Pipian

It's been a while since I got to update my blog again. My last post was actually 3 weeks ago. -_- I'm just busy with some things lately that I can't even squeeze in a little time to write, but I'm still very glad and thankful that the traffic in my blog did not decrease. I'm even getting offers from advertisers on my blog. Thanks to my recipe posts! And so, here, I'm posting a recipe once again. :D


Pork Estofado is a stewed pork dish which is somewhat comparable to pork adobo and patatim--with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic as the main ingredients--but the use of fried plantains makes this dish distinct. Aside from fried plantains, some recipes also use carrots and pineapple, but I grew up having my dad's version with fried pandesal.

Beef Caldereta is one of my Daddy's specialties which the whole family loves. I've tried different versions of this dish, but nothing still compares to my Daddy's caldereta. :D


I'm fond of just watching my Daddy cook especially the dishes which I haven't tried cooking yet. Though I'm not really sure if he also used liver spread and butter, it turned out to be a hit when I tried cooking Beef Caldereta for the first time. Got to cook this dish once again just a few months back, posted the photo of it online, and I've been getting requests for the recipe since then.

The Christmas season is over and indeed 2014 has just started, but hey, we've only got a couple of months left before summer here in the Philippines. Oh how time flies! But I guess the weather's having a hard time catching up. :p Yup, it's been so cold since last December and it's getting colder by the day. I also heard we will still be experiencing a lot colder weather in the coming months. Brrrrr!

Windbreakers and blankets do come in handy, but is there a better way to keep yourself warm than enjoying a hot bowl of soup on a cold weather? Aside from Arroz Caldo, here's another family favorite that's perfect for the cold weather. Sharing with you this recipe, which I learned of course from my dad. :)

Lomi

Printable Recipe: Lomi

Weekends are almost everybody's favorite days of the week. I for one love weekends, especially weekends at home, because I get to be with my whole family. And when the family's all complete, it just means one thing...weekend feast! Courtesy of course of my daddy dear :)

Aside from lunch feasts, we also get to enjoy the products of daddy's cooking prowess during snack time. Just like last Saturday when daddy cooked homemade hamburgers for our snacks. He was actually craving for Jollibee Champ and we were supposed to have a drive-thru. But since daddy doesn't get easily satisfied with fast food, he decided to make his own. Well I guess that's just really how it goes when you know how to cook scrumptious dishes! :p


Here's an easy-to-prepare recipe of my daddy's juicy-licious burger patties that will surely satisfy both your palates and your tummies! :-p~

Nope, I wasn't on a blogging hiatus. I was just busy (the happy kind of busy) with something for the past weeks. I will share the details on my next posts so watch out for it. :D

I have quite a number of posts about our family feasts here in this blog and more often than not, Ginataang Alimango is always included in the menu. I've been receiving messages and emails requesting me to post the recipe, but since it's my dad who always cooks, I don't really get to take pictures for the recipe.


Luckily, a couple of weekends back, I was able to finally cook Ginataang Alimango for the first time, of course using the recipe that I learned from no less than my dad. :)

We had a dinner feast at home last Sunday, May 12. And just like last year, we again had a double celebration -- celebration of Mother's Day and an advanced celebration of Jaoey's 11th birthday. :)


Most of the dishes on our feast were the birthday boy's requests. He specifically pointed out that he wanted to have beef caldereta, lechon kawali, fried chicken, and spaghetti.

Just like what I said before, I always make sure that I get to cook Mark's favorites whenever he comes over at my house for a visit. Aside from his all-time-favorite Kare-Kare, I also learned that he has come to love my version of Pork Steak. :D Thanks to my mom for teaching me the recipe. :)

Pork steak is actually a twist on the Filipino dish, Bistek Tagalog (Beef Steak), as it has the same ingredients and just differs with the main ingredient which is the meat. Paired with steamed rice plus Ensaladang Kamote (Camote Tops Salad), I'm sure this dish will be a family hit, just like how it has always been for our family. :)

Pork Steak

Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday which marked the start of the season of Lent. And since meat is not allowed during the season, the next best alternative would be fish.

Fried fish would always be a common dish during Lent, but this tends to be dry and bland, so I'm sharing with you this easy sweet and sour fish recipe that I'm sure you'll enjoy. It's basically deep fried cream dory chunks and deep fried tofu in sweet and sour sauce with pineapples, onions, and bell peppers.

I cooked this for lunch on Ash Wednesday and my family loved it! :D

Sweet and Sour Cream Dory with Tofu

Mark came over at our house last Friday and spent the whole weekend, up until Sunday, with me at home.

The family's all complete, Gia's boyfriend also came over, last Sunday, and so daddy decided to throw a lunch feast for Mark since he'll be celebrating his birthday this Thursday, February 7.

Being a girlfriend of a bodybuilder for more than 8 years now, I have already known and mastered Mark's needs especially when it comes to food. I enjoy cooking and I love to cook especially for my loved ones, and that of course includes Mark. I know how strict his diet is but that didn't stop me from cooking for him. Thank God for off-seasons from competitions, Mark can get to enjoy my home-cooked specialties. :D

Whenever Mark comes over our house for a visit, if my dad's not around, I make sure to prepare something that will surely satisfy his big appetite. I also see to it that I prepare different dishes for him for his every visit.  I already cooked Kare-kare for him before, so that's definitely out of the list.  I knew how Mark loves to eat chicken so I decided to cook Chinese-style Roasted Chicken for him when he paid me a visit at home a few weeks ago. :D

I actually learned this recipe from my dad.  It's basically roasted chicken with soy sauce plus star anise, where the distinct Chinese herb taste comes from. :) I have already perfected this recipe and so whenever there is roasted chicken in the menu in our family feasts, I am always tasked to cook it. Here's one simple yet delectable recipe that I'm sure you'll enjoy just as how my family and Mark did. :)

Chinese-style Roasted Chicken

I celebrated my 27th birthday last January 3 with my loved ones over a simple lunch and dinner at home, since my dad had to go to work and my baby brother had to go to school. I knew that Mark was coming over for lunch and so I asked him what he wanted to have. Without any hesitations, he immediately replied "Kare-kare!". Haha!

Kare-kare is a Philippine stew made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables and meat which usually comes from oxtail, beef, and sometimes ox offal or ox tripe. Meat variants may also include goat meat or chicken, but I grew up eating Kare-kare made from beef and pork tenderloins. It is best eaten with shrimp paste (bagoong) over a hot steamed rice.

I first tried to cook Kare-kare back in college (using the recipe that I learned from my dad) when I was the acting chef at home that time since my parents were in the US. And as a first timer, my Kare-kare was a hit!

I already knew that Mark would answer Kare-kare since it's his most favorite dish. It's also my mom's favorite so I decided to cook it for my birthday lunch. :) And on my second time to cook Kare-kare, my family, especially my Mom and Mark, loved it so I decided to share with you guys this simple yet delectable recipe. :D

Kare-kare

Filipino-Style Spaghetti

My dad loves to cook, as all of you already know, and being a true blue Ilocano, Ilocano delicacies of course are one of his specialties. Good thing I have mastered his cooking skills over time. :)

One of the Ilocano delicacies that I can cook perfectly is Dinuyduy. :p It's basically a mashed squash soup. :D It's a perfect appetizer. It may also be paired with any fried dishes like pork, chicken, and fish. It's even perfect for children who are picky eaters especially when it comes to vegetables.

Dinuyduy

I've already posted before that buttered veggies with gravy may be a good complement for pork, beef, and fish dishes; and so I'm sharing with you this simple yet delectable recipe of buttered veggies paired with fried cream dory which I cooked for lunch a few weeks back. :)

Cream Dory Fillet with Buttered Veggies and Gravy

Since today is the second Sunday of September, all grandparents are again being recognized today, well at least here in the Philippines, as we celebrate the Grandparents' Day. :)


Earlier today, after hearing mass, we went to Tita Tessa's house in Quezon City. She prepared her specialties for our lunch feast.

The first two Sundays of August mean birthday feasts for our family. :D Last August 5, my mom celebrated her 49th birthday. Yup, she doesn't mind having her age published here because she looks way younger! :D

She doesn't look her age, does she?

Since the food that we have during any feasts is always cooked by our dear daddy, we always do a merienda-to-dinner celebration to make time for the preparations.

Arroz Caldo which literally means "rice soup" has always been one my family's favorite comfort foods.

"Arroz caldo is actually a Chinese congee that was adapted to the tastes of the Spanish colonial settlers who patronized Chinese restaurants in the Philippines." ~Wikipedia

It is commonly flavored with chicken, garlic, ginger, and safflower (or our local saffron, which gives the arroz caldo a distinct aroma and a bright yellow tinge). But my dad, being adventurous when it comes to cooking, has his own version of the arroz caldo which my family loves. With a squeeze of calamansi juice plus a dash of black pepper, a hot bowl of arroz caldo is a perfect way to warm our tummies especially on a cold weather.

I actually tried to cook arroz caldo using my dad's recipe one rainy afternoon and it turned out to be a hit! Try it! :D

Arroz Caldo

Celebrated father's day last Sunday over a lunch feast at home. We were supposed to go out but the bad weather didn't permit.


It was almost lunch time when we decided to just stay in for lunch. Daddy decided to have something that doesn't require so much preparation and cooking time and so he cooked seafood for lunch. Here are what we devoured during our father's day lunch feast.

If you have left over pork or chicken in the fridge and you're sick of just having it reheated and served, instead of throwing away the food (which also means throwing away some cash :p), this recipe is the best for you.

Let me share with you a recipe of yet another tasty treat from my dad that will surely satisfy your palates. :D 

Chicken and Pork Empanada