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 :-).

Bean Sprouts Salad

Bean Sprouts are one of the common cooking ingredients that we can find at the market, this is very nutritious, in fact it is more nutritious than the original bean where it came from according to what I've read.  Low in calories ( 31 calories for 104 grams) but a good source of folate,  folate helps your body produce DNA, amino acids and red blood cells,  that are important in preventing anemia and birth defects. Make it a habit to include bean sprouts in your diet because it also a good source of protein and dietary fiber. 
Here is a simple salad recipe to enjoy. This salad goes well with any meat and fish dishes.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
2 cups bean sprouts ( wash well)
1 tablespoons lemon or calamansi juice
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons soy sauce ( if balsamic coy sauce is available it is better)
2 tomatoes ( slice to your desired size)
some lettuce
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine the tomato and bean sprouts, set aside, in a serving dish, arrange the lettuce properly then put the combined tomatoes and sprouts.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper then serve and enjoy. :-)

Bangers and Mash

Bangers and Mash is a traditional British Isles dish made of mashed potatoes and sausages and sometimes served with fried onion, onion gravy and baked beans just like what Mr. O'Malley made for my blog. 

Ingredients for 1 serving:

1 onion, sliced.

2 pork sausages 

1 scoop Mashed potato

1 can of baked beans (heated)

Procedure:
1. In a frying fan heat some oil over medium heat, once hot enough, add the sausages and onions and fry for about 10mins turning the sausages and onions until they are cooked (it's ok for the onions to be a little burnt, this just adds to the flavor).

2. Arrange the mashed potato, baked beans and sausages in a serving platter then serve it with love.

Contributed by: Mr. Vince O'Malley

Ginisang Hipon

Savor the fresh flavor of shrimps in a very easy way of cooking. 

Ingredients for 4 servings:
1/2 kilo shrimps (de-shelled and cleaned)
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
1 onion ( sliced)
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon calamansi or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste


Procedure:
1. Saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes then add the shrimps and continue sauteeing for a minute.
2. Add the fish sauce, lemon juice and pepper then continue cooking, add salt of needed. Turn off the heat when done.
3. Serve it hot. 

Carrot Cake

Really yummy! Thanks be to God for baking this for us. Another delicious treat from the best baker in town :-). Mr. Gab.


Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup & 1 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
½ cup of white Sugar
¼ cup of Brown Sugar
1 tsp of Baking Soda
2 tsp of Cinnamon
½ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Nutmeg
¾ cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract
1 tsp of Grated Orange Zest
1 ½ cups of Shredded/ Grated Carrots
½ cup of Raisins/ Walnuts Whatever you like.

For the frosting:
3 oz of Cream Cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2 cups of Powdered Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla


Procedure:
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Lay the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
3) In a bowl toss together the carrots, raisins/ walnuts and the 1 Tbsp of flour until all of the carrots and raisins are coated with the flour.
4) In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until well combined. Add the carrots and raisins/ walnuts and mix until they are well incorporated through the batter.
5) Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6) When the cake is ready, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes but then take it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
7) Once the cake is completely cooled, make the frosting by simply mixing all of the ingredients together until you get a nice thick frosting. If you need to, add a little more water by the teaspoonful to get a spreadable frosting consistency.
8) Adorn the cake with the cream cheese frosting and let it set for a few minutes until the frosting begins to harden. Dig in whenever you like!

Contributed by: Gabriel Eli Ndegwa

Espetinho de Coração de Frango

This is one of my favorite Brazilian food. Cooked simply in a hot coal, aromatic and yummy. I cooked this for a friend's farewell party. One of the best that I've tasted is at Canasveieras, Santa Catarina, Brazil owned by Mr. Joao. 


Ingredientes:
1 kg de coração de frango  (limpo)
Sal grosso a gosto

Modo de preparo:
1. Em uma bacia, colocar os corações de frango, adicionar o sal grosso e mexer bem.

2. Espetar os corações em espeto de bambu.

3. Assá-los com fogo baixo ate fica bem.

4. Servir com amor :-).

For the English translation of the recipe here it is.

Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken heart ( cleaned)
coarse salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a bowl, combine the chicken heart and salt until fully mixed.
2. Put the hearts in the bamboo skewers.
3. Grill it over hot coal until fully cooked.
4. Serve with a smile :-).

Ginataang Labong with Kalabasa

This is really yummy and in fact one of the best seller in my sister's eatery. I will be happy eating this everyday :-).


Ingredients:
1/4 kilo bamboo shoots ( boiled and drained)
1/4 kilo shrimps
1/2 kilo squash ( cubed)
1 cup pure coconut milk ( kakang gata)
2 cups thin coconut milk ( hindi kakang gata)
1 small onion
2 cups cleaned saluyot
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a pot, put the thin coconut milk, bring to boil then put the boiled bamboo shoots, squash, shrimps, salt and onion then continue cooking until it's almost done.
2. Put the saluyot and  simmer for 2 minutes then put the pure coconut milk, simmer for a minute then turn off the heat.
3. Serve it hot.