Social Icons

Pages

Thursday, June 25, 2009

My Blog Codes Messed Up

I was so upset when I checked out this blog of mine this morning and found out that the layout of this blog was messed up. I was wondering what happened and so I had to send a message to Ivy asking her to help me fix the problem because she was the one who made this nice blog layout of mine. I was so restless so I checked the layout codes and I found out it was messed up. I had to compare it with the codes of my other blog Precious Words that Ivy had made for me and found out what was wrong in my blog. The IZEA claim codes was inserted somewhere in between the codes so I had to delete it and voila, my codes are working now. I really don't know how the codes had messed up because I didn't edit the codes. That's a puzzle to me but I will not rack my brain thinking how it happened. I was blog hopping after I fixed my blog and I found one blog who has the same problem. I don't know if the blog owner is already aware of what happened to his blog and I'm pretty sure he would be wondering too once he found out. But I'm relieved that my blog is okay now so blogging goes on.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Kare-Kare


I’m posting another great Filipino recipe. It’s kinda tiring and complicated (well, at least for me) but it’s worth the effort making it from scratch. Kare-kare is a famous Philippine dish which is often referred as a stew. It is made of peanut sauce and is added with different kinds of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef and offal or tripe. The delicacy is usually eaten with bagoong or shrimp paste. It is also spiced with chili, added with calamansi or lime juice.

Ingredients :

250 g. of ox tripe
250 g. of ox tail
250 g. of ox leg
1/8 c. of annato seeds
1/2 head of cabbage
1 bunch of pechay
1 bunch of sitaw (long string beans)
1 eggplant
1 puso ng saging (heart of banana plant)
1 c. of peanut butter
1/4 c. of rice flour
1 whole garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
5-6 c. of stock
2 tbsp. of cooking oil
salt to taste

How to :

Wash ox tripe, tail and leg well. Place in a large casserole and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, removing scum as it rises. Cover and simmer until tender, about 4 to 6 hours. Transfer meat to a plate, cool and cut into serving pieces. Strain stock and measure 6 cups (you may need less but it’s better to be prepared).

Cut cabbage half into 2 and remove core. Cut off roots and 1/2 inch of stalks of pechay and discard. Cut of roots of sitaw and cut into 2″ lengths. Discard tough outer layers of puso ng saging and cut inner layers into 2″ x 2″ pieces. Cut eggplant into 2″ x 2″ cubes.

Place rice flour in a skillet and toast over medium-high heat until golden. Set aside.

In a casserole, heat oil over medium heat. Add annato seeds and “cook” until they render color and the oil is a bright red. With a slotted spoon, remove annato seeds and discard. Increase heat to medium-high and saute onions and garlic for about 30 seconds. Add meat pieces and cook until they absorb the color or the oil. Pour in 4 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and add vegetables in the following order with a 2-minute interval : sitaw, eggplant, puso ng saging, cabbage and pechay.

Meanwhile, mix peanut butter with 1/2 c. of stock. Mix roasted rice flour with 1/2 c. of stock. Once the pechay has been added, pour in peanut butter and rice flour mixtures into the casserole. Stir to blend well. Season with salt. Cook for about a 2 minutes until sauce is thick.

Serve hot with bagoong alamang.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Saluyot (Jute)

I love eating saluyot or jute not only because of it's good taste but also because of the nutrients that I get from it. It's saluyot season nowadays and so we always eat pinakbet na saluyot. Surprisingly, my hubby love it too. I also love mixing saluyot with other vegetables when cooking. It gives good taste to it. I know some people don't like to eat saluyot but they don't know what they're missing.

What is in saluyot that should merit your attention? Firstly, it is rich in beta-carotene for good eyesight, iron for healthy red blood cells, calcium for strong bones and teeth, and vitamin C for smooth, clear skin, strong immune cells, and fast wound healing. In other words, saluyot is a nourishing green leafy vegetable. Secondly, it is the legitimate source of the world's raw materials for containers of rice, corn, sugar, mongo and other commodities.

Saluyot is a leafy vegetable popular among Ilocanos, pasao, pasao na bilog or tagabang among Tagalogs, and lumbal, sumpa or panigbin among Visayans. Saluyot is easy to propagate, you can start harvesting the leaves after one month. It is easier to plant saluyot than any other crop since you don't need pesticide and fertilizer to grow the crop.

Here's a good recipe from saluyot:

Saluyot With Labong

Ingredients:

3 cups rice washing
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
4 tsp bagoong isda, mashed and strained
1 cup labong
3 cups saluyot leaves
3/4 cups malunggay leaves
1 medium piece broiled bangus, cut into 3 slice

Procedure:

Boil rice washing together with tomatoes. Add bagoong sauce. Mix in labong and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until labong is cooked. Add saluyot, malunggay leaves and broiled bangus and continue simmering for 3 minutes.

Top 10 EC Droppers

I know this is a late post but it's better late than never. I just want to acknowledge the top 10 EC droppers here in my blog. Thank you very much for coming by and visiting this site during my absence. I didn't get the chance to drop EC last month in other blogs since we didn't have our phone and internet service due to typhoon damage. I'll make it up to you guys. Once again Cacai's Step and Journey made it to the top. I'm amazed, thanks a lot girl and also to all those who came and dropped by.

Dropper # of drops
Cacai's Step and Journey 29
My Loonyverse 4
heavenly delight 4
Another Fine Meal 3
My Life's Events And Anecdotes 2
Naokos Cooking 2
Denise Lee 2
My Absent Mind 1
Pat's Encaustics - Art in the Wax 1
The Peach Kitchen 1

Friday, June 12, 2009

Foods To Celebrate

I mentioned in my previous post about the foods that we had for my niece Vernice when she turned 10 month old last May 28th. Now I can post the photos taken that day because we just got back our phone and internet connection 2 days ago. I was the one who cooked the pancit bihon guisado and chicken afritada and it was a hit. The pistachio pudding didn't turn out good though because they don't have cool whipped topping in the groceries here so I used all purpose cream and it was not a good substitute. My pistachio pudding turned out watery but then my 2 nephews loved it. They said it tasted good. It was their first time to eat it and so they don't have anything to compare to. Anyways, we enjoyed eating and we all had a good time.

baby Vernice at 10 month old

come and eat pancit, chicken afritada, rice and pistachio pudding

Vernice with my sis Violy and her hubby Jhun

Vernice with cousins Kenneth and Mark

Vernice with parents Celso and Vivian

Vernice with me and hubby

Monday, June 1, 2009

Goulash For Our Supper


I cooked goulash last night because it's been a while since I cooked this recipe. We've been eating mostly veggies, fish and rice and for a change I decided to have pasta for our supper last night. I gave some to my nephews and they were so happy because they love pasta. Here's the recipe of the goulash that I cooked. It's so easy to prepare. Hubby and I love it.

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
1 lb ground beef sirloin
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 c. tomato soup or spaghetti sauce
1 c. shredded mozarella cheese
salt
pepper


Prepare the macaroni according to the package instructions.

Saute the sirloin and onion in a skillet until the meat is brown and the onions become translucent.

Drain the fat off. Add tomato soup or spaghetti sauce and the salt and pepper to the meat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 min.

In a large pot, combine the noodles, meat mixture, and shredded cheese. Allow this to simmer for about 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted. You may need to add up to a cup more of the tomato soup if it's too dry.
 
Blogger Templates