tips to a perfect pasta

from philippine star

• when cooking pasta, start with at least one gallon of water for every pound of pasta.
• depending on the pasta, add one tbsp of oil to keep the pasta from sticking, although most italians frown on this practice.
• in general, do not salt the pasta water.
• cook no more than a kilo of pasta at a time.
• the water must be boiling rapidly during the cooking. if it stops boiling, cover it until the boil returns.
• stir as you add the pasta. continue to do so occasionally to keep it from sticking.
• the real question is "when is it done?" pasta should be tasted to know when it is done. fish a strand out and bite it. it should be firm yet tender, with just a tiny chalky white center. al dente - not too soft, not too hard, just right!
  

pata carbonara

from philippine star

1 pkg linguini
4T olive oil
1/4k bacon, cut into 1/4 inches
garlic, finely chopped
6 egg yolks
1 pkg heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt / fresh ground pepper
chopped parsley
zest of lemon (optional)

1. cook pasta according to direction. reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain
2. heat a tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat
3. add bacon until golden. set aside
4. reduce heat and add remaining oil. cook the garlic
5. beat the egg yolk, heavy cream and 1/2 cup cheese in a medium bowl until combined
6. add drained hot pasta and bacon to the skillet, and pour the egg mixture over
7. if pasta seems dry, add enough of the reserved cooking water to moisten
8. season liberally with freshly ground pepper

garlic bread

from philippine star

garlic, minced
half butter
half olive oil
chopped parsley
grated parmesan cheese

1. cook the garlic in butter and olive oil, set aside
2. split your crusty french bread in two, brush with the garlic mixture
3. bake until golden brown
4. sprinkle with chopped parsley and grated cheese
   

spaghetti with salmon and basil

from philippine star

2tbsp olive oilgarlic, minced1 tsp crushed red peppera big can whole tomatoes2 cans salmon orr tuna, drainedsalt and freshlyground pepperbasil, choppedbutter
heat the olive oil in a large skillet. add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over low heat until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes.
add the whole can of tomatoes and their liquid and summer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickend about 7 minutes.
add the salmon and simmer briefly to heat through; stir gently to keep the salmon in large pieces. season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
toss butter to the cooked pasta. add the salmon sauce, reserved pasta cooking water and basil and toss again.
season to taste and transfer to a warmed bowl and serve at once.

tilapia in garlic and olive oi

rub the tilapia with the crushed garlic, then place in a shallow dish
pour the olive oil over the fish until coated
place the chopped onion on top of the fish
cover the fish and refrigerate overnight
sprinkle the fish with cayenne or white pepper
bake or grill. if grill - wrap the fish and themarinade in aluminum foil.

small contribution...

Global warming causes our temperature to go up everyday...and it is really alarming...it is a threat to our lives, a big one!

As homemakers, let us do our small share on how we can "at least" lessen this problem. Here are a few tips i got from the newspaper...

• Live Green
• Be picky with your appliances
• Check your refrigerator regularly; defrost and test cold air leaks by closing the door on a sheet of paper and pulling it along the gasket to find any leak.
• Avoid disposables like plastic citlery that comes with take-out food
• Use a sponge instead of kitchen paper towels
• Fix leaky faucets
• Serve vegetarian meals once a week
• Drink shade-grown coffee which is pesticide and chemical free beans
• Bring you own bag when doing your groceries, avoid plastic bags

sweet and sour fish sillet

what i have in mind is to cook fish sarsiado. kaya lang nagbago isip ko i cooked sweet and sour fish instead. i remembered it's been a while since the last time i cooked this...so sweet and sour it is!

what i used

• maya-maya fish fillet marinated in 1 beaten egg with salt and sugar
• cornstarch
• white onion
• carrots
• red bell pepper
• pineapple tidbits and its juice
• del monte sweet and sour sauce
• soy sauce
• salt and sugar to taste

how i did it

1. coat the marinated fish with cornstarch then fry until golden brown
2. while frying the fish, in another pan saute the onion in a little oil
3. then the carrots and bell pepper
4. then add the pineapple tidbits
5. add the pineapple juice and let it simmer a bit
6. then add the sweet and sour sauce and soy sauce
7. use salt and sugar to adjust taste
8. let it simmer a bit
9. add the fried fish to the sauce and let it simmer

tongyang...o tongyang

yesterday we ate at tongyang (me and my friends). it's been a while since the last i ate here. it's always great to eat here lalo na 'pag hindi ka makapagdecide kung ano gusto mo kainin. enjoy na sa pagluto while nagkukuwentuhan...super busog ka pa!

hala! lamon! pano ba naman eat all you can di ba.

di bale na ang calories! isang araw lang naman e. hehe

ang sarap ng gindara at blue marlin (favorite ko pareho).

nilagyan ko ng barbeque sauce and teriyaki sauce before i fried it sa butter.

nagustuhan ng friends ko ang timpla.

yum talaga!

chicken pastel...without the crust

my angel opened the vienna sausage can instead of the luncheon meat can for my son's baon last week. i have excess chorizo de bilbao (that's been in the freezer for quite some time) from the callos i cooked few weeks back. i have few chicken pieces left from the apritada i cooked last week. and i have few pieces of carrots, potato and bell peppers in the ref. what should i cook so that i can use all of these..."excess"? well...it's gotta be chicken pastel right?

so, chicken pastel it is!

what i used

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 pcs onion
• 1 pc chorizo
• more than half kilo chicken (marinated in the next 2 ingredients)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp calamansi juice (i don't have lemon)
• 2red bell pepper
• pinch ground pepper
• 2 potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 pcs vienna sausage
• 1 chicken cube
• 1/2 cup milk

how i did it

1. saute garlic and onion
2. add chorizo then the chicken (marinated in soy sauce and calamansi juice)
3. simmer
4. add bell pepper and a dash of ground pepper
5. when chicken is a little tender, add the carrots and potatoes
6. and the vienna sausage
7. when everything is nearly cooked, add chicken cube, adjust taste
8. then add the milk

my family loved it even my little one. she ate a lot!

nestle chunky choco mocha

my current favorite!

yum!

the chunky choco is just so great it melts in your mouth!

artificial egg...huh?

spotted while picture hopping

long egg from...long chicken!

knorr cubes

spotted these pics while blog hopping

i love the fish cube pic!

do you use knorr cubes in your recipes? i do!

braised beef and potato omelette

i intend to empty my freezer to replenish with fresh new ones. this beef cut (i don't know what kind of cut...basta it has litid) has been sitting in the freezer for a few days na...natira from the beef sinigang that i cooked a few days back. i wanted to experiment and try new taste and new kind of dish. our beef regular recipes consist of...well.. beef sinigang, beef kaldereta, beef steak pinoy style or bistek...roast beef with young corn or roast beef with mushroom sauce and mashed potato. minsan nakakasawa na. anyway, so off to the kitchen with braised beef in my mind. not sure of what ingredients to use, i decided to boil the beef first in about 2-3 cups of water over very low heat. then i tried to recall the taste of braised beef in chowking, that being my husbands (one of his) favorite meal to order there.

what i used

• more than half kilo of beef cube (i don't know what cut was it)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb size ginger
• 1 pc onion
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 pc star anise
• 2 cups beef stock
• half beff cubes
• few drops of sesame oil
• a pinch of toasted sesame seeds

how i did it

1. boiled the beef and simmered over low heat
2. saute garlic, ginger and onion
3. add the soy sauce, then the sugar
4. add the boiled beef cut
5. mix and simmer for a few minutes
6. add the star anise
7. then pour the beef stock
8. let boil then simmer over low heat
9. add the beef cube, adjust taste
10. when beef is (very) fork tender, add the sesame oil
11. upon serving, add the toasted sesame seeds on top
    

come dinner time...i waited for my husband's reaction...hah! buti na lang...MORE DELICIOUS THAN CHOWKING DAW! yahoo! success! i'm sure this will be added in my beef recipes.

also, we bought 1 tray of eggs yesterday. unfortunately, there were 2 eggs that cracked on our way home. not wanting to let it go to waste, i made a potato and onion omelette. it turned delicious. you see i'm not good at putting salt into a beaten egg, it either turns out salty or matabang. but this was was just the right taste!

Ysabella's Chicken...now available at Bacolod Chicken Inasal

What is the recipe for true love? ABS-CBN's newest teleserye, Ysabella, will try to answer that, as its lead character comes face to face with that question as well! ABS-CBN is set to tickle your taste buds with its latest offering, heralded by the youngest institution in showbiz, Judy Ann Santos! Ysabella, which airs on June 25, will star the Teleserye Queen in a role close to her heart, as she plays a woman who's passionate about cooking!

pork steak...pinoy style

for my son's baon in one of the lazy days last week

i cooked pork steak pinoy style

i used porkloin (because it's what i have in the ref...all the way from baguio)

sliced it thinly

marinated it with calamansi extract, soy sauce and ground pepper

sliced 1 big white onion

fried the onion first

then fried the marinated pork slices

poured the marinade and let it boil

put back the fried pork slices and simmered it

seasoned with knorr seasoning and added the white onion.

when i cook a pinoy steak, i always have boiled egg for side dish and pickled papaya as side dish

try it, it's a great combination!

my son's favorite!

tortilla...spotted

yesterday i was about to buy a pizza dough for my supplies - you know in case i ran out of bread again for my son's baon (school snack) - there was no stock of the size i wanted. then the tortilla wrapper caught my eye. it's been a while since the last time i did some quesadilla and soft tacos. so..i grabbed one. i can also use that for a...pizza roll!

Pork Bagoong Rice

i'd been wanting to cook the same kind of bagoong rice that i ate from Sandy's (that's Sandy Daza's food kiosk at the Enterprise Center in Makati). a little salty...a little sweet...with egg and mango on top! i experimented and...what do you know...it came out as close as the taste of Sandy's binagoongan rice. it's so easy to prepare and cook...

what i used

• 2 tbsp oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1/2 kilo pork cubes
• 1/4 cup bagoong guisado
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tsps vinegar
• sugar

how i did it

1. In a pan, heat the oil and saute the garlic and onion
2. Add the pork, cook until brown
3. Add the bagoong guisado, water, tsps vinegar
4. Simmer until the pork is tender
5. Season to taste with sugar and more bagoong if needed
6. Cook until mixture is dry.
7. Serve over rice with sliced fried eggs, slices of green mango and cucumber.

TIP: This can be kept in the fridge so you can prepare more and keep it in the fridge for emergency quick fix or instant meal sans the toppings.

homemade bacon and cheese pizza

i ran out of bread yesterday... oh no! son won't have "baon" (snack) in school. good thing i stocked on pizza dough...you know...just in case these things happen.

i toasted the dough first to make it a little crunchier ( as requested by my son)

spread some ketchup... my pizza sauce bottle is empty...i used ketchup instead

sprinkled some pizza seasoning

put some grated cheddar and quickmelt cheese on top

and for finale... bacon bits!

toasted it again to cook the toppings...

and.... dyaraaaan!

here it is!

humba

i cooked this once...

what i used

• 1 kl pork cubes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 laurel
• some dried oregano
• 3 tbsp black beans
• 1 cup water
• fried banana (saba)

how i did it

1. In a saucepan, combone the pork cubes, garlic, vinigar, brown sugar, soy sauce, laurel, oregano, tausi, water.
2. Cover and bring to boil.
3. Lower the heat and simmer untile meat is very tender and sauce is almost dry.
4. Serve with fried banana.

TIP: This dish tastes better as it ages. You can prepare a big batch and keep in the freezer for future use.

anyone can cook

i love this movie!

it is cute, heartwarming, funny...with a little bit of "eww!"

RATATOUILLE (rat-a-too-ee)

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