food couch

Bopiz is originally a spicy Spanish dish adapted by Filipinos. Its main ingredients include pork lungs and heart sauteed in herbs and spices. Cooking time is around fifteen minutes so it can be categorized as a thirty minute dish, including prep time. Here’s how:

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo ground/minced/cubed pork lungs and heart

1 whole garlic head, crushed and minced

1 whole onion head, minced

(Click here for the rest of the ingredients and procedure)

Hong ma, or slow-cooked pork in Chinese, is one of the best Chinese dishes I have tasted so far. The fusion of flavors and textures is superb and I am even more amazed at how simple one could achieve that melt-in-your-mouth meat tenderness.

Today would be my second attempt at this mouth-watering dish. The first one was a flop in a sense that I didn’t really use the right ingredients because I didn’t have a clue what they were. I basically relied on instincts, trying with a degree of desperation, to recall and mimic the taste of that hong ma dish we ordered at Ongpin back in early 2008. I almost got it right, but the lack of enthusiasm on my Chinese husband’s reaction on his first bite was a bit discouraging.
(For complete story and ingredients, please click Shine!)

My sincerest apologies for not posting any for such a long time. I still cook but not as much as I used to lately because work sort of got in the way of things. I am temporarily employed at a nursing review center and since the board exams is happening in less than a month's time, things are just super mega hectic.

Anyway, after June 4, which is my last day at work, things in our household will be back to normal, thank heavens! Hubby'll be the very first person to do the happy dance once temp employment's over, lol!

On Sunday, the in-laws will be trooping into town and I promise to let you all in on what I prepared for them. Just to give you a peek at what's on the menu board right now, I am going to make four kilos of bagnet (deep-fried pork cracklings), laing (taro leaves in coco cream) and a veggie and fruit salad with a fruity dressing/vinaigrette.

Well, there goes... Will post photos soon!

San Francisco – April 23, 2009:   Foodbuzz announced today that is has surpassed 2,000 food bloggers in its online food community.   These partner food blog websites, when combined with the foodbuzz.com “hub” website, reached 6.7 million people per month according to third-party traffic measurement service Quantcast.  This ranks Foodbuzz as the third largest online food property after less than two years of operation. (See Quantcast Media Planner.)

“Our goal is to be the number one online food community by promoting the talent, enthusiasm and knowledge of food bloggers around the globe,” said Ben Dehan, founder and CEO of Foodbuzz.   Of the top three properties, Foodbuzz is the only true community that combines social networking for foodies with food content search for everyone.  “Both our monthly users and page views grew over 1000% in 2008, and we are on pace to reach the number one spot within the next 12 months”, said Mr. Dehan. 

Foodbuzz digs deep into the “long tail” of food publishing to discover and promote thousands of small, yet high-quality, food bloggers.  “We are providing a platform for food bloggers to pursue their passion in a community that nurtures and encourages the sharing of quality food and dining content daily,” said Ryan Stern, Director of Publishing. Foodbuzz offers these bloggers a compelling solution for building their traffic, connecting with like-minded foodies, and making money.  Foodbuzz has exclusive advertising relationships with partner bloggers which provide brand advertisers the reach and share-of-voice they need to effectively engage the food community.

You can never have too much garlic, right? I saw the original recipe for this dish at A Year of Crockpotting and sort of "salivated" over the thought of slowly cooked chicken in a bed of forty cloves of garlic rolling on my tongue. Yum!

Needless to say, I copied her recipe but added a few other ingredients for extra kick. What else did I put aside from the onions, garlic, pepper, paprika and teaspoon of olive oil? Herbs. Basil, Rosemary and Chili powder.

It. Was. Heaven!

I also made some mashed potatoes to go along with the chicken and as expected, the Hubby had a blast!

This shrimp dish is a bit like Szechuan shrimp but it is also not quite the famous Chinese food that Szechuan shrimp is... Am I making sense? Anyway, to put it simply, this also has that spicy, tomatoey flavor plus more. It's something I made from scratch yet again and yes, with much success too!

Ingredients:
Shrimps (You can choose to shell, devein and slice them in half if you want. Mine's cooked with shell and head and well, it's just a preference.)
fresh Basil leaves chopped
peppercorns
tomato sauce, about 1/4 cup only
ketchup, dollop
onions, minced
garlic, minced
dried Rosemary leaves
dash of Cumin
dash of Oregano
dash of salt
cooking oil
Tabasco sauce or any preferred spice agent
1 piece chili cut in half

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic, onions then shrimps. Let the shrimps cook until their color changes to light orange.

2. Throw in basil, pepper corns and the rest of the herb ingredients. Stir to blend all the flavors.

3. Pour tomato sauce with a little water, spice agent/ hot sauce and sliced chili.

4. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens.

5. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables.

Remember those sun-dried tomatoes I had out on the balcony as well as those that I made from the microwave-oven? I finally got a good use for them with my pasta puttanesca.
They raised the dish to a whole new level, they rendered that surprisingly delicious soury taste that made the whole thing a pleasant meal experience.
Plus, this pasta dish is so simple, filling and quick, it's the best alternative meal for those busy weekdays and jampacked weekends. Here's my own recipe, please feel free to experiment and change or add up to what I have, this one works well for me and my family but you could most definitely let those creative juices flow and alter a little to suit your tastes:

Ingredients:
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
a dollop of pesto
sun dried tomatoes, about 6 pieces
fresh and ripe tomatoes, halved
anchovies
black pitted olives, quartered or sliced in half (your choice)
optional: capers (I don't like capers much so I didn't use it on this dish)
pasta
salt to taste
dried basil leaves (optional)
garlic (optional)

Procedure:
Cook pasta according to package directions or al-dente.

While pasta is cooking, heat a pan and pour a little olive oil. Sliced side down, line the tomatoes on the pan and sprinkle a little salt and dried basil leaves on them. Let them cook for about three minutes, or just until they're soft enough. Turn to cook the other side and set aside.

Using the same pan, pour a generous amount of oil, cook the anchovies until they blend well with the oil. You can put a little garlic along with it if you want, but it is not necessary. Put in the fresh basil and dollop of pesto. Stir. Let cook for a minute, then stir in the tomatoes and using your laddle or spoon, press on each tomato until the skin and meat separates and blend together with the oil and anchovies. Mix in the olives and let the whole sauce simmer for three to five minutes.

Reduce heat to low and pour in your cooked pasta, toss together with the sun dried tomatoes until well blended. Replace in a serving dish, top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with basil leaves. Put a slice or two of pesto or garlic bread on the side to complete not just the look, but the meal.

Pesto bread alternative:
1. Get a slice of loaf bread
2. slice in half to make two triangles
3. spread on a coat of butter and pesto
4. Toast

buon appetito!

Hubby asked for a chicken casserole dish and I was craving for something creamy and peppery so I searched for a recipe on the net, but couldn't find one that would satisfy both of our taste buds. Not in the mood to be defeated, I decided to just whip up something from scratch.

So for today, I give you last weekend's Food Couch chicken casserole recipe:

Butter, chicken fillet/deboned, bell pepper, celery, onion, garlic, seasoning, milk, cream of mushroom, (not in picture) quickmelt cheese and bread crumbs

Procedure 1: Pre-cook the chicken in butter

Heat skillet with oil and butter, cook chicken for about 3-5 minutes on each side, or just until the meat's color turns whitish. Set aside.

Procedure 2 : Cook the cream sauce

In the same skillet with the leftover oil and butter, saute garlic and onions for about 3 minutes, then mix in the bell pepper and celery. Allow to cook for another 2 minutes before pouring in the cream of mushroom and 1/2 cup milk. Note that the milk is optional, I just wanted the dish to be very creamy (I was craving) but you can opt it out if you're good enough with the cream of mushroom. Season with pepper and a little salt to taste and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

Procedure 3 : Bake and churn

On a Pyrex, line the pre-cooked chicken fillet and arrange them neatly. Pour cream sauce just until the chicken is covered. You should scoop the bell peppers and celery along with the sauce, make sure every ingredient on the sauce makes its way to the pyrex too. Cover with bread crumbs and quickmelt cheese. Put it in the microwave oven and let cook for another 10 minutes.


As you can see, I did not use quickmelt cheese, hence the emphasis, so the cheese did not quite turn out the way I would have wanted. If I used the right cheese, it would have melted and this would have looked a lot better. But you know what, putting that little mishap aside, I assure you that this dish was just as delectably oh-so-good as I first imagined! Hubby enjoyed it and he even took a second serving! Try it and do let me know how your casserole fared in the taste-test arena. :) Happy cooking!

Here's something quick and easy, a 30-minute meal that's just as filling and sumptuous. I sort of "invented" this dish and surprisingly, the first try was a major hit so I decided to dress it up a little by adding an ingredient that gave it an Italian twist.

Here's what you need for this:

Pasta of your choice, cooked al dente' or according to package directions
Butter
Spanish sardines, fish flaked a little and with about 3 tablespoons of its oil along
salt to taste
pesto or minced basil
Parmesan cheese for topping

Heat butter in skillet, throw in pesto or basil and Spanish sardines and oil, sprinkle with salt, toss in pasta and blend everything together. Replace in a serving dish, top with Parmesan cheese. Serve. :)

See how easy that is? It's not even a 30 minute meal, it cooks in waaaay less than that! Oh, I really don't have a name for it yet, maybe just "Pasta sardini"? Hmmm... No, how about "Spanish-Italian Pasta"? Yaiks, not that one either... Okay, how about "Sardines and pesto pasta medley?"... No? Hmmm, whatever. It tastes good anyway so that should be good enough. Lol!