Snow Storm in Pennsylvania

It's the first snow storm in PA this year and our first time to witness what's it like. Although it's our fourth time to see real snow the previous ones didn't last that long and not quite as heavy (comparing 1 inch or so of snowfall with today's 10.5 inches). It was really fascinating to watch the snow on the ground grow thicker by the hour. Everything the snow touches was soon blanketed in white. And the way light is reflected by the snow just makes the surrounding "lit up" a bit. Now I know what a former classmate meant when she said that snow gives her a better mood than when it is raining. She's right it's not dark, wet and gloomy. Fresh snow is like fluffy bits of clouds falling to the ground.

It would have been better if we did actually enjoy the snow. But it was too cold outside and as typical parents we're a little concerned that the kids might get sick. Maybe tomorrow when the storm is over.

Ang Manong Rey feeling..Di ba obvious na nangangatog sa lamig?

That's my Mr. Man attempting to brave out the cold in his shorts.I guess he was just more eager than I was of having his picture taken in the snow. He even dared us that he'll pose outside without his shirt on ....Yeah, right....

On the background (left) is our car. I bet someone's gonna be busy tomorrow shoveling and scraping out snow and I'm sure it won't be me.

Monte Cristo for Breakfast

Back in college I had this type of sandwich for brunch whenever I didn't have time to eat breakfast at home. I grew fond of the mixed taste of the sweet jam, salty ham and sour mayo. The thing about this is that you can actually make so many variations. May it be the filling (
leftover slices of ham, luncheon meat ,corned beef, chicken fillets or hotdogs), or the bread (white bread, whole grain bread, rye, burger buns, pandesal etc.) or the jam (jellies, marmalade and even whipped cream).
With this one here I used slices of spam and strawberry jam.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Ingredients:

slices of white bread
slices of spam, pan fried
slices of cheese
2 eggs, scrambled
2 tbsp. evaporated milk
mayonnaise
butter
strawberry jam

Mix the milk and beaten eggs. Spread mayo on one side of two bread slices. Place a slice of cheese on top of the bread. Then spam and another cheese. Top with another slice of bread to make a sandwich. Dip ( no, not soak) all sides of the sandwich in the egg mixture. Fry in butter until sides turn brownish in color . Serve hot with a dullop of jam on top.

Beef Braised in Apple Cider

I brought this concoction to our potluck dinner yesterday. It was a friend's birthday (net ilang taon ka na nga, _1 ba yon?) and the start of our "bible sharing" group.
I've been racking my brain since wednesday on what to cook for that friday night. Still undecided, I took out a pack of beef short ribs and some pieces of pork hocks from the freezer and placed them in the fridge to thaw. Come thursday night. Hubby requested that the pork hocks be cooked as crispy pata so that left me with the beef. I was really bushed that night. Without putting too much thought into it I poured what's left of the sparkling apple cider (we downed just about half a bottle during dinner) onto the beef and left it to marinate overnight. The apple cider made the beef so melt-in-your-mouth tender the dish was just superb.

Beef Braised in Apple Cider

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef short ribs
3 cups sparkling apple cider
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into squares
brocolli, cut into florets
caulliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
toasted sesame seeds
water or meat broth (optional)

Marinate beef in apple cider overnight. Heat olive oil in pan and brown beef. Do not overcrowd pan and place beef one at a time. Set aside the beef. In the same pan saute garlic and onion. Pour in the apple cider marinade.Stir and scrape the brown bits stuck in the bottom of the pan. Put the beef back into the pan. Add oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover and simmer until beef is tender. Meat broth or water may be added if sauce starts to thicken before the beef is fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in sauted vegetables before transfering into serving dish. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
In separate pan saute the bell pepper, brocolli and cauliflower in butter season with salt and pepper.

Nilasing na Hipon at Tortang Talong

Nilasing na Hipon and Baked Tortang Talong

Nilasing na Hipon

1 1/2 lb. shrimps
2 c. beer
1 small can of pineapple chunks, drain and reserve juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt
pepper
butter

Mix beer , pineapple juice and soy sauce. Marinate shrimp in beer mixture for 30 min. Place shrimp with marinade in pot. season with salt and pepper. Simmer until shrimps are cooked.
Remove shrimp from pot and transfer to serving dish. Lightly toss with bits of butter.
Make a dipping sauce from the cooking liquid left in the pot (the beer marinade where you cooked the shrimp in ) by adding a slurry (1 tbsp tapioca starch dissolved in 1/4 c. water)


Baked Tortang Talong

6 eggplants , roasted and peeled
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
salt
pepper
quick melt cheese, sliced
1 c. of spaghetti sauce

Saute garlic, onion and ground pork until cooked. Set aside and let pork cool.
Remove stems of the eggplant. Place in a rectangular baking dish.Lightly smash and spread until bottom of pan is covered.
Mix ground meat and beaten eggs. Pour over eggplants.
Cover with sliced cheese.
Spread spaghetti sauce on top.
Bake for 15 min. at 375 degrees or unti cheese melts.

Pinangat na Isda

Before, my cooking philosophy is that I only cook the food I like to eat. But having a hubby with some food preferences and two kids who classifies food as either delicious or yucky. I had to make some major adjustments.
For example, I am not particularly fond of fish dishes especially those with sabaw. First thing I desdain about it is that I hate cleaning fish. You know, like removing the scales, gills and guts (oh man, just thinking about it makes me wanna throw up...excuse me , be right back)
Now where were we? Oh yeah.. Secondly, I don't like the way it taste. No matter how much ginger and/or vinegar there is in the dish it still has that fishy taste to it. And to top it all , it's hard to pick all the bones (tinik) out with all that sabaw.
Well so much for my dis gusto. Somebody has been clamoring for paksiw or pinangat for some time now. So when I saw some small fish at the asian store (I don't know what they're called) I had the idea that they would do. And the great thing about it that it was pre-packed and pre-cleaned (Thank you God).
I texted (for those who are not familiar with the term it means to send an SMS or text message) my mom for the recipe for pinangat.

Pinangat na Isda

I rinsed the fish three times and submerged it in water with grated ginger and garlic just to get rid of some of the fishy taste and smell. Left it to soak for a good 30 min.
After that I followed my mom's instructions...

"Ilagay mo sa caserola yung malinis na isda, iayos mo. Lagyan mo ng bawang, sibuyas, luya,paminta, siling mahaba, asin, konting tubig at konting suka. Tikman mo na lang pag kumulo kung kulang yung lasa ng alat at asim"

Almondigas With Sotanghon

Almondigas with Sotanghon

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground pork
1 onion, finely chopped (reserve ½ tbsp.)
4 gloves garlic, finely minced (reserve 1 tsp.)
½ c. carrot, finely chopped
1 tsp. cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1 egg, well beaten
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper

Sotanghon noodles (bean threads)
Chicken stock
1 carrot, sliced into 1/8” rounds or julienned
6-8 leaves of baguio pechay, sliced

Soak sotanghon noodles in water. Set aside.
Mix all ingredients for the meatballs. (I usually check if the seasoning is right by frying a small portion.Then taste and adjust)
Lightly sauté reserved garlic and onion. Pour in stock. When it starts boiling drop in the meatballs (I use two spoons to form the meatballs). When the meatballs change color add the carrots and sotanghon noodles. Season with salt and pepper. Add baguio pechay . Simmeun til pechay leaves wilt a llttle. Turn off heat. Serve hot.

A More Presentable Egg Foo Yung

I almost forgot about the sauce for the egg foo yung . It's not egg foo yung without the sauce you know. I'm not sure what ingredients went to the one in the restaurant but it's kind of like the gravy we often use with fried chicken.I just made my own version and jazzed it up with roasted sesame seeds.

Egg Foo Yung with Gravy and Sesame Seeds

For the Sauce:

Make a slurry with 1 cup water and 2 tbsp tapioca starch. Heat slurry in pot. Mix in 1 bouillon cube, dissolve. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Serve over egg foo yung with a sprinkle with roasted/toasted sesame seeds.

Egg Foo Yung

I had egg foo yung last time we went to a chinese buffet restaurant. It had shrimps and vegetables in it, same vegetables as the ones I used in my toge stir-fry. Need I say more on what I did with the leftover stir-fried vegies?

Egg Foo Yung

Beat some eggs (I used 4 pcs.). Mix in 1 tbsp. cornstarch (for added crunch) and 2 tbsp. water (to be a bit fluffier). Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the vegetables (I used the leftover from my sitr-fried bean sprouts). Shallow fry in oil until both sides turn golden brown.

Adobong Talaba

Adobong Talaba

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, sliced
1 ginger, sliced
1 lb. oysters, removed from shells
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. vinegar
salt
pepper

Saute garlic, tomato and ginger. Add vinegar and soy sauce and let boil. Drop in oysters. Simmer for 5 min. Adjust seasoning wit salt and pepper.

Stir-fried Vegetables with Bean Sprouts

Bought some fresh mung bean sprouts from the asian store. The mung bean sprouts here are a little longer and has a thicker stalk (stems?) compared to the ones I'm more familiar with in the Philippines. I know it's one of those vegetables that can't be stocked that long in the fridge. They tend to loose their "crispness" and wilt just within days.
Bean sprouts, as I found out, can also be eaten raw like in salads and sandwiches. So I decided that I can prepare it half-cooked and if there would be leftovers it would still be ok to reheat it in the microwave.
If you're patient and with a lot of time at hand (or trip nyo lang pahirapan sarili nyo) it would be best to remove the root of the bean sprout prior to cooking or using in food preparation. Doing this would lessen the pungent smell that people often dislike about this vegie.

Toge Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. pork belly, cut into strips
1 lb. mung bean sprouts, cleaned and washed thoroughly
1 carrot, julienned
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
green beans, cut diagonally into strips
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
cooking oil
salt
pepper

Saute garlic, onion and pork. When pork turns slightly brown add in the vegetables. Stir-fry for until bean sprouts turn translucent (about 6-8 min). Season with salt and pepper.