Purefoods Corned Beef with Pechay and Potato

This is the continuation of my frustration of cooking "Nilagang Baka". Since I have a can of Purefoods corned beef in my kitchen cabinet, I thought of adding some pechay and potatoes to it.

I call it the dry version of "Nilagang Baka". Hahaha! :D

INGREDIENTS

1 can of Purefoods corned beef (210g)

1 potato (sliced into small cubes)

1 bundle of pechay (sliced thinly)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 cup water

cooking oil

COOKING PROCEDURE

Sautee garlic in a pan. Put water and potato cubes and bring to a boil. When potato cubes are cooked and water has eveporated, add the Purefood corned beef. Mix thoroughly. Add the pechay. Mix again until pechay is half cooked. This makes 3 servings. Best served with steamed rice.

Lucky Me Bulalo with Pechay and Potato

Last night, I planned to cook "Nilagang Baka" but I realized that buying beef is out of my budget. What I did was went to Mercury Drug and bought 4 packs of Lucky Me Bulalo noodles costing Php13++ each. I used this instant Bulalo noodles as substitute to the beef. As you can see, it's more like Ramen. And believe me, it tasted just the same as "Nilagang Baka".

INGREDIENTS

1 pack Lucky Me Bulalo instant noodles

1 potato (sliced into chunks)

1 bundle of pechay

4 cups of water

COOKING PROCEDURE

Boil the potato chunks. When the potato chunks are cooked, add the noodles. Add the dried beef pellets, flavoring and oil (they are included in the Lucky Me pack). Then add the pechay. Simmer for 3 minutes or until pechay is half cooked. This makes 2 servings. Best served when hot.

Urban Farming

Urban farming is generally practiced for income-earning or food-producing activities though in some communities the main impetus is recreation and relaxation. (Source: en.wikipedia.org). It is encouraged since it is more economical. You cannot only save money but you are also sure that what you eat is organic and free from harmful chemicals.

My mom and grandma personally do this at home. In fact, we harvested some pechay from our backyard yesterday. I wonder what to do with this. Hmmm... maybe I'll cook "Nilagang Baka" tomorrow. Yipee!

Take a look at our little veggie garden. It is very abundant with different vegetables (aside from pechay) like papaya, mais, siling labuyo, talong, rambutan, patola and many others.

Tapang Aso a la Sid (Dog Tapa)

WARNING: Contents may be very sensitive for some. Do not continue reading if you are a hardcore dog lover. Thank you.

Yesterday, my brother brought some meat. He actually tried to fool me that it's a horse meat. Thank goodness my mom warned me about it. I just told him, "kuh, aso yan eh!!!". I remember when he fooled one of his friends that he prepared tapang kabayo (horse tapa). His friend believed him and ate it. Hahaha! That was horrible. I haven't tried eating tapang aso. First of all, I'm not a fan of tapa. Second, it's marinated in patis which I am allergic to. Anyway, here's how my brother prepared it.

INGREDIENTS

1 kilo dog meat (lean strips)

several crushed garlic cloves

calamansi juice

1 pack Datu Puti Patis (fish sauce)

vetsin (msg)

Preparation

Mix together garlic, patis, calamansi juice and vetsin to form a marinade. You can decide how much of each marinade ingredient you should put in. Let the dog meat sit in the marinade at least overnight in the fridge. The longer (1-7 days) it sits, the better the flavors will soak in. When marinated, cook dog meat in hot oil until crunchy. You too can decide how crunchy you want the tapa to be. Serve with fried rice.

Sinabawang Papaya with Dilis (Boiled Papaya with Anchovies)

INGREDIENTS

small papaya (cut into small pieces)

a handful of dilis (anchovies)

3 cloves (finely chopped)

1 small onion (chopped)

1 small tomato (sliced into halves)

1 Knorr chicken broth cube

water

canola oil

salt

COOKING PROCEDURE

Heat pan then pour canola oil. Add dilis until evenly fried. Set aside. In the same pan, sautee onion, garlic and tomato. Add enough water. Then add the papaya. While boiling, add the broth cube. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Then add the fried dilis. Simmer for few minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

Spanish Style Sardines with sitaw and okra

INGREDIENTS

1 bundle of sitaw or string beans (cut into 2-inch long)

6 pieces Okra (cut into small pieces)

1 can Family Spanish Style Sardines (Hot)

1 medium-sized onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

oil drained from the sardines

water

vetsin (msg)

salt

COOKING PROCEDURE

Use oil drained from the sardines in sauteeing garlic and onion in a pan. Pour a cup of water then add sitaw and okra. Add vetsin and salt to taste. Wait until sitaw and okra are half cooked. Add the sardines. Simmer for few minutes. Best served with steamed rice.

Elden's Chicken Tocino Rice

INGREDIENTS

bahaw or kaning lamig (left-over rice)

3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

5 pieces Chicken Tocino

sesame oil

COOKING PROCEDURE

Heat pan then pour the sesame oil. Put chicken tocino in the pan. Fry until the chicken tocino is toasted. Then set aside. In the same pan where the tocino is fried, sautee garlic until light brown. Add the kaning lamig. Stir until cooked. Serve with the chicken tocino on the side.

Ginisang Sitaw at Kalabasa with Tuna

INGREDIENTS

1 bundle of sitaw or string beans (cut into 2-inch long)

1/4 kalabasa or squash (cut into small pieces)

1 can of Century Tuna Lite

1 medium-sized onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

water

cooking oil

soy sauce

vetsin (msg)

salt

all-spice

COOKING PROCEDURE

Sautee garlic and onion in a pan. Pour a cup of water then add sitaw and kalabasa. Add soy sauce, vetsin, all-spice and a little bit of salt to taste. Wait until sitaw and kalabasa are half cooked. Add the tuna. Simmer for few minutes. Best served with steamed rice.

Sinabawang Tingin a la Sheen (Boiled Bigeye with tomatoes and garlic)

This is a simple recipe I learned from my mom. This is also a perfect dish for those who have a tight budget.

INGREDIENTS

3 medium-sized isdang Tingin (aka Dilat or Bigeye fish)

3 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 medium-sized tomatoes (cut into halves)

kangkong leaves

water

vetsin (msg)

salt

COOKING PROCEDURE

Bring isdang tingin to a boil together with garlic and tomatoes. Then add salt and vetsin to taste. Lower the heat. Put kangkong leaves then simmer for few minutes until kangkong is cooked. Best served with steamed rice.

Oregano

This oregano was given to Marco as a Kris Kringle gift last year for the category "Something GREEN".

Oregano is considered as one of the medicinal herbs here in the Philippines. This can cure cough, inflammation, urinary track infection and even colon cancer. (see Benefits of Oregano)

This herb is also important in culinary arts. Cooks usually use dried oregano for it is more flavourful than the fresh. It is often used in Italian dishes.