baby rambutan

one hot day in July, when i was feeling sluggishly sloth-y, and not feeling like doing any cooking, let alone moving at all…the urge to eat this moved me greatly.

i should have this memorized by now! from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection, i added extra of everything (garlic, chili, anchovies, basil, capers, tomatoes, olives), used thin spaghetti and added a can of solid white tuna in olive oil.
all strong, punchy flavors, over pasta: somehow it just worked on a hot summer day.

and then on to more summer eats! i have three kids at home, very hungry and constantly checking out the fridge and checking in on mom at the kitchen–so i tend to be preparing quick and easy dishes, such as this bbq chicken a la Bacolod Inasal, a style of grilling marinated chicken.
i had heard about it a lot, and finally got to try it at a chain restaurant in the Mall of Asia, by the seaside Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
i used a recipe mostly based on Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing’s via the Inquirer.Net. i added lemongrass stalks (as suggested by several recipes i found in other sites) and marinated the minimum 30 minutes (more than that and the chicken meat will get “de-natured”).

the special technique is the butter-calamansi-atsuete (annatto seed, used as a vibrant colorant) basting sauce. (i could not bear to use margarine, which is the original recipe).
i was nervous about using all that vinegar, with no soy sauce to soften all that acidic kick.

but it was a hit, yet i’ve decided i will use chicken leg quarters instead of whole chickens–i used baby “young chickens”–because the breast meat dried out. NO MORE BREAST MEAT.

highly recommended with achara as side dish…

achara of green papaya plus:not-so-secret formula here.

recipe for Chef Pauline’s chicken inasal follows… (more…)

(tinadtad na manggang hilaw) finely grated green mango, ready to be embellished with tomatoes, onions, bagoong, patis, chicharon, chilies…but i love it just the way it is.
i wasn’t able to compose a travelogue, or a collage of photos even. sorry, my state of mind is not quite there yet–it makes me inconsolably sad to even have a glimpse of what i miss. so spoiled! i was…thanks to my brothers, the bookend boys (oldest and youngest).
i’ve got some of the food photos on my flickr, and the photo above is the #1 item i labadabdab and miss most of all, food-wise…

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NAVTEQ. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a secret longing that i haven’t told my husband about.
I want a GPS Navigation system in the car!
I know how he feels and I do agree with him on principle: we like reading maps, we like the challenge of navigating through unfamiliar territory and the fulfillment of finding our way eventually…
but I’ve also ridden in cars with the GPS on–and I’m totally convinced they help save a lot of heartache and nerves and argument, not to mention time and gasoline. My Manila-based brother was able to find his way in downtown Los Angeles, alone, thanks to our younger brother’s loan of his car equipped with the Garmin!
So the month of May is NAVTEQ’s Map Update Month and it’s time to make sure you have the latest, best information on all the maps.
Roads and bridges crumble, detours can become permanent, new highways and freeways and expressways are sprouting up as we speak. You really have to make sure your system is up to date and current and with it!

According to the NAVTEQ Navigation Benefits study, updating your maps on a regular basis could:
–help you save up to $200 a year just by using a navigation device*
–help you drive with confidence
–help you save time (A traffic enabled GPS device can save you 4 days of driving time*)
–help you use less fuel
–reduce your CO2 emissions by 20% just by driving with a GPS device*
–help maintain the optimum performance from your system
–help you know better roadside options
*NAVTEQ Navigation Benefits Study

This www.mapupdatemonth.com takes away a lot of the sweat and the legwork, it’s all push-button easy…

so who isn’t on a health kick these days? you just can’t escape it even if you don’t have any health issues (lucky you *inggit*envy*)–tv and print ads and emails all beseech you to watch your weight, read food labels, work out, eat less, and on and on.
one of my sincere efforts is to avoid cooking deep fried foods.

but alas, the allure and the lure of lumpiang Shanghai (meat and shrimp rolls) got the better of me. i justified it by using ground chicken to replace some of the ground pork, and tried to have the rolls not spend too much time in the deep fat fryer (crucial to use, so that you know how hot the oil has gotten).
the star of this blogpost though is The Dip. i was in a hurry to cook and couldn’t find my recipe for the sweet and soy-y dip so i dug out my dog-eared 22-year-old edition of Galing Galing by Nora Daza for a sweet and sour ketchup-y sauce to which i added some fried garlic.

1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water (or chicken stock)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsps. ketchup/catsup
2 tsps. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

in a glass cup, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and water and mix well.
heat a saucepan and add cooking oil (you can use as little as you need to coat the pan). brown the minced garlic until fragrant. add the vinegar solution and bring up to a gentle boil and then add the cornstarch solution, stirring constantly until thickened.

i added a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper too.

any guilty feelings after imbibing these forbidden deep fried goodies were assuaged by the opposite lumpia variation.

after having some fresh lumpia in California–traditionally made with heart of coconut, (the inner core of the coconut trunk, which is not available here)–here made with jicama (singkamas) and other vegetables: green beans, carrots, snow pea pods, celery, all precisely julienned…i had a hankering for some more.

if only i could findeureka!i think i’ve found that prefect white crepe i’m longing for, with a bit of a spongey texture in its thinness, just like my Ma used to get fresh from the lumpia-makers of Nepomuceno Market near Kamuning and Cubao….

i’ve been having problems with this webhost, and in the time it took just to write this post i’ve managed to trawl the www and try a few recipes for the crepe. this is it, at least for now:
a white and fine textured crepe that doesn’t overwhelm the vegetables with too much egginess.
(based on a recipe from recipezaar.com)

200 grams all purpose flour
50 grams tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 tbsps. canola oil
525 ml lukewarm water

blend dry ingredients, then add the egg. whisking constantly, add the water in a steady and slow stream. whisk until well blended; use a stick blender if batter is lumpy. cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in the refrigerator, for at least an hour, up to overnight.
heat up crepe pan to medium hot, lightly oil it, then pour just enough to cover the pan with a thin layer (i used about 1/3 cup for my crepe pan).
when top is set, flip carefully–don’t let it brown, or else it will crack and not drape over the lumpia like a velvet shawl….

we’ve survived 10 inches of rain in three days (not totally unscathed, as we sustained roof and ceiling damage, but all in all not too bad, in this state where some families were totally devastated, sad to say), and the reward was a glorious day of sunshine this St. Patrick’s day.

my family has always celebrated this day, not because we’re Irish, but because it is our parents’ wedding anniversary day.

i don’t recall my Ma ever cooking Irish food on this particular day, though i know she would have if she could’ve–she’s always been adventurous in the kitchen (frogs, rabbits, all sorts of cuisine…)
today marks my Ma and Dad’s 54th wedding anniversary, and husband requested a “traditional” dinner…as traditional as i could manage anyway.
first though he took me to dimsum lunch. yippee, he had the day off today! an endangered day off it is too, so we enjoyed it as much as we could with a quick trip to Boston’s Chinatown and China Pearl. what do you know, we saw his parents and two of his sisters there too.
yes, it was that kind of a day, when everyone just had to get out and feel warm sun on skin.

it was like a flash of lightning when we got home…i remembered Mrs. O’Callaghan’s recipe for Irish soda bread in the March Bon Appetit, in an article written by Andrew McCarthy–one of the brat pack and whom i remember from the movie “Mannequin.” [cook's note: i followed the recipe from the magazine and used only 1 tsp. of baking soda, and added a teaspoon of salt as well. i also used a rectangular pan similar to Mrs. O's.]


it was very easy to make and quite a memorable un-yeasted bread. it was great with the corned beef brisket, sauteed Brussells sprouts (i added rendered salt pork though), mashed potatoes, and the totally non-traditional chicken livers and caramelized onions (recommended for the anemic member of the family, ME!).


i wish i had found a you tube video for this old old James Taylor song, “Sunshine,” as it is just perfect for the feeling we had the morning after the nameless Nor’easter that flooded the Bay State…

sounds of laughter here comes sunshine
smiling faces all around
they possess you bless you sunshine
now you can never let them down
I say sunshine
sunshine, sunshine
is that a cloud across your smile or did you dream again last night
it’s best you rest inside a while
as blue doesn’t seem to suit you right
things ain’t what they used to be
pain and rain and misery
illness in the family and sunshine means a lot to me
i say sunshine
but could it be sunshine is drifting with midnight
and lonely when everyone’s gone
blue crystal spirits and gardens in moonlight
leave weak alone and bleak all quiet and grey by dawn
sunshine sunshine
rising too late to chase the cold and failing to change the frost to dew
she’s trading her mood of yellow gold for frost bitten shades of silver blue
friends and lovers past and gone and no one waiting further on
i’m running short of things to be and sunshine means quite a lot to me
i say sunshine… sunshine

–James Taylor, 1968

so we dug ourselves out of the snow…and into town for a glimpse into the movie magic of


The Great Hall

the diabolically pink professor’s room
i just had to be very sneaky and feel like a secret agent with my hidden camera (under my folded up down coat). they were heavily guarding the Cedric Diggory robes too well, i’d have thought that would be the most popular attraction given the Twilight craze, but there wasn’t a thick enough crowd for the Secret Agent to hide behind! the exhibit, which has been in Boston since September, is phenomenally crowded, this second day of the year, and rightly so: such finely crafted and minutely detailed props and costumes. they didn’t cut corners on the special effects. you’ll also be able to quickly guess that the actors and actresses aren’t that tall. they just seem larger than life, thanks to movie magic.

ball gown and dress robes, left to right: Viktor Krum, Hermione, and Ron

the only disappointment i felt was the absence of anything pertaining to Luna Lovegood.
so you know what i’m talking about now, yes? if not, then you must think i’m crazy (which i assure you i am), but you also must have just wandered out of the Sahara? or tundra?….

after an afternoon at the museum we were treated to a hot pot dinner, which just hit the spot. the freezing spot! cooking our dinner over the kim chee broth (alongside a mild version)–reminiscent of our New Year’s eve fondue feast, but this time we felt quite self-righteously healthy.
for dunking, you choose from beef, pork, lamb, chicken, seafood…among many others; they also give you a platter of vegetables alongside: tofu, Napa cabbage, watercress, corn, shiitake and enoki mushrooms, and bean curd skin.

for the dipping sauce sister-in-law recommended a little bit of everything (XO sauce, raw garlic, scallions, chilis, kim chee bits) in the Japanese soy sauce. i say, Amen, sista!

and if there’s an exotic ingredient on the menu i’m so going for it….beef tongue please!

Shabu-Zen
Brighton Avenue, Boston
reasonably priced, and great fun especially with kids tall enough to reach over the pot…

The Harry Potter exhibition runs until February, hurry up and go!
Museum of Science

the day after, i feel like i am the ultimate kulelat of the Boston Marathon, all beat up and crawling to the finish line.
and i feel like giving all the Santa “facilitators”,a great big hug! you know who you are! give yourselves a standing ovation, for helping Santa deliver his presents to all the nice kids and/or not too naughty ones.
christmas morning i made buttery scones for breakfast, having stumbled upon a prettily,accessibly priced jar of clotted cream in one of my favorite salvage storeshaunts.


then i made this really easy yet delicious apple walnut spice cake–everyone overlooked the patchiness of it especially when i hand-whipped the calvados vanilla cream at the party venue (i didn’t want to make a fuss or noise at the hostess’ kitchen, ssshhh!).


it diminished in size so quickly, #1son made sure he scored two leftover slices to take home. i’ll make you some more, promise!
as usual, recipe will be posted upon request! please, bug me if i neglect to respond. my life’s like that!

i hope your Christmas was a joyous one.

with the bounty of summer fruits, Anne Willan’s clafoutis, here made with Rainier cherries and nectarines and peaches.

this version is eggy and custardy. i think i love the cake-y one better! or even tita Martha’s! but no matter, at least, the children loved it. (from the book “best recipes for absolutely everything“).

and with the proper alignment of all the planets and stars and the availability of ingredients…a perfect entree for summer: salmon Nicoise salad. i didn’t even have it with bread! but i might, next time.

based on a recipe from Gourmet magazine, August 2009.
a zesty medley of grilled salmon, boiled eggs, potatoes and green beans, assorted lettuces, English cucumbers, a punchy olive vinaigrette, and topped with crackling salmon skin shreds, almost like chicharron…healthy chicharron?

Nancy Silverton’s, from Baking with Julia, edited by Dorie Greenspan.
this, from my obsessions file: something i’ve been plotting to make, because just by reading the recipe you could tell it would be dreamy.

a pastry tart made with brioche dough, topped with a creme fraiche custard, baked, then drizzled with summer berries in wine syrup and zabaglione. it took a whole lot of planning: the day before, make brioche dough; make creme fraiche, chill. the day itself, make secret sauce, stew the fruits, while whipping the cream, bake the tart.

10-inch brioche tart

strawberries and blackberries in wine syrup
the end result is just exactly how i’d imagined it would taste: not too sweet but creamy and custardy and dreamy and dastardly…to burn off all that butter and cream will require ten extra laps in the pool tomorrow, for sure. just please God don’t make me share the lap lane with the (pink-and-black-zebra-striped) bikini guy…

an unadorned slice

plus ten more laps for a slice of this…

grey gloomy glum weather again, and still cold, but. at least…. it’s FRIDAY!
i’m not too fond of the name of the dish (it just reminds me too much of the sisid *as in dive underwater* rice stories my Ma told us, about the harrowing times during WW2 ).
Southern style rice sounds a bit better, but then how to distinguish it from the what, several hundred? kinds of dishes with rice from the South.
so dirty rice it is.
chicken livers, chicken gizzards. you like?

we love! husband discovered how to make this, one of our favorite side dishes for fried chicken when we buy it from our preferred take out joint (hint: named for a sailor man who loves his spinach, canned. his goyl’s name is Olive Oyl.)
i used duck gizzards but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter…except i was a bit worried that pulsing the livers, as the recipe commands, would render it bitter so i just roughly chopped them up, same way as the gizzards.
i’m thinking of adding some thick cubes of bacon next time, just to make it even more wicked.
fried chicken, yes, but i think it would also be a good foil (foyl?) for grilled fish or shellfish, Cajun style perhaps?
from Allrecipes.com. (more…)