Three Recipes that are Easy and Simple

Chicken Adobo Sa Gata (Coconut Milk)

Now that the Dungeness crabs are in season and selling from $4.99 to $ 6.99 per lb, it is time to feast on this delicious seafood.

The following are three simple recipes that Merlet Perlas and my sister-in-law gave me during their last visit to my wife several months ago. At that time they brought with them two whole Dungeness Crabs. They also brought with them two other dishes, the chicken adobo sa gata and the Chicken Quesadilla dish. The recipe of the three dishes are as follows:

A.Dungeness Crabs in Oyster Sauce

1.Divide and Cracked whole steamed Dungeness Crabs into small portions. Save the Butter.

2.In a separate pan saute ginger, and garlic with vegetable or olive oil.

3.Place the cracked crabs into the pan, stir until it simmers.

4.Add the crab butter with enough water to transfer all the butter into the pan

5.Add 2 tbs of oyster sauce, then the scallions.

6.Continue stirring until it simmers. Serve Hot.

B. Chicken Adobo sa Gata

1. Chopped the whole chicken into small edible portions. Take out most of the skins and wash the meat

2. Saute garlic and onion in vegetable or olive oil in a pot. Put the chicken in the pot, stir and mix. Add a tsp of powdered black pepper. Boil the chicken for 10 minutes or until cooked without adding any water. Add about one tsp of tumeric powder* ( dilaw or yellow in Pilipino) and simmer another 10 minutes.

3. Add 1 can of coconut milk and simmer until the dish turn yellow. Then add ½ cup of vinegar, and mix. Add slices of green and red bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Serve Hot. Total time should be around 30 minutes.
* If you are rich, used safron instead of tumeric

C. Chicken Quesadilla ( Excellent for Left over Baked Chicken)

1. Shred the left over chicken. Place the chicken in a tortilla flour. Add Cheddar Cheese.( Any kind of cheese will do).

2.Close and flip the tortilla. Place in a hot skillet ( no oil). Invert tortilla and cook until the cheese melts. Add your favorite salsa( mild or hot) and sour cream. Bon Apetit!

Katague Recipe for Chicken Macaroni Salad

At our last year and this year Thanksgiving dinner in Walnut Creek at my son's residence (and every party in the David B Katague household), my wife and with my assistance prepared Chicken Macaroni salad. The recipe is a favorite of my four adult children and six grand children who all grew up here in the US. There are several Chicken Macaroni salad recipes that I know, but this version is the simplest one and my favorite.

2 cups elbow macaroni small, cooked
1 lb boneless chicken breast, boiled and cubed
1 ½ cup pineapple chunks or slices and chopped
1/2 cup Spanish, sweet onion ( Vidalia or equivalent), minced
1/2 cup raisins( optional)(sweetened and dried cranberries may be used)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped( optional)
2 cups mayonnaise (can be 1 cup mayo and 1 cup miracle whip)
1 cup Cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 red delicious apples chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup sweet relish

Cooking Preparation:

Cook the macaroni as directed in the package. Place the macaroni in a large container. Add the mayonnaise (and /or miracle whip) and mix well. Put in the minced onions and mix well. Place the cheddar cheese(optional) in and mix again

Now, add the cooked chicken breast and distribute evenly. Put-in the pineapple chunks or slices, boiled eggs(optional), and and apples (raisins optional) and mix well. Add the sweet relish and salt and pepper to taste. Chill inside the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve chilled.

Note: The popular Pinoy recipe has raisins but no apples. I love raisins, but my wife hates it. So in this recipe, I listed raisins as optional. Apples in the Philippines is very expensive. Another option that I enjoy is to use sweetened dried cranberries instead of raisins. Here in the US, the dried and sweetened cranberries are more expensive than the raisins.

My Recipe for Honey-Baked Ham and Potato Souffle

Instead of or besides turkey, our thanksgiving dinner menu always include honey-baked ham. My wife and I have a simple recipe for any left-over ham. Incidentally, one can now purchased one pound of slice honey baked ham ( without the bone) in our local honey-baked ham store. So you do not have to wait for left-over ham to cook the above recipe.

The following is our favorite ham and potato souffle recipe:

Ingredients

8 big potatoes-peeled and slice to 1 cm thin

1 lb sliced honey- baked ham

1 lb pasteurized sour cream

2 big onions slice to 1 cm thick

½ bunch of fresh parsley

½ cup of milk

¼ cup of flour

Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Grease a deep pyrex dish with oil and add a dash of flour. Place a bed of slice potatoes, followed by slice of ham, then parsley, onions and garlic salt and pepper. Repeat the layering process two times Then pour the milk. Topped the pyrex dish with potatoes slices. Cover the Pyrex Dish.

Place the pyrex dish in a preheated 375 F oven. Bake for I hour. Serve the dish warm. Enjoy!

Feasting on Dungeness Crabs this Year, 2014

I purchased my first fresh Dungeness crabs yesterday for this year crab season. Raleys had a sale for only $5.99 per lb. I bought three medium-sized whole crabs costing me only $21.24. The price of Dungeness crab in the other stores in our area were at $6.99 per lb. or higher. Dungeness Crab personal fishing season started last November 1 in the Northern California Bay Areas, but the commercial crabbing started only a couple of days ago(November 15).

Needless to say Macrine, David III and I had a feast eating with our hands and fingers. The crab meat was delicious along with garlic bread and green salad with fresh avocado slices and honey mustard dressing. There was a left over crab (claws and 1/4 body) that I cleaned today and made into an omelet.

Here's my simple recipe for a crab omelet.



2 potatoes- peeled and slice into 1/4 inch cubes
1 onion-cut into small cubes
1/4 small cabbage shredded
3/4 cup crab meat
olive oil and garlic salt
6 eggs

Sauteed the onions in oil until cooked. Add the shredded cabbage and heat at low heat until cooked. Add the potato cubes and continue heating until the potatoes are cooked. Add the crab meat and mixed and then pour the beaten eggs into the pan. Cooked until the eggs are cooked. Invert the omelet in the pan and continue heating at low heat. Serve 6.

Baked Cauliflower with Garlic and Cheese

The other day while I was shopping at our local grocery store (Food Maxx), I saw that the cauliflower heads were on sale. The regular price for a large head of cauliflower is $3.49, but it was on sale for only $2.99. I have never cooked this vegetable before, so I did some research. I used the following very simple recipe to cook my first cauliflower dish. It turned out to be very delicious as well as nutritious. The recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.

2.Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve it along with chicken or pork adobo and steam rice and with green papaya pickles ( acharra) as a side dish. Good for 6.

Dungeness Crab Season Opens November 1

The Dungeness crab season opens this coming Saturday, November 1, here in Northern California. However, the commercial crab season will not open until after November 15. I am looking forward to indulge on Dungeness crabs this year and until next year.


Dungeness crab sport fishing season opens Saturday Wildlife officials expect decent year By Samantha Clark

SANTA CRUZ >> Dungeness crab fans can start fishing this weekend but must wait to set their nets after 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Previous years have yielded high numbers, but Dungeness crab catches tend to be cyclical. State Fish and Wildlife expects to see more average seasons in the future.

"We're coming off really good crab years, so people might expect some leaner years to come," said local sportsfisher Mike Baxter. "But we're hoping it'll be as good as last year."

He said expectations are high.

The crabs are often found at sandy or sand-mud bottoms at depths less than 300 feet. They tend to live in cooler northern and central California waters.

Fisherman can keep a maximum of 10 Dungeness crabs with shells larger than 5.75 inches across. Cabbers on party boats can keep up to six crabs that are a minimum of 6 inches.

Regulation requires that fishers monitor their gear and raise nets every two hours to make sure undersized and unwanted species can be quickly released.

Fish and Wildlife also suggests trap fishermen watch their traps because if lost, they can kill crabs.

Crabbing is banned in the San Francisco and San Pablo bays, which are crab nursery areas.

Commercial fishers, whose season begins Nov. 15, use the sport opener to gauge roughly how their season will fare.
Advertisement

"If the sports guys get a few, the commercial guys get a little excited," said Hans Haveman, owner of H&H Fresh Fish, a local purchaser. "They are definitely watching what the sport guys are doing, but it's kind of hard to tell.
Dungeness Crab Sport Fishing

General sport regulations for Santa Cruz County:

Season: Nov. 1 to June 30

Crab size: Minimum of 5.75 inches across

Daily limit: 10 per day

Source: State Sport Fishing Regulations, Ocean Ed., http://goo.gl/eTUKb8

Roasted Duckling-A Gift from Our Neighbor

The other day, our next door neighbor surprise us by giving a roasted duck in exchange for the 2 lb whole Dungeness crab that I gave her recently. I have never cook duck by rotisserie, so I have no idea how it taste. My neighbor has an expensive rotisserie set-up. She said it was not that hard, but required an overnight of brining. THE COOKED duck THAT SHE GAVE US WAS delicious.

I searched in the Internet how to cook duck by rotisserie and here is what I learned. The duck is better if you brine it overnight before cooking it. All sorts of flavor can be added by brining. Orange juice, tea, cider, beer, wine, soy sauce and many other liquids can be used to replace the water. Then add complimentary herbs and spices to create your own special flavor blend. For directions on how to brine a duck, check out: whatscookingamerica.net/Poultry/BriningPoultry.htm

Typically a 5-pound duck will cook in 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The internal temperature at the leg joint should reach 175 degrees F. Also, check to see if the leg joint is loose and tender and juices run clear.

If using a table top rotisserie, set heat to medium-low. If using a grill, heat grill to medium and place a drip pan under the duck to catch the rendered fat.

Have You Tasted Tripe Soup?

My American-Italian neighbor and I started talking about food again yesterday. We talked about tripe and garbanzo dishes. This subject reminded me of my article on tripe dishes that I am reposting as follows: Bon Apetit!

Cow Tripe Soup-Italian-Pinoy Style

Last month, my next door neighbor who was originally from Italy surprise my wife and I with cow tripe soup that she cooked. She said she just makes this soup once and a while, but she was very grateful with us taking her out to the Casino every other week so she makes the soup as a special treat. I once mentioned to her that in the Philippines, one of my favorite dish is cow tripe cooked in tomato sauce with garbanzo beans and plantains.

I also know that the best tripe soup is the Caribbean version that a former college mate once prepared during one of our pot luck parties while I was still in graduate school. I also am aware that tripe has to be pressured cook so it will be tender or boil for at least two hours. During the boiling process, the fat that floats at the top of the pot is removed so that it still be a healthy meal for people who are overweight, diabetics or have high blood pressure like myself and my wife. Here's the recipe that my Caribbean friend gave me. He said this recipe was from his mother a native of Jamaica. The following recipe will served 6 and takes about 3 to 4 hours to prepare.

Ingredients:

2 Tsp oil
1 cup diced onions( preferably sweet onions)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
2 lbs cow tripe, cut up and thoroughly washed
Salt and pepper to taste
Water
1 lb pumpkin (calabaza squash), cut into small sized chunks
2 lbs half-ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
8 -10 okra
Dumplings (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Add onions and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes

Add 2 sprigs of thyme and saute for 1 minute. Add tripe along with salt and pepper to taste and saute for 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water, stir and cover pressure cook and let cook for 50-55 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle.

Add enough water to make soup, cover pot and pressure cook for 6 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle. Release pressure cooker valve to let out steam and open pressure cooker. Add pumpkin, plantains and remaining thyme. Cook until plantains are almost melting. (Do not close pressure cooker at this stage, just rest the cover on top of the pot).

Add okra and dumplings to pot, cover and let cook for 7-9 minutes or until dumplings are cooked thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Stir and serve.

The Philippines-Italian version is much simpler. Instead of plantain, my neighbor used potato cubes and no squash and okra are in the recipe. The pure Filipino version is very similar to the Caribbean recipe, but instead of okra, garbanzo beans are used. This soup is one of my favorite dishes. It is considered a main dish in the Philippines, not just a soup. There is a restaurant in Marinduque that prepares a delicious version of this tripe dish. Have You tasted a tripe dish?

A Simple Recipe for Milk Fish

My wife and I have the easiest way to have a good meal using bangus. We just baked or Grill it and in less than one hour we will have a delicious fish dish. The hardest part is to clean the fish but in most fish markets in the Philippines the fish vendors will clean it for you free of charge or gratis et amore.

Ingredients

1-1.5 kg bangus
1 thumb size ginger, sliced thin crosswise
115 ml soya sauce
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
4 calamansi, juiced (lemon juice could be used)
1 tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Clean bangus by removing the scales, removing gills and washing the inside. Pat dry with paper towel. Mix tomato, onion and a third of ginger. Salt and pepper to taste. Cut open the front side of the fish and fill with this mixture.

Mix all other ingredients, ginger, soya sauce, and calamansi or lemon juice. Place the bangus on a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil large enough to cover the fish when folded. Pour the soya sauce mixture over the fish. Fold the aluminum foil and seal all ends. Bake at 375F for 60 minutes. Very easy, even a amateur cook like me can do this!

Feasting on Fresh Oysters-Recipe for Oyster Rockefeller

This article with more information was first published on my HubPages account on 8/23/14.

Yesterday while I was shopping for groceries in Food Max, my eyes bulged with excitement when I saw 2 dozen of live fresh oysters. I was not intending to buy it, because it was not in my budget, but I thought it is time to celebrate the final closing of my home refinancing loan which will save me about $160 from my monthly mortgage payment beginning next month. The 24 live oysters( 12 medium and 12 large sizes)cost me $19.99. This is still cheap if you compare eating oysters in Red Lobster or in any seafood restaurant here in Northern California. The 12 large Oysters I baked in the oven at 350F for only 15 minutes. Do not over baked as the oysters will get dry. Shut off the oven as soon as the shells begin to open. Serve the baked oysters with a twist of lemon and Tabasco sauce. Serve with fresh steamed corn on the cub and a glass of white wine(chardonnay). Yum, Yum, Yum!

The species I purchased were the Pacific oysters farmed in the area near the Point Reyes National Park, North of San Francisco and South of Bodega Bay. These large oysters are sweet and meaty, but not as delicious as the Philippine variety that I am used to. These large oysters are a mouthful for eating raw, but they are perfect for grilling and baking!


The other 12 medium size I made into Oyster Rockefeller from my wife's collection of recipes as follows:

6 oz shredded sharp cheddar
12 fresh, live medium oysters
1 box frozen chopped spinach
1/8 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 dash hot pepper sauce( Tabasco or El Tapatio brand))
1/2 bar salted butter( margarine or Australian can butter will do)
2 cups Rock salt for presentation only

Clean oysters with warm water., Broil on High or boil until shells open. Do not over cooked.. Remove from oven or pot and cool oysters. When cooled break the top shell off of each oyster. Chopped oysters 1/2 cm.

Chopped the thawed spinach, bread crumbs, and green onions. Sauteed in butter or margarine until spinach is cooked. Add the salt and hot sauce to your taste, .

Arrange the oysters in their half shells on a pan with Rock salt. Spoon some of the spinach mixture on each oyster half shell. Add bread crumbs and Cheddar cheese on top. Broil for about 10 minutes until bread crumbs turn brown and the cheese melts..Served with garlic bread and chardonnay.

* My wife's other variation of this recipe is to use bacon chips instead of the cheddar cheese

Bitter Melon ( Amplalaya) with Shrimps

One of the most healthy Filipino dish if you are a diabetic is the Ampalaya or bitter melon with shrimps. A variation of the dish is to use pork instead of the shrimps. In some recipes both shrimps and pork are used in equal proportions. This recipe is almost a weekly fare in our menu when we are in the Philippines because of the abundance of the bitter melon. Here in the US, I have to go to a Filipino or oriental grocery store to be able to buy ampalaya. Incidentally, in case you do not know, Seafood City is one of the biggest oriental and Filipino grocery store here in Northern California.

Ingredients

4 medium ampalaya or bitter melon (cut lengthwise)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 pound mini 0r medium shrimp, peeled and headless
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
soy sauce or fish sauce(patis)optional) to taste. I do not like patis since I am not a true-blooded Tagalog but an Ilonggo.

Procedure

1. Cut ampalaya lengthwise and scrape off seeds and white pith. Slice thinly and place in a bowl, covered in cold water with a little salt* until needed.

2. In a wide skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until tender. Add in tomatoes and cook until softened, regularly mashing with back of spoon.

3. The soy sauce or patis could be added at this point. Add shrimp and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp starts to change color.

4. Add water and bring to a boil. Drain ampalaya from water, add to pan and gently toss to combine. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until tender yet crisp.

5. In a thin stream, add eggs and gently stir to distribute. Continue to cook for about 1 minute or until eggs have set. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

* Ampalaya is very bitter. To remove most of its bitterness, the slice melon is soak in cold salted water for at least 30 minutes and then drained prior to cooking.

A Simple and Healthy Shrimp Recipe

I found the following recipe from my FB friend and relative page. A very easy and healthy recipe for shrimp. It was shared by Angie and Jim Jambalos Aulds from Prego & Mommy Chat's blog. No Butter (uses chicken broth, white wine, lemon juice)

Ingredients

4 tsp olive oil
1 1/4 pounds med raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails left on)
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup + 1 T minced parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 lemon wedges

Preparation

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the shrimp until just pink, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon transfer the shrimp to a platter and keep them warm.
In the skillet, combine the broth, wine, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the salt and pepper; and bring it to a boil. Boil uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by half.
Spoon the sauce over the shrimp. Serve garnished with the lemon wedges and sprinkled with the remaining tablespoon of parsley. Enjoy!

Sun Dried Fish and Bitter Melon with Shrimps for Dinner

The other day I posted about the distinguishable screams of the fish vendors in our neighborhood. Today, I was lured by one of the vendors booming voice shouting isda...isda.. lagidlid etc...that I could hear 4 blocks away. Our cook mentioned once that lagidlid is an excellent specie for sun dryng. So I ran to our front gate in time for the vendors bicycle passing by. I asked for the price. It was 120 pesos per kilo. I told the vendor I need one kilo. The vendor has a scale and bingo I had 12 fresh medium-sized lagidlid in one minute. Along with the bislad, we had ampalaya with shrimps, and tocino for dinner. In the table are the newly harvested huge avocados and chicos from my orchard.

Drying fish is a lost art in modern times in the US, but here in the Provinces of the Philippines it is still part of daily living specially in towns with plenty of fresh fish available daily. Drying fish removes enough water from the final product so that the growth of microbes that cause spoilage are retarded, but drying isn't the same as dehydrating, which removes all but 3 percent of the moisture. My cook used a similar procedure for drying fish as outlined by ehow.com as follows:
My cook however soaks the fish in 50% vinegar/water mixture with salt for 40-60 minutes and do not remove the head prior to drying. The vinegar helps preserve the fish and give it the delicious/unique flavor and odor when fried.
Instructions

1 Choose the proper location to dry your fish. Drying works best in low humidity and drying fish requires an area sheltered from animals and dust.
2 Prepare the fresh-caught fish the same day of the catch for drying. Remove the gills, guts, back and ribs. Leave the skin and head intact.
3. Wash the fish in cold water and scrub away any remaining debris. Soak the fish in a solution of salt/vinegar/water mixture for 30 minutes. Drain the fish and rinse the flesh again.
4. Place the fish on wooden drying racks outdoors. You must not use metal racks, as they can corrode and contribute an off flavor to the fish.
5. Sun dried for 4 to 6 hours. Wrap the fish in a sealed ziplock and keep cool in the refrigerator until ready for frying.

Note: The fish is only partially dry, but the vinegar mixture help retard spoilage. It is best to fry the fish in the next couple of days.

Avocados and Chicos in my Orchard

Today, we harvested about a dozen huge avocados and two dozens of Chicos in my orchard here at Chateau Du Mer(CDM), Boac, Marinduque, Philippines.

This is the first time that I was able to harvest the fruits of the avocado tree that I planted in my garden here at CDM in 1998. There is only one tree but the past years according to our Resident Caretaker, hundreds of fruits have been harvested by them. According to the manager the fruits are tasty( maligat) but a little fibrous but it is still excellent for making avocado shake. Today’s harvest is still not ripe. It will be a couple of days for it to ripen and for me to taste the fruit of my labor. I have my own recipe of Avocado Shake. The ingredients are as follows:

1 ripe large Avocado ( Hash or Philippines variety preferred)
2 teaspoons white sugar( or 1/8 cup condense milk)
1/4 cup Half and Half ( or milk if less fat is desired)

Blend the mixture until all the avocados chunks are homogenous and creamy. Add water if you want the mixture not too creamy. Refrigerate for one hour and served cold. Blend the mixture with ice cubes if there is no time for refrigeration.

Green mangoes, chicos, papaya and Avocados from my Garden

On the other hand I have two chico trees that are prolific. Every year during our snowbirding sojourn, we harvested more than 100 fruits from each tree. This year the big fruits are on top of the tree which required climbing. More often by the time we realized there are fruits ready to be harvested the fruit bats and birds have already taken a bite so that we have to discard the fruit. Today however, I requested our 18-year old gardener to take 15 minutes off from his gardening duties and devote this time climbing the chico tree. He was able to harvest 2 dozen mature fruits. I was able to eat one chico that ripened in the tree without the birds and the bats leaving their mark. Tree-ripened chico fruit is delicious and sweet, indeed. Yum, Yum, yum..

Only on Sunday-Nilaga Na Baka( Beef Soup with Vegetables)

We can have beef soup( nilaga na baka) with vegetables only during Sunday here at Chateau Du Mer. The reason is that beef slaughtering is only done once in the week on Sunday morning at dawn. My driver has to drive to the slaughter house very early in the morning before 5AM so he can have first choice of the best beef meat and bones for the following recipe used by our cook. It is similar to the one published by www.food.com/beef soup. Enjoy and Share!

Ingredients:
1/2 kg beef (for stewing) and 1/2 beef bones with marrow
2 big onions (diced)
1/2 head garlic (minced)
1 pinch salt and pepper
6 medium potatoes (cut to the same size as the beef)
10 pieces bok choy (cut into 2) or pechay
1/4 kg of green beans, cut into 6" in length
2 tablespoons patis (Asian fish sauce)( optional in my recipe)
2 tablespoons oil
Calamansi

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, saute garlic and onion.

2. Add in beef, water and bring to a boil, lower the fire and let simmer until beef is tender for about an hour or two (longer for more flavor). Alternately you can use a pressure cooker( 20 minutes) to insure beef is tender.

3. Remove all the resulting scum that will rise to the top of the pot and keep the stock clear.

4. Add potatoes and bring up to a boil to cook potatoes.

5. Season with salt, pepper and patis ( optional in my recipe, since I hate patis).

6. Add in vegetables, green beans first and cook uncovered.

7. Serve hot with steam white rice, soy sauce and calamansi to taste.

Bon Apetit!

Our Cook and her Special Pancit Palabok

Let me start this article by saying thank you to all our relatives, friends and helpers for this year snowbirding sojourn here in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines. We have several helpers this year, but the one we appreciate very much is our cook, housekeeper and Macrine’s Caretaker. Let me call her Helper V. Helper V not only cooks, but also do the laundry, sometimes market but also is Macrine’s primary caretaker during the day, 6.5 days during the week.

I wished I could take Helper V to the US but I know that is not possible with all the visa restrictions as well as Helper V family responsibilities

The other day, Helper V cooked us sinigang na prawns, and eggplant omelet with shrimps. Today she cooked us my favorite pancit palabok. ( see photo above). There are several recipes of pancit palabok in the web, but Helper V has her own secret recipe with one ingredient, that makes the taste of this dish very special and different from the other published palabok recipes.

Our other helpers are our Resident Manager and Driver ( Helper E) and his industrious wife, Helper C. Both are in charge when we have special events here at the resort such as wedding receptions, birthday parties and seminars. We have several temporary helpers- 2 gardeners, an electrician ( Helper R) and Master Handyman/ Mason/ Carpenter( Helper JJ). Thank you to our temporary and special helpers also.

I can not end this post with out mentioning and thanking my two sisters-in-laws. One sister-in-law is my financial manager here in Boac when we are in the US. She does an excellent job managing my accounts being an accountant. Again, thank you very much, Sister-in-Law, Helper S.

I also want to thank my other sister in-law (F) and her condo mate, HN. We stayed at their condo ( 3.5 days) during our arrival last February and will stay at their condo again ( 2.5 days) prior to our return to the US next week. I hope we can repeat our snowbirding sojourn next year, but with Macrine’s health status, this may be our last snowbirding here together. Let us pray and hope for the best and that Macrine's health condition will improve. Good Bye Marinduque for now!

The Fish Vendors in Our Neighborhood( Squid Adobo and Eggplant Omelet for Lunch Today)

Every morning from around 6AM to 7AM you will hear the distinguishable sounds of the fish vendors screaming Isda....Isda..Isda....(fish). So if you have no time to go the public market you can save jeepney or tricycle money if you purchase your fish from the vendors. The only disadvantage is that you will have no selection of what specie of fish to buy. The vendors 99% of the time sells only the small fish called lagidlid and galonggong by the natives. Macrine and I do not eat the two above fish.

Occasionally, the vendors would offer squid ( pusit) ranging from the baby ones to the monster squid (0.5 kg). I love the baby squid and the medium size because it is tender ( no need to pressure cook) and has a more tasty squid flavor. Today we have adobo baby squid(200 pesos per kilo) and grilled eggplant omelet ( with small shrimps, tomatoes and onions) for lunch.


The recipe that our cook use for the squid adobo is very similar to the following published by panlasangpinoy.com

Ingredients

2.5 lbs medium-sized squid, cleaned and ink separated
1 piece large onion, diced
2 pieces medium sized tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup water
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

Cooking Procedure

1. Heat a wok or cooking pot them pour-in soy sauce, vinegar, and water then bring to a boil.
2. Add the squid and wait for the liquid to re-boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat then separate the squid from the liquid. Set aside.
4. Pour-in cooking oil on a separate wok of cooking pot then apply heat.
5. When the oil is hot enough, sauté the garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
6. Put-in the squid then cook for a few seconds.
7. Pour-in the soy sauce-vinegar-water mixture that was used to cook the squid a back. . 8.Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
9. Add the ink, salt, ground black pepper, and sugar then stir. Simmer for 3 minutes.
10.Transfer to a serving bowl then serve.

At today's lunch here in Amoingon, we have also eggplant omelet ( torta) and stem rice along with the squid adobo. For dessert we have fresh mangoes.

Butternut Squash with Shrimps Soup/Dish

During Saturday morning from 5 AM to about 10AM, there is an open market near us ( Libtangin, Gasan) offering fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and meat products at reasonable prices. We usually go to this market to purchase our vegetables at about 50% discount compared to the public market in downtown Boac. Usually there are lots of selections especially if you come early. You can purchase all kinds of locally grown vegetables such as ampalaya, pechay, beans, okra, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger as well as fruits both locally grown and imported. Here's our cook's simple recipe of locally grown butter nut squash with shrimps( 400 pesos/kilo) that we have for lunch today along with chicken adobo and steam rice.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo yellow squash (cut into 1 inch cubes)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 lb shrimps deveined (small to medium size)
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
soy sauce or fish sauce(patis)optional) to taste. I do not like patis since I am not a true-blooded Tagalog but an Ilonggo.

Procedure

1. Cut squash into 1 inch cubes add a little salt and set aside until needed.

2. In a wide skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until tender. Add in tomatoes and cook until softened, regularly mashing with back of spoon.

3. Add the yellow squash cubes to pan and gently mix it into the dish. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes with 1/2 liter of water until the squash is cooked.

4. Add the shrimps and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it turn pink. (The soy sauce or patis could be added at this point(optional in my recipe). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more water if necessary.

5. Serve with steam rice and chicken adobo ( cooked with a little oyster sauce)

Another Delicious Lunch Today-Pata Kare Kare

The other day I posted a recipe for Sinigang na Sugpo( Prawns) as dictated by our cook here in Amoingon, Boac Marindque( Chateau Du Mer). Today at my request she went to the Boac public market very early so she can purchase pata ( pork hock, shank and feet). It cost her 150 pesos per kilo. Along with the pata she was able to purchase chicken ( 90/kilo), shrimps (400/kilo) and a fish called Mabilog at 250 pesos per kilo. I really do not know the English name of mabilog but I believe it belongs to the sea perch specie. If you know the English name, let me know. There are several variations and recipe for kare kare. But the following is the version of our cook. To make the pork very tender she use our pressure cooker. The shrimp paste I use is Barrio Fiesta which is not too salty and has no fishy smell. I will not eat any other brand of bagoong.

Ingredients

2 lbs. Pork shank (pata), cut into 2 inch thick pieces
1 1/2 cups crushed peanuts
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 medium Chinese eggplant, sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
10 pieces of Okra
1 1/2 cups string beans, cut in 3 inches length
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon annatto powder for coloring
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups water or beef broth
salt
1/4 cup shrimp paste (bagoong)My favorite brand is Barrio Fiesta

Cooking Procedure

1.Pour 2 quarts of water in a cooking pot or a pressure cooker along with pork shanks, hock and feet and a little salt. Let it boil( 10 to 15 minutes if using the pressure cooker or 1.5 hours if not or until the meat becomes tender).

2.Remove the pork from the cooking pot. Set aside. In a clean cooking pot, heat oil. Saute the garlic and onion. Add the ground black pepper. Stir. Add the pork. Cook for 2 minutes.

3.Put-in the fish sauce, crushed peanut, peanut butter, and annato powder. Stir.

4. Pour-in the beef broth (or water). Bring to a boil. When the texture thickens, add the eggplant and okra. Cook for 5 minutes. Put-in the string beans. Cook for 3 minutes.

5.Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with shrimp paste and steam rice.

Sinigang na Sugpo (Prawns)

Today at the public market in Boac Marinduque, my cook was able to buy one kilo of prawns. It cost her P650( about 15 US dollars) for one kilo, but the prawns were so sweet and yummy after she made it into sinigang. Sinigang is a Pinoy soup with mixed vegetables, a little bit on the sour side, but my wife and I enjoyed this dish very much. It was one of the best lunch we had since our snowbirding sojourn here in Marinduque-our second home. Here's my cook recipe for the dish.

Prawns Sinigang Ingredients:

1 kilo prawns, 10 pieces

3 tomatoes, sliced

2 onions, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

6 pieces of pechay or baby boc toy or kangkung ( whatevcer is available)

100 grams String beans

2 pieces horse radishes, sliced

12 pieces of okra

2 pieces sili pag sigang (green finger pepper)

200 grams sampalok (tamarind)

1 liter of rice wash or water

Sinigang Cooking Instructions:

Boil sampalok in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cool then peal off the shells and with a strainer, pour samplalok (including water) into a bowl. Gently massage the sampalok meat off the seeds, strain again.

In a pot, sauté garlic and onion then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the horse radish and simmer for 5 minutes then add the string beans, pechay, okra and sili (for spice-optional). Last add the prawns ( washed_) and Let boil for 2 minutes or until the prawns turn red. Serve piping hot.

Sinigang Cooking Tip:

Instead of sampalok fruit (tamarind), you can substitute it with any commercial souring seasoning like Knorr sampalok seasoning or tamarind bouillon cubes for this sinigang recipe.

My Three Favorite but Very Easy Recipes

Yesterday, My sister-in-law and Merlet Perlas visited my wife and me. They brought with them two whole Dungeness Crab a gift from my wife's niece, Elaine Lazarte Chalfin of Mountain View. They also brought with them two other dishes, the chicken adobo sa gata and the Chicken Quesadilla dish. The recipe of the three dishes are as follows:

A.Dungeness Crabs in Oyster Sauce

1.Divide and Cracked whole steamed Dungeness Crabs into small portions. Save the Butter.

2.In a separate pan saute ginger, and garlic with vegetable or olive oil.

3.Place the cracked crabs into the pan, stir until it simmers.

4.Add the crab butter with enough water to transfer all the butter into the pan

5.Add 2 tbs of oyster sauce, then the scallions.

6.Continue stirring until it simmers. Serve Hot.

B. Chicken Adobo sa Gata

1. Chopped the whole chicken into small edible portions. Take out most of the skins and wash the meat

2. Saute garlic and onion in vegetable or olive oil in a pot. Put the chicken in the pot, stir and mix. Add a tsp of powdered black pepper. Boil the chicken for 10 minutes or until cooked without adding any water. Add about one tsp of tumeric powder* ( dilaw or yellow in Pilipino) and simmer another 10 minutes.

3. Add 1 can of coconut milk and simmer until the dish turn yellow. Then add ½ cup of vinegar, and mix. Add slices of green and red bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Serve Hot. Total time should be around 30 minutes.
* If you are rich, used safron instead of tumeric

C. Chicken Quesadilla ( Excellent for Left over Baked Chicken)

1. Shred the left over chicken. Place the chicken in a tortilla flour. Add Cheddar Cheese.( Any kind of cheese will do).

2.Close and flip the tortilla. Place in a hot skillet ( no oil). Invert tortilla and cook until the cheese melts. Add your favorite salsa( mild or hot) and sour cream. Bon Apetit!

What Did I do to Deserve This?

What Did I do Right to Deserve This Treat?

Last night my wife prepared my favorite dish, normally served only on special occasion. It is the Dungeness Crab Omelet with shredded cabbage and sweet Vidalia Onions from Hawaii. Today is not my birthday or some other special occasion. But I was surprise my wife serve me a Dungeness Crab Omelet The dish was delicious.

The last time I tasted this dish was last year, but the crab was from the Maryland crabs known also as the blue crabs. So, I asked my wife of 55 years what did I do to deserve this treat. She said nothing, it was just there was a sale of Dungeness crabs claw and legs and I just feel like cooking your favorite dish.

Preparing the dish is simple. The hardest part is to remove the crab meat from the claws and legs. The cabbage is shredded (1 bowl) and sauteed with the onions in olive oil until partially cooked. An equivalent amount of crab meat is added to the shredded cabbage and onions and cooked in olive oil until the cabbage is fully cooked . The crab and cabbage patty mix is added to beaten eggs with a small amount of corn starch. The patty is then fried in olive oil until the egg is cooked. The omelet is served with Picante Sauce (Hot or Mild) with steam rice.

My wife's other recipe is the use of cube potatoes or bean sprouts instead of the shredded cabbage. Try it and let me know if it is good. Be prepare to pay a high price for either shelled or unshelled Dungeness or Maryland Crabs meat. Crab meat here in US is not cheap, compared to the Philippines. During the Dungeness Crab season here in the West Coast, a pound of Dungeness crab will cost from $6.99 to $17.99 per pound. The average weight of one Dungeness crab is about 1.5 to 2.5 lbs.

Do you know the difference between the Dungeness and Maryland Crabs. The Maryland crabs, also known as blue crabs are much smaller in size and very similar to the Philippine crabs in appearance and taste. The Dungeness crabs are big and are caught here in the San Francisco Bay area and northward up to Alaska. The Maryland crabs are from the Chesapeake Bay of Northern Maryland and Virginia.

The Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister (formerly Cancer magister), is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms on the west coast of North America. It typically grows to 20 cm (7.9 in) across the carapace and is a popular seafood. Its common name comes from the port of Dungeness, Washington. The crabs is a special attraction to tourists in the San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf during the Crab Season. The season for the San Francisco Bay starts in the second Tuesday of November.



Again, may I reiterate that our trip to Seafood City cured my longing for Filipino foods and nostalgia about the Philippines. Except for its location, Seafood city in Mack Road and Highway 99 is clean and well stocked with Filipino food and delicacies, fresh fish and vegetables at reasonable prices.

Bizarre and Exotic Foods of the Philippines

I would never call the balut bizarre or exotic, since I am a Filipino-American. But if you are not a Filipino, I will not blame you. I have eaten the balut more than a hundred times when I was growing up in the Philippines, numerous coconut-rice cakes, fried crickets, stuffed frogs, cow internal organs, blood pudding but not the coconut and mangrove worms and the chicken intestines.

Balut is very delicious and nutritious and consider a brain food. When I was a student at the University of the Philippines, I will buy 4 baluts and gorged on it before my final examination in Chemistry. I dare you to try one, if perchance you have the chance to visit the Philippines in the future. The segment in the video about the underground river in Palawan is informative. This is an excellent video series by Andrew Zimmern.

Do You Have a Favorite Filipino Dish?

Kare-tripe and ox tail in peanut butter Sauce ( photo from lakbay.com)


Lumpia Shanghai (photo from photobucket.com)


Halo-Halo for Merienda( photo from freeweb.com)

My wife and I have resided here in the US since 1960. We have adapted to hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, cottage cheese, yogurt and typical US cuisine, fast foods, as well as filipino dishes that we craved once in a while. Cooking filipino food here is no longer a problem, since you can purchase ingredients in the Filipino-American store or an Oriental store(Chinese, Korean or Japanese). In the 1960's there was only one Filipino store near our residence in Chicago. We oftentimes have to shop in China Town downtown. Today, there are Filipino grocery stores in most medium-sized and big cities in US to cater to the expanding population of Filipino Americans who had immigrated to US in the 1980's.

We have resided in several cities here in US ( Sacramento, Pinole, Modesto, CA, Chicago, Kansas City and Maryland). Every time we moved, my first job was to look at the telephone directory for the nearest oriental or filipino store to our house.

The above two main dishes and one dessert or merienda are some of the dishes that my wife loves to cook every now and then to satiate our longing for filipino dishes. Not pictured are pancit( a noodle dish), Chicken or pork adobo( cooked in water-vinegar mixture), chicken afritada,(a chicken dish cooked in tomato sauce with potatoes and green peppers) and deboned and stuffed chicken called relleno. The above dishes are also the favorites of our children who grew up here in US and does not really know the cuisine of the Philippines.

Our children are brown and looked very Filipino, but they are as American as apple pie. In their college years, some of their friends called them “coconuts”. Their friends would comment, “ you guys are brown outside but very white inside”. That indeed is the truth!

My wife is an excellent cook. The saying " the way to a man's heart is through his stomach", applies to our life. When we were student at the University of the Philippines our romance was on and off, since I was not really ready to get married. One day before my 21st birthday (we have not talked or seen each other for almost a year), I was surprise to receive a birthday gift from her. Her gift was a chiffon orange cake that she baked from scratch. It was the most delicious cake I have ever eaten. It reignited our romance and we started dating again. The next year we got married. I was only 22 years old at that time. The next year, we had our oldest son and I was already in US doing graduate work at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Do you have a favorite filipino dish or an some other native dish of your country of origin? I will appreciate if you share it with me and my readers.

Here's a video about Filipino food-an opinion of one person. I do not agree with some of his assessments.

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