Pancit Luglug

It's not easy making vegetarian pancit luglug but I tried anyway using tofu puffs and just 1 tablespoon of fish sauce for flavoring. I didn't use soy sauce as it will alter the taste of this Filipino dish. With other seasonings, boiled eggs, green onions and calamansi, puede na, it's not bad, I really like it. It's very light I had a large serving. It's a good thing our Philippine grocer sells these frozen calamansi in individual packets, very convenient. I can do without prawns and chicharon but not without calamansi and patis.

Tortang Talong And Salted Eggs/Tomato Salad

tortang talong with Jufran, don't you just love this vivid red banana ketchap? I do

I have a few Asian eggplants to make torta using tvp instead of ground beef. First cook the eggplant: pierce eggplant skin all over then grill over stovetop fire until skin is charred, place in a glass container, cover with plastic wrap, set aside to cool. Prepare the vegemeat filling: soak 1/2 cup tvp in 1/2 hot water mixed with 2 TBS kikkoman, set aside. Saute 2 crushed garlic clove and finely chopped half onion in 1 TBS olive oil until onion is soft and cooked. Add tvp and saute until heated through and excess liquid has evaporated. Cool slightly, then add 1 egg. Remove skin from eggplants, then flatten. Beat well 2 - 3 eggs, heat pan, spread 2 TBS beaten egg, put 1 flattened eggplant over egg, spread 3 TBS vegemeat over the eggplant, fry for 2 minutes on medium heat, spread another 2 TBS egg beside the eggplant and carefully flip the eggplant onto the egg, fry for another 1 -2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the eggplants and vegemeat. You can also make this without meat filling and serve as a side dish.

chilled salad of salted eggs and tomatoes

Bibingka

I made bibingkas because I have some kesong puti (white cheese) and 2 salted eggs, ingredients for topping bibingka. I used rice flour (instead of soaking rice overnight and grinding it in the food processor) and lined the pans in banana leaves for that authentic Filipino flavor. I estimated the proportions and although the rice cakes are yummy, they don't have the same pillow softness of Ferino's. Maybe I should use less liquid, mostly coconut milk, butter and eggs, to make them more cakey. The white cheese, which I love in hot pandesal (buns) for breakfast, is good but they can't compare with the Los Baños kesong puti. I'm going to make putong puti and putong ube next.

Italian Torrone

Every Christmas season the local groceries sell 2 kinds of Spanish turrones, Alicante and Jijona. The last 2 years the alicantes were hard as rocks I didn't buy any and bought just a few boxes of jijona. About 7 years ago I made the soft nougat much like the Italian soft torrone. It was not easy to make, it sticks everywhere and I never made the thing again. Recently I found these individually boxed Ferrara torrones, they are sooo good specially the lemon flavor, they're soft and chewy and not so sweet. I think they are very similar to the Montelimar French nougat. Since I'm into ice cream these days I thought I should make turron ice cream but did not want to use up my Ferrara torrones. So I made soft nougat this afternoon using honey in place of corn syrup. I got the recipe online and is surprisingly easy to make, the only thing missing is the thin rice paper which is impossible to get here in the US. I used to buy the German made ones when we were living in HongKong. I will try the edible "rice" paper made from potato starch that are used to decorate cakes. However I found a way to avoid the candies sticking to papers, fingers, etc by rolling them in sweet rice powder, then individually wrapping them in parchment. Yay, I can make turron ice cream tomorrow.

my torrone is on the left, I used sliced almonds because it will be easier to eat in ice cream. I cut mine to almost the same size as the torrone, about 1½ x 1 inch.

they look and taste the same to me, mmmmm. I can do this regularly using lemon, orange or vanilla flavors, and dried fruits instead of nuts. I'll still buy Ferrara torrones, though.

Montelimar-style nougat recipe is here
Soft chewy Italian pistacio nougat is here
Soft Chocolate Nougat is here

Fabada

A simplified version of the Spanish/Filipino bean stew, Fabada.

• Soak white beans overnight, drain, fill pot with water to cover beans 1 inch. Bring to a boil, simmer on low heat for 1 hour, add 4 garlic cloves, 1 onion (in chunks), 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 Spanish chorizos or Portuguese chouriço, a big chunk of smoked ham, then simmer another hour. Fish out the sausages and ham, cool slightly, then slice the sausages and cut the ham into small portions. Enjoy.

*I don't put morcilla (blood sausage) because I don't like its metallic taste which no amount of seasoning can mask.

DVD Review INSIDE MAN & CAVITE

INSIDE MAN 5 stars
Not your typical bank heist where nothing is what it seems. Worth every second of the 2 hours 9 minutes I spent watching this movie. My only complaint is Denzel Washington, who is in my view a very overrated actor, he IS Denzel in all his movies, only a little better perhaps in Malcom X. His cop partner played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (very good in Dirty Pretty Things and Serenity) was a better actor, too bad he barely said anything, Jodie Foster is fine, her "dishwasher" manner of speaking is not noticeable, Clive Owen is of course superb, and the Pinoy cinematographer (Matthew Labatique) is excellent. Spike Lee did a wonderful job, this movie is a cool and smart thriller without big explosions or annoying car chases. Highly recommended.

CAVITE 4 stars
Also a very smart, different thriller featuring a cellphone. This tells the story of a Filipino American working as a security guard in San Diego who had to go back to the Philippines to attend his father's funeral only to learn as soon as he got out of the airport that his mother and sister are being held hostage by Muslim terrorists. They communicate with him through a cellphone that was put inside his luggage by the terrorist and from then on he had to go to wherever and do whatever the person on the cellphone tells him. It was uncomfortable to watch the people living in the slums in the Philippines but that's reality, they exist. The actor, who co-wrote the script with the guy filming (also the voice of the terrorist), was not supposed to be IN the film because the role was written for a female. They couldn't get a Pinay (who would want to work in slum areas?) to do the job so he rewrote it as a male. He did a good job, although being there and inhaling the stench from the squatter areas doesn't require acting lessons, it will come naturally. This is truly an indie film made with the tiniest of budget and came out to be a one-of-a kind thriller. Highly recommended.

Book Reviews

END IN TEARS by Ruth Rendell 5 stars
Murder mystery about surrogate mothers and baby selling scams, the novel also discusses the different British social status and race. I love everything written by this author, has never disappointed me, excellent as usual.

AMERICA'S REPORT CARD: A NOVEL by John McNally 5 stars
A bizarre but hilarious satire/tale of conspiracy regarding America's standardized tests; full of strange, crazy characters; not for fans of G W Bush, religious fanatics, Federal Agents, etc.

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

I was googling ice cream flavors last night and saw a recipe for lemon meringue ice cream. It took half a day to prepare, I had to bake the meringues first, then cook the custard which had to be chilled for 2 hours. It's worth all the work, the ice cream is fantastic, I just love the sweet and tart combination. The recipe says the meringue will stay crisp for 2 days, no it will not, after 4 hours in the freezer the meringue bits are soft. So I put a few crumbled meringue on top for that added crunchiness and sweetness.

We're having either Swedish meatballs or Lebanese meat patties tonight so for lunch I had some crab meat topped with taba ng talangka (crab fat from tiny Philippine crabs). The crab meat is canned from Indonesia, already shelled and ready to eat or make into crab cakes, and the crab fat came in a jar from Manila. Plain crab meat is so yummy just with native Filipino vinegar seasoned with salt and fresh or dried chili flakes, sauteed veggies and plain steamed white rice. This canned crabmeat is ideal for people like me who don't like the hard work of cracking and extracting meat from crab shells, all you need is a can opener. An added bonus is that these crabs are tastier than the local blue crabs. In my opinion Filipino, Thai and Indonesian blue crabs taste superior to ours here in Virginia. I was going to make crab cakes but changed my mind as I have not eaten plain crab meat in a long time. I'll just get another can to make into crab cakes.

Catfish Belly Adobo And Mungbean Soup

I love catfish adobo and when I see just bellies I always get them. To prepare marinate the bellies for an hour in vinegar, garlic, salt, extra virgin olive oil and kikkoman soy sauce, drain and fry in hot olive oil until brown. Then boil the marinade until thick, and pour over the fried bellies, yum, yum, yum. BoiI the mungbeans with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 2 smashed garlic cloves and 1 chopped onion, add 1 teaspoon sea salt when fully cooked, then add malunggay leaves (horseradish tree) which I get frozen from the Filipino grocery. I drizzle more extra virgin olive oil before serving using only Spanish or Portuguese olive oil as they are more robust than Italian or French.

I also made a Chinese vegetarian stir fry using canned vegetable mix and flavored gluten for non fish eaters.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

For my lunch today I made grilled cheese sandwich (for grown ups) with sliced fuji apple, manchego cheese and fig preserves on country rye bread, with tomato slices on the side. I got this idea from the Washington Post food section a while back, can't remember when, my version is butterlesss. I prefer this sandwich just with the apple, fig preserves, and cheese. The rye bread and the combination of sweet , salty and crunchy is just perfect, and an icy bottled water completes this meal, there's no need for dessert (there's no room anyway). Burp.

You can try other cheeses, I think seriously sharp cheddar, young Edam or Gouda will be good.

Nonstop Ice Cream Machine

My Cuisinart ice cream maker has been churning nonstop for oh about 3 months now, it must be exhausted. Which means we have been eating ice cream nonstop since. I didn't eat this much ice cream in my life until now. Most ice cream here are overly sweet for me including Ben & Jerry's and several brands have thickening agents. Even Breyers that used to advertise using just milk, sugar and natural flavors and fruits now uses that gum thickening whatever. By making my own ice cream I am able to reduce the fat by half and sugar by 60%. I don't use those horrible tasting sugar substitutes, I just reduce the sugar. It's also great to be able to prepare Pinoy sorbetes. The very first one I made was macapuno, then, let's see, I have made ube, queso (grated cheddar cheese), halo-halo, coffee (topped with mangosteen preserves), mango using Philippine mango puree, sweet corn with coconut milk, and today langka. Please, somebody stop me, this is so addicting! Or, maybe not. Can someone suggest other Pinoy flavors that I may have missed?

Italian Honey Figs And Golden Honeydew Melon

These figs are so aptly named, they taste as if they are dipped in honey, really. Thank you Wegmans for making these wonderful fruits available every summer. I have 2 fig trees growing in pots at my back porch, an Italian honey and a black fig, so far they have given me only 4 fruits per tree. I recently read that they need to rest during the winter months inside the house in order to produce more fruits in the summer. I'll do that this year and we'll see if they will be more generous next summer.

A lady was handing out samples at the Wegmans' front door and I took a bite. The flesh is pale yellow and very sweet, indeed, I like it. I was never into honeydew melons, it's just too bland. This golden one caught my attention, it is round in shape rather than oblong and has a very bright yellow skin. I'm taking advantage of all the luscious fruits summer has to offer and purchased a few kiwis which also never appealed to me before, will try them though, if I still don't like them I'll dry them to add to cereals.

Recommended Reading

LOVE WALKED IN, a book I read over 4 months ago, written by Marisa de los Santos, a half Filipino poet who decided to write a novel in addition to her poetry collections. I read somewhere that it will be made into a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City playing the main character, 30 something Cornelia.

The book is not great but a good love story, not just between a girl and the Cary Grant of her dreams, it is also finding love in other way and other people, one of which is the 11 year old daughter of the aforementioned "Cary Grant". He walked in the coffee shop Cornelia was managing just when she was daydreaming of the perfect man who will come in the shop and sweep her off her feet. She realized later he is not "the perfect guy" after all, he is divorced and estranged from his child because he chose to, one of his flaws. The book also touches on her relationship with her parents and siblings, and her neighbors' mother who loved her enough to leave her her home when she died, instead of to her own children. The several story lines are touching, sometimes heartbreaking. Her true love, a half Pinoy doctor (of course, doctor, Pinoy eh), married to her sister also walked in the coffee shop on Christmas Eve(?) and later he cooked pancit for her and the daughter of "Cary".
Some readers blasted her writing style, complained about how ALL the characters are beautiful, begrudged the author for making Cornelia thin, beautiful and oh so saintly, that the ex wife is a blonde beauty living in a high end condo, that the daughter is very smart for her age, in other words, that the book is not credible because they do not know anybody like these people in real life. People can be so petty and stupid, really. This is a work of fiction, duh, dreaming about a Cary Grant to appear and fall in love with you IS fantasy! Maybe they prefer a "believable" story line that features an obese, ugly, pimply intelligence challenged alcoholic to be able to relate to the character properly. Geez. Anyway, those things they were complaining about did not bother me and I enjoyed reading this book regardless of a few cliched and contrived situations because there are many other good things about this book. Highly recommended.

Spaghetti Squash for Dinner

The Washington Post food section today features spaghetti squash which I never tried before maybe because I never liked squash. The writer says it stays crunchy so I went out and bought one, cooked it exactly as she said, boil whole for 40 minutes. It really is crunchy and sweetish and I like the texture. This vegetable does not need elaborate sauces, just add less than half a teaspoon of sea salt, half a tablespoon of unsalted butter, and dried sage (the store did not have fresh) and you have an uncomplicated side dish. For the main dish I fried store bought frozen falafel patties. This is surprisingly good specially with buttered steamed milagrosa rice flavored with lemon and herb, sea salt, and sprinkled with sumac powder. Tzatziki is a must for this Lebanese(?) style dinner.

a vegetarian meal of meatless falafel, spaghetti squash, and seasoned rice

dessert: fresh white peaches in syrup with a splash of peach schnapps

In the article the writer mentioned that she would probably eat vegemeat (seitan, tvp, tofu) more often if they were not impersonating animals as in tofurkey, soyburger, or soyhotdogs. I completely agree with her. If you try to make veggies other than what they really are you will just get disappointed because it will NEVER taste like meat or fish. In my opinion the best way to enjoy it is to cook them as they are, without disguising its natural form. Add lots of seasoning and vary the preparations and I think more people will enjoy eating meatless meals regularly. This may also stop them from making fun of tofu.

Pancit Lomi

I found these lomi noodles last week in the Korean grocery (where else?). Never tried cooking these before but eaten them more than 20 years ago in Manila maybe once or twice. I looked online for the Pinoy recipe, substituted soy puffs (fried tofu) for the shredded chicken. I did not add sesame seed oil because the lomi I remember did not have it. The beaten eggs added right after the heat was turned off give the noodle dish an interesting texture and of course added protein. The ingredients I used are pictured above (I forgot to include the carrots in the photo). With plenty of seasonings you won't really miss the chicken. This is a very substantial and satisfying Filipino meal.

For dessert: homemade strawberry ice cream and jacobina

I'm sure most Filipinos know Jacobina: crunchy, flaky, milky(?) snacks with just a hint of sweetness, perfect with halo halo or ice cream. These are tiny, about 1 x 1 inch, the jacobinas I used to snack on were bigger than these. Everything seems to be getting smaller in the Philippines, perfect example: ChocNuts, they are now 1/3 their original size.

Book reviews:

POPPY SHAKESPEARE by Clare Allan ***
The book is good, sometimes funny, but I think the only way to appreciate it is to read it with a working class British accent, preferrably aloud, which is not so easy. Not bad, not great either. 3 stars.

ALENTEJO BLUE by Monica Ali *
A complete waste of my time, very disappointing. This author is overrated, so much glowing reviews by several "official" book reviewers. I thought this one would be better than her first, Brick Lane, which was not bad, I rated it 3 stars, but I was wrong. I guess this will be the last Monica Ali book for me.

Coffee Ice Cream and Mangosteen Preserves

the best dessert pairing: coffee ice cream and mangosteen preserves

I have been lurking in several Pinoy food blogs and read about the discontinued Magnolia coffee mangosteen ice cream. The blogger said that he prefers to top the coffee ice cream with mangosteen preserves. It is an excellent idea, but I couldn't find mangosteen preserves here in the US. Fortunately I found Thai canned mangosteen in syrup at the Korean grocery, bought several cans and boiled the syrup with 2 tablespoons (per can) sugar until very thick, then added all the fruit, boiled it down some more until almost caramelized, somewhat brown red, dark purplish in color and very thick. I made coffee ice cream using very thick brewed espresso. The result is oh so heavenly. The half gallon ice cream and the preserves were history in a matter of days.

Baked Eggs With Asparagus

Still trying to make meatless dinner but cheated just a little bit by adding half of a Spanish chorizo because it is essential to this dish.

Ingredients: 1 lb asparagus, eggs, half of a Spanish chorizo, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 each medium size onion, tomato and sweet red bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of pimenton, and extra virgin olive oil for sauteing and sprinkling after baking. For dessert I made fresh white peaches ice cream.

Fresh Fruits

super sweet, soft, juicy figs

bing cherries

juicy and sweet white peaches

avocados

I love summer. It's hot and muggy, yes, but you get all the wonderful fruits and vegetables at this time of the year, and most important they're grown here in the US. I especially love the white and yellow cling peaches, black and Italian honey figs, red and green grapes, avocados, and of course strawberries. Avocados have always been a favorite either sweet with milk and sugar or savory in California rolls and Texmex fare. This is also the season for the best tomatoes: beefsteak, cherry, roma or vine ripened cluster.

Meatless Spaghetti Bolognese

vegetarian spaghetti Bolognese with beef flavored seitan and textured vegetable soy protein

Meatless Spaghetti Bolognese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chopped beef or chicken flavored seitan
1 cup hydrated TVP
16 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (or chopped fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary)
cooked spaghetti
grated Parmesan cheese

• Heat oil and saute garli and onion for 2 minutes. Add seitan, TVP, and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute then add tomatos, broth, dried herbs, and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Spoon on spaghetti and top with cheese.

• Iced avocado dessert: scrape ripe avocado with a spoon into a small bowl, add milk and sugar to taste then chill for an hour. Add a few ice cubes to individual cups.

Book Reviews: THE FUTURIST and THE HUSBAND

Book reviews

I have 4 books to read, 2 of which I finished over the weekend: THE FUTURIST by James P Othmer and THE HUSBAND by Dean Koontz. I will tackle the other two POPPY SHAKESPEARE by Clare Allan and ALENTEJO BLUE by Monica Ali this weekend, both due at the library on July 26.

THE HUSBAND ****
As much as I like Dean Koontz novels, I will only give this book 4 stars. I did not like that it reads too much like a movie, specially the super rich Hollywood type gangster and the final confrontation with the abductor, they both seem contrived. He could also have eliminated the somewhat slapstick comedy part where there is an old guy in the SUV Mitch was trying to steal; It would have been better if Mitch had grabbed the screaming geriatric from his seat, plopped him on the road, and drove on to rescue his wife. I love the book though for the suspense, surprises at every turn, and of course the creepy serial killer. I also like that this is a very quick read, less than half a day. Will still look forward to reading his new novels. Highly recommended.

THE FUTURIST ****
Very entertaining, laugh out loud funny, with weird characters (example: Giant Nordic nymphomaniac) but at the same time dealing with serious current issues. Some situations are cliches but that's alright, it still earns 4 stars in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Eggs In Red Sauce

It's only been 5 days since I promised to cook meatless meals and I'm already running out of ideas even after consulting my Filipino vegetarian cookbook BEST RECIPES for the Home published in 1970 in Manila by The Seventh Day Adventist. This is my mother's who gave it to me (after much cajoling). I don't want to serve seitan/tofu /beans all the time, that would be boring. Hay naku, meatless ulam takes sooo much effort and imagination. I'm like this pinoy teen I saw on TV learning/practicing inline skates at Greenhills, after several spills he cried "ayoko na!!" with an agonized expression on his face. Ooh, Spanish baked eggs with asparagus sounds good but will need at least half of an El Rey chorizo (which btw I learned from a pinoy blog is now made in Nebraska!) for that Filpino/Spanish flavor. Oh gee, now I have to go out and buy fresh asparagus. I don't wanna , I haven't ironed my hair, I can't be seen outside with frizzy, unruly hair even in the grocery!! Besides, I hate driving on a Friday afternoon when all the bad drivers are out in full force. Maybe I'll use canned but it's only good for soups and chicken asparagus sandwich. No, I'll make it next week. I'll think of something else, maybe boiled eggs with tomato/ketchup sauce, parang breakfast fare.

Eggs in Red Sauce

• Boil 5 eggs for 8 minutes, peel, halve, place on a dish sliced side up, set aside then saute a half sliced onion, add Jufran, Malaysian sos cili, Hunt's ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, a little water, boil 1 minute, pour over eggs. Serve with salad greens.

I also made fresh green grape juice smoothie. To finish the meal: fresh bing cherries, strawberries, Fibisco choco mallows and Perugina baci.

White Chili

Wednesday's dinner : White chili topped with reduced fat cheese and Carr's table water crackers.
Dessert: homemade Cherry Garcia ice cream

Ingredients: 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 medium size chopped vidalia onion, 2 diced hot green chilis (the long meaty ones), 1 chopped green bell pepper, 2 teaspoonss ground cumin, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 8 ounces shredded seitan, and a 16-ounce can of white beans.

Yumm. I should warn you , this meal is so light (meatless, eaten with crackers instead of rice) that you might end up snacking on leftover Chef Boyardee at midnight.

We Need To Eat Healthy

I decided to eat healthier and will try to serve my family vegetarian meals 3 times a week . I used to 5 years ago but got lazy (vegetarian food requires a lot of work, you have to consider variety and taste) and did not serve vegemeals regularly. For starters last night I prepared Chinese: Ma-Po's Bean Curd AND shumai with baby bokchoy and peanut filling. For the Ma-Po I used shredded chicken flavored gluten (seitan) and cubed firm tofu, both are available at Korean supermarkets. I didn't have hot bean paste so I substituted Thai shiracha and yellow bean sauce. It came out tastier because the Thai sauce is spicier and has garlic in it. The baby bokchoy is truly baby, about 2 inches long and very tender.

Both are really good although I should have bought the supermarket wonton wrapper. I used gyoza wrappers which are thicker, the shumais came out a little bit makunat (chewy) but still so yummy. The filling is similar to the kuapao we used to have in Manila. Kuapao is a relative of siopao, rectangular or oval in shape and usually filled with green vegetableses, never meat. Hmm, maybe I will make kuapao next.