Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Summer Mommy.

25 March 2015

Summer break is here! Actually, it started last weekend -- and I didn't even know it!

No more waking up at 5 in the morning to get the big kids ready for school. Woohoo!!! But Cooking Mama is still on so I wake up at 7. I change to my sweat clothes and get my yoga on. And after that, apron over the gym clothes and Cooking Mama is on. I still love cooking so this is like a happy place. (And I can't believe I'm saying that! LOL! Cooking and me??? Who would've thought we'd be a happy couple?) And then I don my office uniform -- my least favorite of all because this would take me away from my beautiful babies.

Oh, I wanna have a 'me' day. I wanna have a haircut. If my hair stylist of over 20 years was not absent last weekend, I'd have short hair by now. I did my nails last weekend, too. Painted them a nice bright red. Haven't had polish on my nails since December 2014. Me with the hash tag nailart almost every week. Sadly, color lasted for 3 days. It was just nail polish after all. My family is enjoying the ChocNut Kare Kare that I made for them today. (Slicing the vegetables was what killed the nail color. But I'm not complaining!) Mommy. Happy to serve.

I have so many things planned for my children but I have two obstacles to conquer -- our budget and my husband.

Budget is budget.

Hubby, on the other hand, is difficult. He is not one to cooperate immediately according to my plans. He is also not very keen, initially, on things to do for the kids. Whenever I tell him, I have something planned for the weekend, for the children; his automatic response is -- "We will see" or the Cebuano favorite "pohon" which means, yes, "we'll see".

I say initially because he always gets on board, eventually. Although, sometimes, he doesn't do it on time. Which is sad. For me. For the kids.

I've already gotten the application forms for the McDonald's summer kiddie crew program and I think hubby has approved. So that's one of the things the kids would definitely be doing this April. But that's just five (5) days down. I have more planning to do. So help me God!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Cooking Mama: Yummy Hammy Burgers

24 March 2015

YUMMY HAMMY BURGERS

I wanted to make something that would make the kids smile when they opened their lunch boxes. But I failed.

I'll still share the recipe though. It might turn out differently for you. Plus, this is a nifty recipe using the remaining processed food you might have in your fridge.

Ingredients:

1 c sweetened ham, minced
2 tbsp green bell peppers, finely chopped
2 tbsp carrots, finely chopped
2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp rock salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pc. egg, beaten
2 tbsp flour
1/4 c bread crumbs
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp butter

1. Combine ham, bell peppers, onions, parsley, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Blend in beaten egg, flour and bread crumbs with hands or wooden spoon.
3. Divide mixture into 5 portions and shape into burgers.
4. Chill to set for at least 1 hour.

5. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat until hot.
6. Fry hamburgers for about 5 minutes on each side.
7. Drain on paper towels before serving.



Note:

They formed beautifully. They were frozen when I deep-fried them. But they dissolved. :(

Comment if you improved this recipe. Thanks!

Cooking Mama: Fried Chicken Curry

24 March 2015

This is a Cooking Mama post. But before that, lemme share this story.

I have stomach problems. Acid reflux. GERD. Basta, I have tummy booboos.

I remember that whenever I was pregnant, I'd get this burning pain right in the middle of my chest. Right below the cleavage and just above my very preggy belly. It felt like there was a huge hook that was pulling my entire rib cage out of my body through that one area. It made me throw up everything I ate. Nothing stayed down at all. And when I've thrown up everything I had eaten for that day, it made me puke my guts out.

I was not allowed to drink coffee (which almost killed me). Okay, I exaggerate. I had ginger tea. Yaya would boil fresh ginger and I'd have it before I sleep. Until I discovered this ready made salabat like instant coffee. Just add hot water. So I had that. And then when that was not available from my supplier and yaya left us, I bought this ginger powder from the supermarket. Salabat is ginger, right? Wrong.

When I tried drinking the ginger powder, it tasted like shit! Sorry. I mean, like tinola! Not at all like salabat! When I asked my officemates what that was, they said it's for arroz valenciana and/or curry. It smelled like curry! So maybe it was curry powder!

Since I had a lot of ginger powder, I made Chicken Curry. With a twist.

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp. Oil/Butter
3 pcs. Potatoes, peeled (or not), quartered
2 pcs. Carrots
1 lb. Chicken, cut into serving pieces (Thigh or Breast part)
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 large Onion, quartered
1 tbsp Patis
3 tbsp Curry Powder (hah!)
Salt & Pepper
1 c Chicken Broth
1 pc. Red Bell Pepper, cut into squares
1 pc. Green Bell Pepper, cut into squares

2 packs Powdered Coconut Milk or
1 c Coconut Milk

To cook:

1. Pan fry potatoes and carrots using butter. Add a little salt & pepper. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, fry chicken pieces and brown a little.
3. Add garlic and onion. Saute for a few minutes until soft.
4. Pour in patis and season with curry powder, salt & pepper. Stir for 2 minutes.
5. Add chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat. Add bell peppers, potatoes and carrots.
7. Simmer until half done.
8. Add coconut milk. (Dissolve 2 packs of coco milk powder in 1 cup of water.) Stir occasionally.
9. Cook for a few more minutes while stirring.
10. Serve and enjoy!


Cooking Mama: Pinakbet

24 March 2015

Pakbet you'll love this!

1/4 lb Pork, thinly sliced (any part -- belly, pork chop...whatever you like..)
1 large Eggplant, sliced
1 med Bitter melon, chopped
(I still haven't gotten to liking ampalaya. My tongue literally crawls down to my stomach when I even try a teeny bit!)
1/4 lb Squash, cubed
3 pcs Tomatoes, sliced
1 pc Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Ginger, minced
(or not! Hahaha! I hate biting into a piece of ginger unknowingly. So huge slices of ginger for me!)
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
6-8 pcs Okra, sliced
1 bunch String beans, cut in 3 inches length
4 tbsp Shrimp paste / Bagoong
(I use Barrio Fiesta or Zaragoza. Nothing of the fuchsia kind found in Cebu!)
1 c Water (I used pork broth for more flavor.)
3 tbsp Cooking Oil
Salt and pepper

Okay, before I share the procedure, I'd like to explain my improvisations. :)

I did not eat vegetables when I was a child. I think I've already shared that I only started eating veggies when my kids were already talking.
Eating veggies is fairly new to me. And if that is new, cooking veggies is a whole 'nutha level of new!

I don't like ampalaya. Bitterest melon ever!

I love ginger. I drink salabat (ginger tea) every night. I used to chew on a piece of ginger when I lost my voice and I needed to sing. But eating it, accidentally, ugh! So no. I need to see the ginger slices in my meals. It should not creep up my mouth and make itself known.

There. Now let's start cooking!

1. Saute garlic, ginger, onion and tomatoes.
2. Add the pork and cook until color turns light brown.
3. Put in the shrimp paste and cook for at least 2 minutes.
4. Add pork broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until pork is tender.
5. Put in the squash and cook until squash is soft.
6. Add the remaining vegetables and mix gently.
7. Simmer briefly until veggies are perfectly cooked.

For meatless Friday, substitute pork with prawns.

Cooking Mama: Chicken Liver Steak

24 March 2015

I love chicken liver. Or any kind of liver for that matter. I love how it kinda melts inside your mouth.

No matter how it is cooked, I like. Certified -> liver lover! ;-)

Here is my Chicken Liver Steak recipe.

1/2 k Chicken Liver
2 whole Garlic, minced
1/4 c Soy Sauce
4 pcs. Calamansi
2 med Onions, ringed
1 tsp Ginger, chopped
1/2 tsp Pepper, ground
4 tbsp Canola oil
2 pcs Eggs, hardboiled, sliced (No need!)
2 stalks Green onions, sliced for garnish

1. Mix calamansi juice, soy sauce, garlic, ground pepper and ginger together.
2. Marinate chicken liver in the mixture for an hour or more.

3. Heat oil in frying pan at low fire. Fry liver on both sides but do not overcook. Set aside. (Do not throw marinade.)

4. On the same pan, add onions and cook until soft.
5. Add the liver and the marinade in the pan and simmer until sauce thickens.
6. Add the sliced hard boiled eggs then mix. (This one's optional. I could do without the eggs.)
7. Garnish with green onions and serve.

And enjoy!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Cooking Mama: Easy Siopao Sauce

My kids are kinda fond of siopao. (Although, for me, nothing beats Roberto's siopao from Iloilo.) Here in Cebu, there is no sauce for siopao. I have not seen that special sauce in any of the dimsums I've been to. So I decided to make my own. Of course, the recipe came off the web, too.


QUICK AND EASY SIOPAO SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 c Beef Stock (or beef cubes)
1 pc Star Anise (or 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder)
2 tbsp Corn Starch diluted in 4 tbsp water
1/4 c Onions, diced
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
Dash Ground Black Pepper
4 tbsp Brown Sugar (I used Muscovado)
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Rock Salt

1. Heat the saucepan and pour-in beef stock. Bring to a boil.
2. Add onions, garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, salt, black pepper and star anise. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Make sure to cover the
saucepan to trap the steam. Add extra water as needed.
3. Turn off the heat then filter the liquid using a strainer.
4. Heat another sauce pan and pour in the filtered mixture. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the diluted cornstarch and stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
6. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

(Noticeably, my siopao sauce still has tidbits floating in the dispenser. I did not do procedure #3. Shortcut. Tee-hee!)

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Cooking Mama: Beef Nilaga

10 March 2015

Here's another Pinoy fave. I cooked this but once because beef is so hard to tenderize! And I already used a pressure cooker at that! (If you have tricks as to how to shorten the palambot part of the cooking, do comment!) Although I also heard "cooking people" say that cooking has no shortcut. Oh well...

BEEF NILAGA

Ingredients:

1 k Beef sirloin, cubed (I used Beef Ribs, tho. It's really just up to you.)
2 bunches Pechay
1 sm Cabbage, chopped
6 pcs. Banana saba, halved (crosswise)
4 pcs. Potatoes, quartered
1 L White onion, halved
4 stalks Celery, chopped
2 pcs Star anise
4 c Beef broth (you can boil the beef before starting anything)
4 c Water
Salt & pepper to taste


1. Combine the water and beef broth in a large cooking pot. Boil.
2. Add the onion, star anise and celery. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pot and continue to boil for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the onion, star anise and celery from the boiling liquid using a strainer. Discard.
4. Add the beef. Simmer for 60-90 minutes or until the beef becomes tender. (See? Takes forever! I used a pressure cooker to cut time -- a little.)
5. Add water if necessary. Put in the banana and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add pechay and cabbage. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Cover and turn the heat off.
7. Let the pot stay with the cover on for 2-5 minutes to cook veggies.

Note:

I also added carrots and chayote coz I like.

Enjoy!

Cooking Mama: Kangkong In Oyster Sauce

10 March 2015

Since I decided to do meatless Fridays for Lent, I have been googling vegetable recipes using veggies that I don't normally eat. Take for instance kang kong. I never ate kangkong because I remember seeing them growing right beside my lola's pig pens with the pigs feeding on them. Kangkong for me was kaning baboy.

I only started eating vegetables when my eldest daughter could already talk. That's when she would tell me to eat MY vegetables. However, I only ate veggies with English names. Cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, etc etc. Kangkong, alugbati, tugabang? I don't know them. That's why on my first attempt to buy kangkong, I was tricked. I asked the market tindera if the bunch of leaves on her table were kangkong, she said yes. Since I don't know my green leafy Filipino veggies, I bought a bunch. When I got home, yaya told me they were alugbati and not kangkong. Grrrrr!

I finally bought the correct leaves at a supermarket where the veggies were clearly labeled. And kangkong is not Filipino, btw, it's Chinese! (Should've known by how the name sounded!) Price tag read: Chinese Kangkong P62 - 1kg.

So here's last meatless Friday's dinner. (My husband wanted adobong kangkong which I will eventually try to prepare soon.)


KANGKONG IN OYSTER SAUCE

Ingredients:
A large bunch of kangkong
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp garlic, finely minced
1/4c oyster sauce
2c chicken/beef broth
1.5 tbsp corn starch
Salt, pepper & sugar
1 tbsp cooking wine
Sesame seed oil

KANGKONG

1. Wash the kangkong well. Cut off the tough (lower) ends of the stalks.
2. Boil 6c of water. When water is boiling, blanch the kangkong for 3 minutes. Pour into a strainer and douse with cold water.
3. Let the excess water drip off then arrange the kangkong on a platter.

SAUCE

1. Turn the stove to medium and heat the cooking oil in a small pan. When hot but not smoking, toast the garlic.
2. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off the oil.
3. Pour in a cup and a half of broth and bring to a boil.
4. In a mixing bowl, stir together the remaining broth, oyster sauce, corn starch, salt and pepper to taste, sugar, cooking wine, and a drizzle of sesame seed oil.
5. Pour #4 mixture into the boiling broth and cook. Stir until thick and clear.

6. Pour sauce over the kangkong and top with toasted garlic.

Thank God It's meatless Friday!

Thursday, March 05, 2015

CookingMama: Tuna Pasta

04 March 2015

Perfect for those doing meatless Fridays this Lenten season. Quick and easy and yummy!

Ingredients:

Cooking oil
1 large White Onion
1 head Garlic
2 cans Chili Corned Tuna
Butter
1 can Mushrooms
1 pack Spaghetti Sauce (I used the 4 cheese kind)
Basil
1 pack Cheese sauce or slices
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 k Pasta (cooked according to package instructions)

Saute onion til transparent. Add garlic.

When garlic turns brown, add tuna. Add 1-2 tbsp butter, basil leaves and mushrooms.

Add spaghetti sauce and mix well.

Add cheese sauce, evaporated milk and cooked pasta.

Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Let it simmer for 3 - 5 minutes.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Cooking Mama Me

05 March 2015

Finally. I have gotten to this blog again. I've redesigned it, added a newer selfie and have now resolved to write again.

Last December 23, 2014, our yaya (stay-in-babysitter) of two years upped and left us without a proper goodbye. I will be posting about her soon. But since she left I have been mommying for my family a little bit more.

I have been cooking a whole lot more, too. Not just fry. Really cook. Real food.

My alarm sounds off at 5AM and this is how my day looks:
* wake up schoolkids (N & D) * get them to shower & dress for school * cook rice  * cook N & D's baon for school * prepare their breakfast * pack their snacks & lunch * send them off to school * cook lunch for my husband and dinner for everyone * get ready for work * 8-hour shift * wash dishes & prepare the children's stuff for the next day * watch tv and sleep for a few * repeat

My husband and I would just take turns watching the baby since we still have a 2-year-old. He gets no rest, too.

Nope, I'm not complaining. I am happy taking care of them. I am tired all the time but I'm happily tired.

I have a new yaya now. She has been with us for about two weeks already. Some load off my back but I still do the cooking because she cannot cook.

So now I'd like to share my recipes to busy working moms like me. Easy recipes I got off the net. Most of which I have tweaked because some of the ingredients are not in my shelves. Oh boy, if my old friends could see our kitchen now! My shelves have so many spices that I actually use! My fridge has vegetables and not just the frozen ones! Real veggies. Leaves! (Back when I was single, all my fridge had were just unhealthy, liquid stuff -- beer, vodka, soda and no water!)

I have compiled the ones that I have tried in an old Starbucks planner and labeled it "Cooking Mama" off that game that my daughter adores.


Wednesday, March 04, 2015

CookingMama: Creamy Tomato Soup

6 December 2014

I know, I know. I haven't blogged in so long but I'm glad my sister in San Diego insisted on a link to the Tomato Soup I just made.

We've been anticipating the arrival of this typhoon-turned-super-typhoon-turned-typhoon-turned-super-typhoon again since yesterday. And I've been craving for Italian food for the longest time. So, while the skies are gloomy, I whipped up this super easy Creamy Tomato Soup.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps. Butter
2 medium-sized onions, diced
1.5 c Tomato Sauce
Salt
Basil
Oregano
Italian Seasoning
Magic Sarap
Full Cream Milk

1. In a pot, saute onions in butter over medium heat until translucent.
2. Slowly whisk in tomato sauce and add water depending on how thick you want your soup.
3. Add a pinch of salt, magic sarap, oregano, basil and Italian seasoning.
4. Cook until boiling but turn off heat before it actually boils.
5. Cool a little then slowly stir in milk. You may add parmesan cheese if you wish.
Serve immediately.