Fresh Fruit Salad

My kids recently have been into sweet-tart fruits. A trip to the grocery store wouldn't be complete without some strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwis even pineapples. I guess this is a good thing since it is recommended to have atleast 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day right? And to encourage the kids to eat more fruits I try to think of imaginative ways to serve them. I don't want them to get bored eating the fruits just plain like that all the time. So here I've made a salad which the kids had for an afternoon snack. It is best to have all the ingredients chilled before preparing them for the salad. With the cream dressing the salad will get watery after some time so mix in just before serving.

What's in it:
strawberries- sliced
apples- sliced just before serving
seedless grapes- cut in halves
all purpose cream/cream whip topping
condensed milk

Mix the cream and condensed milk for the salad dressing. Pour over the cream over the fruits. Toss, serve and enjoy!

Mango Royale/ Mango Float

Better known as Mango Float to others, this is perhaps one of the easiest dessert recipes out there. All you need are sweet ripe mangoes, others recommend canned peaches as substitutes but for me it's mangoes or nothing. It's so easy to make even kids can do it. In fact the one in the photo above was entirely prepared by my three little chefs. My youngest laid out the base, my eldest scooped out the mango balls, my second daughter poured the cream and all three did the whisking. If you have kids this one would be a perfect bonding project in the kitchen with them. So simple, minimal mess and the recipe is so forgiving as compared with all those measurements in baking. Even if it gets sloppy I assure you the end result will still be so yummy that your little ones will be very proud of themselves. Of course you can always enjoy this dessert even without the kids' help eh.

What's In It:
graham crackers
*condensed milk
*all-purpose cream/ table cream (if not available try substituting w/ whipping or heavy cream)
ripe mangoes

*The ratio of condensed milk and cream would be 1:2 (1 part milk to 2 parts cream)
Chill the milk, cream and mangoes in the fridge at least overnight. Line the bottom of your baking dish/pan with graham crackers. Whip the cream into soft peaks. Slowly add the milk and continue whipping until well blended. Pour cream mixture over graham crackers. Cover and chill in the fridge while preparing the mangoes. Scoop mangoes into balls or cut into slivers. Arrange the mangoes over the cream. Cover and chill again at least overnight so as to give time for the crackers to soften and the cream to set. But if you have impatient kids around that wouldn't matter, to them it would still the same anyway regardless of the chilling time.

Cuchinta/ Kutchinta

Most Filipinos are used to eating 5 times a day: 3 meals and two snacks. The usual succession would be breakfast, late morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Back in the Philippines late morning snacks were always convenient and on-time courtesy of our suking maglalako (hawkers). "Puuuto, puto kayo dyan. Puuto, kutchinta! Mainit-init pa!" His call can be heard half a block away and us kids then would be scrambling to ask for money. Making sure we'll be in front of our house so as not to miss his tasty rice cakes. Manong hawker has only two kinds of rice cake inside his tin cans, putong puti and kuchinta. Of the two I like the kuchinta the most. Slightly jiggly like a hard jello but with that characteristic bite that's a bit sticky and chewy. Warm and best eaten with freshly shaved coconut meat. Yummy!
I've been missing this treat for so long now but to my dismay there's no decent one to be found around. The few I've tasted so far are awfully disappointing aside from being way over priced. The last one I had last year had a bottom stiff as a cardboard and had a icky after taste.
So what else can be done but to learn to make one of my own. After much perusing here's a recipe that I was satisfied with.

What's In It:
1 1/2 c. All purpose flour
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. atsuete (annatto) powder
a pinch of salt
3 c. water
2 1/2 tsp. lye water
Toppings:
grated coconut
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

How It's Done:
Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add the water and stir until you get a smooth mixture. Add in the lye and mix thoroughly. Set this aside for at least 3 hours. Then fill your molds halfway. Steam away for 15 min. over medium heat. Cool then unmold. Serve with grated coconut and sesame seeds.

SEMI-HOME MADE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Isa munang buntong hininga

I asked my L what he remembered about this cake. He answered me "Nothing." Oh men! I think my L has really turned ulyanin (forgetful). I had to remind him that it was the same cake that his brother had requested that I teach his wife (my SIL) before we moved here to the US of A. Well, I never got to. Even when we went to the Philippines for a vacation. It's a very complicated situation and a story only fit for tele-novelas.
Enough of that. On to our cake.

What's In It:
Pineapple rings, reserve syrup
Brown sugar
Cake mix
Butter

How It's Done:
Make a thin syrup with reserved pineapple syrup and brown sugar. Grease baking pan with butter. Arrange pineapple rings at the bottom of pan. Pour in syrup. Make cake batter according to package instructions. Pour in cake batter over pineapple rings and bake. Cool baked cake before inverting to serving plate.

My take on the Tiramisu

Isa munang buntong hininga

GELATIN

Gelatin

This is how I know gelatin, the way my aunt makes it.

How It's Done:

Place canned fruits or raisins at the bottom of your mold. Cook gelatin according to package directions. Pour over fruits. Chill in the fridge to set. To serve: mix condensed milk and cream, spread over gelatin. Garnish with grated cheese.

Buchi

What to do with a half a pack of glutinous rice flour and some mung beans? Make buchi of course.

Buchi-buchi

I soaked the beans overnight. Rinsed them twice , rubbing the beans to remove some skin. I then boiled it in water until soft. Drained out the water. Process (well, I actually used the blender) to make a paste. Add some sugar and condensed milk (proportions according to taste). Place back in pan. Continually stir while cooking until it forms a soft dough like consistency. Set aside to cool.
Season rice flour with a pinch of salt and sugar. Mix in water. Form into soft dough.
Form the bean filling into balls. Make the same number of balls with the rice dough. Flatten dough and place filling in center .Pinch and roll to seal.
Roll in a plateful of sesame seeds to cover the whole "ball". Deep fry until golden brown. Place in paper towels to remove excess oil.

Kakanin

This is actually my mom's recipe. I know the whole process of making this but I'm not too confident with the exact measurements of the ingredients. And while my mom cooked the malagkit in the stove top the one I made was cooked in the microwave. I find using the microwave more convenient since I don't have to stir the malagkit while cooking just to prevent the bottom from scorching. Plus it only takes 15-18 min. to cook.
Baking at home was done in the turbo broiler/convection oven so I had to make some minor adjustments with the gas oven in our apartment. Same with some of the ingredients like the gata , malagkit and panucha.

Bibingkang Malagkit

2 c. sweet/glutinous rice, pre-soaked overnight
3 c. coconut milk
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar

Topping:
3-4 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. condensed milk

Drain out water from the rice. Place in microwaveable rice cooker . Mix in 2 c. coconut milk, salt and sugar. Set for 8 min. high heat. After which add the remaining 1 c. of coconut milk and make a quick stir. set for another 8-9 min.

For the topping simmer the coconut milk in a pot/pan until thick. When it's thick enough to cover the back of a spoon, add the sugar and condensed milk. Simmer until it's almost like a thick syrup (doing this cuts the time of baking and prevents the rice from drying up)

To assemble: place the cooked rice in a baking pan/dish. Level and smooth it out with a spatula . Pour in the topping . Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 min.