GREEN BEANS “ENSALADA”

I learned this from my hubby.  We are both fun of homecooking which turned out a passion for me.  I love the way he use to blanch vegetables.  The color stays green and crisp not “BUGBOG” in tagalog or “NALAMOG”.  But the tatse still there, the texture, color and flavor preserves!

Blanching is an easy technique that many cooks use to keep vegetables crisp and tender. By boiling vegetables briefly, chilling them in ice water, then reheating them slowly, blanching preserves texture, color and flavor.

YOU NEED…….

* 500g Green beans, I used the thin ones
* 4 pcs. Tomatoes
* 1 Onion
* Anchovy Sauce (Bagoong Balayan) or Salt instead
* powdered Pepper

NOTE: My pretty friend Ophy Navai said she loves it with chopped GARLIC, I came to an idea you can replace TOMATOES with chopped GARLIC instead…which I’m gonna try in the following days…I let you know FOLKS 😀

HOW TO…….

* Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil over high heat.
While the water heats, fill a medium bowl about three-quarters full with ice, then add enough cold water to come just to the top of the ice.

* When the water is boiling and the ice bath is ready, trim the vegetables to the size you need. It’s best to trim and wash them just prior to cooking so they won’t oxidize or dehydrate. Then add the vegetables to the boiling water in batches small enough to ensure that the water doesn’t lose its boil.

* Boil the vegetavegetables only until they’re barely cooked through but still tender. To test, remove one piece with a slotted spoon, dip it into the ice bath to cool, and eat it. As soon as the vegetables are done, remove them as fast as you can and submerge them in the ice bath. Remove them from the ice bath as soon as they are no longer warm.

*To reheat the vegetables, you can use any cooking method you wish, like sautéeing, grilling, or boiling; just make sure to barely heat them up and not to cook them again. By this time I did not reheat it, I added slice tomatoes and red onions and anchovy sauce (Bagoong Balayan). And that’s it, serve with rice and as side dish for fried chicken legs. GUTEN APPETIT 🙂

ZUCCHINI OR COURGETTE WITH TOFU

If you are looking for pure vegetables recipe, you can try my pinakbet without meat and my zucchini with tofu.
For the last several posts, I have bombarded you with tasty but quite oily meat dishes. In consideration of the health aspects which everyone owes to take pretty seriously, let me share with you today a healthy mixed vegetable dish simply sautéed zucchini with tofu (courgette with tofu) and my pinakbet without meat. Like the “inabraw” my pinakbet uses various types of vegetables and chiefly flavored with fish paste or “bagoong”, a unique but popular Filipino condiment made from fermented small fish usually eaten with locally grown vegetables. Most of the time I used anchovy sauce instead.

YOU NEED…….

* 4 pcs. Zucchini, washed and sliced
* 1/2 a cake Tofu, cut into cubes
* handful Koriander (Cilantro) chopped
* 1/2 head Garlic, peeled and sliced
* 1 tsp. Vinegar
* Salt and Pepper
* some Vegetable Oil

HOW TO…….

EGGPLANT “INIHAW” (GRILLED)

I was craving for “Inihaw na talong since last month. I remember those days during rainy season in the Philippines my late nanay (mother), she used to grilled eggplant during that time. Then she add sliced tomatoes, onions (lasona or sibuyas tagalog), sometimes she added chopped ginger too and seasoned with calamansi and anchovy sauce or Bagoong Balayan.

But this photo above I just added chopped red onions, tomatoes and seasoned with bagoong balayan. You can also try sauted shrimps paste or bagoong guisado if you prefer.

WINGED BEANS FOR LUNCH

Today my hubby and I was craving for VEGETABLES. Thinking on what vegetables to cook…we got a bunch of “SIGARILYAS” (WINGED BEANS) last Saturday from Vietnamese shop. Then we still have this left over fried horse mackerel from last night dinner. So what I did I added also a bunch of string beans (Sitaw) in it, with onion, tomatoe, eggplant and seasoned with anchovy sauce.

That was our viand for the lunch today. It is said to be that Winged beans have the highest calcium content among all legumes and as such, are very beneficial for the human skeletal system. The calcium present in these beans helps in the production and maintenance of the bones and provides strength to overcome diseases and weaknesses. Winged beans are also a good source of natural minerals and vitamins. So have a try FOLKS 😉

BREADED EGGPLANT WITH SESAME

The eggplant or aubergin commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to India and Sri Lanka.  The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple. The fruit is fleshy, less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.
The fruit is botanically classified as a berry, and contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but sometimes are bitter.
A breaded “Talong”  or eggplant just like viennese schnitzel with garlic-mayonnaise sauce.

YOU NEED…….

* 1 big Eggplant, sliced
* 1 beaten Egg
* 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
* 60 g Sesame Seeds
* 2 tbsps. cheese of your preference ( I used Parmesan cheese)
* 2 tbsps. Flour
* Salt and Pepper
* some Vegetable oil

FOR GARLIC-MAYONNAISE SAUCE:

* 2 cloves Garlic, minced
* 1 Lemon for juice
* Mayonnaise
* Salt

HOW TO…….

My STUFFED GREEN BELL PEPPERS (PART 1 and 2)

Here’s a delicious stuffed pepper recipe that’s easy to make. Each green bell pepper contains ground beef, onion, tomatoes, rice and bread, and is cooked in tomato soup.

YOU NEED AND HOW TO…….

Part 1

PART 2

MOZZARELA WITH PUMPKIN SEED OIL (from my daughter Didi)

Pumpkin seed oil, Kernöl or Kürbiskernöl in German, today the oil is an important export commodity of Austrian and Slovenian.
Pumpkin seed oil serves as a salad dressing when combined with honey or olive oil.  But the oil is also used for desserts, giving ordinary vanilla icecream an exquisite nutty taste. Using it as a cooking oil, however, destroys its essential fatty acid.

This was prepared by my daughter. She loves it this way with more pumpkin seeds oil. For my part she added onion, vinegar and pepper.

YOU NEED…….

* 2 pcs. Mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes smal ones
* 1 tsp. Salt
* 4 pcs. Tomatoes, cut into cubes
* 3 tbsps. Pumpkin seed oil of any brand

Optional …….this is my version!

* 1 Onoin, thinly sliced
* 1 tbsp. Vinegar
* 1/2 tsp. Pepper

HOW TO…….

SQUASH, ZUCCHINI AND CHICKEN SAUTE

One of my VEGE-CHICKEN dish, I really LOVE vegetables than meat!
I thought the kids woul not love it, but in this case I was wrong. The idea of adding fried horse mackerel helps a lot that they ate the vegetables too.

YOU NEED…….

* 500 g chicken fillet, cut into strip
* 400 g squash, cut into cubes
* 2 pcs.large zucchini, cut into cubes
* 2 pcs. tomatoes, roughly chopped
* 1 largr onion, finely sliced
* half a head garlic, finely chopped
* salt and pepper
* a handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
* 2 to 3 tbsps. olive oil
* 1 tbsp. dried oregano

HOW TO…….

POTATOE ZUCCHINI LOAF

Vegetables are notorious for making cooked food spoil faster but I figured that if kept down to the basics and if the vegetables are cooked as a soup, perhaps, the dish can stay fresh in the fridge for a day or two. I decided to make something new, it has a similarity with burgers. Potatoe-Zucchini Loaf, so what is this all about?
Try this…….it’s vegetable folks!

YOU NEED…….

* 500 g potatoes, boiled peeled and grated
* 300 g zucchini, grated
* 300 g cottage cheese
* 1 whole head garlic minced
* 2 eggs
* salt
* 3 to 4 tbsps. herb
* some flour
* bread crumbs
* 4 cups cooking oil for deep frying

FOR SAUCE:
* sour cream
* mayonnaise

HOW TO…….

TOFU IN CHILI OYSTER SAUCE

Tofu or bean curd, is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu that has been processed in some way. Tofu has very little flavor or smell on its own, so it can be used either in savory or sweet dishes, and is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish.  The production of tofu from soy milk is similar to the production of cheese from milk.  Tofu is low in calories, contains a relatively large amount of iron and contains little fat.

YOU NEED…….

* half a cake Tofu or 4 cubes
* 4 pcs. chilis, hot or not hot
* 2 tbsps. oyster sauce
* half a head garlic, peeled and chopped
* 1 tbsp. chili sauce
* 4 cups cooking oil, for deep frying tofu

HOW TO…….

SAUTEED CHAYOTE (SAYOTE GUISADO)

The chayote, also known as sayote or vegetable pear, is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Although most people are familiar only with the fruit, the root, stem, seeds, and leaves are all edible.

YOU NEED…….

* 3 to 4 pcs. chayote or sayote squash pared, seeded, and sliced
* 3 to 4 tbsps. vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 tomatoes, chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, minced1 1/2 tbsps. patis (fish sauce)
* pepper

HOW TO…….

LAING (TARO LEAVES IN COCONUT CREAM)

The name “taro” is from Tahitian. In the Philippines, taro is called gabi. A popular rendition of the taro is “Laing” which originates from the Bicol region in Southern Luzon. The dish’s main ingredients are taro stem and leaf cooked in coconut milk, salted with fermented shrimp or fish bagoong. It is also heavily spiced with red hot chilis called sili’ng labuyo.

YOU NEED…….

* 2 packs of dried taro leaves, about 200 g
* about 100 g Taro stalks (I added also)
* 1 liter coconut cream or milk
* 100 g pork belly
* 6 pcs. siling Labuyo or bird’s eye chillis, it depends upon your taste!
* 2 tbsps. anchovy sauce (bagoong balayan)
* 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
* 2 thumb-sized ginger cut into sticks or minced
* half a head garlic minced
* 1 big onion sliced

HOW TO…….

“GINISANG TALONG” (Budget recipe SAUTEED EGGPLANT)

One of my favorite vegetable, eggplant sauteed in shrimp paste and with ground meat!
I served this for dinner with fried rice. Just a quick dinner for everybody when my family gets home at night. The 2 kids after a long day school and my hubby after a 10 hours duty from work. Everybody wants to have something warm for stomach as soon as they get back home. Since we had left over rice , I decided just a “ginisang talong” with shrimp paste and ground pork meat for fried rice. It’s so simple as that but the kids said “its very yummm…….” Onother budget recipe of mine!

YOU NEED…….

* 3 pcs. eggplant, peeled and sliced lengthwise and about 1-inch pcs.
* 100 g pork ground meat
* 1 lemon for lemon juice
* 1 onion, sliced
* 1 tomato, sliced thinly
* 2 – 3 tbsps. shrimp paste (baguong alamang)
* 2 tbsps. vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup mineral water (optional)

HOW TO…….

AMPALAYA AT ALAMANG (BITTER GOURD and DRIED TINY SHRIMPS)

TAGALOG VERSION!

“AMPALAYA AT ALAMANG= Isang lutuin na kayang-kaya ng bulsa. Aking inaalay sa kapitbahay na kanyang itinanong sa akin nang kami’y magkita sa pamilihan ng bayan. Siya ay isang masugid na taga subaybay ng aking mga “LUTUING BAHAY” sa youtube. At minsan ako ay nagluto ng kare-kare ang pechay na aking isinahog ay galing sa kanya, sarili niyang tanim sa bakuran. Ayaw ipabanggit ang kanyang pangalan…….para sa aking mabuting kapit bahay…ito na ang kasagutan sayong tanong!
Inaasahan kong makatulong sa iyo ito kahit papaano.”

YOU NEED…….

MGA SANGKAP:
* 3 piraso na maliliit na ampalaya
* 2 itlog
* 1 tasang pinatuyong alamang
* asin at pamienta
* 3 kutsarang mantikang halaman
* 1 sibuyas
* 2 kamatis
* 3 butil na bawang

HOW TO…….

SAUTEED EGGPLANT IN SCRAMBLED EGG

Onother way to get rid of left-over food!
This was the left over from my “Ginisang Talong” or Sauteed Eggplant. To be housewifely again, this was the kids lunch yesterday. Nobody complains about it, I think they liked it. Otherwise there would be some left over again.

YOU NEED…….

* a bowl of left-over sauteed eggplant
* 2 tbsps. vegetable oil
* 5 pcs. eggs, beaten
* powder garlic or fresh ones
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 tbsps. vegetables oil

HOW TO…….

—Heat a pan, while heating beat the eggs wit salt and powder garlic. Smashed the eggplant with spoon.

—Heat the left-over sauted eggplant in a pan with vegetable oil, turning carefully until done to the desired degree.

—Add beaten eggs, cook over lower heat until eggs is done. Serve with rice,

MY PUMPKIN-PINAKBET

Pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae which also includes gourds.

Inspite of their name, winter squash and pumpkins are a warm weather crop, but called winter because they can be stored well into and through the winter. There are four species of winter squash with pumpkin varieties in all them. The difference between winter squash and pumpkins is more culinary than botanical; winter squash have a finer texture and milder flavor, pumpkins have a somewhat coarse, stronger flavor and are generally orange in color. A squash/pumpkin vine can set several fruit before ripening all at the same time.

YOU NEED…….

* 1/4 head of Pumpkin
* about 250 g pork meat
* 12 pcs. Okra
* 8 pcs. small eggplants
* 1 bunch string bean (sitaw)
* 2 pcs. small bitter melon (ampalaya)
* 1 onion, sliced
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 pcs. tomatoes, sliced
* alamang guisado for seasoning (sauted small shrimps) Bottled
* some vegetable oil

HOW TO…….

VEGGIES WITH SOUR CREAM

Oh my gulay! Sour cream instead of coconut cream? Who would’ve thought it would go well with those veggies?

Onother experimental of mine…….I thought I cooked too much and we’d have enough leftovers for dinner. I was wrong!
The kids love it.

YOU NEED…….

Makes 4 servings
* 250 g Pork belly, cut into cubes
* 1/4 head of Squash, cut into cubes
* 15 pcs. small Okra, cut into thirds
* 8-10 pcs. Eggplants, small ones and sliced
* 4 cloves Garlic, crushed and peeled
* 1 Onion, sliced thinly
* 1 pc. Tomatoes, diced
* Fish sauce or patis
* 1 cup of Sour Cream
* 3 tbsps. vegetable oil

HOW TO…….

SAUTEED CABBAGE (BUDGET RECIPE)

Yes, cabbage (REPOLYO) when purchased in season, is both cheap and healthy. It is a great source of both vitamin C and fiber. My family they don’t love much this vegetable. But since school time again, I had to watch our family budget. So for budget recipe, I decided once a week I have to throw something like this on the table. No problem it was all finished!

YOU NEED…….

100 g Ground meat (Pork or Beef)
1/4 head Cabbage
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 red Onion
3 cloves Garlic
1 Tomatoe
2 1/2 tsps. vegetable broth powder or broth cube to taste
3 tbsps. Butter
some Water

HOW TO…….

BUTTERED VEGETABLES

Buttered herb-meaning butter with herbs, I used for sauteing the vegetables in this dish.
This is my side dish for Buttered Pork with Potatoe wedges!

YOU NEED…….

* 50 g Butter Herb
* Salt and Pepper
* 2 tbsps. of Rama Cuilinese
* 2 pcs. medium-sized Zucchini, quartered and sliced
* 250 g Green beans
* 2 pcs. Green bell pepper
* 1 big Carrot

HOW TO…….

SAUTEED GREEN BEANS

Green beans, French beans or runner beans are the unripe fruit of any kind of bean, including the yardlong bean, the hyacinth bean, the winged bean, and especially the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), whose pods are also usually called string beans in the northeastern United States, but can also go by snap beans. Green bean varieties have been bred especially for the fleshiness, flavor, or sweetness of their pods. Haricots verts, French for “green beans,” may refer to a longer, thinner type of green beans than the typical, American green beans.

SAUTEING—is a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking.

YOU NEED…….

* 500 g Green Beans
* 250 g Pork Bellysome Canola oil
* 3 pcs. Tomatoes
* 5 cloves Garlic
* 1 Onion
* Salt and Mammita powder or broth cube

HOW TO…….

CAULIFLOWER

Cauliflower is nutritious, and may be eaten cooked, raw or pickled.  A high intake of cauliflower has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.  Cooking Cauliflower can be roasted, boiled, fried, steamed or eaten raw.  Low carb dieters can use cauliflower as a reasonable substitute for potatoes for while they can produce a similar texture, or mouth feel, they lack the starch of potatoes.

YOU NEED…….

* 1 head Cauliflower
* some bread crumbs
* some water
* some butter
* some salt

HOW TO…….

AMPALAYA OMELETTE (BITTER GOURD OMELETTE)

My version of ampalaya omelette!   It is prepared in various dishes in the Philippines, where it is known as Ampalaya. Ampalaya may also be stir-fried with ground beef and oyster sauce, or with eggs and diced tomatoe.
A very popular dish from the Ilocos region of the Philippines, pinakbet, consists mainly of bitter melon, eggplant, okra, string beans, tomatoes, and other various regional vegetables stewed with a little bagoong-based stock.
The leaves may also be eaten as greens; in the Philippines, they are called “dahon ng ampalaya”.

YOU NEED…….

* 2 pcs. small Ampalaya (Bitter Melon)
* 1 Onion sliced
* pound Garlic
* sliced Tomatoe
* 3 pcs. beaten eggs
* 3 tbsps. olive oil
* salt and pepper

HOW TO…….