#324_Sauteed Tomatoes with Eggs

Ginisang Kamatis na may Bagoong na Alamang at Itlog

I can probably call this "Binagoongang Kamatis with Eggs" too
since it has some bagoong na alamang or shrimp paste in it
just like Binagoongang Baboy.

This stuff is really good specially when paired with pork chops or fried tuyo or tinapa or even by itself on top of rice. I have a friend who enjoys hers on a piece of toasted bread or as a filling for pan de sal....palaman sa tinapay. I have yet to try that.

The only negative part of cooking this dish is that it makes my whole house stinky because of the pungent smell of bagoong even with the air purifier on, lit candles and exhaust fan on and windows open. This time I have a new discovery which helps get rid of the smell a little bit. In addition to the above mentioned tricks, I had a simmering pot of water with cinnamon sticks and orange peel on the stove right next to the wok I'm cooking this dish on. Although this trick doesn't completely take out the pungent smell, it helps a little. To my non-Filipino readers, I hope this doesn't keep you from trying this dish because it is only during the cooking process that the bagoong somehow emits its aromatic, savory and pungent smell. After it has been cooked it doesn't smell at all any more.

Ginisang Kamatis na may Itlog at Binagoongang Baboy,
super good with Garlic Fried Rice

Here's the recipe for the
Sauteed Tomatoes with Bagoong na Alamang and Eggs

The following ingredients are just guesstimate.

For 5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, you'll need:
1 head garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped finely
Canola Oil
1/3 cup Bagoong na alamang (shrimp paste)
5 eggs, lightly beaten

1) Peel skin off the tomatoes, then cut in half across. Squeeze out the juice and the seeds then chop them up.
2) In a large skillet, heat some oil
3) Lightly brown the garlic
4) Add the onions and continue to saute until they're translucent
5) Stir in the chopped tomatoes and continue to saute. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 3o to 45 minutes until the the liquid has reduced to almost dry.
6) Stir in the bagoong until well blended.


7) Gradually pour in the eggs while continually stirring to avoid the eggs to set before it is thoroughly blended with the tomato mixture. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick and the eggs are fully cooked, about 10 minutes.

ENJOY!!

#323_How to Freeze Corn

I like to freeze corn when they are in season and only when they are cheap, so that I will have them handy to make "Ginataang Mais", even in the Winter and Spring time. It's a very tedious process specially if you're doing a bushel of them, but I only freeze just enough for making Ginataang Mais which only calls for 3-4 ears of corn per recipe. (click here for the recipe)

I learned this process from an acquaintance, Mrs. Scharffer, one day while she was freezing corn from their own harvest.

Here's how to freeze corn:

First off, shuck the husks and take the silks off the corn.

In a huge pot, bring water to a rolling boil, then carefully drop the halved corn on the cob. (you'll find out later why I cut them in half). Bring the water back to a boil then begin timing for 4 minutes.


After 4 minutes, take the corn on the cob from the boiling water and let them cool in ice cold water for about 10 minutes. Put them in a colander to drip.


The reason why I cut the corn in half so I can have them stand on the flat end and stay steady on the board and not wobbly when cutting them.

Place the corn kernels in plastic bags, label and freeze.

Thomas theTrain Birthday Cake

#322_ Apple Cake II

I already posted a recipe for an Apple Cake that is so good, click here, but I have
another one that I have always wanted to test to see if it is as good because the picture of the cake that accompanied the recipe looks so temptingly good. The recipe is from Red Book magazine that I clipped a couple of years ago. So when a friend shared with me some of her fresh apples from her tree a week ago, I knew what I was going to do with them....try that recipe.

Here's the recipe that I adapted from Red Book magazine. I don't know why, but I ended up slightly tweaking the recipe (indicated by red asterisk).
1 cup walnuts, roasted and chopped*
1/4 cup brown sugar*
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash ground cloves*
2 Tb flour
5 large baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced*
3 cups less 2 Tb, all purpose flour*
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1-3/4 cups white sugar*
1/2 cup canola oil
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs
1/2 cup golden raisins*
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Butterscotch Caramel topping*

Baking Direction:
1) heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch removable bottom tube pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle nuts evenly on bottom of pan.
2) In a bowl, mix 2 TB flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Add apples and toss to combine.
3) In another bowl, mix all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4) In large bowl, cream together white sugar, oil and butter. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the orange juice, vanilla then the flour mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth. Fold in the raisins.
5) Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Arrange half of the apple mixture on top of batter. Spoon remaining batter over the apples and top with the remaining apples.
6) Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of cake and turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Invert cake onto another rack to cool.
7) Drizzle caramel sauce on the entire cake or on each slice.

Slice apples thinly or into small chunks

The batter should be like that of a banana bread

Sprinkle nuts evenly in the tube pan

Let cake cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before slicing.

This is the bottom of the cake

The finished product is very similar to the other recipe from Cooking Light magazine.
The main difference is the cream cheese and the method of preparation.

Hope you give this recipe or the other one a try...they are both good!!

*************************
Update 10-11-11
The original recipe link:

A friend on facebook requested that I post the link for the original recipe. What I have is the recipe I clipped from the Red Book magazine, but I googled it anyway to see if they have it on their site. So here's the recipe found on their website, click here. It is exactly the same recipe as it appeared in their magazine.

******************************

Addendum 10-11-11

I made this Apple Cake today in a 9"x13" but replaced the orange juice with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt because I ran out of orange juice, then I mixed everything together like the procedure in making banana bread, combining wet and dry ingredients together. It only took 45 minutes to bake it. It is very easy to prepare and it turned out real good, in fact it is better than the original recipe and I think this is my favorite. Next time I will make some muffins with this recipe.

#321_Doughnut Muffins: Muffins that Taste Like Donuts

Mini Donut Muffins

A few weeks ago some people were raving about this
doughnut muffins on facebook.
I was so intrigued that I made some research on the net
and checked out recipes from several sites,
and to my amazement,
every single one of them raved about how good they are.
So I made a batch for a party.

These are muffins that supposed to taste like doughnuts.

I must have done something wrong when I made these
because there was no trace of doughnuts in them.
It is absolutely a good recipe though, cross my heart...
it's just that I was looking for the doughnuts in the muffins.
I followed everything on the recipe except
I used mini muffin pans with 24 cavities,
instead of the regular ones.
I was glad I was able to make 8 of those which totaled 192 mini muffins,
which was great for the crowd we had.
I will try to make this recipe again, hoping to find
the donuts in them the second time.

Got the recipe here.

Here are 2 links you can get the recipe from:

http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/2006/07/neither_muffin_.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Doughnut-Muffins/Detail.aspx

#320_Chicken & Squash in Tomato Sauce

Chicken with Squash

I learned to make this dish from my daughter-in-law from Texas
who is a half Mexican and half Spanish (as in Spanish from Spain).
Having a tomato base similar to Afritada,
this dish has a real Spanish influence.

Ingredients:
2-chicken breast, rinsed and cup up into chunks
(or whole chicken, cut up)
1-medium Acorn Squash (or any kind of squash), cubed
1-med onion
3-very ripe tomatoes, chopped
(can use canned tomatoes)
3-cloves garlic, minced
canola oil for sauteing
2 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup water or broth
2-Jalapeno pepper
Salt/Pepper to taste

This is another dish that I make without measuring the ingredients.
So the ingredients above are just for your guideline.

Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes in canola oil. Add in the chicken and saute really well until they render their own fat. Season with salt. Stir in the squash, tomato sauce and the jalapeno pepper. Put lid on and simmer for about 15 minutes then add water or broth; continue to simmer until the chicken is tender. I like to mash some of the squash during the process as it makes the sauce a little thick. Add some more liquid (broth or water) when necessary, otherwise, its done!!

ENJOY!!!

Note from MaMely:
My daughter-in-law usually makes this dish with just chicken breasts, but I prefer dark meat over the breasts so I make this with cut up whole chicken then I just use the dark meat and freeze the breasts.

#319_Purslane: Info and Recipe Links

https://www.facebook.com/pages/PinoyAmericanFavoriteRecipes/102145934577?ref=nf

http://www.plant.photos.net/index.php?title=Purslane

Do you have these kind of weeds in your yard along with those annoying dandelions?
These are called Purslane and you'll be amazed when you find out how nutritious they are.

This was brought to my attention by a cyber friend in the Philippines who said that her neighbor's pigs are getting fat and healthy from eating this weed. She made me so curious so I googled and found out that they are a culinary delight...yes, they are edible and full of nutrients, according to the infos I just found.

Please click on these links here from google. They have some valuable information on this plant and some interesting recipes. Am I ready to try them though? I don't know!! will let you know when I am.

http://www.culinarymusings.com/2008/06/purslane-not-a-weed-but-a-wonder/

http://www.prodigalgardens.info/purslane%20recipes.htm

#318_Cake-in-a-Mug

Microwaved Cake topped with a dollop of frosting

This is what I call an emergency cake as you can make this in just a few minutes...all you need are the ingredients below, a mug, measuring spoons, a spoon for stirring and a microwave. So when you get up in the middle of the night and have a craving for a warm chocolate cake, just stir all the ingredients in a mug and microwave it for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes and voila!! a cake like magic!!

I got the recipe from this site: http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Chocolate-Cake/ but I did a little modification. Here's how I did it the first time....

I combined 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips morsels in 3 tablespoons of milk. Scalded in the microwave just to melt the chocolate pieces, about 45 seconds.


I wanted to make a Rocky Road cake, so I threw in some mallows and nuts (those are pistachio nuts) then I used a little bowl to mix everything together. (Mix everything right in the mug if you want).


Poured the mixture in the mug. I don't know how many ounces this mug is but it holds 2 cups of liquid.

After microwaving it for 1-1/2 minutes, look what a big mess it made!!

Cake is done, but sure is messy and so unappetizing.
Clean up takes more time than it is to make the cake,
so you can go back to bed and do the clean up in the morning.

As you can see on this picture, the cake turned out nice and moist....
not bad for a microwaved cake, huh?

Here's what I did the second time....

I used the same ingredients, but this time I used a bigger mug which holds about 2-3/4 cup liquid, so that the mixture will have more room to rise while in the microwave and there's no problem of overflowing. I also sprayed the mug with cooking spray before pouring in the mixture. (I think you can use 2 regular size mugs)

I still like my cake baked the conventional way,
but for "emergency" this isn't bad at all.

Here's my modified version:

3 Tb milk
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips morsels
(less chips if you don't want a very chocolaty cake)
1 small size egg, whisked
3 Tb canola oil
4 Tb all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
4 Tb sugar
1/2 cup mini marshmallows (optional)
Nuts (optional)

Melt chocolate chips with the milk in the microwave for about 45 seconds, then mix in the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Spray a mug with a cooking spray then pour in the mixture. Microwave on high for 1 minute to 2 minutes depending on the wattage of your microwave.
Notes from MaMely:
1) if baked in the microwave longer than 2 minutes, the cake will be somewhat dry.
2) you can also use Hershey's chocolate bar, (chopped), instead of chocolate chips morsels
3) for an added flavor, add about 3 TB of peanut butter.

#317_Quinoa Biko

Quinoa Biko topped with homemade Mango preserves
Pronounced "keen-wah"

As I was doing a research on Quinoa on the net I found out that people in the Andes, South America have been cultivating it for thousands of years, but I just heard of it from a new-found friend last Spring. She told me how it has helped her with her diet being a diabetic. That prompted me to do some research and to my amazement I found some interesting information about it. It was truly amazing to know that this grain is a complete source of protein and high in Magnesium and fiber. If this is the case, pair this grain with Purslane, and who needs multi vitamin pills anymore?

Raw Quinoa Seeds or Grains

Here's a link where you can read about some
interesting facts about this grain, click here.

I cooked this batch of Quinoa in rice cooker and it turned out so nice and fluffy.

Quinoa Biko
(For complete recipe for the original biko using glutinous rice, click here.)

I prepared this Quinoa Biko style to give it a Filipino flair....

Mixed the cooked Quinoa with brown sugar, coconut cream, and vanilla extract then baked in oven for half an hour.
Quinoa is not like glutinous rice. So when you spoon it on a plate, the grains don't hold together well.
Concerning its taste, although it has a nice nutty flavor, in my opinion, you have to develop a liking for it.

How to cook Quinoa:
here's a couple of helpful links on how to prepare this grain:

http://www.cookingquinoa.net/how-to-cook-quinoa-perfectly

http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-Quinoa

#316_ Key Lime Pie

https://www.facebook.com/pages/PinoyAmericanFavoriteRecipes/102145934577?ref=nf

If someone gives you lemons, you should make some Lemonade;
if someone gives you Key Limes, make KeyLime Pie.

Key Limes

this pie only requires 3 ingredients to make:
egg yolks, condensed milk and of course Key Limes and pie crust.
Whipping cream is for topping.

Basically mix the lime juice, egg yolks and milk together.


Very easy Key Lime Pie
(adapted from Paula Deen)

1/2 cup key lime juice
3 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk
lime zest
Graham Cracker pie crust

Combine lime juice, egg yolks and lime zest; Blend in the condensed milk.
Pour filling into the pie crust
and bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes.

Let cool completely before serving.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Note from MaMely:
As I was making this pie I thought about my cousin when we were all back in the Philippines, she used to make Calamansi Pie. I thought that maybe in this recipe, you can substitute juice of calamansi if you have access to them.