baby rambutan

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…)

lucky you if you have access to saba bananas, which i found were called “pear bananas” in a Filipino store in Glendale, CA.
i don’t, so i make do with plantains. they’re a worthy substitute as long as you get them just-right ripe–i buy them green and then wait for the dark sugar spots on the skin and tender-firm touch.
my kids love it this way for an after school snack. i get really nostalgic about the way my best friend C and her family poured a splash of fresh carabaomilk on their bowls.
my Ma makes a simple syrup made with dark brown sugar or palm sugar tablets(panucha)–this time i caramelized some sugar and then poured water and simmered to dissolve completely, before adding the slices and cooking for about 10 minutes until done.
the sweetness was richer, darker, deeper. i prefer it this way now.

i made these for our half-hearted attempt at a St. Patrick’s day dinner…i say half-hearted because i didn’t follow through on all the traditional Boston-Irish side dishes to accompany the boiled corned beef dinner.
i wasn’t even going to do it at all, not being very fond of that grey tough cut of seasoned beef. but then i overheard two little old ladies at the poolside, talking about how they had run out of corned beef and were now out to get more because it was so good and they needed to serve the leftover carrots and potatoes and cabbage all over again…

i’ve eyed this recipe since my March 2009 Gourmet arrived. my kids loved it so much, i made them twice in a week. whether you like your potatoes boiled or fried, i guarantee you’ll flip for these. just make sure to use red potatoes (yukon gold is just about the only other one i think would work).

scrub the potatoes and boil until almost tender. (pick the same sizes so they all cook at the same time). it’s important that they still be firm but cooked, yet not cooked through that they mash. let rest a bit to cool down.
press down with a wide spatula or even a potato masher. careful with this step, you want the potatoes to retain some shape. heat a skillet with olive oil and butter (amount depends upon the number of potatoes and how wide your skillet is, you want it to brown). over medium heat brown each side about ten minutes each. sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
transfer potatoes to serving platter and then sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

serve with grilled meat or roasted chicken.

i got giddy, i still am giddy!
yes a seismic change has come to America, swept away by that big green helicopter .
i got goosebumps seeing the millions of people cheering at the National Mall and beyond.
i got frightened when Mr. and Mrs. Obama got out of the armoured Cadillac to walk some lengths of Pennsylvania Avenue. what a relief everytime they climbed back in! did you see how thick those car doors were?

all the jubilation sure cheered us up after a weekend where six inches of snow fell Sunday, then after it was all cleared away, another six inches fell overnight and everyone went, “what the ????”

after what seemed like non-stop shoveling, husband still was determined to make this Portuguese fish stew he stumbled upon, a recipe from the hunky Tyler Florence via foodnetwork.

fortifyingly delicious! just what we need for this wicked snowy winter.

the stew had chorizos, potatoes, little neck clams, fish fillets; it was our first time to try kale, which we liked immensely in this stew. husband followed the recipe faithfully except for using dried herbs instead of freshly snipped; he took note that next time he’ll add the fish at the last possible moment so it won’t disintegrate and disappear into the stew, and i pleaded with him, less salt please Mr. T! my heart, my heart!

Portuguese Fish Stew, a la Tyler Florence (from foodnetwork)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound linguica or chorizo sausage, sliced in chunks
5 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs
1 handful fresh oregano, hand torn
2 bay leaves
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, sliced
3 quarts chicken broth
1 pound kale, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 dozen Littleneck clams, scrubbed
1/2 pound perch, cod, or bass fillets, skin and pin bones removed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

heat the oil in a heavy 4 to 6-quart pot over medium flame. add the onions, garlic, and sausage; cook, stirring with wooden spoon, until the sausage renders out some of its fat and the onions are soft. toss in the herbs and then the potatoes, stir that around for a minute to coat in the oil. pour in the chicken broth and bring up to a simmer. add the kale, season with salt and pepper. cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are nearly tender.

uncover the pot and add the clams; simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until the clams open. add the fish and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until the fish is cooked. garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with olive oil. ladle the stew into shallow bowls. serve with rustic garlic bread or other crusty type bread for dunking.