Cold brew coffee - try it at home!

Barako coffee

It is somewhat of a new trend in making coffee...so even if I'm not an avid coffee drinker I thought, why not try it?... I googled how to cold brew coffee and it is as simple as it sounds...because you don't need a coffee-maker! No particular tool is needed, only some patience in preparing and waiting to drink the first cup that you made. Now if you're going to drink it regularly, you can make a big jar of cold brew coffee, good for consuming within a week.You just need to prepare in advance, then you can relax and enjoy your coffee!
For a quicker version, omit grinding beans - buy (preferably coarse) ground coffee. At the supermarket, I chose Barako, a specialty coffee from Batangas, Philippines. (It is the more affordable coffee too, since the imported ones are pricey.)
Simple steps: Measure 1 liter of purified water, put 1/2 cup of ground coffee, stir, cover and refrigerate for 24 hrs. The next day, strain at least twice to get only the liquid coffee (I used a juice strainer first, and then a disposable coffee filter. You can keep the brewed coffee for up to a month in the fridge. You can drink it warm or cold, just add ice or add some water and warm it.

How did it taste? I'm not much into coffee, but I like it! it has no bitter taste and even has a slight sweetness. I shouldn't be drinking more than a half-cup of coffee since I tend to have stomach trouble...but I think drinking coffee does stimulate the mind and makes one feel more energetic, so a little coffee a day is good.

Freshest Fresh Buko!

Some fresh buko stalls/stores out there are selling coconut juice and meat that aren't the freshest possible. Some have bottled the juice and chilled them to last a few days. Then they add a few strips of meat that was already prepared in advance. Buy coconut in its original form and you're sure its fresh! Its the cheapest this way, and you're assured of the best nutrients and cleanest product from the best source - nature!

A few years ago, I posted about coconuts here. The coconuts used to be P25. each (in the city), now its P35. each. But its still much cheaper than buying it in commercial stalls or ordering it from restaurants.
I buy coconut at a neighborhood street vendor, he already knows that I want the young coconut, with the outer shell chopped, but with the meat and juice still intact. I take it home and chop it open myself, to make sure its perfectly clean.
Each coconut is good for two servings.

I heart cardamom pods!

I have just discovered cardamom pods as a spice, and for aromatherapy. The smell of it really makes me smile :)

Cardamom pods

Tesco grocery items at SM Hypermart!

I usually get excited at seeing new international products at the supermarket...mostly because I am looking for healthy ingredients and treats to add to my favorites. I am glad that SM now has some products from Tesco, UK. I was delighted to see among the spices there, cardamom pods! I have been seeing it in recipes, but don't know what it is so I decided to try. When I opened the bottle and took a sniff, it was a heavenly scent! Then I tried using it in soups and fried rice, it added a very nice citrusy and minty taste.

I will be posting some more products as I try them. :)

7 Foods Rich in Iodine

Healthy no-fuss breakfast

When I'm lazy to make anything else, and I want to make sure I have a nutritious breakfast...this is what I usually prepare:

Breakfast

Half an orange, and half a mango, sliced
A cup of herbal tea
A cup of quick-cooked oatmeal flavored with cocoa and topped with crushed nuts Quick and yummy!

Eating Jackfruit seeds...

I guess it isn't as common here as it is in Thai or Indian food, to include jackfruit seeds in some dishes...
I prefer eating the boiled seeds on its own.

Last week we had one ripe jackfruit from our tree...it is not so big like what I usually see for sale. I wasn't able to tell our helper to save the seeds, so she threw it away :(

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Sounds like an exotic dish...this is really simple to make. Its 2 hrs before lunch, and I'm quite hungry, so I thought a chunky soup would be just right...

I had leftover steamed black rice, which I didn't really like as substitute for white rice for lunch or dinner, since it was quite dense and heavy on the stomach. So its a good idea to cook it again in a soup. I saw a recipe before using wild rice in a mushroom soup...this is what I came up with.

The fresh shitake mushroom is sometimes expensive, but this time I bought it at S&R, it really doesn't cost much per piece. I only used one big shitake, since I'm making only 1 serving of soup.

I also love spinach and its cheap this time of the year. One pack goes a long way...

So yummy and filling!

Sweet potato dessert from scratch

I had leftover boiled sweet potato, and thought to make something different for dessert. Sometimes I am just in the mood to experiment, knowing that it can't go wrong with the basic ingredients put together. And I don't really want to spend that much time in the kitchen. I just want to eat.
For today, I thought the sweet potato had the right consistency for baking, so I added butter, brown sugar, an eggyolk, vanilla and some rye flour and pancake mix (gluten-free).
I didn't want to use a bigger tray, to save on washing it later...and I didn't make bite size cookies, to save time, and since its all for me anyways...

It actually turned out like cake...or more like a muffin that needed an icing. I should have baked it in small muffin tins...and added some raisins (or dates) and some nuts for a healthy treat ;)

How the food giants hooked us...

In the UK over 60 per cent of adults and 30 per cent of children are overweight, while the United States remains the most obese country in the world. We are hooked on salt, sugar and fat. These three simple ingredients are used by the major food companies to achieve the greatest allure for the lowest possible cost. Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss exposes the practices of some of the most recognisable (and profitable) companies and brands of the last half century. He takes us inside the labs where food scientists use cutting-edge technology to calculate the 'bliss point' of sugary drinks. He unearths marketing campaigns designed - in a technique adapted from the tobacco industry - to redirect concerns about the health risks of their products, and reveals how the makers of processed foods have chosen, time and again, to increase consumption and profits, while gambling with our health.

Read all about it in this New York Bestseller book.

One eggwhite for dessert!

I'm trying this one eggwhite meringue for the 2nd time...not knowing what else to do with the fresh eggwhite left...since I prefer to use only the eggyolk when I'm cooking fried rice for myself.

The first time it looked like this, I didn't even put it in a proper baking tin.
\

This time I used a stainless measuring cup to bake and I just estimated the oven temperature setting. It doesn't matter much how it looks, as long as its yummy, but I was pleasantly surprised when I peeked in the toaster oven and saw this:

The cup was only 3/4 full before baking, and I guess all went right because it looks good. And btw, I had to ask the Pastry chef in the house (my brother's partner), what to put in if I don't have cream of tartar. She said about 1/4 tsp. of vinegar, and also the white sugar should be about the same weight as the eggwhite (about 2 Tbsp...)

One-eggwhite meringue

It shrunk down after baking though, and was slightly undercooked in the middle...but I still enjoyed it. Hope I don't get a toothache or a headache after consuming the white sugar :p

Alukon or Himbabao vegetarian dish

Would you eat this? This is actually a very tasty veggie dish - one of my favorites! Most Pinoys would eat this with fried fish, but I'd rather eat and enjoy it only with rice. The worm-like green vegetable is actually the flower spikes of the Himbabao tree. It is usually called alukon, but has different names among different provinces. It is suitable for most dishes especially good with other native vegetables. It taste like leafy greens with a certain woody taste.

Eating healthier...

Its not so hard to shift to a healthier diet, if you really want to...you will get to like it, if you persist ;)

photo credit: the bridge via photopin cc

My suggested plan is simple. First you must buy more fresh produce - even supermarkets have them ;) Buy the freshest, shiniest and most colorful fruits and vegetables. Buy those grown locally and are in season, if you are on a tight budget.
Then make sure you eat fruits right. Eat fruits on an empty stomach, eat fruits fresh - unprocessed, uncooked is best. You can juice it or mash it, but eat at once and do not store to keep all nutrients intact.
Eat salads or cook the veggies, but don't overcook it.
If you like meat, buy fresh meat and avoid processed meats.
You can still eat what you used to eat, but after weeks of regularly eating good food, your taste buds will function better and develop a certain dislike for processed foods.
And btw, instead of going to the sari-sari store to buy Coke, go to the buko stand across the street and buy fresh buko!

photo credit: Albert Freeman via photopin cc

Easy Pinoy Style Hummus

This is an easier recipe since it doesn't call for Tahini paste, which I haven't found anywhere. The main ingredient is garbanzos, and I've found the best local canned garbanzos brand is Gina. (I also buy their canned green peas and its also good!). You may also substitute calamansi juice for the lemon (I've tried it and didn't notice much difference in taste.) For the oil, you may use corn oil.
I used to make this in a blender, then I tried mashing and blending it using fork and spoon, and its just as good...besides, I hate messy clean-ups :p
As for peeling the skin off the garbanzos, its optional. I usually don't since I'm in a hurry, and I like the added fiber. I don't notice a difference in taste and don't mind if the texture is not so creamy.

Easy Pinoy Style Hummus

Ingredients:
1 can (about 1 cup) garbanzos (Gina or Ram brand), drained and mashed with fork (reserve some of the liquid to add to the mixture if you like it creamier)
4-6 T Extra-virgin Olive Oil (you may use more liquid and lesser oil)
2-3 T Lemon juice or calamansi juice
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp. sea salt, ground
dash of paprika
olives, for topping

Procedure:
Add all the ingredients (except paprika and olives) to the mashed garbanzos. Put in a blender and blend until smooth, adding more liquid or adjusting seasonings as desired. Transfer to a small bowl.
Serve with a dash of paprika, some olives and a drizzle of olive oil.
This is especially good eaten with crisp vegetables cut into sticks - cucumber, carrot, celery, and turnips are delicious and healthy! Originally enjoyed with Pita bread or crackers, it is a delicious treat but not as healthy ;)

Easy Pinoy Style Hummus

Fruitful Rambutan tree

As I mentioned in my previous post (almost a year ago), we have a Rambutan tree just outside our balcony. This time it bore fruit much earlier than last year. And the best thing about it is that it continued to grow more fruits after I thought it already had bore a lot for this season.

This pic shows the second batch of ripened rambutan, which we already ate...and now the little green ones are growing and maybe in two weeks they are ready for picking. I wonder if the tree would still have lots of fruit next year ;)

Picking fruits from the tree...

I always can't resist picking fruits from a tree. I remember those times in my childhood when I looked forward to visiting grandfather on his farm in Bulacan. Usually he has some native fruit ready for picking and he'd invite us to pick. He has a variety of fruit trees (indian mango, santol, star apple, sampaloc, balimbing, aratilis, guava, atis, mabolo), but only a few of each. My favorite is the aratilis.

It may look like cherries, but isn't really similar in nature and its like the size of small grapes. Its very sweet when its ripe. I also love that its tree is not so tall so its easy to pick the fruits by just reaching out to it.

Most of the fruit trees there are sour-tasting though, like indian mango and most of all the santol, but its those trees that bear the most fruits. Those were also the big trees, but just for fun we tried to climb it (only the lower branches) or jump high to get some of the fruits. We also did some picking using sungkit (an improvised wooden stick with a hook  used to pick fruits). After all our energies were exhausted and we have a handful of fruits, he'd then ask his handyman to pick some more. Said handyman is like Tarzan, who can hang around every tree...in no time he has filled a basket with fruits for us to take home ;)

Back here at home, the only tree left that I can get some fruits to eat from is the Rambutan. Picking time is about July/August. Its a big tree, but luckily its near our second floor balcony where I can handpick some fruits, or use a sungkit to get some more. Our sungkit is quite heavy, and I think I used up more energy than what I can get eating the rambutan fruits that I picked. Nevertheless, its one of those natural activities that can be beneficial in some ways, though most people don't care much to do. 

Baked Macaroni

Other than spaghetti dish, baked macaroni is the usual pasta dish that I can prepare for my family of three. An 8x8 inch pan-full is good for four persons, but I usually eat less than 1/4, and my two sons easily finish it up. I don't really follow a recipe, and most of the time it tastes like my spaghetti too ;)

I used butter, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Kraft Cheddar Cheese for the topping. I just browned it a little in our toaster oven.
I forgot to take a shot of the pasta dish on the plate, I guess I was hungry and tired already :p My sons enjoyed the meal so it was worth the trouble even if they don't help me with the dishes and cleaning up ;)

A well-stocked pantry...

I used to think I can get by without stocking so much goods, since there are now so many supermarkets nearby our place. But in anyone's kitchen nothing beats a well-stocked pantry. There's no harm in stocking items that have a long shelflife, and at the same time we always have to be prepared for emergencies, even minor ones.
Its about time I review the items that my family needs. My list will be far different from yours...
My ideal pantry would include the following:

1. Canned goods - as always, its the best emergency food. My canned goods would definitely exclude SPAM and similar processed meats. It would also exclude spicy hot-flavored anything. I would definitely stock up on good-quality Tuna, sardines, mushrooms, garbanzos, corn, baked beans, chili con carne and other canned fish or meat for variety.
2. Vegetable oils - Extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, sesame oil and coconut oil
3. Bottled items - Spaghetti sauce, Black olives, green olives, marinades
4. Tetra-packed - Soymilk, almond milk, cow's milk (used only occasionally and mostly to add to recipes)
5. Grains - rice (different varieties, including glutinous rice), quick-cooking oatmeal, spaghetti
6. Dry beans, peas and nuts - kidney, white beans, lentils, green peas, peanuts, pistachios, almonds
7. Beverages - Coffee (mostly 3-in-1), Green tea, other herbal teas, distilled water
8. Spices and condiments - Sea salt, black pepper, Kikkoman soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, white wine for cooking
9. Flour products including hotcake mix, used occasionally.
10. Sweets and desserts - brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, cooking chocolate, dark chocolate bar
11. Fresh produce - green leafy vegetables (esp. malunggay, kamote tops, leeks), tomatoes,  cucumbers, lettuce, lemongrass, lemons, oranges, bananas, mangoes, other fruits and vegetables in season.
12. Meat, poultry, eggs, some lean ground beef, chicken for soup stock
13. Butter, Cheese - Parmesan, cottage cheese, cheddar and others to try.

I read some good tips here on how to have a well-stocked pantry.
I better start stocking up, and maybe I can also show you a photo of my pantry :)

A sad breakfast meal from McDonalds

Some weekends when I really don't like to prepare breakfast, first thing that comes to mind is to order breakfast from McDo. Its hot and its fast, and there's no minimum order required. However, I don't remember the food there being this pathetic:

This is a Longganisa meal. It doesn't look good, and doesn't taste good either. The egg is so small and overcooked. The longganisa is thin, dry, kinda cheap tasting, not meaty. (The brewed coffee is good though.)

This is what its supposed to look like:

I think this one will taste a whole lot better!

Simply Coconut!

I really love eating coconuts and drinking the fresh juice. It is the most refreshing and energizing drink you can find, for a very affordable price. (Here in the city its about P25., in the provinces, much cheaper.) However, it took me a long while to get accustomed to buying coconuts and most of all in cutting it up by myself. The shell looks intimidating, but in young coconuts it really is easy to cut and slice. If I can do it, you can do it. Just make sure you got young coconuts. It is full of juice (even up to two glasses), and its meat is soft and sweet.