That's it, Pancit! My Take on Pancit Cabagan

I have always enjoyed Pancit Cabagan. Though I have eaten this many times, I wasn't really familiar with its origin. The name makes me think of kabag, the Filipino term for stomach gas, which constantly afflicted me when I was a baby. This meant incessant bouts of crying, leading my Lola to think there was something wrong with me, and prompting her to bring me to an albularyo (faith healer). It turns out, Cabagan is a town in Isabela where this noodle dish originates.

My Pancit Cabagan

There is a store near our home that sells Pancit Cabagan, but the foodie in me wanted to try it in my own kitchen. This way, I can control how much of each ingredient goes into the dish. I also wanted an excuse to bring out my Minnie Mouse chopsticks.

Tilapia En Papillote

Sounds fancy, no?

But when you learn that en papillote simply means in foil/in parchment, then it seems less sophisticated. This method of cooking entails placing the food in a pouch and then baking it.

Tilapia en papillote

At home, tilapia is most often fried. But this is such a pedestrian way to cook this fish. I tried baking it once, simply placing them on a baking sheet. The result was dried out fish.

Caramel Popcorn

My uncle in New Jersey sent a Balikbayan Box loaded with candies, snacks and chips. One such item that made its way to us was a box of popcorn.

On Friday, my sister sent me a text message saying she was lent a DVD of the movie Serendipity. So, it was movie night and it was time to bring out the popcorn.

Celebrations by Sharon - Party Cupcake Mix

There is no shame in using a baking mix especially if one cannot think of a recipe off the top of her head is pressed for time.

 

I was doing the groceries this afternoon and remembered 2 friends were stopping by. They were celebrating their birthdays and I wanted to bake them something for the occasion. I was browsing the grocery's baking aisle and figured I would use a baking mix. There were many choices, from the internationally renowned Betty Crocker to Magic Time and even the local Maya line. But I chose to go with the "Celebrations by Sharon" mixes. I was drawn to the boxes (I'm weird that way...)

Talk about visual appeal!

Chicken Shepherd's Pie

I have to say that I love potatoes. Whether it's french fries or mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, I just love them. When I was younger, I heard that consumption of potatoes contributes to an ample bust. Nowadays, I share this tidbit with everyone else, adding that if you stuff your bra with a potato, you will indeed get that decolletage you are dreaming of. LOL.

Avocado Pie

What do you do when you have just one avocado, and a household of 9 who each wants a taste? You make avocado pie!

Following the fiasco of my bitter avocado ice cream, I had to make sure my next avocado endeavor did not turn out the same way. I know I shouldn't cook the avocado, so this dessert is chilled.

Goodbye, Django

I'm going a little bit off topic today.

Our black labrador retriever, Django of BJ Blues, passed away this morning. He lived for 11 years, 4 months and 2 days.

When we first got him, he was already a year old and was huge. For a family who has never had dogs, we were unprepared. Add to that the fact that he came with another labrador retriever, a yellow female, Makena of Shambala.

They loved popping bubbles with their mouths. They loved chasing the light shone by flashlights, trying to bite it. They chewed on slippers and anything they could get their paws on.

A few years later, Macky became sick. Whenever she would cry in pain, Django would whimper in sympathy. It was like he wanted to comfort Macky. On November 1, in 2004, Macky had to be put to sleep.

Django still remained a bundle of energy, even as he aged. He still chewed on everything he can. He was a big dog and when he'd offer me his front paws and stand on his hind legs, he was as tall as I was. And as he grew older, I found he had graying hair.

Once, as I was heading to school, I was wearing a white shirt. He had just been bathed so I was trying to make a quick getaway to avoid being splashed on with water. When he saw me, he jumped on me. I had very distinct paw prints on my shirt, smack-dab on the chest. I had to change but I couldn't get mad. How could I when he was just trying to show some love?

I will miss you, Django. Tell Macky I miss her, too.

Cinnamon Rolls

What is your favorite smell?

I absolutely love the smell of warm cinnamon rolls. When I take them out of the oven, I love it when its scent wafts throughout the entire house.

Cinnamon is also one of my favorite spices. Whether it is paired with apples in Apple Pie, or added to the sugar Snickerdoodles are rolled in, it's always an interesting flavor.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

I was thinking of what to make for dinner and I wanted to avoid a repeat of the past dinners. We had Grilled Liempo last night and Beef Pochero the night before that, so I knew it was time for chicken! Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of my favorite chicken recipes. It is full-flavored but really simple to make.

I am partial to the thigh as the best part of the chicken. For me, it is the most flavorful. At home, almost every one else seems to thinks so too. So whenever we cook an entire chicken, it is always a mad dash to get the thigh. So when I decided to make Hainanese Chicken for dinner, instead of the whole chicken that's often used, I chose the thighs. I figured I can please the entire family, as well as cut the cooking time.

The Case of the Bitter Avocado

A couple of days ago, my dad brought home avocados. We love slicing them up and mixing them with powdered milk and sugar for an easy dessert. 

This time, I decided I would take it a bit further and figured I would make Avocado Ice Cream. I had frozen leftover yolks and figured this would be the perfect time to use them. I made an ice cream base with cream, milk, sugar and yolks and added to that the slightly mashed avocados. I cooked everything on top of a double boiler.

Brazo de Mercedes

Brazo de Mercedes is my favorite cake. I love the sweetness of the custard and the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of the meringue roll. I learned how to make this at a Cake Decorating class, and I knew I just had to try this at home for my family.

I took photos of practically every step and they're quite easy to follow, so you'll have no excuse not to make these.

Cocoa Macaroons

Sometimes, I feel like making dessert out of what I have on hand. It's a way to stretch my imagination and discover new tastes that can become new favorites.

For Father's Day, I wanted to make something sweet that my dad will enjoy. So I checked out the fridge and the kitchen cabinets for ingredients I can use. I found shredded coconut (courtesy of my Tita Malou, who also loves to cook) and decided I would make macaroons.

Steamed Whole Chicken for Dad

Tomorrow is Father's Day. My dad doesn't really cook, but he enjoys food nonetheless.

I was browsing through old photos and found pictures of my dad on Father's Day a couple of years back. I made Steamed Chicken for dinner. Not only is this delicious, it's easy to make as well. You can leave the chicken to steam while you do something else. You don't have to watch it too much as it cooks. Yummy and fuss-free!

Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

Marshmallows are so much fun to eat. Whenever I pop one into my mouth, I feel like a child. I just love the texture of the marshmallow.

There are many variations of this loved snack: minis, chocolate covered, and even jelly-filled.

And who knew they were easy to make? Here's a grown-up version of the beloved treat:

Sagada in Food

Last January, I went to Sagada with several of my friends. Travel was a pain in the butt, literally! To get to Sagada, we had to ride a bus to Baguio (which took almost 6 hours from Quezon City) and from there, we had to take a bus again to reach Sagada. The bus ride to Sagada took another 6 hours and was quite dizzying as the road was almost always a zigzag.

View from the road to Sagada

When we reached Sagada, however, all the trouble of getting there was worth it. It is a beautiful place with very hospitable people. Except for a guide who tried to rip us off with sky-high tour prices (we went with a different guide, don't worry), everything went well.

Chicken Tinola

It's been raining for the past two days and it seems an attack of the cold virus is impending.

The cold weather was an excuse to whip up a batch of good ol' Tinola (for those unfamiliar with it, this would be Filipino Chicken Stew) for dinner.

I know this isn't exactly a new recipe (at least for us Filipinos) but I wanted to explore the nutritional benefit of this humble meal. In the US, chicken soup is considered a remedy for when you have colds, so I figured Tinola wouldn't be much different. So I went online and delved into what I could on the health benefits of the ingredients in Tinola. Here's what I found:

Pasta Chorizo Aglio Olio

A few days ago, a friend of his gave my dad some Spanish Chorizo. From the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew it was destined to be with loads of garlic and pasta. And when my mom tasked me to do the groceries, I knew it was kismet.


So I bought some linguine, cheese and parsley (I already had olive oil and garlic on hand). I also went to the Bread aisle and bought some Pesto Rolls (It was already 5 PM and I didn't have time to make bread from scratch in time for dinner. LOL). I got McRAF Whole Wheat Pesto Rolls and my sister Esther toasted them for a few minutes on a sandwich maker. They're amazing!

My First Blog Entry :)

Yay for my first post!


I've been meaning to blog for so long but was a little nervous as to how to go about it. I wanted to write about something I won't forget about eventually, so I figured I'll start writing about my food adventures.