Cassava Cake

I was given quite a few cassavas for free the other day. The lady who often comes to the house and sell me veggies offered it to me for free. Of course I love freebies but I don't want to take advantage of her generosity because I know she needs to make some money for her family. I was still getting some money from my wallet when she started to walk away and told me that she's giving the cassava to me for free and that I don't have to pay her. She said that I gave her some stuffs in the past like sandals and shirts and it's time for her to return the favor. Oh my, I gave those stuffs without expecting anything in return. She's a lady with a very good heart.

Anyways, it's been three days since I was given those cassavas so I thought of cooking a cassava cake. I know it's a lot of hassle to do it because I have to peel those cassavas and then grate it. I did that last night and I was grating it while I was watching my favorite soap opera. After I grated all the cassavas, I put it in the fridge and it's only this afternoon that I baked the cassava cake. It's only my second time to bake one. The last time was when I was in Texas a few years ago. I was so excited to see the outcome this time. After I baked it, I took it out from the oven and let it cool down. Then I was so ecstatic to eat a slice and it turn out so good. My hubby love it of course. Here's the recipe which I got from the internet.

          CASSAVA CAKE

INGREDIENTS:
• 3 cups grated cassava
• 1 can ( 14oz) condensed milk
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk


 FOR TOPPING:
• 1/2 can condensed milk
• 1/2 can evaporated milk or 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 egg yolk


PROCEDURE:
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Prepare a baking pan and grease with butter. Set aside.
• Combine all ingredients in a deep bowl. Make sure every ingredients are well combined.
• Transfer to the greased baking tray.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes.
• Combine the topping ingredients.
• Pour-in over to the top of the baked cassava.
• Bake for another 15-25 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
  Serve warm. Enjoy!

Frogs With Coconut Milk (Ginataang Palaka)

It's been ages since the last time I ate frogs. What I'm saying is the edible and native frogs that my late grandma used to cook for us. I remember when we were kids, during rainy season, some vendors use to come to our house and sell live frogs to my grandma. She would then buy it and clean the frogs by herself. She was very good in removing the skin, the feet and the head. After cleaning it, she would then cook the frogs with coconut cream. It was so yummy I tell you.

The other day, a lady came to our house in the afternoon and sell live native frogs. She wanted Php300 for all of it My brother Celso and I decided to buy it all as long as she will clean it. She agreed so my brother and I split the cost and it turned out that there were 86 pieces all in all. I got 46 pieces of frogs and my brother got 40 because he chose the bigger ones. The reason I dislike buying frogs is because I don't know how to clean it. I think it's a lot of work doing it but the lady did a good job in dressing the frogs. She made it really clean. I told hubby that I bought frogs and I asked him if he likes it. To my surprise he said he do like it and he told me that he was just a small kid the last time he ate frogs.

So I cooked the frogs for supper the other day. There are quite a few frog recipes like fried frog legs, frog adobo, frog tinola and frog with coconut milk (ginataan). Of course I chose the latter because of the fond memories I had with my grandma. Ginataang palaka was her specialty and it's one of the famous Ilocano recipes. I really don't remember how my grandma cooked it before so I asked my brother how to cook it and he told me. It was just easy and I got all the ingredients needed. After I cooked it, hubby and I ate it with rice. It was so delicious and nutritious. The sauce was really good but the major setback are the bones. Hubby said I should have deboned the frogs first before cooking, lol! We never did that here in the Philippines. We eat frogs with bones and just debone it when we eat it. Anyways, it was really delicious and nutritious. I still have some uncooked frogs in the freezer. Maybe I will just fry it next time. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs of dressed frogs
1 head garlic, crushed and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 to 5 pcs medium size tomatoes, chopped
1 small size ginger, sliced thinly
1 can coconut cream
1 tsp salt or fish sauce  to taste
ground black pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil

Directions:

1. In a pan or casserole, heat the cooking oil and add  in garlic and continue frying until slightly brown.
2. Add in onion and continue sautéing until translucent.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes with some salt and let it cooked partially.
4. Add the thinly sliced ginger and let it simmer. 5. Add the dressed frogs and fish sauce and continue cooking with occasional stirring until the frog renders its own liquid.
6. Continue simmering until the meat is partially cooked through. Add in freshly ground pepper and continue cooking.
6.  Lower the heat and add the coconut milk and continue simmering with the lid off.
7. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Continue cooking until they are cooked through and sauce is reduced and has thickened to a gravy-like consistency.
8.  Transfer the dish in serving plates. Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Gift Ideas For Father's Day

Father's Day is fast approaching and we are back in a dilemma what gifts we gonna buy for the fathers in our church. Last year we gave each of the fathers a hanky and they really love it. It’s usually a chore to buy gifts for adults in our church. Since I am the one in charge in choosing gifts for them, I spend hours and hours thinking what to buy and wandering around retail stores. I just want the task to be completed and voila, I get Corked! This is one great game ideal for fathers who like to play games and enjoy life.

Corked is a hilarious game for 4-12 players. It is intended for a group of outgoing, fun people, and it’s sold in a reusable wine tote bag. Simply put, it’s a party in a bag. The bag contains the game itself plus an open sleeve to hold your bottle. Every player plays on every turn and no one ever performs alone. Unique scoring provides continuous excitement. Hilarious action and interaction. It only takes a minute to learn. The game involves partners acting out crazy items while the entire crowd shouts guesses. Unique scoring rules make for a one-of-a-kind, competitive experience, unlike any other party game. No teams. Every player tries to win individually.

Corked comes in a box with 100 game cards, each containing a set of compound words. To play the game, participants need to pick 2 people to perform, so you’d better choose your smartest, wittiest, coolest friend. The pair would act out the words written on the card, with each one acting out a different word but both will be doing it simultaneously and silently. They have to try their best to portray the words the best way they can. They are of course not allowed to say the words out loud.

Squash With String Beans, Bitter Gourd and Ground Beef

It's still squash season and my relatives with squash plantation gave me quite a few. I save a few pesos and I was so eager to cook my favorite squash with string beans, bitter gourd and ground beef. My hubby has learned how to eat veggies cooked the Pinoy way. I'm so proud of him because he likes our foods and he has adapted himself to Filipino life. I am very fond of eating veggies and I love it more than meat. I love it more if the veggies are organic. I used to have a veggie garden at the back of our house in Texas. I wish we have one here but then again, our land here has a very limited space. Anyways, here's how I cook this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 whole squash, peeled and cut into medium cubes
1 bundle of string beans, sliced into 1-2 inches
2 medium size bitter gourd, sliced
1 med. onion ( sliced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 cup ground beef
1 cup water
salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a pan put olive oil.
2. Saute garlic and onion.
3. Add ground beef and continue cooking until golden brown or fully cooked.
4. Add fish sauce, squash, string beans, bitter gourd and water.
5. Adjust the taste by adding some salt and water.
5. Simmer for a few minutes or until vegetables are tender.
6. Serve hot with rice.

Baking Time

One of my favorite cakes is German Chocolate Cake topped with coconut pecan frosting. My hubby love this cake too. I'm not good in making this from scratch so the easiest way for me is to buy the ready mixed cake from the box. Hubby and I bought this from Wal Mart before we came back here in my homeland. We bought quite a few different ready mixed cakes in the box but this one is really my favorite. I love the chocolate flavor and the nutty frosting. It was really so yummy.

Foods For Lunch

I've been wanting to lose weight but I think it's not possible if I keep cooking my favorite Filipino foods. Today I cooked hubby's favorite adobong pusit and my fave pinakbet for our lunch. I started cooking early because I'm a slow cook. I prepared all the ingredients for pinakbet and I cooked it first. When I was done, I cooked the adobong pusit. I followed the recipe that I watched from Kris TV. When everything were ready, I called hubby to eat lunch with me. The foods were yummy and I overate again. My bad! How can I lose weight if I eat a lot.

Purple Yam Jam (Halayang Ube)

My youngest brother gave me quite a few purple yam (ube) from his yard. He knows that I love making  purple yam jam (halayang ube) and he had tasted what I cooked last time. Compared to what he made, mine tasted better. The reason is, I put more ingredients in my jam while he put only condensed milk, sugar and evaporated milk. I think the coconut milk and butter added more flavor.

I made this recipe many times already because I really love the taste. My hubby love to have it for dessert. I also share it to my siblings and nephews. Last night, I stayed until past midnight cooking this recipe. 

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 kilogram uncooked purple yam, (boiled then grated, shredded, or mashed)
1 cup coconut milk
1 can condensed milk (300ml) 200 grams butter
1 can evaporated milk (400ml)
1 cup brown sugar

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Boil the the ube (yam) until tender then grate or mash. In a cooking pot, put in the coconut milk and let it boil. Add the, evaporated milk, condensed milk, butter and sugar then stir well. Put in the purple yam then stir occasionally until the texture of the mixture becomes really thick (about 15 to 20 minutes under low fire) Transfer the mixture to a mold or any container and let the temperature cool down. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours then serve.

Refrigerator Cake

This recipe is one of the family's favorites. We've been having this for years during birthdays and other special occasions. Hubby love it and my 2 nephews can't get enough of it every time I share it to them. It's a no bake cake and it's so easy to make. No need to light your oven and make you kitchen hot. Try making it and it will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.    

Ingredients:

2 packs of graham crackers

1 can halves peaches (sliced thinly) 

1 small can condensed milk 

3 packs all purpose cream 

1 cup evaporated milk (for dipping crackers)

Procedure:

1. Mix the condensed milk and cream together.
2. Slightly Dip graham cracker one by one in evaporated milk.
3. Place a layer of graham cracker at the bottom of your container.
4. Add a layer of mix condensed milk and cream on top of the graham crackers.
5. Be generous, make sure that the cream covers all of the graham crackers.
6. Repeat procedure until you reached the desired layers you want, top with peaches.
7. Put in a refrigerator, serve cold.

Black Beans

Beans is hubby's favorite. He love any kinds of beans but most especially pinto beans. It's not easy to find it here in the Philippines though. We only buy that when we go to SM. The grocery stores here don't have it. So as substitute, we often buy mung beans and black beans instead. Hubby love it too but not as much as the pinto beans.

I learned how to cook black beans from my brother. He's a good cook and hubby love his cooking. Now I can cook black beans better than before. Hubby had been enjoying my cooking and we are both gaining weight.

 

Hotel Supplies from PeachSuite

I just recently came across  PeachSuite, a website that sells Hotel Supply Online. When you view their website, you’ll see variety of items that you will probably find in a hotel kitchen, dining area, rooms and lobby. I know most of us don’t have our own hotels but we can buy some supplies that a hotel uses to make cooking or decorating easier. Sometimes, homeowners get their design inspirations from a hotel they  have been to like a bar. With PeachSuite's Hotel Bar Supplies, you can equip yourself with everything you need. bar equipments, bar front, bar glasses, bartender supplies, ice handling, server supplies, bar mats, disposables and anything you could possibly need to operate a bar can be acquired for an affordable price from their site.

This Atlanta Hotel Supply has a little bit of everything, you are sure to find exactly what you need. Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching and maybe it's the time to make purchases to help guest enjoy the celebration. If you have a big home and likes to entertain at your own house, you might find some furniture that you like at this site as it caters to both residential and hotel needs. If you want to save some bucks, you can browse through their clearance items.

Fish Sarciado

My late mom was a very good cook and one of the fondest memories I have of her cooking was this fish sarciado that she always cook for us when we were kids. I love the way she cooked this and through the years, every time we have this on our table, I always remember her and her cooking.

If you love fish and you are looking for ways to cook it why not try this one. It's so simple and easy to make and the ingredients are easy to avail and it taste so delicious.

Ingredients

salmon or tuna steaks, tilapia or any kind of fish (I used yellow fin tuna steaks this time) 
salt and pepper
cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 medium tomatoes, diced
3 eggs, beaten
ginger (sliced thinly)
red bell pepper (optional)
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the fish.
2. Pan-fry fish on both sides with oil, about 2 minutes on each side until slightly cooked. Set aside.
3. Saute onion and garlic with 1 tbs olive oil in another saucepan. Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mixture turns saucy.
4. Add the fish and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beaten egg and mix into the sauce until well blended. Serve with rice.

Chicken Tinola

Chicken Tinola is a very popular recipe here in the Philippines. It is a Filipino soup dish wherein chicken is stewed with ginger. I remember my late grandmother used to cook the most delicious chicken tinola when we were kids. She used the native chicken that she raised herself and she put it first in the chicken coop for a month before butchering it. I asked her why she had to do that, putting the chicken in the chicken coop for a month and just feed it with rice and corn and she said, she didn't want the chicken to eat worms or anything unclean before it will hit her pot, lol!

I don't raise chicken like granny did so the best I can do is to buy a free-range chicken meat. It's not as delicious as what my granny used to cook but at least it satisfies my longing for my granny's cooking. So here's the recipe for the chicken tinola with malunggay leaves.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo whole chicken, cut into serving pieces and washed with water
• 1 thumb-sized fresh ginger root, cut into strips
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp. patis (fish sauce)
• salt, to taste
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups malunggay or substitute 2 cups ampalaya leaves
• vegetable oil

Cooking Procedure:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add onions, stir-fry until softened and translucent.
2. Add chicken cuts. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until chicken colors slightly. Season with patis and salt.
3. Pour in water (or rice water, if using). Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer until chicken is half-done. Correct seasonings and then add malunggay or substitute. Stir to combine until well blended. Remove from heat.
4. Let stand for a few minutes to cook the green vegetables. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

Healthy Cooking

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pompeian for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
To all the health buffs and cooks out there who are thinking of cooking up a healthier lifestyle, then it's Time To Change Your Oil. As a health buff myself, I've been using Pompian olive oil in my cooking. I never knew that grapeseed oil has similar health benefits to olive oil, and that it is even more versatile for cooking due to its light taste and high smoke point. Dear readers, you need to try this oil in your cooking and I'm pretty sure you would really love this in your foods. Here's one recipe using grapeseed oil.

Smoky Fried Chickpeas
	Makes 4 servings INGREDIENTS 1 cup Pompeian Grapeseed Oil 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 3/4 tsp. salt 2 large cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest 2 tsp. smoked paprika Preparation 1. Dry chickpeas thoroughly with paper towels. 2. Using a candy thermometer, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high until it reaches 355 degrees. Add chickpeas, zest and thyme to pan in batches to avoid overcrowding. 3. Fry chickpeas for about 5 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with paprika and salt. Serve immediately.

If you're a blogger, you might want to enter the contest. All you need to do is create a recipe that contains Pompeian’s Grapeseed oil or OlivExtra Premium Mediterranean Blend and post it to your blog along with an image of the recipe and then submit it to the Pompeian’s Time to Change Your Oill App on Facebook. You must enter your recipe link into the Pompeian and Hungry Girl sweepstakes for your chance to win an all-expense paid trip to BlogHer Food ’13 in Austin, TX June 7-8. Plus, your winning recipe will be featured with Pompeian throughout the event!

Update: The submission portion of the campaign is over and that you can now check out the semi-finalists and cast your vote through Sunday, May 12th for the most creative and appetizing recipe that best incorporates Pompeian.

Pineapple Cupcakes

It was my first time to bake these cupcakes last New Year's eve and it turned out okay. It was good but I'm not completely satisfied. Next time I will make these, I will have to cut down the sugar so it will not be that sweet. Also, I think my baking powder is already old because the cupcakes did not rise that much. Oh well, I will make it better next time. My hubby love these though because he likes sweet stuffs. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
1 1/3 c sugar
1 c milk (or 1/2 c milk and 1/2 c pineapple juice)
3 eggs, separated
2/3 c crushed pineapple, drained

Procedure:
Mix together butter, sugar and egg yolks then remaining ingredients. Folding egg whites last. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done. Cupcakes will be moist.

Happy 2013

A late happy New Year to everybody! It's been a week past since the first day of this month but I still have a hang over, lol! Our Christmas tree is still up but hubby said he will put it down and keep it in the box tomorrow. So what did we have for New Year? Well, not that much. I even thought that it was still 30th of December last Monday. So when my brother asked me that afternoon what will I cook for tonight, I said nothing because it's not yet New Year's eve. He said it is 31st of December already and tonight is New Year's eve. Oh my word! Forgetful me! It's good I have the ingredients for goulash and agar-agar fruit salad and pineapple muffins. So I had to prepare right away that afternoon. I did the muffins first then the salad followed by the goulash. My brother cooked pork barbecue, grilled hotdogs and then he did the fried chicken wings. We both finished cooking at around 11 PM. My youngest brother brought halayang ube that he himself made and my SIL bought some suman. We had some fruits that we put on the table.

When the clock hit 12 MN, I woke up my hubby and asked him to join me and my 2 brothers, SIL and Vernice in welcoming the New Year. We all went outside and watch our neighbors lighting firecrackers and some fireworks which we call losis in our dialect. We didn't have any of those this year. I forgot? No. We're just being frugal this time. New Year will still pass even without those. I did have my camera though and captured the moment with my loved ones. Then we all went inside, took pics, hubby said the blessing and ate the foods that we prepared on the table. We all thank God for all the blessings He bestowed on us the previous year and the years to come.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in the Philippines

This is a late post but I've been lazy updating this blog. Thanksgiving is already more than one week past but I just want to share the pics that we took during the said celebration. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines but being married to an American, we have to prepare something for the said day. We didn't have a turkey to roast but Thanksgiving is not all about the turkey. You are blessed to have one but to tell you the truth, I'm not very fond of turkey. We had that in the states on Thanksgiving but it doesn't taste that good to me. Hubby volunteered to cook burger patties for burger sandwiches and cooked some French fries. It was so humid while he was cooking in the kitchen with only the electric fan running. Hubby was sweating while he was cooking. Poor thing!

Meanwhile, I prepared my agar-agar fruit salad the night before and put it in the refrigerator. I also baked my confetti cake before hubby hit the kitchen. So when it was his turn, the kitchen was humid. We prepared the foods for supper so every body were already home. My 2 brothers and their families were present and my brother-in-law and his family were there too. The celebration is just for the family. Hubby said the blessing and we thanked the Lord for all the blessings He has given us. Everybody enjoyed the foods and the hamburger sandwich and French fries of my hubby was a hit. 

Hubby's Birthday

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. For a change, we just prepared native delicacies for snacks. We used to have dinner on his birthday but not this time. It's hard to cook a lot of foods especially there was no electricity from 6 to 6 the whole day yesterday. It was only the pancit that my 2 brothers cooked and lumpia that my SIL prepared. It was so hot in the kitchen so I did not bother to cook at all. I cannot stand the heat.

Early in the morning hubby and I went to buy the famous Calasiao puto and puto kutsinta in the market. I also bought nilatikan (more than half the bilao) because I've been craving for it. Hubby had to stay in the car so I can get a good deal, lol! People here in my homeland will raise the price if they see an American. I had a hard time though carrying the stuffs that I bought back to the car.

I thank God for giving hubby to me. I pray to the good Lord to give him more birthdays to celebrate and good health so we can serve Him longer and better. Here are some photos of my hubby's simple birthday celebration.

 

Sauteed Bamboo Shoots (Ginisang Labong)

I love to eat bamboo shoots and I taught my hubby to eat it too. I usually cook it dinengdeng with saluyot, Ilocano style or ginisang labong (sauteed bamboo shoots). There's a lady who always come to the house and sell veggies including bamboo shoots. I told her I am lazy to shred it so the next time she came, she brought with her shredded bamboo shoots. I bought it and cooked sauteed bamboo shoots.

Ingredients:
2 cups of shredded bamboo shoot
1/2 cup vinegar (spiced if available)
4 strips of ginger (sliced in tiny pieces) 
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
3 pieces garlic, minced cooking oil

 How to cook:
1. In a casserole, boil the bamboo shoot for 15 minutes then discard the water (pigain).
2. Heat oil in another casserole.
3. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant.
4. Add the boiled bamboo shoot.
5. Then add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Serve as a side dish.

Candies and Chocolates

Candies and chocolates are big hit to my family and to the kids that I taught in Sunday School. Every Sunday, I make it a point to give candies or chocolates to all the kids in our church. This is a way to attract more kids to come on Sundays. Also, I give chocolates to those who were able to memorize the memory verses that I give them each Sunday. To my surprise, it really works. I always see the smile on their faces when I told them they did a good in memorizing and of course the chocolates make them smile the more.

I'm planning to buy more candies and chocolates to stock up on from the candy store to give to the kids in my Sunday school class. Seeing the smile on their faces each time I give them candies and chocolates is priceless. Also, they make me happy when I hear them quoting the memory verses from the Bible. This coming Christmas, we're planning to give candies and chocolates to all the kids during our Christmas celebration. We always do this each year. We also give awards to those who memorized the most of the memory verses and to those kids who will win in the parlor games. For sure, candies and chocolates will be given away.

Watch TV Online

My hubby's day is not complete without watching his favorite tv shows. When he was still working, right after he gets home from work, he turn on the tv and sat their in the living room and rest while watching his favorite afternoon show, George Lopez. He will then ask me to give him something to snack on and eat as he sit on his favorite chair. During night time, he is still glued in front of the tv watching his all time favorite show CSI. Watching tv shows is my hubby's favorite past time. Sometimes we had to argue on what tv show we wanna watch because I'm not interested in the shows he fondly watch.

There were times that I missed my favorite tv shows because of that. It's good there's a TV Online where I can watch the shows I missed. I just open my laptop and watch my favorite program anytime at Spreety TV Online. This site is the free television guide for TV online.. That’s the advantage of having internet and since I am always online, there’s no problem with that. I don’t have to feel bad if I didn’t watch my favorite show. I can watch in between my blogging. Cool isn’t it?