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?

Poqui-poqui, an Ilocano Recipe

This is one of my favorite foods when we were growing up. My late mom used to cook this and I remember I always have this in my packed lunch along with fried fish and rice when I was in high. I didn't know the name of this recipe and I think my mom didn't know it either because she never told us. I remember one of my boardmates in Baguio during my college days used to cook this and she even added carne norte and it added more flavor. That boardmate of mine was from Laoag City but she never mentioned the name of this recipe and I never bothered to asked her. 

I kept cooking this recipe not knowing its name because I love it. I even posted this recipe here but at that time I didn't know its name yet. It was only lately that I came to know the name of this recipe and it's called Poqui-poqui! It's one of the popular recipes in the Ilocos Region. The name sounds weird and it could be the reason why they never mentioned its name, lol! Whatever the name is, I assure you this taste good. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 eggplants

3 eggs

fish sauce (patis)

1 onion (sliced)

4 cloves garlic(crushed)

3 tomatoes (sliced)

salt

ground beef or carne norte (optional)

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 ground beef and some salt. Brown it and cook for 5 minutes. 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.

Shanghai Lumpia

I love making lumpia and while in the US, I made it a few times. I love to give it away to my friends too. Our pastor and his family love it so every time I make lumpia, I have to make sure to give some to them. My step-kids and their kids love it too. Here's my recipe and anybody can do it. It's easy to make, crunchy and yummy to the tummy.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 packages of spring roll wrappers
1 1/2 quarts oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine, ground beef, onion, and carrot. Make sure to completely mix everything. I suggest getting down and dirty and use your hands. Knead the meat in the bowl if you must.

Gradually blend in the soy sauce , black pepper, oyster sauce, garlic, and salt until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Cook it in medium-high heat until the meat turns brown stirring constantly. Taste it whether it's salty or not and try to adjust it according to your preference.

Remove from fire and drain the excess grease. After the stuffing mixture has cooled down, begin wrapping it immediately

Lay out a few wrappers at a time on a flat surface, and place about 1 tablespoonful of the filling in a line down the center of the wrapper.

Take the bottom and top edges of the wrapper and fold them towards the center. Take the left and right sides, and fold them towards the center. Moisten the last edge of the wrapper to seal. Now repeat using the rest of the wrappers.


To cook the lumpia, fill a frying pan with about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Gently place the lumpia into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides.

Place the fried lumpia on paper towels and serve immediately with sweet and sour sauce. Click here for the recipe.