Off to Philippines

You might be wondering why I'm too slow these days with my posts... It's because I got loads to organize in my mind thats taking too much time instead of blogging... so, I'll be off for vacation tomorrow, I hope I could blog from there,, I know I'm short of blogging time as there will be so much fun here, there, and everywhere. Apart from that, when I'm in Phil, I'm not totally on vacation as I got some chores to do.. projects to execute etc.

I'll make up when I'll come back! promise! I'll try to dig some exotic foods and maybe recover some lost recipes, or maybe make a twist out of them.

I've gotta say.. "Its BEACH time"...

Cheers!

Chocolate mouse

I would have been proud if I made this, but no! its the instant mouse in a pack. All you have to do is add the pack of powder into a bowl of milk and whisk until stiff.. Topped with whipped cream. It's a good alternative though, for an instant dessert.

My husband is making good chocolate mouse. I should have took a picture of that instead.

Grilled Fish with Roasted Pepper Salad

For me, this is perfect healthy meal.. Taste wise? The best!

This is my first entry for "Weekend Herb Blogging" hosted by

Place the pepper on top of the stove burner and keep the flames on until the skin of the pepper turns completely black.


When I say black means the skin is totally burned, charred and blistered.

Turn the pepper occasionally using a tongs as necessary to burn other parts of the pepper. When it turns completely black, it means its done. All you need to do is peel off the burned skin. Literally, remove all the blackened skin. This is quite a chore, but I guarantee the taste is exceptional.

While they are still hot, cover or place in a paper bag for 15 minutes and allow the steam to loosen the charred skins. Peel off the skin over a bowl to catch the juices, and use it for the salad. The skin will just fall off easily. Cut the pepper into half and remove the seeds. Slice the peppers into thin strips.

To make the vinaigrette, simply mix all ingredients and stir until thick.

Mix the vinaigrette and pepper; chill for 20-30 minutes. This can be made ahead of time and store in the fridge and serve when needed.

Here, I served with grilled fish and bread.

Facts about bell peppers

Bell Peppers are rich in vitamins A and C which are known to be anti oxidants. Antioxidants are a group of nutrients that neutralize free radicals in the body fluids reducing the risk of diseases.
Free radicals are naturally produced when the body uses oxygen. Unless they are neutralized, they cause cell damage, which may lead to health problems such as arthritis, heart disease and cancer. A single raw red pepper, sweet or hot, can meet the daily requirements for two important antioxidants, vitamin A and C.

Baileys

BAILEYS is a natural marriage of fresh Irish cream, the finest of spirits and Irish whiskey
I like the sharp and creamy taste of this Irish Liqueur. I like it chilled or with ice and I love it with coffee. Thanks to hubby who gave it to me.


























Here’s a recipe of an Irish Cream Frappe from my sister Dels.I tried to make one myself.

Irish Cream Frappe
1 cup espresso coffee
2 jiggers milk
1 jigger chocolate syrup
1 jigger sugar syrup
1 jigger Irish Cream (Baileys)
1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Blend all ingredients and top with whipped cream.

Check more recipes of Baileys mix, check www.baileys.com

CAIPIRINHA

Caipirinha

“CACHAÇA” (pronounced as ca-sha-sa), which is spirit distilled from sugar cane, an essential ingredient for caipirinha. This popular Brazilian drink is very easy to prepare. I love caipirinha and I always have some CACHAÇA at home, I’m not drinking it everyday but I feel like having some from time to time and I like to serve it for visitors as an appetizing drink served with some chippies and olives.

For 1 glass of caipirinha:

2 pieces lime
2 tablespoons sugar
1 glass finely crushed ice
1 shot of CACHAÇA

Cut off the ends of the lime with the white pitt and slice into two. Remove the white pitt at the center of each slice and cut into 2 parts. Litterally cut them into quarts without the bitter pitt at the center of the lime. Place the lime into a glass and add sugar; combine two ingredients by crushing with pestle until well combine and juice of the lime is well mixed with sugar. Add finely crushed ice and CACHAÇA; shake the mixture with a shaker. Pour back to the glass and serve.

Cheers!
For information how to make CACHAÇA, check this out:
CACHAÇA

French Cheese: Epoisses

Epoisses

I’ve been itching to write about cheese before and eventually my interest in writing about it faded because I am confused with all kinds of cheeses. Not until last night we had this (super baho) very smelly cheese that itched me again to write about cheeses. I find the smell so awful but at the back of my mind I am so curious to challenge myself to taste it and eventually like it. First bite, I said it smells like patis (fish sauce); second bite, I said it smells like dried squid, and there was the third bite, I am savoring its succulent flavor of the cheese.. and there was fourth and on and on… behind that awful aroma tastes a pungent and succulent taste. But hey, you need something else to balance its taste and get rid of the smell. And of course, we didn’t eat cheese alone. We ate it with bread. The more I tasted it the more I liked it and I ended up asking; What is this kind of cheese? Which region in France does it come from? Are all smelly cheeses good? Okay, I think I’ll blog on it.

I am totally ignorant when it comes to cheese and all its kinds (there are hundreds of them) and I am confused with their names and their smells but I find this distinct aroma and taste unique. I’ve tasted some that hubby grabs from the French shop in town. I’m starting to like each kind. Of all the cheeses I’ve tasted this one stinks but tasty after a few bites. I’m starting to like it as well.

In terms of wines that complement certain cheeses, I know nothing about it,but the wine we had works so well with the smelly cheese. It is called “DEFESA” , red wine and product of Portugal. It is spicy red wine. I like its taste as it clears my mouth after having some epoisses.



I think I need another section in my blog huh! "Cheese" I'll think about having a go for it. Things that I know nothing about except eat them and drink them. I'm talking about cheese and wine. Hmmm?? I dont know yet if I'll blog on them, could be interesting. My French husband is very influential in food as well as he is influenced with Filipino foods.

For more information about epoisses, click
here.

Bam-i

Bam-i

In Visayas region of Phil, we call this dish Bam-i, but for Northern part of Philippines, they call it pansit. Whatever we call it, it doesn’t matter the fact is this is a very common dish in my country. Be it an ordinary dinner, indoor or outdoor party or picnic, Bam-i is almost present among the dishes.

Bam-i is made of 2 kinds of noodles, egg noodles and vermicelli noodles or sotanghon stir fried with meat and vegetables. Vegetables may vary depending on what we have at hand. Now, I’m not in Phil., but I’m missing this dish and I have to settle what I have in my kitchen.

One thing very essential in preparing this dish is timing. The noodles and vegetables should cook together. The noodles get easily overcooked they tend to stick to the pan. To avoid this, I came up with another way of doing it by blanching the noodles in a boiling stock to get rid of extra starch. This will prevent the noodles from sticking together.

Ingredients:
2 large onions (finely sliced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 Tablespoons oil
2 chicken breasts (sliced in strips)
1 red bell pepper (sliced in long strips)
1 green bell pepper (sliced in long strips)
2 cups shredded cabbage
6 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 liter stock or water
2 Tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 pack egg noodles
½ pack vermicelli noodles or sotanghon

Procedure:

1. Prepare a wok or pan and casserole.
2. In the pan, sauté garlic and onions in 2 Tablespoons oil until translucent.
3. Add chicken breasts and cook until done; add peppers, oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce.
4. Meanwhile, at the same time, in another casserole, bring to boil 1 liter of stock or water. Blanch shredded cabbage for 1 minute and add to the other pan.

5. Add vermicelli noodles to the boiling stock and cook until just done. Using a slotted spoon, drain the noodles leaving excess starch and water, add noodles directly to the sautéed garlic, onion and chicken stirring occasionally.

6.Add the egg noodles to the boiling stock in the casserole and cook for 2 minutes until just done. Drain egg noodles and add to the pan with vermicelli noodles. Mix vigorously cooking in a moderate fire. Add a ladle of stock to the pan and toss everything to combine all the flavors. Add freshly ground black pepper.