All Vegetable Russian Salad

Russian salad, which was popular in the Philippines in the 80s, is supposed to have cooked ham, diced chicken, tongue, etc. I got this all vegetable version from my mother-in-law who used to serve it on New Year's Eve maybe to have a balanced dinner menu which is usually loaded with all sorts of meat and poultry dishes.

Russian Salad

2 apples, peeled, diced and mixed with a little mayonnaise
2 cups cubed cooked potatoes
2 cups cubed cooked carrots
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup raisins
¼ cup shredded cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups cubed cooked and chilled beets mixed with ¼ cup mayonnaise
2 cups mayonnaise
iceberg lettuce cups

• Mix potatoes, carrots, celery, apples, cabbage, raisins, salt and sugar, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add mayonnaise, mix well. Add beets, mix gently. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours. Serve in lettuce cups, if desired.

this salad pairs well with meatloaf, fried embutido, roast chicken, or pork chops.

pork chops stewed with peaches and barbecue sauce

Vietnamese Curried Pork Hocks

I love Vietnamese food although I seldom prepare them as there are many excellent but inexpensive Vietnamese restaurants in my area. I bought pork hocks that I intended to make into paksiw or humba but made Vietnamese pork hocks with lemongrass instead. The dish is so delicious specially with Japanese short grain rice.

Curried Pork Hocks
2 pounds pork hocks
2 lemongrass stalks
1 cup roasted peanuts
4 tablespoon sugar or palm sugar
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
pepper
water

• Cut 2 inches off the tops of the lemongrass, chop or cut in half. Put pork and lemongrass in a medium saucepan, add water to cover, heat to boiling, skimming top. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 1 ½ hours. Add peanuts, sugar, garam masala, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

pork hocks, sauteed cabbage, and steamed short grain rice

iced coffee drink is a must when having Vietnamese style dinner

To make iced coffee: Combine 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups low fat milk, and 2 cups strong brewed coffee. Chill in the refrigerator. Serve with ice cubes or if you prefer frappuccino, put in blender with ice cubes and blend (frappuccino setting) until frothy.

Vietnamese sweet iced coffee: In a tall glass put 2 T sweetened condensed milk, add 5 ice cubes, pour brewed coffee, stir until mixed.

Zebulon Pike

I bought a new cd recommended by The Bad Plus. Zebulon Pike is a metal band with a difference, their music has the dramatic opera sound of the German composer Wagner. There are only 5 tracks on this cd, 2 of them are 22 and 20 minutes long, I love that there are no vocals, yay! I'm loving this band already and I just got their cd, Zebulon Pike II: The Deafening Twilight, this afternoon! I'm not really into metal (considering I'm ancient and I should maybe get a license to listen to them ;D) but I listen to Tool and Jimi Hendrix.



I can't believe I missed this concert in Baltimore, MD!

Paella

Paella is one dish I make regularly and I'm sorry I can't post the recipe because I don't have one. I developed my own recipe from a variety of Filipino and Spanish cookbooks to suit our taste which may not appeal to others. I don't measure some of the ingredients, I add them as I cook, and I eyeball and taste it if it needs more liquid, salt, etc. The following recipe is not the one I use but it's close enough. This recipe from FAVORITE FILIPINO RECIPES by Pat Limjuco Dayrit is rich and elaborate with lots of seafood.

Paella2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1½ inch pieces
2 lbs chicken, cut into 1½ inch pieces
1 lb large prawns, shelled with tails intact and deveined
½ cups extra virgin olive oil plus extra for browning the chicken, pork and prawns
3 large crabs
2 cups clams

½ teaspoons Spanish pimenton (paprika)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Spanish chorizos, thinly sliced
3 cups rice
½ cup tomato sauce
6 cups clam broth
1 small bay leaf
salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon saffron mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup frozen peas
2 pieces pimento, cut into 1-inch squares
2 hard boiled eggs

• In a skillet, heat some oil and brown the chicken and pork pieces, set aside.
• Salt the prawns and brown in oil, set aside. Boil crabs and quarter. Boil clams and remove the empty top shells. Set both aside.
• In a paellera, heat olive oil, add chicken, pork, garlic, onion, paprika, green pepper and chorizo. Toss for a few minutes and add unwashed rice and stir until rice is slightly brown. Add tomato sauce, broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Stir a few times then add prawns. Bring to a boil. Add saffron and water. Cover and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and arrange clams, crabs, frozen peas and pimento on top. Cover and bake another 5 minutes. Serve with sliced boiled eggs.

I prefer to have my paella with wedges of boiled eggs and lemon

I also made mango ice cream, so creamy, so good and refreshing after working in the garden for 3 hours