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.

Monggo Soup (Mung beans soup)

It's been raining these past few days and the food that is best served during rainy days is soup. Here's a budget version of monggo soup my mom made last weekend. Take note, the only ingredient she bought is the monggo. I think it just cost her more or less Php15.00. So cheap yet very tasty. :D

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups monggo (mung beans)

1 small papaya (cut into small pieces)

ginger leaves

rice stock

salt

vetsin (msg)

COOKING PROCEDURE:

In a pot, pour the rice stock then bring monggo and ginger leaves to a boil. Simmer until the monggo is cooked. Add the papaya. Season with salt and vetsin. Wait until cooked. Serve with steamed rice and tuyo (dried fish) on the side.

What kind of food are you?

I took the quiz What kind of food are you? and here's the result. Hahaha! I am Mexican Food... interesting... :P

Let's Boodle Fight

I remember when I was still in college I attended the Leadership Training Program. It was my first time to join such training. Participants were class officers, organization officers and the student council. If I were not the class president that time, I would not be able to experience it and I would have missed half of my life. I would never forget how the facilitators made us crawl on the muddy ground, cross the big branches of some trees, climb the wall and jump into the pool that we all did blind-folded. They made us touch dung and they even put dung on our faces that we discovered later on it was only mud (in Tagalog, putik as in putik talaga!). But then the most memorable is the Boodle fight. The facilitators laid banana leaves on a table, started to serve varieties of food and spread them over the table. If I remember it right there were pansit, Filipino-style spaghetti, steamed rice, ripe bananas, ripe mangoes, tuyo (dried fish), sardines, barbeque and some chichiria (junk food). Boodle fight symbolizes camaraderie among team members so the food were eaten together and with bare hands. According to en.wikipedia.org, this way of eating was devised by PMA cadets, and does not represent authentic Philippine culture, but instead symbolizes fraternity and equality among PMA members by their sharing the same food without regard to rank. The term is taken from pre-World War Two West Point slang meaning "any party at which boodle (candy, cake, ice cream, etc.) is served."

Nowadays, having a boodle fight is still a practice especially in the military. But somehow it became a tradition. It will not be missing in some team building activities and even in some town fiestas. Also, some team games like Airsoft also put in practice having boodle fights within the team.

(Photo from blogneffy.blogspot.com)

Tin's Fucilli with meatballs

The cooking procedure is just similar to the tuna macaroni a la mayaman. The only difference is, Tin used fucilli pasta and she added beef meatballs to the sauce. By the way, the meatballs are homemade so here's how to make them.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 kilo ground beef

2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

COOKING PROCEDURE

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with your hands. Roll mixture into meatballs. Keep them in the fridge for about an hour so they would become firm enough. Then pour cooking oil in a pan. Over medium heat, cook meatballs in oil until lightly browned on all sides. Then you can now pour spaghetti sauce or any tomato based sauce all over.

(For Tin's review :P)

Afritada a la Tina

I think this is the first time Tina cooked Afritada. Let me share her own version.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 kilo chicken (cut into pieces)

10 pieces baby potatoes (unpeeled and halves)

1 red onion, diced

1 head garlic, minced

2 chicken stock (broth)

1 cup tomato sauce

salt

pepper

cooking oil

COOKING PROCEDURE

Heat oil in a pan. Sauteé garlic and onions. Add chicken and wait until slightly brown. Pour the tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the chicken is almost cooked. Add potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle cheese cube on top. Serve hot with steamed rice.

(For Tin's review :P)

Pasalubong (goodies) from Bohol

I've been to Bohol 3 months ago together with my boyfriend and girlfriends. Aside from enjoying the breathtaking scenery, we also went to a side trip to buy pasalubong. One of these pasalubong is Bohol's famous delicacy, Peanut Kisses. Ressembling the shape of the Chocolate Hills, this treat is said to be made from high grade peanuts, roasted and processed with all natural ingredients that comes out crunchy and low in cholesterol.

Star Peanuts is also as popular and the taste is similar to Peanut Kisses.

I recently got some of these goodies from Cathz. Hehehehe. :D

Pasalubong (goodies) from Tacloban Leyte

Even though gone for a business trip for 3 days, Cathz didn't forget to take home some of the best pasalubong from Tacloban last weekend. These are the famous binagol, chocolate moron and sagmani. (Thanks so much Cathz!) :D

Binagol

Chocolate Moron

(Photos from backpackingphilippines.com and taclobandailyphoto.blogspot.com)

Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries - Dumaguete City

When you're in Dumaguete, one of the places you should not miss is Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries. This pastry shop is well known for its delicious Sans Rival and Silvanas. I haven't been to Dumaguete but I feel lucky enough because many of my friends have. Hehehe. In fact, my friend Mel was there last week. She brought home these popular baked goodies. (Thanks so much Mel!) :D

The SANS RIVAL

The SILVANAS

Remember that these goodies are best eaten when frozen. Yum yum!

The story about my recent hang-up on airsoft stuff

My dream...

I had this dream last night. I was in Glorietta 3 looking for something to buy. I had Php1100.00 in my pocket but still undecided what to do with it. I knew I should buy something useful and important. Then suddenly, a FOR SALE banner called my attention. Airsoft rifles for sale! 3 for only Php1100.00. Alright! I had the exact amount so I bought 1 JG Spetz and 2 other rifles (that are more like old-style airguns; the long, light brown ones) with a free blue leather gun bag. More like a handbag that has 3 round faded gold metal embelishments horizontally aligned on the upper part. Hahaha! I asked for the FPS (feet per second) then said "Oh, it's 380...". The saleslady corrected me, "No ma'am, it's 280...". Okay, good enough to penetrate one side of a coke can. The FPS didn't bother me so I decided to leave. I realized I had no money left. Good thing I brought my ATM card to cash out some. And then I woke up. Geez! It was just a dream. I bet my brain processed all these airsoft stuff my boyfriend recently indulged himself with.

How my recent fascination with airsoft started...

Marco wants a new hobby. We were talking about airsoft since last week. So I shared with him a little about airsoft to encourage him. Since my bestfriend introduced it to me 3 years ago, I know a bit. I told Marco that I was able to watch an airsoft competition called KALIS (Yes, I was there during KALIS 6 - the 1st and last KALIS I've ever watched. Hehehe). And I think it's a fun activity. Then the last thing I knew was my dear boyfriend was lurking in FilAirsoft.com (aka FAS). Hahaha! He wants an airsoft rifle with at least 380 FPS.

We started canvassing...

Yesterday after dinner, we went straight to Makati Cinema Square (aka MCS). We were after the hobby shops that sell airsoft guns and other things. We know 2 shops there. One is located on the 1st floor and the other one is on the 2nd floor. We first went to the shop on the 2nd floor. It was small but has plenty of airsoft rifles to choose from. We were actually looking for JG steyr aug, JG g36c and JG spetz. But the store only has JG spetz for Php3750.00. Next stop was the KIKAY store on the 1st floor. Yep! you read it right. It's a kikay store that sells lots of airsoft things. Maybe the store considers airsoft as kikay stuff for men. Hahaha! Just guessing! And only JG spetz was available among the airsoft gun models we were hunting. The kikay store also offers the same price as the other store. Our theory - the kikay store is an extension of the store on the 2nd floor. Our observation - Sales staff in both stores have same uniforms. Hehehehe. :D

Still undecided...

Marco has not decided yet if he's going to play airsoft or he would buy a rifle and enjoy just having it. Whether he plays or not, I'll support him all the way! That's the sure thing! :D

Nanay's homemade doughnuts

It's a good news that Nanay has her own business now like her daughter Myke... Very inspiring... She now sells her homemade doughnuts - 2 pieces for only Php 15.00. She didn't tell me how she made them but here's a similar recipe (resource: Cooks.com).

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk (scalded)

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 pkg. yeast

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg

Confectioners' sugar

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Pour milk over butter and sugars; stir until melted and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast, stirring until dissolved. Sift flour, salt and nutmeg. Gradually add half the dry mixture to milk; add egg and beat well. Add remaining flour and leave dough in warm place for 1 hour. Knead gently, roll to quarter inch thickness and cut into diamonds. Allow to rise 30 minutes to 1 hour. Fry in deep fat, 375 degrees and dust with confectioners' sugar or use confectioners' sugar glaze if desired.

These doughnuts are best served with custard dip, best paired with hot choco or brewed coffee and best eaten anytime of the day.

Majah's Mini Tempura

Majah also prepared shrimp tempura, a popular Japanese dish, for the birthday celebrators. Here's her mini version of tempura (pronounced as tenpura).

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 kilo shrimps
1 egg
breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
all-purpose flour
cornstarch
cooking oil

How to prepare the shrimp:
Remove heads and shells from shrimps without removing tails. Make incisions on the upper, middle and lower parts of the shrimp (parts where the body of the shrimp curves). Face the shrimp down then press it to straighten its body. Place on a paper towel to remove excess water.

COOKING PROCEDURE:
Beat egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl to make the batter. In a separate plate, mix flour and pepper. Cover shrimp in flour, then dip into the egg batter. Then roll it over the breadcrumbs before deep frying in the pan. Shrimps cook fast. Make sure to quickly remove from pan once tail turns golden orange.

Tip on checking the heat of the oil:
Place a little batter into the oil. If the batter sinks to the bottom, then the oil is not hot enough. If the batter stays on top, then the oil is too hot. The right temperature will be when the batter sinks half way then goes up again. Once the right temperature is attained, lower the heat as not to burn your shrimps.

Pansit a la Majah

Pansit is a Filipino-Chinese dish that is widely known for its symbolic representation for "long life". This means that if you wish someone to have a long life, better serve Pansit (with uncut noodles) on his birthday. Hahaha! For Majah's case, she planned to cook pasta on her mom and grandma's birthday bash but since Iya (her grandma) requested for Pansit, Majah ended up cooking this traditional dish.

INGREDIENTS:

Bihon noodles
Canton noodles
cabbages (cut into strips)
carrots (cut into strips)
chicken (shredded)
chicken stock
chicken liver (optional)
soy sauce
salt
garlic
onions


COOKING PROCEDURE:
Sautee garlic and onions. Add chicken and liver. Add soy sauce. Sautee for a couple of minutes to let the chicken absorb the mixture. Add chicken stock (amount of stock depends on the amount of noodles you are going to cook). Keep in mind that bihon noodles need more water than canton noodles. Add more soy sauce and salt to taste. Drop bihon noodles first. Use fork to spread the noodles if necessary. Once cooked, drop the canton noodles. Wait until bihon noodles are cooked then add cabbages and carrots. Do not overcook the vegetables. Best served with calamansi on the side.

Haruhi Suzumiya resin kit

I want this... (sigh)

Ang kyut na keyk (a cute cake)

This was the cake before it was murdered by some gorgeous misses.

This was the cake after. Still cute. :D

Watch out for this cake at the corner bakeshop of Max's and try it out.

Sweet 'n Spicy Gemüse a la Chris

Gemüse n. (genitive Gemüses, plural Gemüse, from the noun Mus) 1. vegetable 2. (mildly offensive) A person whose brain has been severely damaged.

Derived terms

Gemüsemischung (mixed veggies)

(Resource: en.wiktionary.org)

INGREDIENTS:

broccoli

long beans

carrots

cabbage

monggo sprout

garlic (minced)

onions (finely chopped)

UFC sweet and spicy sauce

vegetable oil

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Heat vegetable oil. Sautee garlic and onions. Chop and add veggies- broccoli, long beans, carrots, cabbage, monggo sprout. Add UFC sweet and spicy sauce. Cook until firm tender. Serve with potatoes on the side.

For potato side dish: Chop baby potatoes into 2 then boil. After boiling, sautee in vegetable oil. Add salt and sprinkle italian herbs.

Marco's Ham 'n Cheese Omelet

Here's another egg dish from Marco. :D

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices of chinese ham (cut into small pieces)

2 eggs (beaten)

1/4 cup grated cheese

cooking oil

salt

vetsin (msg)

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Saute garlic in cooking oil. Add the chinese ham. Stir until light brown. Add salt and vetsin to taste. Pour in the beaten egg and grated cheese mixture then stir. Turn off heat after a few seconds or when the egg has solidified. Serve with pandesal or garlic bread.

(for Marco's review)

Inaymommy's Bulanglang

"I always miss home. I always miss my family. I always miss my mom's lutong bahay... "

My mom cooked Bulanglang last weekend. Almost all the ingredients were freshly picked from her garden. The dish is guaranteed healthy and organic. So here it is.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small size papaya, sliced

2 cups kalabasa (squash), cut into wedges

1 bundle kangkong

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

6-8 cup rice stock (water from washing rice)

salt

vetsin (msg)

(Important: Make sure to wash all the vegetables)

You can also add the following if available:

1 bundle malunggay leaves, removed from stem

1 bundle sitaw (string beans), cut into 2” length

2 bundle sigarillas (also know as kalamismis), cut into wedges

1 bundle okra, cut into wedges

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Boil rice stock in a large pot, add garlic and tomato. Cook until tomato becomes soggy. Add kalabasa and simmer until it is firm tender. Add papaya continue simmering until cooked. Season with salt and vetsin to taste. Serve immediately. Best served with dried fish or tuyo (specifically sapsap or hawut).

Ginataang Kalabasa ala Cathz (Squash Cooked in Coconut Milk)

Cathz is not always in the mood for cooking. Hahaha! I'm like paparazzi sometimes, watching her every move. One day, I caught her cooking this so I grabbed my cellphone and took a picture of this yummy-looking thing. :P

INGREDIENTS:

1 kilo squash, cut into cubes (1"x1")

1 bundle of string beans

2 medium-sized eggplants (cut into small pieces)

3 pieces tomatoes, diced

2 onions, chopped

1 head garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of ginger root, crushed and minced

4 tablespoons of cooking oil

2 pieces long chili peppers

2 tablespoons of shrimp paste (bagoong)

2 cups coconut milk

1 cups coconut cream (kakang gata)

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons of fish sauce (patis)

COOKING PROCEDURE:

On a big pan, heat oil. Sauté garlic, onions until light brown then add ginger, cook until onions become translucent. Add the tomatoes, squash, string beans, eggplants, chicken stock, shrimp paste and the coconut milk. Let boil then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the squash becomes tender. Add the coconut cream, and long chili peppers. Bring again to a boil and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve hot with plain rice.

(for Cathz' review)

Tina's Tuna Macaroni ala mayaman

It's really nice to have friends who are into cooking. It's more often than not that you get to taste their specialties and sometimes their new recipes. I feel very lucky!!! Hehehe :D

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 kilo elbow macaroni

1 pack sweet style spaghetti sauce

1/4 kilo hotdog (cut into small pieces)

1 can Century tuna light (slightly drained)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

cheddar cheese (grated)

secret ingredients

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain, douse with cold water, drain again and set aside. While the macaroni cooks, sautee the garlic in the pan until you smell its aroma. Add the hotdog then the tuna. Add the spaghetti sauce and the secret ingredients. Let boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the sauce to the cooked macaroni. Transfer to a serving platter and serve at once.

(for Tina's review)

Dinner at Persia Grill

It started with my craving to eggplant. I was thinking where can I eat a yummy eggplant meal that won't ruin my stomach. I wanted something unique like Baba Ganouge. And suddenly Persia Grill crossed my mind. Hmmm, why not? I haven't eaten there for almost a year. I missed its romantic ambiance. Yihee! So Marco and I went there to have a wonderful dinner.

Of course, we ordered Baba Ganouge (for Php 100.00) as the appetizer. It was served with Pita. Yum yum! Its smooth texture and grilled taste really goes well with Pita.

Then for the main dish, we ordered Business Meals (BM) also known as budget meals. We had BM2 - Chicken Kebab (for Php 120.00) and BM7 - Lamb Kebab (for Php 160.00) and 1 extra rice (for Php 25.00 -I think :P). They were served with grilled tomato, buttered plain rice and eggplant yoghurt dip.

The Chicken Kebab was soft, tender and tasty. It was like marinated in a special sauce that you could easily distinguish its taste from any other chicken kebabs. On the other hand, Lamb Kebab was just as tasty and well done. Nonetheless, Kebabs plus grilled tomato, buttered plain rice and eggplant yoghurt dip is a perfect combination. I also noticed that the food presentation was very simple yet surprising. The kebab was all covered with rice that you could barely see it on the plate.

Lamb Kebab

Chicken Kebab

For refreshments, I had House Blend (a mix of mango, calamansi juice and ice tea for Php 75.00 -I think :P) and Marco had a regular ice tea (for Php 40.00). The taste of House Blend was not really that appealing to me. It lacked sweetness though I didn't bother to ask the crew for any sugar. Somehow it complemented the dish. I was like drinking flavored water. As for the ice tea, there was nothing special. Hehehe. :D But then we finished all the food up and went out with a smile on our faces. :)

Persia Grill (Main Branch), Valero St.

Valero Carpark 2, Valero St., Salcedo Village

Makati City, Metro Manila

(02) 818-9090

Mon - Sun 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Other Branches:

Legazpi St., Makati Megastrip, Megamall Soon SM Skygarden, North Edsa

Elden's Pechay and Tofu galore

Elden made another flavorful dish this morning. I recommend this to all especially to those who are on vegan diet. This is truly a health-friendly dish that is easy on the budget.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bundle of Pechay (chopped)

1 pack Tofu (firm)

1 medium-sized onion (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1 cup water

Maggi Savor (garlic flavor)

salt

COOKING PROCEDURE:

Sautee garlic and onion in a pan. Add tofu. Season with Maggi Savor (garlic flavor) and a pinch of salt until golden brown. Pour in 1 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add Pechay. Simmer again for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

Why watermelon makes my mouth water

One of the most interesting thing in my mom's little home garden is the Watermelon. As we all know, it is a summer fruit. But my mom was able to successfully grow it this third quarter of the year which is supposedly rainy. According to her, she planted the seed in the most fertile area of our backyard. Then she just watered it regularly until it grew a little larger than a basketball.

Last friday, my mom told me she already picked the watermelon from the vine. 'Ang tamis!(so sweet!)' she said. So when I got home, the first thing I asked about was the famous fruit. And yes, it was very sweet and very red too.

FAQ: So, how do you know when a watermelon is ripe? Most people tap on the fruit, and listen for a dull thump. If you grow many of them, this is an art form. Other signs include: Ceasing of growth, yellowing of the underside and drying or shriveling of the stem near the base of the fruit. (resource: gardenersnet.com)