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

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!!!

Ginisang Chayote with Sotanghon

Today's Menu for

Magka-ulam or Paired Filipino Dish/Dishes...

Ginisang gulay at Pritong Isda!

( Sauted Chayote and Crunchy Fish)

Magka - ulam...Ginisang Chayote with Sotanghon or Ginisang Sayote was prepared on "ourmeza" for dinner together with some fried crunchy fish and steamed rice.

Once again got the idea in cooking this dish from my mom. We were talking and I asked what they were having for dinner she said "ginisang chayote" and some fried fish. So I was like hmmm that sounds so good and it actually made me crave for it. I havent tried cooking this dish so I asked my mom for the recipe of ginisang chayote. I know that it is a given that you will saute garlic, onion and tomatoes butI wanted to know what else to put or is there anything else to make it really tasty. I know that I've had it before but never really got the chance of cooking it. And its been so long that I dont remember how it taste anymore. I think if I am not right "ginisang chayote" is one of the authentic filipino dish, dont you think or maybe not?

Well, anyway been trying and preparing authentic filipino cuisine lately, so thats what I have been cooking or preparing for my family. Dont get me wrong not everyday but most days of the week. So when my mom mention it, I know right then that I am going to make it.

So the very next day, after working, I went ahead and went to the asian store so I could buy all the ingredients and so that we could have ginisang chayote for our dinner.

Ingredients are the following:

Chayote about 4 pieces ( peeled,cored or white big seed in the middle taken out). Then slice the chayote diagonally.

Shrimp 1/2 to 1 lb. (shell taken out and deveined)

ground pork 1/4 pound.

garlic 4 minced

onion 1

tomatoes 2

water

sotanghon ( 1-2 small bundle) soaked

patis to taste or salt.

Procedure:

Boil ground pork till cooked. Then set aside. In same pan saute garlic,onion and tomatoes. Put back the cooked ground pork and brown it. Then add ur shrimp till it is half cooked then add ur Chayote. Add water enough to cover the chayote and add 1 ladle of patis. Let it simmer when almost done add the sotanghon. Simmer for a few minutes till the sotanghon is done. You could tell that the sotanghon noodles are done when they are shiny. Serve hot with some steamed rice and some crunchy fish.

Verdict for this dish? Just perfect...the sauted vegetables and crunchy fish are just perfect or the perfect combination. And the taste? Hmmm sarap talaga....try this recipe and you'll want to have it again sometime soon.

Lumpiang Gulay or Vegetable Eggroll

Lumpiang Gulay or vegetable eggroll is a lumpia wrapper or spring roll wrapper filled with different kind of vegetables such as green beans, carrots, cabbage, mongo sprouts,celery, sweet potatoes , onion and tofu.


This is one of my husband's favorite dish so I often make a lot of it and stored most of it in the freezer for future use. When cooked it is crunchy, tasty and yummylicious lol. It is normally dipped in spiced vinegar or suka with siling labuyo and bawang and sweet n sour sauce. It can be eaten as main dish or as an appetizer. Either way when prepared you wont be able to resist to eat it up. It is normally serve when theres a party, get together, celebration , potluck, for dinner or even during snack time. And so I have it stored most of the time because we just simly love eating it.

To make you need the following ingredients; onion, garlic, olive olive, green beans, cabbage, celery, carrots, sweet potatoes optional, tofu optional, cooked or sliced chicken optional as well, and ofcourse the spring roll, lumpia wrapper, salt and pepper for taste.

Procedure: Cut all vegetables sliced thinly, julienne or shredded. Saute garlic, onion, chicken. Then add all vegetables. Stir fry till half cooked and season with salt and pepper for taste ( soy sauce can be added for taste). Fill each lumpia or spring roll wrapper about 1 1/2 spoonfuls of the vegetable. When ready to cook..deep fried and serve with spiced vinegar or sukang may siling labuyo and bawang. Serve while hot and crunchy and you'll never go wrong. Enjoy!

Chopsuey

"Eat your vegetables!"

I could still recall as if it was just yesterday that my mother was asking me to eat my vegetables. She will go on and on how good it was for me and that I would not get sick as often by eating lots of it. I would normally eat my vegetables but there are some that I would not eat like the "ginisang ampalaya" which now I love eating and the "talbos ng camote" which up to now I can not eat. But one dish that my mother wont have to ask me twice to eat my vegetables is when she prepared chopsuey for lunch or dinner. I love eating them then and I love eating them till now. I dont know why I love it, maybe because of the different colors of the vegetables, the sauce, taste of different vegetables blend well together or perhaps because it has shrimp,chicken,beef or pork. No matter what I would eat it with much "gusto" . It is our family's all the time order also when we eat out in any restaurant. So maybe that's why I love eating it. I love eating it with hot steaming rice and "toyo at calamansi" on the side. Yummm.

Anyway I have cooked it before when I got married but end up having lots of left over and I am the only one eating them. So I stop cooking them till last nite, I tried once again to cook them. As I've said in my earlier post spring came and we hardly eat any kind of red meat. It has been poultry,fish and plenty of green salad for the past few months. So I thought of cooking chopsuey to give it another try. Result? My son ate the carrots and a little bit of broccoli. My husband took it to work for his lunch. So I guess, I've got a better result this time. I'm not going to push it and cook it again sometime soon but I'll be definitely cooking it again in the future.



Ingredients: Mixed vegetables: any combination of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, the chicken, pork, beef and shrimp are all optional.

Procedure: In a pan heat oil, saute garlic and onion then chicken till brown. add shrimp till pink then stir fry all the mixed vegetables. add your sauce...combination of soy sauce,cornstarch and a little bit of sugar. Let it simmer till the sauce thickens and vegetables are half cooked.



So chopsuey was prepared on our "meza" for simple and healthy dinner.

Ginisang Ampalaya or Bitter Melon or Bitter Gourd

Ginisang Ampalaya or Bitter Melon or Bitter Gourd.

When I was growing up ginisang ampalya was one of the dish that I would not eat. My mother would always tell me that "ampalya" is good for me. She'll say that it is rich in iron, potassium,Vitamins and fiber. And she'll always want me to eat it and I would end up crying because I wont and I can not tolerate the bitter taste of it.

That was then, and as a young adult I learned to eat ampalya because it was always prepared on our "meza" or table. It would be cooked as ginisa, ampalaya con carne, ginataan or mixed in paksiw na bangus together with some eggplant. And my mother would still say same old things about the benefits of eating the ampalaya; it is rich in iron, potassium, vitamins and fibers.

So I guess seeing it being eaten by my family and they seem to enjoy it, I was curious and tempted to give it another try. Tried it, ate it and then I began to like it to the point that I love it. I love eating it from being cooked as ginisang ampalaya to being cooked as ampalaya mixed in paksiw na bangus with some eggplant.

One thing I've learned over and over again and that is " Mother knows best" and never say never until you try again...something to that effect lol.

And now, being married I still love eating it and enjoying the health benefits of it.

I am still in the process of trying to encourage my husband and son how delicious and healthy it is if given a chance.

I still prepare them on our table although it seems like I am the only one eating them. But like my mother, I continue on cooking it until they try it and find it tasty and healthy.

To prepare it as ginisang Ampalya.

Cut a bitter melon , scoop out and scrape out the inner white pulp leaving only the outer green parts ( this will take out most of the bitterness of the bitter melon or bitter gourd). Put it in the bowl of salted water for a few minutes or while preparing other ingredients for ginisa. Garlic,tomatoes,onion, shrimp deveined and ( optional) fourth of a pound of lean ground pork. Boil and brown ground pork, saute garlic,onion and tomatoes then add shrimp until pink. Wash and drain water of the ampalaya. Add it the pan. Season with little bit of salt according to taste and never overcooked it. Like other vegetable it is better if it is half cooked.

Nilagang Baka (Beef with Brussels Sprouts and other green vegetables)

My husband was craving for "Nilagang Baka" and so when I went to buy our groceries I made sure that the beef short ribs is on the top of my list and the other ingredients needed to make the "nilagang baka".
I always try having a list of things to buy whenever I go to the grocery store and I always try sticking to it. If I dont have a list I'll definitely be tempted to buy some other extra stuff thats not really needed but hey sometimes can't help especially if I wanted to cook something different for my family...well once in awhile is better than all the time. So a grocery list is always good to have to see how much self control you have...hahaha goodluck to that.

Anyway found some goodlooking pechay or bokchoy,green beans,napa cabbage and brussels sprouts. Actually brussels sprouts are optional for nilagang baka but my husband and I just simply love brussels sprouts in our "nilagang baka" ( my son is still on the trial basis when it comes to brussels sprouts. He would taste just a leaf and will say maybe next time mom).

So to cook nilagang baka I use beef short ribs, potatoes or sweet potatoes,onion,2 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste and all the vegetable above. I normally boil the short ribs night before then I would put it in the fridge and then, the next day I would scoop out all the frozen fats. If I dont have time to do it night before, I would boil it then throw away the first soup stock and then I would boil it again till it is tender with garlic,onion,bayleaf. When almost done I would add the potatoes salt and pepper to taste. Last, I would add all the vegetables and I would cook it half cooked. When done I always serve it on "our meza" steaming hot with hot steamed rice.

"Pinakbet"

Looking for something healthy to eat? This vegetable dish is healthy as it can be. It is loaded with vitamins and nutrients. Pinakbet or bulanglang is a filipino vegetable dish that is always pair with a grilled fish or fried fish. Fresh vegetables are always the key ingredients for this dish. You could prepare this once a week aside from your other vegetable and fruits intake and you will feel rejuvenated.

Ingredients:
Shrimps deveined
Onion
Garlic
Tomato
Squash
Okra
String beans or green beans
Eggplant, Bitter melon or if too strong for you, bitter melon leaves can be used. My husband does not like bitter melon so I use bitter melon leaves and he enjoys it. I don't put salted shrimp also or "alamang" but I have it on the side on "our mesa" just in case someone wants it.

Procedure:
Cut vegetable according to your desire size. Saute garlic,onion and tomato. Then add your shrimp and when almost done add all your vegetables and add water to boil. Sprinkle it with salt to taste and do not over cooked your vegetable. Serve it with steam rice and grilled fish or fried fish and you'll have one healthy meal.