Fried Salmon

Cooked simply but served in a very special way that  I can for a very good friend. We enjoyed our lunch of fried salmon  with a good chat :-).

Ingredients for 2 servings:
300 grams salmon fillet ( slice to your desired size)
1 tablespoon lemon or calamansi juice
salt and pepper to taste


Procedure:
1. Sprinkle the salmon with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil then fry the salmon until done, put in a paper towel to remove excess oil.
3. Serve with love and a big smile :-). 

Suam Mais (Corn Soup)

Suam Mais is a corn soup dish from Pampanga, Philippines. Delicious and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
4 pieces young white malagkit corn
1/4 kilo pork
3 cups water (add if needed)
2 cups camote tops ( talbos ng camote)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Saute the garlic and onion then add the pork, stir until it is brownish,  add the corn and simmer for a minute.
2. Add the water, salt and pepper, simmer until the corn is tender.
3. Add the  camote tops and simmer until done and turn off the heat.
4. Serve it hot.

Simple Ratatouille

Ratatouille (/ˌrætəˈtuːiː/ rat-ə-TOO-ee; French: [ʁataˈtuj]) is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.[1]

Origin
The word ratatouille comes from Occitan ratatolha and the recipe comes from Occitan cuisine. Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Occitan Provença (French: Provence) and Niça (French: Nice); the Catalan samfaina and the Majorcan tombet are versions of the same dish.[2] The southern Italian ciambotta is a related spring vegetable dish.
To read more click the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille

Piperade Mixture/ Sauce:
 1 Onion chopped
 2 Carrots unpeeled and grated 
4 Celery sticks 
1 Tablespoons Minced garlic 
1 Red bell pepper Charred, peeled, seeds and ribs removed 
1 yellow bell pepper charred, peeled , seeds and ribs removed 
2 Red chillies charred, peeled, seeds and ribs removed. (Optional) 
850 grams tomato sauce
2-3 Tablespoons Olive oil 
6 Fresh basil leaves. 
Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegetables:  
2 Zucchinis sliced 
2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants sliced 
6 Roma tomatoes sliced 

Procedure for the piperade mixture: 
1. Saute the onion with the olive oil until translucent ( do not brown). Add the celery, carrots, garlic and continue to saute until softened. 
2. Mix in the bell peppers,chillies and the tomato sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste, then simmer until done. Add the basil leaves. Set aside
3. In a blender, blend the whole mixture into a thick sauce. Pour the mixture into a large pan (oven proof) / casserole dish. 

To Assemble the ratatouille:
4. Take a slice of each vegetable, put them together and stick them half way in the sauce 
5. Repeat the process until the pan is full of vegetables in a circular or preferred design. 

6. Finally, drizzle some olive oil on top, salt, pepper and some dried herbs (basil, oregano and thyme). Cover with an aluminium foil. 
7. Bake it in the oven (300 F for about 2 hours). Remove the foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350 F to caramelize. Serve and Enjoy.


Contributed by: Gabriel Eli Ndegwa

If yellow squash is available you can add it for this recipe

Now, it is time to watch the ratatouille movie :) 

Stuffed Potato ( Relyenong patatas)

Affordable, easy and yummy. Try it.

Ingredients for 3 servings:
3 pieces potato Medium size
100 grams ground beef
1 carrot ( grated)
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 onion (minced)
salt and pepper to taste


Procedure:
1. Boil the potatoes and remove the skin then cut into halves, remove some part in the middle to make a space for stuffing, then set aside.
2. Saute the garlic and onion then add the ground beef and simmer for 2 minutes add the carrots and broccoli, stir well then add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for a minute and turn off the heat.
3. Get the potatoes and fill each slice with the  filling, put together each pair with a toothpick, dip in a beaten egg and roll over the bread crumbs, secure with a toothpick, then bake in a pre-heated oven for 13 minutes at 200C.

4. Remove the toothpicks, slice then serve and enjoy.

The potato parts  that I removed to make a space for stuffing, I also sliced it and add to the filling. :-)

Cabbage Roll

I prepared this dish for a special family gathering, simple but a very attractive center table item that will surely capture the eyes of your guests and loved ones. This is also very affordable.

Ingredients for 24 rolls:
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (minced)
600 grams ground beef or pork
4 pieces big potatoes (finely diced)
3 big carrots ( finely diced)
1/2  cup minced bell pepper ( mixed colors if available)
24 cabbage leaves or more
200 ml All purpose cream ( Nestle, Alaska or any brand)
100 ml water
100 ml evaporated or fresh milk
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onion then add the ground meat and stir until pinkish color is gone.
2. Add the potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, salt and pepper  then stir well  and continue cooking until done. Set aside.

3. Boil or steam the cabbage for 3 minutes then drain and allow to cool. If cabbage leaves are too big you can cut it into two (halves).
4. Flatten the cabbage leaf then put the filling and wrap well.

5. When done rolling, arrange well in a cooking pan then put the fresh  Milk, water, all purpose cream, salt and pepper then bring to a boil, when boiling adjust the heat to low then simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Serve and enjoy. 

Note: If you want it more saucy just double the portion of water and cream

Fried Dried Fish

Simple yet special for me, oh how I love this fried fish at breakfast table,  a good appetizer . Wash your hands and grab the fried rice now :-). 

To fry it, simply heat the oil then fry the dried fish to your desired doneness, when done remove from oil then put in a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Serve and enjoy.

Tortiglioni with Bacon

Tortiglioni is a short tube kind of pasta that has a good texture that's why I like it. This is good also with tomato sauce but I cooked it this way because my friends want to replace the rice with this, only light in taste to go perfectly with our viands.


Ingredients for 6 Servings:
1/2 kilo tortiglioni
1/4 kilo bacon (sliced)
3 cloves garlic finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Tortiglioni Pasta

Procedure:
1. Cook the tortiglioni according to its packaging procedure then set aside.
2. Heat the pan and put the bacon stir until the natural oil comes out, then continue cooking until crispy, remove from oil and put in a paper towel to remove excess oil.
3. Heat the olive oil, add the garlic and stir until light brown, add the tortiglioni and bacon then mix well, sprinkle with salt and pepper then stir and turn off the heat.
4. Serve hot with a smile :-).