Coconut Fruit Salad

Here's an all-year-round delicious, nutritious, natural food treat you can make yourself! If you order this at a restaurant it would probably cost at least 2 times more. I got inspired to make this when I saw the guy at the Buko (coconut) kiosk at the mall making one. They sell it at P69., not including the coconut juice which they sell separately at P35. At home, it will only cost you around P50., (and you get to drink the juice)... lower if you buy ingredients at the big wet markets. This can be shared by 2 persons as a snack. If you're hungry, finish this all by yourself and it can substitute for a breakfast meal.

Coconuts cost around P25. here in metromanila. Choose one that has a lot of juice and with coconut meat that is still soft but firm and fleshy. (The coconut man knows how to pick this). For the other fruits, choose those that are in season.

Here's what I included in my fruit salad:

1 whole coconut (pour the coconut juice in a tall glass), cut the top off and put in slices of:
1/4 watermelon, sliced into cubes
1 kiat-kiat orange, sectioned
1 ripe banana, sliced
1/2 mango, sliced into cubes

Enjoy!!

Natural orange cleaner/deodorizer

After a week of soaking the orange peel grinds (see previous post) in ethyl alcohol, I strained it using a coffee filter...

The result is a very fragrant liquid which can be used as an all-around cleaner and deodorizer. Put it on a spray bottle and its ready to use. I'm not sure what materials are safe to use it on, but surely it can be used to replace strong chemical cleaners that are usually bought.

What to do with orange peels?

Oranges are plentiful now and not so expensive. I was able to buy a good variety that smelled so good and tasted quite sweet. I just thought it was a waste to throw the peels...so I googled on how to extract orange oil from it.

Step one says: Put the peel in a warm dry place (such as in a sunny window ledge) to dry. Since the sun didn't shine, and it was even stormy this week I also put the peels on the stove just to warm it up a bit, then I just let it air dry for two days.

Step two says: Grate the peels with a grater or grind them in a grinder, blender or food processor after they are dry. I grated the peels manually, and the leftover bits, I chopped finely.

Step three says: Put the ground peel into a glass jar. Add enough alcohol (grain alcohol or vodka, for instance) to cover the peel. Cover the jar tightly with the lid. I used Ethyl alcohol, but I made a mistake since it has some fragrance...that overpowers the orange scent.

Now I'll wait a couple more days for the last two steps to get the orange oil :p

Gluten-free baking mix!

I was pleased to see gluten-free baking mix available in our local supermarket. It is a bit pricey, but I got it at 30% discount. Sale is up to Sept. 7, at Shopwise, so I had to try it now to know if its worth buying more. I made a small batch of pancakes...it tasted different - but definitely better! Here it is served with butter and raspberry jam.

That was yesterday ;)

Now I made a single serving of blueberry pancake...I just added a spoonful of frozen blueberries to the batter. It had to be served with blueberry jam of course, but I wasn't able to get if from the grocery yet. I'll surely make this again for the family next time!

One egg-white for dessert!

Lunch for me is usually just vegetables and rice. If the veggies are not enough, or if I'm really hungry I stir-fry the rice in corn oil, with sauteed garlic and onions. Then I mix in an egg-yolk until its cooked. I avoid eating a whole egg since I always feel so full after the meal.
This time I thought of cooking the egg-white. Adding sugar to it, and a drop of vanilla essence is the simplest way of turning it into a dessert. But here's the trick - the egg-white has to be beaten. Manually with a fork, of course! You don't need power tools to do this. Besides, there's not much to clean up after enjoying your dessert ;)
After beating the egg-white stiff, add about 2 tsp. sugar, continue beating, then add a drop or two of vanilla essence. Pour the beaten mixture in a baking pan, and bake until just about cooked and browned on top. I just baked it in a toaster oven for a few minutes. Here is the finished product and its called a meringue. Maybe next time I'll add some cream of tartar to improve texture. Thought it probably won't make much difference if I'm making it for myself to be eaten at once ;)

P.S. I had to crop the photo since it looked like a gross sculpture :p

Make it at home - Kani Salad

I had Kani Salad at Omakase restaurant one time, and really liked it. I couldn't recreate the dish as well, since their ingredients come from Japan, and their presentation is delightful and authentic.
But here's my version.

Ingredients
Iceberg Lettuce - cut into bite-size pieces
Cucumber - grated
Carrot - grated
Ripe Mango - sliced into cubes
Kani - there are different brands, and prices. I settled for Sea Stix made in Thailand.
Caviar (optional) - I wasn't able to buy since it was too expensive. Though adding some would make the dish more authentic.
Sesame Oil - just enough to flavor
Light Mayonnaise

Separate the Kani into strips. Mix all ingredients together and you're done!

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.