Egg, more nutritious and delicious

Interested in serving egg in a simple and delicious way? I've found one, inspired by Kopi Roti a Singapore franchise coffee shop. They serve soft-boiled eggs with black soya sauce. Their sauce might be a secret recipe, but I googled and found that it can be substituted with 1 part soy sauce and 1 part molasses. Of course, its good to have the best ingredients you can find. I used Kikkoman premium soy sauce and Brer Rabbit mild molasses. Its not really expensive since I only use 1 teaspoon each, for every egg. Its enough to give it that delicious taste...my sons love it, though I have to work on a better presentation.
Btw, I used only boiling water to cook the egg, the yolk is still soft inside, which we prefer.

Barley Vegetarian Soup

This is definitely a good tasting soup! I wonder why I haven't tried it sooner, I love the taste and texture of barley. Its not locally available though, and I got to try this with the pack of barley from my dear SIL in Australia.

We here at home are into vegetarian soups, which are easy and quick to make, tasty and nutritious. And we can only be sure of this by using mostly fresh ingredients. I only use canned veggies when fresh is not available or the price is too high.
My basic recipe for soup: don't follow a recipe!
Just make sure the following ingredients is in the soup and is fresh: onions, celery stalk, tomatoes, carrots, green or red bell pepper
Optional ingredients: garlic, beans, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, corn, potato, and many more
Seasonings: salt and pepper; (optional) bay leaf, basil

Carabao's Milk goodies!

The other day, my son went on a working fieldtrip to the Philippine Carabao Center in Munoz, Nueva Ecija. Lucky me, he came home with my favorite Kesong Puti (farmer's cheese) and Pastillas, also some Mozarella cheese and pulvoron - all made from carabao's milk.
I didn't have much time to search for recipes and to experiment, so I just made up a simple salad with a simple olive oil dressing. The cheese and tomato really go so well together...yum!

Asparagus Omelet with Tarragon Sauce

I made this based on a recipe from an old Better Homes and Gardens book. As usual I was in a hurry to serve so I took a picture after we already ate some of it ;)

Its so good but seem a bit complicated at first. Its worth another try though, since it passed the test on my two not-so-easy-to-please sons. However, I served it with a fresh veggie salad with Asian dressing which complimented it so well. So I guess on its own it might not be so popular.
Following is the modified recipe from the book:


Asparagus Omelet Tarragon
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces
6 eggs
2 Tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. salt
dash pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
Tarragon Sauce:
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp dry white wine
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (which I substituted for the vinegar)
1 Tbsp butter
3 tsps all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 1/2 cup fresh milk, and 1/2 cup water)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried Tarragon

Make the sauce first.
In a small saucepan cook sliced green onion in butter till tender. Stir in white wine and lemon juice and simmer till liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 5 mins. In another saucepan melt 1 Tbsp butter, blend in flour, then add milk. Cook, stirring constantly, till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, stir in salt and crushed dried tarragon. Return to low heat and slowly stir in onion mixture. Heat through, but do not boil.
Omelet:
Cook asparagus in a small amount of salted water, about 8-10 mins, until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and drain liquid. (Note: I would use this liquid in the sauce, next time)
Slightly beat eggs, water, salt and pepper with fork until blended but not frothy. In 10-inch skillet heat butter till it sizzles and browns slightly. Tilt pan to grease sides. Add egg mixture and cook slowly. Run spatula around edge, lifting egg to allow uncooked portion to flow underneath. Spoon asparagus across center of omelet, top with 1/2 cup of tarragon sauce. Tilt pan to fold omelet and roll onto hot platter. Serve with remaining sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Watermelon, Melon Juice

I have here some slices of watermelon and honeydew melon, for my son who's in a hurry to get to the office. So instead of slicing it up to pieces, I just squeezed them on a citrus juicer and it can instantly be served:

Its delicious and refreshing too! It can also be served with a few ice cubes.

Homemade Roasted Peanuts

Peanuts are popular as snacks or ingredient in some dishes. Most of us love its nutty, delicious taste and crunchy texture, though it is actually a legume and not a true nut. It is usually substituted in dessert and meal dishes that require nuts, since it is much cheaper and more available. What I noticed though, as with most healthy ingredient, manufacturers add sugar, salt, oil, spice and whatever flavoring they think would make it more tasty and addictive! On the contrary, I think the delicious flavor of the nut is lost and you end up unhealthy too because of the additives. I'm so glad I'm able to buy raw shelled nuts in the supermarket. 

It costs a lot less, and I can easily roast it in the toaster and just add a little salt. 

The first time I roasted peanuts in the oven toaster, I used the higher setting of 800W. After just 5 mins. it got burned! 

So I tried again and used the lower setting of 400W, and after 7 mins. it looked just right :) Now I have another healthful snack that I can eat regularly and enjoy.

A handful of naturally prepared peanuts is really much better in taste and has loads of benefits. Here are just some:

Health benefits of Peanuts

• Peanuts are rich in energy and contain many health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.
• These nuts are good source of dietary proteins with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth and optimum health.
• These nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E, alpha tocopherol; contain about 8 g per100 g. vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant which helps maintain the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting from harmful oxygen free radicals.
• Peanuts are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. 100 g of peanuts provide about 85% of RDI ofniacin which contribute to brain health and blood flow to brain.
• The nuts are rich source of minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.
• Just a hand full of peanuts a day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and protein.
  All these - except if you're allergic to peanuts! I don't know anyone who is...but I've read that this condition can be fatal.
• 
  Consequently, if you get all these benefits then you most likely will prevent diseases from taking over your body.

Discovering the wonders of an Induction cooker...

I've been looking at the Induction cookers at the appliance section since more than a year ago. I liked how it looks and know that its an innovative product, but didn't bother to learn what it was all about. The price itself discouraged me. But recently I noticed that the prices of these induction cookers are becoming more affordable. So I decided to go ahead and try this latest improvement in cooking style. Yes, its a style that you need to learn and absorb, but once you get it - you'll find out its so cool and wouldn't get back to your old style ;) Here is a pic of a similar cooker as what I bought:

I'm certain this cooker consumes less electricity compared to regular electric stoves...though I have not computed the savings at home. It also saves a lot of time, since one does not have to wait for it to heat up. The pot or pan will generate heat from the magnetic field generated by electricity. This is also the reason you might have to spend on some new cookware made of stainless steel, as most other materials will not heat up on the induction cooker.
It takes some practice to get used to this "instant" heat and some recipes need to be adjusted a bit. A few dishes would cook better on a regular stove, though. One example is fried egg and omelettes, since it tends to become dry. However, for boiled eggs I get a perfect result just by setting the timer at 7 mins. on medium heat. The water would boil just before the time is up. Then I leave it alone for 10 mins before rinsing in cold water.

More about induction cooking here, or do a Google search.