Near-zero cholesterol

Preparing spring rolls for dinner at home... Time to taste Vietnamese.

African Night

Great post-Valentine at home with good friends Yvonne and Ricky Biyo, who prepared Kenyan and Indian dishes for dinner. We had Kachumbari (salad with tomato, coriander, lots and lots of onions, etc.), Kenyan Beef Stew, and Chicken Rice Beryani. Ricky's blueberry cheesecake and my classic apple pie ala mode topped the homemade cuisine. Yummmmy!

Ensaymada

This version is from Nora Daza, as suggested to me by Diane S. Quindoy.

First Beating:
put 3/4 cup lukewarm water in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle 2 tsps. yeast and mix until it dissolves. Stir in 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Put back in the bowl and let it stand for 20 to 25 minutes or until it doubles in size. Cover the bowl with clean towel and set in a warm place.

Second Beating
Beat 5 egg yolks and 1 egg white and mix with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 cups flour. When well beaten, add the first beating mixture . Knead and shape into a ball. Cover and let rise again in warm place until it doubles in bulk (about 30 to 45 minutes).

Third beating:

When double in volume, add 5 beaten egg yolks and 1 egg white, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup creamed butter. Mix. Place in greased board and knead until satiny and smooth (about 10 minutes). shape into smooth ball. place ball of dough in greased bowl. Let it stand for 40 to 60 minutes in warm place. Punch down. Divide the dough into separate pieces. roll each thinly on greased board. spread butter and sprinkle it with cheese. starting from one end, twist to form a cone. grease a cookie sheet or mold and put the twisted dough. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough has doubled (about 40 to 60 minutes). bake at 350 degrees (180 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes. remove from baking molds and let cool for 5 minutes. Top with creamed butter, sugar, and grated cheese. you may sprinkle more sugar)

Note: you may increase heat to 200 degrees C in the last 2 minutes if you prefer crunchy crust.

Makes around 24 to 30, 3-4 inch round ensaymada.

bon appetit!

My Lola Sion's ensaymada

Mix and let rise for 20 minutes: 1/2 cup warm water, 2 pads (6 tsps) yeast, and 1 tsp sugar (sprinkle)

In one bowl, mix 6 egg yolks, 2 tbsp crisco shortening, 1 tsp vanilla. Set aside

In double boiler, mix and melt 2 cups fresh milk, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 bar butter/margarine.
note: when bubbles appear on side of double boiler, turn off the heat and let it cool to lukewarm

Meanwhile, measure 8 cups flour (6 cups for the dough and the remaining 2 cups to be used for kneading)

Mix all ingredients and add the flour. Knead well by adding the remaining 2 cups flour.

Let is stand on a slightly greased bowl for 1 1/2 hours. cover it with cloth
Punch down and divide the dough into 4 equal parts and slice to desired size.

Flatten with rolling pin, brush with butter and fill it up with your desired filling (cheese, bacon bits and cheese, onions and chives, pesto sauce, etc.)

Roll and form into round twist and let stand for 3 to 6 hours

Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit (180 degrees centigrade) for 15 minutes.

Note: For added color, brush with egg yolk before baking.

After baking, brush with butter and dip into a bowl of sugar and sprinkle with cheese.

The bread tastes best within 3 days.

Bon appetit!

Morning, noon...

... and night! Shaping the dough before baking them into ensaymadas.

Too much on her plate...

Kai's Sushis... coolest in town!

Yellow Madness

Kevin's mashed potatos specialty.

Log on...

... pitch in your comments and recipes, and have FUN!

Igadong

We had this Ilocano favorite at a small resto in Vigan.

More from Casa Rap

This combination of tsokolate-e and suman sa lihiya was our hands-down favorite. Any old recipes out there willing to be unearthed...?

Greens and Homemade Dressings

Here's an inviting salad from Casa Rap resto, in San Jose, Batangas during our Luzon sojourn two years ago. Too bad we didn't get the recipe but it looks simple enough, with a dash of creativity.

What you eat is what you get

Here's a useful entry from another blog:

In these days of high technology, sedentary lifestyles, and high-calorie fast food, following the so-called food pyramid is no longer enough. This is why colon cleansing and detoxification were introduced.

Colon cleansing is the process of eliminating the mucous plaques that have accumulated in your digestive system particularly the colon. If these wastes are not eliminated, they will cause constipation, and disease will not be far away. Detoxification is the elimination of toxins due to the food we eat, the lifestyle we pursue, and the environment we live in.

A colon cleansing diet simply means one characterized by high fiber foods. A highly recommended free colon cleansing diet includes flax seeds, at least 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits, and drinking as much water as you can. To fast-track the colon cleansing, fast by taking just liquids of apple cleansing juice (epsom salt, citrus) plenty of water, herbal teas, and use of enema at the end of the day for three consecutive days. This is very easy to attain and can help you save some money.

There are ways to have a good free cleansing colon diet: 1.) include the recommended high fiber foods mentioned above; 2.) drink as much water as you can even if you don’t have the urge to drink; and 3.) an occasional fasting.

Good vibes produce good food.

It seems I never left the kitchen since I was 8.

Chicken Adobo

Here's another Lola Sion favorite... Chicken Adobo:

Adobo (Chicken)

Ingredients
1 chicken
½ cup vinegar
1 clove garlic, salt and pepper to taste
½ bay leaf
Lard
2 cups water

How to do it?

Clean the chicken and cut into pieces. Add the salt, minced garlic and pepper to the chicken. Put in a kettle and add bay leaf, vinegarand water. Cover and let simmer until the chicken is tender and the liquid has practically evaporated. Add fat and fry meat until brown. Serve hot or cold.

Variations:

Chicken adobo in coconut milk: If you prefer this with coconut milk add thick coconut milk and simmer for a few more minutes.

Adobo a la Monja

Cook chicken adobo until all the liquid has evaporated. As soon as it dries up add pineapple cubes fresh or canned, ripe tomatoes cut in halves and a little butter or pork fat. Cover well and simmer together in its own juice. Serve hot.

Biko

My Lola Sion was an indefatigable cook. Here's her classic Biko recipe, from her original handwritten notebook:

Ingredients
1 salop na malagkit
½ salop na azucar
6 na niog
How to cook?
Isasing muna ang malagkit. Pagluto na ay ihalo sa gata ng niog na may azucar. Pakuluan muna ang gata at azaucar. Pag malaput nab ago ihalo ang malagkit. Halo ng halo hanggang sa maluto. Pag luto na ay ilagay sa bilao osa tray. Panipiosin ng square o diamond. Lagyan ng latik sa ibabaw.
Note: for every 1cup malagkit, ¾ cup water for cooking. Boil in separate kawali 1coconut milk of 1 niog and ½ cup sugar until it thickens. Put in the malagkit at haluin ng haluin hanggang maluto. In-inin. Put in a platter and flatten. Let cool for an hour and serve.
Variations: you may add young buco, pinipig or linga for better aroma

Where the ensaymada comes from...

Here's the result of several tries at doing the dough...finally it rises beyond my expectations!

Callos

Here's a recent dish I prepared for the family: callos. I realize that in preparing this, every ingredient counts.. especially the chorizo de bilbao. it's the latter that gives the dish its special taste...