we (not using a royal we), i mean my three kids and i, are going to visit mom, dad, older sister and baby bro, and their families,
in Los Angeles.

i don’t think we’ll be able to do much of any touristy stuff, as our main purpose is to hang out with family and especially Dad/Lolo (Grandpa), and to meet our newest family member, the cutie patootybaby “Neil.”

i have no idea what kind of internet connection i’ll be able to sneak past…but certainly i’ll do my darndest to get it! if not i hope my friends and readers will still continue to visit and maintain my page visit stats and browse through my silly little posts in the archives.

enjoy the hot summer everyone.

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that this ice cream has only all natural ingredients.

that this ice cream is so good you’ll have to have some.

and of course, the idea was mind boggling. fresh peaches! cream! sugar!

so off i went looking.

and there was none to be found.

yup we tried, all the stores within reasonable driving distance (this, despite the escalating gas prices! we were compelled), and the company seems so unreachable(no 800 number to call, no “contact us” button on the webpage).

exasperating? sure, so i tried to make some.

end product: tasted too much like custard. it must have been the…cheating. yes i confess i didn’t follow instructions. instead of using fresh peaches–blanched, peeled, pitted, sliced, and THEN macerated with sugar, for 8 HOURS!– i used canned slices in heavy syrup.

oh well, next time i’ll be more obedient. anyway the in-house ice cream aficionados are eating it up.

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the skin on the cheeks, that part that is called the “maskara” (mask) and is really the entire face, just roasts up really impossibly crisp and tender. the ears lend crunch, the brains and livers, the mush.

all together, you must eat it to believe it.

me want it! even though it is so bad.

this is what husband almost did, after i begged him to please please please go up to the Butcher’s counter of the Chinese grocery, and ask for a fresh pig’s head:

once in a while they do sell cooked pig’s head but it’s flavored, i am guessing with five-spice powder and soy, and somehow it does not compute with the sisig formula.

my neighbors brought me some on our first barbecue together, and that is how i got inspired to make sisig with other pig parts, since my husband who had vowed to love and to cherish, to have and to hold… refused to procure me a pig’s head.
they also suggested the sizzling plate.

my sisig-sisigan, made with deboned boiled pork leg and hocks, ears, chicken livers, roasted over charcoal, chopped up, then poured into a hot plate, with red onions and hot red chili peppers (i used my fajita pan), then broiled under the toaster oven heating element, and THEN drizzled with lime juice:

i was a finalist in one of the contests of the “does my blog look good in this?” four years ago when i started out babyrambutan.blogspot.com.
i did not win.
i suspect it was because i described it as a “weird salad.”

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buko (young coconut) fruit salad…i would love to dive in and drown in it! a packet of frozen shredded young coconut, 2 cans of fruit cocktail, nata de coco (coconut gel) and kaong (palm fruit), a-swim in a softened-cream cheese/condensed milk/heavy cream concoction.
in a fit of self-righteouslness i did not devour it… i dove into the YMCA swimming pool instead.

just perfect for this heatwave we’re in .

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the invention is attributed to girl scouts, and it has spawned the creation of S’mores flavors in ice cream, granola bars, chocolate bars…and now cheesecake.
this is from the latest issue of bon appetit.

i must confess, i only used up half of the marshmallow topping, since i found it quite deadly, cloyingly, toothachey sweet. if you can afford the sugar, go ahead and use it all up on top, then broil away, with a blow torch, or watching over carefully, with the broiler function of your stove.

notwithstanding my making this cheesecake,
my pyromaniacs still went ahead and made s’mores the classical way:

light up a big roaring bonfire.

melt a marshmallow on a long maple twig that you foraged for yourself from the back yard.

sandwich between two graham crackers with a piece of chocolate bar wedged in between…
open wide, bite, then say “yummmm!”

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i’ve been baking sandwich bread with my Dak bread machine, but still buying bulkie or kaiser rolls from the supermarket. i think they’re too soft and often times get downright soggy. i wanted hefty, dense… yet buttery and tasty, buns to defy the gravity and stand up to all the fixings we wished to pile on.

the store we’ve nicknamed “Whole Paycheck” sells designer brioche buns for almost $5 for four– count ‘em, 4!– measly buns.

it was time to take matters into my own hands.

i searched for and found “Moomie’s Burger Buns,” from King Arthur Flour, the recipe that everyone was raving about. i made the dough er my Dak made the dough, on manual setting, and i shaped it into 8 luxurious dough balls, and let them rise into puffy glory.

brushed with egg wash and baked on a lightly greased cookie sheet for about 12 minutes. we split and grilled them before stacking up our fixings.

i think we’re getting spoiled!

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when it’s too hot, you don’t have to get out of the kitchen
you just don’t have to turn on the ovenstove !!!

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but i need new recipes like i need fresh air.

this one is a very tasty and outrageously easy recipe, yet it looks like you spent all day preparing it.
thick pork chops browned and then braised in a creamy mustardy sauce and sprinkled with crispy bacon bits and parsley…
anyone want the recipe?

recipe from Anne Willan, Perfect French Country Cooking, DK Publishing, Inc. here it is…. (more…)

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this is one of the dishes husband whipped up recently when i waved the white flag and surrendered to lack of energy/appetite/drive: clams in black bean sauce, a very fine entree that needs white rice for soaking up the juices. (from Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing by Grace Young.

2 dozen littleneck or cherrystone clams (or big fat mussels too)
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. finely shredded ginger
1 tbsp. finely minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. rice cooking wine (Shao Hsing brand preferred)
2 tbsp. Chinese dried black beans, well rinsed
1 scallion, finely shredded

thoroughly wash the clams in several changes of cold water, discarding any open clams. scrub the shells with a vegetable brush to remove grit and rinse well. Drain the clams in a colander.

heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry 30 seconds, or until fragrant. add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, black beans and clams, and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shells just begin to open.

add the broth and rice wine and cover 2 to 3 minutes, or until some of the shells have opened. transfer the opened clams to a platter and continue stirring uncovered, on high heat until all the clams have opened and the broth is reduced slightly, about 3 to 4 minutes. stir in the Chinese black beans. discard any unopened clams. garnish with the scallion.

serve immediately. serve with rice to 4 to 6 as part of a multicourse meal.

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