#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.

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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.

#315_Paksiw na Lechon with Chicken Liver

A few weeks ago my friend Lisa threw a party at her house and as always she prepared so much Filipino dishes including a pork roast, which was so moist, tender and ohh, so flavorful. As usual, as guests, we got to take home whatever we want to take. For my "to go" plate, I just grabbed some of the roast pork to make some paksiw....and Paksiw I did!

On post #119 Lechon na Paksiw, (click here) I shared a recipe of the very first paksiw I ever made which was a little dry, but tasted good. This one I'm posting today has some livers and a bit saucy, which is allot better than the one on previous post. The addition of chicken livers made allot of difference in flavor...that is if you like liver.

The following ingredients are just approximate.

I usually eye ball everything when cooking dishes such as this because this is a very forgiving dish to cook and there is no right or wrong way to cook it either.....it is one of those "whatever" kind of cooking and will still comes out delicious.

2 Tb canola oil or olive oil
1 Tb minced garlic
1 med size onions, diced or sliced
3 lbs of roasted pork, shredded or cubed
1/3 cup liver paste, see recipe below
2 pieces bay leaves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 whole garlic, crushed
1 Tb whole black pepper
1cup all purpose sauce
2 cups water or broth,
(more or less liquid depending on how saucy you want your paksiw to be)
2-3 Tb patis or salt
2 Tb brown sugar

1) Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2) Saute minced garlic and onions for 1 minute then add the liver paste and roasted pork. You can throw in some bay leaves at this point. Saute for about 3 minutes or so.
3) Add the vinegar, crushed whole garlic, whole black pepper, all purpose sauce, water and patis. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
4) add brown sugar.
5) Simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with freshly cracked pepper.

How to make chicken liver paste:
Put some livers in a pot and cover with water; add garlic, sliced onions and salt. Bring to a boil, then bring it down to simmer; let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Take out the livers including the onions and garlic and transfer them to a food processor and process til mixture becomes smooth.

If you are pressed with time or if you don't have chicken livers,
you can also use the canned liver spread.

Note from MaMely:
Let me share with you how my friend, Lisa makes her Oven-Roasted Pork which was so moist and so flavorful.....
First, boil the meat in a large pot. (pork picnic or pork butts usually weigh about 6-9 lbs. so you really need a big pot) Put enough water to cover the whole meat. Put some crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves and sliced onions in with the meat. Bring to a boil taking out the scums that floats on top, then bring it down to simmer. Let it simmer for about 1 hour with lid on. Add some salt after 1 hour of simmering, then continue to simmer for another hour or so. Take the meat out onto a heavy roasting pan and roast it in a 325 degrees pre-heated oven for about 2-3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. (base roasting time on 25 minutes per pound. Normally, 30 minutes per pound if meat isn't boiled first).
If you have fresh celery you can throw a couple of celery ribs in while simmering the meat. OR...you can use celery salt and omit the regular salt.
For Lechon Kawali style, after the meat has been roasted in the oven, put it under the broiler for a few minutes until the pork skin becomes crisp.

#314_Saluyot for Health and Beauty

"Saluyot" in Northern Luzon, "Tugabang" in the Visayans,
"Jute Leaves" in English

The Power of Saluyot....

As I was browsing around the net to find out the health benefits of Saluyot, I stumbled upon this link below which has a very interesting infos on this vegetable. I was so amazed to find out that Saluyot has, among other things, "anti aging" properties. It's incredible!! I better start eating Saluyot regularly from now on to be wrinkle-free in my old age...(wink, wink).

http://www.antiaginghacks.com/cleopatra%E2%80%99s-secret-wrinkle-buster/

Move over Botox...here comes Saluyot!

How I cook Saluyot:

Just like Peas and Carrots, Labong and Saluyot are best friends.

When cooking dinengdeng such as this, I let my measuring utensils take a rest because I just eyeball everything, or I just measure with my hands...a handful or a pinch of this and a handful or a pinch of that.

My recipe here starts by sauteeing minced garlic and chopped onions in a little canola oil. Add a can of labong, (drained) and continue to saute. If using fresh whole shrimps, rinse and blanch them first, then flash saute in butter (not over cooked).

To the sauteed labong, add some rice water or meat broth. bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then add some patis, the shrimps or fried fish. Continue to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, then add the Saluyot leaves. Check the saltiness, cook until leaves are wilted but not over cooked. DONE! Mangan tayon!!

This is a very simple everyday viand and very nutritious.

I would have preferred shrimps in this dinengdeng,
but because I'm allergic to shrimps now a days,
I just used some fried salmon fillet.


I discovered that you can also add fresh corn kernels in this dish.
Saute corn with labong.

ENJOY!!

#313_Cookie Balls

If you like Cake Balls, you'll definitely love these
Cookie Balls.

Cake Balls (recipe#86, click here) are made of cake and frosting
then dipped in chocolate.

Cookie Balls on the other hand are made of sandwich cookies such as
Oreos or any cream-filled cookies.

Oreo cookies are so expensive, but I found these generic kind sold at Smith's (Kroger) for only $1.99 for a 2-pound pack. They come in different flavors such as peanut butter, lemon, chocolate and vanilla.

Here's how to make the Cookie Balls....

For 1 lb. cookies you'll need 6 oz. of cream cheese,
softened at room temperature
(or use the whole brick of 8 oz)

Break the cookies up then crush them with a rolling pin or process in a food processor.
Mix the crumbs and cream cheese together

Form the mixture into 3/4 inch to 1 inch balls.
Freeze for at least 3 hours before dipping in Chocolate.

To see how to dip the balls in chocolate, click on the link below.
http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/03/cakeballs-and-cakesicle.html