future politician

Something new generation parents can relate. 

dynamite - the chili explosion

My first time and I totally recommend it for spicy food lovers. It's a wax pepper with ground pork filling wrapped in springroll wrapper.

I used the typical Filipino lumpiang shanghai recipe (since it's really our meal for the day). Mix 1/2 kilo ground pork, 1 tsp. minced cilantro, 1 medium grated carrot, 3 garlic cloves, 1 medium sized red onion and a medium sized egg in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You will need wax peppers for this one, or what we call here in the Philippines as "siling panigang". I know wax pepper in some countries are double or triple the size of the ones we have here in Philippines, but my estimate is you can fill 70 to 80 pieces of wax pepper for this recipe.

You need to make a slit on one side of the pepper, and remove the seed. Stuff the ground pork filling on each wax peppers. Cut a large spring roll wrapper in half, and then wrap your peppers as you would a spring roll. 

Note : I strongly advise you to wear gloves or anything similar while doing handling the pepper. I made a mistake of not using gloves, and I had jalapeno burn for almost a day. But just in case, you can treat jalapeno burn by soaking your hands in milk for few minutes.

Deep fry your peppers in a low heat (so the pork will be cooked properly) until golden brown. Serve with ketchup.

By the way, I also tried it without the spring roll wrapper because I've seen some without it. I'm not sure how they did theirs but mine doesn't look enticing, and it's definitely not crispy  so I still prefer the spring roll style.

I honestly cannot say it's very easy to prepare but it's super worth it. Bon appetit!

Treat life like a sea

"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor"

Life can be hard. Waves of trial can be overwhelming. However, soon after the storm, you will realize that what happened has a purpose and everything that you've been through made you stronger. Yes, sometimes it's easier to just give up. When that thought flashed your mind, look behind you and see what you already overcome and how far you have gone. And most importantly, look beside you and see who and what you are fighting for. Hold on to them and you will be able to go through. 

This is a constant reminder to myself and I am still here fighting... 

Chicken heart, liver and gizzard

This one should have been a Philippine adobo dish with a twist. Typically, when you cook adobo, you will just combine the meat (whether that's pork or chicken - in my case chicken gizzard, liver and heart), garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper in a pot, put it in low fire, and wait until the meat is cooked. And Voila! It's ready to serve. However, some people cook it differently. Some will add some bay leaves, some will add tomatoes, etc. 

So I decided, why not try cooking it differently too? So I sauteed garlic, onion, heart, gizzard and liver and bell pepper. I put 3/4 cups of water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup of tomato ketchup (instead of vinegar) and some pepper.

And the result? It taste like Philippine menudo. It still taste good, hubby really likes it. I just can't help but laugh at myself for an epic fail. But what the heck? I will still try inventing dishes. You will never know what you will discover if you stop right? 

How about you? What have you been trying to invent lately? 

Pasta day!

It’s just another normal day for our family. But just to break that monotony, I cooked pasta (we really prefer rice). But to make it a little exciting for my kiddo, I used a fusilli noodle or it can be a rotini noodle – honestly, it’s really confusing, I prefer to call it “twirly noodles” – rather than the normal long ones we use (is that angel’s hair noodle?). I also dyed the noodle to make more enticing to eat.

I really like to make a rainbow colored pasta, but as soon as my daughter saw what I was trying to do, she continually asked for the spaghetti so I ended up using just the pink and blue. And just in case you want to know how to dye your pasta, its actually pretty simple.

Put water, oil ( I used 1 tbsp. for 1 kilo pasta), a pinch of salt and the food color of your choice in a pot. Bring water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir from time to time until the pasta is “al dente”.

Making a rainbow colored pasta is pretty laborious, but hey!, I’m not about to do it everyday right? And I think the look on your kid’s face (and the dad’s face too!) makes the effort worth it.

I also cooked chicken macaroni soup (one of my daughter’s favorite) using the same noodle, perfect for the cloudy weather.

mixed seafood

Thinking what to eat everyday has been a dilemma for me and I know some people can relate. But since I have mouths to feed, sometimes you just have to invent a few. Here’s one of mine.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo mussels

1/2 kilo shrimp

1/2 kilo squid

1 green bell pepper

250 ml tomato sauce

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 medium sized red onion

salt and pepper to taste

• Boil mussels in 1 cup of water. Cook until mussels have opened and set aside.
• Saute garlic,onion and bell pepper in a pan.
• Add tomato sauce, mussels broth, salt and pepper. Simmer until flavors blend.
• Add the shrimp and squid, wait till its cooked.
• Add mussels,stir slightly and serve.
• You can also put steamed crab if you prefer.

Bon Appetit!

Halalan2016 (election jokes)

            These are some of the 2016 election jokes, hugot lines, etc. Pampa goodvibes at pang relax ng konti from the nonstop chaos.

#halalanhugot2016 from FB 

•  Na trillanes ka na ba? Yung nagpagamit ka na nga, di mo pa din nakuha.
•  Na Bong Bong Marcos ka na ba? Yung pag gising mo napalitan ka na. – Marco Pile
• Tanggap na ni Mar na nalamangan sya. Pero yung desisyon ng crush m, di mo pa din tanggap.
• Na Mar Roxas ka na ba? Yung pilit ka pa ring naghahabol kahit wala ka ng pag asa.
   Ang nararamdaman ko sayo parang indelible ink, ang hirap tanggalin.
• Ang nararamdaman ko sayo parang indelible ink, ang hirap tanggalin.  Buti pa ang kandidato mo, pinaglalaban mo. Eh ako ba?
•   Buti pa ang kandidato mo, pinaglalaban mo. Eh ako ba?
•  Oo nga nakaboto ka na pero di mo pa rin makakamit ang inaasam asam mong pagbabago, pagbabago ng feelings nya para sayo!
• Pabili po ng kape, yung kasing tapang ni Duterte.
• Hindi ako naniniwala sa pagbabago na yan kahit si Duterte pa ang manalo. Dahil simula ng unang termino ni Gloria hanggang ngayon kay PNoy walang nagbago. Ikaw pa rin ang nasa puso ko...
• Kahit DALAWA ang nasa puso mo, Iisa lang dapat ang iboto
• Du30 : I hate Drugs !
  Kasalanan ko ba na ADIK AKO SAYO !?
• JUAN and MARIA Conversation
  Juan: anu na status ng resulta sa botohan?
  Maria: Parang tayo lang UNOFFICIAL..
• Miriamzoned: 'yong sa sobrang perfect at deserving mo, nakonsensya siya kaya pumili siya ng iba kasi pakiramdam niya hindi ka niya deserve. Pero walang mali sayo, nasa sa kanya. Siya ang nagkulang, hindi ikaw.
• ...so, it's a day after. How has it been for everyone? Partial and unofficial pa rin, parang tayo lang!
• Sana masali yung pagiging manloloko mo sa darating na ''Change is coming''
• MIRIAMZONED - Yung ikaw yung pinakadeserving sa kanila pero ikaw yung binalewala at pinili yung iba
• Na Mar Roxas knb ?
  Ginawa mo na ang Lahat ,
  Kahit Magmukha kang Tanga at pagtawanan ng iba ..
  Pero iba pa rin piniLi nya !
• Partial and unofficial, parang tayo lang.

Source: Facebook #halalanhugot2016

Photo credit to the owner

Cheers to new beginnings!!!!