Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes and Herbs

Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes and Herbs was prepared on "ourmeza" for dinner with some green salad with walnut raspberry vinegarette, shaved parmesan cheese and some steamed rice.

Grilling your food is not just about eating healthy but could be another way of spending time with your family Everybody could help out in preparing and grilling and then if weather permits having dinner outdoor will be simply delightful.

Ingredients:


Fillet of Salmon

Tomatoes, seeded and diced

Green Onions

Favorite herbs


Lemon slices

Olive oil cooking spray


Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Put your salmon in nonstick foil and then

Mixed all ingredients in a bowl except the lemon slices.

Then sprinkle the mixture to the salmon top and bottom.

Put lemon slices on top and sealed it before grilling.

Grill and try not to over cook it.

Serve hot with some green salad and some steamed rice..

Menudo

I just finished cooking Menudo for our lunch the other day and as you can see in the picture it was steaming hot as I prepare it on "ourmeza" together with some steamed rice.

Hmmmm Yummmmyy you might say..definitely lol (no kidding)...

Just the fragrant of the steaming hot Menudo and the steaming hot rice is/are an encouragement enough for you to sit down and enjoy every bit of it.

As I have metioned before as much as possible we try to eat mostly fish,vegetables and chicken. But once or twice a week I'll cook some meat dish like sinigang,nilaga and so on.... And so this time I've decided to make some menudo which I havent cooked for probably over 3 -4 months because I have been trying to cook some authentic filipino vegetables dish that when I was younger or when I was in my teens didnt even pay any interest in trying them or eating them, like the ginisang ampalaya, laing, ginataang langka and the puso ng saging. But now as an adult,my family and I, really enjoy the taste and the health benefits of it . And just few days ago I made some puso ng saging dish and sadly unable to take pictures because I forgot to charge my camera and by the time it was charged the left over puso ng saging is not enough to take a good picture...well theres still next time so watch out for it.

Anyway back to Menudo, it was almost gone by the end of the day and the left over were just enough for snacks with some pandesal the next day.

Ingredients:

pork cut into cubes

garlic

onion

tomatoes (4 tomatoes, I dont use tomato sauce. as I've mention before I like using fresh tomatoes.) so tomato sauce can be used if prefered.

carrots

potatoes

green peas

red bell pepper ( green bellpepper optional)

1 bay leaf

soy sauce

2 calamansi or two slices of lemon

atswete

salt and pepper to taste

raisins (optional)

Procedure:
Marinate the cube pork in soysauce and calamansi for 15 min. This part is optional and can be omitted as well as the calamansi but soysauce is needed still.

Saute garlic,onion and tomatoes. Then add the marinated pork together with its marinade and the aswete mixture and 1 bay leaf. (if not marinated add some soysauce)

Simmer and add the potatoes and carrots. When almost done add the green peas and the red bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Raisins can be added if prefered. It will add a bit of sweetness thats very appetizing for this menudo. Serve hot with some steamed rice and some mangoes for dessert.

Enjoy!

Potstickers, Gyoza or Dumplings

I have made some Dumplings to make it as Potstickers....Whats the difference between Dumplings and Potstickers you may ask??? Arent they the same? Well lets see...

Well first with Chinese it is called Dumplings and with Japanese it is called Gyoza. Dumplings and Gyozas are boiled most of the time instead of panfried and steamed. Dont get me wrong Gyozas can be steamed, panfried and so on...So when it is panfried and steamed to have a somewhat crunchy crust at the bottom it is called Potstickers. And Potstickers, when you bite into it it is moist, soft and crunchy at the same time that makes it very appetizing.

And since we love having it every time we were in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant and sometimes cant get enough of it... decided to look for easy to make Dumplings recipe. Luckily found one that I could bravely say, easy to make.

Above picture are and were (gone in an instant) the Potstikers with vinegar,soysauce and pepper flakes for dippings that I have made and prepared on "ourmeza" for our snacks. And I still have some extras and I've stored them in our freezer. And whenever I am ready to cook them when ever we have some craving for it we could easily have it.

Ingredients:

chopped cabbage (boiled)

chopped green onion

ground pork or chicken or beef or shrimp

sesame oil


sugar

soysauce

minced garlic

minced fresh ginger

gyoza wrappers

extra virgin olive oil...

Procedure:

Mix all of the ingredients. Fill the gyoza wrapper with the mixture. Sealed edges of the wrapper by wetting or dumping it with water. Fold and sealed being that the mixture would be in the center. Add the olive oil in a frying pan. Put gyoza or dumplings in the pan and fry until the bottoms become golden brown. Add water just enough to steam the dumplings in the pan about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water depends how much you have dumplings in your pan. Cover the pan and steam the gyoza on low heat until the water is gone.

Enjoy!

Crinkled Herb Baked Potatoes

Crinkled Herb Baked Potatoes were prepared on "ourmeza" or table for snacks.

See the picture on the left? I was unable to fill it up so I could take pictures because my husband and son started munching on it the moment I took it out from our oven.

Last week we had three different storms. And so after work and school we were all cooped up at home till the weekend. But before the three different storms came I have planned ahead, I have rented some videos and bought some of our food supplies, extra drinking water, extra batteries and etc. so we will be prepared and ready for the storm that were coming. The rain came down really hard and the temperature were really freezing. Days have passed when the clouds slowly clearing and thats when we got a peak of the view of the mountain at our balcony. From there we saw snow on top of the mountain. If you are from the west a view like that is rarely seen. So when you see one you get excited especially when you used to live in the eastcoast like us, well mostly my husband. I moved there,got married and gave birth there as well. Our son and I were there a few years then we all moved at the other side of the map,here in the west when he was still a baby. So snow on the top of the mountain was pretty exciting and the air feels and smells crisp and clean as well..

Anyway back to the one of the snacks I made for us to eat while watching a movie at home was Crinkled Herb baked Potatoes. Easy to make and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

Russet Potatoes

any of your favorite herbs

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

ranch dressing as a dip or any vegetable dip

Procedure:Sliced potatoes with the crinkled vegetable cutter. Place in a cooking sheet. Drizzle some EVOO, some herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Baked till brown. Serve hot with some vegetable dip dressing.

Easy Cassava Cake

Homemade Cassava Cake was prepared on "ourmeza" or table for dessert on Christmas Day.



I've made some Cassava Cake for dessert last Christmas 2007. Made some extra as well for our Christmas Gift give away.


If you are going to buy Cassava Cake for your family to consume plus to give away , buying it from the store would be a bit expensive. So making it is more reasonable if you are going to give some away. It is so easy to make believe me . You'll have enough for your family to indulge with plus enjoy it for a few more days and still give some away as your presents or gifts. For a small square of the cassava cake in the store, the price you pay for it is sometimes 3x more than actual price or even more to make it. Hmmmm well it must be the labor of making it thats why it is expensive. If you can afford and you find cassava cake making a hard thing to do, hey to each its own.
Anyway, for me making cassava cake is so easy. So everytime we have some cravings for it I make some, enough for us to enjoy for a few days. And since I am making it for us for Christmas, I've decided to make extra to give away as our Christmas gift and it didnt even put a dent in our budget. Being in a tight budget, homemade gifts are always a life saver. Simply wrap it in festive clear plastic, with a bow and holy berries voila a very goodlooking gift.

To make it ingredients are

Grated cassava 3- 4 bags ( you'll end up making 4 of the cake square baking pan or depending how small or big your pan is, as long as you distribute it evenly)

1 to 2 bottle of macapuno
(we simply love macapuno in our cassava cake)

2 cans of condense milk ( depends how sweet you want it to be)

1 cup of white sugar

2 cans of coconut milk

grated cheddar cheese
Procedure:


Mix all ingredients except the grated cheddar cheese and 1 can of condense milk.
Preheat oven to 325 to 350 Fahrenheit

Pour mixture evenly to your four aluminum square or round cake pan. ( depends how small or how big your pan is. just distritube evenly)

(note: try putting your pan on a sturdy cooking sheet like the cookie sheet to make it easy to put inside the oven and to pull out from the oven plus knowing that your cassava mixture wont spill into your oven while it is baking.)

bake for 45 min.

Remove from the oven and evenly spread the 1 can of condense milk and topped it with grated chedder cheese to your cassava cake.

Put back in the oven for other 20 to 30 min or until brown. So easy to do.
Serve cold. Enjoy!

Pork Afritada

Pork Afritada was prepared on "ourmeza" or on our table with some steamed rice,some side salad and some fruit salad.



Since last spring started, we have been very good in watching what we eat. We have been having fish,chicken,vegetables that have been grilled,baked,broiled and made into soup.


But now and then I'll cook some red meat so we would not crave for it to the point that we'll want to have it more than we should. So decided to make some Pork Afritada. The recipe for pork afritada is the same as the Chicken Afritada that I have previously posted. It is cooked in a bunch of fresh tomatoes and aswete. Since my family loves the tomato base sauce from the Chicken afritada and I have lots of tomatoes in our fridge that I needed to use soon or else it will be thrown away in a few days so better put it in a good used and use it for afritada dish.

We all love afritadas but my son loves the sauce from this afritada dish the most. It could be Afritada fish, chicken or pork or beef and the sauce which is made of tomatoes and aswete can be a dish by it self.

Anyway back to my son, most of the time from out of nowhere while we are or were having our meal, if he really likes what I've prepared on "ourmeza" or on our table He'll say," Mommy you are a good cook,I love you and I cant believe this is so good, more sauce please". Hahaha...yup thats the way to butter up any mom to buy you new toys..lol kidding.



Kidding aside it really warms my heart everytime I see my husband and son enjoying the food that I've prepared for them. Especially when they ask for seconds or even when they take it to work or school and when they get home they still asked for it. No wonder with their appreciation of my cooking, it makes me enjoy and love it more when I cook for them. If I love to cook then, now it put a more meaning to it now that I have a family of my own or my whole family and friends who enjoys my cooking so much.



Too much stories behind the cooking of this dish...then to rumble on and on and I beg your pardon for it...



Anyway heres the recipe for Pork Afritada, exactly the same as chicken. Afritada can be fish, chicken, pork or beef. And as I've mention I have been cooking fish,chicken and I've posted them too. This time would be the pork version.



Ingredients:

Pork cut into cube bigger than the menudo meat 2x bigger

tomatoessss plenty of them about 5 to 6 pieces seeded and diced

garlic minced

onions diced

aswete (powder version can be bought now in any asian store, dissolved in lukewarm water)

bell pepper quartered or sliced if prefered

potatoes quartered

bay leaf (1 only)

soy sauce 1 laddle only



Salt and pepper to taste if needed



Brown pork and potatoes. Set aside.
Saute garlic,onion and tomatoes. Add pork, soy sauce,aswete mixture let it simmer. When almost done add the bell pepper, bay leaf and potato. Salt to taste if still needed. When done serve hot with steamed rice and side salad.



Easy to cook even a day after work. Simple dish but full of flavor.