Pine-Sit Canton

A tasty afternoon snack for family members who love eating Pancit Canton with a twist! I got inspired by Del Monte's Pine-Sit Canton recipe to cook this dish, and nothing beats happy faces and full tummies as signs of appreciation of my cooking effort!

Tilapia Stewed in Vinegar (Paksiw na Tilapia)

As a kid, I used to hate this dish because of its sour taste. Not long after, I've grown to love the taste because of its health benefits. The fish I used often in this dish is either tilapia or milk fish (bangus). Other spices and vegetables like eggplant, ampalaya (bitter gourd), ginger, salt, ground black pepper, long green chili peppers, crushed garlic and onions are added to bring out the flavor of the dish. They are mixed together in a cooking pot with a cup of water and half cup of vinegar and then boiled for a few minutes until the fish is cooked.

Classic Spaghetti with Spinach and Malunggay

A classic spaghetti that is easy to cook, with malunggay and spinach leaves as replacements for ground meat. We had this for breakfast with whole wheat bread. My daughter loves eating it!

Sisig Omelette

Yum. I never thought that I could make a variant of omelette that has a sisig filling in it. The taste was superb and the people loved the dish. Try cooking it at home and see how it goes.

Ingredients:
1. 1/4 cup fresh milk
2. 1 can CDO Chunky Sisig
3. 1 small onion, chopped
4. 1 clove garlic, chopped
5. 2 medium fresh eggs, beaten until smooth
6. 3 tablespoons cooking oil
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. 1/2 cup cheddar cheese of your choice, grated

Procedures:
1. Mix beaten egg with fresh milk. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Adjust according to taste.
2. In a pan, saute garlic and onion. Add sisig and fry until cooked. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, pour the egg mixture, let stand over heat a few seconds to lightly brown bottom of omelette.
4. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the cooked sisig on one side of omelet and spread it. Top the sisig with grated cheese.
5. Fold the omelette in half. Serve hot with plain rice or toasted bread.

Ar-arosep (Sea Grapes)

Some people never heard of it but a lot knows about it and loves to consume it as their appetizer. This seafood is abundant in our province, Pangasinan. It can be eaten alone or with sliced ripe tomatoes. It's a perfect sidekick dish for any grilled meat and plain rice. Lately I have been craving for this dish, a long time ago I used to hate eating it. Realizing it is edible, chewy and tasty, I came to learn about the health benefits of sea grapes or green caviar. It contains some minerals and is said to be rich in Iodine.

Veggie Balls

There are variants of veggie balls cooked in different places. But this kind of snack I had was the best tasting veggie balls, at least for me. A veggie ball consists of crushed malunggay leaves, chopped cabbage, some chopped carrots and chayote (I think), flour, egg and water. My guess is that the balls were cooked using chicken oil to make them taste better and to give a chewy texture. My mother bought me one afternoon a bag of them along with sweet-spicy-sour sauce and vinegar mixed with bean sprouts, red onions and chili pepper for dipping. She asked the vendors if she could get some recipe for me to experiment their veggie balls but alas, they wouldn't share it. They sell their veggie balls for 2 pesos each. Their location was just 10 minutes walk from our place.

Their veggie ball stand located just beside their residence.

The vendors. 

The veggie balls. I wish to have more of them.

The veggie ball dip. Sweet and sour mixed with chili peppers and sliced onions. This is one of my favorite "sawsawan" or dips.

Creamy Vegetable Medley

To vegetable lovers out there, I would like to share this simple vegetable recipe, inspired by a friend who used to be our neighbor in our local village. I was invited to the christening of their son and I was chosen as one of their son's Godparents. Afterward, they invited us to celebrate the christening at their place and foods have already been served. I was in the mood to eat some vegetables and the food (picture above) caught my attention. It got me thinking that the vegetables were cooked with the basics, mostly stir-fried and simmered with coconut milk. The taste was good and I have never cooked something like this before so I experimented how it is done.

Ingredients:

1 cup cauliflower flowerettes

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup chopped young corns

1 cup diced jicama (turnip)

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 tbsp sliced red bell pepper

2 cups thin coconut milk

1 tsp minced garlic

1 small red onion, chopped

Procedures:

1. Saute garlic and onion. 

2. Stir-fry carrots, cauliflower, jicama and young corn.

3. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Stir continuously until vegetables become tender.

4. Add coconut milk. Let it cook for 3 minutes.

5. Add green peas and red bell pepper. Stir occasionally until the green peas soften and the bell pepper creates aroma.

6. Serve with plain rice.