Drink To Your Health

To be honest, I don't drink because I don't like the taste and the effects afterwards especially the hangover. People drink, and it’s usually for a reason like celebration, loneliness, depression, insecurity, stress, or the worst of all, boredom. I’ve rarely seen people drink for reasons other than those. Some people drink because it goes well with food, and that isn’t bothersome to me. If you drink and you’re happy about it, then that’s great for you. I recognize that there are benefits to drinking as well. Sure a glass of wine a day is supposedly good for you. They said that the best bite of your steak is the first bite because steak coats your tongue in a film that inhibits taste. Red wine dissolves that film. The only time I use wine is when I make a fruit cake, lol! If you want to celebrate, then here's a toast for you. Be sure you can control yourself and don't put the wine into your head. Drink to your health! Visit wine online and learn more about wine.

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Pancit and Lumpia

Since hubby and I got back here in Texas last month, I only had the chance to cook maybe three times because we're enjoying the foods that my step-daughter has been cooking for us. Guess what I cooked? It's none other than the all time favorite of my step-kids and friends, lumpia and pancit of course! Hubby and I had to drive 40 minutes to the Asian market just to buy the lumpia wrappers because they don't sell in the nearby grocery stores. I brought a few packs of pancit noodles from the Philippines so I didn't have to buy it here.

At first I only made 25 pieces of lumpia but it was all gone in a few minutes and  I cooked 1 big pack of pancit. I guess the kids missed my Asian cooking so they enjoyed eating what I cooked. After just a few days, I was in the mood again to cook some lumpia and pancit and this time I made 75 pieces of lumpia. That's a lot, huh! And guess what, it was all gone now, lol! They love my cooking huh!

Last week, I made 50 pieces of lumpia and I gave it to our new pastor and also to our former pastor in our church. They told me my lumpia was really good and they love it. I just wished I took some pics of the lumpia that I cooked but I forgot to do so. Maybe I will next time. I'm supposed to teach a lady in our church how to cook lumpia today but seems like she forgot about it and she's not yet here. Oh well, I will just update my blogs which I haven't done regularly since we've been here in Texas. 

Turkey Meatballs

I had been in the mood to cook meat recipes the past couple of days. The other day I decided to cook the ground turkey that was in my freezer for a few months already. I planned to make egg rolls out of it but then I changed my mind. Instead, I made some meatballs. It was my second time to make this recipe and I was so delighted with the outcome. My hubby commended me for this recipe and he's been eating it with his vegetable salad. I plan to make this again in the days to come. It is so simple and easy to make. Here's the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
* 1 onion

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with the olive oil, and place it in the oven while preheating.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, and bread crumbs using your hands. Using an ice cream scoop if possible, form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs. Place about 1 inch apart in the hot baking dish. Press down to flatten the bottom just slightly.

3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn them over, and continue baking for about 5 more minutes, or until somewhat crispy on the outside. Serve with pasta and sauce or however you'd like.

Black Beans With Bitter Melon and Meat

Hubby and I love beans, like pinto, navy, mungo, white and black beans. We love variety so we don't get tired eating the same beans, lol! I love beans mixed with veggies like malunggay, squash flower and bitter melon leaves or the fruit. This time, I cooked black beans with sliced bitter melon mixed with the leaves. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups black beans

1/2 lbs pork, sliced (but I used ground beef instead)

10 cups water


4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 root ginger, sliced

1 pork boullion
 cube

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 medium pcs of bitter melon, sliced

cooking oil

1/2 tsp salt

How to cook black beans with bitter melon:

1. In a pot, sauté onion, garlic and ginger in cooking oil.

2. Add the meat.and salt. Saute for another 3 minutes.

3. Then add water.

4. And the black beans.

5. Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Remove scums as it rises.

6. Add the pork or beef bouillon and the fish sauce.

7. Simmer until the beans are soft.

8. Add the sliced bitter melon. Simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Ginisang Bulaklak Ng Katuray (Sauteed Corkwood Tree Flower)

I bought the katuray or corkwood tree a couple of years ago and it's now yielding flowers. I planted it in front of our house, outside the fence. This is a seasonal vegetable and the tree yields its flower during summer. It gives a lot of flowers almost everyday. It's best to cook it as salad or ginisa (sauteed). Most Ilocanos love this veggie and I don't know if it's true but they said it's good for people with high blood pressure.

Ingredients:

2 handful of bulaklak ng katuray

2 tablespoon fish sauce

3 tomatoes

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/4 cup water

Cooking Instruction:

1. Remove the pistil or the long stem-like on the central portion of the katuray flower

2. Cook the flower in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove from water and set aside.

3. Heat cooking oil in a pot, saute garlic, onion and tomatoes until soft and fragrant.

4. Add fish sauce

4. Add the flower and mix.

5. Serve with rice.

Eggplant with Eggs and Tomatoes

My late mom used to prepare this recipe for us during my younger days. It's another method in cooking eggplant aside from frying it with eggs. I love this food and whenever I eat this, it reminds me of my mother. During my high school days my mom used to packed this together with fried fish for my lunch that I take to school. Those good old days, sigh! I miss my mom.

Here's the recipe from my mom.

Ingredients:
4 eggplants
3 eggs
fish sauce
1 onion (sliced)
4 cloves garlic(crushed)
3 tomatoes sliced)
salt

Procedure:
1. Grill the eggplants until it's cooked. Removed the skin then sliced and mash the eggplants.
2. Beat the eggs and put a little salt.
3. In a skillet, put cooking oil and saute the garlic and onions. Add the tomatoes and fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mashed eggplants and cook for a few minutes. Add more fish sauce if needed. Add the eggs and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from fire and serve with rice and fried fish.

Hubby Cooked Corn Bread and Meat Loaf

Corn bread is one of hubby's favorites. He likes to eat it with chili. Since we were here in my homeland, he missed it terribly. The grocery stores here don't sell any corn meal. We've been to bigger grocery stores but still they don't have it. Boy, was he glad when my God-daughter sent us a corn meal mix! He said it would have been better if it's just the regular corn meal which he can make corn bread from scratch and it's cheaper. He cooked the corn meal mix after he bought some ingredients to cook meat loaf because he said corn bread goes well with meat loaf. He used a round baking dish, I don't know why. We have a rectangular baking dish but he preferred the round one. When it was already cooked, he took it out from the oven and he was in a hurry to slice it. Hence, the result was uneven slices because the corn bread was still hot and soft. The verdict, the corn bread was okay but too sweet for us. The corn meal mix was sweet unlike the corn meal that hubby used to make in Texas. That's the reason why hubby prefer the regular corn meal with no sugar.

Next, hubby cooked the meat loaf. Did I tell that hubby was the one who taught me how to cook meat loaf? I am so glad that he really can cook when he wants too. So here's the meat loaf that he cooked. The verdict, it was yummy to the tummy!