Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken Livers

If you’re in a hurry and you want to eat a hearty good meal, here’s an easy-to-cook recipe for you!

½ kg chicken liver

Salt, to taste

1tsp black pepper

1tbsp sugar

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno

½ cup of vinegar

2 ½ - 3 tbps of soy sauce, or to taste

4 tbsp of cooking oil

To prepare:

1. In a bowl, prepare this mixture: mix soy sauce and vinegar together and dissolve the sugar in it; set aside.
2. In another bowl, sprinkle salt onto the chicken livers, mix, then set aside.
3. Heat a skillet to medium heat.
4. Pour the cooking oil into the skillet.
5. Sauté the garlic and onion in the skillet until golden brown.
6. Add the chicken livers.
7. Sprinkle with black pepper.
8. Fold.
9. Pour the soy-sauce mixture into the skillet.
10. Add the jalapeno.
11. Lower the heat and cover with a lid.
12. Stir from time to time until the sauce thickens.
13. Remove from stove.

Voila, your chicken livers are ready to eat! Easy, isn’t it? Enjoy!

Good for 2 servings

Beef in Mediterranean Style Recipe

Mediterranean dishes are always my favorite and I have tried lots of them! Inspired by their unique cuisine, I cooked my beef with a touch of Mediterranean taste.

Now, let’s start cooking!

What you need:

½ kg sirloin beef cut into thin bite size slices

1 eggplant cut in half and cut each half lengthwise

250ml Hunt’s® tomato sauce

250ml Nestle® cream

5 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

6 fresh basil leaves

Parsley, chopped finely

1 ½ McCormick® dried oregano

1 ½ McCormick® marjoram

½ tsp McCormick® all spice

½ tsp American Garden® cinnamon

1 tsp black peppercorn, ground

1tsp salt

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Cooking oil

Butter

To prepare:

• In a bowl, sprinkle 1 tsp of salt onto the beef. Mix them together. Set aside.
• Heat a deep skillet to medium heat.
• Pour ½ cup of cooking oil into the skillet.
• Fry the eggplants in the skillet. Set aside.
• Next, fry the beef, then set aside.
• Heat another deep skillet to medium heat.
• Melt 3tbsp butter.
• Sauté garlic until brown.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Stir until the tomatoes are cooked.
• Add the onion into the skillet.
• Stir until the onion is translucent.
• Sprinkle with black peppercorn.
• Add the fried beef into the pan. Fold.
• Add the tomato sauce and stir.
• Next, add the cream. Mix it with the rest of the ingredients in the skillet.
• Let it simmer and stir from time to time until the sauce thickens.
• Add the fried eggplant then fold it in with the ingredients in the skillet.
• Add the following into the skillet: oregano, marjoram, all spice and cinnamon. Mix them together.
• Add the bell pepper.
• Stir.
• Pour 1tsp red wine vinegar into the pan.
• Stir a little.
• Add the fresh basils and mix them with the rest of the ingredients.
• Remove from stove.
• Garnish with parsley.

Now, it’s done. Very easy! Bon appétit! 

Good for 4 servings

Food Experience: “Mamon Tostado” and “Biscocho Special”

“Mamon Tostado” and “Biscocho Special” can be found in the province of Iloilo (Iloh-iloh), Philippines. I think they can be found anywhere in the Philippines but I heard that they’re Iloilo’s specialty because that’s where they were first made. Where else can you find the best of these types of delicacies than in the place where they were said to have originated, right? My eldest sister went to Iloilo and brought these delicacies home, so my Mamon Tostado and my Biscocho Special came directly from the province where they were first created. Let me describe each of them to you. I’ll start with the “Mamon Tostado”. Mamon Tostado is usually a round-shaped delicacy made of flour, egg, milk and sugar. It doesn’t melt in your mouth like meringue but the crunchiness of the spongy texture, plus the delicate taste of sugar and milk, will make you crave for more. Don’t leave it out in the open for long because the texture will become hard and rubbery. You wouldn’t want that.  It’s best to eat with tea. The Biscocho Special is made of elongated bread cut into four, lengthwise, pieces with melted sugar and milk on each slice. You can't help nibbling on it because of its sweetness and creaminess. Its texture is harder and thicker than Mamon Tostado and, for me, it’s better to eat with soup (like the corn soup I just featured here) than with tea. If you ask me which one I prefer, I would say that despite of their similar ingredients, they somehow differ in taste, due to the different amounts of sugar and milk used in them, so I really can't choose between the two. I like them both. If you're a tourist in Iloilo, or planning to go on a tour there, and you happen to pass by a store that sells these delicacies, you might want to grab yourself a sample of each of them and enjoy the experience. :)

Easy-to-Make Corn Soup for Rainy Seasons

During rainy seasons we either want hot chocolate or soup. As of this moment, though, I want to eat soup, so I made myself some. Here, I'll show you how it's done. :)

What you need:

15oz of canned cream style corn

1 cup evaporated milk

½ cup water

Salt, to taste

Green onion, chopped finely

1-2 eggs, beaten

4 tbsp butter

¼ onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

Toasted bread crumbs (optional)

Procedure:

1. Heat the 4-inches deep pan to medium heat.
2. Melt the butter in the pan.
3. Sauté garlic and onion in the butter.
4. Add the cream style corn into the pan and stir.
5. Pour the water into the pan then mix gently.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Lower the heat and pour the evaporated milk into the pan and stir.
8. Garnish with green onion.
9. Remove from stove.
10. Pour the egg slowly into the soup as you stir gently.
11. Add the bread crumbs (optional).

 Now, you can sit back and relax on the rainy seasons! Enjoy!

Good for 4 servings.

Pork Adobo Recipe

Let’s cook Pork Adobo, one of the Philippines’ specialties!

What you need:

1/2 kilo pork, diced into bite size

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup white vinegar

Juice of 6 calamansi (calamondin)

1tsp salt

2tbsp sugar

2tbsp cooking oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red onion, finely chopped

1tsp ground black peppercorn

2 Bay leaves

Procedure:

1. Sprinkle salt onto the pork. Mix well, then set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix all of the following ingredients to make a mixture: soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Heat a deep skillet to medium heat.
4. Pour cooking oil into the skillet.
5. Sauté garlic and onion until golden brown.
6. Add the bay leaves.
7. Put the pork into the skillet and fold.
8. Pour the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar mixture into the skillet, mix with the pork and cover with a lid.
9. Let the pork cook in this mixture and its own juices.
10. Fold from time to time until the oil from the pork comes out.
11. Let the pork fry in its own oil.
12. Add the calamansi (calamondin) juice. Fold.
13. When it’s dry, sprinkle some ground black peppercorn.
14. Fold until the ingredients are mixed well together.
15. Remove from stove and drain all the oil.

Now your pork adobo is ready to eat! This recipe is always preferred to be eaten with rice.

Good for 3 servings.

My Doña Elena® Turkish Cuisine Food Adventure!

Yesterday I went with my younger sister and her friend to a Doña Elena® food event. I was looking forward to it since the day I learned about it. They’re holding a cooking lesson every month introducing different cuisines. I heard that they’ve already featured the Moroccan and Greek cuisines, which I sadly missed. This month they introduced the Turkish cuisine and featured three Turkish dishes: Shish Kebabs, Turkish Couscous Salad, Eggplant Moussaka. They handed us a copy of each recipe. I must say that each dish is very, very, VERY delicious! Tasting Turkish Cuisine makes me want to go to Turkey. I’ll surely do that!

I took a photo of each dish so that I can show them to you. By the way, Doña Elena® is a brand name and they’re selling their products at the event, so you can buy any of their products there, or at any supermarket near you, actually.

Okay, now let me show you how the event went! ;)

At the entrance the very first things that will greet your eyes are an array of different kinds of cooking ingredients from canned red pimientos to fresh fruit juices.

They have olive oils made in Turkey, both for cooking and for salad. The one with a green packaging is for cooking and the red one is for salad.

Canned tomatoes; available in diced and whole. Made in Italy.

Canned red pimientos made in Spain.

Handmade pasta (handmade pasta is better than machine-made because it easily absorbs all the flavorings).

Spanish Sardines.

Fresh milk.

Fresh and pure fruit juice of apple and orange (they gave us a free taste of each one, you can really taste its pureness. It’s very refreshing!). Apologies for the photos. I thought I already took a photo of the Jolly Fresh® box but, oh well. Next time. =P

They’re serving some refreshments to the audience. It’s a sample of their Jolly Fresh® fruit juice. I got a taste of each flavor; the orange and the apple. It’s very good, and you know that you’re drinking healthy.

They gave us a copy of the recipe of each of the Turkish Cuisine they’re going to feature, so you can follow as they demonstrate (and if you like, you can try at home).

The Doña Elena's® resident chef is preparing all the ingredients.

They have a monitor where you can watch the procedures. They have a volunteer from the audience to help out. They also have a question and answer portion and the prices are the Doña Elena® products. Sadly, I didn’t win anything. =(

They prepared the Turkish Couscous Salad, first. This is just a sample, so the serving is really very small. Couscous is granulated pasta. It may be served in ways similar to rice. They put Doña Elena® diced canned tomatoes in it, some parsley, garlic, a little bit of bird eye chili, some grilled bell pepper, red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper. It is salad, so it feels refreshing.

Next, they prepared kebabs. Kebabs consisted of beef tenderloin, cherry tomatoes, onion, grilled bell pepper, marinated in lemon. You can also use lamb, which I prefer. You may also serve kebabs with yogurt, plain or seasoned, or true Mediterranean taste.

Lastly, is the Eggplant Moussaka. Although the three dishes are equally delicious, I liked the Moussaka best. The milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and tomatoes compliment each other, it's heavenly. I prefer a tad less cinnamon than was used in this recipe but it was still delicious!

They distributed small portions of each dish, just to give us a taste. It made us want to go home and make some more... ... ... that’s exactly what I’m going to do, soon.

This event was fun and I enjoyed it very much! There's going to be another cooking lesson next month. I wonder what cuisine they're going to feature next? Hmmm... I guess we'll soon find out. =)

At the end of the event, I bought two of their products. One is their canned diced tomatoes and the other is their red pimiento.

I'm going to use these in my next recipe, so stay tuned!

Food Experience: From a Birthday Party

Parties and celebrations are always the best time to try new foods.  Lots of people gathered to celebrate the 19th birthday of our neighbor’s daughter. It’s the most recent birthday party I have attended. It was very simple, yet fun. I enjoyed tasting different kinds of food.

Now, as promised, let's start tasting them again, one by one! 

First, let me introduce the birthday cake. It’s made by Goldilocks®.
This cake is very sweet with a hint of lemon. I ate most of the icing candy that’s there. They’re very sweet!!! Overall, the cake just tastes sweet, very sweet in fact, that your mouth ends up sticky. You need to make sure you have water with you when you eat this cake. I must admit, though, that the decoration is nice.

The main courses:

This is the fish I cooked with sumac. It’s a little bit salty and sweet. It was finished before the day ended.

Boiled veggies paired with tomatoes, mixed with sweet shrimp paste. The natural taste of these vegetables; okra, eggplant and string beans, a taste of tomatoes and sweet shrimp paste makes it very interesting. It’s delicious with rice.

I was told that this is Pork Adobo. It tastes good but it doesn't taste like Adobo to me. The Adobo I know is rich in flavor, dry, with lots of peppercorn, lots of soy sauce and vinegar and a hint of sweetness. This one is bland with a little bit of soy sauce and vinegar, salt and no peppercorn, and that’s it. I’m not criticizing the food negatively, or being ungrateful of some sort. I just promised to make a review so I did. When it comes to food, I try to be as honest in my description as possible so that my readers will experience the same food experience I had.

This is Tilapia in coconut milk. It’s cooked with pechay (pak choi), ginger, onion and a bit of salt to taste. I prefer this with a bit of vinegar.

This is called Adobong Kangkong (River Spinach). It’s a dish made of Kangkong (River Spinach) vegetable cooked in soy sauce and vinegar just like pork adobo. It’s a very famous dish in the Philippines.

This is bitter gourd sautéed with small shrimps, tomatoes, garlic and onion. It has a hint of bitterness, just enough salt and a little bit of sourness from the tomato. It’s also very good with rice. 

This is bihon, it’s one of the Chinese noodles mixed with assorted vegetables, like chayote, green beans, cabbage, lots of shrimps, and abundantly sprinkled with cheddar cheeeeeeese! I loved this.  This is sometimes eaten with kalamansi (calamondin). All you need to do is squeeze one or two kalamansi (calamondin) on it and you’re ready to eat it.

This is dish is called Palabok. It is one of the variations of noodles that were introduced by the Chinese. It’s mixed with salt eggs (the ones with red-dyed shells). It was also served with lots of cheese, crumbs of chicharon (dried and fried pork fats, or skins). It’s also eaten the same way as Bihon. You can also squeeze some kalamansi (calamondin).

This dish is called Lumpia (loom-pya). You can stuff it with anything but this one is stuffed with mongo sprouts with a little bit of sweet potatoes. Cooking mongo sprouts is a bit tricky because it overcooks very easily. When you cook it, make sure to remove it from the stove as soon as its own juices boil and remove it from the stove, cover it with a lid to let its own steam to cook it thoroughly. Otherwise it will overcook. I think that’s what happened with this lumpia. It’s overcooked. Lumpia is best served with vinegar with a hint of sweet. The vinegar can be spicy but it depends on your taste.  

Now this is what I have been talking about, the kalamansi, or calamondin in English. You can squeeze it on any kind of noodles and everything will taste interesting.

Side dish:

Peeled cucumber salad with onion and vinegar, a bit of sugar and dashed with ground peppercorn.

Hotdogs and marshmallows on a stick for kids!

Now, let’s go to desserts!

This one is called Biko. It’s made of glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and brown sugar, dashed with anis. I loved this!!!

This cake came last. It’s from Red Ribbon®. It’s a chocolate cake covered with mocha icing, sprinkled with chocolate chips and decorated with chocolate-covered marshmallows.

Okay! Those are the foods that I have tasted. I hope you enjoy! 

Next, I will be sharing with you my My Doña ElenaTurkish Cuisine cooking class adventure, so stay tuned! :)