Kusina ni Manang

Canning: Pickled Beets

2012-01-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

Washed and trimmed for boiling

When I first tasted pickled beets (that my mother-in-law gave for me to try and see if I would like it), I did not like it. It had an overpowering earthy taste. That was 3 years ago. I do remember having beets in potato salad that rendered an exotic taste that I liked...it was a potato salad made by a classmate in med school back when I was in the Philippines.

This year, my sister-in-law (the one licensed to sell her canned goods) gave me a jar to try it again. Surprisingly, I liked it. I thought she used a different recipe. She said she used our MIL's recipe. My Nanay liked it too, and I told my SIL about it. She thought, maybe I would like to can some for my personal use. She then offered some of her beets in her garden. I harvested about half of a row. Best to get the smaller ones (I used my fist as the basis for the max size I would use for my canning. The bigger ones were too starchy instead of sweet. Too tough.

Boiling

I probably boiled these for about one hour to make sure they were tender enough, but not too tender that they crumbled when handled.

Slicing

After boiling, it was so easy to slip off the skins. I then used my mandoline to slice them.

Finished product

I would classify these as one of those "acquired taste" kind of food for me. Beets definitely are one of the healthiest food available to mankind. Nanay can finish a jar in 3 days.

TOOLS, PROCEDURE & INGREDIENTS:

Wash beets. Cut top offs, leaving about 1inch long of the stems (this prevents them from bleeding while you boil).
Boil til tender (about 1 hr). (Meanwhile, wash and sterilize the jars. Boil water for the lids and bands. Pour onto the lids and bands just when ready to can.)
Dunk beets in cold water and slip the skins off.
Slice with 1/4-inch thickness. Place in a big stainless steel stockpot. (Note: Any vinegar or acidic canning project will react with aluminum, so always use stainless steel in canning.)

In a different stainless steel stockpot, prepare brine using the following solution, adjust according to how much beets you have:
1 & 3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 cups of sugar.

Boil the brine.

Pour into the beets. Simmer for 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Put 1 tsp canning salt into each quart jar (or half tsp into each pint jar).

Ladle beets into hot sterile jars, release bubbles, leave 1/2 inch headspace, wipe rim, and adjust lids and bands.

Process 30 minutes on easy boil in hot boiling water bath.
~~~~~~~~~~
I had some extra beets the I peeled, cubed, then simmered til tender, then I added with corn, diced fresh tomatoes, and green onions to make beet salad. I was just curious to see if I would still find it good to eat as salad. I was surprised how good it was, and that even my sons liked it. Here's how it looked like:

Beet salad

I better study how to plant and take care of beets now, in preparation for my canning escapades for the year 2012.

Canning: Manang's Hot Dill Pickles

2012-01-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hot dill pickles

This is my variation to the dill pickles that I learned from my MIL. I changed her basic recipe since I found it too salty for my taste after several months of curing. I was hesitant to change the ratio of salt to water initially because I was afraid it might lessen the preserving effect. However, last summer, I was quite adventurous, and I bought several book as well on canning. Basing on the recipe of a reliable author in her book The Joy of Pickling, I tried to lessen the salt so that my final ratio was somewhere between my MIL's dill pickles and that author's dill pickles (I was tasting as I was adding salt and kept notes). Then after I was satisfied with the saltiness of the first batch of plain dill pickles, I thought I would try adding crushed red pepper flakes to make them hot. The result was very good, that my husband would always say something like "Delisyoso!" or "If you decide to sell these, guys would like them!" I have been leaving a quart of these and the bread and butters in the employees' fridge and my co-workers have been telling me, "You should start selling your pickles." Some even say, "I don't even like the ones in the grocery stores, but your pickles are sooo good.!" or, "I'd gladly pay $10 for a quart of your pickles. They are that good!"

So, if I have readers here who have gardens or have access to fresh cucumbers, you might consider making these and selling them. One thing for sure, this is something not only Filipinos would love, but also Americans who miss the pickles "just like how grandma made them." The market is definitely there.

INGREDIENTS, EQUIPMENT & PROCEDURE:

Note: I used photos from my old dill pickle post here to illustrate the steps.

On the day of harvesting the cucumbers, wash thoroughly with cold water, remove stems and any part of the peel that looks bad/browned.

Wash jars, lids, and bands with warm soapy water. Rinse well and sterilize in boiling water or steam at least 180 deg F for 30 minutes. Boil water and pour onto the lids and bands until needed.

Start boiling water in the boiling water canner half-filled with water.

In each quart jar, place 8-10 cucumbers (each should be 4- to 6-inches long), 4 garlic cloves and 2 teaspoons dill seeds, 1 tsp (for mild) to 1 tbsp (for medium) crushed red pepper flakes.

Place cukes and spices in jars

For the brine, use 2 qt water: 1 qt cider vinegar (5% acidity) : 1/2 cup canning salt.

To prepare brine, mix 2 qts water and 1 qt vinegar . Boil. Add 3/4 cup canning salt, mix to dissolve. (Increase the proportion according to the number of quarts that you have filled with cucumbers. ) Pour into the jars immediately.

Pour hot brine

Using a non-metallic spatula or a bubbler, remove bubbles by gently poking into the inside of the jars. Wipe the rim with a clean damp cloth or a paper towel to remove seeds or anything that might interfere with sealing.

Release bubbles

Lids and screw bands should be submerged in boiling water (not boiled, for it will damage the sealing compound, resulting to poor seal). Pick up with a clamp or magnetic picker whose tip/s were/was also submerged in the boiling water prior to using. To minimize contamination, refrain from touching the side of the lid that will touch the contents of the jar.

Leave 1/2 inch headspace; wipe rims

Close the jars fingertip tight then load onto the canning rack.

Load into rack

Lower them into the hot water. If water tends to overflow, remove some. Leave enough to cover the jars up to 1 inch above the lids. Turn heat to high and cautiously watch until the water gains enough heat to the point just before boiling (If it boils, lower the heat immediately) then start timing 15 minutes. Never allow to boil as this will COOK the pickles and will result to mushy, not crunchy, pickles.

Lower to BWCanner

Cover the boiling water canner, and process on easy simmer (do not boil) for 15 minutes.

Process for 15 mins

While processing the cans, have a dry towel ready on the countertop near the stove. Close all windows and doors to avoid drafts (the sudden rush of cold air might crack the hot jars. Then after processing for 15 minutes, one by one, carefully lift the jars (with a jar lifter especially designed for canning) out of the rack without banging them with one another (this might crack the jars as well). Place on top of the dry towel. Leave at least 1-inch space in-between the jars. Then when all the jars are out, cover with another towel. These towel will provide cushion for the hot jars not to crack when you place them on the countertop, and will also act as "windbreaker" in case there is a draft. You may now open your doors and windows. LEAVE THESE JARS ALONE FOR AT LEAST 3 HOURS before peeping under the towel, and preferably let them cool for at least 12 hours before moving them. You will hear the popping of the lids, which is a sign of good seal. If within 12 hours one or more of the jars did not seal, you may process them again or place in the fridge and consume them first within two weeks.

Cover with towel

Those jars that sealed properly should be stored in a dark, cool place. Let the pickles cure for at least 2 weeks to enjoy the flavor. The taste is superb by the end of one month. Once opened, the jar should be kept in the fridge until fully consumed. Pickles are best consumed within one year from canning date.

Canning Pork (Leaf) Lard and Making Pork Cracklings

2012-01-02T01:39:00.004-05:00

Leaf/pork lard on the left,
chicken oil on the right

I do not know if anyone would be interested in this post. I am guessing that most likely, the pastry chefs and/or Americans who are conscious about food source and who are meat-lovers will be the ones finding this blog post most likely useful. With the current anti-cholesterol ~~doctrine~~ campaign of the US CDC and the US healthcare in general, I would not be surprised if most Filipinos and the mainstream America would be turning up their noses if they see this post. Let us just respect each other's opinions and preferences. I do not wish to defend my preference, nor to preach to you what your preferences should be and why. You are grown ups and can research on your own, and you can weigh the information you gather, then decide for yourself. Or you may choose to follow mainstream America. Just please know that if you leave a comment here trying to preach to me or admonish me as if I was an uneducated 3-year-old child, your comment will be deleted.

However, for those who might be interested to read on articles by authorities in biochemistry (who obviously KNOW what they are talking about) that are not in any way biased/influenced by the (oil manufacturing) companies that provide funding for researches pertaining to such subjects, I highly suggest this link: http://www.health-report.co.uk/saturated_fats_health_benefits.htm.

I would like to demonstrate here how I canned my pork lard. Note that there is no such canning guidelines per USDA's official website on homecanning, and what I did here is based on some other blogger's how-to's and some ideas I got from reading ancient ways of traditional canning done by US farmers as early as 1912 (I downloaded a whole book free from google's library).

As my avid readers know, our family has stores of homegrown pork, grass-fed beef, and chickens (I am lucky that my MIL/FIL takes care of the chickens for us, and the grass-fed beef came from my SIL/BIL's herd of cattles). The freshly-slaughtered pork is hung in the slaughterhouse for a day or two (to drain blood fully), then we are called to give them specific instructions as to the cuts we like. On the day the pig is cut, they (or I, if not pressed for time) vacuum-pack the cuts. My MIL wants her fat back salted. I want it saved for making lard. I also save the leaf lard to render the best lard to use for baking pastries. This process is quite intensive, but I like doing it, because there is less processing compared to getting lard from grocery stores, I don't want to waste them, they taste better for me (I use pork lard for deep frying donuts and meats), I know exactly the source, and leaf lard just makes the best pie crust. And it is expensive to get them anywhere else.

I prepare the jars and sterilize them first by putting them on a baking pan (lasagna pan) sterilized in the oven at 180 deg F for 30 minutes (this totally dries them up so that my lard would not get mixed with water). I do the same to the lids.

Please note that I like using the wide mouth pint jars, because when I am ready to use the lard, I can easily use a spatula to get what I need. I have minimal lard remaining in the jar once I have used up all its content.

The cut then ground pork lard (or leaf lard; I do them separately) is placed in a wok cooked on low
heat, with occasional stirring to avoid sticking at the bottom and for even cooking. Then when the cracklings are no longer sticky, and the oil has bubbled, then cracklings start to sink, that's the time I scoop the oil out, pass through several layers of cheesecloth on top of a fine strainer, poured directly into the sterile jar. I then wipe the rim and immediately seal with a lid, leaving only 1/8 inch headspace. This hot oil will solidify when completely cooled, and in the process, contracts a lot, creating a vacuum that sucks in the lid. I minimize the air because it tens to oxidize the fat, which causes rancidity (maanta). Then once completely cooled, I check the seals by lifting by the lids without the bands. I then label them accordingly (either as leaf or pork, with the date) and keep in a cool, dark place.

For the pork cracklings themselves, at the end of oil rendering, these are still anemic and soft. I drain them further, then let them cool down. I then measure by 1/2 cups and place each cupful in a sandwich bag, squeeze out excess air, then tie, then all these bags of cracklings are placed in a big freezer ziploc bag that is vaccum sealed (I use the Ziploc vacuum sealer).

Now when I am ready to use the pork cracklings, I thaw a small bag, then stir fry this on medium until it gets aromatic and turns golden brown, flavoring it with garlic salt. Then I place on paper towel to get rid of excess oil. When cooled, I use this as topping for such things as palabok, lugaw, and ramen noodles. I don't cook more than what I will be able to use, because if I keep the unused pork cracklings in a closed jar, they get soft and rancid after several days (I tried that before...I ended up throwing them away).

As for the lard rendered that I use for deep frying or for pastry, if I am not able to use up a whole jar, I cover the top of the lard with cling wrap to minimize contact with air, thus preventing oxidation and rancidity. I then keep this in the fridge to further ensure freshness.

There!

Snickerdoodles

2011-12-29T01:40:00.000-05:00

Snickerdoodles ready for packing
into Christmas tin cans

One thing I do from time to time is look at the "freshly" baked goods in the grocery stores. One thing that caught my attention was the soft Snickerdoodles. It caught my attention because of its cute name (and I have read it several times on the packaging of some baking items), and it looked good.

The one I bought was almost like a cake in consistency, but in the shape of a thick cookie. The flavor was good. It was gone in two days (maybe 12 pieces). But I resolved to check out the recipe for it, because I like knowing the ingredients (and not have to ingest all the chemicals I read listed on the packaging), and as always, nothing beats REALLY FRESHLY BAKED cookies.

Surprisingly, when I made this the first time at home, hubby was so eager to try it and apparently was not familiar with Snickerdoodles, although he also partook of the store-bought ones. The smell of the baking snickerdoodles was tantalizing, what with cinnamon as it's main flavor. And once he bit on the still chewy warm cookies, he said, "Oh! This is heavenly!" They also look inviting (reminds me of chocolate crinkles).

I made two batches so I could pack some for cookie swap with my in-laws, and still have some for our own consumption. I used the recipe from allrecipes.com, which gave me chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside flat cookies that were not cake-like, which we liked better than the one I bought. This recipe is definitely a keeper, so it is filed here now in my kusina database.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls (I used a medium cookie scoop).
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture

I had to space them far apart, because they really spread out .

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets. (Since I used parchment paper, I let them cool down a bit until they won't bend as I transfer them from the cookie sheet to the cooling wire. Using the parchment paper lets me slide the whole thing off the hot pan, and allows for easy removal of the cooled cookies from the parchment paper to the cooling wire rack. I then wipe it clean to be reused for the next batches. I baked each batch for exactly 8 minutes, so that the middle will be chewy.)

Very visually appealing!

Despite the fact that I received Christmas goodies from my in-laws and that my family had some of the freshly baked ones, the snickerdoodles I left in the cookie jar were gone in 3 days. This will be a different cookie to donate in games hosted in our local schools where my sons study, which I am sure will be a big hit.

Canning: Atsarang Papaya (Pickled Green Papaya) Revisited

2011-11-26T01:51:00.002-05:00

Atsarang Papaya

I seldom get good green papayas in the Asian stores in my area, which take 2 hours to drive to. So whenever I visit those stores and find them good (as in still fresh) green papayas, I make sure to get at least two or three of them to make into atsara.

When I first made atsarang papaya, I made use the the same brine recipe as its cucumber counterpart, Bread and Butter Pickles, because once I got a taste of these B&Bs, they reminded me so much of atsarang papaya. During that time, there was no foodblogger yet that I could find that gave a recipe for atsara. However, my friend Ana did not really care for the mustard seeds (nakakatinga ba). And as I also came to realize that turmeric powder is like ginger powder, this time, I opted to remove the turmeric powder in the B&B brine. I also opted to lessen the salt.

The kind of additional veggies depends on you...some like adding raisins, I don't. Some like ampalaya added, I don't. One person suggested adding jalapeño peppers...I will keep that in mind to try next time! But basically, it must include onions, bell peppers, ginger root, and carrots not only for the flavor but also for the colors.

I intend to keep some of these for myself. The others I plan to give as Christmas giveaways to Filipino friends.

Ingredients:

Brine~
12 cups cider vinegar
10 cups sugar
Note: This is a proportion only. You might need more or less of this amount to correspond to the amount of veggies you have. It is important that you have enough to cover all of your veggies when inside the jars already.

Veggies~
Green papaya (I used 2, which were probably about 3 lbs each), grated
Onions (I used 4 medium sized yellow onions), sliced
Red and/or Green Bell Peppers, cut in strips or diced (I used one red)
Carrots (I used two medium), sliced to look like flowers (or you can cut in strips)
Ginger root (I used about 2-3 thumb-sized pieces, sliced)

1/4 cup canning salt (I used Morton, the box is colored green)
ice cubes to cover top

Instructions:
After preparing the slices/grated veggies, make two layers of the papaya alternating with the other veggies (papaya-other veggies-papaya-other veggies) in a stainless steel stock pot. Sprinkle with the canning salt on top, top with ice cubes. Place the cover on, and let stand in room temperature for at least 3 hours.

Meanwhile, wash and sterilize your jars (I sterilize my jars in my steamer for at least 30 minutes). Boil water for scalding your lids and bands. When the jars are almost ready, rinse the papaya mix with COLD water and drain. Repeat three times. (Note: Even if your jars are freshly bought from the store, you should still wash them, including the lids/bands/covers, with warm soapy water to remove manufacturing oil residue.)

Click on the photo to see a larger image.

Place in a thin cloth bag. SECURELY close the bag using the handles. Bring this to the washing machine that is clean. Place this on one side, and place a wet clean towel on the opposite side (this is to balance the weight so that the washing machine does not make a noisy sound, and this will also do your machine a favor). Spin dry. This method uses the centrifugal force of the spinner to remove most of the water in the veggie mix. If you did not tie the bag securely, you might find your veggies scattered in the spinner. Not good. (If you don't have a spinner, you can use the cheesecloth to wrap around your veggies and squeeze out excess fluid, like I did in my first post on atsarang papaya.)

While spin drying your veggies, start boiling the vinegar + sugar mixture in a different stainless steel pot, stirring occasionally. Once it starts boiling, boil for 5 minutes. Add this brine to the veggies, lower the heat (I use #3) and simmer the veggies for about 5 minutes while stirring, then start packing. (This ensures you are doing a hot pack, not a raw pack, which will increase the likelihood of sterilizing the mixture, aside from the preserving effect of sugar and vinegar. I also do not dilute the vinegar. This high acidity further ensures the preservation effect. Even if the veggies themselves are low acid types, this acidic brine better ensures the safety of this mixture. I do not want to cause food poisoning, especially when I do not intend to process this pickle in a boiling water bath.) Make sure you put in enough brine into the jar to cover the veggies well.

Click on the photo to see a larger image.

Remove one jar from the steamer/sterilizer and fill one at a time. Add veggies and enough brine to cover. Use a bubbler to release bubbles. Add more brine if necessary. Leave a 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims with paper towel to ensure no veggies are trapped that will prevent seal. Adjust lids and bands (or covers) and close tightly. Leave on the steamer upside down until you are ready to let them cool on the countertop. (Those last jars that you fill must also be upside down for about 30 minutes before you make them upright to cool completely. This sort of sterilizes the upper part of the jar.).

If for personal use, you do not have to process these. I have been doing this method for 6 years now and they last more than a year without spoiling. The crunchiness of the veggies might be lost after one year, though, but that does not mean they are spoiled. However, not processing them ensures that their crunchiness also will last longer.

However, for commercial purposes (if you plan to sell these in the US), process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes just to comply with USDA standards. (Although I doubt that Filipino buyers would even care about such standards.)

Store in dark cool place (the cellar would be ideal).

Pamamaraan sa Tag-lish:
Yung listahan ng ingredients, nandun yung kung pano dapat nahiwa ang mga gulay --- shredded or sliced, etc. Gawin muna yun. Pag handa na yung mga gulay, i-layer mo sila (papaya- ibang gulay- papaya- ibang gulay) sa stainless steel na pot. Budburan mo ng asin sa ibabaw, patungan mo ng ice cubes, takpan, at hayaan mo ng mga 3 oras bago mo banlawan ng malamig na tubig. (Yung asin ay nag-aalis ng konting tubig mula sa gulay, para kahit medyo maluto sa brine yung gulay, malutong pa rin.) Gawin ito ng 3 beses para siguradong hindi maalat yung gulay. Tikman rin, syempre.

Habang naghihintay ng tatlong oras bago banlawan, hugasan at i-sterilize mo yung mga jars at takip na hanggang 30 minuto. Tapos, banlawan yung mga gulay then i-drain. Ulitin ng 3 beses. Kung me spinner ka or washing machine, mas madali i-drain nang husto yung gulay (kung wala, kumuha ka ng katsa, ibalot mo yung mga gulay, at pigain mo nang husto at ibalik mo sa stainless steel na pot). Tapos, pakuluin mo na yung suka+asukal ng mga 5 minuto sa isa pang stainless steel pot, bago mo ibuhos ito sa mga gulay. Babaan mo ang apoy at halu-haluin mo pa ng mga limang minuto bago mo ilagay sa sterilized na mainit pa na jar, i-release yung bubbles, punasan ang bunganga ng jars, takpan nang mahigpit. Ibaliktad. Pagkaraan ng 30 minutes, itayo nang tuwid.

Habang binabasa ito ay tingnan ang mga pictures.

Pwede na itong hindi ipakulo sa boiling water bath kung hindi pang-komersyal. Kung ibebenta at kelangan sumunod sa USDA regulation, kelangan iproseso nang 10 minuto sa boiling water bath.

Canning: Sardinas/Bangus (Sardines/Milkfish) in Olive Oil

2011-11-22T01:11:00.001-05:00

Canned Fish in Olive Oil

Ever since I bought my pressure canner and canned a batch of stew beef cuts, I had been wanting to can sardines or any other small fish "Spanish-style" (I am not sure what that means).

My first taste of this kind of "sardines" was back during med school, when a classmate who hailed from Laguna brought a jar of these, with small bangus (milkfish) as the content, and the label said "Spanish-style." They were swimming in oil. It was beautiful to look at in the jars. The flavor was so good. It had a hint of hotness due to the hot chili inside.

Even when I was just getting introduced to canning and did my research on it, I was dreaming of concocting all these canned Filipino goodies in wanting to fill my pantry with such foods, in jars with quantities enough to satisfy my craving when it hits.

Presto pressure canner

Books on Canning

This year (my 6th year of canning), I completed my canning tools finally. With the purchase of pressure canner and more books on canning (I bought the Ball books), I really got myself rolling.

One of the things I finally got to try was canning fish "Spanish-style." I am not really sure what Spanish style is, because I have seen it as with olive oil, or as with tomato sauce. In any case, what my classmate brought before that I loved was bangus in oil.

INGREDIENTS and INSTRUCTIONS:

I got frozen fish from the Asian store, one bag with 14 pieces of sardines and two bags of small bangus (3 pieces in each bag). I thawed them, and my Nanay cleaned them before they completely thawed (she said it was easier to keep the flesh intact if done that way. My Nanay's father owned a fishery when she was younger, so she knew how to deal with fish in this manner. But she was not aware of canning practices.)

As for the instructions and recipes, I followed partly that from OverseasPinoyCooking's site. However, for safe canning practices, I followed the instructions from the USDA-approved site.

Amazon.com Widgets

Basically, after cleaning the fish, I cut them to portions that would fit in the jars I was going to use. I used 8-oz jars for the sardines cut in halves, and I used wide-mouthed pint-jars for the bangus cut in halves as well. I brined them for 30 minutes in salt solution made of 1&1/2 quarts of water with 3/8 cup + 3 tbsp of Morton Kosher salt (based on the table on the basic brine in this article). Then I drained the fish.

I proceeded with packing the jars tightly. I was able to fit in 3 sardines per 8-oz jar, and 2 bangus inside a pint jar. Then I added the pickles, carrot slices, and spices (I used 1/4 tsp whole gourmet peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp dried minced garlic, a slice of pickle, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper for the sardines, and 1/8 tsp mustard seeds. For the pint jars with bangus, I used double the amounts, except that I used dried whole red pepper for each jar instead of the crushed red pepper. I then added extra virgin oil to cover the fish, leaving 1 inch headspace.

I used the bubbler to release trapped gas, and then I wiped the rims and adjusted the lids. Note that when pressure canning, you do not have to use sterile jars, as the pressure will create enough heat to sterilize the jars during the processing time, which is usually an hour and a half at least. Click on the photos below to read the instructions that accompany the photos.

I have the Presto pressure canner which is a dial-gauge type, so following the guidelines in the above link, I processed these babies (both pints and 8-oz jars) for 100 minutes at 11 psi. (It is quite a pain to monitor and maintain this pressure. I am still playing with the "maintenance" burner's flame/strength). After processing, I let the pressure get back to zero, then removed the valve, and let the jars stay in there for about two hours before removing. I let the jars rest on a towel on the countertop. After 24 hours, I checked for seal. I had two pint jars that did not seal properly, which were both using the reusable Tattler lids (I am still trying to gauge the right tightness when screwing the band on). All the pint jars with their metal lids sealed very well. Because of this, I had to consume first the ones that did not seal (rather than re-process two jars for 100 minutes again). But I let the flavors meld together first so that I shared one unsealed jar of sardines with my Nanay after three days. The other jar that did not seal is in the fridge, waiting for its glory day. I will get to try the bangus once I am done with these sardines.

Again, to review how to pressure can, this is a wonderful illustration:

An illustration of how to pressure can

Some notes on the principles of canning:
Headspace is necessary to allow for the expansion of the contents (usually liquids or sauce) as they boil during processing. If they boil over, it is important that the lid is tightly placed enough so that air could escape, and maybe some liquid, but not solids which might hinder proper seal during cooling. (It is quite problematic to have boil overs involving oil, because then, it makes the rubber seal slippery, and might prevent proper seal.) Most organisms will thrive if given air, that is why it is important to release trapped bubbles, and the escape of air during processing is also vitally important. The resulting lack of air is what we call "vacuum, " and upon cooling down, the contents contract in volume and the vacuum sucks in the lid, creating an effective seal. That lack of air and effective seal that prevents outside air to re-enter is what keeps the good quality of canned foods. The organism that CAN THRIVE IN LACK OF AIR in such canned foods is Botulinum, which may cause botulism if the food is not processed properly, like contamination with dirt, or not enough temperature and/or time to process such that the spores still thrive after processing. Safe canning process includes re-processing those that did not seal properly, or placing them in the fridge and consumed immediately if not reprocessed. If you are observing proper canning, you should not open these sealed jars and add unprocessed contents then seal while hot or even while warm. Not all canned foods in jars whose lids popped in are safe just because they popped in and had a vacuum. More important is the clean and sterile technique, from packing to processing that is done in one smooth flow with minimal interruption. If your canned foods had lids that popped in then later on spoiled, most likely the problem was in the non-sterile or unclean method of canning, or not observing proper processing methods and time.

Let the jars cool. Test for proper seal after 24 hours using the lid-lift test. If not properly sealed, use new lids and reprocess. Otherwise, keep them in the fridge and consumed within two weeks. Let at least 3 days pass before consuming for the flavors to infuse the fish well.

The above brining time with a 20% salt solution gave a saltiness that was just right for my taste buds. However, 3 days was not enough for the red pepper flakes to have an effect. Either that, or I should have used more.

You plan to sell these? Check first with your local town and state laws on how to, and familiarize yourself with safe canning practices as found in the books mentioned above. I would observe by the end of one year how good this canning method is.

Tattler Reusable Canning Lids and Rubber Rings - a Product Review

2011-11-14T23:24:00.001-05:00

Lid lifting test for seal

This summer of 2011 was quite a canning experience for me. For one thing, I have completed the basic necessary tool set for canning, as I have purchased a pressure canner, Presto, which has enabled me to try to can ANYTHING. I still used the boiling water bath (BWB) canner where applicable. After telling my husband that I am now really getting into canning, his eyes lit up, and ordered a pallete of 900 quart jars (that was not a typo, it was really 900 jars) and two bulk boxes of Tattler reusable canning lids and rubber rings (that's a total of 576).

Seeing this summer of abundant produce as an opportunity to test how good these reusable lids and
rubber rings are, I used them, opened some jars, and reused them. I used them both in BWB and in pressure canners. My observations are as follows:

1) Those processed using BWB, the lids were easy-peasy.
2) Those processed using pressure canner, I had varying results. Probably depending on the viscosity of the liquid, or the headspace, or how tight or how loose I closed the bands...sigh...some sealed and popped in okay. Some did not seal at all (probably boil overs are responsible so I needed to increase the headspace on reprocessing), some sealed but lids did not pop in (questionable complete removal of air).
3) In some reused lids, they did fine still. But I recently found a jar that I canned that seemed to seal but the lid remained popped up, which, to my dismay, remained popped up after opening and washing. You see, I thought the reason it was popped up prior to opening despite a good seal was that I tightened too much that the air had a hard time escaping, so that the increase in temp and volume only pushed the lid up more than it pushed the air out through the rubber ring. I expected the lid to get back to its original shape after pressure equilibrium is achieved upon opening the jar. It did not.

Click on the photo to read the labels...

Comparing the popped up used lid, the depressed used and unused lids

Now I am thinking, if I reuse this particular lid, I would not have the popping in of lid as a visual cue that the processing created a vacuum (removal of air is a key factor that is responsible in keeping the quality of the canned food. Vacuum is lack of air. Vacuum is created by pushing the air in the headspace out during the increase in temperature, either by BWB or pressure canner. Lowering temp then contracts the volume, so the vacuum created sucks in the lid, and seals the jar.) I do not know if vacuum produced in processing will have enough strength to suck in this popped up lid if I reuse it. The only gauge I will have will be the lid-lift test 24-48 hrs after processing.

Well, there really is no other option for reusable canning lids/rubber rings, I guess, and I still have several hundreds of unused reusable lids/rings that I am stuck with. Other than that freaky lid, it seems that most users are completely satisfied (although I know that the survivalblog author spent some time getting used to the Tattler lids as he also had varying degrees of unsuccessful outcomes like I had). Maybe with practice I will get better in time.

Canning: Tomato Soup

2011-11-10T00:44:00.009-05:00

Homemade Tomato Soup

My SIL sent a pint of her home-canned tomato soup. The recipe was shared by her friend. She was planning to sell it, so she eliminated the addition of cream at the end to lessen the possibility of ending up with high pH. I liked it, so I also tried to make my own. However, I used much less of the chicken broth, so that I would not have to simmer for a long time to reduce the volume and thicken the soup. I did make up for the less chicken broth by including the chicken meat I had (about 1/2 cup in 1 qt of my homemade chicken broth). I still ended up with a pH of 4.15, which is still way below that is generally required of canned veggies (4.5) and since this is tomato based, my pH is even much lower than the allowable pH for tomatoes (4.7). This meant that I could process this in a boiling water bath canner instead of the pressure canner. Well, that is my theory. If anyone would like to try this recipe to can, do it at your own risk. This is an experimental phase for me, and this trial canning will provide me with a chance to observe whether my theory will be good, IF a jar of this is not spoiled and still good to eat by the end of a whole year (provided it is stored in a dark, cool place like a cellar.). So, blogging about my recipe here is not about encouraging my readers to try this for canning purposes, but rather for me to serve as notes on canning (the same way I take notes of my cooking/baking experiments). The thing about experimenting with canning is, the real test is at the end of its supposed shelf-life, which is usually one year (if it lasts more than that, the better). Only by the end of a whole year will I be able to make a conclusion on whether the recipe and method is a keeper or not. So, I should re-visit this post one year from now and make updates.

This does not taste at all like the store-bought tomato soup in cans. It actually has a taste closer to that of a spaghetti sauce, but the taste added by my homemade chicken broth somehow made it taste more like Filipinized version, that's why I loved it. I bet this would be a great soup to sip in the morning while munching on hot pandesal.

Tools Needed:

Ingredients:

10 pounds tomatoes
10 medium onions
30 cloves garlic, peeled
4 green bell pepper, cored and seeds removed
1/3 cup olive oil
1 qt chicken broth (with meat bits)
salt and pepper to taste
dried herb spices (I used 3 pinches crushed rosemary, 1 tbsp crushed basil, 1 tbsp parsley flakes)
3 tbsp sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 °F.

Place tomatoes in deep pans. Peel the onions and place in pans as well. Cut the green peppers in half and place in pans cut side down. Scatter the garlic cloves into these pans. Drizzle the olive oil onto the veggies. Roast for 30 minutes.

After roasting, squeeze out excess juice and run the tomatoes through a vegetable strainer or food mill. Place the tomato juice/sauce into a big stock pot and set aside.

Place all other veggies in a big stainless steel stock pot, add the chicken broth, and puree using an immersion blender. Pour this into the stockpot of tomato juice/sauce and blend well. Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix in the dried herb spices and sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, while sterilizing the jars and boiling the water to submerge the lids in.

Ladle the hot soup into the sterile jars. Wipe rim of jar. Adjust lids and bands. Process for 30 minutes in a boiling water canner. When ready to serve, re-heat. Add cream as desired, and sprinkle crushed crackers on top. Or you can add shredded sharp cheddar cheese and enjoy with toasted garlic bread instead. Very good and healthy light lunch/supper.

Carrot Cake

2011-11-07T01:01:00.002-05:00

Have a slice!

It was my first time (can you imagine???) making carrot cake. My fb friend Venus shared her recipe with me, describing it as moist. I made this for the first time because I was able to harvest tons of carrots this summer! And true to her promise, this recipe is so moist and good, my older son was saying even without the frosting it would still be good!

I had fun decorating!

For the icing, I used the recipe for cream cheese frosting in pumpkin whoopie pies because I did not have lemon on hand. I used Wilton food coloring (the ones that come in small tubs), placed some of the icing in a ziploc bag to pipe out the "carrots" and the "leaves." I had to mark first where I would make the slices and placed a "carrot" on the top of each slice. I had more of the colored icing so I added "carrots" to the sides as well.

Venus posted her recipe and share with us fb friends, with the amounts in terms of weight. I converted them to the most convenient/closest volume measurements and came up with the following:

Ingredients:

Cake --
2 &; 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 & 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 & 1/2 sticks (1&1/2 cups) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup white sugar (you may opt to use less if you find this too sweet especially with the addition of the icing)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups grated carrots1 cup chopped dates/raisin (I used dates - they are also sweet)
1 cup crushed almonds/cashew/pecans/peanuts (I used almonds)

Cream Cheese Frosting --

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.Lightly butter a 13"x9"x2" baking pan. Line with waxpapaer.Set aside.Using electric mixer, beat butter and the two sugars in a large bowl until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add to sugar mixture. Add carrots, dates, and almonds. Beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 45 minutes or until done. Cool and prepare frosting.

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Frost the cake when completely cooled. Leave some icing for the "carrots."

Add enough food coloring to achieve the desired color for the carrot tubers and to the leaves. Have fun decorating, and ENJOY eating!

Canning: Tomato Jam

2011-11-05T07:59:00.000-04:00

My very first batch

For this summer, we had a whole row planted with 10 tomatoes. As a result, I got tons of tomatoes from my garden this year. In the past, I usually would just can them as "Whole, Packed Raw" to be used in lasagna (which takes centerstage during birthdays) or I would open a jar and use a little bit at a time for sauteeing purposes. Well, I probably got triple or quadruple this year, so I thought I'd find something else to make.

One fb follower asked me if I knew how to make tomato jam. She said she should have paid attention to her HE class. That got me into searching for a recipe so that I could use up the tons of extra tomatoes I had. And I found this recipe from Food in Jars blog that had so many rave reviews, so I decided to try. Lo and behold, my husband who is not a great fan of tomatoes tasted it and loved it, even eating it by itself, and he has since used that for ham when we have it for supper. My sons and I have tried it on broiled fish and meat loaf. My Nanay also liked it.

I even shared the recipe to my friend, Cecilia, whose American hubby also liked it so well he even flavored his rice with this tomato jam. I let my SIL taste it (she is another one who does not like tomatoes, just like my hubby), and she agreed it has the potential to sell. (She sells home canned pickles, jams, and jellies to corner stores, which act as middlemen to sell these goods to the bigger stores. She agreed to sell my stuff, and proceeded to send a small jar to the USDA office for testing to include it in her license. It passed. I have delivered to my SIL 9 cases of them (I had to leave 1&1/2 case for myself for Christmas gift-giving.)

I found it better to adjust the amounts when making them so that I save more time and gas/energy by cooking more per batch, and the below amount makes for a good start in boiling the mixture down. By the time I make another batch using the below recipe, I just add that to the first, then when ready for canning, I can make a whole case of 8-oz jars, which all fit in my steamer canner for processing. I was not too worried about steamer canner versus boiling water canner, because this particular recipe gets in sterilized jars right after cooking for several hours (so I am not worried about microorganisms surviving the cooking time), and the final pH after stabilizing (room temp) was tested also by the licensing body here and came out to be 3.5 (the cutoff was 4.56 generally, and even higher, I think up to 4.7 for tomato products for commercial licensees). So this tomato jam had very good acidity, that I have no doubt it will still be safe even without processing, as long as sterile technique is applied in every step.

For Filipinos in the Philippines who have lots of tomatoes and time and manpower, this will be a good way to market them. Here in the US, I have found jars that looked attractive (see in the slide) which actually were made in China. I am sure if you asked around in Divisoria you will be able to find such jars suitable for canning. For myself, I am not sure if I will have the same enthusiasm next year to make this. Having worked in a good-paying job, I tend to compare how much I can make out of this per hour. Taking into consideration the cost of other ingredients, the time I consume prepping and cooking and canning, I don't feel it's worth it. But if I were jobless...it would be a different story. Hence, I am sharing here my experience in case any of my readers would consider canning as another viable option for livelihood if and when laid off from a job. For those considering canning for business (especially now with the growing movement of people demanding organic products and less processed food items), I would suggest the simplest and easiest and quite in-demand: pickled cucumbers. It would be nice if the uniquely Filipino produce like our delicious fruits picked at the peak of ripeness would be canned and exported to countries where Pinoy expats as well as foreigners open to new things will be able to enjoy them.

Ingredients:
10 lbs tomatoes, chopped roughly
7 cups sugar
1 cup lime or lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves

Instructions:

The sheeting test --

1st stage

2nd stage

3rd stage

Mix every thing in a big stock pot and simmer, occasionally stirring to prevent scorching. After about 4 hours or so (depends on how much you have, how strong your heat is, and how wide your stock pot is, since the wider pot will allow for faster evaporation), or when the mixture has achieved the sheeting stage, transfer in sterile jars, wipe lids and rims with wet paper towel, adjust lids, and process for 20 minutes. (I usually wash the jars an hour before the mixture is ready for canning, then sterilize them in my steamer for 30 minutes on at least 180°F temp. I also boil water then dump this onto the clean lids just before ladling the mixture into the jars.)

Reader's Photo Gallery #20

2011-11-03T23:52:00.001-04:00

Some of the photos below were sent to me as early as May of this year. My apologies for being late in posting these photos.!

Thanks for my readers who shared their photos of the recipes from my kusina that they tried and loved, and took the time to share with me their experience and photos! Much love to you, mga kapatid!

From Aimee T. sent on May 25, 2011:

Mini-Choco Flan Cake

Choco Flan Cake

Her email --

Hi Manang,

Iwould like to say Hi to you and your family. I tried to bake one of your recipeand it was so delicious and I am so pleased and happy with the result. Thank you for sharing all the good recipe that you have had. I would likeyou to know that I am enjoying your websites too. I attach the one that I bakeyesterday.

Mynext Recipe to make would be the chiffon cake with custard on top. Thank you somuch for sharing. God bless you and your family.

Then the following was from Marlin sent from the period of Sept 16-21, 2011:

Choco Flan Cake

Birthday Girl

Mamon

Sesame Ginger Beef Stir-Fry

Her emails --

Hi Manang- I tried your choco-flan cake for my daughter's 5th bday today, I made it yesterday following your step by step instructions, and just want to tell you that it is super duper yummy, and easy to make, thanks for sharing the recipe, now I have added this to my collection, God Bless- Marlin

and another --

Hello Manang- I made your mamon mala- Goldilocks, and this is the second attempt and I finally made it perfect, although I thought I dusted my molds with flour, eh coffee creamer pala ang nakuha ko, but it turned out okay pa rin, and taste was sooooo good, hubby said that it is not too sweet, so I want to thank you again. And as I type this, I am getting the Sesame ginger beef stir fry, I am on a roll, again salamat and more power to you and Lord bless!!!

and another --

Hello again Manang- here is the Sesame Ginger Beef Stir fry and is soo good and easy to make, again... Million thanks to you!!

Next photos were sent by Isabel on October 5, 2011:

Empanada de kaliskis

Lenguas de Gato

Her email --

Hi Manang,

Good day!!!!!
Thank you po ng marami sa mga shared recipes mo. my family really do like and love it esp. the legua d gato and empanada.
Still trying to find time to try some of your recipe esp. the siakoy...been looking for that recipe long long time ago hehehehheheh!!!
check mo po manang ang attachment ko for my finished product of legua d gato and empanada.

Maraming pong salamat,
Isabel

And lastly, the following photos were sent by ella11 just today!

Her email --

hello manang!!kumusta po?!got a quick question about the super soft ensaymada.pwede po ba ako gumamit ng potato flour pang substitute sa mashed potato?isf so how much po sa tingin nyo?btw have some pics po galign sa mga recipes nyo na na try ko po.pardon the poor quality of pics at hindi po professional lol :D isa po sa plato ng hopia is ube forgot which one :D maraming maraming salamat sa mga recipes nyo and more power to you!:)

ella11

Again, thank you so much. These emails and photos will further encourage the skeptics, and the newbie ones who are quite afraid to just go ahead and do it. :)

Pumpkin Carving 2011

2011-10-31T02:00:00.000-04:00

From L to R: Ben's, mine, and Patrick's

It's that time of the year again, when my children and I bring in the huge pumpkins from the porch so we could carve out Halloween themes on them.

Our pumpkins

I selected these pumpkins from Hannaford grocery store probably a month ago, along with a new pumpkin carving kit (so that this time we had two sets of kits to work with). It's the fourth year that we have been doing this, and so now it has become a tradition. I have been getting the kits only in the most recent years, though. The kit enabled use to make more complicated and pretty patterns.

working on our pumpkins

We had to pause for the photo.

After we were done, we lit them and placed them out on the porch. Hopefully, they will still be firm by tomorrow night.

I gathered the seeds and brined them, to try roasting them later. The cut out flesh, I also gathered, peeled, boiled, and mashed, because I promised the boys I would make pumpkin whoopie pies that they can have for breakfast tomorrow.

Peach Cobbler using Canned Peaches

2011-10-21T17:11:00.002-04:00

Peach cobbler

One day this summer, after I gathered several cukes to can, my in-laws arrived with a bushel of tree-ripened peaches. I was not prepared to can them that day, because I had to work the next day, and was thinking of canning pickles instead. So my mind was racing. They were actually offering me two bushels (3 went to my SIL already), but I had to decline since one bushel was all I could possibly handle late that day. So I was panicking thinking that we were having (a big and hearty) supper and how I would be able to can these peaches in the remaining time and still get enough sleep to go to work the next day. My in-laws were sensitive enough to call me to say they were coming over after supper to help can these peaches. I was relieved, because I had no prior experience on how to can them. We had an assembly line consisting of my two sons, my husband (they were peeling the blanched peaches), my FIL (who did the blanching), my MIL (who cut the peaches in halves) while I placed them in jars, adjusted lids and seals, and processed them in the boiling water canner. Done in three hours.

My canned peaches

Now my storage is boasting of these brightly colored jars of tree-ripened peaches, and while we have enjoyed them plain, I thought I'd try using these canned peaches for peach cobbler. (One would usually see fresh peaches in the recipes.)

Butter, batter, and peaches before baking

I followed a simple but marvelous recipe from myrecipes.com but made the necessary changes using my canned peaches, and also adding a hint of almond extract.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
For the batter ~~
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
For the filling~~
1 qt canned peaches, drained
3/4 cup sugar, made wet with 2-3 tbsp of peach juice drained
1 tbsp lemon
1 capful almond extract
sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg per preference

Right after baking

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut the butter into small pieces and lay on 9x13 pan. Place in the oven and pre-heat to 375°F. Meanwhile, measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Boil peaches with sugar and almond extract while stirring gently. When butter is completely melted in the pan, remove from the oven and add the milk to the dry ingredients of batter until just moistened, then pour slowly into the melted butter without stirring. When peaches/sugar mixture has boiled, spoon over the batter carefully. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

The goodness of tree-ripened peaches was captured!

Upon taking it out of the oven, the juice will still be boiling. Let it cool down for at least 5 minutes. Serve this warm (or cool per your preference). Can be enjoyed with vanilla ice cream.

My sons could not have enough! I am glad I had ~20 jars of these peaches...that and my canned apples will be rotating for fruity desserts for the whole year.

Stuffed Shells with Pasta Sauce

2011-10-20T23:41:00.004-04:00

After I canned spaghetti sauce without meat, I noted that there were two containers of cocktail tomatoes that I got from Backyard Farms during their Open House which I forgot to include in the batch for processing. And so I thought I'd make a sauce out of it and use it for our meal the next day. There was probably about 2 lb of them. And just like how I made my spaghetti sauce, I roasted them then strained and boiled until reduced to half the original volume. Meanwhile, I chopped 3 cloves garlic, 2 medium onions, and a stalk of celery. I sauteed these in some (home-canned and -rendered leaf) lard, then added the tomato sauce, some salt and pepper to taste, basil and oregano to taste. I also boiled a whole box of jumbo macaroni shells (I should have boiled only half of it because I ended up with a lot of leftover shells.) until al dente, then rinsed right away with cold water to stop cooking.

My son's hands were shaking
when he took the photo

Then I mixed 1 lb pre-cooked ground beef (only added salt and pepper to it then I let it cool down) with 8 oz softened cream cheese, 1 egg, chopped red and green bell peppers (half each), salt and pepper to taste. I used a big cookie scoop to stuff the macaroni shells with this mixture.

Close up

I pre-heated the oven to 350°F. I placed a thin layer of the pasta sauce on a 9x13 pan the placed a layer of stuffed shells on top. I spooned some more pasta sauce atop the shells, and baked this for 30 minutes, adding grated cheddar cheese right after taking out of the oven. I served this with garlic toasted bread and Parmesan cheese on the side.

Hit with everyone!

Canning: Spaghetti Sauce without Meat

2011-10-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

Spaghetti Sauce without Meat

After dealing with tomatoes from my garden (took me several weeks to finally use them up!), my friend who works at Backyard Farms Tomatoes (a big greenhouse here in Maine that uses hi-tech to produce wonderful tomatoes picked at the peak of ripeness year-round) gave my mom several more boxes of these (those are three boxes stacked together). While I made spicy tomato jams (for selling by my SIL) with my own tomatoes, these ones I turned to Spaghetti Sauce without Meat.

Tomatoes from Backyard Farms

I used the recipe from USDA's book on canning, which is also available online here. However, I deviated from the method (because I read in a foodblog) in that I roasted the tomatoes in the oven to get the skins to split so they would be easy to remove. It saves time too. I roasted 30 pounds of tomatoes in 45 minutes, then squeezed out the juice and most of the seeds and water before running them through the strainer. (Using the traditional method of blanching for 30 seconds then dipping in cold water then removing the skins, coring and seeding, it would have taken me the whole day for just those.

Tomatoes after roasting.

I got the courage to try again making spaghetti sauce this year when I finally ordered this vegetable strainer, an attachment to my old reliable Kitchen Aid mixer, which made it easier to remove skins and seeds. (In my second year of canning, the time I spent using the old-style food mill, I got discouraged to make spaghetti sauce again. On top of that, because it needed constant stirring, I would get it burnt, and the whole batch would taste awful!)

The whole food strainer attachment

By removing much of the seeds and water, I came up with juice that had a consistency close to that of tomato sauce. (I kept the juice that I squeezed out in a separate container and later canned that as well, or used in escabeche sauce or sweet chili sauce.)

The seeds and peel come out like sausages

I went ahead in boiling the tomato juice to reduce the volume. While doing that, I prepared the other ingredients, being careful not to add more than what is asked for in the recipe for the fresh veggies. I did add more of the dry spices (I read somewhere that such dehydrated foods is less risky to increase in the recipes because they do not tend to increase the pH/alkalinity of the product, which would tend increase the likelihood of microbial growth. In sauteeing, I also used my very own rendered leaf lard (in case you tend to say, "Ewe!," pork leaf lard, especially coming from family-bred pigs, are very much coveted by chefs, and are very pricey. Try to google leaf lard and see for yourself.)

Sauteeing the other veggies

And as I mentioned above, making spaghetti sauce needed constant stirring. One gadget that encouraged me was this Ardente Stirrer, which just recently (this year) came out. (I remember I tried to look for a stirrer just a few months ago and all I could see was the Robo stirrer that just sort of vibrated on the pan to "stir."). This gadget was run by 4 C batteries, which I changed after two whole days of using them for reducing tomato volume. It does a pretty good job. I only had to check every hour or so to see how low the volume was. I had no scorching of the bottom of the pot. Only negative was, the handles eventually curved upward (maybe because of the plastic heating up with all the steam) that it failed to keep itself "holding on" to the handles as it stirred. Hence, I tied them up with the string.

Ardente Automatic Stirrer

Ladled into hot sterile jars, I kept them hot by keeping the jars on my steamer. This is to avoid shocking them in the high heat of pressure canning.

Ladling into hot jars

I was able to come up with total of 5 quarts instead of 9 pints (equivalent to 4&1/2 quarts).

One inch headspace

I then pressure-canned for 15 mins at 11 PSI (pounds per square inch) in accordance with Table 1 in the guideline. As you can see, mine is a dial-gauge. My husband was very kind to setup a propane burner out in our small garage so I don't tie up my stove while I process my jars in the canner.

In case you want to have a better idea of how to pressure can, this illustration from the same USDA site gives one a good idea.

My older son was excited to try the spaghetti sauce, so that he made meatballs from scratch (I asked him to look up the recipe, but he said, "I'll just wing it." That Tuesday night I came home from work, my two sons have prepared spaghetti and meatballs for supper. It was so gratifying! I felt so proud of my sons!

This canning post aims to introduce my readers to ideas on canning. A book and/or a DVD are available from the USDA website for those interested in learning how to can.

I just got a nasty comment by a certain Anonymous who chose to hide her identity. She probably thought I would stop posting in my foodblog if she discourages me enough. She claims to have tried 3 recipes of mine and said "nothing came out good." I'd say good riddance. As long as I have people who thank me for sharing my recipes, and share encouraging stories/photos of their own, whether on recipes I have here, or recipes they came up with because I inspired them, I will keep posting here. So, Anonymous, sorry to disappoint you, but you can't let me down with that lame comment of yours. I have had worse events in my life that I had to deal with and came out a winner (I don't always win, but I bow out gracefully when I am defeated). So here I am with another post. Dedicated to you. May you someday learn the skills to be a good cook or baker. Then maybe someday you will also be able to share your skills to the world. Be forewarned, though, that this post is not for the inexperienced nor one who does not have a good grasp of science behind cooking. One would also need lots of patience and perseverance for this project.

I made OILY Salted Eggs!

2011-10-15T21:31:00.001-04:00

Camote tops, tomatoes and salted eggs

I remember when I first made a post on Itlog na Maalat, a reader asked me how to make them as oily as the ones commercially available. Well, I had no idea, and the possible answers I offered were: (1) maybe the kind of egg (duck eggs) made the difference, or (2) maybe the use of salted clay instead of brine.

The one on the left was oily

I tried to use duck eggs once (a house in the neighborhood sold a dozen duck eggs for $3). Those eggs were huge and the shells tougher/thicker! But I used the brine method, and I did not come up with oily salted eggs.

And the one on the right was oily too!

Quite accidentally, this time, I made ones (I made a dozen) that were all oily. I used our home-raised chicken-laid eggs(and I prepare them within 3 days after being laid). I still used the brine method. So what did I do differently this time?

Well, instead of boiling, I cooked these in a steamer (to avoid cracking the shells) for 30 minutes. To further test whether that was what made them oily, I now have three more batches of eggs in brine. I can test my hypothesis at the end of this month and see if I will consistently produce such oily eggs. I will also try cooking one batch in less time to see if the yolks would not be quite dark.

Tasted EGGcellent as usual!

UPDATE 10/20/11: Betty (a reader) emailed me and said the longer time of brining (one month, which was what I did with this batch), makes the egg oily.

Canning: Apple Pie Filling

2011-10-09T20:34:00.000-04:00

Apple Pie Filling Ready to Sell

This is my first time to can apple pie filling. Well, first year, that is. The above photo is my 4th trial this year. I seem to have finally found the right method to can them.

I was not really planning on selling them. But last month, when I was canning tomatoes and tried a spicy hot tomato jam, I gave a sample to my SIL, whose business is to sell her home canned goods to various local stores (mainly convenience stores). Most of her products are pickled cucumbers (bread and butter, dill, and sour mustard). After she tried the tomato jam, I asked her if she thinks she could sell those as well. Her answer was positive. I thought I'd make these tomato jams to use up my abundant supply of tomatoes (I had enough whole tomatoes packed and set aside in my pantry to last a year and beyond). She actually immediately ordered some from me, and when I brought these to her house along with a 4-oz jar for submission to USDA office for testing, I also brought a jar of my first batch of apple pie filling that I made out of the apples that my mother and friend Cecilia picked from the orchard (we could not finish the half-bushel she brought home, so I thought I'd try to can them before they become bad). She and her husband were excited to see the apple pie filling, and said, "This is beautiful! They are going to sell for sure!" I had to clarify to them that it was a personal use-only apple pie filling and that I was giving one for them to try. But that gave me the idea of perfecting this home-made product for selling. I am also looking at selling on etsy.

My favorite apples to use for pies is Cortland. Some sites do not recommend using Cortland for this purpose because "they turn to mush." In my experience, they never turn to mush. Maybe the prep has a lot to do with it.

In any case, having the above thought of home canning apple pie filling for commercial purposes, I made a plan to make a trip to the North Star Orchards for pick-your-own apples. Two weeks ago, as I was offering my pickles to my co-workers, the unit sec asked me if I could teach her to can. I offered for her to go apple picking with me and I would teach her how to can apple pie filling. She agreed.

Nanay went apple picking with me

This week is the time Cortlands are available. My favorite timing of canning fruits is when they are freshly picked. Or at least I can them within 3 days from picking. So after picking the apples, we headed to my house and I taught my co-worker how to can apple pie fillings. I inserted tips and rules on canning safety. I left her to decide on spices and the sweetness. Except for some changes in the spice and using cider instead of apple juice, we used the recipe from USDA's National Center for Home Food Preservation website (without food coloring). I also left out the lemon because using all apple cider instead of water was enough to give me low pH. I tested with a pH meter -- the sauce part was 3.97, and the blenderized apple slices was 4.19. Food safety requires pH value less than or equal to 4.6. Since I was thinking of selling canned goods, I got myself a pH meter. I thought it was a wise investment, especially if I would try my own recipes to can.

Tools that helped me go through a whole bushel in one day producing 28 quarts include:
Steamer (for sterilizing jars)
Canning kit (with bubbler/picker, jar lifter, and wide-mouth funnel)
Apple slicer/corer/peeler
Stainless steel stockpots
Stainless steel ladle
Water bath canner
My sons and Nanay

As for my method, instead of submerging the slices in citric acid solution to avoid browning (I don't care about browning; my jars still looked very appealing!), I set aside some sugar-spices mixture to sprinkle to the slices for every 3-4 apples sliced. The sugar draws out moisture from the slices, making them shrink a bit, and as a result, they become more flexible and they do not break easily while packing tightly in the jars. As a result also, they still turn out crunchy instead of mushy even after processing in a water bath AND then baking. Other than this, I pretty much followed the instructions.

Apple crisp

I usually would end up with some slices that are not enough to fill a quart, so I would use that for apple crisp.

All natural, all fresh ingredients

I plan to sell these.

Out of a bushel, I was able to make 28 quarts (4 batches in the canner) today. I am definitely in a canning frenzy this year, and I enjoy it tremendously! I am hoping to teach canning to my sister in the Philippines when I get the chance to visit. I will look for fresh fruits in season that I can preserve.

Now if only more Filipinos in the Philippines would want to do this as a homebusiness. Can you envision making our favorite fruits and veggies available to the Filipinos abroad, and to the global market? (My husband was quite surprised at how good freshly picked sun-ripened mangoes in the Philippines was. Much better than peaches.) I would presume that our lowly aratiles, which I used to munch on when I was a child, would be better than blueberry or raspberry jam.

Now if only someone would share their knowledge on how to make the Spanish-style bangus sardines to me, I'd be happy. I will make my own to stock in my pantry.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates

2011-10-02T22:11:00.000-04:00

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a package of these Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates in a variety of cacao percentages: the 72% Cacao Twilight Delight, the 86% Midnight Reverie, and the Sea Salt Soiree.

With excitement I bought the suggested pairings for them, but I tried them first plain, and let my husband and sons try them as well. We all agreed...they were so smooth and rich, one thin block would be enough to satisfy your craving.

I liked the pairings with nuts, particularly the roasted peanuts and macadamia nuts (I even tried the suggested BBQ chips) as suggested by the booklet that came with them. (I do not drink alcohol, and nobody does in the family, so wine pairing was out of the picture.)

I must say that dark chocolates and nuts go well together, so much so that I liked the Sea Salt Soiree by itself. I did try to neutralize the intense flavor with the mellow ginger gold apple.

But when my son tried to make S'mores out of them the next night, it was like a light bulb! I tried them as well, and I must say it was probably the perfect way to enjoy them Intense Dark Chocolates by Ghirardelli.

I do know that someday (after I am done with all the canning as I welcome the fall season), I will bake something that uses Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates...maybe something like Chocolate Whoopie Pies or Molten Lava Cake.

Sayote Series Part 1. Growing Sayote

2011-09-23T01:54:00.000-04:00

Sayote plants needing a strong and tall trellis

My Nanay got so excited with planting all the tropical veggies when it finally sunk in her system that we do grow our own food here at least during the summer....potatoes, some onions, sweet corn, cucumbers, beans, etc. When we got some sayote (Squash Chayote is how it is labeled in the grocery store here), we found some shoots, and my Nanay's eyes lit up. "Let's plant this!"

Sayote shoots already present

It was around April, and here in Maine April is still too cold for any tropical plant to be placed outside. I was looking at my Nanay thinking, "It would be easier to just get them from the grocery store since it might be too late to start the plant now." However, I did not want to dampen the excitement I saw in my Nanay's eyes. We just got some free seedlings of ampalaya (bitter gourd) and alugbati (Malabar spinach) that my friend Anna started, which my Nanay excitedly planted in pots and in the big veggie garden. So, to humor my mom, I did plant the sayote in a pot (I made two) and kept them in the sunroom. By the time it was safe to transplant outside (after Memorial Day, when the danger of frost is usually over), it was over a foot tall. I placed a tomato cage around it then.

sayote shoots

I should have read more about sayote plant before I even transplanted those that I planted this year. Sayote plant can be very invasive. They need sturdy support like chicken wire perhaps, preferably about at least 5-ft high. Another issue is that, it takes a long time for them to bloom, such that the whole summer period here, all I got from my plants are the shoots/tops. Never saw a flower. That was the reason why I ended up googling for ways to cook its shoots. And I am glad an fb friend told me sayote leaves could be eaten, because when I actually tried, I loved it!

It has been months now...no signs of buds/flowers. By the end of September, it will be very cold already, and most plants will be dead or will barely survive if frost hits them. I was getting hopeless about getting fruits (I was dreaming, if indeed we get sayote fruits from these, then I would freeze them.). Then when I posted photos of my veggies in the garden, a fb friend told me the shoots of sayote are good stir-fried. I heard the same thing from my Nanay, although I have never had that before. I did try it for the first time with shrimps, and I was hooked! It was so good!

So at least for now, my sayote will be for cooking the shoots. I got two more sayote from the grocery store, which I plan to plant indoor to hopefully have a continuous supply of shoots (if I consume them fast enough before it takes over my whole sunroom, since they are very invasive and will climb on anything, apparently).

I planted the sayote in a pot about 2-gallon capacity, then I placed some wire support (you can use tomato cage. I used here the wire basket that came with the upside down tomato planter). This photo was taken tonight as I type this post. I am hoping that planting it during fall will give me flowers by May, and hopefully some fruits by July or August, which I can probably figure out a way to can for future use. (Canning produce makes the shelf life of such garden veggies longer, so it is cost-effective for me, not to mention I love knowing where my food comes from and how they were cared for.)

Shoot of sayote

Ginataang Alimasag (Rock Crabs in Coconut Milk)

2011-09-16T23:48:00.004-04:00

Ginataang Alimasag (Alimango)

I have never seen crabs being sold here in my area. The first time I had crabs since I came to the USA was when my friend Cecilia gave me some, which she and and husband caught. That was back in 2009, I believe.

Since I started harvesting pole beans (sitaw), I have been daydreaming about eating ginataang alimasag with squash, sitaw, and pechay (bok choy). This morning as I was grocery shopping for more items for canning pickles, I got a butternut squash, thinking I might as well get shrimps to replace the alimasag in my craving. However, as I passed by the seafood area and happened to read the small note where the lobsters were, this was what I read: ROCK CRABS for $2.99/lb. I looked closer at the aquarium for the lobsters, and there I saw 3 crabs! Hah! I asked for 3 lbs of them, and the vendor told me that she was not sure if there were enough to reach 3 lbs. I told her I'd get all that she got. Turned out that she had only those 3 that I saw. Total weight was 3.66 lbs.

I hurriedly drove off, imagining the sequence of prepping the crabs, hoping they would still be alive when I get home. Which they were.

Uncooked crabs

Ingredients:
3 rock crabs (almost 4 lbs)
onions (I used 3 small ones)
2 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1 qt (4 cups) water or more
2 cups chunks of squash
1 can premium coconut milk (I use the Thai brand)
around 10 pole beans, cut short
1 bunch pechay (bok choy), cut in bite-size pieces
salt and pepper
dash of ground basil leaves (optional)
Note: You do NOT have to peel the squash. However tough the skin seems to be, once cooked, it is very tender (not to mention the extra fiber and nutrients you get from it). Butternut squash cut in chunks only takes 10 minutes to cook, if you do not like it to turn into puree. If you cook it for 15 minutes, you might not end up with chunks in your dish, which is fine if you prefer such, just like my sister in Canada does.

Instructions:
Keep the crabs in some cold water while boiling the water with onions and ginger. While waiting for the water to boil, cut the squash. Once boiling briskly, place the crabs in the water and cover. Cook for 5 minutes while cutting the other veggies and add the squash. Cook for another 5 minutes and add sitaw and bok choy stems, some salt and pepper, and the coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for additional 5 minutes, then add the leafy parts of the bok choy, a dash of ground basil leaves, and cook further until the leaves are wilted. Total cooking time for this was less than 30 minutes total. Enjoy with plain rice. Best eaten with another Filipino. (My hubby does not eat crustaceans like shrimps, lobsters or crabs, because these remind him of insects. The rest of his family loves crustaceans.)

Enjoy with plain rice!

Reader's Photo Gallery #19

2011-09-02T00:33:00.001-04:00

AS usual, I am very late in featuring my readers' photos here...I had to dig them up to post them here.

First, thanks to Joan C who emailed me on March 22, 2011:

from Joan C.

Thank u so much…it’s always nice reading ur foodblogs…it helps me improve my kitchen ability…and helps me cooking ulam too..hehe you are a genius! GOD bless u!

And Adin of It's Sewtastic, Mama for her email dated April 13, 2011:

Ensaymada

Inday's baby enjoying ensaymada

Hello there Manang,

My name is Adin Blankenship and I am a Pinay in Kansas. I have been your follower for quite a long while now and the other day, the prego in me was craving for some really soft Ensaymada that I knew I can find the recipe in your website. I gave it a try using my new breadmaker and it turned out really well. It soft and moist and just delicious! Thank you so much! I have attached some photos of the ensaymada I made and my little boy who loves it a lot. He could not wait to eat them even the unbaked once. When I turned my back on him, he was trying to eat some of the unbaked dough and thought it was good. hahaha.. Silly kid!

Later on, I will be able to share it to my blog and have your link posted as well. My friends have been asking me of the recipe and I gave them your link because I know you would love for them to visit your site than just giving the recipe. :)

Thank you again,
Adin B

From Teresa's email dated June 25,

Dear Manang,

Thank you for sharing your recipe. It's easy to understand and follow . Texture and appearance-wise (in and out), the cupcakes came out perfectly nice; taste-wise, I guess, there's something missing, I just couldn't put my finger in it. I'll keep on tweaking it or continue researching and trying on other recipes and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks again,
Teresa
Orlando, Florida

From Reena who sent me an email on July 25th --

Hi Manang,
Thanks sa recipe ng hopia. This is the first trial of hopia :-)
My husband (Czech national) likes the hopia dough, super thanks po.

Actually, hindi na talaga ko makahintay na makapunta kami sa Asian Market.
Kaya ang ginamit ko na fillings ay 'kidney beans' in can, it has salt and sugar already pero syempre its more salty.

Anyway, i mashed it first and cooked with 1/2 cup of fresh milk, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk.

I really want to make it sweet kase salty un kidney beans.

Halo to the max for 30-45 minutes, hanggang maging dry...

Nkagawa naman ako... Next, i will use yellow mung beans (kase nka kita na ko sa Asian Market)

Thank you so much...

--

Regards,

Reena

And lastly from Jimema McA:

Hello Manang,
Nais kung magpasalamat sa mga reciping binahagi mo sa iyong blog site.People like you encourages me to keep trying in the kitchen.I tried two of your recipe's and both of them came out good.I'm also married to a very fussy American husband,and when I made the ensaymada he asked me if I can top one with butter,cinnamon and sugar. To my surprised he ate the whole piece of ensaymada.It was the size as a saucer plate. And the choco-flan cake is excellent.
Once again Thank you so much and I'll be checking your blog more often.

Jem

Chinese-Style Fried Donuts - Manang K's version

2011-08-10T00:05:00.007-04:00

Deep-fried donut balls

Nearby is a Chinese restaurant that my family visits once in a while when I am pressed for time to prepare supper or just plain lazy, or my sons crave the smorgasbord of foods. My husband always would get these deep fried donut balls, which I myself love....IF they are FRESHLY cooked. They are so good because they are so pillow-soft, yet springy to touch. Kind of chewy yet your teeth readily sink in them.

Then recalling an email from a reader (named Irene) who told me she loved my supersoft ensaymada recipe which she modified to include using tangzhong. And she asked whether I have tried tangzhong. Intrigued, I researched what it was. And when I did learn some about it, I made a mental note to use it sometime.

So when I had the urge to try to recreate at home these Chinese style deep fried donut balls, I thought about using tangzhong to see whether it would make the donut springy yet soft. And it did.

My family says my version is even better. So now after 3 batches of changing and trying variations in the recipe, here is my final recipe:

Ingredients & Instructions:

A: Tangzhong - made from 1/3 cup of bread flour mixed with 1 cup of whole milk, cooked on medium heat while constantly stirring. Use half of this mix for a batch of the donut mixture below. (Store the remaining in fridge and use up within 3 days).

B: Donut mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup tangzhong (about half of the above mix)
1 large egg
3 tbsp butter, cut up
2 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp milk powder (I use KAF)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bread machine yeast

Prepare dough as per your bread maker manufacturer's instruction (mine says to place liquid ingredients at room temp first in the pan, followed by the dry ingredients, with yeast as last to be placed on top of the dry ingredients.) Set on dough cycle.

Once dough is ready (after 1 and 1/2 hours), start heating up the oil for deep frying on medium heat. Place dough on a surface generously sprinkled with flour. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough as well. Flatten with a rolling pin. Use either a round biscuit cutter or donut cutter.

donut cutters

small donuts

larger donuts

C: Oil for deep frying (I use pork lard for deep frying any dough. The best!). You must have about 2 inches high to start with. Flatten the dough once more if you have to, before placing in the hot oil (you can try placing one first to see if oil is hot enough. Dough should be done on one side within two minutes ). Dough will puff up as the oil heats it up. Flip to cook the other side. Drain on wire rack and cool a bit.

D: Vanilla sugar for sprinkling(I have a quart jar of sugar with two pods of vanilla bean inside, and that has been sitting for several months now so that the sugar has imbibed the vanilla flavor). If you don't have this, plain sugar will do, or you might want to use cinnamon sugar instead.

Note: Special credit goes to Christine's Recipes for the idea on how to make the tangzhong and for the recipe on which I based mine on. I only changed the recipe after I got feedback from hubby that the first one was "too chewy but still soft" so instead of using bread flour, I tried the all purpose one, then changed the amounts of other ingredients. Now hubby says, "You got the consistency right this time." And my sons are saying, "It's official, Ma. Your donuts are better than those in ChinaTing."

Hibachi Steak House in NH

2011-07-23T22:46:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share about this restaurant.

Here in Maine there is a dearth of Japanese restaurants.

One time my husband and I spent 5 days in NH to celebrate our anniversary, and although he was not particularly fond of Asian cuisine, he agreed (in order to please me) to eat dinner at the Hibachi Steak House (it was just opposite Walmart in that part of NH).

We did not expect the show that chefs here perform to amuse their clients. We were seated around a stainless steel grill stovetop, along with other diners, and were entertained by the skills of the chef. My favorite part was the volcano part as shown at around 2:30 mins into the video. I videotaped it then using my cellphone and showed it to my sons. Since then, my sons have been wanting to go there as well to see it live. This particular video was taken using my iPod touch's videocam.

Apparently, Hibachi is now taken to mean a Japanese style of cooking.

My husband was delightfully surprised at how good the teppanyaki (using filet mignon cut) was, and especially liked the ginger sauce that was served on the side. I have tried the chicken, as well as the shrimp.

If memory serves me right, the first chef we had was a Filipino, and I asked him what he was using
in cooking. They might be prohibited from sharing the ingredients. But I got the info as to the wine, and a ponzu sauce. I am guessing the other ingredient was Tamari soy sauce, and I guessed that the wine was probably mirin (a Japanese rice wine). In hopes of at least recreating the dishes at home (not the volcano show), I immediately ordered mirin and ponzu sauce from amazon.com, and got a bottle of Tamari. Then for ginger sauce, I first tried making my own, but it was nowhere near what we had in the restaurant. Then, I discovered recently the Mikee Ginger Teriyaki Sauce in Hannaford store, and it was as good, if not better, than the one we had in the restaurant.

I tried several times already to cook using the above ingredients. One thing I learned: the rice wine gives the meat a glaze, which can also make it appear burnt if cooked too long, just like how the soy sauce or ponzu sauce affects the cooking. So, cook the meat first, and add these toward the end of cooking.

My husband was satisfied with my attempts at copying these dishes at home.

But we will still go to this restaurant at least yearly after getting our fireworks, especially that they will be officially legal in our state by January of next year.

Spinach Feta Porta Pizza

2011-07-15T01:54:00.000-04:00

Hannaford grocery store carries such portabella mushroom caps with veggies (apparently an Italian dish). I once bought that and tried to bake it like pizza. The outcome did not agree with my taste buds. I can't remember what the veggies were, but that gave me an idea of making a portabella pizza using my fave veggie pizza toppings -- spinach, tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese. I baked it in an oven toaster since I only had two of them. I share one with my Nanay.

My Nanay and I loved the outcome!

Ingredients:
2 portabella mushroom caps
amount of other ingredients will depend on how much you want to stuff your mushroom caps --
about 2 to 4 oz of crumbled feta cheese
diced tomatoes
sliced baby spinach
diced onions
shredded mozarella cheese (to make the veggies stick together)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Assemble as shown. Bake in an oven toaster at 400 deg F for about 20-30 minutes or until veggies and mushroom caps are done (and cheese on top gets toasted). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Wait to cool down a bit before biting!

Choco-Flan Cake with Caramel Sauce

2011-05-10T09:20:00.002-04:00

"Divine!" was how one of my co-workers described this cake as she was recommending it for our other co-workers to try. I brought it to work when I was on duty on Easter Day.

Our unit secretary asked for the recipe.

It does not only look beautiful and tempting, it is one exquisitely delectable dessert that looks hard to prepare. However, I used a cake mix for the chocolate cake. So it wasn't really that hard, especially if you plan ahead. The nice thing about it is, you can prepare this 2-3 days prior to serving.

Everyone who has tasted it loved it. The only exception is my husband, because he does not like deviating much from his traditional favorites. He'd rather have the (boxed) chocolate cake with the traditional chocolate frosting.

I did not have any trouble embracing this "deviation" since the procedure is so much like that of the (Filipino) custard cake.

I gave a big slice (good for 2-3 people) to my good friend Anna, and within minutes, she had finished the whole thing.

I got inspired to create my own version of choco flan cake when I saw a photo of it posted by my fb friend Dixie. I thought it was soooo pretty, and got intrigued as to the taste -- how flan would go with chocolate cake.

For the flan part, my procedure is same as for leche flan, but I made a slight change in the recipe as a result of collaboration with an fb friend Celia.

The result was heavenly!

Ingredients:
- For caramel sauce #1 (in the cake) -
1/4 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

- For caramel sauce #2 (to pour on cake) -
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

- For the flan -
1 can condensed milk
1 can evap milk
3 eggs
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla

- For chocolate cake -
1 package Devil's Food cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
1 & 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

~ For the caramel sauce #1 ~Melt butter on medium low heat. Add brown sugar and stir continuously until gooey. Add the whipping/heavy cream and continue stirring until you achieve a syrupy consistency. You may even want to reach the boiling point, and that is fine.

Spray your bundt pan with oil (I use the butter-flavored Pam spray.). Pour some caramel sauce into the bundt pan to about 1/4 inch thickness (just approximate). If your bundt pan is not big enough for the whole mixture (like mine), have 2-3 ramekins ready as well. You will have three layers in this cake - thin caramel sauce layer, thick flan layer and thick chocolate cake layer.

Make the caramel sauce #2 in the same manner. This sauce will be thinner than #1. Combine this with the leftover caramel sauce #1. Transfer while warm into a ceramic or other non-metallic container that will be okay for microwaving later.

Pour tap-cold water into a 9x13 deep lasagna pan enough so it will come up about one inch the sides of the bundt pan and ramekins. Place the bundt pan/ramekins in the water bath.

~ For the flan ~
Place evap milk into the blender. Add the cream cheese and blend well using pulse setting. Add the eggs, condensed milk and vanilla. Beat on pulse setting until well blended. Set aside.

~ For the chocolate cake ~
Measure the water and oil and place in a cup. Separate egg yolks from the white. Place the yolks together with oil and water. Place egg whites in a big mixing bowl.

Empty the contents of cake mix in a mixing bowl. Make a well at the center. Place liquid ingredients in the center. Using handheld mixer, blend well for about 1-2 minutes and set aside. Meanwhile, start beating the white on moderate speed with a balloon whisk using stand mixer. Slowly add the 1/4 cup sugar into the whites when foamy, and beat on high until glossy and stiff. (The sugar helps stabilize it.)

Fold the whites into the cake batter. This will help lighten the cake batter so that it will float.

Pre-heat oven to 325 °F.

Pour the leche flan into the prepared pans to about half the thickness or less of the whole cake. Next, gently pour the chocolate cake onto the flan. If you folded the whites good, this batter should float.

Bake the ramekins for about 45 minutes then take out (for some reason, the glass ramekins take long; maybe shorter for metal ramekins). Bake the bundt pan for another 15-20 minutes or until the cake is done (cracked on top and sounds hollow when tapped). (Adjust your baking time if you have larger bundt pan.). Take out of the oven and let sit on a cooling wire rack. IMPORTANT: Let them cool to room temperature completely, as the flan continues to cook in the residual heat. If you try to eat them while still warm, the flan will be runny.

Once fully cooled to room temperature, chill in the fridge at least overnight. This stage is important as well, because the chilling stage helps the flan set. Place your caramel sauce (for pouring) in the fridge as well.

When ready to serve, place some warm water into a pan and warm the bottom of the bundt pan for a while to somehow melt the caramel sauce (I should have done this with mine but I forgot due to excitement). Invert onto a cake pan. Microwave the caramel sauce for 30 seconds and give it a stir. Pour caramel sauce onto the cake for tempting appearance and reserve some for serving.

WARNING: This is so rich that a thin slice will fill you up quickly (although our unit secretary had to control herself from hogging the whole thing, according to her.)

Challah

2011-05-03T09:50:00.003-04:00

When I first baked this challah, I chose it from breadworld.com because of how pretty it looked like. I know how to braid hair (I used to braid my hair whenever it would grow long since my high school days). And when I made this fancy looking bread for supper, my husband's comment was that it was like pastry. When I first tasted it, it reminded me somewhat of how ensaymada tasted like, but not quite. This recipe was what inspired me to develop my ensaymada recipe using the bread machine. Now that I pretty much got my ensaymada recipes settled for good, I went back to baking this challah again using the original recipe by breadworld. I served it during the recent dinner our family had with my in-laws and a friend, with sesame beef as the main course.

Ingredients:

1-POUND RECIPE	INGREDIENTS	1-1/2-POUND RECIPE
1/2 cup	water	3/4 cup
1	large egg	1
2 tbsp	margarine, cut up	3 tbsp
1 tsp	salt	1-1/4 tsp
2 cups	bread flour	3 cups
4 tsp	sugar	2 tbsp
1-1/2 tsp	bread machine yeast	2 tsp
1	yolk of large egg	1
1 tbsp	water	1 tbsp

Directions
Add 1/2 cup [3/4 cup] water, egg, margarine, salt, bread flour, sugar, and yeast to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough/manual cycle.

When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. [For 1 1/2-pound recipe, divide dough in half to make 2 loaves.] For each loaf, divide dough into 2 pieces, one about 2/3 of the dough and the other about 1/3 of the dough. Divide larger piece into 3 equal pieces; roll into 12-inch ropes. Place ropes on greased baking sheet. Braid by bringing left rope under center rope; lay it down. Bring right rope under new center rope; lay it down. Repeat to end. Pinch ends to seal. Divide remaining piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll into 10-inch ropes; braid. Place small braid on top of large braid. Pinch ends firmly to seal and to secure to large braid. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, 15 to 20 minutes. Lightly beat egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water; brush over braids.

Bake at 375oF for 25 to 30 minutes or until done, covering with foil after 15 minutes to prevent excess browning. (For even browning when baking two loaves, switch positions of sheets halfway through baking.) Remove from sheet[s]; cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf [2 loaves].

Nutritional Information: Per Serving:
Serving size: 1 slice (1/12 of 1 1/2-lb. recipe)
calories 174; total fat 4g; saturated fat 1g; cholesterol 35mg; sodium 285mg; total carbohydrate 28g; dietary fiber 1g; protein 5g.

Beef Sesame Ginger Stir-Fry

2011-04-16T02:41:00.003-04:00

Beef Sesame Ginger Stir-Fry

Hubby: Hmmm...this is really good! Did this recipe come from that White House Chef book?
Me: Yes. You like it? I thought you don't care much for soy sauce-marinated meats.
Hubby: Well, this is really good. It melts in your mouth. I already like that guy. Will you serve this for our dinner on Thursday with Linda?
Me: Absolutely!

Well, that White House Chef we were talking about was Ariel de Guzman, originally a Filipino US Navy.

This was the first recipe I got from his book although I tweaked some because I used 2 pounds of beef rather than 1.5 pounds, and I added ginger. And it was a hit! I had all ingredients in my pantry (or refrigerator in the case of sesame seeds.

I stir-fried them in batches and then used the mini-wok that I mistakenly ordered (I imagined it
was larger, but I was surprised that it looked more like a bowl) to keep it warm (kept atop the warmer on my stove, covered with the lid). Isn't this cute?

stainless steel mini wok kept it warm

For the beef cut, I used two pounds of "cube steak." (Cube steak is a cut of beef, usually top round or top sirloin, tenderized by fierce pounding with a meat mallet, or use of an electric tenderizer. Many professional cooks insist that regular tenderizing mallets cause too much mashing to produce a proper cube steak, and insist on either using specialized cube steak machines, or manually applying a set of sharp pointed rods to pierce the meat in every direction. This is the most common cut of meat used for chicken fried steak.- from wikipedia_.) I cut the steaks into strips. The result reminded me so much of tapa, although with a touch of Korean/Chinese/Malaysian (whatever!) taste.

whatta super supper!!!

Well, when hubby specifically requests that a certain dish be served to our guests (we will also have my in-laws and another friend that afternoon), then he really likes it so much that he wants to show off my cooking skills. :)

Sesame ginger Beef Stir-Fry
Adapted from:
Ingredients:

2 lbs cube steak, cut in strips

For marinade:

2 tsp white sugar
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1&1/2 tbsp sesame oil
2 thumb-size ginger, peeled and sliced

For cooking:

2-3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil for each batch stir-fried (I was using a medium sized nonstick pan)
3 garlic cloves, cut thinly
1 thumb-size ginger, cut in strips

Instructions:

In a bowl, blend the marinade ingredients well. Toss the beef strips to coat. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

On medium heat, dry-roast the sesame seeds until lightly browned and aromatic. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Increase the heat to high, add vegetable oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.

By small batches, stir-fry beef until glossy dark-brown in color (beef will turn light brown first then release it's juice and simmer; just continue stir-frying until all juice has evaporated).

In a container kept warm (in an oven or over the warming stovetop), place the cooked batches of beef.

Add more oil to the skillet or wok and stir-fry the next batch.

When all beef is cooked, stir in the fried ginger and garlic. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and salad.

Update 4/27/2011:

When I served this for the intended gathering at home, it was a big hit amongst my in-laws and our visitor.

I took some leftover to work the next day, and our unit sec smelled the aroma and got intrigued. I let her taste one piece, and immediately she asked for the recipe. I brought the recipe on Easter Sunday, and told her about the tweaks I made, then she immediately re-typed the whole recipe, made several copies, and distributed them amongst our co-workers, swearing by how good it tasted (and she does not even like ginger, but never detected it in my recipe.).

So there, guaranteed to wow your American friends (there is no question that this will wow Asian friends)!

Filipino Custard Cake (Leche Flan Cake) - No short cuts!

2011-04-06T12:06:00.001-04:00

Filipino Custard Cake
(aka Leche Flan Cake)

Once upon a time, I craved for custard cake and I was then very very inexperienced with baking chiffon or sponge cakes. In my haste to give in to my cravings, I improvised using a cake mix I had in my pantry, and leche flan, and the result is here in this post.

As I have learned in the past years about baking more complicated types of cakes that involve whipping eggwhites, I finally had the gumption to bake custard cake, when one of my readers, jun m., commented on that post about it and offered his tip:

The cake used in custard cakes found here in the Philippines is simply Chiffon Cake with some minor changes in the original chiffon cake recipe you would usually find in recipe books/the internet. Instead of the usual 2 1/4 cups of sifted cake flour, use 2 1/2 cups. Omit the salt as well. You can also add a tablespoon of grated calamansi rind for flavor. Pour the custard mixture (over the cooled caramel) in the pan then pour the chiffon cake batter. The batter will float on top of the custard mixture! Bake it in a baine marie. jun m.

True, my Nanay told me that what she remembers from her long-ago baking lesson about making this custard cake was that the cake batter floats on the leche flan. She taught the recipe to our bakers back when we had a bakery in the Philippines, then forgot about it. As such, it used to be one of my favorite merienda item which was quite expensive than the usual ensaymada or pianono.

So with that comment left by jun m., once again the craving kicked in, and I searched for a basic lemon chiffon cake recipe without hard-to-find special ingredients, and used that recipe as a basis, with some changes in the ingredients. I had to say the the outcome after the first try was enough to make me stick to the recipe.

Of course for the leche flan part, I used my never-fail leche flan recipe (at least for me and my friends and relatives), which can be found here.

Right after baking, my sons and I tried the individual servings baked in ramekins. It was good.

I chilled the one baked in 13x9 inch pan before inverting, which to me was even better than the warm and freshly baked! Best on the third day even! So this is definitely one Pinoy cake favorite that we can prepare up to 3 days ahead of time. And I have to add that my American in-laws loved this Pinoy-style cake (they even preferred it over the usual cake with frosting).

Ingredients for chiffon cake:
5 eggs, separated while cold
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon oil
6 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (You may prepare your own, although I used a KAF brand here)

Instructions for the whole custard cake:
1. Caramelize white sugar in the pans (the amount of sugar is approximately about 1 cup to 1&1/2 cup for the 13x9.) UPDATE as of 11/6/11: I have found an easier, quicker and more convenient way of caramelizing sugar in the microwave. It takes less than 5 minutes. Place 1 cup sugar in pyrex glass, add enough water to wet all (about 2-3 tbsp maybe), then microwave for 5 minutes on high. As soon as you reach 3 minutes, keep your eyes on it, as it boils and turns to light amber to golden amber to dark amber. Stop at your desired color. Watch the video below to see how I do it.

Let cool and harden. Place the pan/s in bigger pan/s with cold water, such that water will reach about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan/s. (This is bain marie method, or steam bath.)
Tip: It is better to use more than required than discover you used very little. Why? If you use very little, that caramelized sugar dissolves somewhat after baking, which gives the syrup that drips when you invert. If you use too little, you create some sort of a vacuum that somehow sucks the leche flan as you invert the cake, then creates some wrinkle, or a rough appearance of the leche flan in case this actually reaches the pan at some spots where the caramel dissolves completely. If you use more than enough, those spots will not be there, there will still be caramel that is not dissolved and you will have enough syrup so that the cake will slide off smoothly upon inverting, leaving you with a smooth top, not wrinkly. And if you do have a good layer of hard caramel remaining, you can still use this pan for leche flan.
Tip:Aluminum pans are perfect for this purpose because you can cook the sugar directly in it.

2. Prepare the leche flan mixture in the blender and set aside.
Tip: Do not pour this right away into the caramelized pan. Prepare the chiffon cake batter first before you pour the leche flan mixture into the caramelized pan. Why? If you pour early, then proceed to prepare the cake batter, then that leche flan will start dissolving the caramel (remember that this caramel is still sugar). So do it when you are really ready to bake.)

3. Prepare the cake batter.
Separate the eggs while still cold (they separate easier when cold). Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and let sit at room temperature (the eggwhites whip more beautifully when at room temp.)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Make a well at the center and add the liquid ingredients and lemon rind. Add the sugar at the sides with the flour. Start beating with a hand mixer from the center going outward so that the dry ingredients are slowly incorporated. Beat until well blended.

Beat the egg whites using a clean and dry beater until it forms soft peaks (I read somewhere that overbeating might cause the cake to be brittle. I want my cake to be more satiny soft and not have the dry feel. The main reason for this beating of egg white is to enable incorporation of air into the cake to make it light and airy, of course, which is a characteristic of any chiffon or sponge cakes.

Gently fold the egg whites to the batter using a spatula, make sure that you mix very gently. I found a special kind of whisk to do this in less time, distributing the bubbles evenly.

Pour the leche flan into the prepared pans. (In subsequent batches I made, I used the exact 1 recipe of leche flan with 1 recipe of the chiffon cake in a 13x9 pan, which gave me the ratio of leche flan to cake that I like...just the right amount.) Pour cake batter on top of the leche flan mixture. Because the cake batter has a lot of air incorporated in it due to the whipped egg whites, it floats. Bake these at 325 °F for 20 to 25 minutes for the individual ramekins, and about 45-50 minutes for the 13x9 (ovens have varying heat, so if it is your first time to bake a certain recipe, keep watching during the last few minutes of baking.

Checking for doneness can be done with toothpick (If toothpick comes out clean, it is done.). My preferred method is tapping with finger (I use the spring-back action and the hollow sound as my gauge.) This is because I usually do not remember to get more toothpicks once we use them up. :)
My American family loves anything custardy when freshly baked. I prefer them chilled because somehow, it smells more eggy when still warm.

I have been working on the video above for the past month...dumudugo ilong ko trying hard to prepare video, but here I am plugging away because there are those requesting videos instead of just slideshow of photos. I hope my efforts are appreciated. Nakakasama ng loob pag me nag-iiwan ng comment sa videos ko that are not only unappreciative, but very demeaning. If you don't like my videos, which are mainly prepared to clarify my instructions in this foodblog, and not to entertain or to stand alone, just do not make any comments on them, lalo na kung ikaw mismo ay walang kontribusyon na maitutulong sa madlang Pilipino. Hindi naman po ako professional videographer nor a chef nor a culinary expert. Just sharing what I am learning as I adapt in my American kitchen and try to keep the Filipino traditions alive and to provide solutions to my cravings. Such comments are so discouraging to bloggers like me whose main reason to blog is to share FREE KNOWLEDGE gathered from our own efforts of research to spare others from going through the hardships of what we went through. I (and other food bloggers) could have chosen to keep my recipes within my family to be passed on from generation to generation, but I am not that selfish.

Pasensya na po at naghinga pa ako ng sama ng loob dito...

Looking at Kusina Ni Manang from a Different View

2011-04-05T23:51:00.000-04:00

Hello to my friends,
Check out a different way to view my kusina that gives you this look:

You can see all the preview photos of every post I have made, hover your mouse in one photo that gets you interested, then click on that to see the actual post.

Cool, huh?

Buttery Holiday Dinner Rolls

2011-03-19T23:12:00.004-04:00

Buttery Holiday Dinner Rolls

Another addition to yummy rolls...I adapted this recipe from breadworld, but changed the egg wash to melted butter which is applied right after cutting then after baking. I also served this on a birthday supper (paired with lasagna) and everyone loved these rich rolls. This recipe yields about 15 rolls.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp water (140 ml)
3 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
3-1/2 cups bread flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp bead machine yeast
1/4 cup melted butter x 2 (one for brushing prior to rising, and another for right after baking)

Instructions:
Add water, 3 eggs, butter to bread machine at room temperature. Add salt, bread flour, 3 tbsp sugar and yeast. Select dough cycle (which takes about 1-1/2 hours).

Melt 1/4 cup butter. Generously grease the muffin pan cups with shortening.

Take out the dough and place onto a greased countertop and shape into a log about 2 inches thick across (to have an idea of this, take a look at my video on how I make my pandesal). Cut every 1/2 inch and place 3 pieces into a muffin cup with cut sides facing each other. Place at the center a smaller piece (half of the usual cut) on top of these three pieces. Brush with melted butter. Repeat until all cups are filled. (This mixture will yield about 12-14 pieces).

Cover with greased cling wrap. Let rise in warm area for about 30 minutes or until almost doubled.X Bake at 375°F for 12-14 minutes or until nicely browned. Take out and immediately tap out of the muffin pans onto a cooling wire rack. Turn them upright. Place on top of another pan and brush some more with melted butter (for garlicky flavor, mix in with garlic salt to taste).

Manang's Oven-Fried Pork Chops

2011-03-11T23:47:00.003-05:00

Oven-Fried Pork Chops

Simple and one of our family favorites (because this is one of the rare dishes that even my husband loves)...oven-fried instead of deep-fried -- less grease, less mess. [My husband does not particularly like soy sauce-marinated pork chops...too bad because I love that as well. To him, the flavor is too overpowering and masks the natural goodness of pork flavor.]

Ingredients:
8 pork chops
1 box Oven Fry (You might not be able to use all of two packets)
3 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup Dijon Mustard

Knorr Pork Gravy mix prepared according to package directions.

Instructions:
Pretty much self-explanatory in the following video:
Pre-heat oven to 400° F. Coat wire rack with oil.
Wipe each chop with paper towel.
Mix eggs and Dijon Mustard well.
Dip chops in egg-mustard mixture. Shake off excess.
Coat generously each chop with the oven fry coating. Pat to coat well. Shake off excess coating.
Place on wire rack on baking pan.
Bake for 30-45 minutes (depends on thickness of chops).
Serve with pork gravy, rice or mashed potatoes, and salad greens.

BBB (Boiled, Broiled & Braised) Pork Liempo

2011-03-05T13:41:00.003-05:00

Broiled Pork Liempo

Braised Pork Liempo

Actually, this particular Pork Liempo recipe was done in four "B" steps, which I did in a space of time:

1. BOIL - Place the liempo (about 3-5 pounds each cut) in a pot of water (enough to cover) with 3 bay leaves, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 whole (peeled) onion, some salt to taste (do not overdo, as it is easier to sprinkle more salt when eating), 10 peppercorns, and optional celery. Boil for about an hour. Place on a cooling rack and let drip-dry (or place in fridge overnight). When I did this step, I boiled 3 such pieces, then after drying, I placed in a vacuum-sealed bag then froze, for future use. I then used the same broth to par-boil chicken pieces for 20 minutes prior to deep-frying. Reserve the liquid. You can freeze about 3 cups of this liquid for each piece of liempo and place in a plastic cup to freeze, then thaw and use for the next step when you are ready.

2. BAKE - Place the rack in the second lowest level, and pre-heat oven to 350°F. Rub the liempo on all sides with your favorite spices (I like using garlic salt and ground pepper. The garlic salt I used here that shows in the photo also had some parsley flakes). Use 2-3 cups of the boiling liquid placed in a deep pan (I used 9x13 deep pan) to keep meat moist. Place liempo on a roasting rack and sprinkle extra spices on the skin. (Tip: If not sticking, spray some grilling oil on top then sprinkle the spices). Bake on the lower rack for 1-1/2 to 2 hours to further cook and make sure meat is tender. I baked/broiled two pieces of this so that we ate the plain broiled "lechon kawali"-looking liempo dipped in vinegar, then used the other piece for braising the next day.

3. BROIL - Set the oven to Broil on High, and time for about 30 minutes. Keep checking through the glass door if skin starts to bubble up and become crispy. You might have to rotate the meat around if heat is uneven. If skin tends to become crisp on some spots and other spots are not yet crispy, you can turn to Low Broil. Keep that meat in the lower rack, because it can easily burn if placed on higher rack while broiling.

Of course at this point, this looks like the Lechon Kawali, minus a lot of the fat/oil. You can then enjoy this plain dipped in vinegar-salt-pepper-garlic-onion mixture. My sons and I had this as heavy merienda one afternoon.

4. BRAISE - I used the leftover sauce that I had when I tried hamonado a la ChefBitoy, so that the sauce already had that hamonado flavor before I used it to braise the liempo.

Ingredients:
1.36L pineapple juice
½ cup brandy
1/3 c soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 head of garlic minced
2 med onions, minced
5 cinnamon bark or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 pcs star anise
1 tsp all spice powder
1 tsp ground black pepper

(As you will see in the slide show, the photo showing ingredients for hamonado included a ham in the bowl. We had that for supper, then I reserved the sauce for braising this liempo. Matipid talaga ako eh. Haha!). So, I placed the braising liquid in a wok, placed the crispy liempo on top and simmered for 30 minutes, occasionally scooping some liquid to pour on top of the liempo.

Instructions:

What I did not expect was the hubby would actually try and actually LIKED this! He looked at the sliced liempo with the sauce and removed the fat and savored the meat. I told him it was the pork belly that is often used for bacon, which I asked the slaughterers to not turn into bacon, but to just cut in slabs with the skin intanct. I also had one of my American friends taste this and she loved it. You can serve this either with plain rice or mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Reader's Gallery #16

2011-02-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

Lately, with my involvement with DHHS, I barely am able to update my food blog, not only because of very little time to blog, but also very little time left to try new recipes and to cook and bake, that I often resort nowadays to buying cooked food, or pre-prepared doughs, etc. There are times we even have to eat supper as late as 9pm, after the court-ordered DHHS-demanded family therapy (which can only be done, at times, as late as 7pm when my kids are available after a sports game). And yes, I have been procrastinating writing my complaint to the DHHS Ombudsman about how DHHS has been treating my family unfairly.

This post is long overdue for some. I combined photos long shared with me, with those I just recently received. I apologize for being quite late, but here it is, and I THANK YOU SO MUCH for trusting my recipes and for sharing your own photos.

From Marvie I:

Hi there Manang
Just wanna thank you for this recipe!
I made it yesterday and baked them today and the result is just
fantastic. I made sure I followed all the steps and used the right
ingredients except for the brand of the yeast.

My girls and hubbie just love it!! Even without toppings!!! :)
The texture is so soft and moist and I can't be any happier than the
ensaymadas I have today.
I shaped them in different ways --just to see which way works the best.

Can I freeze them? If so, how long they can be frozen before they go off?
I would love to know what other ways I can use this as a master dough
and have a bit of fun. I like to try the pan de coco next
time....should browse your recipe for it.

I have attached a few photos to show you how I went with my baking today :)
Once again, many thanks....

Advance Merry Christmas to you and your family.

From Bonito G.:

Manang, I tried your super soft ensaymada last night new years eve. My
wife and my kids and friends loved it. It is so soft and yummy!!!
Thank you very much for the recipe. I tried several times to copy my
Mom's recipe which is also good but I just could not make it soft and
my Mom is not here anymore so thank you very much again. Now I can
cook ENSAYMADA!!!!
Thank you,
Bonito

and from Yen T.:

Hi Manang I tried some of your recipes, here are some of the photos, thanks po talaga!!!

Yen
New Zealand

Manang's Hot Pockets (Baked Version of Siopao)

2010-12-04T17:01:00.000-05:00

I roasted pork head sometime before my Nanay flew to her own mother in California (she was sick). I roasted that head for 4 hours (lower 2/3 of the oven) at 350° F then broiled until skin turned crackly (like crispy pata or lechon kawali). She was originally planning to turn the roasted pig's head into sisig, but after seeing that the skin turned super crispy, she decided we could just go ahead eat the skin while still crispy, then we proceeded to shred the meat part, discarding the fat. I then cut the meat in smaller pieces, then prepared as filling for siopao. Please see my post on pork sesame siopao for the recipe of the filling. Since this is the baked version, you can call this particular baked siopao as Hot Pockets Pork Sesame flavor.

Ingredients:
1 tube 8-pc crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury and I usually keep about two tubes at a time in the fridge)
Pork Sesame filling
Eggwash:
1 egg
1 T sugar
1 T milk

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Separate the crescent roll dough along perforations into 8 pieces.
Place a tablespoonful (I used cookie scoop) near the wide end.
Fold dough over the filling and cover (see slide show or the video).
Place on the the parchment paper.
Brush tops with egg wash.
Create vents on top of dough.
Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate pan, then bake an additional 2 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for about 5-20 minutes before eating as filling will be piping hot!

My two sons had these for merienda, and they were bitin! I had to make a second batch (the photos of which I used for the slide show). Then the rest of the filling that I had (I was able to make three batches of the recipe for that pork sesame filling) I am planning to make into siopao which I can freeze for future merienda.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2010-12-01T13:41:00.002-05:00

Last year's Thanksgiving introduced my and my sons' taste buds to pumpkin whoopie pies. We have always had the classic chocolate whoopie pies, which, according to my husband, was the reason he bought a Kitchen Aid mixer as a birthday gift to me on m our first year as a couple. When my MIL prepared these pumpkin whoopie pies last year, my husband did not try them at all (which is nothing new). My sons, however, liked them, as I did. I was surprised that this year, after my sons carved out our pumpkins for Halloween, the younger one was anticipating that my MIL would make pumpkin whoopie pies again for Thanksgiving (my MIL was so gracious to host Thanksgiving this year). But my sons was disappointed because my MIL did not make them this time. So I promised him that I would make pumpkin whoopie pies the next day, and I will make it a Thanksgiving or Halloween tradition to make them yearly. I based my recipe on Nestle's VeryBestBaking.com website, with only the addition of two other spices.

Ingredients:

COOKIES
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
dash of nutmeg
dash of powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CREME CHEESE FILLING (I doubled the recipe because we love thick fillings):
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

FOR COOKIES:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda,spices and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets. (A total of 72 cookies are needed for the recipe.)
BAKE for 10 to 13 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

BEAT cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
SPREAD a heaping teaspoon of filling onto flat side of one cookie; top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container in refrigerator

Our Family's Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-11-27T23:45:00.001-05:00

Our family tries to stick to traditions, and part of that is celebrating the four major holidays with my in-laws. There are 4 of us families in all -- my parents-in-law, my husband's brother's family, his sister's family, and our very own, that take turns hosting the four major holidays, and for this year's Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law was the "IT." In addition, we have her father with us as well, so that makes for four generations in these gatherings.

I was excited when Eric and Tiffany of theguerrilagourmet.com emailed me for an invitation to be a part of their holiday project - The Gorilla Gourmet -- to represent Maine. It is an honor for me to do so.

Our family probably typically represents the Mainers in that we try our best to be together with family (and exclusively family) during the Holidays. My mother-in-law prepares her fruit cocktail with mostly canned fruits that they picked from their own trees and bushes.

Our usual menu stars THE TURKEY and it will never be Thanksgiving if we prepare an entreé other than the turkey. (Oh, the Filipina in me tried to do that before, and it was like a major violation to them true Mainers!). The turkey is roasted with stuffing that is usually prepared the night before then stuffed into the turkey's cavity just before roasting.

Mashed potatoes are also prepared using potatoes they harvested from their own garden. White bread is prepared using a breadmaker (and no, we don't mill our own flour; we get that from Hannaford stores). Other sides are pitted olives, cranberry salad, bread and butter pickles, boiled onions (a Tibbetts family tradition that I am still trying very hard to assimilate), and mashed turnips.

My mother-in-law also prepared three various pies -- pecan pie, pumpkin pie and raspberry pie, but I forgot to take photos of these desserts before they were gone. One thing that my mother-in-law prepared last year that she skipped this year was the pumpkin whoopie piea, something that was not really traditionally prepared in our family during Thanksgiving, but my younger son was somehow anticipating this year. Now if there is something in our menu that I would be almost sure was very Maine-ly, it would be whoopie pies. So I decided to make the whoopie pies the very next day (recipe coming soon), and I promised to my son that from now on, pumpkin whoopie pies will be part of the Thanksgiving tradition in our family.

From the slideshow above, you can see how closely-knit our families are. I feel so blessed to have in-laws who treat my sons as if they are true blood relations, and that is something worth thanking for. We have a lot other things to be thankful for, but that would be something exclusively for our family to ponder upon.

Tassimo Brewing Machine

2010-11-27T02:15:00.002-05:00

Last Christmas, I asked hubby for this gift....because I love coffee...and I wanted to have
immediate access to Starbucks-type of coffee. If you are familiar with Keurig, this is pretty much the same. I chose this, though, because among those that I looked at, this was one that made hot chocolate drinks as well. My husband is not a coffee drinker, but he loves hot cocoa!

Since getting this, my husband has concocted his own recipe for hot chocolate drink. I just get the usual packs available for caffe latté, caffe macchiato, and the regular ones. Gevalia brand has become my favorite, as I find Starbucks too strong. Of course, it has its cons, like I get too much trash (no recycling program by Tassimo for their pods), and I get to do maintenance (so does a regular coffee brewer) - daily wiping, change of filter, and descaling every three months....but it is so worth it!

If at times it does not seem to work okay, it could be that the bar code reader is dirty. I just get a cotton cloth (I get the rags sold by Wal-mart), dampen it and wipe the reader. Instructions say not to use paper towel for the bar scanner since that will damage the see through material (glass? or plastic? I can't remember).

I also got some teas (yellow tea, black tea and green tea, Tazo brand) for use on those times when I feel bloated.

Apple Dumplings

2010-11-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

Apple dumplings fresh out of the oven

We had these apple dumplings when we ate supper at my mother-in-law's one night. We loved them so much that I asked for a recipe. Surprisingly, it was easy to make, using ready-made dough. I made it the very next day at home. Hubby was even surprised to find that orange juice makes a good flavor combination with apples!

A piece of apple dumpling

Ingredients:
2 cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters (to come up with 8 wedges)
1 tube of crescent rolls, divided into 8 parts (cut along the perforations)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:
Boil together in a small saucepan the butter, orange juice and sugar.
Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
Wrap each apple wedge with the dough, place on a deep 9x9 baking dish.
Pour the mixture on top. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Bake for 45 minutes.

7-Up Citrus Pork Chop

2010-05-05T22:33:00.002-04:00

Today I used our grill for the first time this year. Because I had been meaning to try this 7-Up Citrus Marinade on pork chops. I got the marinade from Hannaford sometime last winter (the 7-up caught my attention, since Pinoy style barbecues and even fried chicken are usually marinated or cooked with 7-up. Unfortunately, the fried chicken pre-cooked with 7-up was not well-accepted by hubby. He said it was too sweet.) [Photo courtesy of Vita-Food Products].

I had 8 pieces of pork chops. I marinated 6 pieces in this 7-Up Citrus Marinade for 1.5 hours (Meanwhile, I was transplanting seedlings that I bought from a greenhouse into hanging baskets). I left two pieces unmarinated just in case hubby would not like the marinated ones, just like he did not like the 7-up cooked fried chicken. These I just flavored with salt and pepper, basted with bacon drippings.

I fired up the grill (it's now officially summer in my book!), and cooked the chops, basting with bacon drippings from time to time until I was satisfied with the doneness (I just gauge by the looks...no thermometer, no timing).

Served them while hot...oriented hubby which ones were plain and the marinated. To my surprise, he tried both, and tried the marinated ones first, and loved it! Maybe because the flavor was more of citrus, and that the flavor did not overpower the chops (since they were marinated less than two hours). Then he had a plain one and liked it too...Maybe it was the bacon drippings used for basting...

What a satisfying meal on this hot summery spring day!

Maple-Garlic Beef Short Ribs

2010-04-29T14:33:00.007-04:00

I made this for supper tonight, using the exact same ingredients as the maple-garlic chicken, and the same method except that I used pressure cooker. (I added two slices of sirloin steaks for hubby because he does not like ribs -- "too much work for so little meat"). My MIL recently gave me two quartz of maple syrup, and one quart is almost out now, with some sediments forming at the bottom. We usually do not use this part of maple syrup for pancakes, but I hate throwing it away, so cooking or baking with it is the best way to use it up.

We loved the effect just as much as we did with the chicken.

Ingredients:
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
3-5 lb beef short ribs
cornstarch-water mixture (probably 1/2 cup water + 3 heaping tbsp cornstarch)

Instructions:
Mix all the sauce ingredients. Place beef ribs in pressure cooker. Pour the sauce. Close lid and turn oven on high. Once pressure gets high, simmer for 45 minutes.
Release pressure. Turn oven to low broil. Place beef ribs on baking sheet. Broil 1-2 minutes to dry up the surface. Meanwhile, make sauce thicker using cornstarch-water mixture (Sauce should be boiling briskly, then pour the CW mixture in slow stream while stirring).
Baste beef ribs with sauce and broil two minutes. Do this two times on one side then flip over and do this again twice. Basting and broiling gives the glazed effect (the sugar content caramelizes under the high heat and gives that beautiful highly-appealing sheen).
Place remaining sauce in a gravy boat. Serve with the beef ribs. Garnish with snips of chives as desired. Serve over plain rice or mashed potatoes with boiled veggies.

Easy Shrimp Alfredo

2010-04-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

Being crunched for time, I have to think nowadays of what I can fix quickly, easily, without need for too many ingredients. Here is one of them. My sons and I love shrimps, so I fix seafoods at times, and fix something else for hubby and stepd (or have TV dinner for them).

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta, prepared as directed (I used rotini here, but you can use linguine or farfelle)
1 lb large shrimps, shelled
1 each of zucchini and summer squash
1-2 tbsp butter
salt, pepper and ground basil leaves
1 jar (15 oz) Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
1 can (~12? oz -- I forgot to take note) of Campbell's condensed cream of shrimp
Enough water to thin the sauce a bit (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup)

Instructions:
While cooking pasta, melt butter in saucepan, add zucchini, summer squash and the shrimps and stir fry until shrimps turn pink (about 2-3 minutes). Do not overcook, or shrimps get rubbery. Remove from pan, transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Keep warm,
Pour into the saucepan both sauces (alfredo and condensed cream). Add enough water to thin as you desire, stir until boiling. Turn off the heat. Serve on pasta and add the shrimps/veggies on top. Consume immediately.

Fiddleheads with Coconut Milk

2010-04-25T21:14:00.002-04:00

I was craving for some vegetable-based dish one day, then one of my co-workers left a gallon bag full of fiddleheads inside the fridge for anyone interested to take home. The unit sec and I decided to divide that. That's what I cooked in a laing-inspired fashion, although I decided to add some vinegar toward the end of cooking.

My craving was satisfied, and my sons enjoyed it as well.

Ingredients:
1/4 lb pork liempo, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
2-3 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
1 (13.5 oz) can premium coconut milk (first press)
1/2 cup to 1 cup water
qt fiddle heads
salt and pepper to taste
dash of ground basil leaves
2-3 tbsp cider vinegar

Instructions:
Add about 1/4 cup water to pork and sautee until pork renders fat. Add salt and pepper. Add garlic and sautee until light brown. Add onions and sautee until caramelized. Add patis and let sizzle. Add coconut milk and fiddle heads. Add about 1/4 cup water and stir. Let simmer uncovered until coconut turns creamy (add water if it turns too dry). Season with salt, pepper and ground basil leaves. Add vinegar and let simmer another 5 minutes. Serve with plain rice.

Happy 101 Award

2010-04-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

I received this Happy 101 Award from Le, a newbie foodblogger who told me I was among those who inspired her to start her foodblog (mainly because I was in the same boat she is in now when I started my own foodblog...if you don't know it yet, you can read on my About Me page).

I feel honored to be a recipient of this award, and even though lately I am very busy, I am taking some time off to (1)enumerate and reflect on things that make me happy, and (2) pass this award on to others who have been making other people inspired and happy.

10 Things that make me happy:

1. Family time (watching, outing, traditional celebrations, target shooting, just having fun)
2. My sunroom and the sampaguita flowers
3. Cooking and baking, and people appreciating my efforts (blog readers, family, friends)
4. When my patients express appreciation for what I do for them, or when I see them improve under my care
5. When our cat Mimzy jumps on my lap to be petted (she is usually snobby)
6. When my kids get good grades
7. When other people speak highly of my kids
8. When hubby reminds me how much he loves me (he does by building our house and my computer custom-made for ME)
9. Having exercise time (which I barely get nowadays)
10. Looking at our photos to see how much things/people have changed.

I am passing on the awards to:
1. MaMely of http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com
2. Claire of http://www.clairebakescakes.blogspot.com
3. Vanjito of http://panlasangpinoy.com
4. JMom of http://amoores.com

Here are the rules:
1 Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2 List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3 List 10 things that make you happy.
4 Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award

Piaya/Piyaya

2010-04-18T22:56:00.001-04:00

Piaya --- I got my first taste of this Bacolod delicacy when my Ilonggo friend (classmate from high school to college) gave some to me. It was not love at first bite. It was more of an acquired taste for me. And after several bites, I was hooked (same thing happened to me with the pinasugbo that she also introduced me to).

A reader asked me before for the recipe, and I searched and recommended one that seemed promising. If I remember it right, it was this recipe by blueapron. While my outcome was good, it was not exactly how I remember it, or maybe it was my lack of skills in making it that made it different. For one thing, the filling crystallized and hardened after cooling (should still remain gooey and the whole piaya should remain a bit pliable still). Second, I had holes because it was quite hard to flatten the disk without making holes...I probably should have used bread flour and a little bit more water to come up with stronger dough. Don't get me wrong; the outcome was good. And I think I can remedy some issues with my notes below.

However, after my kids and hubby tasted it and liked it as is, I think I am going to stick to the recipe. So, thanks, blueapron!

My apologies for posting about something that I tried only for the first time. Read my notes below before you proceed to see if you would like to experiment some more. This one is time-consuming (like most Filipino delicacies are), and I don't think I will try to experiment again anytime soon.

Also, I have a video of these, but I really don't have the time to edit them and make into a video worthwhile of your viewing time, so please bear with the photos. The written instructions should be clear enough to guide you.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick; 1/4 lb)
1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tbsp water
250 gm muscovado sugar (I used 1 tbsp per dough ball, so roughly around 20 tbsp)
1 cup of sesame seeds (you will most probably have leftovers)

Instructions:

Soften butter or cut into small cubes. Mix with flour. Add 1/4 cup water and knead to form a dough. If you need to add more water to make it more cohesive, add 1 tbsp at a time and knead until you have a soft and pliable dough that is not sticky to touch. Let rest for about 10 minutes wrapped in plastic.

Divide into twenty pieces (I measure about 18-20 gm per dough ball). Roll to flatten using rolling pin. Measure sugar (1 tbsp if you want it sweet; use less if you don't) and compact that (by pushing the sugar against the spoon with your thumbs) before placing at the middle of the flattened dough (so that it does not crumble right away as soon as you fold the edges over the sugar). Gather edges together and pinch. Flatten a bit with your palm. Dunk in sesame seeds and press slightly for the seeds to adhere. Transfer to countertop and flatten carefully with the rolling pin. Keep covered in plastic until ready to cook.

Heat a nonstick pan on low. Lightly brown one side then flip. Some sugar may ooze out. Wipe the pan to remove excess sugar and sesame seeds before proceeding with the next batch. Cool completely on wire rack then place in ziploc bag.

Notes: Some of the commenters at blueapron's said the piaya filling was supposed to still be gooey even when cooled and not return to crystallized form. I tend to agree with that. Probably for experiments, you might want to try adding a little bit of water and flour or cornstarch or tapioca, just like in Ferna's website. The purpose for the water is to dissolve the flour/starch/tapioca while cooking, and act as colloidal glue for the caramelizing sugar, so that come cooling time, instead of crystallizing, the caramelized sugar will stay in the colloid mixture and not re-crystallize, hopefully resulting to the gooey consistency that stays like paste.

Tender and Moist Wheat Pan de sal

2010-04-08T00:54:00.002-04:00

Denise, an fb friend, once asked me if I have a good recipe for wheat pandesal, and I made a suggestion using my pandelimon recipe with wheat flour replacing half of the bread flour. When she had a good outcome that her friends and family all enjoyed and since then made every week, I felt the need to try it myself, although I used only one cup of whole wheat. The result was not the typical dry choking-hazard wheat breads, but one that was moist and tender. As always, the "secret" ingredient to make it softer and moister was the mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes, whichever you prefer).

Ingredients:
1 / 2 cup milk
1 / 4 cup water
1 / 2 cup boiled and mashed regular or sweet potato
1 / 4 cup butter or margarine
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour + 2-3 tbsp while kneading
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp Fleischmann's bread machine yeast

Instructions:

Mix the milk, potato water and mashed potatoes and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Add the butter and egg, beat to mix then check temperature. It should be between 70-80 deg F (room temp). Pour into the bread machine pan. Add the dry ingredients. Set at dough cycle. after about 10 minutes, start adding flour gradually so that the dough is not too sticky (try to poke from time to time with fingers). It should appear relatively smooth and moist, not wet and flaky. The kneading ends on the 30th minute, then it rises for 1 hr.

Transfer the dough on a lightly greased and floured surface. Stretch and form into a log. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Slice every 1-1.5 inches intervals. Coat with breadcrumbs. Lay on sliced side on baking pan, 1 to 2 fingers apart. Let rise in warm oven for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 deg F for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake for additional 2-3 minutes or until browned to your liking. Enjoy with butter, or your favorite "palaman" (I used dulce de leche and butter on the photo above) and cool the rest on wire rack for at least 30 minutes before storing in ziploc bag.

Rice Puto

2010-04-03T17:22:00.007-04:00

I would have said "Putong Puti" on the title, but because I used several flavorings to come up with bite-size puto to bring tomorrow to my SIL's for Easter celebration, these mini-puto have pastel colors,and will be the right way to Filipinize Easter, I would say!

I used rice flour (to save time), and added coconut milk instead of plain water just because I love the flavor imparted by it. I also added fresh pandan leaves to the boiling water for additional flavor.

My kids liked them, tasting each and seeing which flavor they liked best. Hubby was likewise delighted.

I also experimented with using additional tapioca starch (added 1 tsp to 1 tbsp to one of the 4 colors) to see whether it would help prevent the "eruption"; I also tried to lessen the heat as soon as I placed the bamboo steamer, so as not to make "gulat" and create that erupted look. Not that I don't like the erupted top; I was just wondering how some puto vendors manage not to have any on theirs. These seem effective, and tapioca subtly changes the consistency to make it a little bit chewier (almost rubber-like, but not tough, whereas pure rice would result to a more crumbly texture, especially if batter is not thin enough, or if rice did not soak long enough).

I will have to make special mention of MaMely of PinoyAmericanRecipes for the puto molds and the wonderful Pinoy flavorings she sent to me. Thanks, MaMely!

Update as of 2/4/2011: WonderWoman tried this recipe (after previously trying 2 other recipes that she did not particularly like) and I got the thumbs up from her! Thanks, WonderWoman!

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz or 1 lb) rice flour (regular, red writings on package)
1-1/2 cup water
1 can (14 oz or 13.5 oz) premium coconut milk (unsweetened, first pressing)
1-1/2 cup sugar
a dash or two of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
few drops of McCormick flavorings (langka, ube, pandan)

Optional:
tapioca starch (1 tbsp for the whole batch, or 1 tsp for each after dividing)
pandan leaves for the boiling water

Instructions:

In a plastic container, blend rice flour with water very well. Cover and let rest in room temp overnight.

Next morning, add everything else except flavorings and mix very well until smooth. Batter will be very very thin. Do not be tempted to add any more flour.

Prepare water for steaming. Add pandan leaves if desired.

Divide batter into 4. Add a few drops of the flavorings to 3, leaving one white, so you end up with 4 different colors. You may add tapioca (1 tsp each) to each of these, or try one with tapioca and see if you like the result. If you don't, leave the rest alone.

Lay the puto molds on top of cloth lining as shown (I use the ones in the photo below; I bought it from Walmart, where the housekeeping/building stuff are). Pour the batter almost to the brim of the molds. When water is briskly boiling, steam the puto and time for 10 minutes for these bite-size puto (muffin size will probably take 15-20 minutes). If using metal pan, line the lid also with dry cloth to absorb moisture and prevent condensation. Do not steam the puto too long that the excess moisture gets absorbed by the cooked puto that might result to sogginess. In trying to figure out the right steaming time for your size of puto, try a few, steam for about 10 minutes, try it (or break in half to see the middle), before you proceed with the rest of the batter.

Once done, remove right away from the mold and cool on wire rack so excess moisture evaporates. These puto molds easily releases the puto; I just had to slip the tip of a toothpick at one side, the gently pull it out and drop onto the cooling rack. Store (what you will not eat right away) in airtight container when cooled completely.

Reader's Gallery #15

2010-04-01T21:18:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Mercie for sharing a photo of the binangkal that she made.

Mercie was the one who requested that I make the binangkal, so I owe it to her to learn how to make this snack that is popoular in Cebu.

Ham Lentil Potato Soup

2010-03-30T16:02:00.004-04:00

Something I made to use up leftover boiled ham. I did not expect hubby to like this, and I was preparing a TV dinner for him and stepd. He tasted some (because the aroma of simmering soup had been enticing him), and he actually liked it! He said, "I should have this instead of the TV dinner. Next time you fix this, remind me that I liked it."

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed ham (fat trimmed off)
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dried lentil
1 cup cubed carrots (I used leftover from boiled ham, so I placed these in the pot toward the end of cooking)
5 cups water + 2 cups tomato juice* (or just use plain water)
1 cup leftover mashed potato (mix this well with some of the water before placing in the pot
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
dash of ground basil leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:
Dump everything (if using uncooked carrots) in a big pot and stir. Let boil then lower heat and simmer covered for 1-1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally. Enjoy with freshly baked bread (and rice for you Filipinos). (If you are using the bread machine, prepare your bread before you start fixing this soup.)

*Note: The tomato juice I used was from canned raw tomatoes, which I drained to use for lasagna. I always save the juice and use it for things like this, or for sweet and sour sauce of escabeche.

Pinoy Cheese Cupcake

2010-03-28T17:01:00.002-04:00

This is what the typical neighborhood type of Filipino bakeshops would tout as their "special"kababayan in the sense that it uses cheese. A closer look at the ingredients would indicate that this is basically a muffin topped with grated cheese. Contrary to how the Western cheesecake is, this does not have any form of cream cheese (or anything cheese) in its batter.

This was my favorite muffin in my Tatay's bakery, especially when fresh out of the oven with its crunchy top. Once cooled, I would wrap them individually in small clear plastic bags and seal using the candle (I got proficient at making the seal without actually touching the flame; just the heat, so that the plastic would not have any dark marking as it does when it touches the yellow flame).

Husband had a taste of the batter and thought it tasted like butter cookies. (Hmmmm....maybe I should try making some into drop cookies.) When it was done, I had hubby taste it. His reaction was..."Hmmm, that's good!" Kids' reaction? Same. (gaya-gaya, puto-maya...)

This recipe was adapted from Mrs. Daisy Alonzo's recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bar (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk
3-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
cheddar cheese, finely grated, for topping

Instructions:

Line 2 muffin pans with paper cups.
Preheat oven to 350 ° F
Mix flour and baking powder well in a bowl.
Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Turn speed to slow and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually increase speed to medium and beat well.
Turn speed to slow and slowly add the condensed milk. Beat well on medium speed for about a minute.
Turn to slow again and add the dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and add oil. Beat well for about another minute. Add vanilla and beat to blend.
Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe into the muffin cups, leaving about 1/4 inch space at the top.
Top with grated cheese (preferably the orange-colored cheddar cheese).
Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans for even baking. (If you want, you may add some more cheese at this point).Bake for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with maple syrup or condensed milk if desired.
Transfer to cooling rack and completely cool before storing in ziploc bags those that you will not be able to consume right away.

UPDATE: This was tried by My Expat Mommy who lives in Qatar and has now included this item in her baked goods that she sells. Her fb page is here.

The original recipe that I got from asiarecipe.com forum was as follows:
Pinoy Cheese Cupcake-Kababayan
(Pinoy Cheese Muffin)
Recipe courtesy of Mrs. Daisy Alonzo
Ingredients:
1 bar butter
4 eggs
100 grams sugar
2 can of condensed milk
15 grams cooking oil
5 grams baking powder
500 grams. all-purpose flour
you will need:
cheese grater
2 ounce paper baking cups
cake mixer, mixing bowl and spatula
Paraan ng pagluluto:
Hiwa-hiwain muna ang butter para madali itong lummbot.
Ilagay ang butter sa isang mixing bowl, ihalo ang asukal at apat na itlog.
Haluin ang mga sangkap na ito sa cake mixer. Gamitin ang pinakamahinang
speed upang hindi tumapon ang butter mixture.
Idagdag na din sa mixture ang dalawang lata ng condensed milk.
Ihinto muna ang mixer.
Pagsamahin naman ang harina at baking powder at saka ihalo sa butter mixture.
Paandarin muli ang mixer sa pinakamahinang speed. Haluing mabuti hanggang sa
maging basa ang mga sangkap.
Ihalo ang 15 grm ng mantika.
Pabilisin ang mixer hanggang maging pino ang sangkap.
Patayin ang mixer, ito na ngayon ang cupcake mixture.
Ihanay ang paper baking cups. Magbuhos ng cupcake mixture sa bawat baking cups
Punuin hanggang ikatlong bahagi ng bawat cups
Lagyan ng grated cheese ang cupcake mixture.
Ipasok sa mainit na oven, ihurno ng mga 30 minuto.
Luto na ang cheese cupcake. Palamigin

Binangkal

2010-03-27T03:06:00.000-04:00

Last week I was emailed by a reader requesting for a post on Binangkal, which is popular in Cebu. I had no idea what it was, but I was intrigued enough, especially with some craving to make some munchies soon because I was not making any the past weeks due to the dust all over the house as my husband was working on our sunroom.

Plus, I needed a break too. Cooking/baking has always been therapeutic for me. So I tried this recipe I had been eyeing since last week. I wanted to decrease the ingredients but the list makes it hard to do that. So I followed the recipe. I had a lot of dough to start with, but since I had no idea what binangkal was, except that it was pretty much like doughnut in that it was fried dough, I thought it would be just fine as the first batches could be a learning phase for me.

True enough, pingpong-sized round dough dropped into the medium hot oil gave me darkly browned binangkal with uncooked middle dough. How could I come up with cooked middle without burning the outside? I came up with this solution: smaller dough, flattened somehow into discs. Rationale: Flatter dough means the heat will be close enough to the middle to cook that part well. The smaller dough ensures cooking the middle part without burning the outer.

I had the extra advantage of having the puffing up of the middle part as a visual cue that the middle is getting done. That was quite unexpected but very effective means of assessing the doneness (aside from brown color at the outside).

Kids approved it, and especially enjoyed these treats with maple syrup. Hubby tried it and said it was different, then got a can of Pepsi and had some more binangkal. So I guess he kinda liked it, although it was "different." It is wonderfully crunchy on the outside (Hey, Claire, you will not break your teeth with this one, I promise!)

Ingredients:

5 Cups All Purpose Flour
5 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder (preferably Calumet)
1 Box Dark Brown Sugar GH (2 1/2 cups)
3 While Eggs
1 Small Can Evaporated Milk (2/3 cup) + 2 tbsp milk (whole milk or if you have extra evap milk)
1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly until fine (I used the food processor in pulses.)
Mix remaining ingredients: eggs, vanilla, milk.
Combine all dry and liquid ingredients by hand.
Add more milk if it is too dry until you obtain the correct consistency. The dough should
be stiff enough to mold into a ball. Don't make it too wet (read on and you will see why).
(Adjust to your preferred Binangkal size).
Lay the pinched dough on aluminum foil.
Get a cup of tap or filtered water as preferred (this is why you should not make the dough too wet in the first place).
Dip two fingers of your hand and wet the palm of the other hand for molding the dough.
Pick up each dough and roll between both palms of your hand to shape into balls.
Roll dough in a bowl of sesame seeds then press between fingers to make them flat (depressed more at the middle than at the sides). When done, you are ready to fry.
Heat your frying pan in high heat then lower to Medium-LOW when you begin frying because the pan must be very hot to start. You can try one first to gauge your own stove and adjust in the next batches. Start with few, try to open some and see if you already like what you have before going full blast with more per batch.
Place only about 6-8 pieces per batch. Once all have floated, wait until the top parts puff up and crack, then tip over to cook the other side. Count about 30 seconds once you have tipped over all pieces. Take note of which ones are the first, as they are the ones to get out first. Check to see doneness of the underside (should be uniformly browned, not whitish in the cracks. (My video below is quite different at I tipped too soon just by counting. It will be more reliable to wait for puffing up of the middle before tipping over.)
Prepare a cooling wire rack over a cookie sheet to hold cooked Binangkal for cooling purposes and to let excess oil drip.
Line your storage container with paper towel. Store in airtight container when completely cool.
The Binangkal will keep for a week (according to recipe source).

To Mercie, I hope you will like this!

Kababayan (Filipino Muffins)

2010-03-23T21:39:00.002-04:00

Note: I myself have not tried this recipe. I did not like it even when I was still a child growing up selling these in our tindahan/bakery, because I did not like the consistency. There was nothing special I found in it, but there were customers who continued to buy and eat them for some reason. So, for the sake of those who might be missing these and are interested to try and to see whether it was the same kababayan you used to like back in the Philippines, I am posting it here, as shared by a fb friend. Please be forewarned that there were those who tried this recipe and commented below, with poor feedback. I do not know when I will try this recipe. For those who have tried and did not like this, I hope you will experiment and troubleshoot what could be missing, and share your own corrected recipe. Thanks!

This recipe and photo above were shared by my fb friend Aileen Nopuente. Thanks for your generosity, Aileen!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup softened butter( room temperature)
2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 Tbs. baking powder 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup warm water
yellow food colouring,as needed for colour
28 ounces,sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 190"C .
- Combine sugar,salt,sugar,cream of tartar and soft butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.blend for 4 mins at lowest speed.
- Stir together in a separate bowl the all-purpose flour,cake flour & baking powder.
- Stir togeteher vanilla,water,yellowcolour and condensed milk in another small bowl.
- Add wet and dry ingredients along with oil alternately to mixer until it forms a smooth batter.
- Fill-each well-greased muffin cup with 1/2 cup batter.bake for 22 mins. or until toothpick inserted in cake center comes out clean.
- When the muffin is almost done, turn off the oven & partially open the oven door for another 5 mins. before taking out the muffin.

Manang's Pancit Sotanghon

2010-03-15T22:50:00.001-04:00

This is one of the many ways I cook sotanghon...my typical ingredients are the usual ingredients for pancit: holy trinity of ginisang bawang, sibuyas, at kamatis (sauteed garlic, onions, and tomatoes), carrots and cabbage, with chicken broth, chicken/pork meat or shrimps and squid, with some soy sauce, patis, oyster sauce, ground pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil

However, one day I had an intense craving, and all I had at home were the garlic and onions, carrots, and celery, with some leftover chicken and turkey breasts. And in my pantry were (Asian ingredientrs) canned baby corn, straw mushrooms, water chestnut, and quail eggs...and I had in my freezer several pints of chicken broth.

Hmmm...seems like I can make a somewhat more-Chinese-ish version of pancit. So I did, and I managed to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1/2 the contents of each canned straw mushrooms, baby corns, quail eggs, and water chestnut (don't forget to drain)
1 cup cubed chicken/turkey breasts
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
cornstarch+water to thicken a bit

You might be wondering why only half of the canned products...well, I had to save some for another batch this time using a cup of squid and 1/2 pound of shrimps (seafood version, which I made the next day).

1 pack of bean vermicelli noodles (about 14 ounces?)
hot water to soak noodles in for 5 minutes
2-3 cups chicken broth to cook the noodles in
2 tbsp oyster sauce
soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp anatto oil (optional- see here for instructions)
drizzle of sesame oil

Instructions:

Soak the noodles in HOT water for 5 minutes. Drain well.

Sautee, in the following order, garlic (until golden brown), onions (until translucent), carrots, celery, baby corn, water chestnut, and straw mushrooms for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from pan. Put the 2 cups broth into the pan and let boil. Thicken a bit with cornstarch-water mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the veggies back into the pan, add the quail eggs and stir until veggies are coated with the slightly thickened sauce. When it starts to boil/bubble, cook some more, uncovered, for additional 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Set aside. (Note: I gave some to my friend Anna, with the noodles separated. She ate this with plain rice, not realizing that it was supposed to go with the noodles, which she was saving for another meal time, thinking it was complete pancit already.)

For the noodles, bring the broth to a boil, season with the other ingredients except sesame oil, and dump the wet noodles into it. Stir, stir, stir until noodles have absorbed the broth. Bite into a noodle. If it still is too tough, add some more broth (or water). Do not be too concerned if it is not that salty, as you can easily adjust the salt with soy sauce once you serve. Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and stir.

Pour the prepared sauce/veggie/meat (or seafood) on top of hot noodles.

Enjoy!

Puto Pao/Cua Pao

2010-03-09T17:50:00.001-05:00

I am not really sure what this is called. The first time I tasted what seemed like puto with filling like that of siopao, it was when a sister-in-law brought some from Laguna. I loved it then. She said it was called cuapao. The shape was rectangular.

With previous browsing on the net, some called it puto pao. The cua pao search I made led me to a photo that did not look like what my ex-SIL brought. So, I don't know what this is really called. But simply put, that pao that I had then from SIL is basically puto with siopao filling. Period.

Now, with my easy method of making puto from boxed white cake mix (and I recently bought a pint of pure pasteurized egg whites), I made some puto pao (or cua pao?). After my kids loved them paos, I thought I should have a set of rectangular or square silicone muffin cups. So I bought a set of square and triangular. Next time I make puto pao again, I will use the square ones(they are larger too than the typical muffin cup shape). We already tried them with brownies and once the brownies were cool enough, they were easy to remove from the silicone cups.

I used leftover beef pares for filling (note: the beef pares link will lead you to my blog post which had a very old unappealing photo of my beef pares, which does not do justice to how scrumptious this dish is, so please do not be discouraged. It has been a tried and tested and loved recipe by several of my readers, and a favorite special beef roast recipe in my household that even my in-laws love it). I chopped the meat roughly, mixed that with the sauce, adjusted the sauce with thickener (cornstarch-water mix), salt, sugar, pepper as necessary. Then I chilled the mixture prior to making the puto pao. The chilling enables me to shape the filling into disks which I could lay flat over half of the puto batter before I top with the other half.

I get the water boiling even before I start preparing the batter. I use any white cake mix in my pantry, with the required egg whites and oil, then mix thoroughly with a hand mixer until batter looks fluffy. I place about a teaspoon at the bottom of the muffin paper liner, then carefully top with flattened filling (I measure using cooking scoop), then finally add another teaspoon or so of white cake mix batter, or enough to cover sides and top of the filling (I avoid adding too much). The slide show has some photos with sliced cheese on top, or plain, or some puto pao with the filling on top only (I experimented to place the filling on top, expecting it to sink to the middle while steaming, but it did not).

The result got my kids excited, they had these for snacks that night, and saved some for the next morning for their breakfast.

As expected, hubby only ate the plain puto. :(

Egg Tarts

2010-03-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

'
Another recipe shared by my fb friend Leslie Ruelan. Thanks a lot, Leslie, for sharing your tried and tested recipes, especially at these times that I am too busy to bake something new or to even try new recipes.

Ingredients:
30 pcs. tart shells
10 pcs. egg yolks
1 can 300 ml. condensed milk
1 can 370 ml. evap. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1.) mix all ingredients (except tart shells) until egg is well dispersed.
2.) pour into each tart shells
3.) bake at 350F for 25 mins. or until golden brown

Sugar Twists/Siakoy/Pilipit/Linubid

2010-03-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Another recipe from Leslie Ruelan. He shared three of his favorite Filipino snack recipes with me (after he added my supersoft ensaymada to his favorite recipes). Thanks, Leslie!

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c warm water (to be used with the yeast)
1/2 c oil
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp. salt
6 ~ 7 c bread flour
1 c milk
3/4 c water

Instructions:
1.) mix yeast with the 1/2 c warm water (set aside)
2.) mix all dry ingredients first before placing all the remaining ingredients
3.) knead the dough for about 10 mins. (if using the manual method)
4.) cover the dough and let it rest for 10 mins.
5.) cut and roll the dough like you're making ensaymada then twist it as shown in the picture
6.) let rise for 1/2 hour or more depending on the size you want
7.) deep fry the twists on medium heat until golden brown
8.) remove and let the oil drip by placing it in a wire rack
9.) when its not too hot anymore, you can dip in a bowl of sugar* or use a zip lock with sugar then shake.

*Note from me: You can make vanilla sugar by placing a vanilla bean pod (cut in half) inside a jar of sugar.

Torta Mamon Cebuano

2010-02-27T23:42:00.003-05:00

The photo above and the recipe below are courtesy of my online/fb friend Leslie Ruelan (I did have the same recipe shared to me long ago by another online friend/ED nurse Glenn A. through email he sent me, but he did not have photos, and I lost my photos of it when I made them. They are so good!). Thanks for these generous people who were willing to pass on recipes handed to them through generations. I never really heard of torta cebuana until I met friends online. Just a reminder for those who do not know what to do with the egg whites, turn them into lengua de gato or sans rival (both recipes available in this kusina).

Ingredients:

1 c sugar
10 egg yolks
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. anise powder
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 can 300 ml. condensed milk

Procedure:
1.) boil sugar and water for 5 mins. to make a syrup. Set aside to cool.
2.) combine flour and anise powder in a bowl.
3.) pour in melted butter, prepared syrup, oil, condensed milk and egg yolks
4.) stir using mixer until smooth
5.) sift in baking powder
6.) pour into wax paper-lined torta molds and
7.) bake at 350F for 22 mins. or until inserted toothpick comes out clean
8.) brush the top with margarine and sprinkle with refined sugar; enjoy with prepared syrup.

Lukban Hardinera

2010-02-26T23:45:00.003-05:00

Please welcome Jun Avila as my guest blogger for this post...Everything below is his own words...I got his permission to share this recipe. While I am too busy at the moment, I figure I'd post recipes shared by my online friends (with their permission, of course!) and probably blog about some gadgets of mine. Bookmark it for your next handaan with your Pinoy friends because this one sure sounds like a winner!

Description:
WHILE most meat loaves have ground meat as base, there’s a kind of meat loaf in Lucban that instead uses diced pork. Called hardinera, it’s unique in other ways as well. For one thing, it’s cooked in a llanera, an oval pan commonly used for leche flan. For another, it is not baked in an oven, like most meat loaves, but is instead steamed.

What also makes it different is the garnishing of hard-boiled eggs, bell pepper strips and pineapple slices that go into the bottom of the pan. When inverted onto a serving platter, these garnishings form a colorful topping. The beaten raw eggs poured into the llanera form a coating that gives the hardinera the look of an aspic.

Ingredients:

¼ c cooking oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 kilo pork kasim, diced into cubes
(See tips.)
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1-2 c pork broth (See tips.)
1 c tomato sauce
1 c finely diced sweet mixed pickles or pickle relish
½ c diced frankfurters
1/3 c raisins
1 c canned pineapple tidbits, well drained
1 small can red pimiento, drained and diced
1 85-g can liver spread (1/3 c)
½ c grated Cheddar cheese
1 c bread crumbs
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
3-4 canned pineapple slices, each cut into 3-4 pieces
1 small green bell pepper, cut into fine strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into fine strips
3 uncooked eggs

Directions:
Grease 3-4 small llaneras and line with banana leaves or with nonstick baking paper. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and sauté onions and garlic about one minute (do not let garlic burn).

Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil and add pork. Season with salt and pepper and stir-cook pork until brown.

Pour in pork broth and tomato sauce and simmer until pork is tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, mix together pickles, frankfurters, raisins, pineapple tidbits, red pimiento, liver spread, cheddar cheese and bread crumbs. Add the cooked pork. Do not include the sauce in which it was cooked. (See tips.) Mix until well combined.

Arrange slices of hard-boiled eggs, pineapple, and green and red pepper strips on the bottom of the prepared llaneras. Beat the 3 eggs and pour into llaneras, dividing equally. Spoon the pork mixture equally among the llaneras, pressing top to smoothen.

Cover tops of llaneras with foil and steam in a large steamer for about 45 minutes or until firm. If the four llaneras do not fit into the steamer, cook them in batches (two at a time).

To serve: Run a spatula or the dull edge of a knife along the sides of llaneras to loosen the jardinera. Invert onto a serving platter and tap llaneras lightly to release the jardinera. Remove llaneras and peel off banana leaves or baking paper before serving.

TIPS

Llaneras are small, oval-shaped aluminum pans often used for making leche flan. This recipe makes enough to fill four small llaneras.

If llaneras are not available, you can use loaf pans. The recipe can probably fill two loaf pans.

The pork should be diced into pieces slightly smaller than that used for menudo.

To make pork broth: boil one pork broth cube (or one pork bouillon cube) in 2 c water until cube dissolves. Use as per direction above.

Instead of pork broth, you can use plain water.

If desired, use the broth and the tomato sauce in which the pork was tenderized as sauce: Simmer in a small saucepan. Dissolve 1 tbsp cornstarch in ¼ c water and pour into sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and liquid seasoning. Simmer until slightly thick. Add one to 2 tbsp butter and heat until butter dissolves. Serve with the hardinera.

Drain the canned pineapple tidbits and the canned pineapple slices very well so mixture doesn’t become soggy.

Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jun!

Banoffee Pie

2010-02-25T12:02:00.003-05:00

This is a recipe shared by one of kusina's reader, Joy C. I am using photos she submitted for the slideshow.

Thanks to Joy C. for this recipe and the photos!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack graham crackers (crushed); you can use less if you want
nuts of your choice (Joy used chopped almonds)
1/2 cup butter, melted
5 or more pieces of ripe bananas, sliced into discs
1-1/2 cup whipping cream (depends on how much you want)
1/4 cup sugar or use more according to your taste, added to whipped cream towards the end of whipping
1 can (pressure-cooked) dulce de leche to serve as toffee
optional: chocolate shavings (you can buy this in small packages in the baking section)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Crush graham crackers either by using a chopped or food processor (best) or placing in a ziploc bag and crushing with rolling pin.

Mix crushed graham, nuts and butter then press onto a springform pan. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until the crust hardens.

Pour the dulce de leche/toffee on top then chill again.

Whip the cream and add sugar to taste.

Distribute sliced bananas on top of the toffee then top with the whipped cream.

Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

Manang's Lechon Manok

2010-02-15T22:21:00.005-05:00

Syempre hindi kumpleto ang Pinoy food cravings ko kung walang lechon manok. That is the main reason why I got myself a rotisserie. Actually, my friend Ana has it, and cooked lechon manok in it using cornish hens. That's what gave me the idea of getting myself this rotisserie.

My favorite back when I was in Pinas was the Baliwag style, although Andok's was more ubiquitous. But I had a different experience when I bought some at one of the MRT stations near JR Memorial Hospital (can't remember the name of the stall). The outlet was small, yet the machine was more high tech, and I love the spicy taste (although it was a bit too hot for my kids). I think the different spice flavor was due to the five-spice, which I tried below. And I added some other spices to experiment. If you notice, the two chickens below have different colors. That's because of different flavors. The chickens were the smallest ones among our very own homegrown chickens. Love them with atsarang papaya and steamy rice, plus sarsa ni Mang Tomas, of course. Hubby had the potato with it, and does not care for veggies.

Ingredients:
Whole chickens (that will fit in the rotisserie)
5 cloves garlic each
1 onion each
lemongrass stalks
celery stalks
whole peppers
several fenugreek seeds (I love the smell of it)
kosher salt to taste (in the cavity and on the skin)
various spices (I experimented with five spice, paprika, curry powder, ground pepper, etc -- up to you to experiment. Use your nose to see what you think will give you superb flavor)
Blocks of butter to keep skin moist.

Instructions:
Photos below pretty much self-explanatory. Cooking time depends on weight of chicken (about 2 hours for these two small chickens to make sure they are done. You can always check by prying with a fork or using a thermometer).
Add the veggies one hour before done.
Let sit on the platter for about 10 minutes before attacking to allow for the juices to redistribute.

Reader's Gallery #14

2010-02-14T23:56:00.000-05:00

This is long overdue!!! Lowiela Ellen sent me these photos of mamon late last year, with the following email.

hello manang,

i tried your special mamon yesterday and tasted so good!!!!though the first batch was just too short in the oven so the 2nd batch i do it bit longer...

tried also the leche flan using whole eggs but was not able to take photo it turned out also perfect with the 2nd batch and so so the first batch but was own mistake and learned from it!!!

thank you manang!!!!

Thanks, Lowiela, and sorry for this delayed posting...

Butter Spritz Cookies

2010-02-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

My new favorite spritz cookies because they are easy enough to press out the cookie press, bakes for 6-8 minutes only, tender enough for me, great-tasting, and easily slides off the traditional aluminum (non-insulated pan using a little nudge by a brownie spatula. Most of all, hubby does not really notice the difference from the first two recipes (or so he says).

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salst
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1-1/3 cups confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Sift together the flour and salt; set aside.
Cream together the softened butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolks, almond and vanilla extracts. Blend in dry ingredients. Fill cookie press and shoot cookies 1.5" apart on ungreased aluminum non-insulated cookie sheet. You may decorate with sprinkles or sugar before baking.
Bake 6-8 minutes until slightly golden brown at the edges.

Chocolate Oat Cookies

2010-02-05T10:19:00.003-05:00

I got this recipe (original name Double Chocolate Oat Cookies) from a booklet sampling of favorite brand recipes. However, when I made this the first time, I found it too soft/gooey, although very good. So the second time I made it, I used the one on the internet, but that gave me very tough and dry cookies. So this time, I resorted back to the first one I used, but I doubled the amount of oats (which makes it healthier, doesn't it? Ok, ok, at least I have less guilt with this choco-laden recipe), and I got the consistency and taste that I expected.

Kids and hubby love these cookies, and so do I.

Ingredients:
2 cups swemisweet chocolate chips, divided in two
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose-flour
1-1/2 cup Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375° F. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in small saucepan; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Stir in melted chocolate, egg, and vanilla.
Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix this with the liquid ingredients.
Stir ini remaining chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto parchment sheet placed on cookie sheets (I used a cookie scoop).
Bake 8-10 minutes or just until set (Do not overbake. Centers should look soft.)
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Frenchie Minute Steaks (or Frenchie Beef Lengua)

2010-01-26T15:19:00.001-05:00

Minute steaks are very thin cuts of beef sirloin or round, so thin that you can cook each side for one minute and it is done.

I cooked this for the first time just googling french onion soup with beef and got the idea to
add frenchies, basing on my husband's favorite beef dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse, Chop Steak. While not exactly the same, my husband excitedly exclaimed that they look and tasted almost the same. Chop steak is "ground beef, seasoned, grilled and smothered with sautéed mushrooms, red wine Bordelaise sauce and crisp onion straws." This dish quickly became a favorite in my household. It is so good, that I decided to make my beef lengua last Pinoy Christmas Party the same way.

Ingredients:
1 lb minute steaks
1 small can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms
2 envelopes Lipton Recipe Secret Onion soup mix*
1-1/2 cup red wine (or water)
Frenchies french fried onions for topping.

*Note: If you are using the Campbell's french onion soup, use only 3/4 cup red wine/water.

Instructions:
Prepare the french onion soup as directed in the package, except use red wine (or plain water if you don't have red wine) for the liquid. Double the amount of red wine (or water) to allow for evaporation during pressure cooking. (alternative: Campbell's French Onion Soup)
Drain and sautee mushrooms. Set aside.
A few pieces at a time, brown each side of the minute steaks and set aside on the same platter you placed the mushrooms on.
Place back everything in the pot and add the soup mixture (or campbell's french onion soup with red wine/water). Let boil.
Cover. Pressure cook for 10 minutes (if you are using thicker slices like in stir-fries, you can extend to 15 minutes).
Stir and place on a platter.
Sprinkle with Frenchies fried french fried onions and serve with mashed potatoes or plain rice.

Note: If you are going to use beef lengua, prepare the lengua first (pressure cook for 30 minutes then peel off the white coating, then slice at 1/2-inch thickness. These will now be the substitute for minutes steaks.