Aglio Olio with Prawns

While I am fond of rich pasta like creamy pesto, baked mac and  lasagna, I am also partial to basic pasta preparation. 

If you'll notice, most of my posts about pasta here are basic and simple. The main reason is that I have very little time to cook now that Reese is on her toddler years and need to be supervised all the time. I also make it a point to share quick and easy ways to cook food that the whole family can enjoy.

Aglio Olio is basically a pasta dish using Garlic and Oil as its name suggests.  To add a twist, I used large shrimp or prawns to infuse the seafood flavor as opposed to the usual anchovy fillets.

Ingredients

400 grams spaghetti, cooked al dente

1/2 cup olive oil

1 whole garlic, minced

300 grams prawns, peeled and halved 

1 tsp Chili flakes

Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

A handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 tbsp. dried

Procedure

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the prawns  by peeling each without taking the tail. Cut the shrimp lengthwise. Season with salt (about a teaspoon) and pepper (1/4 teaspoon).

Heat up the olive oil and immediately throw in the garlic and chili flakes. Saute for one minute. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through.

Turn the heat to low and add the pasta. Make sure to mix throroughly such that every noodle has been coated with the sauce. Check the taste and add salt, pepper and chili flakes as needed. Add the basil cook for at least 1 minute more while mixing everything thoroughly.

Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Egg-Mayo Sandwich

I used to go to Deli France now known as Cafe France for my sandwich fix. Egg-Mayo on croissants is a sure fire mood booster alongside some hot soup (nothing in particular) or pasta. 

Two days ago, h's cousin gave us 2 dozens of extra large eggs. Some of them even had 2 yolks. Can you beat that? 

Thinking of what else to do with so many eggs in the pantry, I boiled a couple to make an egg salad for breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 extra large eggs or 3 large eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 tsp salt

Dash of pepper

A handful of shredded lettuce or any greens of your choice (arugula is my first choice)

Chili flakes (optional)

Procedure

Make hard boiled eggs by simmering eggs in salted water for 7-10 minutes depending on their size.

Once the eggs have cooled, peel off the shell and mash the eggs.

Add salt, pepper and mayo. Mix until well blended.

Lay shredded greens on a plate and top with the egg mixture. Add chili flakes if using. 

Serve with toasted bread. 

It's so yummy with pan de sal!

Pasta Marinara

Marinara sauce, for me,  is the most versatile pasta sauce that I can prepare at anytime. Still haven't gotten over from Habagat's disaster, I cooked spaghetti in Marinara plain and simple. Most of my cooking tools were submerged in the flood since they are kept at the bottom part of my buffet cabinet, of course I wouldn't want to jeopardize the health of my family so with a pain in my heart, I tossed everything out in the trash. 

Rainy Day Comfort Food: Suman sa Lihiya and Hot Chocolate

A good friend from Calapan came over this week to Manila and gave us a bag of Suman sa Lihiya among other pasalubong.

Tropical Fruit Shake

It's rainy season now in the Philippines and why am I writing about fruit shake?  Blame it on the weird weather but this rainy season is awfully driving us to the extremes.

Expect the rains to come by in the evening if not late afternoon. But mind you, you'll be enduring the sweltering heat during morning until around noon time. 


So, for refreshment and to quench our thirst, we've been having fruit shakes twice in a day. One during breakfast or mid-morning snack and another one in the afternoon for merienda. 


This is a healthier alternative to ice cream, I suppose. And of course, to sodas. I still love coca-cola but I have been consciously trying to evade it to minimize my sugar intake.


Here's a refreshing fruit shake concoction that you can try doing at home.

Bangus Belly Steak Filipino Style

Bangus or Milkfish is the Philippines' National Fish. This fish has a unique taste which I can only describe in one word:  delicious. Bangus can be cooked in different ways from the most complicated Relleno to the simplest Fried or Prito. Somewhere in between are paksiw, sinigang, totso, lumpia (yes, you can make lumpia out of the fish' flesh), and a lot more.

In our family, we all love the belly and head part and it's a good thing that we can buy boneless belly in groceries now. A pack is enough for about 4 servings so we can buy only the choice cuts in bulk instead of wasting the tail part. This sells much higher than the regular fresh Bangus but the hassle free experience is all worth it.

One of the most requested  recipe of Bangus that I always get is belly steak, pinoy style. The fish is cooked ala bistek Tagalog or Filipino beef steak using kalamansi and soy sauce and topped with lots of onion rings. This dish is very easy to prepare and I highly recommend this to kitchen newbies. Just be careful though when frying bangus, the oil will splatter to no end so you must lower the heat before turning the fish over to cook the other side. And always, always, use a pan lid to avoid skin burns and messy clothes. 

Tribute to Mang Dolphy

The most memorable trivia I remember about Dolphy is his love for women and food.

In one interview, if my memory serves me right, it was with Arnold Clavio, Dolphy told an anecdote about his favorite food of all time, Kare-Kare. He even cared to emphasize with "maanghang-anghang na bagoong".

Sinigang na Hipon sa Sampalok (Shrimp in Tamarind Soup)

I have yet to hear of a true-blooded pinoy who dislikes sinigang (sour soup). In fact, based on my personal survey, there would be one or two in a household who love sinigang to no end. Meaning,  sinigang is a must  in their weekly menu. 

Sinigang takes so many styles and variation. There's pork sinigang, fish sinigang, beef sinigang, shrimp sinigang and chicken which is differently called as sinampalukang manok. In addition, the souring agent also varies such that different fruits or vegetables are used to make the soup sour like kamias/kalamias, kalamansi, miso, guava (bayabas in filipino) and the most popular sampalok or tamarind.

Portuguese Inspiration: Peri-Peri Chicken

We are constantly on a lookout for ways to prepare or serve chicken to our family and guests. Here in the Philippines, the most common Filipino recipe for chicken would be Chicken Adobo or Adobong Manok, Chicken Tinola, Chicken Afritada, and of course, the all time favorite Fried Chicken. 

To give chicken a new twist, I made Peri-Peri Grilled Chicken. Peri-Peri or Peli-Peli is a  Portuguese specialty which is very flavorful and considered to be the counterpart of Pinoy Lechon Manok. The difference is mainly in the marinade since both require to be grilled over flame for that smoky effect.

Mango Cake

In the Philippines, where I live,  sweet and juicy mangoes are abundant almost all year round. I feel  very lucky that I can buy mangoes from the grocery any time I crave for the taste of it.

Last week I got to browse through my old cookbook and found a recipe for Mango Cake. Honestly, this is the first time for me to try it out and I did! And I'm so glad with the result.  

Chicken Curry

Filipinos have a different taste when it comes to curry cooking.  Basically, we use coconut milk and cream as the base for this dish.  We also have versions like chicken, duck, fish and seafoods.

This is the dish that my friends would always request me to bring for pot-lucks (aside from my baked ziti). With the tangy taste of curry and spiciness of the chili,  you need to prepare a lot of rice when you serve this.

Cheese Quesadilla

One famous Mexican Snack  and/or Appetizer is Cheese Quesadilla.  Basically a tortilla sandwich with cheese filling has evolved with the variations in fillings or stuffing’s used.  Tortillas are basically thin as compared to quiche, so it is important not to layer on with fillings too thickly.

One way to enjoy this snack is to eat with nacho chips and dips such as guacamole, tomato salsa and sour cream. 

Our Mom's Garlic Beef Tapa

Tapa has become famous since tapsilog (tapa + sinangag + itlog) became a hit. The way my mom makes her tapa is a secret, in fact some family friends even from abroad would call her up to get the recipe once they get to taste it.

Here's my version as to how I duplicate the same.  What makes it different is that it isn't your usual sweet-flavored beef but more of a salty-garlicky kind.

Cafe' Mocha

Saw this ground coffee from Lipa in the supermarket and tried to make café’ mocha using it as base for the espresso.  It turned out fantastic! 

For making the espresso, I used my portable Starbucks  French Press.  This can be a very useful kitchen tool especially if you need a quick caffeine-fix.

Nilagang Baboy

Nilaga is a traditional Filipino food.  There are many ways to cook nilaga as much as the many variations of the meat used for this dish such that ingredients vary when chicken is used as compared to beef or pork.

This version of pork nilaga is from Southern Tagalog, provinces like Batangas, Laguna and Mindoro use saba instead of potato or gabi or kamote.  Petchay tagalog is also used instead of cabbage (repolyo in Filipino) or Chinese petchay.

Humba (Braised Pork Hock)

Pork hocks or pork shanks or what we call Pata in Filipino, are from the pig’s leg or foreleg between the knee and the ankle. This is a tough meat as it is a part of a “work” muscle, and it takes time to make it fork tender thru boiling or braising. Other popular pork hock dishes are Crispy Pata and Nilaga.

Here’s my recipe for Humba…

Minatamis na Saba

Saging na Saba is how Filipinos call the Plantain Banana.  This type of banana is usually cooked instead of being eaten raw.  In Mindoro, the most popular way to cook saba is called "Sinulbot"  or what we are all familiar as Banana Que.

Minatamis na Saba is one easy way to prepare a merienda or dessert.

Burrito

Burrito is a complete meal by itself. A favorite of hubby and we are always on the lookout for the best burrito joint.

Burritos can either use beef, chicken or veggies for filling.  There's also breakfast burrito.

I use chicken most of the time since it's difficult to find good beef in Calapan.

Enchilada Sauce

Prepared enchilada sauce will last for 7-10 days in the fridge as long as you keep them properly in a sterilized bottle.  It's so easy to make and you can use it for your tacos, burritos, fajitas or simply use it as a salad dressing.

Mexican Rice

At first I thought this was a diffucult dish to prepare such as paella.  Don't be intimidated, its a well loved rice dish by my friends and its always the first thing to be consumed everytime i serve it at home.

Mexican rice is an essential part of a burrito but it can stand alone as it is and it goes well with other mexican fares and barbeques!