LMPC Reads: The Forest Feast

Perhaps nothing can be more calming, alluring, and relaxing than finding a pocket of free time, curling up with a good book, and sipping a steaming cup of tea or coffee (well, except for the occasional massage).  For a hobby crafter like me (I still cringe with embarrassment when I come across people who think I'm sort of expert), craft and recipe tomes make up a large part of my literary repertoire.  For as much as reading can be exhilarating on its own especially for an introvert like me, it is also amazingly rewarding to make something as a takeaway from an inspiring book.

I thought it'd be lovely to start a new series on this little virtual bubble of mine where I would share my current and not-so-current reading selections and the craft project or recipe that I made and tried from them.  :)

To kick off this series, enter The Forest Feast.  I purchased the book several months ago.  Admittedly, I have never heard of the blog until I came across pictures of the cookbook that flooded my Instagram feed.  At first, I was attracted to the visual imagery:  beautiful watercolored recipes and typography.  Then I saw snippets of the cookbook recipes and fell in love with the four-to-five-at-most-ingredients recipes.  Not only that, the recipes were vegetarian which was especially convenient since I have recently begun implementing a Meatless Dinner Night once a week in our household.  So the cookbook was literally a treasure trove of ideas for that.

I was meaning to make this Asparagus Tart from the book but the night I was supposed to make it, I realized I did not have asparagus on hand so I used plump tomato slices instead.  The layers of Brie cheese, pesto, and tomatoes made it seem like eating a healthy pizza!

On another night, I made the Accordion Zucchini.  So easy to make and yet it wowed my husband on how fresh and tasty it was.

 Baked but still juicy zucchini with paper-thin garlic slices and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese

The book is filled with 100 simple vegetarian recipes and is divided into categories:  Appetizers, Cocktails, Salads, Vegetable Dishes, and Sweets.  Soon enough, I shall make the Garlic Knots, Strawberry Salsa, Polka Dot Foccacia, Eggplant Tacos, Corn & Caulifower Tacos, and (hopefully) the Challah.  And with the beautiful layout, I don't think I'll ever get tired referring to this cookbook again and again and again.  It is, after, a feast for the eyes as well.

The One About the Spanish Rice and Salpicao

Salpicao is a dish that I have been cooking for a while now.  It's pretty easy and fast to make.  But what ups the whole salpicao-eating experience is when it is paired with salivatingly good Spanish rice.

I learned how to make this dish from a colleague and ever since I first prepared it, I would always look forward to when I can make it again.  I swear, that mound of golden brown beef on a bed of tastebud-tickling tomato-ey grains would make one shun the thought of eating out on a Saturday night.  It's that good!

I follow a fuss-free Salpicao recipe.  I marinate beef cubes in olive oil, crushed garlic, soy sauce, freshly ground pepper, and a little sugar and leave it overnight for the flavors to marry.

For the Spanish rice:
1.  Saute chopped onions and minced whole head of garlic (at this point, you already know it's going to be good. Go, garlic!).
2.  Add roughly chopped boiled tomatoes (I did away with boiling and they turned out fine).
3.  Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and about a cup of tomato sauce.
4.  Add a little honey.
5.  Add a tablespoon or two of pesto. Yup, pesto!  I myself was thinking the first time I heard it if it really did belong in there.  My tummy was thankful that it did. :)
6.  Add chicken stock.
7.  At this point, you can add your uncooked rice to cook in the sauce a la paella.  Or you can do what I do: wait for the sauce to thicken then add the cooked rice.

So there!  Writing about this dish conjures pangs of hunger and craving for it!  Wait, you're still reading this post?  I thought somewhere between the pesto and the chicken stock, you'd be in front of your stove already!

Try it.  You'll love it!

The One About the Chinese Cooking Class

Hon-some and I love Chinese cuisine.  On days that permit us to do so, we love waking up early in the morning and driving to Binondo to have breakfast.  There, we would have more than our fill of authentic Chinese fare. In fact, our trips to Hong Kong almost always highlight the food, not the scenery nor the crazy shopping.

Sadly, Chinese cooking is my Achilles' heel.  Even after many attempts, I never get it authentically right.  Sure, my Yang Chow fried rice is good enough...but it’s not authentic.  For some reason, online recipes I have found have yielded lackluster results.

Fortunately, 25 Mushrooms Kitchen came to the rescue!  25 Mushrooms Kitchen initially offered their cooking classes to household helpers to improve their cooking repertoire, much to the happiness of the employers who have graciously enrolled them in a class or two...or more.  Happily, they also accommodate non-household helpers like newlyweds or anyone who’s itching to perfect a particular recipe or cuisine.  Their lineup of classes have always piqued my cooking diva interest but when they opened a Chinese Dimsum and Dumpling class, I knew I had to enroll.  Right.  Away.

So right away I went!  About seven recipes were taught via demonstrations and – if you volunteer – hands-on experience.  The instructors were very generous in sharing what they knew about dimsum and dumplings – precise ingredients and where to get them, exact measurements, recommended brands of specific ingredients that yield the best dimsum.

In one day, I had my fill of the following Chinese fare...

Hakaw

Lo Ma Gai or Machang (sans the wrapping)

Radish Cake

Shrimp Chong Fan

Beancurd Roll

Seafood Cabbage Roll

At one point, I got tired from taking pictures and just wanted to munch away but we also made buchi and steamed spareribs.

I super enjoyed my cooking class and felt that the P1,100 that I invested for learning that day was well-spent!  Will write a blog post again once I make that trek to the Chinese grocery and churn out lovely dimsum beauties of my own!

The One That's Almost Southern

Southern fried chicken, to me, has always appeared to be the best fried chicken there is.  It is moist and juicy on the inside and the crispy coating is a sinful delight I am more than willing to commit.  I have made two or three attempts in the past to recreate this rather iconic American dish but have failed miserably.  Either the chicken was dry on the inside or the coating was too sticky because of too much flour.

Recently, I decided to give it one more try.  Armed with a recipe I found online, I made a few tweaks and, lo and behold!!!  An almost perfect Southern fried chicken!

Here’s the recipe:

1.  In a bowl, mix buttermilk (make your own:  about a cup of milk and a tablespoon of vinegar), cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and white pepper.  

2.  Place the chicken pieces in the marinade and allow flavors to seep in the chicken overnight.

3.  Next, mix flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a shallow bowl.  At this point, you can leave the seasoned flour as is or try adding dried herbs of your choice.  Take note that the flavor will alter depending on the dried herbs you have chosen to add.  Also, I don't measure when I cook.  I eyeball everything but about a teaspoon of each of the spices and herbs will do.

4.  Coat the chicken with the seasoned flour.  You can do double coats (coat with flour, dip in buttermilk again, and then coat with flour for the second time).  I did double coats and then, I tweaked the recipe by coating the chicken in breadcrumbs.  It resulted to a crispier chicken.

5.  Fry the chicken in batches.

I say that it’s almost perfect Southern fried chicken because I only used a few herbs and spices.  Now if I can just figure the other ones that wonderfully complement chicken (or the rest of KFC’s 11 secret herbs and spices!), that would spell out success in this feathery quest for the Holy Grail of fried chicken!

But as it is, it is already more than good.  It’s unbelievably savory and has an incredible kick in every morsel of chicken.  Marinating it in flavoured buttermilk gives it the moist and juicy meat.  I paired it with buttered veggies, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, and a Southern accent for good measure. :)

Weekend Tidbits

I always find that my weekends are busier than my weekdays.  In between grocery shopping, house cleaning, other household chores, and social commitments which crop up every now and then, finding pockets of time to do things I like is somewhat akin to finding a pin in a haystack.  Fortunately, there are ways to work around the hustle and bustle of weekend commitments.  Other times when finding ways seems next to impossible, it's a matter of praying for blissful and satisfying moments.

On Saturdays, when our tiny home is still and peaceful and dark, I wake up and sew and sew and sew until dawn greets me.  It took several Saturdays but I finally finished these...

They're felt bread slices!  It's 3D so there's stuffing inside and I scaled it to the size of real slices of bread!  Now I'm onto thinking what will be in between the slices.  Peanut butter and jelly?  BLT?  :)

Last weekend, Hon-some and I mostly stayed in.  And staying in meant cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  We had a leisurely lunch of pizza subs and minestrone.  And while I forgot to take pictures, I also whipped up chili cheese fries and pasta. 

To cap off the weekend, I turned to my unread pile of books.  What can be more luxurious than sitting on a couch, a book in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other?  I just finished the first book and I'm now reading Hollow City.  The book is just oh-kay (but then again, I'm no longer 16) but I do understand why it's been picked up to be made into a movie.  That should be interesting.

The weekend that was.  Uneventful, perhaps, but nonetheless relaxing and quite productive.  After all, aren't weekends meant for unwinding, putting up one's feet to de-stress, and slowing down?  :)

The One About Getting All Cheesy

How did  your Valentine's Day go?  We don't normally celebrate it; in fact, I don't think we ever did in the seven years that we have been together.  This year, I felt we both needed some perking up and, given the timing, I gave in to preparing a lovely spread.

And so, our Valentine's Day looked like this..

 His and Hers

Lovely. :)

The One When We Went Italiano!

I love getting crafty in the kitchen...and so does my waist. :)  I love Italian food and Hon-some and I manage to have pasta night at least once a week (yes, and another night as brinner night!).  Several weeks ago, I was feeling more Italian than usual (hehehe!) and I whipped up this meal...

Sausage and Peppers Sandwich and Minestrone

It's easy peasy!

Sausage and Peppers Sandwich:

1.  Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.
2.  Add the sliced Italian sausages.
3.  Add the sliced bell pepper.
4.  Season with salt and pepper.
5.  Slice a ciabatta bread into two halves.  I just used regular hotdog buns, though.  Butter and toast the bread halves.
6.  Spread mustard on the bread and pile on the sausage and peppers!

Minestrone:

1.  Saute onions and garlic in butter.  Add diced carrots, diced potatoes, and sliced celery.  Allow vegetables to sweat for 10 minutes.
2.  Add a can (or two) of crushed tomatoes.  If you want a chunky soup, you can use whole tomatoes.
3.  Add fresh basil and parsley.
4.  Pour in chicken stock.  Season with salt and pepper.
5.  Bring to a boil then simmer until vegetables are soft and tender.
6.  In some recipes, the shell pasta must be cooked in a separate pot and then added to the soup.  I have found that it's okay to add uncooked shell pasta straight to the soup once it is boiling.  The pasta cooks as the vegetables soften.  You know what, any kind of pasta can be used like macaroni.  I even add leftover spaghetti that I cut into small strips.
7.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve while it's hot.

Buon appetito!!!

Weekend Tidbits

The past weekend seemed to have gone by in a blur.  Still, I managed to take some snapshots of it:

Our new project. :)

Even though they weren't perfect yet, they went so well with this...

 Organic red kamote tops tea!  Learned it from school and even Hon-some likes it.  It's perfect when hot but Hon-some likes it cold.  Yup, we're still health nuts...but I have to admit, we snuck in some burgers and fried chicken somewhere in the weekend.  Teehee!

And then we met up with my family for dinner at Pages Deli at Shangri-La Mall.  Soup, sandwiches, pasta, and a tasty cheese platter.  Nix the burger! :)

I'm hoping to squeeze in some crafting next weekend.  I'm excited for Playthings by Wicked Crafts but I'm still making the first collection.  Ooohh!!  And I started a craft club in school.  More details on that soon.  Until then, have a great week, lovelies. :)

The One About the Parmesan Salmon Bake

Hon-some and I love the Parmesan-crusted Cream Dory at Cookbook Kitchen and he has been telling me to recreate it at home.  Well, now that we're on a health freak mode, fish has become a much-needed fare on our dinner table.  Hence, I was only too happy to oblige.

I did some tweaking on the recipe (because I don't know the recipe to begin with) so this is pretty much all my own.

First, I used salmon (instead of cream dory) and steamed it.  Since this dish will be baked, you can skip the steaming.  But I love the taste of steamed fish (it tastes fresher); plus, it doesn't take long to steam fish.

While the salmon is steaming, I sauteed garlic in butter - again, I eyeball my ingredients; I never measure - and added flour to make a roux.  Then I added chicken stock and half-and-half.  Add some freshly grated nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.  I added a handful of grated cheddar cheese to make it tasty.

After the salmon has been steamed, I flaked it and spread it onto a baking dish.  I covered the fish with the creamy sauce.  Then I topped the whole thing off with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and cubes of butter.  I baked it in the over just until the topping formed a lovely crust.

I served it with buttered French beans. :)

Yummy!  Try it; you'll love it. :)

The One About the Seafood Chowder

Another successful kitchen adventure!  The taste of this seafood chowder still lingers in my mouth.  It's THAT good!  And easy! :)




Here's what you'll need:

Butter
Garlic, minced
Onions, chopped
Shrimp
Squid rings
Fish cubes (dredged in flour then pan-friend; you can also poach the fish in milk)
Mushrooms
Cream of mushroom soup
Parsley
Potatoes, cubed

Here's what you do:

1. After pan-frying the fish, put a pat of butter in a pan and quickly cook the shrimp (heads removed) and squid.  Set aside.

2.  Saute onions and garlic.  Add the shrimp heads and, using a wooden spoon, squeeze out all the yummy . flavor from the shrimp heads.  Add the potatoes.

3.  Add water (or fish stock).  Water is fine because the flavor from the shrimp heads will be enough to intensify the seafood flavor of the dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.

4.  Add cream of mushroom soup (or milk or cream).  Add sliced mushrooms.

5.  Put the seafood back, sprinkle with parsley, and simmer on low heat until ready to serve.

I served the chowder with garlic bread.  Hon-some and I stumbled on this garlic bread recipe and it's the best garlic bread ever!!!

In a bowl, mix the following:  softened butter, chopped parsley, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and lemon zest.  Spread on bread and lightly toast in the oven!

I am suddenly reminded of how perfect this dish is now that the rainy season has officially begun in my home soil.  It's hearty, warm, filling, and it really hits the spot. :)

The One About the Fish Cakes and Mango Salsa

Here's a recipe I'm sharing today -- Fish Cakes with Mango Salsa!

I try to cook healthy dishes as much as possible.  My man loves his meat and fried anything but he often welcomes health-friendly menus too!  This dish is perfect because I can sneak in veggies in the fish cake mixture that no carnivore would ever miss his meat!

For the fish cakes, you will need:

Flaked fish fillet (I used cream dory)

breadcrumbs

an egg

carrots, minced

onion, minced

parsley

garlic, minced

salt and pepper

flour

For the mango salsa, you will need:

onion, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

mango flesh, chopped

cilantro, roughly chopped

lemon juice

What to do:

1.  Steam the fish (it doesn't take long).  When cool, flake the fish with a fork.  Set aside.

2.  In a bowl, put the garlic, onion, carrot, chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, and egg.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix very well.

3.  Add the flaked fish and mix until everything is well-incorporated into the mixture.

4.  Portion the mixture (just eyeball it) and roll each portion into balls the size of golf balls.  Then flatten each ball to make a cake.

5.  Dust the cakes with flour.  At this point, you can already fry the cakes.  If you want them crispy, you can dip them in beaten egg and then roll in Japanese breadcrumbs.  Then fry them up.

6.  For the mango salsa, mix everything in a small bowl.  I know not everyone likes cilantro but in this recipe, never skip it.  It makes all the difference in the dish.  :)

The One About the Baked Eggs

I noticed I haven't been posting about my kitchen adventures for some time now...and I'm never NOT adventurous in the kitchen. :)  So here's one today...

I first read about Baked Eggs in Samantha Sotto's book, Before Ever After.  I have been meaning to try it but I sort of forgot all about it until I read about it in some blog.  Anyway, this dish received a two thumbs up from Hon-some and it's super easy to make.  Takes about half an hour to make. :)

Here's what you'll need:

3 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
Italian/breakfast sausages
A can of whole tomatoes
Paprika
Cumin
Cayenne Pepper
Brown Sugar
Parsley/Basil
Eggs

(I don't measure when I cook so I hope you're comfortable eyeballing the amount of the ingredients.)

Here's what you'll need to do:

1.  Slice/crumble the sausages and fry them up.  Set aside.
2.  In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil.
3.  Add the whole tomatoes and the sausages.  Sprinkle paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  Add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
4.  Simmer until the mixture reduces slightly.
5.  When cooked, transfer the mixture to small bowls or ramekins.
6.  Break an egg on each bowl, topping the tomato mixture.
7.  Add a dash of parsley or basil (fresh or dried).
8.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until eggs set.

Hon-some and I enjoyed this with some toast and it makes for a perfect light dinner or "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) which we like to have at least once a week.  We looooovvvveee breakfast food!

Try it.  I know you'll love it. :)

The One About the Recipe Binder (Part 2)

Remember when I started on making a vintage-themed recipe binder in order to organize all the recipes I have from newspapers, magazines, and the Internet? When I first wrote about it here, I only got this far.



I was able to find the time to get more work into it.

I bought binder dividers to categorize the recipes.

The binder dividers weren't this pretty when I bought them. They were plain and came in generic blue, red, yellow, and green. So I bought some vintage-looking gift wrappers and Mod Podge-d them onto the dividers.

Words to live by...

One gift wrapper was enough to cover only four dividers. I went out to buy more of the same print but I just couldn't resist this print! It's a 1968 Tigger!

I printed the recipes, added pictures and clipart, and placed them in clear sheet protectors.

Now I can't wait to get started on cooking! Haha! Happy crafting -- and cooking!