Halo-halo & Ube Macapuno Ice Cream

What's your favorite ice cream flavor: Halo-halo with bits of langka, saba, sweet macapuno, haleyang ube, and leche flan? or ube and macapuno? Well, I love them both.

halo-halo ice cream with bits of leche flan, saba in syrup, macapuno, ube, langka

I love the macapuno bits, and ube makes this ice cream so creamy

The basic vanilla ice cream recipe is here, just add your halo-halo ingredients after churning between layers of ice cream when transfering to a container. For the ube, omit vanilla and warming step, add 2 T sugar and 1 cup cooked mashed ube before churning, then add very cold bits of macapuno preserves the last 5 minutes.

With a new super-efficient and roomier freezer I am again making ice cream non-stop. And with David Lebovitz' book The Perfect Scoop how can I ever stop making ice cream when there are so many new and old favorite flavors to try?

Cuapa(o)wich

I found a cuapao sandwich in a Filipino Magazine called YUMMY. I think it's a great idea to make it into a cuapaowich instead of stuffing the dough before steaming. I did not follow the recipe for the pork, I have leftover pork roast and used plain roasted peanuts because their recipe for the mustard and the peanuts are loaded with sugar, too sweet, in my honest opinion.
I wanted to eat it with ramen soup but it's hot and muggy today and did not want to perspire while savoring this delicious treat.

Siopao Dough
1½ cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons lard or white Crisco
parchment paper

• In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ cup of the warm water, stir and add yeast, mix well, let stand for 10 minutes.
• In a stand mixer bowl with paddle attached, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and lard/Crisco. Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the warm water. Mix for 1 minute. Replace the paddle attachment with dough hook and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, turn the dough so that greased side is up, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 1½ hours.
• Remove bubbles by lightly kneading; divide dough into 16. Cut rectangular shaped parchment papers, set aside. Shape dough pieces into oblong (or round if making into siopao) placing each on the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Steam in rapidly boiling water for12 minutes (15 minutes if filled).

It's sooo yummy, thanks YUMMY Magazine!

Red Lentil Patties

I promised to cook vegetarian dishes more often but I find it difficult to keep. There isn't much you can make with meatless ingredients. I can never be a vegetarian, I just love meat and fish too much.:)

Preparation of vegetarian meals is not hard but planning to have a variety of dishes is time consuming, if not totally boring. Today, I made red lentil patties, the lentils were boiled with bulgur, seasoned with tons of garlic, onion, lemon juice and zest, salt and finely minced parsley, then fried in hot oil. They are very tasty with tzatziki and buttered rice sprinkled with ground sumac. The skewered things on the right are lamb koftas.

I have to find more recipes for these red lentils. Any suggestions? No soups, please.;D

Date Walnut Squares

A few days ago I threw out a lot of really old food items in my refrigerator and freezer. That prompted me and my daughter to check the cabinets and pantry for expired stuff, and boy were there plenty! My daughter was bewildered why I keep 2 large containers of dates, one unopened and another with about 2 cups left. They don't expire nor go bad but they do take up so much space. Date walnut squares, or as we call them in the Philippines, Food for the Gods, is the yummy result of a little bit of cleaning cabinet/pantry clutter. These tiny nuggets are so rich, so delicious, just one or two will satisfy you. They are very greasy, though, so I wrap them individually in plastic wrap. In the Philippines the bake shops wrap them in aluminum foil.

Date Walnut Squares
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temprature
¼ cup grapeseed or light olive oil
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups dates, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped

• Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil.
• Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
• In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
• In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer, mix sugar, butter and oil for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated. With a rubber spatula stir in flour mixture and nuts, then stir in dates. Spoon into the prepared pan evenly, smoothing top. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. Let cool before cutting into 1-inch squares. Wrap individually in pieces of foil or plastic wrap.

moist, soft, buttery bites, so aptly named "food for the gods"