It seems that an Italian version of our beloved Filipino favorite ice cream sandwich on soft monay bun has become very popular here in the US and in Italy. Their ice cream sandwich has gelato on brioche bun which makes the sweet snack super rich.
May 31, 2012
May 24, 2012
Jap Chae
Labels: FoodFriday, glass noodles, jap chae, Korean
My love for everything Korean hasn't diminished one bit specially food. One of my favorites is Jap Chae, a noodle dish made with sweet potato and cornstarch glass noodles, vegetables, and strips of beef steak simply seasoned with soy sauce, salt, sugar and roasted sesame seed oil. I have made this noodle dish many many times before and I haven't gotten tired of it. It's so delicious just like Korean dramas, movies, and music too. 
May 23, 2012
Fish Ube Jam
Labels: Filipino, haleyang ube, Kulinarya Cooking Club, purple yam, ube jam
You must be wondering why the sweet haleyang ube (purple yam jam) is shaped like a fish. As a small child I used to wonder too as to why this favorite dessert is shaped as such but only during our town's annual festival celebration in honor of its patron saint. The haleya could have been shaped into a large gumamela or kalachuchi but no, year after year I saw a fish haleyang ube not just in our house but the neighbors' too. I'm guessing it has a religious meaning, that is, it's the symbol of Jesus Christ.
May 17, 2012
Cheese Corn Puffs
Labels: cheese corn puffs, cheese powder, FoodFriday, snack
I love cheesy corn snacks like Cheetos, Chiz Curls, and specially Pirate's Booty which I don't see very often in the grocery stores near my house. They are messy to eat and the cheese coating stick to fingers but I love to lick it anyway. Being a copycat, I bought package of puffed corn, baked them on low heat for 10 minutes until crispy then mixed with melted butter and oil before sprinkling with cheddar cheese powder. I think I prefer these than the store-bought because they are not as salty.
May 15, 2012
Wilted Lettuce Salad
Labels: grow your own, Spanish chorizo, wilted lettuce salad
wilted lettuce salad topped with crispy Spanish chorizo
After a few days of non-stop rain, there was an abundance of butter lettuce in my garden pots. I planted only 4 tiny plants and regularly clip the leaves for salad, never uprooting them and more leaves come out after cutting either from the outside or the whole bunch 2 inches from where the leaves come out. This is the first time I planted lettuce and I never knew they yield salad greens all season long.
May 10, 2012
Strawberry Crepe Layer Cake
Labels: crepe layer cake, FoodFriday, strawberries
This crepe layer cake is my lame attempt at making an ombré cake. I was itching to make something with different shades of the same color but was not in the mood to heat up the oven to bake a cake or cupcakes. I thought crepe layer cake would be a better choice and besides I really love crepes. I wasn't successful in making distinct color hues of dark pink to the lightest but the crepe cake is still so delicious. There's an added step of dividing the batter and custard filling into 4 equal portions then adding food dye but it wasn't that difficult nor time consuming.
April 28, 2012
Embutido Sandwich
Labels: crusty pandesal, embutido, food trucks, green mango shake, Kulinarya Cooking Club
Everybody loves delicious, hot, fast, and cheap eats, who doesn't? That's the reason food trucks are becoming more and more the favored lunch providers of office workers and students. Food trucks have been around here in the US since the 50s but only became extremely popular in recent years, even the superstar Spanish chef José Andrés who owns several high end restaurants in the Washington D.C. area and in Los Angeles has joined the food truck mania with his own Pepe Truck. Yeah, that's how hot food trucks are nowadays.
photo R. Lopez
April 26, 2012
Homemade Oat and Quinoa Cereal with Crispy Marshmallows
Labels: crispy crereal marshmallows, FoodFriday, homemade cereal
Have you had Lucky Charms® cereal? I haven't and don't intend to try them but when I saw the recipe for the crispy marshmallows similar to the ones in Lucky Charms, I just had to make some to add to homemade cereal. The recipe says it takes 4 to 6 days to make [and it is a veeery involved process] but my inner ocd kicked in and after 6 days, voila! Crispy cereal marshmallows. I love them with homemade lightly sweetened preservatives-free oats and sprouted quinoa cereal. However, if I get lazy next time I crave for these crunchy treats, I'll just buy from here.
April 20, 2012
No Rise Pizza Dough
Labels: FoodFriday, no rise pizza dough yeast
I was curious when I saw the no rise yeast for pizza dough and after baking one yesterday I can say it's not good at all. The dough doesn't have much flavor nor chewiness; it's just like ordinary bland white bread. I don't recommend it and I believe there is no instant pizza dough that you can mix, knead for 4 minutes, and ready to form, top, bake right away and have a great tasting pizza with the correct texture. Peter Reinhart's Neapolitan Pizza Dough is still the best in my honest opinion. Retarding the pizza dough in the refrigerator for at least one night makes the best tasting pizza dough.
April 13, 2012
Sprouted Seeds Shoots with Yogurt Dressing Salad
Labels: Asian yogurt salad dressing, daikon shoots, FoodFriday, green pea shoots, Salad
salad of green pea and daikon shoots, fresh pineapple, cucumber ribbons,
halved cherry tomatoes, and dried cranberries with Asian yogurt dressing
I started sprouting seeds again when I saw organic radish seeds for sprouting at the grocery store. The packet promises a lightly spicy daikon (radish) flavor which can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches or lightly steamed and added to stir-fries. Indeed, the sprouts and shoots are very very flavorful and I love them on top of sandwich. I also got a packet of green peas for growing into shoots. I buy the shoots when available from the Asian grocery store but I want to try them raw in salads, when very young and only about 3½ inches tall. They are a little grassy when eaten raw but I like them when added to salad with Asian yogurt dressing.
sweet green pea shoots
daikon seeds shoots
March 29, 2012
March 25, 2012
Ice Candy
Labels: Filipino, ice candy, Kulinarya Cooking Club
honeymansi, watermelon lambanog cocktail, and mango lime
This year, it seems Spring took a vacation somewhere cooler because Summer arrived directly from Winter. Our Yoshino cherries bloomed almost overnight and it's so warm that for the first time we had to turn on our AC in the middle of March. It's perfect timing that our KCC hosts, Arnold and Jun, chose ice candy for this month's theme to cool us off. Thank you guys.
March 22, 2012
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Labels: chocolate chip cookies, FoodFriday, Pierre Herme
March 15, 2012
Mango, Cherry, and Orange Salad with Mint and Moscato
Labels: cherries, FoodFriday, mangoes, mint, moscato, oranges, Salad, spring colors
There're lots and lots of mangoes already at the Asian markets and Costco. I cubed a few pieces and made a very yummy fruit salad with pitted [frozen] sweet cherries and fresh oranges. The salad doesn't have added sugar; the fruits are mixed with cheap sweet wine and chopped mint. Very refreshing and bright, just like Spring.
March 14, 2012
The Daring Cooks: Brave the Braise
Labels: braised fennel bulb, braised pork belly in soy sauce, braising, humba, The Daring Cooks
braised fennel bulbs, baby carrots, and onions
The March, 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Carol, a/k/a Poisonive – and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman’s technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”.
March 8, 2012
Frog Legs Adobo
Labels: achuete, adobo, annatto, Filipino, FoodFriday, frog legs
I watched yet again Andrew Zimmerman's Bizarre Foods Philippine edition currently streaming through Netflix and thought the bloated stuffed frog legs looked funny and weird. When I was a kid we used to have them adobo style with achuete (annatto). They were tiny though and not as meaty as the ones I found recently at the Asian market.
March 1, 2012
Homemade Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix
Labels: copycat, FoodFriday, Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix
I was going to make crispy cereal marshmallows for Food Friday this week but found out it takes at least 2 days to finish. I'll make and blog about them another day. I made Swiss Miss-style hot chocolate mix instead, recipe inspired by Bravetart of Serious Eats.
February 26, 2012
Black and White Macarons at The Oscars
Labels: black and white macarons, jjajangmyun, Oggi's annual Film Awards, the Oscars
black and white macarons for The Artist
Welcome to my 4th annual Film Awards Special. I haven't seen any of the Oscar nominated movies and don't intend to except for Hugo and The Artist when they come out on Blu Ray. Most of the nominated movies do not appeal to me and will watch the 2 films because I really like Chloe Moretz and Jean Dujardin. I've seen both of Dujardin's OSS 117 James Bond parody films and I liked them; they're silly but enjoyable. Two movies I've chosen as my best ones came out in 2009; they are movies I HAVE SEEN recently and instantly moved up to my top favorites.
February 23, 2012
Philippine Broas
Labels: broas, FoodFriday, lady finger cookies
There were only a few pieces of the Philippine broas when I made the Tiramisu Sandwiches a few days ago. I wanted to make a regular tiramisu but got frustrated when the store didn't have broas either. The Italian ladyfingers in my experience seem to melt and disappear in the dessert even when they are not fully immersed in coffee. The Philippine broas however always come out perfect IMHO. I had to bake broas and followed the recipe from RECIPES OF THE PHILIPPINES edited by Enriqueta David Perez.
February 21, 2012
Dutch Crunched Vienna Bread Rolls
Labels: bread rolls, Dutch crunch, Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Vienna bread
I bake our sandwich loaf bread regularly every week but lately I've been on a roll, bread roll, that is. The last two weeks I made 2 kinds of Filipino pandesal rolls and today I baked Vienna Bread rolls topped with Dutch crunch. Vienna bread is one of my favorite breads from Peter Reinhart's cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. The bread has thin crispy crust which I really love and has moist soft sweetish crumb. Because the dough uses a large amount of preferment the bread always comes out very flavorful.
February 18, 2012
Tiramisu Sandwich
Labels: broas, Kulinarya Cooking Club, tiramisu sandwich
It was love at first sight bite when I had tiramisu over 22 years ago. Soft lady fingers soaked in strong coffee nestled in rich zabaglione and mascarpone cheese cream flavored with marsala (or rum) then lightly dusted with dark cocoa; what's not to love?
Unfortunately, I have also tasted some truly awful ones using chocolate cake as the base. Chocolate cake!!! Yuck!! Sorry for my excessive use of exclamation points but it's one of the reasons I make my own tiramisu. And thanks to our lovely hosts for February, Abigail and Marni for giving me another excuse to make them again, this time with a touch of Filipino flavors.
February 16, 2012
Baliwag Pandesal
Labels: Baliwag pandesal, bread rolls, Filipino, FoodFriday
I've had these bite size sweet rich soft yellowish pandesal back in the Philippines. A few Filipino bloggers claim these are the Baliwag-style rolls. The recipe they follow is the same as the pan de leche, with the addition of milk of course.
February 14, 2012
The Daring Cooks: Patties
Labels: breakfast sausage patties, Daring Cooks, French onion Salisbury steaks, patties, zucchini and cheese patties
green and yellow zucchini, prosciutto, and cheese fritters
The downloadable file of all the delicious recipes, useful info, and tips that Audax and Lis tirelessly prepared for us is here.
February 9, 2012
Stewed Chicken Wings with Chestnuts
Labels: chestnuts, chicken wings, Chinese, FoodFriday, stew
Cleaning up the pantry yielded several 100-gram bags of ready-to-eat shelled roasted Chinese chestnuts and a really large one I got from Costco. I feel like a squirrel for hoarding so much chestnuts. I can't help it; they are my most favorite thing in the world either for snacking or adding to sweet and savory dishes. Like stewed chicken, Chinese style...so delicious with fried rice.
February 8, 2012
Whole Wheat Pandesal
Labels: bread rolls, Filipino, pandesal, sourdough, whole wheat
I regularly bakePandesalsince the day I learned how to bake bread properly but this is the first time I added not just whole wheat flour but also a small portion of sourdough. I can honestly say I love the rolls for the nutty flavor and the hint of sweetness from the whole wheat flour. I was also surprised the rolls are not dense and heavy; they have soft fluffy crumb and really crispy crust.
February 2, 2012
January 27, 2012
Scones and Biscuits
Labels: biscuits, scones, The Daring Bakers
January 26, 2012
Kimchi Fried Rice
Labels: FoodFriday, kimchi fried rice
I had kimchi fried rice today...twice...for lunch and dinner too. So simple to make, so delicious!
January 21, 2012
Egg White Leche Flan
Labels: egg white leche flan, Filipino, Kulinarya Cooking Club
How do I make a healthy version of a dessert or any food that I want to have on my birthday? This month's Kulinarya Cooking Club challenge was a toughie for me. I couldn't think of any Filipino dish that I can tweak into something healthier but still delicious as there are several yummy healthy vegetable dishes or ice and fruit desserts that don't need any improvements, in my honest opinion. As much as I love tofu and seitan, I can't imagine myself enjoying a plate of tofurkey lechon or seitan mechado on my birthday.
My creative juices ran dry for this challenge so forgive me for my uninspired Leche Flan using all egg whites and fat-free sweetened condensed milk. I used whole milk because I want the flan to be edible, at least. The flan is actually good; it's soft and smooth although not creamy with a texture similar to gelatin. Buuut, I won't be having this on my special day which for me is a time to indulge in food I really really love, food that will certainly make me happy, unhealthy they may be.
My creative juices ran dry for this challenge so forgive me for my uninspired Leche Flan using all egg whites and fat-free sweetened condensed milk. I used whole milk because I want the flan to be edible, at least. The flan is actually good; it's soft and smooth although not creamy with a texture similar to gelatin. Buuut, I won't be having this on my special day which for me is a time to indulge in food I really really love, food that will certainly make me happy, unhealthy they may be.
January 19, 2012
Egg Morcon
Labels: boiled eggs wrapped in ground meat, Filipino, FoodFriday
Hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage then deep-fried is a dish called Scotch Eggs. I found a similar recipe, Egg Morcon, in my Filipino Seventh-day Adventist vegetarian cookbook. The boiled eggs are wrapped in embutido made with textured vegetable protein (dried tofu bits).. Reversing the recipe from vegetarian to a meaty dish, I seasoned ground beef with a little powdered garlic and onion, soy sauce, and sea salt, and added a little milk, soft bread crumbs, and an egg for binder. I rolled the morcon in panko before deep-frying until golden brown and crispy. I love them with steamed rice, banana ketchup, and cherry tomatoes.
January 12, 2012
Butterscotch Bars with Dried Mangoes
Labels: butterscotch bars, copycat, FoodFriday, Philippine dried mangoes
