Salt Cod Omelet

Bacalao or dried salt cod is usually served during Holy Week in the Philippines and Christmas in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. I was in the mood for a light lunch and thought of making salt cod omelet. It has very few ingredients but very flavorful and satisfying. If salt cod is not available in your area you can salt and dry cod fillet at home. It will take a few days to cure but it will be worth the wait.

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Thai Tofu Green Curry with Lotus Rootlets

I love browsing the aisles of the Asian grocery stores. I always find something interesting such as the jars of lotus rootlets or stems either pickled or in brine. I got one jar in brine and searched from one of my Thai cookbooks for a recipe and lo and behold, there's a recipe for tofu green curry with lotus rootlets. Perfect!

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Japanese Dipping Noodles - Tsukemen

I got hungry for ramen, particularly tsukemen, while watching The Mind of a Chef on Netflix streaming. Who wouldn't be? I searched online for recipes, combined them, and made my own dipping ramen at home. I cooked a portion of Chinese-style fresh egg noodles and a small bundle of Japanese dried egg noodles. The dipping sauce is supposed to be thick, oily, salty, and sweet and should cling to the cold noodles. I had it with a boiled egg, thinly sliced pork belly, fish cake, and pickled seaweed. This dish is truly delicious and perfect to have during hot summer days.

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Hotteok

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Korean food has been a top favorite of mine since the 80s. When I went in 1987 I only had excellent restaurant food but sadly never tried their street food. I'm still discovering lots of yummy Korean dishes with the help of food blogs and of course YouTube where I saw a favorite street food called hotteok, a fried pancake filled with brown sugar. They look very similar to the Filipino piaya but with different dough ingredients. 

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Moussaka

It was more than 25 years ago when I cooked moussaka. I can't remember the recipe I used which came from a magazine, probably Good Housekeeping. A niece asked for a recipe and luckily I have one in my Greek cookbook. After posting the whole recipe on her Facebook timeline, I suddenly wanted to make too. I have forgotten that Moussaka is really yummy!

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Leftover Steak Sandwich

For Independence Day dinner yesterday, I charcoal grilled a moderately sized tri-tip steak. We seem to eat like birds because there's still a big chunk of leftover. Today, I diced a few slices and added to sauteed mushrooms and filled whole wheat folded flat bread. Delicious and satisfying sandwich/es!

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No-Bake Mini Quark Cheesecakes with Crystallized Flowers

Clearing and rearranging storage cabinets produce yummy stuff. My mini cheesecake pan hasn't been used for ages so I made no-bake cheesecake with the freshly made quark cheese I had in the refrigerator. These cakes have the consistency of a mousse but without gelatin. I added just a little mascarpone and also whipped heavy cream and for flavor I used rosewater for half of the mixture and lavender water for the other half. You are free to use your favorite flavoring such as lemon, orange, or almond. The cheesecakes are very light and creamy with very subtle floral flavors.

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Croissant Donuts

Ah, it's the latest New York craze, the deep-fried love child of croissant and donut, cronut! Since I was not willing to drive for more than 5 hours to New York and was desperate to try its crunchy crust and multi-layered crumb, I just had to make some.

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Pasta and Grilled Asparagus

Three days ago I downloaded for free from Amazon an Italian cookbook, a gardening book, and 2 novels. Well, the cookbook is now $1.99 but it's still a good buy though. I visit the store regularly to check for freebies and so far I like most of the books I got.

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Strawberry Swirl Bread

I've been enjoying strawberries since the start of Spring and it seems I can't get enough. I love them with cream or sea salt, and of course with Nutella. I also made a swirl bread from puree and have the slices with strawberry jam.

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Nutella Mug Cake

I never knew mug cakes have been made and blogged about for over 3 years already. Time to join; better late than never.

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Light Leche Flan and Calamansi Sherbet

I've been making and eating ice cream at an alarming frequency since the day I bought a used Italian ice cream maker with compressor a month ago. So today I made calamansi (Philippine lime) sherbet. It's a tad "healthier" because it doesn't have too much heavy cream. I really love the tart and slightly sweet sherbet which is the perfect pair with the equally healthier leche flan (caramel custard) that has just one egg yolk.

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Silver Dollar Pancakes

Why would anybody make or eat these teeny, at less than 2 inches, pancakes? Because they're fun, I suppose, specially with smoked cocktail wieners and breakfast sausage patties or simply with maple syrup and fresh fruits. The recipe I followed for these pancakes doesn't have butter or milk, just a cup of sour cream. They are very soft and fluffy, not too salty nor too sweet. 

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Ramp

Ramps or wild leeks are only available for one week in early April every year. I was lucky to find them last weekend at the farmer's market. Although I've read about them almost 2 years ago I never had them until this week. After sauteing them in smaltz (rendered chicken fat) and making compound butter with them, I now understand why these are so beloved by professional and home cooks alike. They have a mellow sweetish garlicky flavor when blanched or lightly sauteed enhancing the taste of whatever you add them to. I especially love them with eggs, I don't know why.

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Banana Blueberry Swirl Frozen Dessert

For a healthier frozen dessert I used bananas and added a swirl of pureed frozen blueberries. The bananas are sliced, frozen, then processed until smooth. The creamy bananas have no added sugar but I added a tablespoon each of sugar and heavy cream to the blueberries. It has a little bit of bitterness probably because the bananas were not overripe or I didn't fully remove the fibrous membrane on the bananas. I still like the frozen dessert though. Next time I'll add peanut butter, strawberries, or Nutella.

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Moroccan Date and Nut Candies

While rearranging the book shelves, the Moroccan cookbook caught my eye and I started browsing. It's been a while since I opened it. I've used it to make almond milk, clarified butter, and stews. I don't know if the recipes are authentic but so far most of the dishes I already cooked were delicious.

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Soy Lecithin

The other day I made salad dressing, refrigerated the half cup left-over, and naturally the oil gathered on top. No matter how I shake the dressing, it's so stubborn and wouldn't want to socialize and mix with the vinegar, unlike store-bought dressing. Then I remembered I have soy lecithin I bought a while back. It's supposed to aid in emulsifying everything from candy bars to sauces to hand cream, and it's also used to make breads rise higher.

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Grapefruit Salad

We've been drinking fresh grapefruit juice mixed with grated fresh ginger because all of us had a bout with the pesky flu. I'm really liking the bright and refreshing color of pink grapefruit and thought why not make Thai-style salad with them. I added some fresh mandarin orange segments (yes I peeled them one by one), grape tomatoes, tiny cucumber coins, and served on top of mixed spring greens. The slightly tart, salty, and sweet Thai-style dressing goes well with the salad. Yummy!

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Spanish Potato and Chorizo Mini Tortillas

For a grab-and-go breakfast, snack, or baon (packed lunch) these mini tortillas are very convenient and good either warmed in the microwave oven or at room temperature. I made them Spanish potato tortilla style. Next time it'll be bacon, spinach, and cheddar cheese or maybe all-vegetables with white cheese. The possibilities are endless. Just mix and match your favorite ingredients, add them to beaten eggs and you'll have a satisfying and nutritious on the go meal or snack.

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Green Jackfruit and Tamarind Soup

I cooked this soup a month or so ago but I went on a break from the blog at the time. I got the recipe, Sinampalukang Langka (green jackfruit in tamarind broth) from Yummy online magazine. I thought at first the ingredients are a bit unusual but I'll eat any sour soup flavored with fish sauce. I like its uncomplicated flavors and will make it again for sure.

Fresh green jackfruit is not available here in the US. I buy the Thai canned ones whenever there is a need for it. If it's available, use the fresh ones. Green jackfruit is a good ingredient for vegan recipes because of its texture and ability to absorb seasonings.

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