I apologize for the long silence here.

There has been a difficult health scare in my family. When someone is sick, especially in the family, it becomes difficult to go through with the normal routine in life. My 74-year old dad, who lives with me, was not in good health. A year ago he had to go through biopsy on his left lung because of some nodules that his doctors found to be suspicious of cancer. It was benign. Last month, he went through the same process for his right lung.

When dad came back from two weeks in the hospital, he seemed to have lost his drive not only to eat but to live as well. We had a hard time convincing him to eat. He fell silent despite his doctor’s assurances that he can go back to his normal routine. Everyone in the family, especially my mom, was affected over my dad’s condition. His sickness and regular visit to the hospital took a toil on his frail body. He lost a lot of weight. He was not eating well.

With his attitude, recovery obviously became slow. To make matters worse, he went through another week of hospital confinement even before the result of the latest biopsy came out. With prayers from everyone, the result came out favorably. Just like the first one, it was also benign. He was diagnosed with non-infectious organizing pneumonia. With that settled, our goal is to bring him back to full recovery. My father is a picky eater. He loves meat more than vegetables. His nurse noticed this too and suggested to us to give him a “green drink.”

Simply blend green vegetables (especially spinach) with other fruits like strawberry, banana, pear, apple, orange, or whatever fruits that are in season. He now drinks his vegetable.

For someone who has been blogging about food, it pains me to see my father not eating well. I hope this “green drink” can do the trick and we can all go back to our routine… like blogging.

Dollar store is a good source for cheap seasonal supplies. I was lucky to find cute cupcake liners and toppers, and a cookie cutter at Jack’s 99 Cent Store in the city. The good deal is that it just cost me only 99 cents for a Wilton brand. I can’t wait to use them for my vanilla cupcakes as dessert for our Easter lunch.

I accompanied my dad today for his medical check up. The only thing that I like in a doctor’s clinic are the magazines in the waiting room. It’s assorted. I picked Rachel Ray’s Everyday magazine April 2012 issue. I am not a fan though I am not out as well to give her a stare down just like what Martha did. The magazine is filled with easy to follow recipes but what caught my attention was the Soba-Noodles with Sesame-Lime Dressing. I usually use soba noodles for soup but not on this one. Click here to read more »

It has been told that Pasta Puttanesca has been the recipe of prostitutes in Italy who have no time to buy fresh ingredients. They’re busy, you know… just like us in this day and age. Any ingredients available in the pantry is then added to the sauce of the pasta.

Literally, in Italian, Pasta Puttanesca means “whore’s style pasta.” Legend has it that the Italian ladies of the night may have invented this to lure customers with its aroma. Who knows? The aroma and flavor of this sauce is an intense mixture from garlic, anchovies and capers. It is best served with toasted bread or grilled baguette that will mop the aromatic sauce of this recipe.

Take note, traditionally, like in any seafood pasta dish, no cheese is served with this sauce. This is perfect for my daughter who doesn’t like cheese in her pasta.

Whatever the stories are behind this recipe, I made this easy and satisfying dish for my meatless Friday in observance of Lent. And just like any of the Italian ladies of the night, I was able to lure my family into it.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounces tomato sauce
5 anchovy filets, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons capers
1 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 Tablespoons of salt. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over low heat; cook garlic in oil until golden. Stir in anchovies. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in the capers, olives, and red pepper flakes. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Toss pasta with sauce, and serve.

I would not classify myself as a football fan, but watching Super Bowl is always a party. For some, football is religion. For me and my family, it is plain and simple football with lots of food to last the entire game. I prepared Sweet-Spicy Chicken Wings from Martha Stewart, my go to recipe for no-fail chicken wings. For the light kick, I used 1/2 cup of Frank’s Hot Sauce instead of the Sriracha hot- chili sauce which is too spicy for the kids. Vegetable Lumpia, Lumpiang Shanghai (Pork Spring Rolls) for my daughter and Fettucine Alfredo as requested by my son completed the lineup for the night.

I have this feeling that our food made the G-Men win Super Bowl XLVI. Now, if I can only learn the Victor Cruz salsa. Anyway, congratulations to the New York Giants!

Sweet Spicy Chicken

Fettucine Alfredo

Vegetable Lumpia and Lumpiang Shanghai (Pork Spring Rolls)

To date, I have already more than 90 cookbooks and I told myself not to buy anymore. But over the weekend, I cannot resist the temptation not to grab several since the $4.99 sale price of Daniel Boulud’s Daniel’s Dish was just screaming for me to take it home. With it, I also added four more since the prices ranges only from $2.00 to $3.50 except for the Everyday Food (Fresh Flavor Fast) by Martha Stewart that I paid $14.99, still a steal since the original price is $24.99.

We may be in the digital age, but when it comes to cookbook, nothing can beat skimming through the real pages and admiring the beautiful food photography. As inspired from the Everyday Food by Martha Stewart I cooked the Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry for our dinner. Since I do not have hoisin sauce, I used oyster sauce instead. I also added 2 teaspoons of sugar for sweetness as contrast to the pepper flakes.

Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain into 1/2-by-3-inch strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, sliced crosswise 1 1/2 inch thick, white and green parts kept separate
White rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup water, hoisin sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook steak until lightly browned, turning once, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining teaspoon oil to pan along with garlic and whites of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk hoisin mixture to combine; add to pan along with scallion greens.

Return meat to pan; cook, tossing to coat steak with sauce, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Serve immediately, over rice and sprinkled with red-pepper flakes, if desired.

January 23,2012 is Chinese New Year and in Chinese astrology it is the year of the water dragon. It is believed that the year of the dragon brings growth and change in career, love and life. A great feasting is also celebrated to bring abundance, happiness, prosperity, good health and long life. The food to be prepared always symbolizes something.

I only prepared two types of food among the long list in the Chinese culture. Sauted Rice Stick (Pancit Bihon) and Sweet and Sour Fish. Noodles symbolize longevity. It stands for long life and is said to be unlucky to cut up a strand when cooking. Fish, served whole is a symbol of prosperity and eating fish is believed that it will help your wishes come true in the year to come.

But I still believe that the ingredients of a meaningful life are strong faith, love, hard work and good health. Kung Hei Fat Choi everyone!

Sauted Rice Stick (Pancit Bihon)

Ingredients:

8 oz rice stick noodles
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb shelled shrimp or 1 cup pork or chicken meat
1/2 cup carrots, cut in strips
1 cup shredded cabbage
6 pieces button mushroom, cut
1 cup of sweet peas
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
5 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
calamansi or lemon wedges (optional)

Direction:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent, then add garlic and cook until golden brown.

2. Add meat (if using) and season with oyster sauce,soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the vegetable, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes. Remove meat and vegetable mixture. Add the shrimp in the boiling stock and remove shrimp when it becomes orange-pink in color (usually less than a minute).

3. Cook noodles in the remaining stock until most of the liquid is absorbed by the noodles. Keep tossing the noodles to keep them from sticking.

4. Transfer cooked noodles in a platter and topped with the meat/shrimp and vegetables mixture and serve with lemon wedges or calamansi if desired.

Sweet and Sour Fish

Ingredients:

1 lb fish fillets (such as tilapia, sea bass, cod, I used Allaskan Pollock)
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2 cup red bell pepper, cut in strips/cube
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
1 stalk spring onion, chopped diagonally
2 cups vegetable oil for frying

For the Marinade:
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Rinse the fish fillets and pat dry. Cut into 2 inch square. Add the fish to the marinade ingredients and mix. Then add the cornstarch last. Let it marinade for 15 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce and vegetables. In a bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice wine, tomato paste, vinegar and sugar. In a separate small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in the water.

3. Microwave on high the snow peas for 30 seconds. Cut the red bell pepper into cubes, seeds not included.

4. Heat the vegetable oil in wok or cast iron pan. Fry the marinated fish until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

5. Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from the pan. Add the ginger and spring onion and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the snow peas and red bell peppers.

6. Remove the vegetables from the pan, add the sauce and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch and water mixture, stirring to thicken. Turn off the heat and add the vegetables in the sauce.

7. Serve the fish on a platter and pour the sauce and vegetable mixture. You may add all the sauce or reserve some on the side so the fish will not get soggy.

I don’t know with you, but it gives me a heavy heart to throw away food especially when it has reached it’s expiration date. My buttermilk, which is a leftover from baking banana breads over the holidays will be expiring soon and I need to use it before January 20, 2012 so that it will not go to waste.

So for breakfast, I made Best Buttermilk Pancakes from Martha Stewart. In this recipe, I added blueberries. The buttermilk really made the pancakes tender.

For the remaining buttermilk, I finished it off by making it as marinate for my Crunchy Breaded Chicken Fingers. Again, the buttermilk made the chicken breast moist and flavorful. Click here to read more »

During weekdays, I try to cook quick and easy dinner that do not sacrifice taste and nutritional value. Open faced sandwiches are one of them. This refers to a slice of bread topped with warm roasted or fried slice of meats, cold cuts, different spreads like butter, jam, pate or cheese, and vegetables such as lettuce, onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

My version of an open faced sandwich is a slice of wheat Italian bread, drizzled with olive oil and grilled in a panini pan. Top it then with lettuce, a store bought Philly-gourmet steak, which I heated up in my cast iron pan, and onions, which I cooked from the juices of the steak. Finish it with a slice of light cheddar cheese. Broil it for a minute until the cheese melts. To make it more flavorful, drizzle it with a honey mustard sauce.

This type of dinner will not make you a slave in the kitchen and bother you to dial for home delivery.

(I had to make one without cheese. My daughter is not a fan of cheese)

The luxury of weekend is when I can cook “real” breakfast for the family. A fluffy pancake, uncured turkey bacon and eggs make everyone satisfied and happy. This goes especially for my daughter who feels her day is complete having pancakes for breakfast.

I am sharing this Basic Pancakes Recipe from The New York Times Cook Book (Copyright 1961 by Craig Claiborne) which I’ve been using now for more than a decade. We’ve not been relying on pancake mix on a box for a long time now.

The ingredients I’m sure are in your pantry. Try this recipe and you will not be disappointed. I promise it will be fluffy and good.

Basic Pancakes

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/4 cups milk, approximately
3 tablespoons shortening, melted and slightly cooled or vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Mix egg, milk, and shortening or oil. Three-quarters cup milk will make thick pancakes; one and one-quarter cups of milk will make them thin enough for rolling.
3. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir only enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Do not beat or the pancakes will be tough. (For thinner pancakes, add more milk and mix lightly).
4. Bake on a hot griddle, lightly greased if necessary. Turn pancakes only once.

Blogging Mama’s tip:

1. You may use a non stick pan or a well seasoned cast iron pan. I made sure to lightly butter (vegetable oil) the pan or griddle. Wipe off with a paper towel until no butter or oil is visible. Repeat this step every time you pour the pancake batter.

2. Use a 1/4 cup to measure the pancake batter and gently pour in the hot pan or griddle.

3. Do not over mix pancake batter. No need to worry about lumps since it will just dissolve during cooking. Too much mixing results in a tough pancake.

4. Flip the pancakes if bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake.

5. Fruits like blueberry, banana and even chocolate chips may be added to the pancake batter for variation.

Here’s a bonus rap video for you. I said, for you. Not for your kids…

Click here to read more »