Happy 4th of July!It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1
Labels:
seafood
I went to our local Filipino store a couple of weeks ago, and upon inspection of their freezers, I saw something that I have been craving for the longest time - fish balls. Now before you pass out due to shock or disgust (or both), it's not what you think. Fish balls are not the balls of a fish (I have yet to see a pair of those). Rather, they are fish meat (and whatnots) shaped into a ball. Kinda like chicken nuggets, but its fish. And as proof, here is the ingredients list:
Fish balls are common street food in the Philippines. I fondly remember my favorite fishball vendor driving around on our street on his bike and sidecar, while we scramble to get loose coins from our mother's purses to buy a stick or two of this delicious treat. Sauces range from the mild sweet variety, to the hot and spicy. And these humble vendors were the first to teach me the "No Double Dipping" rule. Ah, those were the good ole days.
Slotted spoon - my weapon of choice!
So when I saw those fish balls in the frozen section, I grabbed two bags, one supposedly for my lomi soup (which I forgot to add, by the way), and the other for just regular frying. Unfortunately, these fish balls tasted nothing like the ones I used to have, but not in a bad way. They were actually very good (almost like Surimi), but I still miss the taste of regular fish balls (sigh).
Since all I did was dump the balls in hot oil, I will share the recipe for the sweet-hot sauce I made.
What you need:
What to do:
Heat a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add in the vinegar, chili garlic sauce and sugar. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, thin the ketchup by mixing it with 2 tablespoons of water. Add it to the vinegar-sugar mixture.
In another bowl, dissolve the constarch in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Pour it in a thin stream into the sauce pan.
Simmer for another minute, then remove from heat.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. For a hotter sauce, double the amount of chili garlic sauce.
2. Experiment! Use Sambal Oelek or Tabasco instead of the chili garlic. Lemme know the results.
3. If it is too tangy for your taste, add 2 tablespoons of water or more, according to your liking.
1 comments
Fish Balls Sauce
I went to our local Filipino store a couple of weeks ago, and upon inspection of their freezers, I saw something that I have been craving for the longest time - fish balls. Now before you pass out due to shock or disgust (or both), it's not what you think. Fish balls are not the balls of a fish (I have yet to see a pair of those). Rather, they are fish meat (and whatnots) shaped into a ball. Kinda like chicken nuggets, but its fish. And as proof, here is the ingredients list:
Fish balls are common street food in the Philippines. I fondly remember my favorite fishball vendor driving around on our street on his bike and sidecar, while we scramble to get loose coins from our mother's purses to buy a stick or two of this delicious treat. Sauces range from the mild sweet variety, to the hot and spicy. And these humble vendors were the first to teach me the "No Double Dipping" rule. Ah, those were the good ole days.
Slotted spoon - my weapon of choice!So when I saw those fish balls in the frozen section, I grabbed two bags, one supposedly for my lomi soup (which I forgot to add, by the way), and the other for just regular frying. Unfortunately, these fish balls tasted nothing like the ones I used to have, but not in a bad way. They were actually very good (almost like Surimi), but I still miss the taste of regular fish balls (sigh).
Since all I did was dump the balls in hot oil, I will share the recipe for the sweet-hot sauce I made.
What you need:
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon banana ketchup
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons water, divided
What to do:
Heat a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add in the vinegar, chili garlic sauce and sugar. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, thin the ketchup by mixing it with 2 tablespoons of water. Add it to the vinegar-sugar mixture.
In another bowl, dissolve the constarch in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Pour it in a thin stream into the sauce pan.
Simmer for another minute, then remove from heat.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. For a hotter sauce, double the amount of chili garlic sauce.
2. Experiment! Use Sambal Oelek or Tabasco instead of the chili garlic. Lemme know the results.
3. If it is too tangy for your taste, add 2 tablespoons of water or more, according to your liking.
Labels:
bread
1 comments
Semi-Homemade Blueberry Muffins
Since our local grocery store marked down their prices on blueberries, we went crazy and bought four boxes. So what do you do with extra blueberries? Make muffins, of course!
I am not a big fan of making muffins from scratch, especially since some people (e.g. Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, the Pillsbury dough boy) already perfected it and made it easier for non-bakers like me to have delicious muffins from a box. I just added more blueberries for more yumminess.
The can of blueberries that came in the box
Just follow the instructions at the back of the box, and add the rinsed blueberries along with the canned ones. Fold them in gently to avoid smashing the berries.
You need 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil and 2 eggs. Plus the mix and the blueberries ;-) .
The muffin cups are almost full! Without the fresh blueberries, it would be just about 2/3 full. Bake at 400°F for 16 to 21 minutes.
They look like popovers while baking in the oven!
Cool completely before eating! Tempting as it may seem, taking a bite after they just came out of the oven is ill-advised - hot blueberries might will burn your mouth.
Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.
Mmmm... delicious blueberry juice oozing out of the muffin.
I am not a big fan of making muffins from scratch, especially since some people (e.g. Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, the Pillsbury dough boy) already perfected it and made it easier for non-bakers like me to have delicious muffins from a box. I just added more blueberries for more yumminess.
The can of blueberries that came in the box
You need 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil and 2 eggs. Plus the mix and the blueberries ;-) .
The muffin cups are almost full! Without the fresh blueberries, it would be just about 2/3 full. Bake at 400°F for 16 to 21 minutes.
They look like popovers while baking in the oven!
Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.
Mmmm... delicious blueberry juice oozing out of the muffin.
Labels:
bread
Just add fruit!
We love French Toast for breakfast, especially since it is very easy to make, and we always have leftover bread around the house. Add fruit and a hot cup of joe... perfect!
What you need:
What to do:
Lightly whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon and sugar in a shallow baking pan. Make sure the cinnamon is distributed evenly.
Place a flat-bottomed pan or skillet over medium heat. Grease it with a thin coat of butter or non-stick spray. Dip the bread on the egg-milk mixture for a few seconds to let the bread to absorb the liquid. Flip to coat the other side.
Transfer bread slices to the pan and wait a minute or two before turning. Remove from heat and serve with butter and syrup.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Any kind of sliced bread will do, but Texas Toast is recommended as it could absorb more liquid (more yumminess).
2. Substitute sugar with honey for a deeper sweet taste.
4
comments
Easy French Toast
Just add fruit!We love French Toast for breakfast, especially since it is very easy to make, and we always have leftover bread around the house. Add fruit and a hot cup of joe... perfect!
What you need:
- 2 to 3 slices of bread
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- butter or non-stick spray
- syrup
What to do:
Lightly whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon and sugar in a shallow baking pan. Make sure the cinnamon is distributed evenly.
Place a flat-bottomed pan or skillet over medium heat. Grease it with a thin coat of butter or non-stick spray. Dip the bread on the egg-milk mixture for a few seconds to let the bread to absorb the liquid. Flip to coat the other side.
Transfer bread slices to the pan and wait a minute or two before turning. Remove from heat and serve with butter and syrup.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Any kind of sliced bread will do, but Texas Toast is recommended as it could absorb more liquid (more yumminess).
2. Substitute sugar with honey for a deeper sweet taste.
Labels:
dessert
Look for the crushed raspberry!
There's really no recipe for this fruit bowl. I just gathered some fruits and tossed them in an empty half of a cantaloupe skin. It's delicious and refreshing. And so healthy for you, too.
What you need:
What to do:
Wash the grapes and strawberries. Remove the top part of the strawberries and cut the them in quarters. Set aside. Slice the cantaloupe in half and save the skin for use as a bowl later. Cut the cantaloupe, watermelon, and pineapple in bite-size pieces.
Toss all of the fruits in the empty cantaloupe skin and add a tablespoon or two of the syrup from the mandarin orange can. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and enjoy.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Add any fruit you want. It is a free for all.
2. Instead of the syrup from the oranges, try using orange juice or raspberry syrup. The raspberry syrup worked well for me when I tried it. ;-)
3. Raspberries will stain your counters (and clothes)! Eat like a princess. (Hahaha)
2
comments
Fruit Bowl
Look for the crushed raspberry!There's really no recipe for this fruit bowl. I just gathered some fruits and tossed them in an empty half of a cantaloupe skin. It's delicious and refreshing. And so healthy for you, too.
What you need:
- red grapes
- green grapes
- cantaloupe
- watermelon
- raspberries
- strawberries
- pineapple
- mandarin oranges (in syrup, canned)
What to do:
Wash the grapes and strawberries. Remove the top part of the strawberries and cut the them in quarters. Set aside. Slice the cantaloupe in half and save the skin for use as a bowl later. Cut the cantaloupe, watermelon, and pineapple in bite-size pieces.
Toss all of the fruits in the empty cantaloupe skin and add a tablespoon or two of the syrup from the mandarin orange can. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and enjoy.
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Add any fruit you want. It is a free for all.
2. Instead of the syrup from the oranges, try using orange juice or raspberry syrup. The raspberry syrup worked well for me when I tried it. ;-)
3. Raspberries will stain your counters (and clothes)! Eat like a princess. (Hahaha)
Labels:
noodles,
soup
I cooked this Lomi Soup on a hot summer day (which I think was weird) but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Despite the lack of traditional ingredients, it still tasted so yummy. I used tapioca vermicelli (the fat kind) because I couldn't find lomi noodles in our local Asian store.
What you need:
What to do:
Boil the chicken breasts for about 20 minutes, then let cool. Set aside the broth. Once the boiled chicken is cool enough to touch, shred or pull it.
In a pot over medium-high heat, saute the garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and chicken, and once it boils again, add the noodles. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.
Season with patis (or salt) and pepper according to your taste. Remove from heat and pour in the beaten eggs in a thin stream while stirring. Add the sesame oil. Serve in bowls and garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Traditional lomi has cabbage, que-kiam, and pork livers.
2. Add other veggies like snow peas or celery.
3. Next time I make this, I will add hard boiled eggs and fried garlic as garnish. Mmmm.
6
comments
Lomi Soup
I cooked this Lomi Soup on a hot summer day (which I think was weird) but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Despite the lack of traditional ingredients, it still tasted so yummy. I used tapioca vermicelli (the fat kind) because I couldn't find lomi noodles in our local Asian store.
What you need:
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced in matchsticks
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 medium-sized onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- dash of ground pepper
- patis or salt, to taste
- 3 stalks of green onion (for garnish)
What to do:
Boil the chicken breasts for about 20 minutes, then let cool. Set aside the broth. Once the boiled chicken is cool enough to touch, shred or pull it.
In a pot over medium-high heat, saute the garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and chicken, and once it boils again, add the noodles. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.
Season with patis (or salt) and pepper according to your taste. Remove from heat and pour in the beaten eggs in a thin stream while stirring. Add the sesame oil. Serve in bowls and garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:
1. Traditional lomi has cabbage, que-kiam, and pork livers.
2. Add other veggies like snow peas or celery.
3. Next time I make this, I will add hard boiled eggs and fried garlic as garnish. Mmmm.
Labels:
people
Mr. Ron Yeater
I had the chance to meet and talk to Mr. Ron Yeater up close and personal today during his visit to our church activity . He is a regular speaker in our weekly Chapel in school, and he is also an animal lover. He brought some of his "exotic" animals to our summer program in Church, and the kids just loved it.
What I liked most about it is how Mr. Yeater told the kids that all animals, even the weirdest-looking or the most exotic ones are created by God and each and every one of them is special.
Mr. Yeater and his 2-year old gator (notice the gator's taped mouth)
He brought a milk snake which scared me at first because I thought it was a coral snake, but he quickly let us know the difference - the non-venomous milk snake has black alternating bands, while the deadly coral snake has yellow alternating ones. After getting home and reading more about it, I found this rhyme that would help me remember which snakes to avoid - "Red next to yellow will kill a fellow, red next to black venom lack."
I spy a snake skin by the barn
Going back to Creation Critters, here are some of the animals that he brought (all of them are non-venomous, though):
Bearded Dragon
Albino Hedgehog
Hairless Rat
Spotted Gecko
At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. God knew what he was doing when he gave the turtle a hard shell, or the hedgehog its prickly spines. Weird as they might seem, these critters are all loved by God, so we should take care of them.
Mr. Yeater and his python
Visit Mr. Yeater's site at www.creationcritters.com.
And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. -Genesis 1:31
Photo credits: www.artofmanliness.com
www.reptilesweb.com
www.creationcritters.com
3
comments
Creation Critters with Mr. Ron Yeater
Mr. Ron YeaterI had the chance to meet and talk to Mr. Ron Yeater up close and personal today during his visit to our church activity . He is a regular speaker in our weekly Chapel in school, and he is also an animal lover. He brought some of his "exotic" animals to our summer program in Church, and the kids just loved it.
What I liked most about it is how Mr. Yeater told the kids that all animals, even the weirdest-looking or the most exotic ones are created by God and each and every one of them is special.
Mr. Yeater and his 2-year old gator (notice the gator's taped mouth)He brought a milk snake which scared me at first because I thought it was a coral snake, but he quickly let us know the difference - the non-venomous milk snake has black alternating bands, while the deadly coral snake has yellow alternating ones. After getting home and reading more about it, I found this rhyme that would help me remember which snakes to avoid - "Red next to yellow will kill a fellow, red next to black venom lack."
Milk Snake and Coral Snake
Should you wonder why I am keen on learning about snakes, it is because I know for a fact that we have a black racer snake lurking in our garden, which is fine by me since these snakes are non-venomous and helps control the rodent/frog/insect population in that area. Once I was walking in our garden and noticed a black hose on the ground (which made me wonder since most of our hoses are green), but the "hose" slithered away before I had the chance to grab it (thank goodness!). Son also saw some snake skin shedding by our barn so I am hoping that it belongs to our snake friend and not from some other venomous type.
I spy a snake skin by the barnGoing back to Creation Critters, here are some of the animals that he brought (all of them are non-venomous, though):
Bearded Dragon
Albino Hedgehog
Hairless Rat
Spotted GeckoAt the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. God knew what he was doing when he gave the turtle a hard shell, or the hedgehog its prickly spines. Weird as they might seem, these critters are all loved by God, so we should take care of them.
Mr. Yeater and his pythonVisit Mr. Yeater's site at www.creationcritters.com.
And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. -Genesis 1:31
Photo credits: www.artofmanliness.com
www.reptilesweb.com
www.creationcritters.com
Labels:
restaurant
3
comments
The Lebanese Taverna
In search of a good meal, we tried this restaurant called "Lebanese Taverna." The menu looked good, the place seemed authentic, and it wasn't that crowded (at least when we got there) so we decided to give it a go.
Hubby loves Lebanese food, and we have a regular place that we go to, so I was excited to see how this taverna would match up to our favorite Lebanese place.
Traditional Mezza
The menu looked impressive, and we wanted to have a bit of everything, so hubby ordered Traditional Mezza which is a sampling of hommous, tabouleh, grape leaves, falafel, m'saka, baba ghanouge, lubieh bel zeit, sambousik, and kibbeh. In case you are wondering, "mezza" is appetizer in Arabic.
I ordered my favorite - a dinner portion of Shawarma, which is marinated lamb and beef roasted slowly on a rotisserie, served with tahini sauce, lettuce, tomato, and rice.
Modern Baklawa
For dessert, hubby ordered Baklawa and I ordered a traditional Arabic dessert called Um Ali.
Warm and yummy um ali!
What I liked:
- Very authentic. Even the servers were Lebanese. And they were very knowledgeable about the menu (I asked how they cooked the rice and she told me all about it).
- The food looked good. They didn't seem to be trying to be fancy or anything, they just prepared the food in a very simple yet appetizing manner.
- The sambousik (meat pie) and falafel were exceptionally delicious. In fact, they were my favorites of the meal.
- The rice was cooked perfectly, with a distinct taste that I really loved.
- The desserts were scrumptious! They were traditional, and yet prepared with a modern twist. The baklawa was rolled like a cannoli, and was served with a drizzle of raspberry sauce and a scoop of ice cream.
- The um ali was warm with decadent topping, and was served with pistacchio ice cream, crushed pine nuts and pistacchio nuts.
- Prices were a bit on the expensive side, but not unreasonable. Remember, you get what you pay for.
- All in all, the food was great!
What I didn't like:
- There was only 1 grape leaf on the platter.
- The baba ganouge is a little bit tangy for my taste.
- I ordered small rack of lamb from the menu, but they were out. :-(
The verdict:
If you are looking for authentic Lebanese cuisine, The Lebanese Taverna is a must. The service is good, the place is neat, and the food is excellent. Would I recommend it to friends? Yes. Oui. Si. Absolutely! Would I come back and eat there again? In a heartbeat.
Hubby loves Lebanese food, and we have a regular place that we go to, so I was excited to see how this taverna would match up to our favorite Lebanese place.
Traditional MezzaThe menu looked impressive, and we wanted to have a bit of everything, so hubby ordered Traditional Mezza which is a sampling of hommous, tabouleh, grape leaves, falafel, m'saka, baba ghanouge, lubieh bel zeit, sambousik, and kibbeh. In case you are wondering, "mezza" is appetizer in Arabic.
This Shawarma dish blew me off!
I ordered my favorite - a dinner portion of Shawarma, which is marinated lamb and beef roasted slowly on a rotisserie, served with tahini sauce, lettuce, tomato, and rice.
Modern BaklawaFor dessert, hubby ordered Baklawa and I ordered a traditional Arabic dessert called Um Ali.
Warm and yummy um ali!What I liked:
- Very authentic. Even the servers were Lebanese. And they were very knowledgeable about the menu (I asked how they cooked the rice and she told me all about it).
- The food looked good. They didn't seem to be trying to be fancy or anything, they just prepared the food in a very simple yet appetizing manner.
- The sambousik (meat pie) and falafel were exceptionally delicious. In fact, they were my favorites of the meal.
- The rice was cooked perfectly, with a distinct taste that I really loved.
- The desserts were scrumptious! They were traditional, and yet prepared with a modern twist. The baklawa was rolled like a cannoli, and was served with a drizzle of raspberry sauce and a scoop of ice cream.
- The um ali was warm with decadent topping, and was served with pistacchio ice cream, crushed pine nuts and pistacchio nuts.
- Prices were a bit on the expensive side, but not unreasonable. Remember, you get what you pay for.
- All in all, the food was great!
What I didn't like:
- There was only 1 grape leaf on the platter.
- The baba ganouge is a little bit tangy for my taste.
- I ordered small rack of lamb from the menu, but they were out. :-(
The verdict:
If you are looking for authentic Lebanese cuisine, The Lebanese Taverna is a must. The service is good, the place is neat, and the food is excellent. Would I recommend it to friends? Yes. Oui. Si. Absolutely! Would I come back and eat there again? In a heartbeat.
Labels:
funnies
Oh man!!! I really wanted to show off my diving skills on that 0 inch part of the pool!
Hubby said that this is the most well-placed diving sign ever.
2
comments
No Diving Please!
Oh man!!! I really wanted to show off my diving skills on that 0 inch part of the pool!
Hubby said that this is the most well-placed diving sign ever.
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