Seafood Chowder

1 whole onion, diced

2 tbsp flour

1 slab bacon

2 potatoes, cubed

2 cups clam juice

1/2 cup of cream

salt 

pepper

bay leaf

oregano

saute onion until soft, add bacon and cook until brown, 

add flour and stir well scraping the pan for all the good flavorful stuff from the bacon,

add the potatoes

shrimp, crab meat, white fish, 

add clam juice, salt, pepper, bay leaf and oregano

bring to a boil until thick

add the cream

let simmer for a few minutes

season to taste

voila!

Ebi Tempura

As I drove home from my sister's dorm last night I suddenly had this craving for Ebi tempura and other Japanese food. I'm allergic to shrimp and most crustaceans but it never stopped me from popping an anti-allergy pill and indulging in their savory goodness - especially crabs.

Tempura Batter
1. Sift together 3/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
2. add one egg yolk
3. stir in 200ml of iced cold water

the contrast between the coldness of the batter and the hot oil makes the prawns extra crispy

Clean the prawns, removing the head and shell. devein.
dust with corn starch then dip in the tempura batter.

deep fry til crisp =)

for the dipping sauce
combine 2 tbsp kikoman, 1 tsp sake, 1tbsp sugar and garnish with finely grated radish squeezed off of water & juices.

hello happy tummy =)

Chili honey & Pineapple sticky cream dory & broccoli with coconut cream sauce

I was reading Curry and Comfort this afternoon and came across her Maple and Orange sticky chicken recipe.
It was already past 4 in the afternoon which meant that i no longer had the time to send Ate Sonya out to the  to the nearest supermarket to get me the ingredients that i needed so i figured why not make my own version and base it from her recipe.

I have been having early dinners since i became a mom as Ysabela usually sleeps at 6:30pm and since she's breast fed, i had to adjust my time to accomodate her feeding time.

I didn't have chicken and orange marmalade so I decided to use a fillet of cream dory and pineapple jam

For the marinade

4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (kikoman light)
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp pineapple jam or marmalade
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
dash of chinese 5 spice powder
dash of garlic powder
dash or two of paprika
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tsp chili flakes


For the Brocolli in Coconut Cream Sauce
sautee 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp chopped onions, 1 tbsp ginger in 2 tbsp canola oil.
add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper
let the milk reduce and then add the broccoli and let simmer
until the broccoli is cooked.

ENJOY!

mix all ingredients in a bowl

in a ziplock bag marinate the fish or protein of your choice for at least an hour

line a baking sheet with foil and bake in the oven at 300F for 12-18 minutes or until the fish becomes flaky

finish product

yummy with rice and veggies, i had brocolli in coconut cream

Baby Food - Rice Porridgewith flaked steamed salmon

Feeding a baby is not a very easy task.

My hubby told me to treat our little Ysabela with utmost respect when it comes to feeding and by that he meant for me to refrain from doing "play feeding sessions" with Bela. Adios! No more airplane airplane (as when the spoon is the plane).

and with that I challenged myself to cook baby food for my daughter, one that taste good despite the lack of Salt or artificial flavorings.

Porridge with flaked steamed Salmon

In a steamer, steam for 8 minutes a slice of unseasoned salmon fillet (set aside)

In a pan, heat one teaspoon of butter and  brown the sides of 1 piece of boneless chicken breast fillet next saute 4 cloves of garlic, half a shallot and 4 slices of ginger. Add one cup of uncooked rice, mix until covered with the juice of the shallots, oil from the chicken and butter. add 4-5 cups of water and bring to a boil mixing occasionally. cook for 10-15 minutes or until rice and broth has thickened.

once cooked discard the ginger.

What i do is separate the onion, garlic and chicken and then use an immersion blender so my daughter wont choke on big pieces of chicken etc.

enjoy

Crab Fat Pasta with assorted mushrooms

The next best thing to having big juicy crabs on the dinner table is having a handy jar of Crab Fat (Aligue) in the fridge. My dad recently brought home two small jars of pure crab fat and i couldn't wait long enough to sample it.

Since my cousin mike, his wife martha and my niece Cloie will be coming over, i figured what a perfect excuse to cook crab fat pasta.  

Martha, my niece Cloie,  my lil girl Ysabela and my cousin Mike

CRAB FAT PASTA with assorted mushrooms


1. Sweat 2 table spoons of shallots in  2 teaspoons of Olive oil
2. Add 5 cloves of minced garlic, cook for 1 minute not letting the garlic brown
3. Add the assorted mushrooms which has been soaked in water for 15 mins
4. add 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
5. add 1/4 cup cream and let simmer for 2 minutes
6. mix in 2 tbsp of crab fat and let simmer for another minute
7. season with salt and pepper
8. toss in al dente cooked pasta (spaghetti, spaghettini or angel hair pasta)
9. turn of heat and garnish with fresh flat leaf parsley

Kori Coffee

 kori coffee originated in Japan in the early 80's. Its actually freshly brewed espresso, iced into cubes and then served as such with fresh milk and syrup.


It was my first time to sample such at UCC coffee. At P195, i found it quite expensive for am ordinary tasting coffee drink.


I also found it very bitter especially after most of the espresso cubes had melted.


other meals we ordered are Crispy Seafood Fry Japanese Curry and Unagi teriyaki with rice

 

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

When my hubby and I were still dating, I had a lot of kitchen misses trying to impress him.

1. I over seasoned our fish meal with salt which ended up being saltier than the dead sea.

2. my fall of the bone baby back ribs ended up making our teeth fall as i was ignorant in using the pressure cooker then

i had wanted to redeem myself to him for the longest time as i was a living joke in the kitchen for him

so i started out simple with honey soy glazed salmon & bacon mushroom pasta

HONEY SOY GLAZED SALMON

Salmon Fillet

4tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp honey

1 star anise

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp corn flour diluted in 1 tsp water

bring ingredients to a simmer

marinate fish for at least an hour

and bake at 350F

Baby Food - Baked Golden Potato Croquettes with Salmon & grated carrots

Yesterday, 13th of January was a very stressful day for me. 
1. I was stressing whether or not I'd be able to meet my deadline and finish the political law book I was reading;
2. my daughter got into a lil accident under her nanny's care and hit her head on the breakfast table in the kitchen;
3. The nanny whom I had scolded for the lil accident told me she wanted to quit her job. hayayayyy 


I ended up taking care of my daughter for the rest of the afternoon; and extending my reading indefinitely for a day and bargaining with the nanny to extend her stay until I find a new nanny to take her place. Then I'll have to squeeze in a new task of retraining the new nanny but that's another story.

Here she is in her high chair her lolo bobby bought her

So anyway, i decided I had to do something about Bela's food to  make her enjoy meal times and not resort to force feeding her mashed vegetables & porridge. My hubby also suggested that she be put in her high chair during meal  times to avoid such accidents whenever she tries to violently reject her meals. Sigh Bela. 


as if a bulb lit up, i thought of cooking up a finger food for Bela that she can enjoy eating.




BAKED GOLDEN POTATO CROQUETTES WITH SALMON & GRATED CARROTS


1/2 cup Panko Bread crumbs
2 large potatoes, steamed and mashed
1 fresh salmon fillet, minced or cubed
2 tsp freshly grated parmesan (optional)
1 egg



she did enjoy her meal tonight.
hopefully i could come up with more.