Chicken & Corn Soup V3

Here's another take on Chicken & Corn soup. Actually, this is much more than just chicken and corn. This is a complete meal as a soup. The steps to do this are basically the same as Version 2 with a few additions. With this version, i added a large tomato, 1 large carrot and a couple of stalks and leaves of celery, all chopped. While this was cooking, i had some pasta ready to be added. I cooked this twice in one day since i had to give away the 1st batch and the 2nd we had for dinner. The first batch made use of spaghetti cut into about 1 inch lengths while the other made use of pasta shells. The pasta shells looked better, but didn't get the chance to take photos of it.
I dunno if there is going to be a version 4 or maybe by that time, the name should be changed already. All i know is, this just keeps getting better.

Chicken Lollipops w/ Rosemary & Lemongrass

I guess I'm on a roll using Rosemary in my dishes lately. I really like the aroma it brings when you add it to food! Another thing that I've been using a lot of is Lemongrass, and like Rosemary imparts an aroma and flavor to liven up any dish. Chicken lollipops are readily available here in most major supermarkets, so no problem in acquiring that. The marinade is similar to my previous post except that i used Kecap Manis, added lots of finely minced garlic, salt, paprika, worcestershire sauce, dried rosemary and pounded lemongrass (the white inner core).

I used the leafy part of the lemongrass and tied it around the bone of the chicken lollipops. I then coated this in egg and flour then proceeded to deep fry it. The result are fragrant and crunchy chicken lollipops!

Buttered Rosemary Chicken

Chicken fillets, one of the easiest thing to cook and in so many delicious ways. All this took is a marinade of soy sauce, lots of garlic, pepper, some sugar and rosemary. Two hours in the fridge is enough for this to absorb the marinade.

To do this, i just fried some minced garlic in butter, added sliced mushrooms followed by the chicken. After a while, i added about 1/2 a teaspoon of Rosemary. This was done in less then 30 minutes.

To compliment this, I made some mashed potatoes with butter, cheese, milk and corn.

Baked Spiral Pasta w/ Pepperoni & Salami

Pasta....the many variations, how can you go wrong? Actually there are many ways, but let's skip that. ;) With this dish i made, everything was right and was even on time for dinner. I did this last Father's Day, and while i did get a lot pampering that day, i still wanted to do what i love doing, so they relented and let me cook for them. I opted to use Spirals since i always use spaghetti or other forms of it.

To do this, i used 5 minced cloves of garlic, 1 large onion, 1 large tomato, 1 large bell pepper (all three chopped), a can of sliced button mushrooms, 300 grams pepperoni, 300 grams salami, 1/2 kilo of ground chicken, 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp of dried basil, 1/2 tsp of dried thyme, 1/2 tsp of ground pepper, 1/2 tsp of paprika, lightly fried sliced hot dogs, sweet spaghetti sauce, a can of heavy cream, lots of cheese and chopped spring onions.

In hot oil, i cooked the garlic till fragrant, added the onions, the tomatoes, bell pepper followed by the mushroom, sliced pepperoni and salami (about a 100 grams each) then the ground chicken. Let this cook till no longer pink then add the ground black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, basil and thyme. After a few minutes, it really started to smell really good. I then added the spaghetti sauce and sliced hot dogs. Lightly simmer for a few minutes then turn of the heat then add the heavy cream and mix well.

Mix this with the pasta and place in a baking dish. Cover with pepperoni and salami ( i lightly fried mine or you can use an oven toaster). Top with lots and lots of cheese. Ideally, parsley should be used to finish this off, but since i forgot buy it, i used spring onions. I loved the way it turned out! Smelled great!

That's it! An instant hit, from the home to the office. A delicious Father's Day meal!

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

This is favorite of mine when eating at Chinese restaurants though the taste tends to be inconsistent. Well, when faced with dissatisfaction -- make your own. I didn't follow a recipe for this, i just used ingredients i thought they would use and let my taste buds guide me.

I started by marinating the chicken (mostly thigh fillets) in corn starch, Chinese cooking wine, cracked black pepper, 1 egg white and a few tablespoons of bottled garlic black bean sauce. I left it for about 30 minutes then proceeded to saute garlic and onions followed by a sliced bell pepper. I then added the chicken, some some soy sauce and let it simmer till the chicken was cooked. As i always want this accompanied by some veggies, i blanched some Chinese kangkong and place it a plate and covered it with the chicken.

Another way of doing this is coating the chicken in flour and deep frying it, extra black bean sauce is added onto the sauteed garlic, onions and bell pepper. Pour over the chicken when done. Either way, is good!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Didn't know that i could make cheese on my own. Some online research showed me the way and this is one thing that I'll try with different kinds of milk and herbs. Amy from Eggs On Sunday, provides a good step by step procedure on how to do this. For this, i used cow's milk and added fresh sweet basil to some. This and hot bread go well together. I'm really curious of what the results will be if i use it on pizza. I guess, that's going to be another post. :)

Asparagus & Kailan Leaves in Mushroom Oyster Sauce

Coming up with a name for this dish apart from describing its contents was more difficult that cooking the dish itself. I'm not a big fan of vegetables, but it's essential for someone my age and I'd like to set a good example for my daughter.

This is good on its own, but for meat lovers, this can serve as a side dish. Just saute some minced garlic and chopped onions in butter and oil followed by you choice of mushrooms ( i used sliced button mushrooms) then add oyster sauce. Let this cook for about 5 minutes. Boil some water and blanch the asparagus and kailan leaves. Transfer the blanched asparagus and leaves onto a plate and cover the mushroom and oyster sauce mixture. Done!

Burger & Fries

This is the third in a line of ground beef dishes. Just like the meatballs, this uses the same ingredients. I just formed them into patties, grilled them and topped it with caramelized onions. Best served with fries. :)

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Coming from the same batch i used for the Salisbury Steak, i made meatballs to go with this spaghetti sauce with basil. The many uses of ground beef! For the sauce i used ground chicken, garlic, onions, tomato sauce, sweet basil, salt, pepper and hot dogs. (It's a Pinoy thing. Specially when you have a 3 year begging for hot dogs!)

Steamed Tausi Spareribs

A favorite of mine when eating at Chinese restaurants! An order of this, 2 cups of white rice and lots and lots of chili garlic sauce! Found this terrific recipe at Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. Don't you just love the Internet?! Now i can enjoy this at home. It's really easy to cook, just marinade the spareribs for about and hour and steam! I really like the sauce, so i cooked the marinade separately to be poured over hot rice! Yum!

Steamed Spareribs with Tausi (Black Bean) Sauce

Salisbury Steak

Here at home, we've been making our own burgers for a long time but always ate it with a bun. I've always enjoyed Salisbury Steaks, it just seemed right that i try to do this at home.
Details to follow.

Mango Crabstick Salad

Adapted from the Mango and Lobster Salad of Rasa Malaysia (great presentation!). Since lobster isn't readily available in the market i go to and the fact that it's kinda pricey, this can serve as an alternative till i get to use lobster. I used a mango that wasn't ripe enough so this didn't turn out as good as i wanted. I still have a couple of mangoes in the fridge and I'll do this again this weekend. The mangoes should be ripe enough and sweet by then. This is really easy to do, just mix mangoes, crabsticks, cream, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and honey plus a few sweet basil leaves and stick it in the fridge. I can't wait to do it again!

Sweet & Spicy Fried Chicken

I was really in the mood for something spicy but really didn't want any of the usual, i wanted to experiment. I've always loved chili garlic sauce together with Chinese dishes and really consume a lot when i eat at a Chinese restaurant, so i really wanted that to be part of the ingredients. Lately I've been really interested in Thai dishes and curries and even bought a Kaffir Lime Tree.

I already decided that I'd use fried chicken thighs for the dish, for the sauce i just followed my nose and my taste buds.

For the sauce, i melted butter in a pan, added mined garlic, grated ginger, 3 tbsp of red curry paste, 1 tbsp of chili garlic, about 1/4 cup soy sauce, cracked black pepper, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp of peanut oil, 1 cup water with corn starch and spring onions. (For more heat, add chili peppers)

This experiment is a keeper and will do again. I think it'll go well with anything fried.

Spinach with Garlic and Baby Corn

This was inspired by one of the 30 minute meals Rachel Ray did in her show i just added a couple of things. Details to follow.

Ground Chicken and Eggs

I remember seeing a picture of something similar online but had no recipe so i just decided to recreate it based on what it looked like. Apart from the ground chicken and eggs i had to come up with the rest of the ingredients. I started with the basics, minced garlic, chopped onions then added chopped bell peppers then the ground chicken. After making sure the chicken was cooked i added about 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup Lee Kum Kee Chicken Marinade. I used 1/2 kilo of ground chicken and sometimes i end up adding more soy sauce and chicken marinade depending on my preference for the day. Season with cracked black pepper. Once this is all mixed and brown, add 2 beaten eggs and mix well. Top with scrambled eggs and you're ready to go.

This was done in half an hour, and is really easy.

Lemongrass Chicken

This recipe was taken from Rasa Malaysia.

Beef Curry

This recipe was taken from the December 2007 issue of Yummy Magazine (page 47).

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 to 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
2 fresh kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 (4-inch long) fresh red chili, thinly sliced crosswise
3/4 kilo beef short ribs, cooked in water till tender
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
1 tablespoon (or more, to taste) fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
cubed potatoes and carrots (not in the recipe but in the photo in the magazine)

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the curry paste, lime leaves and chili. Saute and keep stirring till fragrant. Add the beef and coat with the curry.

2. Pour in coconut milk, chicken broth, brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and simmer stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and scallions; simmer for about a minute more

3. Serve among 4 bowls and serve immediately with rice.

I didn't faithfully stick to the recipe but it was good guide and the results were terrific. I didn't have lime juice so i used a lemon, i used a lot more than 1 to 2 tablespoons of curry, i used an entire pack. Instead of chicken broth, i added kneecaps while boiling the beef and used that as the broth. In my opinion, kaffir lime leaves are essential instead of optional. To control the heat, remove the seeds of the chilies or use long green chilies instead of red.

Kaffir Leaves which are essential to this dish are available at Chef's Nook and Rustan's Powerplant. For a Kaffir tree, you can get one at Manila Seedling for around P350.

Strawberry Cocktail

I like putting cherries and cherry syrup in Absolut Kurant vodka, but since i didn't have vodka, nor cherries - some freshly picked strawberries, GSM Premium, Strawberry Wine (tastes like juice) and Sprite was a good replacement.Something for the cold weather.

Strawberry Farms not Strawberry Fields

I've been to Baguio many times and i was always told that the Strawberry Fields was just a few minutes away and we could pick the strawberries ourselves. I found out that the Strawberry Fields that was being mentioned was a Club along Marcos Highway. A different kind of picking.
For real strawberries, head over to La Trinidad about 30 to 45 minutes away depending on the traffic. You can pick your own strawberries and just pay for them on your way out. The farms have different owners so just pick one that allows you to do your own picking. Here you'll find everything strawberry, strawberry wine, strawberry juice, strawberry taho, strawberry key chains, etc. You'll also find some nice fresh lettuce.

Some are just ripe for picking and some are not. The farm we first went to was just recently picked. You have to go to the farms further back to get to pick your own.
My little girl didn't want to touch the strawberries at first.

Strawberry Taho. Interesting, but i like my taho hot and plain.
Lots of nice looking lettuce around as well. Now, if only brought a nice vinaigrette. :)
Lots and lots of vinaigrette. ;)
So if you want to go here, remember...Strawberry Farms, not fields.

Buttered Potatoes and French Green Beans

I was in the grocery and saw this pack of french green beans which really looked good. I've never used these kind of beans before. I planned to just blanch it and sauté in garlic and butter. After blanching it i remembered the garlic spread i made and decided to use it instead. I also got a bag of marble potatoes and boiled them till cooked. I used the method of Connie of Pinoycook minus the parsley since the garlic spread already contained parsley. I sautéed both the beans and potatoes separately in the garlic spread and springkled dried rosemary over the potatoes.

The beans were crisp and the potatoes were really tasty. I added some fresh tomatoes and it was done. Great as a side dish and even on its own.