Sinigang na Hipon : Shrimp Soup

Sinigang is one of the popular dish in the Philippines.  When I was conceiving with my daughter, I craved for this dish every single day but I didn't want top cook so I would go to the food court in the mall and eat there.

Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind, although it can use other sour fruits and leaves as the souring agent.  I used the tamarind sinigang mix packet that I buy from the Asian store since I don't have tamarind here.   It is so good to eat with rice, yum!

Over here, I can only buy frozen shrimp to cook so I only make it once in a while.  MY loves aren't fond of shrimp soup that much so I end up just consuming what I cook.

Anyway, this was last year when I was just starting to harvest some fresh veggies from my garden.  I grew some water spinach or kangkong and some  string beans (sitaw).  I hope the birds would leave my garden alone this year, I am not seeing any progress, the birds are relentless this year!

How about a bowl of rice and some sinigang?  Wanna try it?  It's delicious!

Pickled Beet Stems

I had so much beet produce last year and I had to look for ways on how to preserve them.  The leaves were good for sautéing with bacon and I found a recipe online on how to pickle the stems.

The rabbits got tired of eating beets so I couldn't let these go to waste.  

They turned out well actually.  I like how it stayed crispy and the pickling ingredients really gave it a pop of flavors.

I like eating pickled veggies when I am eating fried or grilled meat.  

I didn't have enough pickling juice but after a day or two, the juice from the stems kinda filled the jar so it worked out perfect.

Beets Goodness: Powdered, Pickled, Shake

I had a lot of beets last season so I was able to preserve some by pickling and dehydrating it and making it into powder.  In the process of making the powder,  I burned out our blender (wahhhh).  

I didn't get to grind all the ones I dried but it's okay, I put it in a sealed container maybe I can rehydrate it and use it for something else.

I never knew beets until I came in the states.  My husband made me love it/  He likes beets although he only eats it during holidays when the family prepares it but now that I do a lot of gardening, we eat it every planting season.  They are price in the store so growing it in our garden is the way to go.

For those of you who make powder of the things you grow, can you recommend a good machine to do it?

This blender did a good job but it didn't last.

I have a food processor that I was going to use but I realized that it is missing something and it won't work.

Speaking of which, I need to start making shakes again so I can use the beet powder.  I am wondering if I can make a soup and add the beets maybe?

Any ideas on what else I could use this beet powder for?  

I like bowling the fresh beets then blend it and make into a shake, it's delicious.

It's a really good drink after a good workout or after you're out in the sun gardening.

How about you, do you like beets?  Do you grow it in your garden?  What do you do with beets?  

Spaghetti Squash and More #Homecooking

Hubby is on a diet and one of the few food he can have is pasta which is one of his favorites. But to satisfy his craving, I made a spaghetti squash.   It was a lot of fun to make and I would prefer this kind over pasta anyway.  There’s a little crunch to eat when you eat.  Below is how I did it.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash the squash then cut it in half lengthwise.  Remove the seeds by scooping it with spoon.  
• Put  some olive oil then sprinkle salt and pepper on it.
• Lay it facedown on a baking sheet and bake it for 30 minutes.
• Let it cool then use fork to remove the veggie spaghetti noodles.  This is my favorite part, seeing how it turned just like spaghetti is amazing.

I made the spaghetti sauce with our homemade tomato sauce with some ground beef, it was delicious!

Our son is into working these days so he is starting to eat a lot of protein.  I make him eggs every morniong.

Another favorite here at home is stuffed peppers.  Good thing about this dish is the left over is always the best.  

Sometimes when I am short in time in the morning, waffles always saves the day.  Waffles with fruits is always a good combo.  Both of my kids love mango.

I wish I couyld have my mojo back with writing , that way I could write more often.  It comes in waves these days.

Thanksgiving Feast 2021

 It's 2sday today (2/22/22) so I am trying to update my blogs, maybe  write 22 articles?  Nah, that's a far fetch and too ambitious lol.  Anyhow, here's the simple  feast we had during Thanksgiving last year.  We prepared some Filipino foods that we liked.

My daughter baked some pandesal.

Since it is Thanksgiving, we had a pumpkin pie also.  NO, I did not bake it, we bought it from the store.

I made some  puto (Filipino rice cakes).

All time favorite, lumpia or eggrolls.

I also made some  pansit bihon (rice noodles).

Fruit salad is always a must for our family.  I prefer this kind of dessert.

So that is it.  Looking forward for another year of being grateful.  I can't believe that February is almost over.  Time do travel fast!

Lomein Noodles Recipe

When I got Sick with Covid, it really messed up my sense of taste.  Everything tasted horrible, even water.  I wasn't eating for about a week, hence I lost 7 pounds within that time period.  I am very grateful for a couple of Pinay friends I have in the area.  They brought me delicious foods and snacks.  Although I couldn't enjoy it at that time, it made me so happy to know that they were there for me, it cheered me up.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you Ate Agnes and Ana for the tasty homemade food and snacks.  

They even picked up some Asian goodies at the oriental market and dropped it off at our home.  One of those goods is the pack of lomien.  I have never tried this kind before but thankful for them for letting me try it.  I made half of it the other day and hubby and daughter said it was delicious.  Below is the simple recipe for it.

Ingredients:

• lomien noodles
• vegetable of your choice. I used what I have available in the friedge - bell peppers, napa cabbage, regular cabbage, and scallion (not in picture).
• pork or seafood
• coconut oil or whatever oil you prefer
• half onion, diced
• one clove of garlic
• knorr liquid seasoning or even plain soy sauce will do

Procedure:

• Cut or dice all the  ingredients to desired sizes
• Boil water in a pot. Place the noodle into the boiling water for 60 seconds until soft then drain.
• In a wok, add a couple of tablespoon of oil.  Fry the meat or seafood until its brown.
• Add onion and garlic, then the veggies.  I added two kinds of  cabbage because the regular cabbage is crunchy and the napa is soft and sweet.  
• Stir the noodles with the meat and veggie mixture and add the soy sauce and sprinkle black pepper.
• Top it off with green onion and enjoy!

 

For dessert, I made plantain banana cue.  Bonapettit!

Acharang Ampalaya #PickledBitterMelon

As the name entails, this kind of melon or gourd is bitter.  Why do Asian like this kind of vegetable?  Well, it's delicious when cook or prepared right and for its health benefit.  

Here's a list of Benefits of Ampalaya  according to research

• Antiviral effects. 
• Alleviates common cold. 
• Treats gastrointestinal problems.   
• Regulates blood sugar. 
• Have Antioxidant Source
• Prevents Free Radicals
• Acts as Anti-Inflammatory
• Boosts Immune System
• Source of Calcium, Iron, and Phosphorous
• Prevents Infection
• Helps Losing Weight (ampalaya has lectin, a substance which obtains a non-hungry effect)
• Promotes Digestion System
• Treats Constipation and Diabetes
• Lowers Cholesterol Level
• Prevents cancer and treats tumor
• Promotes heart and liver health
• Treats Rheumatism, Gout, respiratory, and eye problems
• Promotes skin health
• Relieves Wounds and Burns
• Treats Psoriasis
• Promotes Hair Health

Ampalaya is not   a favorite vegetable of mine but I eat for the sake of the health benefits I listed above.

Anyway, this year, my bitter melon plant did so well and I couldn't cook them all.   I sold some of it and also gave some to friends.  Even now that it is getting cold, it is still producing fruit so I picked the young ones and decided to make an achara or pickled it.

I added some sweet chilis to eat to counter the bitter taste. You can find the recipe at the bottom.

It is so nice to grow your own vegetable, you can pick them whenever you want or need them.

I let some of it ripen so I can save seeds for next  gardening season.  

When I was a kid, my favorite part of the ampalaya is the red skin that covers the seed, it is edible and its sweet.  If you haven't try it, you should  and discover the surprise treat from  a ripe amapalaya.

Pickled Bitter Melon or Acharang Ampalaya Recipe

Ingredients:

• Amapalaya
• 1 medium kohlrabi or carrots
• 2 Italian sweet peppers
• 2 teaspoon salt
• A handful of tobasco peppers (optional)
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups white sugar
• pickling spice 
• a piece of ginger, minced
• 1 onion, sliced 
• 3 bay leaves
• peppercorn kernels

Procedure:

•  Gather or pick your ampalaya or you can buy it at the Asian store.  Open each of  it with knife and scrape the gut, leaving just the meat of the ampalaya.  You can use  spoon to easily remove it.  Then slice them thinly or whatever size you desire.  Soak it in water with salt for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Slice the other ingredients (onion, ginger, peppers, kohlrabi).  You can add whatever vegetable you like.  I added kohlrabi instead of carrots because I had one left from my garden.  If you like garlic, you can add some too (I'm not really a fan of bawang so I opted out.   
• Prepare the pickling juice.  Pour the vinegar in a pot, add the sugar and stir it until it dissolve, let it boil.
• Some prefers to blanch the ampalaya to retain its green color but since I soaked it in salt water mixture, I didn't want to fool with it.  
• In a clean jar, arrange your vegetable and  add the bay leaves and pickling spice on top.  
• Pour the vinegar mixture on the jar and close the lid.  Refrigerate for a week to let the vegetable absorb the pickling juice.
• Enjoy

Okay, this is my first time  preparing ampalaya this way.  I just didn't want to waste the young ones. I gotta say, it's probably my favorite way of eating amplaya now.  It's crunchy and sweet, it's still a bit bitter but the sweetness of the juice cancels the bitterness.  I love eating achara when I am eating fish.  Give me a feedback when you decide to use this recipe through the comment below.  Thanks for reading and visiting this food blog.

16 Mini Pancakes forour Daughter's 16th Birthday

 I made her blueberry mini pancakes on her birthday, 16 of them.

Not the best but hey, I tried ha ha.  She enjoyed it anyway so that's what mattered.

She's like my husband who likes pancakes.  My son takes after me who isn't fond of eating pancakes for breakfast.  I mean, we do eat it when  we have it but if we have a choice, we eat something else.  Dad and daughter loves it though.

I grew up in a big family so we didn't really celebrate our birthdays so I kind of associated my lack of creativity when it domes to this department of parenting lol.  I know, that's just an excuse but, hey, it's me.

Food we ate during the Pandemic

 Meal kits deliveries was an awesome option during  the pandemic's quarantine period.  I have tried  few companies that offers them and there are some that we like and other's that we can do without.  It was a fun learning experience for my daughter as well.  She gets to try to cook  each meal kit.

Here are some of the menus that we cooked.  I won't specify what they are and who the meal delivery companies are but we had fun trying to create or cook each meals.  Some are Mediterranean, some are asian, and most are  American cuisine.

This chicken with basil pistou dish was really good.  I would like to make this again one day.  The good is, I have the recipe so I can make it again anytime I want to.

The ingredients you need for this is chicken cutlets, basil pisto, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, fennel, jasmine rice, green chard, and dates,

This pork bowl is a menu that we like very much.  My daughter have perfected  the way to make it so we buy the ingredients from the store and cook it when we crave for it.

Seared cod and peppers with coleslaw and potatoes.  This is not something, we will buy again.

My husband like this steak and cheddar melt.

Korean spicy noodles for breakfast.  I added some greens to make it healthier.

I like this honey mustard salmon dish.  This dish only calls for 6 ingredients; salmon fillet, honey mustard sauce, rainbow carrots, brocolli, red onion, and smoky mustard and thyme blend.  I thought this was the easiest dish because you only need to sear and roast, there's no elaborate process.  I like how it has a complete set of protien.

This Caribbean shrimp and coconut rice was okay.  It's not something I would cook again for the family because they are not very fond of seafood.  

I cooked this lima beans in coconut  milk and added some squid tentacles just for me.  As I mentioned above, my husband kids only eat certain seafood, I like  any type of seafood dishes.  I grew up eating only seafood so I am used to it.

Pasta and chicken dish with mushroom sauce, not a fan of this but thought it was an alright dish.

We have a lot of dishes that we tried which I wasn't able to take a photo of  but pandemic definitely opened us to a new challenge in making food.  I thought it was a great challenge though.  My daughter learned to cook few dishes and  so did I.  How about you?  What did you cook during the pandemic?