meal, me, and more

I want to give my babies as much vegetables as possible. Pancit (rice noodle) is just among those they love to eat along with its other ingredients like vegetables and meat. Their yayas even eat pancit as their viand, thus call it pancit-kanin (rice noodle-rice) . There are many types of pancit. Among the most common are bihon, sotanghon, palabok, malabon, mami, canton, etc. If you’re a Filipino, you’re definitely a pancit person. Miki is a kind of pancit that’s a bit sticky and thick. Cooking this, I must say, is somewhat tricky so as to ensure that it won’t be sog gy. Oh well... I’m still trying to master the technique but I’m getting to it, almost. Hehe... Ingredients: oil 400 g miki, blanched then drained 1 tsp garlic, crushed 1 medium onion, chopped 100 g ground pork or chicken flakes 2 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp oyster sauce ½ c water or both 2 pcs tofu, fried and squared 10 pcs orlian (fish nuggets), fried and halved 1 carrot, julienned 10 pcs beans, cut...

*Tuyo is a salty dried fish. It’s usually done in areas along the shorelines. Since the Philippines is an archipelago, there are a lot of tuyo “versions” here. The fisherfolks have learned to innovate and make almost all sea creatures “dry”. It’s also a way of preserving these water resources for longer shelf-life. I called this one the “smallest” since on my part, this is indeed the tiniest tuyo I’ve ever seen (2-3 inches long). The usual tuyo we eat with our favourite Pork Sinigang or Pork Nilaga is far bigger than this one (5-6 inches long). My mom-in-law, the one who gave this, said this is not dilis (small dried fish but not that salty). She said she bought this from the Bicol region and the vendor told her it’s one of the smallest kind of tuyo they sell. I don’t really mind as long as it tastes the way I’m familiar with. Actually, this one’s more convenient to eat since it’s crunchier and I don’t have to remove the bones and scales. You just have to pan fry it, ...

I'm super bad trip coz our internet connection is down! It's been three days! The reason why I can't post at home. Oh well, we still have connection but with GPRS only, not HSDPA. We've been using Globe Visibility for almost a year now. It enticed us then since it's mobile, HSDPA 3G capable, and can be used for texting (and even calling when the simcard is inserted in a phone). It's like having a postpaid line and internet connection in one. However, we observe lately that the signal is not that stable. Yes, we're in the province but our area is already 3G connected. There are times that we get the maximum speed (3.6 Mbps). Most of the time, it's just 800-900 Kbps. It's fine as long as I don't wait for eternity for a picture to upload. Since typhoon Frank happened (some time in June 20-ish thi year), we can't maximize the use of this modem. I don't know if it's affected by the heavy rains but it shouldn't be that way. I don't...

I’m not really a fan of Ms. Anabel Rama (actress Ruffa Guttierez’ mom) but I believe in her TV ad that Pillsburry is the best fried chicken (and others) breading mix in town. I’ve tried a lot of brands but this one’s the most convenient, crunchy, and tasty. It may be just me, but my family loves this, too. Pillsburry made my mushroom crispier and more appealing to my babies. Whenever I cook this, my eldest would call it “chicharon” . Harhar! I owe it to its crunchiness. Ingredients: 250 g table mushroom 1 small pack Pillsburry one-step coating mix ¼ c water oil for deep frying Directions: Mix the coating mix with water until free from lumps. Wash mushroom thoroughly. Heat oil. Dip mushroom in the mixture and fry until golden brown. This recipe is great with sweet vinegar dip. Just mix vinegar, water, sugar, chopped onion, and siling labuyo. Measurements depend on your taste preference.

Every Friday night, I have to be in my most creative self in the kitchen. Why? Because the fridge is running out of my weekly stock! One product from my freezer's "tira-tira" (leftover) is this one - pork and hotdog steak! Frozen veggie bits, pork chops, hotdogs, and potatoes equal tasty and colorful meal for the kids and kids-at-heart. Ingredients: 1/2 kg pork chops 1 medium-sized potato, cut in wedges 1/4 c soy sauce 3 tbsp calamansi extract or 4 tbsp lemon extract 1/2 c water 1 tbsp whole peppercorns 1/4 c frozen veggie bits (green pease, corn, carrots) 4 regular size hotdogs, sliced diagonally oil 1 big onion, sliced into circles salt 1 tsp sugar Directions: Boil porkchop in water, calamansi extract, soy sauce, and peppercorns until tender. Set aside. Fry onion in oil and set aside. Fry potatoes, veggie bits, and hotdogs until cooked. Set aside. Slightly fry the pork chops in the same pan. Pour the remaining juice from boiling the pork. Add sugar and salt and contin...