pancake from scratch

This morning, we weren't in a rush so I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. I used to buy those ready mixes until I learned how easy it is to make my own pancake batter. Here's how:

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg then add the milk and oil.

2. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Mix until there are no dry spots.

3. On a hot, lightly greased pan, pour about 1/4 cup batter (or less if you want smaller pancakces). When bubbles start to appear, turn the pancake over then cook the other side for 30 seconds.

We had strawberries in the fridge so I chopped them up and topped our pancakes with them. Of course, with butter and maple syrup too. You can get creative with your toppings. You can put dried blueberries or some chopped almonds or walnuts. You can put whipped cream and chocolate syrup if you prefer.

If you want/need more fiber in your diet, you can cut the all purpose flour in half then add half a cup of whole wheat flour. We tried that too and it's not bad at all. Also, if you want a thicker batter, you can add more flour into the mixture. Just eyeball it. For creamier pancakes, use full cream milk instead of skim. And oh, you can also put in your fruits in the batter so they get incorporated in the pancakes. The possibilities are endless! 

You can make a large batch too and just freeze the pancakes. For a quick breakfast fix, all you have to do is toast or microwave them.

Enjoy!

pork giniling (minced pork)

Pork giniling or minced pork is ze hubby's favorite. He says it reminds him of his childhood. Well, my mother-in-law does cook this very well so I can't blame ze hubby for loving this dish.

Minced pork is so versatile and is one of the easiest ingredients to work with. You can put it in Pinoy-style spaghetti or turn it into lumpiang Shanghai or cook it like this, as a standalone ulam.

Last night, ze hubby had dinner with his office friends so I thought of a quick dinner fix. There was minced pork in the freezer, and carrots, potatoes and bell pepper in the crisper so I decided to just put them all together.

Here's how you can make this super easy ulam.

Ingredients

250 grams minced pork

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup diced potato

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

Banana ketchup

Tomato ketchup

Patis

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat some cooking oil on a pan. Saute onions and garlic. Once they're soft, add the minced pork and some patis. 

2. Once the meat is slightly brown, add the potatoes and carrots. Saute for a few minutes. 3. Lower heat then add the banana ketchup. I just eyeball it. If the meat and veggies are red enough, then they're fine. :) Since I didn't have tomatoes, I also added a bit of tomato ketchup. Cover the pan and leave for a couple of minutes until the meat and veggies are cooked.

4. Before removing from heat, put in the bell peppers. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

 

sauteed ampalaya (bitter gourd)

As a kid, I didn't like ampalaya. What kid in her right mind would love this bitter veggie anyway? I cringed deep inside each time it was served at home because like any responsible parent, my mom made sure she made me and my siblings try it, kahit kaunti lang. And since I was eager to please, I obliged. I put on a brave face each time I took a spoonful of ampalaya. I tried my best to never let even a slight trace of disgust show on my face. Later on, I devised a way to eat it while minimizing discomfort: I didn't chew it. Ha!

But then there was this one time that my dad cooked his version of ginisang ampalaya. When I tasted it, there was very little hint of bitterness and lots of yumminess. That was when I learned to like the veggie. I didn't fear it anymore when it was served during mealtimes. So when I was old enough to cook, I did it my dad's way, which I am now sharing with you!

Ingredients

1 ampalaya (here in Singapore they only have small pieces of bitter gourd so I used three of those), sliced as thin as possible

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon patis

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Place the amplaya slices in a colander. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt then massage them until the juices come out. This will remove some of the gourd's bitterness and make it more palatable. After massaging, rinse in running water.

2. In a pan, saute the garlic and onion in a bit of cooking oil. Once the onion is transparent, add the tomatoes. Saute until soft.

3. Add the ampalaya and patis. Saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Add 1/4 cup water and cover to simmer.

4. The water should have reduced a bit. Add the beaten egg and stir (so you don't end up with an omelet!). Remove from heat and serve.

Here at home, I usually serve this with a fried item, like pork chop or fried fish, and of course, rice.

By the way, according to my dad, my sister makes a better version of this. Now, he always says it's her specialty, and I agree.

beef caldereta

Caldereta, whether it's pork, chicken or beef, has been a staple in our family, so when ze hubby and I got married, the dish has been part of my cooking repertoire. I can't remember when I was taught and who taught me to cook caldereta, but I've been doing it the same way ever since I started to cook in my mom's kitchen. My way doesn't involve the use of tomato sauce. Just soy sauce and Reno liver spread. Luckily, ze hubby likes my version.

When my mom gifted me with a Filipino recipe book though, I began cooking my dishes, including caldereta "properly." So far, this cook book hasn't failed me. All of the dishes I cooked following the recipes in the book has been a success. I actually made my aunt, who lives in the US, to purchase one for their home.

Enough talk. Here is the recipe for yummy, super-good-with-rice beef caldereta. Try it and have your mini, one-dish Filipino fiesta at home.

Ingredients

1.5 lbs stewing beef, or brisket cut into 2-inch chunks

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 tsp peppercorns, crushed

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 potatoes, quartered (I added 1 carrot cut into cubes)

1 onion, sliced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup hot water

1tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 cup canned or frozen peas

1 tsp Tabasco

1tsp paprika

3-oz can liver spread

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese 

Garnishes (optional)

2 hard cooked eggs, sliced

1/4 cup stuffed olives

Directions

1. Tough cuts of meat are best for caldereta. Marinate meat overnight in a mixture of vinegar, peppercorns and garlic.

2. In a heavy caldero/pot or dutch oven, combine beef chunks and marinade, potatoes, onions, tomato sauce, hot water, sugar, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours or until beef is tender. 

3. Add the bell peppers, peas, Tabasco sauce, paprika and liver spread. Simmer 7 to 10 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning. Use soy sauce if necessary.

4. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese to thicken the sauce. Garnish with eggs and olives and serve.

I decided to cook this on a whim so I didn't have time to marinate my beef. Wrong decision! It took forever to cook and I had to keep adding water to prevent the sauce from drying up. I had to taste and season several times but it was all worth it in the end. Ze hubby loved it and wouldn't let me finish up the little left over still sitting in the fridge right now. 

This recipe came from Filipino Cooking and Entertaining Here & Abroad by Eleanor Laquian. It's available at the National Bookstore for around US$11.

lemony shrimp scampi, my style

I planned on making shrimp aglio olio last night but changed my mind the last minute and decided I'd cook scampi pasta instead. I haven't made it before so I went online and searched for the recipe. I found one at Food Network but then as I went through the list of ingredients, I realized I didn't have all of them. I had most of them though so I decided to just for it.

This pasta dish was a quick fix. The preparation and the cooking only took me 35 minutes leaving me with enough time to whip up a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, pineapple and cheese.

Ze hubby and I found the acidity just right so had I followed the original recipe, the dish might've ended up too sour for our taste. I'd love to have fresh parsley next time though. I think it will bring the entire dish to life.

Here is my recipe but you can go ahead and check the original here.

Ingredients

6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

1 onion, chopped

250 grams shrimp, peeled and deveined (keep the heads and shell)

zest of 1 lemon (you can use the juice too but my lemon was overripe so I scrapped it)

a teaspoon of chilli flakes (we only had packets of Pizza Hut chilli flakes so I used one of those)

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons v\olive oil (I only had extra virgin so I used that)

250 grams pasta (the recipe calls for linguine but I only had instant spaghetti so I used that)

a dash of Italian herbs (I didn't have parsley)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2. Shrimp stock: Put the shrimp shells and heads in a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Heat the olive oil in a pan then melt the butter. Saute the garlic, onion, lemon zest, Italian herbs and chilli flakes until the garlic and onions are cooked. Be careful not to burn the garlic so it won't taste bitter.

4. Put two ladles of shrimp stock and simmer for a while. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

5. Put in drained pasta and toss. Serve immediately and enjoy!

This recipe can easily serve four moderately hungry people. Don't ask me how many it fed last night. Haha.