Shrimp & Roasted Garlic Spaghetti in Tomato Cream Sauce with Kesong Puti

Got my hands on some really fantastic Mr. Moo's kesong puti (white cheese)which I knew will be quickly banished to oblivion if I start spreading it on hot pandesal. Wanting to share it with the rest of the family, I decided to use it on pasta because Nacho just loves showing off his skill in slurping a full-length spaghetti!

I made this yesterday for our mom & son lunch date so I used tiger prawns to make it extra special - he shunned the toppings but loved the pasta as usual, but despite the snub, it really was pretty good!

Shrimp & Roasted Garlic Spaghetti in Tomato Cream Sauce with Kesong Puti
1/2kg Shrimps (shelled)
1/2c Mushrooms (optional)
1 large head of Garlic
150ml Tomato Sauce
150ml All-Purpose Cream
1tbsp Butter
5pcs Basil Leaves
4"sq. Kesong Puti (white cheese cubed)
500g Spaghetti or Penne (cooked)

1) Bake garlic (unhusked) in oven toaster for 15mins. Peel and mash with fork.
2) Saute garlic in butter, add shrimps, mushrooms and basil.
3) Pour in tomato sauce and all-purpose cream. Season with salt and pepper. If sauce is too thick, add in Olive Oil.
4) Turn off heat and add Kesong Puti.

The Single Girl's Kitchen

This is for career girl/ sports enthusiast Sumi who recently moved out of the Motherhouse and into her very own place… a woman cannot live by tuna sandwich alone!
Invest in the Basics
Living on your own is COSTLY! You begin stressing over the utility bills and start to actually read the labels on your grocery items (price, weight, content etc.). You can only consume so much canned goods until processed meat start coming out of your ears and eating out no matter how cheap the restaurant will add up to be more expensive than when you do your own cooking. You don’t have to transform into Martha Stewart to be able to feed yourself but you do need to have the basic equipment.
• Plates, Cutlery and Drinking Glasses – at least 6 sets
• Refrigerator – can anyone live without one?
• Two-burner Gas Stove – it consumes less energy than electric stove
• Cookware – start off with the basic 3: a stock pot, sauce pan and skillet all with covers and preferably non-stick ones
• Cutlery Set – kitchen knives in different sizes will prove very useful
• Accessories: long-handled utensils, tongs, chopping board, strainer

Primary Stock
If you have these in stock then you’re guaranteed to be able to whip up something to feed yourself until you have ample time and money to get all that you want from the grocery.
• Seasoning, Condiment etc: salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, cooking oil, garlic and onion
• Dairy: cheese, butter, milk, cream, mayo
• Carbs: rice, pasta, bread
• Protein: eggs, canned tuna or sardines, processed or frozen meat -fish/ chicken fillet, ham, sausage etc.
• Veggies: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper

Quick Recipes
I’ve come to terms with my limitations when it comes to cooking – if it’s too darn tedious then I’ll just eat it somewhere else… thus I may never cook my beloved Kare-kare in this lifetime, thankfully they serve it fantastically in my mother-in-law’s house and in Dencio’s.

If you’ve never cooked a day in your life then don’t be intimidated, nobody’s going to judge you but yourself. To the very least, you can always just put together a sandwich, no rocket science there.

Cooking for yourself will mean that there will most likely be leftovers so your food should store well and must still be appetizing when reheated. So Sumi, go over my Excel file with an open mind. I’m pretty sure you’ll take to cooking like you do with sports – methodical at first then you just let go and have fun!

(cute photo from www.crazy4me.com)

Spiced Chocolate Covered Cookies

I recently attended the "Jumpstart Your Freelance Writing Career" workshop at Powerbooks in GB4 which was very substantial and entertaining - I hope to eventually write about it but for now this is about the wonderful dessert they served courtesy of Dessert Bar. The variety was wide but the simplest one tickled both my fancy and my tastebuds, Chocolate Covered Oreos with a hint of sea salt and chilies!

I figured, how hard can it be? So last weekend I bought Jack & Jill's Cream-O and Presto Peanut Butter Cookies, chili powder and a block of chocolate bar from Cook's Exchange. I chopped up the block and steamed it using the fondue bowl I got for a wedding present. After adding salt and chili powder until the mixture tasted just right to me then one by one I dipped the Cream-Os first followed by the Prestos and laid them on plates. The mixture was getting too thick as I was going along so I blended in a little chocolate milk which darkened it significantly. I refrigerated the covered cookies and after about 15 minutes, scrapped them off the plates - lesson learned, line the plates with wax paper so it's easier to remove the cookies, most of mine cracked apart.

Oh well, they don't look much but they taste pretty yummy! =)

herb & spice girl

I made Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes for the first time and it turned out quite tasty. I'm glad it was the "pacham" recipe of the day Lana came over for dinner. Much to my delight, she and Tats seemed to enjoy every morsel that I totally forgot to take pictures.

My mouth waters every time I see Jamie Oliver pulling fresh leaves right off his little garden to whip up the most delicious-looking dishes. I've always been threatened of using herbs and spices for cooking, sure I like them in my food but I'm not one to religiously study culinary alchemy and there are just so many species out there that I may never be able to figure out which one should be used for what.But deep inside I know I want a garden too.

Inspired by the success of my Rosemary Chicken, earlier I went into one of the many greenhouses that line the streets of BF Homes and asked if they sell racks on which they place their potted plants. The owner happened to be there, Mrs. Fajardo said she had them custom-made about 15years ago but she didn't mind me taking pictures and so I did. She also told me about her herb garden at home, how boiled Tarragon leaves aid digestion and that the Nim plant is more effective in warding off mosquitoes than Citronella. I take it as a sign... I am meant to have a garden of my own!

Afterall, I did help out my grandfather tend to his vegetable farm, it's one of my most cherished childhood memories. I remember taking some dried seeds, planting them in our backyard and they thrived every time. I also smoked our mango tree in the afternoon to drive away pests and to this day, it never fails to bear fruits that are more succulent than the usual.

I'm giddy with excitement for my new project, i hope to actually get it off the ground!

A Lite & Fresh Lunch

I've been following Market Man's posts on his food adventures in Paris lately and all those food stores seem so deliciously amazing!

Last Saturday, Tats and I went to Greenhills early for his lunch reunion with friends at Chili's. I was excited by the prospect of trying something different on my own as he's a creature of habit and usually chooses to eat at the tried-and-tested restaurants experimenting only with places with prior recommendation from reliable sources.

I wanted to look for Angel's Kitchen but figured it's not within walking distance from V-mall, at least not for somebody 8mos along the way. Since I have not had breakfast, my grumbling stomach with a kickin' & screamin' baby brought me to the nearest, haven't before tried food stores within a 20-ft radius. And I must say that I seem to have a little gourmand of a bun in the oven!

First stop was Beju: The Fruit Store, I've always wanted to go inside but never got to. Lo and behold the bounty - they were so beautiful I almost broke into a song! Fruits and flowers are always delightful to me be they in the market, mall or sidewalk. The difference with this store is at close inspection, the produce are oh so perfectly smooth in different palettes and I bet they're succulent too, plus it also helps that they're displayed in wooden pails and natural baskets. Common favorites like apples, mangoes, oranges, bananas and lychees with exotic ones like plums, dragonfruits, cherries and others I have not seen before! They also serve fruit shakes, smoothies and medley snacks of fresh slices, very enticing but not hefty enough for brunch. I opted for a medium-sized shake and asked the cashier's recommendation... Orange-Banana, haven't tried that before. At P60, it's the same price as the more commercial stalls except Beju is a lot more generous with fruits and less on syrup. Very fruitty indeed!

I was almost halfway through my drink by the time I got to Milkyway right next door. I've eaten at their Pasay Road branch several times and love their Crispy Pata and Lechon Kawali both being deep-fried parts of a cochinillo. Practically all items on their menu have brought me much joy espcially when capped by a refreshing scoop of buko sorbet. But the Greenhills branch is sort of a deli/ turu-turo type where you can buy their bottled and packed food items or choose from 8-10 viands featured for the day.

My fruit shake was making me feel all healthy inside so I opted to get the Chicken-Asparagus Sandwich for complement. Subtle mayo, flaked chicken, white asparagus and tomato slices stacked cold in trimmed bread coupled with the cool, tangy shake - the combination was fantastic! I savored every bite, finished with a fresh-just-right fullness and was very satisfied. It dawned on me that this is how meals are supposed to be taken, relaxed and appreciated as God intended thus making eating one of our greatest pleasures. I thought of my hurried meals and rubbish calories from undeserving foods of the past - to be absolutely avoided from hereon.

I just read in today's Phil. Star that Amici (the one in Don Bosco) not only opened a branch but also a specialty gelato-bar, Cara Mia in Connecticut Ave. Wow, these and Angel's Kitchen, can't wait for my next visit to Greenhills! =)

Baon of the Day - The Frugal Pasta

I am not very fond of Bolognese or any sauce with a lot of meat in it which they very much prefer at home - call me maarte but I'd rather have simple pasta paired with a separate meat item... I just want to be able to appreciate taste and texture of the base minus the complications. Fish or seafood based sauces are the exception because they're light enough to really blend in.

Used to be that the only pasta I could make was "Tuna Pesto" composed of a can of Hot & Spicy Tuna sauteed in olive oil, garlic and basil. Then I discovered an equally fast and cheap tomato-based version...

Ingredients
6pcs. ripe Tomatoes (blanched, peeled & diced)
500g Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Onions, Garlic and Basil (chopped - based on your desired quantity)
1 tsp. Chili Flakes
2 tbsp. Bagoong Balayan(Anchovy Sauce)or Salt & Pepper to taste

1) In heated Olive Oil, saute Garlic, Onion, Chili Flakes and Basil (in sequence)
2) Add Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce.
3) Season with Bagoong Balayan (for a tastier version) or Salt and Pepper. Leave to simmer for 20minutes.
4) For added punch - serve with Feta Cheese or Kesong Puti

Bicol Express

I was running out of ideas for easy-to-prepare meals for Tats and mine's daily baon... then I remembered cooking Bicol Express ages ago and true to its name, the whole thing can be made quite quickly!

Ingredients
1/2 Pork kasim (cubed, separate fatty part)
50g Coconut Milk Powder (diluted in 1 cup water)
5 pcs. Green Chili Fingers (sliced)
8 cloves Garlic (diced)
Salt & Pepper to taste

1) In a heated pan, throw in fatty cubes with 1/4 cup water. Cover until oil is extracted and you can hear it crackling. Add in the rest of the meat until slightly golden.
2) Toss in diced garlic until slightly cooked.
3) Pour in coconut milk mixture and let simmer until the desired thickness and creaminess is achieved.
4) Sprinkle salt and pepper. Toss in chilies and turn off the heat.

Ang Tunay na Banana-Q

I was majorly shocked when I discovered that not only are bananas in Manila sold per piece at P1.50 (it was 1989), they're also deep-fried with brown sugar, skewered and marketed as Banana-Q!

Growing up in a province where saba (plantains) were practically free with my lolo's vast plantation of different variants, I contemplated a revolt against my family's decision to move into this absurd city for good! But as malleable as young minds go - I eventually adjusted to the urban snack of junk and fast foods driving memories of my daily banana meriendas (seriously in all versions possible - maruya, canchi-canchi, rebusado, dulce saging, bayu-bayo, name it!) deep, deep down my subconscious.

I have this theory that as we get older, we revert to the food that we grew up with even the ones we hated. Not only do they bring back memories of more innocent times, we also start refining our tastes as to how our parents appreciate buro, kinilaw etc.

And so it happened, my banana yearnings surfaced at a period when my appetite is at its most insatiable - maternity!

I'd have Dole cavendish in the office (P12 each at 7-11 and Ministop) and plantains now at P3.50 each which I would slice in half, pop in the toaster for 15 minutes, slather with salted butter and sprinkle with a generous amount of muscovado sugar on top. It's weird to the people at home and to my officemates when I bring some for baon. But I don't care coz it's delicious and this my friend is the real McCoy... ang tunay na Banana-Q!