Recipe

Pinangat: A Certified Bicolana’s Easy Recipe

written by Stef

Pinangat is one of the dishes I truly miss eating. During the late 80’s, when I was still living in Buhi, Camarines Sur, my Grandma and I would normally have this sumptuous Pinangat for dinner. Believe me, you will have more than a cup of rice with this as your “ulam”.

Today, let me share with you a recipe from my cousin, Mabel. She was able to buy Taro leaves from their community market and thought of making this dish. It will be easy, just as long as you already have all the ingredients ready. And speaking of ingredients, coconut milk is required to have this dish completed. The same important ingredient I used when I cooked another Bicol region’s recipe, Laing.

03/08/2020 0 comment

food Recipe

New Adobo Recipe: With Eggplant and Pork Bits

written by Stef

Today’s menu is Adobo, but with a twist.

In one of my previous posts, I have mentioned that my kids eat eggplant veggie. They only differ in how they prefer it to be cooked. Another challenge for the Mom, right? To be honest, I really do not have issues in making my girls eat vegetables. They got used to it. There is always a certain kind of veggie in the dinner table. When I saw this Eggplant Adobo dish on TV, it caught my attention.

Where did I get this Adobo recipe?

During weekdays, I get to watch a morning show called “Magandang Buhay”. It is hosted by celebrity moms, Melai Cantiveros, Karla Estrada and Jolina Magdangal. In one of their most recent episodes, they tackled about how important it is to eat healthy and still prepare affordable dishes for the family. Their celebrity-comedian guest, Lassy, cooked Adobong Talong ala Lassy and I find it really mouth watering.

adobo

Right before fetching my younger daughter from school, I went to the market and bought few pieces of eggplant. Glad it is not that much expensive from the store I often buy veggies from. I was excited to prepare that same dish for dinner, which I did…with a twist!

Again, I had to twist the recipe I saw from Lassy. I sautéd the pork bits with the onion and garlic before adding the vinegar and soy sauce. I also added a tablespoon of Oyster sauce and sesame seeds for garnish. Because, why not?

The girls did not bother the fact they are eating eggplant cooked the way they have not tasted it before…they totally liked it! The husband is surprised with the dish too. It is something new to him. He got used to eating fried, boiled and grilled eggplant. Their smiles and appetite are the reason why I love cooking for this fambam I call mine!

17/09/2018 0 comment

food In the Kitchen Recipe

Chicken with Creamy Corn and Potatoes

written by Stef

Chicken with Creamy Corn and Potatoes

This is definitely a new dish for me and in fact, for the family. As a Mom, have you ever experienced asking yourself what dish to prepare for your family as soon as you open your eyes in the morning? It is quite challenging especially if you are a working Mom. Even if you are like me who works from home, it is really a test. There are many things to consider in preparing everyday dishes for the whole family. It has to be healthy. It has to be something that everyone will eat… and appreciate – a bonus!

One morning, I already know I am to make Chicken Afritada but I only have half a kilo of chicken thighs and a few potatoes. I also found a can of corn kernels in the shelf, so I had to search for a recipe I can use these ingredients I readily have. Simply because I felt too lazy to go out and buy few more missing ingredients to go for the Afritada dish I originally planned. I found Chicken with Creamy Corn and Potatoes from Kraft Recipes and it caught my attention. Although I did not follow their recipe exactly, it was my inspiration.

I only had the ingredients I have already mentioned, used butter, added cheddar cheese, ground pepper, and cream cheese. It was a breeze cooking this particular recipe. And that is what I have accomplished! The girls really liked it!

There are dish recipes you just learned from watching your mom or grandparent. Have you seen my post about one dish I learned from my Bicolana mom? It is my Laing dish, the non-spicy version. On the other hand, online access to different recipes is truly a big help to many moms, including myself. I found another recipe from the same website and will sure try that some other time.

01/09/2018 0 comment

food In the Kitchen Recipe

Delicious Okra Poppers

written by Stef

My daughters eat veggies, but there are some slime-y ones that they sometimes hesitate tasting. One of which is okra and the other is eggplant. They do eat eggplants depending on the was it was cooked. My elder daughter likes it fried or mixed with pork & “bagoong”, while my younger daughter likes it in “Paksiw” and when cooked the “torta” way. There are many ways how to incorporate eggplants in different dishes but it is quite hard to do that with Okra.

My husband has recently shared a post about the health benefits of Okra and the girls were put up in a challenge. Eat this veggie more often! Like the girls, I grew up hesitant with this particular veggie, so I myself is challenged too. I decided to look for a recipe that would allow me and the girls to eat willingly and happily. I found different techniques and recipes for Okra Poppers online and I picked what I thought is the easiest one.

OKRA Poppers Recipe

okra poppers 15 pods okra, sliced in bite-size pieces
1 egg, beaten
150g all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Soak the sliced veggies in egg for 5 to 10 minutes. Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Coat the pieces evenly and fry in the preheated vegetable oil until golden brown.

It was a hit! It was simple but the fambam loved it! This particular dish is perfect as an appetizer.

04/06/2018 0 comment

food In the Kitchen Recipe

In The Kitchen: Holy Week Special – Sardines

written by Stef

Catholics observed the Lenten season last week. No meats, that is! As expected, prices of seafood and vegetables went up. For a budget conscious mom like me, “diskarte” is what I implemented! Ha ha!

I bought a can of Ligo sardines and a medium sized Chayote. I have 2 kids that needs to eat too so this is the idea that came to my mind last Good Friday. Very timely for the Holy Week. My 2 year old loves tomatoes and fish and my elder daughter likes to eat vegetables, Chayote in particular. Hubby and I can go with anything that is not pork that day.

I normally saute Chayote with Tuna flakes but I did something different with this dish. I boiled the Chayote slices over medium heat while sauteing the sardines with butter, onion slices and tomatoes. I just had to pour the sauted sardines on top of the half cooked Chayote and voila! Viant was served.

“Wow! I love the presentation Mommy!” and “It tasted good!” – Those were the words my elder daughter told me after eating lunch. She never really liked sardines at all but was thrilled to see it was served over her favorite vegetable, Chayote. Our Holy Week was filled with simple recipes and vegetable too. I actually can deal with that anytime, even if it ain’t Holy Week at all. I am not just sure with hubby and the kids. LOL!

09/04/2012 0 comment

food In the Kitchen Recipe

In The Kitchen: Nilaga

written by Stef

I’ve been having a hard time deciding on what to serve for lunch and dinner lately. If you are surrounded with picky eaters, I guess this really happens. It’s just so hard to prepare for a meal that will best suite 2 adults, a 4th grader and a toddler. It’s definitely a challenge to come up with something everyone would like, appreciate, and benefit from it too.

And as I was much more concerned about the kids, I decided to serve what we call “Nilagang Baboy” or Pork Stew. It’s healthy, and the vegetable ingredients are something that I already have in the fridge, if not, can easily be bought in the neighborhood veggie store. Good thing I bought Pork ribs the other day at the grocery and was able to serve the family everyone can enjoy. Keanna and I hoard on with the Cabbage while Roey loved the potatoes and the soup. Daddy concentrated with the pork with his favorite soy sauce dip. It was a sumptuous meal, I must say.

Tara let’s eat!

01/12/2011 1 comment

food In the Kitchen Recipe

Chicken and Veggies Fritatas

written by Stef

Who’s in the kitchen?
Me!

What’s there to look forward to?
I’m ready to try something for the family.
I have seen an early morning show featured and cooked Fritata sometime last month and I decided to come up with my own Fritata recipe. I used ground chicken breast instead of pork and so as added minced garlic, onions, potatoes and carrots.

Egg, salt, pepper and dried Basil completed the mix before I wrapped them in Molo wrappers.

Sealed the mixture and pierced it with fork.

As soon as I made a few, the uncooked Fritatas were deep fried.

It’s ready and my toddler was totally excited. She had it for a snack!

Let’s munch!

29/11/2011 2 comments