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.

Lugaw At Iba Pa...

I have been planning to make lugaw (rice porridge) since the day before, just on a whim . So I had the rice pre-soaked overnight to shorten the cooking time. But surprise surprise we had guests coming for dinner . Had to make a few adjustments in a dash.

Lugaw Toppings

I had some pre-boiled pork belly in the fridge which I intended for lechon kawali. But what the heck, hate to serve a bit lame lugaw. In the end I had a few toppings/side dishes for a presentable meal: hard boiled eggs, crispy ukoy and tokwa't baboy. Had time to make baked tahong too.

For the Lugaw, I had 1 1/2 cup glutinous rice and 1/2 cup long grain rice which I soaked in water overnight. Saute 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 chopped onion and a piece of sliced ginger. Chicken necks and wings may be added but I had the stock from the pork belly I boiled this morning. Put in the rice and stir a bit. Scorching the rice, as I've learned, helps it to absorb more flavor from the savory liquid it's cooking in (same with making paella, bringhe etc). Pour in the stock , water may be added if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. If you have no available meat stock on hand, water and a buillon cube would be acceptable.

The pork belly for the tokwa't baboy was boiled with garlic, onion, peppercorns and bay leaf. Seasoned with salt. And cooked until fork tender ( I prefer it when the skin has an almost hard gelatin-like appearance) . Cool and cut into strips.

Rinse the tokwa thoroughly ( it would be best to soak it in water overnight, covered and placed inside the fridge to lessen the sort of starchy taste) Cut into 1/2 inch cubes . Deep fry and drain in paper towels.

For the tokwa't baboy sauce combine: minced garlic, chopped onions, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and a little water. Proportions are according to taste .

To make the crispy ukoy I used 1 cup shrimp fry ( the ones used for alamang but unsalted) mixed with 2 tbsp. flour, 2 tbsp. cornstarch, 1/4 c. water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Fry in oil forming it into crepe like (in thickness) circles. Brown both sides. Drain in paper towels.

Bicol Express

Just went to the asian store for new provisions which, I hope, will last for at least a month (should be considering how far the store is from here). I chanced upon these long green peppers, similar to our siling haba in the Philippines, which I planned to use in making pinangat . Pinangat, the one I'm familiar with, is a dish of fish cooked in ginger and a little vinegar. One of these days I'll post the recipe if I'm able to cook it.
Back to the siling haba. They were pre-packed and each pack was almost a pound each. If I do use some for pinangat and maybe sinigang there will still be a lot left. So I made Bicol Express.
Over dinner, my hubby was explaining that there were other versions of bicol express some of which has gabi or dilis or other small fish. Well, this is the version of bicol express I know.

Bicol Express

Bicol Express

1 lb. Pork belly, diced finely (close to to a coarse chop)
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium Onion, chopped
Ginger, sliced into strips
2 Tomatoes, diced
5 Siling haba, de-seeded and sliced
3 Siling labuyo,sliced
2 c. Coconut milk
2 tbsp. Bagoong alamang
Patis
Cooking oil

Saute garlic, ginger, onions and tomatoes. Add pork and cook until slightly browned. Add the bagoong alamang, siling haba and coconut milk. Cook until sauce thickens. Add the siling labuyo. Season with patis.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

What's for dinner? The fridge is telling me it's time to go on a trip to the supermarket again. Looking at the pack of italian meatballs and a few pieces of chicken nuggets, I had a few ideas of what to do with them. But when I checked the pantry there was just a can of tomato sauce, a can of pineapple chunks, two cans of condensed milk, a bottle of peanut butter and some brown sugar. Surely there's something that I can do with the tomato sauce. So I cooked sweet and sour meatballs. It was the most logical choice at that time and was quite easy to cook too. Good thing I also have a piece of bell pepper left.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ready-made meatballs
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 c tomato sauce
Green bell pepper, cut into squares
1 small can pineapple chunks, drain and reserve juice/syrup
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

Saute garlic and onion in pan. Add meatballs and sauté until meatballs turn a little brownish in color. Put bell pepper. Add tomato sauce and pineapple syrup. Simmer for at least 15 min. Season with salt and pepper. Add sugar according to taste.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Isa munang buntong hininga


Seafood mix (sold pre-packed in supermarkets)
Onion
Celery stalks
Bell pepper
Potatoes
Chicken broth
Milk
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Biscuit dough
Grated parmesan cheese
Celery leaves, finely chopped

Melt half the butter in pan. Sauté onion, celery and bell pepper. Add in potatoes. Then put in seafood mix. Cook for 5 min.
In a separate pot, cook flour in butter . Stir in milk. Thin down mixture with broth. Add in sauted seafood and vegetable mix. Season with salt and pepper.
For a nice presentation place chowder in individual cups or mugs. Cover each mug with biscuit dough. Sprinkle top w/ grated parmesan cheese and celery leaves. Bake according to biscuit dough’s package directions.

Braised Pork and Potato Wedges

Not too much of a story here. I just thought of braising the last pieces of pork neck bones in the fridge . I ususally cook pork with bones either as sinigang or nilaga (that's how my husband likes it and the kids like the sabaw)

Braised Pork and Potato Wedges

Braised Pork

Pork ribs (or neck bones)
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 medium Onion, sliced
2 tbsp Cooking oil

Marinade:
Pineapple syrup, from 1 can pineapple chunks (reserve pineapples for future use)
4 tbsp Soy sauce
4 tbsp Barbeque marinade
1 ½ tbsp Brown sugar
½ tsp fresh ground Black pepper

Combine ingredients for marinade. Marinate pork for at least an hour. Saute garlic in oil. Add in pork and brown sides. Put in onion. Pour in marinade and simmer until pork is tender and sauce thickens. Serve w/ potato wedges on the side.

Potato wedges:

3 medium Potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp cooking oils
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Adobo powder mix
Cornstarch

Season potatoes w/ adobo mix. Lightly dredge in cornstarch. Heat oil in pan. Add butter. Place potatoes one at a time. Fry potatoes until done. A dash of salt may be added before transferring to plate.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Oh man! I miss eating out at jollibee sooo much. Thinking of that "timplang pinoy" food just makes my mouth water ( and even makes me wanna cry sometimes, if you think that's OA I bet you've never tried living abroad). The langhap sarap chicken joy, the sweetish spaghetti, the pork burgers, the jolly hotdog and the palabok with real tinapa (can't find any tinapa here even in the asian supermarket). Yumm..yummm. Can't help picturing Aga Mulach sinking his teeth on that chicken drumstick .....Haay..nakakagutom talaga si Aga, oops, I mean the chicken joy.LOL.
Anyway, lunch was my feeble attempt to have a taste of jollibee. Almost did taste like the burger steak , maybe even better.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Salisbury steaks w/ mushroom sauce

Burger patties
3 tbsp Cooking oil
¼ stick of Butter
Button Mushrooms, sliced
1 c. Beef broth
½ tbsp Brown Sugar
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp Tapioca starch, dissolved in 4 tbsp water

Season patties w/ salt and pepper. Heat oil in pan. Shallow fry the patties. Set aside.
In the same pan, put butter and sauté mushroom. Add beef broth and tapioca slurry. Season w/ sugar, salt and pepper according to taste. Put in patties and simmer for 5 min. to absorb some of the sauce.

Baked Fillet of Fish

I bought a pack of fish fillets last night and was planning to fry it for lunch. But I remembered the hardened bread rolls sitting in the pantry and thought of making use of it. The bread rolls were accidently forgotten inside the oven when I had them "warmed-up" for breakfast two weeks ago. We went out that day and when I remembered to take them out the following morning they're hard as rocks.
I made fresh breadcrumbs by putting the bread rolls into a big ziploc bag and pounded them w/ an empty bottle (have no rolling pin in the kitchen yet).
So, I finally used the "forlorn" bread rolls in the pantry for today's lunch.

Baked fish fillet with mayo-salsa dip

Baked Fish Fillet

Fish fillets (any firm-fleshed fish will do)
½ c. milk
All purpose flour
Breadcrumbs
2 eggs, well beaten
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cooking oil
Butter

Dip/Sauce

1 c. mayonnaise
½ c. salsa
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped finely
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

Check fillets for any remaining bones (tinik). Season fish with salt and pepper then marinate in milk for at least 20 min. Put flour, breadcrumbs and eggs in separate plates and sprinkle each w/ a dash of salt. Dredge fish in flour, dip in egg and then coat with breadcrumbs. Continue process w/ the rest of the fillets.

Heat pan in stove top. Put oil and ½ stick of butter. Set flame to medium low so that the butter will not burn. Brown the fillets. Each side of the fillet will take at least 3-5 minutes to become golden brown. Transfer browned fillets into a baking dish/pan. Place fish side-by-side and put a dullop (1/2 tsp) of butter on top of each fillet. Sprinkle w/ garlic. Continue cooking in 375 degree oven for 10-20 min. depending on the thickness of the fillet. Serve with dip.

Dip/Sauce

Combine mayonnaise, salsa and hard boiled egg. Season w/ salt, pepper and sugar. Mix. Pour over fish upon serving or put on the side as dip.

LOOK WHAT I'VE GOT

Woke up late again (sigh...what's new?) We were supposed to attend church service this sunday morning. But, alas, someone must have forgotten to set the alarm. So much for our morning plans. We really have to do some adjustments with our sleeping time. Having used to the thought that the day starts during lunch is no way to go. We tend to miss much of the day activities. And before we know it, after a few hours , it's dark again..Well the day still isn't over. Good thing we still had some plans in the afternoon. So, off we went to the King of Prussia Mall to meet w/ some friends. Women and shopping what could be better. Except for the fact that we had to take our babies along. Our men had a little "for d boyz" thing at Hooters...hmphf.You should have seen us, it's like a parade of baby strollers. Of course I'm a bit exaggerating. There were only four strollers to be exact. But any mom would know that shopping on your own with a child with you is way more than too much to handle.We didn't get to go around much. Just visited a few stores: Forever 21, Sephora (one of my faves, here's where I get my Philosophy stuff), Gap, Victoria's Secret, Strawbridge's, Coach, Louis Vuitton and .......Burberry.Oh man!.. Finally got to buy my dream bag. I've been begging my love to buy me a Burberry bag even before Christmas. This quite proves my theory.I therefore conclude that with the proper timing and right lambing they (guys) are bound to give in. At last, success!

MY VERY OWN BURBERRY BAG. YIPPEEE!!! THANK YOU LOVE KO.... Additional "Mr. Wonderful" points for you. Parang lalo tuloy tumibay yung helmet na bigay mo ha. LOL. I LOVE YOU LOVE.Now, what to ask for next on Valentine's day..........

HABERDAY TO ME

It was my birthday yesterday. Got a lot of greetings from family and friends here and in the Philippines. And boy, it does make me realize how blessed I am. Thank you so much for remembering. No celebration though.Well, not yet I think. But I smell something that my newly-found friends here are trying to cook-up. Anyway, hate to ruin the ____ (wink wink) so I'm keeping my mouth shut for a while.Speaking of cooking I was in such a good mood yesterday that I couldn't help myself but concoct a new experiment. The result was my very own version of paella. Hopefully, I'll be able to post the recipe soon.
But the best part of my birthday yesterday was...

FLOWERS AND CHOCOLATES FROM MY LOVE

It was so sweet of me amor that I just had to give him a lot of smooches to thank him. Haay... sarap talaga ng pakiramdam ng nililigawan ka...haay ulit. But something seems amiss.Did he forget about it? Hmmm.....I'll just have to wait I guess and cross my fingers.(Got to do a ton of convincing tonight)