Coconut Chicken Strips

In a previous post, I mentioned that a friend of mine invited me to her house for a Demarle food demonstration. There she showcased the lovely products from Demarle and prepared for us some really delicious meals from appetizers to desserts. Not only was I impressed with the Demarle products but with the food that she made.

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

I love cookies! I cannot stop eating them once I start munching on them and for this reason, I avoid making or even buying them. The only time we have cookies in the house is when a kind soul donates to us.

But today I found what I thought was the easiest cookie recipe ever! So, I instantly forgot my resolve to not bake cookies ever - decided it was about time I post a cookie recipe on this blog.

I discovered this very easy (but I knew would certainly be a yummy recipe!) from the Facebook page of the southernladycooks.com. She graciously shared this recipe on her site and I was so happy to try it because I have all the ingredients handy. My peanut butter in the pantry has been begging to be eaten and seems always to be untouched despite my son's constant request to add it to his oatmeal. So I thought, finally we can finish this peanut butter and for a very good cause - Peanut Butter Cookies!

Without further ado, here's the easiest Cookie Recipe ever!
 

And as you can see from the photo below and above that it was a success! For a twist, I replace half the sugar with Chocolate Chips so we have both yummy peanut butter and chocolate too! Super! :-)



My  husband and two tots loved it! Me too! We love the texture from the crunchy peanut butter and the brown sugar granules too! My husband suggested though that perhaps I should lessen the sugar next time as he prefers a more peanut buttery taste! I will, next time, for this recipe is now a keeper. Thanks to the southernladycooks.com for this, we are forever grateful! 

Cook's Notes:

As you can see the cookies are rather big. I didn't realize they would expand that well considering there was no leavening agent. I used a large ice cream scoop and made about 10. However, now that I know that it expands, I am certain I can easily make a dozen out of it and I dare say up to 20 if I use a smaller amount per cookie.  

The assembled cookies before they were baked in the oven.

After baking, see how much they have expanded. 

But whether you want to make extra large cookies or teeny-tiny ones, for sure they will be yummy! That's what matters! Most of all, with a Silpat, it's fuss-free baking! Easy clean-up and cookies never stick!

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Pork or Beef Menudo

I bought a big family pack of boneless pork ribs this week so I had been cooking Filipino food like crazy! Adobo, menudo, Asian Bar-B-Q ribs are just some of the recipes on my menu list.

This particular menudo recipe is one which my mom cooks for us especially when I am at home on vacation. She told me that to give the meat a really good flavor you need to cook it with fresh tomatoes and not just dump it with the tomato sauce. Also, she does not use tomato sauce (though that's fine if you prefer to use this instead) but ketchup 'cause it's a little sweeter than tomato sauce (at least the Filipino ketchup!) and enhances the flavor of the whole stew. Another technique that she told me is to make sure that you only put the ketchup towards the end of cooking so it does not overpower the whole dish but "enhance" it. So, my only contribution here really is adding a little lemon juice to perk up the dish - I think that and fish sauce really make this a yummy dish.

Think of this recipe as a basic guide and tweak the seasoning to your liking. This dish is so good that you won't even miss the liver pate that is added in traditional menudo. My hubby doesn't like  liver so am glad that I can make a delicious menudo without it! Thanks, Mom!


Ingredients

2.2 lbs/1 kilo pork (Pork belly, shoulder or boneless ribs), chopped into cubes (1 to 11/2 inch)
2 Onions, chopped
1 head Garlic (or 6-8 cloves), peeled
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 large Plum Tomatoes, chopped
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce*
2 dried or fresh Bay (Laurel) leaves
1/2 cup Water
2 medium to large Potatoes, cubed
2 medium Carrots, cubed
1/4-1/3 cup Ketchup (pref. the Del Monte Tomato Ketchup brand)*
1 Red Bell pepper, chopped (roughly the size of the carrots and potatoes)
1/2 cup raisins (I end up using more 'cause I love raisins on anything!)
Brown sugar, to taste

*If you're not a fan of fish sauce you can replace it with Soy sauce (start with 1-2 Tablespoons) and a little lemon juice (2 teaspoons). You can adjust the taste to your liking. Fish sauce is great though. :-)

*You can also use tomato sauce.

Procedure

Place the pork cubes in a large pan or Dutch oven and let it cook in medium heat until it changes its color. No need for any oil as the meat will release some of its fat in the process. Add the garlic and onions and sauté. Season with a little salt. Continue to cook until the pork has browned (but not fried all the way) and the onions have softened.

Add the tomatoes and fish sauce and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until the pork is tender.

When the pork is already tender, add the water, potatoes and  carrots. Cook covered until the vegetables are tender. Add the sweet peppers, raisins and the ketchup (or tomato sauce). Cook for another 5 minutes or just until the raisins are re-hydrated and the sauce is fully heated through.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste. If it's a little tart, sprinkle some brown sugar to balance the taste. Don't make it too sweet as you have raisins to balance the sour and savory flavor of the other ingredients. It should just be a perfect balance of sweet, tart and salty! Have it with rice, of course!

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Ultimate Pork Adobo (Chinese Style)

If there is a dish that defines what Filipino cuisine is all about - it's adobo, the unofficial, national dish of the Philippine islands. There are as many versions of adobo as there are many islands in the Philippines. Perhaps not as many as 7,107 islands (the whole Philippine archipelago) but ask each Filipino family and each will tell you their own adobo recipe handed down from one generation to another differentiated not so much by the kind of ingredients they use but more on the style or technique in cooking the dish.

Adobo always has meat - that's the star of the dish. It can either be chicken or pork or a combination of both. While the name is of Spanish origin and is similar in some ways to the Latin/Hispanic "adobo" in the sense that meat is steeped in or immersed in a sauce and cooked in it, adobo in the Philippines refers mainly to the dish (as in Pork adobo) rather than a cooking technique. Typically, adobo is cooked in a soy and vinegar sauce with bay leaves, lots of garlic, black peppercorns (whole or crushed), and may be sweetened with a little sugar or even pineapple juice or syrup. Because of the long and slow cooking, the meat absorbs the delicious flavor of the sauce and is so good paired with rice. Normally, we cook a lot of adobo so we have left-overs which can be re-heated day after day. The longer the adobo stands (in the fridge of course, though in the olden times it's the vinegar that served as its preservative) the better the taste. When you have some left-overs (if you ever have some 'cause you may want to eat it all in one sitting - so more-ish!) serve it with fried rice and some fried eggs and you have a classic Pinoy breakfast - AD-SI-LOG - short name for Adobo (this dish) - Sinangag (Fried Rice) - and Itlog (Fried Eggs). Yummm!

For this particular version, I depart from the usual adobo (though I will be posting a recipe for the classic adobo in a future post). Here I am making an adobo without using vinegar - Chinese style. For this I am deeply indebted to my friend Rebecca who graciously shared with me the ingredients she used and the way to make it. After I tasted the adobo she brought in one of our Filipino parties, I just had to get her recipe. It's so good you won't even miss the vinegar! I have never made pork adobo any other way! For me this is the ultimate pork adobo. Even my husband (not really a big pork fan) loves this and never says no when this is on the table.

What I particularly love about this adobo is the addition of mushrooms. I have seen adobo with pineapple rings but never one with mushrooms and this gives the adobo even more depth in flavor and adds a lot in texture. I have tried many kinds of mushrooms -both dried and fresh shiitake, enoki, mini-portobellos and the common white button mushrooms. Any of them are great for this dish but the best for me are the fresh shiitake 'cause they are so meaty and fully absorb the flavor. If using dried shitake, don't forget to rehydrate them first before using and keep the liquid used in rehydrating them 'cause you can add that into the sauce for an even better flavor (if that is even possible with this already yummy sauce!).

So here goes the yummiest and easiest Adobo ever!

Ingredients

1 kilo / 2.2 lbs pork (get the part with some fat on it like pork shoulder, boneless country style ribs or pork belly)
Oyster sauce – 1 1/2 Tbsp
Brown sugar – 2 Tbsp (adjust to taste)
Soy sauce – 1/4 cup (I use Kikkoman)
Garlic – 6-8 cloves, minced or crushed or chopped (a small head of garlic may be used)
2 Bay leaves
Freshly ground pepper (or whole black peppercorns), to taste
8 oz fresh mini-bella/portobello mushrooms, or 2 - 4 oz shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dry)
A few drops of sesame oil (Very essential!)

Procedure

Clean the pork. Cut up the pork adobo style - about 1 1/2 - 2 inch cubes or chunks. They will shrink as they cook so I make it a little bigger. 

In a deep pan or a Dutch oven, mix the soy and oyster sauces, sugar, garlic and ground or whole peppercorns. Coat the pork with the sauce. Insert the bay leaves.

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low until pork is tender between 1 1/2 - 2 hours. 

When the pork is already tender, add in the mushrooms. Continue to simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and tender about 5-10 minutes.

Add a few drops of sesame oil. Serve hot with rice.

Cook's Notes:

If using fresh Shiitake (4oz) - clean them quickly under running water or wipe the tops clean. Cut of the stem (can't eat them too chewy!) and then chop.

If using dry Shiitake (2 oz) - reconstitute/rehydrate the mushrooms in warm water for about 20 mins or until tender. Reserve the water. You may need to strain it first to remove any impurities and add it as needed if the adobo sauce dries up. This liquid is so full of flavor so don't throw it away especially if you like a more liquidy adobo.

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Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)

Blueberry Muffins

Oh summer...why are you saying goodbye? I miss you already! I feel the fall chill each morning when I wake up but I am still holding out for an Indian summer.

I read in Facebook or was it Pinterest, I don't know...one of those. It said that we should arrest summer for speeding! I say yeah, lock it up, throw the keys away so summer stays forever. Sorry, am speaking as a Manilena here - from the Philippines - where it seems to be summer all through the year.

For my homage to summer, here's my tot's favorite - blueberry muffins. I essentially used my from scratch blueberry cake batter here. What came out is a really moist, cakey and delicious muffin with a little crunch on top. This is why I wish summer won't leave us. Oh well, I can still eat my muffins.... Let me go grab one!




Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar (you can use either white or brown or a mix of the two)*
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup olive oil (light or the fruity version or plain vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries (sometimes I add a little more if I have a lot of berries)


Procedure

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Line your muffin pan with paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla).

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix. I use a spatula to fold in the flour and mix everything together but you can also use a whisk. The batter should be thick.

Fold in the berries.

Divide evenly among the 12 muffin cups. I use a large ice cream scooper for this. So handy! A full scoop per cup is about right. There is enough batter (nearly full) for each cup, sufficient to give your muffin a nice dome.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and after about 8-10 minutes (when it's cool enough to handle) transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Some tips:

*I suggest using either all brown sugar or 1 cup brown and half cup white sugar. It will make the batter look brownish but you have a nicer looking muffin. If you use all white sugar, the muffins will look rather pale. The brown sugar gives the muffins a better color. See below the color of the muffin when you use more brown sugar than white. Lovely, isn't it?

If you wish to print the recipe, there's a print-friendly icon at the end of the post. Click on the "remove images box" for easy and convenient printing.

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Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)