Unbelievabrrrrr!

Hello from my kitchen. Again!

This is the first time that I made this kind of soup--Mung beans (monggo), lentil, bokchoy (pechay), kale, baby spinach, tomatoes, ginger, and sea salt. No oil, and fish sauce. I have never tried cooking lentil, and kale before. I didn't remember them being available in our markets back in the Philippines. I don't know also of any Filipino recipes using one or both ingredients.

Here's what I did: Wash the legumes in running water. Then boil the monggo and lentil together until they're soft, and the outer covering of the beans comes off. Add more water. If you squish the beans using a laddle, and they're soft, that means that the pot is ready for the other ingredients. Add the sliced onions, tomatoes, and a few pieces of whole okra. Season the soup with sea salt. Add the bokchoy. About two to three minutes before turning the stove top off, add the kale leaves. Then, add the spinach. Pour a scoop full in a bowl. Serve with rice.


This soup is like a warm hug in a bowl. It's just perfect for the season's super cold weather. I can't believe how superb the lentil and mung beans together. The greeneries, and okra completed the all-star cast!

It's soooo good! Unbelievabrrrrr!

Siopao Fail

Hello from my kitchen. I really need to perfect my siopao (steamed buns) dough recipe. I have no problem with my meat filling recipe, but the dough, however, seems like for me is a failure. There must be something wrong with how I steam them or probably the ingredients I am using.

Why? Why? Why? Why does my buns aren't as fluffy compare to the ones that I've tasted. Last week, I tried a second recipe and still, I was not contented with it. The mister and the boy's rating is "just okay", which is never okay for me.



I am trying another recipe today, and that also includes another cooking technique. I hope this new recipe is a keeper.

Vegetable Bibimbap

Hello again from my kitchen!

I made bibimbap last night. It was my first time to make it, and I couldn't believe how good it was. I have tasted a few bites before, but never really had a whole bowl of my own. My version doesn't have meat and egg in it.

Today, for lunch, I made it again. This is addicting.



Add a little sesame oil and mix everything up! Viola! Yummy!



I have no plans of preparing another dish for dinner, but bibimbap! Again!

Paksiw

I have been wanting to eat Paksiw na Isda (Inun-unan in Bisaya) for a few weeks already. Paksiw is a Filipino dish cooked with fish (isda) in vinegar, garlic, long chili pepper, some add ginger, bay leaf, and vegetables in it, seasoned with fish sauce. There is also a Paksiw with pork (baboy), still cooked with vinegar but it's always added with soy sauce, a little sugar, and no vegetables and fish sauce added to it. Since I have been doing a very concious effort on eating plant-based food only, but I am not really as strict with the food I eat on weekends. Last week, I told the mister that I wanted to eat Paksiw na Isda for the coming weekend.

Complete with my ingredients, sadly, the mister changed his mind, and instead, wanted to have a broiled fish with lots of ginger. I was still okay with it. By Monday, the craving for Paksiw na Isda was still there, so I made it last night with eggplant and bittermelon, garlic, ginger, and vinegar sans the fish and the fish sauce. I just seasoned it with salt.

It was really good! It did satisfy my craving. Paksiw na Gulay (vegetable) is achievable, and it's delicious!

Of course, it would be so much better with the fish, but this really made me happy. There are no Filipino dishes in plant-based recipe books. Mostly American and European dishes. There are a few Asian dishes, but aren't particularly Filipino.



This recipe is a keeper!

The First Attempt

Hello from my kitchen. I don't frost cakes or cupcakes that I bake at home because I do not know how to do it. Aside from that, I like them plain. On occassions that we have friends over, I always let the young lady do the cupcake decorating for me, but I can do the garnishing of fruits and edible flowers.

Last Friday, I tried frosting cupcakes for the first time. I searched online for a quick and easy recipe for buttercream frosting. I had no clue that it would need a sack of confectioner's sugar. Well, anyway, I found a recipe but didn't really read the comments or the ratings. BIG MISTAKE! The taste of the frosting wasn't really that good. It was just okay. I think it needed more stiffness to it too. I wanted more defined edges on the frosting for the cupcake and more volume.



An okay rating is not okay for me. I wanted something unforgettable in the best way. Someting called a keeper for my recipe box. I am not giving up though. I'll try it again next time, but definitely I will try a recipe from Wilton. And...I will not be mixing that bubble gum pink color, or you can call it a dentures pink, or the Pepto Bismol pink. Hehehe.