Im back from hiatus!

 Hello world! Its been a while. I miss doing this and im sorry for being away for too long cause motherhood keeps me busy. Blogging is new to me now. I do hope you can guide me along the way. 

Love

Danes

The baby is now a mother

Hello everyone! i'm back from my hiatus. Just to let everyone knows i am now a mother. Motherhood changes me a lot! it's a 24/7 job and it is priceless. i am getting my pre pregnancy routine and back to blogging world. i'm just enjoying every moment with my baby because time flies surprisingly quickly.

Chinese Dumplings: Potstickers

Kung hei Fat choi!!

I know it’s kind of late but you know it’s better late than never! Lol!

Sorry for the long silence. I was sick lately. But hey don’t worry im recovering now.

Well Christmas is over, New Year, then 3 kings then the traditional Chinese New Year. I am not a Chinese by the way. I just enjoy their culture and their food! It’s so delicious!!

Well last Monday was holiday here due to Chinese New Year. Fortunately hubby brought home a Chinese fried dumpling which was superb! I remember my good friend who loves to cook this food.

I emailed here for the recipe to here I’d like to share it with you guys!

Potstickers are one of the most popular types of Chinese dumplings. This recipe includes a dipping sauce and instructions on making the dough.

Yields about 48 potstickers.

Ingredients:

·         Dumpling Dough

·         2 cups all purpose flour

·         1 cup boiling water

·         Filling:

·         8 ounces celery cabbage (Napa cabbage)

·         3 tsp salt, divided

·         1 pound lean ground pork

·         1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, with tops

·         1 TB white wine

·         1 tsp cornstarch

·         1 tsp sesame oil

·         Dash white pepper

·         Dipping Sauce:

·         1/4 cup soy sauce

·         1 tsp sesame oil

·         Other:

·         2 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:

Cut the cabbage across into thin strips. Mix with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture.

In a large bowl, mix the celery cabbage, pork, green onions, wine, cornstarch, the remaining 1 teaaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and the white pepper.

In a bowl, mix the flour and 1 cup boiling water until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly flour surface about 5 minutes, or until smooth.

Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a roll 12 inches long and cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices.

Roll 1 slice of dough into a 3-inch circle and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of the circle. Lift up the edges of the circle and pinch 5 pleats up to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Pinch the top together. Repeat with the remaining slices of dough and filling.

Heat a wok or nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, tilting the wok to coat the sides. If using a nonstick skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place 12 dumplings in a single layer in the wok and fry 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook 6 to 7 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

To make a dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Serve with the dumplings.

enjoy!

Eggplant Salad (Ensaladang Talong)

This Filipino Eggplant salad takes quite a bit of preparation but it’s well worth the effort. It complements main dishes that are dry like fried pork chops but it is also the companion side dish to the stew dish, puchero.

Filipino Eggplant Salad Ingredients:

•  6 – 8 eggplants
• 3 – 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tsp of salt
•   1  thinly sliced Onions
•  1  diced tomato
• 6 – 8 tsp of spicy vinegar
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• salted Shrimp 

                Note: The amount of garlic and vinegar will depend on personal taste and also on how long you intend to store the salad. The longer it is stored, the stronger the bite of the spicy vinegar and garlic, so you may lessen these ingredients accordingly.

Filipino Eggplant Salad Cooking Instructions:

• Prepare eggplant
• The best way is to grill the washed eggplants over hot coals.
• This brings out a deep taste to the eggplant.
• The second best way is to bake the eggplants in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
• This method produces a drier eggplant which is easier to peel.
• When expedience is of essence, or there are no hot coals available, just boil the eggplant in a big pot for 5 minutes.
• Let the eggplant cool. Peel the skin off, trying to preserve as much of the flesh as possible.
• With a fork, mash the eggplant in a bowl. Stir in the vinegar, garlic, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper
• Top with salted Shrimp 
• Cool for half an hour to optimize flavor before serving.

Note: Spicy vinegar is, ideally, made from coconut and flavored with small red peppers called siling labuyo, slivers of small white onion called sibuyas ilokano, and peppercorns. You may also substitute regular apple cider vinegar or clear distilled vinegar. Also, in my experience, I’ve found that people either LOVE this salad or are indifferent to it. There have been times when I had nothing to eat along with the salad and just ate it with plain hot rice. Be forewarned, though. The garlic smell will taint your breath for several hours after you ingest the salad. If you fall into the category of salad lover, then the garlic breath will be a small price to pay for this gastronomic delight!

Mommy's Roasted Chicken

I know a lot of people are celebrating Thanksgiving now. But as we Filipinos are not celebrating. Too bad. But we should always be thankful for all the blessings. I know Turkey is the main dish during Thanksgiving. Too bad it’s not that widely available in our market. So to mark the festivities my mother prepares a dish for the family last night of course it’s not tukey. But A simple roasted Chicken!

Here’ the ingredients:

·         1 whole chicken.

·         half stick of butter.

·         3  tablespoon soy sauce

·         5 tbsps of garlic, chopped.

·         1 tbsp of oreganoshopping list

·         1 tbsp of basil

·         1 tbsp of rosemary

·         rock salt

·         chicken liver (approx. 9 pieces)

How to make it

·         Pre-heat your oven (or turbo broiler) at 125 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

·         Rub the half stick of butter and the soy sauce all over and inside the chicken.

·         rub the entire chicken with rock salt, including the cavity (quantity of salt depends on your desired saltiness of the chicken)

·         rub the garlic all over the chicken and also on the inside.

·         rub the basil, rosemary and orergano mixture all over the chicken and also inside the chicken cavity.

·         stuff the chicken liver inside the chicken cavity.

·         After pre-heating for 15 minutes, put in the chicken inside the oven or turbo broiler (on top of the elevated grill that comes with the turbo broiler).

·         roast for about an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes. If you are using a turbo broiler, no need to turn the chicken over. To know if your chicken is ready, prick the thigh part and if the fluid running from the thigh is clear, then the chicken is ready.

·         Save the drippings.

·         Cook the drippings with cornstarch, pepper and lemon and serve as dip or sauce for the chicken. Enjoy! Happy Eating and thanksgiving!

E

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Goat Kalderata

Last night was my dad’s birthday. We had a get together with close friends and relatives. One thing that never going to miss during the Food festivities was my Dad’s favourite Kalderatang Kambing (Goat Kalderata). Myuncle  Did the cooking cause i came home late.

Kaldereta Kambing is one of the meat dishes every Filipino has come to love. It is a favorite pulutan and is a requisite during fiestas. You can always find it in the menus of authentic Filipino restaurant or even in “turo-turo” type restaurant.

Estimated preparation and cooking time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Kalderetang Kambing Ingredients:

• 1 kg Goat meat
• 1 can button mushroom, cut into halves
• 2 medium size onion, chopped
• 1/2 head garlic, chopped
• 1 can liver spread
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 pkt. kaldereta mix
• 5-8 peppercorns, crushed
• 2 medium size green/red bell pepper, cut into 1” square
• 2 medium size potato, quartered
• 1 medium size carrots, cut same size as potato
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. vinegar
• 3 siling labuyo
• 3 bay leaf
• salt
• pepper

Kalderetang Kambing Cooking Instructions:

• Marinate goat meat with vinegar, a dash of salt and pepper for 5-10 minutes.
• Bring to boil for 15mins or until desired meat tenderness
• Drain marinate and stir fry meat until color changes to light brown, keep aside.
• In a casserole pan, sauté garlic and onion, add meat and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add soy sauce, tomato sauce and liver spread, stir cook for 3-5 minutes.
• Add 3-4 cups of water, crushed pepper corns and bay leaf simmer for 30 minutes or until meat are tender.
• Add potato, carrots, mushroom siling labuyo and kaldereta mix diluted in 1/2 cup of water, simmer for another 10 minutes or until vegetable are cooked and sauce thickens.
• Add bell pepper, season with salt and cook for another 30 seconds,
• Serve hot with Rice.

Roland's Steak House

I went for a short vacation with my hubby at General Santos City a.k.a Gensan.  It's is the hometown of our own world boxing Champ Cong. Manny Pacquiao and the city is known for its yearly Tuna Festivals which is a hit!. The city has a lot to boost now a days. Quite the hometown of talented Filipino actually to name the few. 

as we toured around the small city, our friend recommended to try out at Roland's Steak house. 

So we had dinner there and their place is quite cozy. Their T-Bone Steak is quite the best seller and the "Big Sunny Burger" should not be missed! 

here's some shots of last night dinner at Roland's Steakhouse.

Be sure u visit them once you are in the Gensan!!!