Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Garlic Bread

As far as i can remember, I've always liked garlic bread. I enjoy eating this with pasta, coffee or just as is. I used to buy garlic bread, but now i just buy the bread and make the spread myself. Once this comes out of the oven it stays crunchy even when cold. It's really easy to do. All you need is garlic, butter and parsley. Other herbs can be added depending on your taste.
I used a food processor to make this but a sharp knife will do.
Finely mince the garlic and parsley. Add the softened butter to the garlic and parsley and mix well.
Spread on your favorite bread. I use baguettes and slice them at the center.
A few minutes in the oven and you'll have fragrant and crunchy garlic bread.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Chicken and Corn Soup V2

I had a lot raves from my family when i last did this and i wanted to do it again with a few changes. I've read several times about using ham bones and since i like ham, i might as well give it a try. My wife dropped by the grocery to look for cherry tomatoes when i remembered that there was i Majestic Ham stall over there. I asked her to purchase a couple of bones so that i could use it for soup.To make the broth, i cracked the bones in half and simmered it in water and added a whole peeled onion, carrots, peppercorns and spring onions. Once this started to boil, the aroma of the ham bones filled the kitchen. It smelled good! I let it boil for about an hour while i prepared the chicken thigh fillets, corn, chopped ham, garlic, mushrooms and milk. I sauteed the garlic, ham and mushrooms followed by the chicken fillets and when the broth was ready, i added it to the chicken. At this point, it's already good enough to eat as clear soup but i prefer it to be creamy so i added a can of milk and 2 beaten eggs.
I mentioned in the previous version of this soup that it was the best soup I've done. That was then, now this new version using ham bones is the best I've done. I have couple of more ideas for soups using ham bones. I can't wait to see if i can do better. :)

Delicious Dip

We had a post birthday party about a month ago and while we had our regular assigned dishes to bring, our host, Ellen served this delicious dip that we could not get enough of. After the party, i immediately got a request from Tina (my wife) to recreate it.

We were at my in-laws when i did this, i asked Ellen about the ingredients and how to do it. I was able to make four dips, 3 small ones and one large dip. Serve this with chips and before you realize it, you'll be scraping the bottom of the dish with your last remaining chip.

To do this, you'll need cream cheese, pitted black olives, spiced ham, tomatoes, tomato sauce and quick melting cheese. Dice the olives, ham and tomatoes.

At the bottom of the dish put the cream cheese then add the olives, ham and tomatoes layer by layer then add tomato sauce then top with lots of quick melting cheese. Just use a microwave or a regular oven to heat this till the cheese melts and you're ready to dip away!

Thanks Ellen!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Lung Center Sunday Market

First time at the Lung Center Sunday Market and contrary to the advice of many, i arrived at around 9:30 am. Parking sucks. Well, if your a bit patient, you could park in about 15 minutes.

The calling of grilled seafood.

Taba ng Talangka (Crab Fat) was offered a couple of times. More like it was shoved near my face. I just smiled politely and refused while thinking about pouring the contents of the bottle over hot steaming rice and shocking my arteries into overdrive.
I also discovered a "new" fruit. Hehe
Nice flowers and plants were abound. My Mom bought a couple of plants she's been trying to grow for quite a while now. There was also a stall that sold used hardbound books and a couple of cookbooks. Nothing really caught my eye and i already had some of the books.

Small Koi fish were also being sold. A lot of kids crowded this small space. Really nice to look at.

Another sight which attracted a lot of kids were these birds. The kids started shouting when a bird got free. The men at that stall started to scramble for the bird. Too bad they caught it. I barely caught the commotion with my camera.


Really a busy morning at the market. This was a really interesting market and deserves another visit. Maybe next time we'll go earlier.