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April 28, 2012
It was a long day for us. After hubby’s Chiropractor appointment we drove to San Jose for some important errands. It was a nice drive even though the weather was a little bit warmer than the past few weeks. We stopped by one of the nicest restaurants in San Jose for lunch, Thanks for congress . The food was excellent and delicious. I ate more than I should have. But it was worth it for the money we spent.
April 03, 2012
This is a guest post by Graham Batstone
If you are looking for a dish that looks fancy, fabulous and complicated but is secretly simple to make, you’ve found it with these chicken roll ups. They give off a five star vibe, but they only take about 35 minutes to make and anyone can do it – just don’t tell your guests. To create this delectable dish, you will need 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves , 1 egg , ½ cup of seasoned dry bread crumbs, 4 slices of prosciutto or smoked ham, ½ cup of bottle roasted red bell peppers drained and cut into strips and 1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) of shredded pizza double cheese, divided. Pizza double cheese is simply the perfect mix of mozzarella and cheddar. You can by these separately but a premixed package will help lower the cost of this meal.
The first step to making this dinner, or even appetizer for a larger event, is to flatten your chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap to a 1/4-inch thickness. Set this aside and beat your egg in a shallow dish. Then, place your bread crumbs in an additional shallow dish. Dip your chicken into the egg, then roll in the crumbs, coating lightly. Right now, you should have what looks like a standard chicken cutlet. Place one prosciutto or smoked ham slice over each chicken breast. Next, top each breast with 1/4 cup of cheese and 2 tablespoons of your pepper – then just roll up. Place the seam-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle your chicken with the remaining cheese.
Now all you need to do is bake your roll ups in a preheated 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. It’s that easy, a simple roll before baking a cutlet and some meat and cheese filling truly transforms them from standard to spectacular. If you make these as a main course, pair with some veggies to create a meal that’s both nutritious and delicious. You could always, of course, make smaller versions to serve as hors d’oeuvres.
March 05, 2012
I had some pancakes and some fruit for breakfast. I took this picture using my iphone 4S.
March 01, 2012
I was so finicky about food these fast few days. I just can’t decide what I would like to have. I can’t even figure it out for myself. I’m not in the mood to cook. Last night, hubby drove me at Goldilocks to get something to eat from there. I wasn’t well enough to drive myself. I walked away from Goldilocks with lots of goodies. And that made me happily ever after :-)
February 11, 2012
Not your local Safeway:
(don't forget you click on the picture for a larger view)
Plantains
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Green Tomatoes
Banana Blossoms aka Banana Hearts
Yucca
Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up..YUM!
Little frozen fishies
Steamed Octopus
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Little frozen Octopi?
The light at the end of the tunnel!
January 24, 2012
Just had a most satisfying Wednesday breakfast: white rice, fried eggs, and cooked corned beef. Exactly my kind of comfort food!
January 16, 2012
I stayed up late tonight because my husband has to finish a project for his office. Since I don’t feel sleepy yet, I’m doing some posting. One of my favorite deserts or snacks when I was living in the Philippines is called Benignit. Last month I invited one of my friends to came over to our house. We cooked this recipe and it was delish! Bilo-bilo in Tagalog or Benignit in Visaya. Susan and I tried to convince our husband to try eat even just one spoonful. Susan’s husband had some of the Benignit and he thought it was good.
1 cup glutinous rice flour (known as malagkit, or sweet rice)
1/3 cup water
3 16 oz. cans of coconut milk
3 16 oz. cans of water (use the can of the coconut milk)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 – cup tapioca pearl (sago)
1 lg. Sweet Potato(kamote) - peeled and cut into a bite size
1 lg. Taro (gabi/bisol) - peeled and cut into a bite size or whatever you want to cat it.
2 - Ripe plantain bananas (Saba) - peeled and cut into a serving size
1 – 16 oz can –Jackfruit (langka) - drained and cut into a stripe
1. Mix the malagkit rice flour and water. Add in more water or flour to make into a dough-like consistency.
2. Get a small piece of it and, with your hands, roll into a ball about 1/2-inch in diameter. Repeat until you have used up all of the dough. Set aside.
3. In a big pot, add in all the coconut milk and water. Bring to boil - watch out, this mixture usually boils over.
4. Add the tapioca pearl (sago). Continue to simmer uncovered until there are no more opaque white bits in the middle of the sago pearls (about 20 minutes).
5. Add in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Taste to see if the sweetness is to your liking. If not, add more sugar.
6. Tip in the bilo-bilo (glutinous rice balls) in the pot. Bring to boil again until all the bilo-bilo has floated to the surface.
7. Add the taro, simmer for 3 minutes.
8. Add the sweet potato and banana and simmer for another 4 minutes or until the taro and sweet potato are almost cooked.
9. Add the jackfruit and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
10. Serve hot in a bowl with 1-2 Tbsp of coconut cream on top.
December 12, 2011
A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about Mexican food. I asked hubby if we could have dinner at Chevys Restaurant which is not too far from us. They have authentic Mexican food and the price is only a little bit more then we like to spend. I love their salsa and chips. This is what I had their Mix of Chevys. It was OK, as I expected.
October 31, 2011
Last Saturday I baked the most scrumptious pandesal ever. Even my hubby liked it. Here are some of the pictures.
Before
After
September 22, 2011
One of my favorite recipes to cook for dinner, and also my husband’s favorite dish, is Szechuan Beef. If you guys want to try this recipe it’s listed below. It’s a great-tasting Chinese dish (with rice of course!).
1 lb. top sirloin steak
¼ cup teriyaki sauce
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
1 package (6 oz.) frozen peapods, thawed and drained
10 green onions cut in 1-inch pieces
2-4 Tbl. Szechuan sauce
1/3 cup dry roasted peanut, unsalted
Cut beef in bite-size pieces. Combine with teriyaki sauce, and marinate at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Drain and discard marinade. Spray with a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and stir-fry beef with garlic until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients except peanuts, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peanuts.
A hairy communist bolts.
September 16, 2011
Ingredients
1/2 onion
1 stalk celery, cut into 4 pieces
1 small carrot, cut into 4 pieces
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground veal or turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup whole milk
12 ounces fettuccine
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
Pulse the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and rosemary in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the veal, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, milk, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fettuccine as the label directs. Drain the pasta, then toss with half of the ragu (about 3 cups). Top with parmesan. Reserve the remaining ragu to make stuffed peppers.
September 09, 2011
INGREDIENTS1/2 - 16 oz box (8 oz) Rice Noodles 1 tablespoon oil 1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced 3 cups favorite chopped vegetables 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce, or 1 teaspoon salt 1-13.5 oz can Coconut Milk 1-3.5 oz box Peanut Sauce Mix
DIRECTIONS
1. Soak Rice Noodles according to directions for stir-fry.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, vegetables and Fish Sauce. Sauté 3 minutes.
3. Add Coconut Milk and Peanut Sauce Mix (both inner envelopes). Bring to boil while stirring and boil 3 minutes. Add drained noodles and combine. Stirring, cook until noodles are firm but tender.
September 01, 2011
When you have an upcoming vacation do you plan where you want to eat? What kind of restaurant do you prefer to go to or do you just follow the flow? You know, I would rather have an open mind about food and try different food than eating the same food over and over again. That would be boring to do. Every time my hubby and I go to new place to just getaway we always want to try new food in a different country just like chinese takeaway greenwich. This food it’s so appetizing. If you love pizza this would be the best takeaway food for you. It’s easy to hold and it’s not a messy kind of food.
One thing when you visit some place especially Europe. You really have to have a plan where you want to go for your meals or else you might get lost. Having a plan is a big advantage of going some place for the first time. Not just buying a ticket, you pack your things up and you’re ready to go. I don’t think that’s a good idea! You must have to plan where you want to eat. If you don’t know, here are my suggestions. This restaurant is good for someone who has a long day/travel and doesn’t want to go somewhere else. They just want to hang out in the hotel room. I hear you! I would do the same thing too. The chinese delivery islington.
They are one of the fastest restaurants to deliver your food to your front door. If you want something different chinese delivery fulham is also another option to call for food delivery anywhere in UK. This company is very good at serving their customer with integrity. They have been in business since 2001. They now have more than 15000 restaurants in the country. I just love the quote from their website “We believe in giving you the best takeaway service we possibly can” If you don’t know how to reach them here is the contact number that you can call Helpline: 0844 243 7777 (9am to 2am)
July 15, 2011
This article has very good information about food. So, I htought of psting it here in my blog. I got this article from here.
As a restaurant critic, we--that's the royal, food critic "we"--visit more than 300 restaurants each year. And we still feel that expectant thrill every time we sit down at a new table--the thrill we suspect theater critics feel with every rising curtain. But as wide ranging as our tastes may be, and as sympathetic as we are to the difficulties of the profession, not every fad coursing through Western kitchens is worth celebrating. Here are 10 food trends of 2011 that drive us out of our minds.
1. "Changes and Modifications Politely Declined.": Passive-aggressive, vain-glorious, and thoroughly maddening, this disclaimer, found printed on menus of the sort of edgy small-plates restaurants where the fried pig's ears come with finger lime rémoulade, hits the trifecta of annoyance. And to a degree, we approve of it: In a world where customers feel entitled to ask for the alligator schnitzel with hearts of palm, except made with grouper instead of alligator, avocado instead of hearts of palm, and the Tabasco butter from the crab-leg dish instead of orange honey, it puts the chef back in control. But when it gets to the point where a chef refuses to leave the bacon garnish off a dish for a guest in a hijab, or the door guy of a hamburger joint frisks you for ketchup at the entrance, it has probably gone too far.
> Related: The West's best food towns
2. Sous vide: Chefs love sous vide, a technique that involves vaccum-sealing food in plastic wrap and simmering it at low temperature for long periods of time, the way your great-aunt may have done with her Daisy Seal-a-Meal. There is no waste with sous vide--all the juices stay in the meat or fish--and it is all very scientific. But while in theory it seems like a good idea to cook a lamb loin to a perfect, rosy rare 126°, in practice it means that every bite of your main course is exactly like every other bite of your main course, which is to say bland, bloody, and soft as Soylent Green. Call us old-fashioned, but we like fire.
> Related: How to cook with spice blends
3. Untranslated menus: There is an iPhone app--we've seen it used--that scans a menu or sign in a Chinese restaurant and translates the characters into English. Unfortunately, unless you have mastered the idioms, knowing that a dish is named something like "peony cloud mountain" is probably not going to help you very much. Someday, the technology will be perfected. In the meantime, we'd just like to know about that plate of yu choy sum with Yunnan ham and fava beans.
4. $5 tap water: We commend good-tasting filtered water in restaurants--it is a nice gesture and infinitely better for the ecosystem than bottled water (which future generations may well regard as a symbol of impossible decadence, like ambergris omelets or larks' tongues in aspic). But charging for tap water as if it were the stuff flown in from Fiji is green washing of the worst kind.
5. Bartender overreach: The cocktailian renaissance is a marvelous thing, and we are pleased to be able to order a proper Aviation made with hand-chipped ice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and housemade violet essence. In no way, however, does this enthusiasm constitute an invitation to doctor our nightcaps with curry leaves, flakes of nori, or artfully fried bacon spears.
> Related: Fast & fresh summer drinks
6. Chef overreach: Congratulations, chef. You have managed to lay your hands on a stash of puntarelle, the rare, incredibly labor-intensive chicory shoots that until recently were found nowhere outside of Rome, where they are always served raw, dressed with anchovies. It is not necessary to make a statement by grilling them until they resemble charred radicchio.
7. Tuna surprise: There is no law that a chef memorize every species on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list. But surely we can agree that bluefin tuna is hurtling toward extinction, orange roughy is depleted, shark stocks are plummeting, and Chilean seabass is not dull, but endangered. A chef careless enough to leave vulnerable species on his menu is unlikely to mind his pots with the diligence one might prefer.
> Related: Great sustainable seafood recipes
8. Truffle oil: Real truffles, whether the white ones from Périgord, are miracles of gastronomy. Truffle oil, a wholly synthetic substance that has come no closer to actual truffles than it has to the surface of the moon, is not. Ever smelled the deer musk that hunters like to smear on themselves during rut? Now imagine that on your next $18 plate of pasta.
9. Third-wave coffee: Do we applaud fair-trade, sustainable farmed, shade-grown joe? Sure. Why not? But when we sit down to a cup of coffee in the morning, we are not particularly interested in the blueberry, caramel, or tomato soup nuances a dedicated roaster can coax out of a bean, nor in the intricate ballet of the four-minute pour-over or the Eva Solo flagon. We want coffee that tastes like coffee, and we want it now.
> Related: Cooking with coffee
10. Better living through chemistry: Some people call it molecular gastronomy. Chefs prefer Modernist Cuisine. Whatever its name, although we have seen the best minds of our generation destroyed by the quest for hot ice cream, or for a soft-boiled egg with the yolk on the outside, the effects can be stunning when executed by a master. Still, this in no way accounts for foie gras cotton candy, the Viet-No-Jito, or jellied collard greens that look and taste like drips of hardened Prell.
April 12, 2011
This guest post from Arlene Guthrie
My favorite hobby is cooking. I started cooking for myself at age nine and I have not stopped since. Because I am so in love with food and love trying new things in the kitchen, I am of course intrigued by television shows that have a lot to do with my passion and love of cooking. Hells Kitchen is my favorite prime time competition television show. Whenever the show is on, whether it's a new episode or reruns, I tune into it on my Directtv.
I like everything about the show. I thoroughly enjoy watching the cast members try cooking new things that they never cooked before, especially food items that are on Chef Ramsay's restaura! nt menu. I also enjoy watching the cast members squirm as Chef Ramsay taste-tests their signature dish. Any chef in their right mind wants to impress Gordon Ramsay with their food selection. At times, he likes the dishes and other times, he is disgusted by them. It is amusing to see his reaction.
Nona was the winner of the latest season of Hell's Kitchen and I truly believe she deserved it. I actually aspire to be on this show one day since I am so in love with cooking but I know that I have a long way to go. Until then, I will continue watching it on TV.
My favorite hobby is cooking. I started cooking for myself at age nine and I have not stopped since. Because I am so in love with food and love trying new things in the kitchen, I am of course intrigued by television shows that have a lot to do with my passion and love of cooking. Hells Kitchen is my favorite prime time competition television show. Whenever the show is on, whether it's a new episode or reruns, I tune into it on my Directtv.
I like everything about the show. I thoroughly enjoy watching the cast members try cooking new things that they never cooked before, especially food items that are on Chef Ramsay's restaura! nt menu. I also enjoy watching the cast members squirm as Chef Ramsay taste-tests their signature dish. Any chef in their right mind wants to impress Gordon Ramsay with their food selection. At times, he likes the dishes and other times, he is disgusted by them. It is amusing to see his reaction.
Nona was the winner of the latest season of Hell's Kitchen and I truly believe she deserved it. I actually aspire to be on this show one day since I am so in love with cooking but I know that I have a long way to go. Until then, I will continue watching it on TV.
March 30, 2011
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| I made this scrumptious turkey burger the other day for dinner. It was so good! |
Ingredients
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) Turkey, ground, 93% lean/7% fat, raw
1/3 cup(s) onion(s), chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
2 small tomato(es), ripe, yellow and/or red, thinly sliced
1 cup(s) basil, fresh, leaves, torn or thinly shredded
4 item(s) reduced-calorie hamburger roll(s)
Instructions
Coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray; preheat to medium-high.In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey, onion, garlic, fennel seed, salt and pepper; form into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Coat burgers and inside of rolls with cooking spray.
Grill burgers for 5 minutes; flip burgers and add rolls to grill. Grill open-face rolls until lightly charred, about 1 to 2 minutes; remove to serving plates. Grill burgers until cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
To serve, top grilled rolls with burgers and tomato slices; garnish with basil. Yields 1 burger per serving.
February 21, 2011
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup converted (parboiled, not instant) white rice
1 15-ounce can black beans (not drained or rinsed)
8 thin boneless or bone-in pork chops (2 to 2 3/4 pounds)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Directions
Preheat the broiler. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and cook until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer.
Set aside about half of the tomato sauce mixture in a bowl. Add 3/4 cup more water and the rice to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the beans and their liquid, stir and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, 5 more minutes.
Meanwhile, pierce the pork chops with a fork and rub with the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange on a foil-lined broiler pan. Pour the reserved tomato mixture over the pork chops and turn to coat. Broil, without turning, until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Fluff the rice and beans with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the pork chops and rice and beans among plates and drizzle with the broiler-pan juices.
February 15, 2011
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
Kosher salt
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-fat milk (1%), at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 3-quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the potatoes and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a paste. Cook, stirring, until the paste puffs slightly, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in both milks and simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the nutmeg.
Pour the sauce over the potatoes and gently toss to coat.
Transfer the potato mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the gruyere. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Switch the oven to the broiler setting and broil the potatoes until browned on top, about 5 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
February 12, 2011
You Will Need:
1 1/4 Cups Water
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
Prep: PREHEAT oven to 350°F for metal or glass pans, 325°F for dark or coated pans. GREASE sides and bottom of each pan with shortening. FLOUR lightly. (Use baking cups for cupcakes).
Mix: BLEND dry mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds). BEAT at medium speed for 2 minutes. POUR batter in pans and bake immediately.
Bake: BAKE following chart below. Add 3-5 minutes to bake time for dark or coated pans. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. COOL in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Pan Size / Bake Time:
2 8": 35-38 minutes
2 9": 30-33 minutes
13 x 9-inch: 35-38 minutes
Bundt®: 45-50 minutes
24 Cupcakes: 19-22 minutes
February 09, 2011
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Directions Mix 3 tablespoons melted butter with a pinch of salt and cayenne. Lay out rounds of refrigerated biscuit dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with the butter; top with shredded cheddar and chopped chives. Fold into half-moons and crimp to seal, then bake as the label directs. Brush with more butter. |
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