget of picking up some bottles of fish soup. I love it and its practical! You just shake and pop up the bottle, pour in the casserole and reheat ( not boiling ) then it's ready. I love to put grated cheese on the top of my fish soup. And when it comes to salad naman, endives! i just slice it into bite sizes add some ham, olive oil, salt and pepper voilà! me salad na :)

a bottle of fish soup and a pack of endives

Soup and salad! ayos! the vacation continues.....tralala lala...:)

Endives gratin 2

Take 2- I made endives gratin without pouring olive oil hehehe and using bigger slices of ham! now, want the recipe? :)

                                                                   click here

                                         endives gratin that i made for Bibingclara's bday
What's next gratin recipe i'll be trying? hmm... maybe potato, onion, leeks or asparagus? :)

Endives gratin

I really appreciate our oven when making gratin . Making gratin will be including to our weekly plan meal. So many gratin recipes to try soon. Endives gratin is the second gratin recipes i made so far and here's my first attempt :)

                                                                      4-5 endives
Remove the bitter part of endives and cut in half lengthways. Wash then bring to boil in a salted water for 5  minutes. When done, drain and set aside. Now making the the sauce ...

1 cup milk

1 tbsp flour

1 egg

30g butter

40g grated cheese

1/3 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper

In a low heat, melt the butter, add flour while stirring then pour in milk add egg, grated cheese, nutmeg season with salt and pepper. 

                                                                 3-4 slices of ham
Wrap the endives in a ham. Arrange them in a baking tray. Pour in the sauce

top with remaining grated cheese, i poured some drops of olive oil before baking it

                                                  ( a big MISTAKE! )

Set the oven to 190°c then bake for 40 minutes. Set the oven into top baking setting, then bake it for another 5 minutes or until the top gets nicely grating :) I can say, my endives gratin was a Top! even if it was a little oily next post, endives gratin without putting olive oil! hehehe practice makes perfect! :)

Cauliflower cheese with ham

I love this dish! i always make sure to make it when i have cauliflower at home but this time with the addition of bite-size's ham. The family love it! :)

                      cauliflower cheese with ham ready to go in the oven.....

                                         dyaran! the finish product ... yum!

Here's the recipe of Cauliflower cheese. You just only add pieces of ham in the egg mixture then voilà, you just have the Cauliflower cheese with ham. Happy eating! :)

Breaded pork chop

I used to cook meals separately for my daughter whose sometimes gets choosy. One thing she'll agree to eat same food like us is when there's ketchup or soy sauce on the table as dipping sauce. She actually likes dipping pasta on the ketchup, dipping her hotdog in a cup of warm choco-milk during breakfast and dipping her fries in a glass of water strange! just like her big brother that according to Claudebiko, léo likes to dip his fries in a coca-cola. When you are a kid, eating is like a play, so i have to play too to convince Bibingclara of eating ( some veggies ) what we have on the table. I deep fried 4 pork chops. 2 pork chops have been eaten with some left over munggo and 2 pork chops left with white rice and steamed broccoli as side dish :)

Ingredients :                                         cooking oil
                                                         1 large egg
                                                       1 cup all purpose flour
                                                       1 cup bread crumbs
                                                          salt and pepper

                         dippings : tonkatsu sauce bought from the japanese store
              lea and perrins worcestershire sauce usually use when marinating meats

                                                       salt and pepper - ketchup

                                                                     pork chops
In a deep frying pan, heat the oil. Meanwhile, Dip pork chops in egg, then covered with flour and roll in bread crumbs. In a very hot oil, deep fried pork chops until browned on both sides. Drain in a paper towel to remove excess oil. Then, serve :)

voilà ! Bon appetit!

Next time, will post grilled pork chops. Happy eating! :)

Lentils

I never cook lentil before, if i am not mistaken i tried once using lentil when i run out of munggo but it wasn't as good as normal munggo beans that i usually use to. One day, checking out some recipes over the internet, Binggo! I found one from a blogger Lardon My French . What to do with my lentil? Making lentil with lardon :) As i have all the ingredients ready, i made lentil without hesitation :)

                                                                   lentils with sausage
If you want to know her recipe just follow this link lardonslentils. I used all the lentils left on the jar. I realized that i can eat it anyway as everyday meal but......

                                                     lentils-sausage / cooked pasta
Not for my daughter coz i do still have to cook pasta separately for her to partner to her favorite biggie sausage :)

Munggo 2

I have still munggo left again on the shelf, the other was almost half-filled of lentil. I said to myself, hey! i must consume our seeds before buying another pack on the next food shopping trip :)

                                                              lentil and munggo beans
So here's what i do with my munggo. I made it ginisang munggo with bitter melon leaves ( dahon ng ampalaya ) and if you want to know how i cooked it just click here :)

bunch of fresh dahon ng ampalaya bought in amasia at ang pang-gisa,
                       bawang, sibuyas, kamatis at luya

i partner it with pritong galunggong ( bought frozen )

munggo with ampalaya leaves

I enjoyed it eating with lots of rice, 2 pcs. of pritong isda ( i dont share sorry hehehe ) with sawsawang toyo with nakakamay mode. Yummy! yummy i felt i was home :)

Giniling

Another pork dish that reminds my childhood. My father used to cook pork giniling and sometimes he adds raisins or green peas when its available. Each time he do this dish, he would ask me to strain the achuete seeds ( annatto ) soaking in a small cup of warm water that came from the neighbors garden :)
Here's how i cooked mine :

   Ingredients -                             2 big potatoes ( diced )
                                                 1 medium carrot ( diced )
                                                    300g ground pork
                                             12-18 pcs quail eggs ( boiled )
                                               4-6 cloves of garlic ( minced )
                                                   1 small onion (chopped )
                                               1 medium tomatoe ( chopped )
                                                    2 cups of water
                                                   1 tbsp soy sauce
                                                      cooking oil
                                      1/3 tsp annatto seeds powder ( mama sita )
                                                         1 bay leaf
                                                salt and pepper to taste

pork giniling with quail eggs

Heat the oil in a cooking pan, saute garlic, onion and tomato. Add the ground pork and sauté until brownish. Add the carrots, potatoes, bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the water and soy sauce. Simmer until the potatoes are get soft. Powdered with mama sita's annatto seed powder, add the quail eggs season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice or bread :)

Adobong chinese

I cooked adobo once a week, it can be pork adobo or chicken. Chicken adobo is actually Bibingclara's favorite! I tried once cooking adobong matamis using pork. I thought that Bibingclara would like it but she preferred the adobong me suka at toyo na hindi matamis hehehe :)

  Ingredients :                                       1/2 kilo pork ( adobo-cut )
                                                             200g tokwa ( fried )
                                                           6 pcs hard boiled egg
                                                      6 cloves garlic ( crushed )
                                                               1/2 cup sugar
                                                            1/4 cup soy sauce
                                                               1 cup water

chinese adobo

In a casserole boiled the pork until meat gets tender. When done, drain and set aside. In a pan, melt the sugar, add the garlic and let it caramelized for a few seconds then add water. Put the cooked meat, tokwa and hard boiled eggs simmer for 10 minutes. Add soy sauce ( it adds color ) and more water ( if necessary ). The adobong chinese should be sweet and be careful of not putting much soy sauce because it may become too salty. Serve adobong chinese with white rice or it can be eaten alone without anything :)

Nilagang buto-buto

Here's another favorite dish, ang nilagang buto-buto :) favorite ito ni Claudebiko. At dahil sa simple itong lutuin, ito rin ay budget friendly. A kilo of pork buto-buto only cost less than 1 euro in a chinese store. As i still have a pack of pechay left in the fridge, i used it for this dish :)

nilagang buto-buto

When i cooked pork nilaga, i make sure to put loads of patatas. Di na kailangang mag-kanin pero minsan di mapigilan kaya ang technique kapag nilaga ang ulam at masabaw sinasadya kong di magsaing kundi mapapasubo ako sa kain hehehe. To make nilaga, here's how :

                                        1 kilo pork buto-buto / os de porc

                                        1/2 kilo potatoes ( quartered )

                                        1-2 pieces carrots ( quartered )

                                        1 pack of pechay 

                                        1 big onion ( quartered )

                                         2-3 liters water

                                         salt

                                         peppercorns

In a casserole put the water with the pork bones and onion boil for 25 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots cook for another 15 minutes. Add peppercorns and salt to taste. Before the last 5 minutes of cooking add the pechay then let it simmer for another 5 minutes. On the photo above, it was a bowl of left-over nilagang buto-buto so there were no more carrots and pechay. We enjoyed it till the last drop yum! :)

Pechay/Choux chinois/Chinese cabbage

I bought two packs of pechay when i do big food shopping in the chinese store. As hubby's requested, he wanted to eat green leafy vegetables. Pechay is one of our favorite vegetable, so i bought some packs. We usually eat pechay when i cook pork nilaga and beef nilaga ( boiled beef that similar to pot-au-feu ). I cooked a pack of pechay ( boiled ) that becomes a good partner to the roasted peking duck that i also bought from the chinese store :)

                                      well washed pechay, sesame oil and minced garlic
I made toasted garlic as topping and it is a good combination to our "sawsasan" - dipping soy sauce

                                                          soy sauce - toasted garlic

boiled pechay

I served boiled pechay drizzled with sesame oil and topped roasted garlic with white rice roasted peking duck on the side. That's the trick to the lazy momma who doesn't want to make things complicated in the kitchen hehehe upnext, the cheapest dish everrr Nilagang Buto-buto bow! :)

Kangkong/Liseron d'eau/Water spinach

Kangkong ( water spinach ) is widely available in Asian store. So when i see a pack of kangkong, i had in my mind to cook Sinigang but since hubby isn't a fan of dish with tamarind i opted to cook my bunch of kangkong in a simplest way, boiled!

                                            leaves and tender stems of kangkong
I think, i tried only once cooking adobong kangkong i just sautéed garlic, onions and put little vinegar and soy sauce on it. As i said, i did it the more easier and quick meal for us. I just boiled it in water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and serve it with bagoong alamang ( shrimp paste )

boiled kangkong 

I served boiled kangkong with white rice and chinese crispy pork on the side. We all loved it! :)

Pinakbet

There are so many vegetables i haven't used to eat before like okra ( kasi madulas ), ampalaya ( kasi mapait ), kalabasa ( texture when its cook ), talong na i wouldn't eat except kung ito ay pinirito at hipon- no, wala akong allergy tamad lang ako magbalat ang kadahilanan kaya ayaw ko kumain nito dati :) wow! wow! wow! well, nuon yun pero ngayon i realized na masarap kumain ng gulayyyy now i eat everything! today, the dish i would like to share is Pinakbet . I cooked my first pinakbet at naalala ko tuloy ang mga ilocano friends ko sa pinas nuong niluto ko ito. At sa ngalan ng internet, nakahanap at nakaluto ako ng pinakbeetttttt mmm.... so here's how! :)

                                         squash about 200g cut into cubes ( potiron )
                               1 bitter melon cut into bite size ( concombre amer )
                               1 eggplant cut into bite size ( aubergine )
          1 bunch of string beans cut about 3 inches long ( haricots longs )
             250g okra tops and bottom cut off then cut into two ( gombo )
                                         3 tomatoes ( diced)
                                         1 onion ( chopped )
                                         4 cloves garlic ( minced )
                                          1 thumb size ginger ( gingimbre)
                                             cooking oil ( l'huile vegetale )
                                             1 cup water
                                  3 tbsp shrimp paste ( pâte de crevettes )
                                              pepper

                                                         250g shrimps ( peeled )
                                                              pat of butter
Heat the cooking pan, cook shrimps first using butter when it's done, set aside. In another cooking pan, heat the oil, saute garlic+onion+ ginger and tomatoes cook about 3minutes. Pour in the water, add the shrimp paste cook for 5 minutes. Then add the squash+string beans+okra+bitter melon and eggplant. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the cooked shrimps and season with pepper ( i do not add salt as the shrimp paste i used is already salty ) then let it cook until the veggies are done :)

                                                               big batch of pinakbet
Serve pinakbet with warm rice. While we were enjoying our pinakbet, Bibingclara had her chicken nuggets with two different sawsawan, ketchup on the left and soy sauce on the right.

Bibingclara's meal

No shrimps and shrimp paste for a while for my unica hija. Maybe sooner she'll eat like us hehehe :)With this kind of yummy pinakbet, we asked for another batch of rice buti nalang madame akong sinaing :)

Pinay in the kitchen

I do still cook of course but noticing without any post of food recipe for the past few entries? will do in a following days. I will make sure to post food related entry for the whole month of August. Today, we bought a new dining table from IKEA. I have got busy cleaning up while Claudebiko installing it at the same time. I have to mind that i have more jobs to do also in the kitchen as i need emptying useless stuff from the pantry. Right now, checking out our fridge looking at some left over food that we gonna need to consume before we left for a vacation. Vacation! yeheyy that's sooner :)

                                                 my useful pair of pot holder hep! hep!
Will be posting some filipino cuisine soon so for now let me share you some of the favorite veggies that i bought from the asian store :)

                                                     kangkong, pechay and sayote

talong, ampalaya, kalabasa, okra at sitaw

I guess, some of you already had an idea what will be on the cooking??? :)