Almonds and Blueberry Cake

Cheesecake turns out to be my favorite cake for the past weeks, do you know why? it’s very easy to make yet you can create varieties of toppings. This time, I made my topping with almonds – because of its crunchy texture then mix with blueberry sauce – because of its thick and soft blueberries. A simple gift to my wife cousin’s birthday – Tito Ceto. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ………….Did you know that almonds  improves the movement of food through the colon, thereby preventing colon cancer. Almonds also help in reducing the rise in sugar and insulin levels after meals. This offers protection from diabetes.

Ingredients: whole cake

• 2 cups heavy cream whipped
• 2 cups cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp gelatin powder dissolve in 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 pc pineapple ring for garnishing(optional
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Crust:

• 250 grams plain biscuits
• 100 grams butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Blueberry Sauce:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolve in 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 cup water

* in a small sauce pan, boil water and place blueberries and icing sugar. let it boil for about 2 minutes, then pour in cornstarch mix and remove from fire. Do not boil berries once you add cornstarch. This will help maintain the shine on the blueberry sauce

Procedures:

• using a food processor, blend all the “crust” ingredients together. place and press in a 8″ diameter baking tin sprayed and cover with baking paper. Spread jam on top, this will serve as sticky agent to the cheesecake. . place in fridge and let it cool for 30 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, using electric mixer whip the cream until fluffy, set aside.
• In another mixing bowl, using electric mixer whip cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and well mix. add in lemon juice and dissolved gelatin powder. then add in whipped cream and fold.
• Place halfway of mixture then pour in blueberries and almonds in the middle and pour remaining mixtures. place in fridge for one hour and transfer to freezer for 6 hours.
• Upon serving, pour in blueberry sauce on top and garnish almonds on the side or using your imagination, decorate your cake as you wish.
• Enjoy!!!!
• Best with your favorite cup of coffee or tea

Nutty Chocolate Kringles

Nutty chocolate kringles….It’s a cookie, and it’s a kringles. A great snack for your kids. I remember when I was a kid, kringles are one of my common snack everytime I go to a bakery near our school. I love its crunchiness, I usually dip this to a cold milk. It’s really nice remembering our childhood. How about you guys? What’s your favorite snack on your bakeries? . . . . . . Did you know that the nuts I used in this cookie are cashew nuts? And this nuts are most used in many types of cooking. They are excellent between meal snacks and are also delicious as nut butter or thrown into stir-fries and Asian dishes. They also make a delicious creamy sauce used in Indian curries. Some studies says that cashew nuts helps prevent heart related diseases, promotes bone health, antioxidant protection and energy production….

Ingrdients: makes 20-25 cookie kringles depending on desired sizes

• 300 grams dark chocolate
• 150 grams butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup nuts (cashew, pinenut, or peanuts) reserve some nuts for topping
• rainbow chocolate sprinkles for garnishing

Procedures:

• Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over boiling water. let it warm and add in egg one at a time.
• Continue stirring then add sugar, sifted flour, salt, vanilla essence and baking powder. pour in nuts and fold.
• In a baking tin, spray oil and gently form a circle cookie type or any shapes, topped with your favorite nuts and chocolate sprinkles.
• Pre-heat oven at 160 dgerees celsius and bake for 15 minutes. let it cool and sift with icing sugar.
• Enjoy! great for kids lunch box.

Munggo beans with pork bones and spinach

just craving for a munggo dish…as they say in the phillpines…”byernes munggo”..it says, a common dish every friday… You can cook several varieties using munggo beans, I already tried the monggo beans with pork and sotanghon. Maybe the favorite cooking style of monggo I have ever taste was the one cooked by my wife’s relatives back in Laguna, Philippines. They cooked it with alukbati(Sorry don’t know the english word for this vegetable) and malunggay fruit and leaves. I want to try it but a failed looking this ingredients to asian supermarket. . . . . Did you know that spinach nutrition is amazing. The calcium content in spinach strengthens our bones. The A and C vitamins in spinach plus the fiber, folic acid, magnesium and other nutrients help control cancer, especially colon, lung and breast cancers. Folate also lowers the blood levels of something called homocysteine, a protein that damages arteries. So spinach also helps protect against heart disease.
Ingredients: (serves 4-6 person)

• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 klio meaty pork bones (cut in serving portions)
• 3tbsp bagoong isda (philippines style anchovies)
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup munggo beans (soaked in water for atleast 3 hours)
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 litre water

procedures:

• in a sauce pan, boil monggo beans for about 20-30 minutes or until tender or beans has broken
• In another sauce pan, saute garlic and onion, pour over pork bones and stir fry for about 3-5 minutes then seasoned with salt & pepper
• pour over boiled monggo. let it boil, add in spinach and boil for another 2-3 minutes. serve hot.
• Great paired with fried fish….enjoy!!!

Garlic Beef and Mushrooms

I remember this is the best-selling appetizer in the Italian restaurant I worked before in Manila, PHI. We serve this dish with choice of seafood or beef. I prefer my one served with beef. It’s a great starter specially when you are having a glass of wine while waiting for your main course. and best of all, it is very easy to prepare as well as to cook it. .  . . . . Did you know that white mushrooms are a very good source of copper, selenium, riboflavin, niacin, and panothenic acid, and a good source of potassium. They also have been found to have high levels of some antioxidant compounds that may help prevent some cancers….

Ingredients: serves 3-4 persons

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium sliced white onions
• 250 grams beef sirloin strips
• 250 grams sliced mushroom buttons
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• pinch of dried marjoram
• pinch of dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedures:

• In a teflon pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions, add in beef and brown for 5 minutes and pour mushroom slices. simmer for another 5 minutes then seasoned with salt, pepper, herbs and soy sauce.
• Serve hot!

Risotto with Seared Salmon and Prawns

Risotto…….a dish of rice cooked in stock and served variously with tomatoes, cheese, chicken, seafood and more….There are thousand of ways how to cook risotto, It actually depends on the broth you prefer. I prefer seafood. This is the most tasteful and flavourful to cook this dish. I remember when I was watching an episode of jaime oliver(famous chef), He cooked a risotto exactly the same procedures I usually make. Using seafood as his base stock and shrimps as his meat. So now, I am very happy to share to you this recipe. Tips on making risotto – never let go of stirring while cooking, you will loose its creamy texture once you stop stirring…………Did you know that salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. The Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon will help lower your cholesterol. Usually the first thing doctors recommend after a heart attack is to lower your bad cholesterol levels. While salmon is lowering your bad cholesterol it is also raising your good cholesterol. Salmon can also help repair heart damage and strengthen the heart muscles. Salmon also helps lower your blood pressure and even prevent hardening of your arteries which will lessen your chances of having a heart attack.

Ingredients: good for sharing

For seared salmon and prawns

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 6 pieces king prawns
• 250 grams salmon belly (bone out)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp seasoning soy sauce

* rub all ingredients except olive oil evenly to salmon and prawns. for at least 15 minutes before cooking.

For risotto:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 pcs mussels on shells (shells cleaned)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 small white onions chopped
• 1 tsp saffron
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• salt & pepper
• dash of dried marjoram
• dash of dried thyme
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 2 cups water

Dressing: sweet chilli and mayonnaise( 1 cup mayonnaise, salt & pepper and 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce)

Procedures:

• In a sauce pan, add water and mussels. boil until mussels are opened. set aside, remove mussels shell and save broth.
• In a sauce pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions, add in arborio rice and simmer for 5 minutes by continues stirring. then add in tomato sauce and herbs. add in 1 cup soup stock first. then cook for another 5 minutes. depending on your desired thickness add little by little of your broth, some prefer their risotto a little bit dry, some prefer wet.  then stir- in sour cream and remove from fire. adjust your taste by adding salt & pepper.
• In a non-stick metal pan, heat oil and seared salmon and prawns on both side. Then place in an oven at 180 degrees celsius for 5 minutes.
• Using your imagination, assemble plate with risotto and seared salmon and prawns.

Mini Almond Cake

Tired of chocolate cake? or cheesecake? Well, try this one, it’s one of my favorite cake – ALMOND CAKE! It’s a simple cake made of eggs, butter and almonds. It’s like your enrty level to baking, so simple yet very satisfying dessert. I believe that sumptious desserts doesn’t have to be that complicated…….Did you know that almonds are considered anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, emollient and are also used as a tonic. They are also known as brain and bone food, probably due to their high calcium content. They help with alkalinizing the blood and relieve stagnation in the liver…..

Ingredients: makes 6-8 mini cakes

• 250 grams butter
• 2 cups ground almonds
• 4 fresh eggs
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Procedures:

• In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until creamed. then add in eggs one at a time. mix well.
• add in vanilla essence, flour and ground almonds.
• In a mini cake tin or rameikin. spray oil and pour mixtures halfway then topped with sliced almonds.
• Pre-heat oven at 160 degrees celsius and bake for 30 minutes.
• best served with whipped cream paired with your favorite coffee or tea.

Student Meal

Do you remember what was your favorite student or budget meal? or I will change the question? what was the meal you can afford during your college days?………..My answer?, It’s a student meal made of half serving of veggies and some meats…The vegetbale in this meal is Ginataang hipon at kalabasa and a simple fried pork chop and  steamed rice…This reminds me of my college days! ………………Did you know that the “alpha-carotene and beta-carotene” are potent antioxidants found in pumpkin and are pro-vitamin A carotenoids, meaning the body converts them to vitamin A. Vitamin A promotes healthy vision and ensures proper immune function. The beta-carotene in pumpkin may also reverse skin damage caused by the sun and act as an anti-inflammatory. Alpha-carotene is thought to slow the aging process and also reduce the risk of developing cataracts and prevent tumor growth

Ingredients:

Fried Pork: serves 3-4 student meal

• 4 pcs pork chop
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• oil for frying
• 1 tsp lemon or calamansi juice
• 2 cloves crushed garlic

Procedures:

• In a container with cover, pour all ingredients together. rub pork evenly and marinade for a minimum of 2 hours.
• In a frying pan, heat oil and fry pork until brown. pour in the remaining marinade mix and let ir seared for 1 minute.
• serve with your favorite vegetables.

click Ginataang Hipon at kalabasa for recipe

Enjoy!!!

Asian Style Beef with Mushrooms

This is a replicate from a Singaporean restaurant that my wife dine together with her boss. We were very eager to try this at home because this is the first Singaporean recipe I will post in my blog. With the help of “google” and my wife illustration on the menu, I have visualized the taste and its appearance. Well, stir-fry dishes is not as complicated as other menu………Did you know that white button mushrooms are fairly rich in vitamins and minerals. The mushroom contains an especially high amount of vitamin B and potassium. Raw mushrooms are naturally cholesterol, fat, and sodium free. Common button mushrooms may help lower cholesterol and prevent chronic diseases.

Ingredients: Serves 4-6 persons

• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 250 grams thinly sliced beef
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 thumb sized ginger thinly sliced
• 1 medium white onions
• 200 grams button mushrooms
• 1 pc small carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced leeks
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cornstarch dissolve in 1 cup water

Procedures:

• In a mixing bowl, rub beef with soy sauce, salt & pepper, baking soda and sesame oil. marinate for about 30 minutes.
• In a wok, heat oil and saute garlic, onion and ginger then add in beef, brown for about 5 minutes then pour in mushrooms, carrots and leeks then seasoned with oyster sauce, salt & pepper and rice wine. saute well for about 5 minutes then add in cornstarch mix. remove from heat and serve hot.
• Best served in sizzling plate or over a bowl of steamed rice or a piece of bread
• Enjoy!!

Buko Pandan

Buko pandan…. A famous dessert in every occasions specially in banquets and catering, This dessert was never missed in every functions we had. . . I always remember my brother-in-law, every time he eats this dessert, I always tell him that he is not allowed to have this(because he is diabetic), as well as his wife(because his husband is diabetic), they always tell me as well, I am not allowed to have this because my brother-in-law is diebetic…hahahahaha!!!………..Did you know that by drinking buko juice and eating its meat(coconut) can prevent a simple goiter (enlarged non-toxic thyroid) because of its organic iodine content. It is also good body builder, so it is a food recommended for building up the body muscles of thin and emaciated individuals…..

Ingredients: good for 4-6 persons

• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup condensed milk
• 1 cup small cubed cheese
• 1 cup nata de coco
• 1 gelatin bar(green color) dissolve in 4 cups water
• 1 tsp pandan extract
• 1 cup cooked tapioca
• 1 cup fresh buko slices (reserve juice for dissolving gelatin)

Procedures:

• In a sauce pan, pour water, buko juice and bring to a boil, add in gelatin and remove from heat. Transfer to a square container or pyrex, let it cool and cut into small square pieces. set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together including gelatin pieces. mix well and chilled for 2 hours or overnight.
• Best served chilled. Enjoy!!! 

Lasagna

Lasagna…….A mix of tomato and bechamel sauce perfectly melt with cheese. A truly classic dish that everyone can make. I made my one more creamy and cheesy. because I love cheese and white sauce on my pasta. It blends well with the tomato sauce matching with my spicy tabasco or chilli jalapeno pepper sauce..Wow, Are you hungry? coz’ I am……………..Did you know that bechamel sauce is made with fresh milk. This fresh milk is the best source of calcium supply to our body. Calcium protects the body from major chronic ailments such as cancerous chemicals, bone loss, arthritic condition, migraine headaches, pre-menstrual syndrome, and obesity in children and aids in losing unwanted fats.

Ingredients: good for 6-8 persons

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp garlic (crushed)
• 1 medium onions (diced)
• 1 small carrots (small diced)
• 1 stalk chopped celery
• 500 gms beef mince
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated cheese for toppings
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp corn flour dissolve in 1/2 cup water
• 8 sheets of lasagna or 250 gms pack

Bechamel Sauce

• 2 cups hot milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

* in a sauce pan, place flour and stir in low heat settings until lightly brown, add in butter(this will serves as your rue) then add hot milk and cheese. continue stirring until fluffy and thick.

Tabasco sauce or chilli jalapeno sauce

Procedures:

• In a large sauce pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions, add in beef mince and cooked for about 10 minutes and stirring every 5 minutes. add in veggies – tomato, carrots, celery and seasoned with herbs, salt & pepper
• Then add tomato sauce and tomato paste. cook for another 5 minutes. add cornstarch mix and remove from heat.
• Finish and adjust the taste by adding parmesan cheese.
• In a pyrex or lasagna tray, place a lasagna pasta probably 4 sheets and topped with half of the spaghetti sauce and half of the bechamel sauce. Do this twice or two layer and sprinkle with grated cheese. place in oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes allowing the cheese to melt
• serve hot!!