Think of it as Spanish fried rice and so much more. Cooking the rice in a fragrant broth ensures that the seafood remains tender and succulent.

Ingredients:
4 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups basmati rice
31⁄2 cups chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
2 red peppers, julienned
1 cup peas
A pinch of saffron
assorted seafood: 15 each of prawns, squid pieces + mussels
seasonings: 1⁄2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp oregano

Directions:

• Heat up chicken stock. Once boiled add in saffron. Put aside.
• On a low fire in a paella pan / flat pan, heat oil and butter and cook prawns for 2 minutes. Lift prawns and put aside.
• Fry onions, garlic and peppers until translucent – about 5 mins. Add seasonings.
• Add rice and coat it with oil and seasonings. Add stock and let it simmer for 20–25 mins. Make sure to add stock one tablespoon at a time to keep it moist.
• When rice is almost cooked, add in squid and mussels.
• Lightly fluff a fork through rice to check that it doesn’t burn in the middle.
• When mussels and squid are cooked, add in peas and prawns, cook further for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Tips:
Don’t stir too hard or else the rice will break and turn mushy. Cover it with foil / a lid halfway so that the paella will cook with steam. Use saffron sparingly. Too much and it will be bitter.
Pantry:
If you can’t find saffron, use ½ tsp yellow food coloring for similar color. However you will not get the aromatic fragrance of true paella.
This recipe is courtesy of Electrolux Free Standing Cookers

This is grilled tuna belly on a sizzling plate with spicy sauce, topped with pineapple tidbits, sliced chili and fried garlic. I would have preferred something deboned or boneless when it comes to fish when ordering in a restaurant because I don’t like the “hassles”{deboning, accidentally chewing or swallowing fishbone}. Don’t get me wrong, this is delicious and I love it but I’d choose Steamed Fish Fillet or Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet or even Fish and Chips over this any time.

Dear Santa,

I’m gonna be seeing you in two days. No, who am I kidding…I probably won’t. I know I haven’t been a good person this year so I have to wipe out my expectations. Just so you know, I didn’t kill anyone this year and you know how bad I wanted to, that one. That should account for something, right?

I will be expecting that camera bag, you know, and that phone and that big bottle of perfume. But if you will not give me those things on my list, can you please just give me a doll?

No, I’m not too old for a doll. I want the kind with pins and needles. I promise it will just be for my collection. I won’t use it on anybody.

Okay, time to say goodbye. This letter maybe freaking you out and you might decide not to drop off at my house. Anyway, in case, you do drop by can you please wash those pile of plates in the sink along with your cookie dish?

Sorry I bothered you all those years. I found out that being naughty is waaaayy funner. Thanks for everything!

Love,
peachkins
xoxoxo

If you still need a pasta dish for Noche Buena, this is worth trying.

Ingredients:
500g Fusili, cooked according to package directions
1-2 pieces cucumber, seeded cut into little pieces
2 stalks of celery, chopped
20-30 Shimps, peeled and de-veined
2-3 cups mayonnaise
3-4 mangoes,diced
salt,pepper and sugar to taste
1 carrot,chopped

Directions:

• Combine pasta, cucumber, celery, carrots, mayonnaise and shrimp in a large bowl.
• Mix well and season with salt,pepper and sugar to taste.
• Add mangoes last or it will turn into mush.
• Chill before serving

Take note that this is not a make ahead recipe. You have to make this the day that you are serving it or it won’t taste as good.

Today is a busy day. We are preparing food for our Media Noche feast later.

I still don’t feel well, though. So I’m kinda speechless.

Ingredients:

1 kg fresh squid
1 cup vinegar
2-3 cups coconut milk {or you can use canned coconut milk if fresh is not available}
2 cup water
salt to taste
6 cloves garlic,minced
1 onion chopped
2 pieces bay leaf
3 tbsp oil

Directions:

• Remove ink sacs from squid and set aside.
• Pull out head, innards and transparent ribs to clean the squid.wash with water and drain.Discard head but keep the tentacles.
• Squeeze ink sacs in 2 cups water then mix in a cup of vinegar, salt,4 cloves of minced garlic. Boil squid in this mixture then set aside.
• In a deep pan, sauté onions and garlic in heated oil.
• Add squid and continue to stir fry for a few seconds.Then pour the mixture it was boiled in.
• Add bay leaf and simmer for a few minutes.
• Add coconut milk and bring to a boil while stirring continuously.
• Turn off heat and serve with steamed rice.

an entry for and and and

Hello 2011.

2010 has been such a blessing to me. I was able to learn a lot of things, gain new friends, experience new adventures and love a lot. It was both a happy and a sad year….. a year that was full of emotions specially when peanutbutter♥ left for Dubai to work. This was the first time that we were apart. But in the past months, our being apart made us more closer because we got to know more about each other. I learned more about him which I wouldn’t have otherwise.I am so grateful for this experience.

This year, I thought I’d make a few more resolutions. I’m kinda getting tired with “Lose More Weight” and “Spend Less, Save More“. They’ve been my resolutions for a few years now. Don’t get me wrong, they are still included in my list, I just added a few more.

Okay. Here it goes…

♥ I think I’m drinking too much coffee. No. Wait, let me re-phrase that. peanutbutter♥ thinks I’m drinking too much coffee. But for someone who thinks I’m drinking too much coffee, he bought me a stovetop coffee maker. Isn’t that the sweetest? So, my first resolution is I’m gonna substitute a cup of decaf for a cup of regular coffee per day. I consume about four cups, so that would be three cups caffeinated and one cup decaf for me everyday this year.

♥ I promise will try to keep our room clean. I hate cleaning and we don’t have a helper. It’s hard to keep it tidy and clean. I didn’t get a self-cleaning house last Christmas, I have no choice but to do it myself.

♥ I want to experience new things with peanutbutter♥ and ykaie– food, places and new adventures. Life is too short, we better enjoy it while we still can.

♥ Hopefully, I’d be able to eat more fish this year. I am not fond of fish. I don’t know why. This year I’ll try to explore with some fish dishes and hope I like some to make them a staple.

♥ I want to gain more friends both in and out of the www!

That’s about it. I hope I can do all that this year.

Crab Salad sandwich is one of the food that I prepared for New Year’s Eve. {New Year’s eve spread post later}. Notice that the sandwich was served in polka dots plate. It’s been tradition that during the New Year, you should wear something with polka dots or circular pattern. It signifies the belief that circles or round patterns attracts money and fortune. I don’t have any polka dots clothes, hence, the dish.

Ingredients:
15 Kani Sticks, shredded {or you can use crab meat}
1½ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
½ celery, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 onion chopped {optional, didn’t use any because I think the flavor will overpower the kani}
lettuce leaves
sliced cucumbers
wheat bread

Directions:

• Put the first seven ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
• Chill for 1 hour.
• Put lettuce leaves on a piece of bread and top with crab salad.
• Top with another bread and garnish with a slice of cucumber on top.
• Secure cucumber with a toothpick.
• Serve immediately.

an entry for

Good morning!

Let’s talk about lobsters today.  I like lobsters.

I just don’t like it sometimes because it’s preeeeetty expensive around here.

But when it’s free, like this one, then I like ‘em very much….hee.

This is my Aunt Becky’s recipe……………and her food. LOL!

Ingredients:
2 large lobsters, steamed and cut into four
1 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, minced
4 tbsp spring onions
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

• Sauté onion and ginger in butter until onion is translucent.
• Pour in oyster sauce and cornstarch slurry.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and them add lobster. Make sure each piece is coated with sauce.
• Add spring onions.
• Serve.

This soup is one of our favorite side dishes and this is also delicious with a little Misua noodles mixed in it. But since we are on a diet we removed the noodles and ate it as a full meal by itself. No worries, this is very filling because of the tofu.

You can’t say no to a healthy and delicious meal.

Oh, and BTW, you know the Honey Mustard Pringles on the last post? I only ate one chip from the canister. Honest.

I wanted to finish that whole thing because it was so delicious but I left it all to ykaie.

Calamares is crispy fried squid.

This is one of my favorite dishes and one of many that my cousin served us when we stayed at her home in Subic.

Ingredients:

5 medium sized squids, cleaned and sliced into rings
1 egg, beaten
1½ cup flour
salt and pepper
2 cups oil for deep frying

♥dipping sauce:

5 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 2 calamansi

Directions:

• Season flour with salt and pepper. Se aside.
• Heat oil in a pan.
• While oil is heating up, dip each squid ring in beaten egg then dredge in flour.
• Deep fry squid rings until golden brown.
• served with soy-calamansi dipping sauce

♥ My cousin added some sweet basil leaves while frying the squid. It added extra flavor to the squid.

Among the many creatures of the sea, my favorite is the squid. I love squid adobo and calamares but when I was pregnant I loathe the taste of it. I don’t know why but even the sight of it irritates me.

What I was crazy about when I was pregnant were shrimps. I love shrimp swimming in garlic butter and you can  serve it to me everyday for all I care. I also love camias, pineapple and cheesecake during that time. And sometimes, I do wonder what would my next pregnancy cravings be should I get pregnant again. Would they be the same or different?

Since I started working on my “homebased” career, I stopped making social security contributions. I guess I was too lazy to go to their office and make voluntary payments monthly but I’m planning to start this year. I know I better start making voluntary payments if I want to claim maternity benefits and SSDI benefits. For the maternity benefits, I need to pay for at least a year before I get eligible for it. Next month would be a great start.

Let me  just leave you with a tasty shrimp recipe and I’m done for today…

Ingredients:

300g shrimps
2 stems of leeks, cut into pieces
ginger
garlic
salt
1 tbsp oil

Directions:

• Steam shrimp until light orange/cooked. set aside.
• In a wok, heat cooking oil and  sauté ginger and garlic until brown.
• Add shrimp and mix well
• add leeks and sprinkle some salt.
• Turn off heat and serve

Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille, France.

This is the recipe from the culinary demonstration at the Discover Cuisine Event.

Ingredients:

1       pc               Lapu lapu (1 kg)
1       pc               Red Snapper (1 kg)
0.3    kg              Squid (big)
2       pc              Shrimp (big)
10     pcs           Clam (big)
10                       Black peppercorns
1       br              Dry Fennel
2       L               Fish Soup
10                       Saffron Pistils
2       pcs           Garlic Clove
1       pinch      Orange Zest
1       pc             Small Bayleaf
1/4    pc           Baguette

Soup (1-1.5L)
1.5     kg        Small fish
1        pc        Sweet Onions (50g)
4        pcs       Tomatoes
1        pc        Garlic Head
1        t          Fennel seeds
10      pcs       Black peppercorns
1        L         Chicken Stock

Spicy Provencale Sauce
1        kg              Small Potatoes
0.25   L             Olive Oil
1        pc             Garlic Clove
0.15   L              Fish Soup
1        pinch      Saffron Pistils
4        pcs         Sundried Tomato Petals
5        g             Sweet Pepper
1                        Egg Yolk

Preparing the Seafood:

• Scale and clean the fish. Cut off the fins. Remove the head & gills. Cut into 5cm steaks.
• Clean & prepare the squid
• Cook shrimp in boiling water w/ fennel seeds for a few minutes

Preparing the Fish Soup:

• Peel and slice onions
• Wash tomatoes & cut in six
• Cut the garlic head in half
• Heat up a cocotte with olive oil and sweat onions, fennel seeds, garlic & peppercorns while covered for 10 minutes
• Add the fish. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat without stirring or wetting and always covered.
• Add tomatoes. Press down lightly. Simmer covered for 5 minutes so the fish retain their juices.
• Cover with chicken stock to the same level of the fish. Simmer for another 20 munutes over low heat without cover.
• Strain through Chinois. Set aside.

Cooking the Bouillabaisse:

• Pour soup into a cocotte then add saffron, four crushed cloves of garlic, orange peels, a bay leaf & 5 grains of black pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer.
• Gently poach fish 4-6 minutes depending on the size. Drain the fish and set aside.
• In a sauteuse, place the clams with a little stock and cook covered until they open up. When done, remove the shell without the meat and set aside.
• Remove soup from heat; strain.
• Sear squid quickly with olive oil and season with salt. Set aside.
• Return and reheat all the seafood in the soup.

Preparation of the Provencale Sauce:

• Peel and cut the potatoes into four pieces. Cook them in the fish soup with the saffron and Espelette spices until they are completely soft and juice is reduced.
• Peel the garlic clove. Crush it in a mortar.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes and crush it all together.
• Add the potatoes and its cooking juices. Mix well and grind again.
• In this paste, add the egg yolk. Mix well. Salt.
• Whisk in the oil with the paste until it reaches a mayonnaise-like thick texture. Set aside.
• Serve in a small bowl.

Finishing and presentation:

• Slice the bread at an angle into 5mm thick slices. Toast them. Rub with garlic on one side.
• Add the soup base ina large soup pan.
• Arrange the seafood.
• Pour the rest of the soup in a soup tureen.
• Serve the croutons.
• Serve the provencale sauce on the side.

Yes, I was on blog hiatus for a week.

And yes, I am still on a blog hiatus…

Let me just give you an idea why…

peanutbutter♥ is home!!

Yup, my beloved is home for a one month vacay..we picked him up at the airport last tuesday.

Since it was already 6pm, we drove straight to Dampa for dinner.

ykaie looking at the crabs and peanutbutter♥ buying some oysters

Dampa is a place wherein there’s a Wet Market (“palengke”) where you can buy fresh seafoods and meat. There are lots of different restaurants lined-up directly across the wet market. You will then  choose the restaurant where you would like the seafoods that you bought to be cooked. You just tell the waiters what dishes you want and they care of the ingredients.

We bought fish, squid, crabs, oyster and Lato {Sea weed}

There were lots of restaurants. It was such a hassle to go through all of them and pick just one, so we chose the very first corner restaurant — Claire dela Fuente Seafood Place. We figured it must be good since it is owned by the famous singer.

First on the menu is the easiest to prepare: LATO SALAD. The perfect side dish to accompany our seafood dishes…

We also had Calamares or Calamari. I didn’t like the dipping sauce, though. I think it was made with really cheap mayonnaise.

Oyster dipped in spicy vinegar– this is one of my favorites!

Sweet Chili Crabs..they shouldn’t have breaded the crab before frying because what happened was, the breading absorbed all the flavors that were supposed to be absorbed by the crab.

Sweet and Sour Fish– Perfectly fried and the sweet and sour sauce is delicious..

We went home immediately right after dinner..

Then it’s off to Tagaytay the next day….

So you see..I am kinda busy right now *wink*

Good Grief.

I think I just unleashed my multiple personalities.

The foodie.The nurturing and kind mom. The product diva. The wanderer.

And the “squatter with dark soul”…Yeah.

Don’t ask. LOL.

Okay. I just need a cup hot chocolate and a bath.

And I probably need to close this shop early and have “me” time tonight.

I need good vibes…

Positivity….

Get back to my old positive self….

Think about happy thoughts..

Think about peanutbutter♥ thoughts… *wink*

And I’ll also be watching a movie later while going over my favorite recipe books…

I bet I’ll pick up some really good recipe for you…just like the one I have below..

Aioli is a fragrant mayonnaise and there are many variations of this. It stretches as far as where your imagination–or in this case– your sense of taste can take you. You can make garlic aioli, honey mustard aioli or pesto aioli. It is really up to you.

For this certain dish, I made…

The chips in this dish are the Spicy Baked Potato Wedges I posted the other day.♥

{Just click the name for the recipe}

Have a fun evening! Good night!

I can and I will…. that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past three days.

I’ve been repeating it over and over like a mantra…

You want to know what’s that all about, don’t you? Well, I downloaded Hip Hop Abs by Shaun T the other day….

I figured a video isn’t so hard to follow and so I say my mantra ….I can and I will….

I just want to incorporate some exercise into my everyday life….not really aiming for that “Hip Hop Abs” because I know it’s not gonna happen… I love butter and sugar too much….Oh dear me.

Sis ate half a bag of Cadbury chocolate eclairs last night while watching Being Human. I pass by her when I go to the kitchen and I could practically smell the caramel and chocolate.

I ate 6 pieces.

Its Wednesday.

I haven’t done a single thing on that video. Go on laugh. I’m embarassed.

Today, I promise I’m going to do some working out….

I can and I will.

And I’m gonna reward myself with Bacon Jam tomorrow….

And if, miraculously, I lose some weight, I will reward myself with an  htc desire hd — the latest Windows 7 phone — for a job well done.

And as if you didn’t already know, here’s the recipe for that Crispy Shrimp Wonton I made…

Crispy Shrimp Wontons

Ingredients:

Sorry, I’m late…..

Yeah, this Shrimp Thermidor was one of the dishes we had during Christmas lunch….

And I’m blogging about it now because…

a. I don’t have anything to talk about…

b. I’m kinda on a diet and cooking something that is high in sugar and fat isn’t an option for me today..

c. I feel like eating shrimp but I’m too lazy to go to the market to buy some, so I decided to just stare at this photo of pretty shrimps

d. I’m really craving for Cream Cheese Frosting  and to take my mind away from my craving I have to keep it busy by writing this post.

Yes.

It’s all of the above.

I’m eating bittermelons and tofu for lunch today…

And I just finished doing some exercise. I don’t really know how long this exercise thing is gonna last…

I’m giving myself a week..LOL!

Oh, BTW, here’s the recipe…

Part of our Christmas Day lunch is this Seafood Kare-Kare.

I’ve never had Seafood Kare-Kare in my life because my family is a big meat eater. We lean more towards beef or pork dishes.  I decided to make Seafood Kare-Kare for our Christmas day lunch because I really wanted to satisfy my curiosity on how one of our favorite dishes would taste when made into its seafood counterpart.

Well, it was one of the best decision I’ve even made because I loved it!♥

The thing about Seafood Kare-Kare is that you have to pre-cook the different kinds of seafood you have before adding it to the sauce {crab, cream dory, shrimps and mussels} because you might just crush it into bits and it wouldn’t look and taste like you want it to. Don’t worry, the sauce will still have a strong seafood flavor even if you simmer the seafood in it for such a short time.

You can either make this the traditional way or you can use mixes. I’ve also tried a lot of mixes and there’s one that I liked most and I find closest to the real thing– Mama Sita’s.

Dinengdeng is an Ilocano recipe. Usually it is composed of a variety of vegetables boiled and  seasoned with fish paste {bagoong isda}/ shrimp paste {bagoong alamang} and fried or grilled fish.

There are many versions of this dish. Some has labong {bamboo shoots}, saluyot {jute leaves}and sigarilyas. Others has sayote, malunggay and bittermelon. I’ve also seen some with squash blossoms and eggplants.

The photo above is my peanutbutter♥‘s version of Dinengdeng.

The post peanutbutter♥ cooks DINENGDENG appeared first on The Peach Kitchen.

It is scorching hot out there in the world. And so here I am, thinking about rainy days…..

How nice it is to snuggle with a warm blanket when it’s drizzling. How comforting a hot cup of cocoa is and how totally excuse-able it is to have extended bedtimes.

I have very special rainy day memories. Mostly filled with lazy mornings, when school is cancelled due to the weather. During times like those, my brother, who is 13 years older than me, would cook our favorite breakfast dish composed of ~ Singangag & Tuyo {Garlic Fried Rice& Dried Salted Fish} with salted sliced tomatoes as dipping condiment.

It totally makes a lot of sense…..cold weather + comfort food + eating with your hands….. best time of my young life.

And I’ve blogged about it a number of times…this comfort food.

It’s about time I re-create it…. into something with an Italian twist.
It’s very timely that I have these beautiful organic cherry tomatoes bought a couple of days ago….

It needed just a simple roasting to get that smoky flavor going and make myself and the family an easy, healthy and delicious breakfast.

All the elements that makes up my favorite childhood comfort breakfast is there: the garlic flavor, the salty fish and the tomato.

All I needed was the rainy day…..

The post Roasted Tomato & Tuyo Linguine appeared first on The Peach Kitchen.

Like what I’ve been blabbering about for the past weeks now, this year is all about healthy living. It’s all about changes and being bold and trying out new things ~ new clothes, new flavors, diving into new dishes that would not only tickle the palate but excite it even more.

Let’s change the way you think…. You’re probably thinking: healthy food equals bland food…

That is where you are most certainly wrong. Healthy can be tasty too, you know. You just have to know how to prepare it and how to use spices and seasonings to make it flavorful. Flavor is not limited to the four basic taste anymore which is sweet, salty, sour and bitter, there’s a fifth element called Umami.

Umami has been recognized and accepted as a basic taste because it is distinct from the other four basic tastes and also because of the existence of glutamate receptors within the tongue’s taste cells, and cells within the brain which respond preferentially to the umami taste.

The word umami comes from the Japanese words umai (delicious) and mi (taste) and can be recognized in English as rich and savory, and in Filipino as “malinamnam” or “malasa”.

With this in mind and a bit of chinese inspiration, this is what I came up for lunch today. It’s very healthy because it’s fish and it’s baked. It contains zucchini and asparagus which are very rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, the B-Complex Vitamins, great for the heart and lowers your cholesterol. What could be better than that?

My ingredients include: cream dory, zucchini, asparagus, sesame oil, a bit of Rice Wine, lite soy sauce, spring onions, Aji-Shio with pepper and of course, AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning.

AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning is Monosodium Glutamate  or MSG. It is a seasoning which gives the Umami Taste in Food. It is a flavor enhancer which has been used effectively  and safely for nearly a century to bring out the best flavor of foods.

First things first, we need to cut our vegetables. Zucchinis are cut into  medallions which are then cut in half. Asparagus are cut into 2-inch long spears and we cut up the spring onions into thin pieces so we can maximize its flavor.

Then we heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook just until the sesame oil is infused with the flavor of garlic. We add the juice and zest of half an orange and chicken stock.

Then we add a bit of AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning and Aji-Shio with Pepper…

After that, in goes the rice wine, lite soy sauce, spring onions, cinnamon, chili flakes, ginger and brown sugar… Mix it well.

Place a foil on the countertop and divide your vegetables at the center of each foil. Place a slice of the cream dory fillet over the vegetables and fold the sides of the foil to form a bowl….

Pour around three tablespoon of the sauce over the fish and vegetables.  Fold the top of the foil to seal and make sure there’s enough space for air to circulate inside. Bake in the oven at 350° for 15-20minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Garnish with chopped spring onions and sesame seeds upon serving. This is great over steaming hot rice and match it with an ice cold…

Fres-C Orange Juice which is 70% less calories than the other juices in the market.

—–♥♥♥—–

If you need more food inspirations drop by the Ajinomoto® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013. It’s going to be held on February 2, 2013 at Hall 2, SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia Complex.

The Competition Categories and the Program Schedule

8:00 – 9:00 AM – Competition # 1 UMAMI BENTO MEAL

Description: The category highlights the discovery of umami in Japan. The task for the competitors is to come up with a Japanese-Filipino “fusion” bento meal that boasts of authentic umami taste and outstanding nutritional value

9:30 – 10:30 AM – Competition # 2 HEALTHY ASIAN UMAMI DISH (Fish Dish)

Description: The challenge is for the competitors to create the most umami-tasting fish dish.

11:00 – 12:00 NN – Competition # 3 BEST FILIPINO UMAMI DISH

Description: This competition category recognizes the significant presence of umami taste in Filipino cuisine. The challenge is to showcase Pinoy’s culinary masterpiece in bringing out the best umami taste in Filipino dishes.

12:30 – 1:30 PM – Competition # 4 MY OWN UMAMI CREATION 

Description: The challenge for this category is to exhibit the team’s ability to cook a signature umami dish. This signature dish must boast of intense umami taste and good nutritional value.

2:00 – 3:00 PM – Competition # 5 UMAMI POTTER 

Description: This competition category will exhibit the team’s ability to create the best tasting, umami-rich soup dish.

3:00 – 4:00 PM – Healthy and Tasty with Umami

By Dr. Nemencio Nicodemus
Internal Medicine – Endocrinology
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, U.P. College of Medicine
Associate Professor, Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, U.P. – Philippine General Hospital

5:00 – 6:00 PM    Awarding of Winners

Hope to see you there!

The post Blackened Steamed Cream Dory with Zucchini and Asparagus & More Food Inspiration at the Ajinomoto® Umami Culinary Challenge 2013 appeared first on The Peach Kitchen.

Sardines is one of our go-to food. It’s one of those things we buy and then stock in the pantry as an emergency food. Something to eat when there’s no budget left to buy fresh produce from the market or something to eat when we are too tired to cook. One of the most common practice is to eat it straight from the can, topping a bowl of steaming hot rice from the rice cooker.

I grew up eating sardines paired with warm and freshly cooked pandesal during breakfast and merienda. What we usually do is open a can of sardines in tomato sauce, pour it in a small bowl, then we squeeze a calamansi over it and put about a teaspoon of soy sauce . Then we mix it up and dip our pandesals in it. When we are feeling a bit diligent, we sauté it in a bit of oil, minced garlic and chopped onions first before putting calamansi and soy sauce.

But did you know that aside from the common practice of eating it, you can actually make dishes a lot more exciting using sardines as one of the ingredients?

With that in mind, I woke up early today to buy fresh Kesong Puti {Native White Cheese} from the local market to create a special dish using Mega Creations Spanish Style Sardines.

Mega Creations Premium Sardines is a product of the Mega Fishing Corporation, the fishing component of the Mega Group of Companies. It comes in two variants: the Spanish Style and Natural Oil. The Spanish Style is a bit spicy while the Natural Oil keeps the natural and fresh taste of the fish.

As much as possible, I try to serve fish dishes to my family three to four times a week because it’s healthier than red meat. It is also a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients and has high omega-3 fatty acid content.

For lunch today, I made MEGA CREATIONS Spanish Sardines, Black Olives and Kesong Puti Linguine.

My daughter doesn’t like eating pasta with red sauces. Her favorite pasta dishes are usually oil based or those that has thin white sauces. So that’s what I cook most of the time. I made two batches of this dish. One with Spanish Style Sardines and another with Sardines in Natural Oil. Ykaie might find the Spanish Style a bit spicy for her taste.

I used olive oil and a bit of the oil that comes with the sardines to incorporate more sardine flavor. The fish meat is very easy to flake and incorporate in the sauce, coating each pasta strand and making the taste cling in every bite.What I love about this recipe is that aside from being healthy, it’s one of those dishes that you can cook in minutes.

The Kesong Puti that I used is the one bought in the local wet market/palengke. I prefer using it because it’s not as salty as the one that can be bought from the supermarket.

Check out the recipe below…

Love that this is in an Easy Open Can!

What do you think? If you feel like doing more easy-to-make recipes that feature sardines after trying my recipe, you should check out Everyday Creations. It is a show that features the many different dishes that you can whip up using sardines as the secret ingredient.

They have appetizers, full-course meals, Italian specialties, and French favorite finger food, all with a sardine twist to make them extra special.

Everyday Creations is shown on the Lifestyle Network every Friday at 6:30p.m., with replays on Wednesdays at 6:00p.m. and Sundays at 11:30a.m.

You can also visit My Everyday Creations page on Facebook for more details about the show and to get easy-to-make sardine recipes

I hope you enjoy my recipe and the other recipes at Everyday Creations.

Have you tried cooking with sardines? C’mon share it with me, I would love to know your recipes!

The post MEGA CREATIONS Spanish Sardines, Black Olives and Kesong Puti {Native White Cheese} Linguine appeared first on The Peach Kitchen.

Can you believe we’re on to the second half of 2013?

I mean, where did the other half go? Last I checked it was June and I’m doing a little bit of pantry cleaning. My pantry’s still pretty fully stocked. I think it has something to with me always buying food-things I see at the grocery. Tsk, Tsk.

So far, I think it’s pretty okay because it’s kinda like re-stocking. Alright, that’s the lame excuse I tell myself.

Let’s go to my other news, I’ve been able to keep my June goal-slash-challenge which is to feast on healthier recipes and focusing on whole food rather than canned and fast food. I was able to commit to working out every morning and it just gave me the best feeling ever. I already lost a few pounds which I’m really happy about because I haven’t felt deprived even for a day in the last month.
So I think this way of life is a keeper…

So this month, I am up for another self-challenge. I want to be more productive, more creative and I’m kind of in the mood to go out more. Plus, I think more desserts are in order since July is the birth month of my peanutbutter♥.

Do you think I could post daily here at The Peach Kitchen?? I think it’s do-able.

Do you think it’s do-able considering how hectic our schedules are? Well, I sure am gonna try all my best to give you daily updates on the food that goes in on our lunch table.

Today, it’s this. I still have some spanish sardines and I was wondering what else I could do with it aside from Spanish Sardines, Black Olives and Kesong Puti Linguine.

Thanks to Mario Batali’s recipe to which this was adapted.

This can be an easy snack or viand recipe should you happen to have extra cans of spanish sardines at home…

The post Sardines Fritters with Soy-Sriracha Dipping Sauce appeared first on The Peach Kitchen.