Sinigang Sugpo/Hipon or Jumbo Shrimp in Bilimbi and Tamarind soup

Sinigang Hipon sa Kamias At Sampaloc or
Jumbo Shrimp in Bilimbi and Tamarind Soup

Its been freezing cold lately so to sooth our chilly bones and to warm our tummy, I've been cooking dishes with soup. This time instead of sinigang fish,meat or chicken, decided to cook sinigang hipon or jumbo shrimp with kamias or bilimbi as the souring agent for my sinigang and a bit of the tamarind also. This dish is loaded with vitamin c from the bilimbi and tamarind and lots of dietary goodness from all the green veggies that I've added such as mustard leaves, string beans and okras. Added some radish, eggplant, tomatoes,onion also not just to add more flavor to it but also a good source of more fiber, antioxidant and etc.

Ingredients:
Jumbo Shrimp preferably with head just trim the wiskers and tails
onion sliced
tomatoes sliced
string beans desired cut length
mustard leaves desired cut length
eggplant sliced diagonally
radish slided diagonally
okra
chili
bilimbi or kamias
tamarind powder
salt to taste

Procedure:

Put all ingredients in a pot except for the string beans and mustard leaves. Add water to cover or add more for extra soup. Cook till almost done then add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure not to over cook the shrimp or else it would be a bit chewy or rubbery.

Serve hot and enjoy!!!

Paksiw na Bangus with Ampalaya at Talong or MilkFish Stew with Bitter Melon and Eggplant

Paksiw na Bangus with Ampalaya at Talong
Milkfish Stew with Bitter Melon and Eggplant

We are lucky that our son prefer to eat fish more than any kind of meat such as chicken, beef or pork.  And so I try to prepare or to cook fish in many different ways so he won't get bored eating it. He also tend to eat lots of vegetables when eating fish rather than when he eats any kind of meat.

And Paksiw na Bangus with Ampalaya at Talong or Milk Fish stew with Bitter Melon and Eggplant is one of his favorite.

When I cook Paksiw na Bangus, I use the middle part or belly part of the fish only( luckily they have this cut and ready to buy in our local asian store)  because Bangus or Milk fish tend to have lots of bones so I make sure to use boneless or the belly part only so I won't worry that he'll end up eating some bones.
Also when I cook the Paksiw na Bangus or Milk fish stew, I add Bitter Melon for it contains lots of vitamin nutrients and  I add some eggplants also for it contains lots of fibers and anti oxidant.  And to my surprise our son eats Bitter Melon and Eggplant with much "gusto".  Below is the recipe for the Paksiw na Bangus with Ampalaya at Talong.

Ingredients:
Bangus or Milk fish - clean and cut into desired size. ( I only use the belly part of the Bangus or I use the boneless Bangus when I cook it )
Ginger peeled and sliced
Garlic sliced
chili
vinegar
salt and pepper
water optional if you want more soup or broth and don't want it too sour.

Procedure: Put your Bangus or Milk fish in a pot and add all ingredients. I tend to add some water enough to cover it all because my son loves the broth or soup and I don't want it to be too sour for him. Cook till done and prepare it with some steamed brown or white rice. Serve hot with some soy sauce with calamansi or lemon optional. Enjoy!

Easy and Delicious Stove Top Pork Sisig

My unico loves Pork Sisig especially if it is sizzling hot.  It is one of our favorite when eating out in a filipino restaurant.

There are lots of variety now of Sizzling Sisig like, chicken, pork and even fish.  We have tried all of them but Sizzling Pork Sisig is our all time favorite.

My aunt also makes a really excellent sisig. She prepares it like  the good old ways, from boiling to grilling and frying and then adding spices that she mixed and the end result absolutely delicious.

And so since my son enjoy them decided to look for recipe that is easy to make and that I could tweak and make some changes. So instead of grilling..i'll be cooking it on stove to make it easy…end result my family loves it.

Below is the picture of my Easy and delicious stove top Pork Sisig.

Ingredients:

Pork - ( I used liempo and pork butt) in the Original recipe..you have to use pork ears,cheek and pork picnic cut)

2 large onion chopped

jalepeno or siling labuyo

salt and pepper to taste

calamansi or lemon to have a citrus flavor

Procedure:

Boil meat till tender. Then fry till crispy and golden brown. Chopped meat.  When done put in a bowl add all ingredients and mix.  Serve in a hot plate or sizzling plate.  Enjoy while it is hot.

Ginisang Kalabasa or Sauteed Kabocha Squash

For easy to prepare dish for today, decided to cook something healthy that every one in my family will enjoy. Like I said in my previous post, I just recently got back on my feet and still slowly getting back to my usual day to day activities. So for today I made some easy, healthy and delicious Ginisang Kalabasa with Dahon ng ampalaya or Sautéed Kabocha Squash with Bittermellon leaves.  Healthy because  squash is a good source of vitamin A and dietary fiber, then the ampalaya leaves regulates your blood and the green beans- good source of protein. You could eat it as is or eat it with some brown or  white steamed rice. Below is the picture of the Ginisang Kalabasa as I just cooked it.

Ginisang Kalabasa or Sauteed Kabocha Squash

Ingredients:

Kabocha Squash cut into desired bite size but make sure it's not too small or else it will get over cooked easily.
Onion chopped
Garlic chopped
Tomatoes chopped
Ground meat or cubed meat optional
Water just enough to simmer the veggies
Salt n pepper to taste


Procedure:
You could either add meat or fish flakes to this dish or not at all (optional)
If adding meat, boil meat till tender then set aside.
Sautéed onion, Garlic and tomatoes then add meat. Sauté till meat is brown then add veggies and then water. Simmer  and when almost done  if adding fish not meat..add the cooked flake fish…simmer for few more minutes . Serve hot by it self or serve it with steamed white or brown rice ... Enjoy

Binagoongang Baboy with talong or Pork in sautéed Shrimp Paste with Eggplant

Binagoongang Baboy or pork in sautéed shrimp paste is a Filipino dish that's very popular. It is delicious especially if you squeezed some calamansi or lemon on it and eat it with some steamed rice and some steamed vegetables ( okra,bokchoy and green beans).  This dish is salty, sour, sweet, spicy and rich so if you are watching your salt intake , blood pressure and cholesterol this is not for you. Beware also that it has a very strong smell that to some people it is too overwhelming. I guess it depends how it's prepared. In my case I use plenty of onion, garlic ,tomatoes and to lessen the saltiness and cholesterol, I normally add some eggplant so it's not all the shrimp paste and meat. Plus we always have some steamed vegetables when we eat it ..Oh and the 1 to 2 head of garlic is good for blood pressure.


Ingredients:

Onion 2 chopped
1-2  head of Garlic or more chopped
4 tomatoes chopped
2.2 lb of pork meat cube
Siling labuyo or hot chili peppers
Vinegar
2-3 long eggplants sliced diagonally
Sugar 1 table spoon or more according to taste
Evoo or canola oil enough to use for sautéing. 
1small bottle of bagoong

Procedure:
Boil meat till tender n put aside. Sauté onion, garlic, tomatoes then add meat till brown. Add all ingredients and simmer till done ... Enjoy with steamed rice and other steamed vegetables..

Ilocanos Longgonisa and Garlic Fried Rice

For today's breakfast, on "ourmeza" or table, I prepared some Ilocanos Longgonisa and Garlic Fried Rice with some sliced cucumber and sliced tomatoes.
I know how to make tocinos and sweet and hot skinless longgonisa but not the Ilocanos Longgonisa. but I intend to learn how to make it, I just haven't found the recipe that I could try and tweak around.

When I went to the asian grocery story yesterday, I found some newly stocked Ilocanos Longgonisa that my husband and I enjoy and so I bought some to cook today.

This morning I prepared the everyday breakfast for my unico that he likes before going to school and for my husband and I, I made some fried rice made from the left over rice last nite. How it is made…its Crumbled rice lightly fried in evoo with garlic and a dash of salt. And the Ilocanos longgonisa, I boiled it till tender and fried till golden brown.  I then serve the Ilocanos longgonisa and Garlic Fried Rice with  some sliced cucumber and sliced tomatoes seasoned with a dash of ground black pepper optional.

Below is the picture of our breakfast today.

Ilocanos Longgonisa and Garlic Fried Rice
with Cucumber and tomatoes

Minatamis na Saging

My husband have been craving for Minatamis na saging dessert so as his doting wife I made some today.  I was on bed rest for the last 2 weeks that finally I was able to drive around and buy some groceries on my own yesterday! It feels so good to be back and do to my day to day activities. Below is the picture of freshly cooked Minatamis na Saging.

Minatamis na Saging Saba

Ingredients:

Saging Saba cut diagonally

Brown sugar

Water

Vanilla

Langka or Jackfruit optional

Procedure:
The measurement for water and sugar is one to one. So you'll need 2 cups of brown sugar then 2 cups of water if cooking 15 to 20 pieces of banana but still you could add more according to ur taste. Put water and sugar to a pot and bring to boil . Then add a few drops of vanilla and your bananas.  Let it simmer in medium heat till it's soft and the sauce have a thicker texture.. You could serve it as is or you could add some evaporated milk and some shaved ice .. Enjoy

Ginisang Upo with sotanghon or sautéed bottle gourd with vermicelli noodles

Here's another easy to cook "ginisang gulay" or sauté vegetables  recipe.. Ginisang Upo with sotanghon or sauté bottle gourd with vermicelli noodle. It is easy to cook, delicious and  good source of dietary fibers.  When I cook this dish I always pair it with some fried fish or grilled fish plus some steamed brown or white rice..
Last nite my Mother came home with a long and freshly picked bottle gourd from her friend . It is long and even looks like a baseball bat. I was so surprise to see such a long bottle gourd.. Too bad I already cut it up when it dawned on me that I should have taken a picture of it. Below is the picture after I cooked it ...

"Ginisang Upo" or Saute' Bottle Gourd

Ingredients:
Evoo or canola oil
Onion, garlic and tomatoes chopped
Ground pork or
Cube pork
Shrimp deveined
Upo sliced thinly and seeded
Water
Vermicelli noodles soak n dried.

Procedure:

Boil meat till tender then put aside. Sauté onion, then garlic then tomatoes in EVOO or Canola oil. Add meat ..sauté till brown then add shrimp till pink. Add the sliced Upo or bottle gourd. Add enough water to cover the vegetables .. Let it simmer.. When almost done add the vermicelli noodles.. Simmer season with salt to taste. Ground black pepper optional ..  Pair it with some grilled or fried meaty fish n steamed rice .. Enjoy!!!

Our Steak and Pasta Dinner

RibEye Steak and Pasta with Artichoke and Roasted Tomatoes

For 2013 Labor Day- 3 day Holiday we decided to stay home and skipped the hustle and bustle of the holiday travel. Instead we did our general clean up of the house for the first day, then today we did some shopping and even went to a Filipino Adobo Festival. We were able to do our a mile or more walk also. 

For our dinner we had some grilled Rib Eye steak and Red wine courtesy of my brother. I then made some potato salad and pasta with artichoke and roasted tomatoes topped with shaved and grated parmesan cheese. 

Ingredients:

For Steak:

Ribeye Steak or any preferred cut meat

olive oil

butter

salt and pepper to taste

For Pasta:

choice of pasta..cooked al dente

olive oil

butter

artichoke 

garlic

salt and pepper to taste

parsley

Procedure:

Grill steak according to preference...either  medium rare, medium well or well done

Cook pasta al dente 

saute artichoke in olive oil and mince garlic

roast tomatoes in oven...

Mix all ingredients . Serve the pasta dish while hot or warm  topped it with extra shaved or grated parmesan cheese 

Bon Appetit!!!!!!

Jumbo Shrimp with squash and bitter melon leaves in coconut milk

For no meat friday last week for lenten season, I made some Jumbo Shrimp with squash and bitter melon leaves in coconut milk and we paired it with steamed rice.

Ingredients:

Jumbo Shrimp
coconut milk
squash kabocha or Kalabasa
bitter melon leaves
onion
garlic
pepper

Procedure:

Saute onion and garlic. Then add all ingredients.  Season with salt according to taste. Do not over cook the shrimp or else it would be rubbery. Serve with steamed rice and enjoy...

Bulalo with Brussels Sprouts

Hot Steaming Brussels Sprouts

My unico loves brussels sprouts with the Nilagang Beef or Nilagang Pork, and so today when I made some bulalo I did not forget to add his favorite brussels sprouts and I added some sweet potatoes as well. Picture on the left is the Bulalo that I've just made and you could see that it is still steaming. I made sure that the vegetables are still half cooked so when we eat it, it will still have some crunch into it.

Normally bulalo will be too rich and and if you are watching your diet it is not for you or for us. But I made some changes here and there to make it as good. I boiled the meat and threw away the broth once or twice if theres still more fats floating around. Then instead of regular potatoes I added sweet potatoes and I added some brussel sprouts which contain lots of vitamins and some other healthy component thats good for us such as antioxidant, fiber and it fights cancer cells also and so on.  And so making this and serving this to my family wont make me feel guilty but better yet they'll be having heartwarming and healthy food. Below will be the recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Beef Bulalo, or Pork, you could use healthy cut of meat as well
cabbage
napa cabbage
pechay or bokchoy
potatoes or sweet potatoes
corn on a cob
brussels sprouts optional
onion quartered
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
Boil meat till tender. ( When boiling the meat, boil for 30 min then throw away the water or the broth. Then boil till tender but if the meat has too many fats let it boil again and throw away the water or broth for the second time and then add water again then boil it till tender. Dont forget to scoop out the brown scams on the sides) Add corn. Then sweet potatoes. Add brussels sprouts then other green leafy vegetables. Cook vegetables half cook so that it will still be crunchy and fresh. Serve with hot steamed rice or you could eat it as is since it has corn and sweet potatoes already.  Enjoy!

Pasta with Fire roasted tomatoes and artichoke

Pasta with fire roasted tomatoes and artichoke with
Shaved, Shredded Aged Parmesan Cheese.

Last sunday during mass, it was mentioned that Lenten Season is fast approaching and so I'm starting to see and plan what I could cook for the whole family during this coming lenten season. In two weeks time, it would be Ash Wednesday  and from then on every Friday would be no meat allowed for us and during holy days as well.

Found this in my picture gallery, Picture of pasta with fire roasted tomatoes, artichoke n aged parmesan cheese that I've cooked before. Most of the time if not all the time, I try to make sure that I take pictures so I could post it in my FB or here in my ourmeza blog. I've posted it already in my FB but not in here yet so here is my Pasta with fire roasted tomatoes and artichoke with shaved and shredded aged parmesan cheese. It is absolutely  refreshing, light and yummilicious.  My family love it and your will surely love it too. Bon appetit!!!

Ingredients:

Spaghetti  pasta cooked al dente

Fire roasted tomatoes if not sun dried tomatoes will do

marinated artichoke heart in EVOO 

Aged Parmesan Cheese

sliced Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (optional)

Light Butter 

Procedure:

Cook pasta according to box instructions, preferably cook the pasta  al dente  then mix all ingredients and before serving topped it with freshly shaved parmesan cheese and sliced or cube fresh mozzarella.   

Pancit Molo Soup and Pinsec Frito

Pancit Molo and Pinsec Frito

Homemade Pancit Molo soup with Homemade Pinsec Frito.

Feeling much better, decided to make some Pancit Molo soup and Pinsec Frito...thank you to the food processor made everything easy.. Only the wrapping and the cooking time that took sometime.. Normally you don't pair them together but wanted something crunchy and added some veggies too to the Pancit Molo.. My unico loves it.. He ate the molo and pinsec as toppings..and he said its his new favorite..

Ingredients: 

wonton wrapper

ground pork or ground chicken or ground beef

spring onion chopped

onion chopped

garlic chopped

carrots chopped

bokchoy sliced (optional)

chicken flakes (optional)

chicken broth

salt to taste or fish sauce

pepper (optional)

Pancit Molo Soup and Pinsec Frito

For Pinsec Frito: As appetizer or Toppings for the Pancit Molo Soup
same ingredients except the chicken broth, chicken flakes and botchoy, fish sauce.

mixed all ingredients then wrapped in the wonton wrapper

then Fry till golden brown, set aside. You could either use it as toppings for the Pancit molo soup or serve it  as appetizer with sweet and sour sauce

For Pancit Molo

Procedure: mixed all ingredients. wrapped in the wonton wrapper. 

Saute garlic  and onion. Add  water and chicken broth. When boiling add the noodles and your siomai. Season to taste. Add spring onion and bokchoy (optional), sliced or jullien carrots when almost done.

Serve hot and topped it with chicken flakes and the Pinsec for crunch.  Enjoy! 

Suman or filipino rice cake 

It's been awhile since i've posted something here in my blog...but to start the new year..heres something special...Homemade "suman" or rice cake . But first would like to thank you auntie Mely, auntie Ligaya, uncle Oscar and mom for helping Tatay to make it. Lastly to my unico thank you for learning quickly and perfectly how to wrap a suman. He really enjoyed helping out.. He got to experience the old family tradition ..Making suman for the holidays..we used to do in the Philippines...and it's been years since we last made some and so we are blessed that my son got to do it with his lolos and lolas..so thank you Tatay for insisting of making it and bec of that my son got to experience the spirit of making suman which is Family bonding from wrapping, tying the suman to laughing bec of stories, and jokes.. Making suman maybe hard or tedious but when you make it with family everything became easy and fun.. Again thanks for the experience..lets do it again but lets plan it early..

To make you need sweet rice,coconut milk, salt to taste. Mixed all ingredients and wrap in banana leaves or aluminum foil. Boil till done.  Enjoy making it with your family...