adobo pan de sal

we got some good pan de sal from a supermarket near my office. pan de sals are the local bread roll with a light crust outside and soft inside.

In our ref, we found some extra pork adobo, left-over from the fiesta of san luis. my hunny made me nice adobo sandwiches for today.

Adobo Pan de sal

pork adobo, shredded and fried till toasted.
cheese
mayo
lettuce
pan de sal

break in half the pan de sal. spread ample amount of mayo on both sides.
place a cut lettuce leaf. spread enough adobo meat on the lettuce. add the cheese.
put the other half of the pan de sal on top to finish the sandwich.

guisadong corned beef

this morning, i prepared a nice corned beef guisado for my hunny's lunch. most ingredients are found scattered around the ref.

guisadong corned beef

1 small can corned beef
half an onion, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 small marble potato
oil
salt and pepper
dot of butter


thinly slice the marble potato. in little oil, fry the marble potato. when translucent, add the garlic and saute till golden brown. add the onions. after about a minute, add the corned beef. add very little water to prevent drying up. add a dot of butter to enhance the flavor. adjust salt and pepper to taste.

surviving on food from nowhere: noodle surprise

we were not that hungry last night and prepared a simple noodle soup for dinner. we have frozen chicken balls, some kikiam from the freezer and leeks from the vegetable crisper.

Noodle Surprise

1 pack instant 2-minute beef noodle
1 stalk green part leeks, thinly sliced
1 pc chicken ball, sliced
2 table spoons sliced kikiam, sliced

boil water according to package instructions. add a little more to accomodate the additional stuff to put in. when boiling, add the sliced leeks, sliced chicken ball and sliced kikiams. boil for about a minute. add the noodles. simmer till the noodles are done. serve very hot.

best leche flan

here is the best leche flan i've ever tasted. quality, texture and flavor... all three are superb. courtesy of my best ate...

best leche flan

3 itik egg yellow (duck egg yellow)
2 cans condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
white sugar to taste (optional)
rind from 2 dalayap fruits (native lime fruit)
brown sugar for the caramel
4 llanera (oval tins)

To make the brown caramel:
on each clean llanera add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. place the llanera on top of an open flame. brown the sugar. evenly swirl the melted sugar to cover the bottom of the llanera. then set aside to cool and harden.

To make the flan:
mix the itik egg, condensed milk and evaporated milk in a bowl. add white sugar if you want it more sweet. The white sugar is only optional. You can make the flan without it as the condensed milk is already sweet.

strain on a fine sieve to remove lumps. equally distribute the flan mix to the 4 llanera. level of the llanera should not go over 3/4 of the tin to prevent overflowing.

cover the llanera securely with plastic wrap or a tight tinfoil preventing steam from getting into the tin during cooking.

in a pressure cooker, add water. water should be high enough preventing from drying up, but not boiling over and into the tins.

pressure cook in a very low fire for about 20 minutes.

set aside to cool. To serve, open gently the plastic covering of the tins. run a knife around the edges to loosen the flan from the tin. put a plate on top of the tin. gently and quickly flip over the plate together with the tin. gently remove the tin off the plate and from the flan revealing the golden brown caramel on the soft yellow flan.

san luis fiesta

my hunny and I visited ima and tatay at sanluis. the feast of San Luis was actually, last June 21. It's a regular working week day so we just visited them last sunday.

We had a nice food gathering. We had miki-bihon pansit, some sisig, some lengua, fried native chicken, asado, sinigang with lots of vegetables, and nice kare-kare.

weather was overcast with some rain. better than having a very hot sunny day. we went home same safely on the same day.

surviving on food from nowhere: german veggie wedgie

we again rummaged through our ref and found small portions of various vegetables. my hunny created the german veggie wedgie.

german veggie wedgie

1 small bell pepper
1 stalk chopped leeks
1/2 can straw mushrooms
1 medium carrot, sliced in wedges
1 bundle asparagus, cut in 1 inche lengths
10 pcs baby potatos, sliced in wedges, boiled for 5 minutes
1 german sausage, sliced in rounds.
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

saute garlic in olive oil till brown. add the chopped onion. saute for about 2 minutes. add the potatoes till soft. add the carrots. add the sausage. add the chopped asparagus. saute for about 5 minutes for the flavors to cook through. add the mushrooms, leeks and bell pepper. adjust salt and pepper to taste.

bubba gump

we had dinner last night at bubba gump. I'm with my hunny and my sis.

we had the best food item they offer: bourbon street mahi mahi.

two big fillets of mahi mahi, char broiled. smothered with creamy cheese sauce. in the creamy cheese sauce are tender shrimps, mashed potatoes and a crunchy potato nest.

miami heat is it!

miami wins in the nba! yay!

miami's not my team but i was rooting for payton who hasn't had a ring yet. now he can sleep well....

jason williams also now has one. but he's a disappointment. he went in the nba with a bang but the bang didn't last long.

pat riley still has his championship touch. a classic riley.

dallas mavs is still young. i will not be surprised if they will be the champs next year.

arrived early at work

i arrived an unusual time of 7:40 at work. that's very early in my case as i usually arrive at 8:06!

gift of a lifetime

my baby went back to school for english sessions. this is to improve english proficinency and boost confidence in meeting foreign clients.

this is a gift which she will cherish for a lifetime.

sharing the lasagna

my hunny brought some lasagna for her office mates.

they liked the lasagna. that's quite good for a first lasagna!

my first lasagna!

last night we prepared our first lasagna. this plan has been running around for quite some time and it was only last night that we had it made. preparation looks complex but when we did our first lasagna, it was a cinch! just prepare the 2 sauces, boil the pasta, arrange, bake and you're done!

my first lasagna

Lasagna

Boil lasagna according to package instructions. do not over cook. may be removed from the boiling water even a little under-done. pasta dish would still continue to cook later when you put bake the dish into the oven. take good care of the lasagna when boiling. do not stir too much. add generous amounts of water to prevent them from sticking. after draining, sprinkle some olive oil to preserve it from sticking with the other lasagna.


sauce 1: white veggie sauce

1/4 cup butter
olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 medium onion
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups cream
1/2 cup full cream milk
1 cup chopped spinach

melt butter in a heavy sauce pan. add generous amounts of olive oil.
saute garlic till light brown. add the onions. saute till limp.
slowly add the 4 tablespoons of flour while constantly stirring. this will prevent lumps from forming. continuously stir for 5 minutes to let the flour cook through. this prevents the sauce from having a floury taste and texture.
flour mixture will thicken. add some of 1/4 cup of cream if the mixture is too thick when mixing.

add the cream and full cream milk. simmer for 5 minutes mixing it frequently to prevent from sticking and forming lumps. add the chopped spinach. add salt and pepper to taste. simmer for 3 more minutes. Consistency should be a bit thick for it to hold its shape when set on the lasagna. set aside.


sauce 2:red meat sauce

1/2 kilo minced pork
2 tablespoons olive oil
chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper

6 slivers of bacon
2 tablespoon garlic
1 medium onion
olive oil
4 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup ready made catsup
chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper

prepare the pork. trim, clean and mince the pork. marinate with salt and pepper, chopped basil and coat it with olive oil. set aside.

on a heavy sauce pan, put the bacon on the hot pan without oil. fry the bacon till crisp. remove from pan. reserve the oil for sauteing later. chop the bacon to bite size pieces.

using the oil from the bacon, add garlic and chopped onion. add some olive oil. saute. add the marinated minced pork. pan fry for about 5 minutes in high heat or when the pork changed its color.

add all the tomato paste and tomato sauce. add the catsup. add the chopped basil. simmer. add little water if consistency is too thick. add salt and pepper. simmer till the pork is tender to the bite. Consistency should be a bit thick for it to hold its shape when set on the lasagna.


Preparation:

in an oven proof square pan, put some olive oil at the bottom to line the pan. add 1 layer of lasagna in an over-lapping manner forming a flat flooring of pasta.

Add the red sauce on top enough to cover the lasagna. about 1/2 in. thick. sprinkle some grated cheese.

add another layer of lasagna.

add now the white sauce enough to cover the lasagna. about 1/2 in. thick.

add another layer of lasagna.

usual lasagna has 3 layers of lasagna. finish the pan with sauce on top and generously sprinkle cheese with it.

pop it into an oven to brown the cheese on top. we did it on our microwave and grill oven and it went out fine.

Another tricky part here is how can you lift a perfect lasagna from the deep dish pan! we just used two flat ladles. 1 is used for scooping out the lasagna and the other is for holding form it its place.

This is a very rich delicacy. Eat generously and enjoy!

tuna mint basil

i prepared a nice sandwich for my lunch today. i got fresh herbs from the supermarket yesterday and made a nice tuna spread.

tuna mint basil

1 can tuna (solid in vegetable oil)
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper to taste.

put the tuna in a bowl. add the mayo. add the basil and mint. add salt and pepper to taste. add more mayo if you want a more spreadable consistency. serve with freshly baked bread.

mom got well

my mom had severe pain on her ankle due to a compression of the sciatic nerve.

panic struck me when my sister called me up when mamuy is asking to be brought to the hospital.

Later on i have learned that it was not an emergency.

I asked my sister to give mamuy strong pain relievers to ease her condition.

after about 12 hours, pain had subsided and mom can now walk by herself.

surviving of food from nowhere: pansit palabok

we rummaged through our old food cabinet and found that we can make a basic pansit palabok. this is a local delicacy using thin rice noodles, having a red-orange sauce made from shrimp stock, smoked fish and spices.

well, that's the real recipe. but in this case, we will frugally use instant stuff, old-but-still-ok pork meat found stored in the ref and chicharon left-overs.

easy pansit palabok

1/4 kilo dried rice noodles, soaked for about 5 minutes to soften.
1 pouch instant pansit palabok mix (this is locally available or sold in oriental stores.)
1/2 cup cooked pork, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped

boil the rice noodles until tender. drain and set aside.

dissolve pansit palabok mix in tap water according to packet directions. set aside.
saute garlic till golden brown. add the chopped onions. saute till onions are limp. add the pork to cook through. that's about 2 minutes. add the palabok mix. continuously stir the mixture until the mix is thick enough to coat the rice noodles.

to serve, put the cooked rice noodles on a plate. Top with ample amount of sauce. add more if desired. then top it off with the crunchy chicharon bits.

free cookies!

i got free cookies today. got them from the untouched leftovers of the company board meeting.

it will need another board meeting for me to get free cookies from the company.

lhay off to dubai

my good friend lhay will be off to dubai now.

she'll have her work and stay there for good.

i wish her luck for her and for her family.

saved some money

i went to the bank today to deposit some money.

this is our savings for us and for the family.

tatay's accident

we visited tatay back home as he met an accident. an iron door slammed on his heel creating an 8-stitch wound. he was given immediate treatment in a community hospital.

we had a gathering there to perk up tatay's mood. we had good food and good fun.

served were calderetang bibe, sopas, piniritong tilapia, piniritong talong, and pinakbet.

surviving on food from nowhere: sardines sotanghon soup

i rummaged through our food cab a few days backa and found a small sotanghon, a.k.a. vermicelli. we made that into a good hot soup last night playing on simplicity at its best.

sardines sotanghon soup

1 small sotanghon soup (the 5 peso vermicelli pack)
1 can small red and spicy sardines
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TB minced garlic
1 small tomato, chopped
1 bundle native pechay, chopped into 1 inch lengths
1 pack powdered beef soup flavor

soak the dried sotanghon in water till soft. cut the noodles into desired length.
saute garlic in little oil till brown. add the onion.
add the chopped tomato. saute tille tomato is soft.
add the can of sardines. add 1 liter of water.
when boiling, add the beef powder.
simmer for 2 minutes.
add the chopped pechay. simmer for 2 minutes.
serve very hot!

prayer answered: fr. bobby titco's successful return

a prayer was answered. we asked for fr. bobby titco's successful spiritual trip to italy. he returned a few days back and attended his mass last night.

it is through him that we sent our prayers to the homeland of the holy Padre Pio.

God is good. Padro Pio is listening.