My good friend and neighbor Temie from across the street came by bearing gifts of aubergines from her organic vegetable garden...wow, I thought to myself...I was trying to crank my brain into some sort of creative overdrive, as I sat in my kitchen staring at the amaranthine heap piled atop the tiled counter...what to do with these Japanese eggplants??! I was getting pretty hungry so I wanted something quick & easy... and since I felt that Asian flavors would be befitting these plump mauve beauties--I simply threw them on the stove top grill. For my glaze--some miso, hoisin sauce, honey, ginger (for zest) & fig jam...easy, breezy, yummy!
 GRILLED JAPANESE EGGPLANTS WITH MISO FIG GLAZE |
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Made this seafood paella with arborio rice, prawns, mussels, squid, scallops, chilean sea bass, spanish chorizo bilbao, crabs, tomatoes, onions, garlic,roasted bell peppers, broad beans, saffron & spanish olives...made this for a weekend get-together with a few close friends...'twas a success, needless to say.
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| SEAFOOD PAELLA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
This is my mom's recipe, she made it for our lunch on one of my visits. It was incredibly good, I decided to make it a couple of weeks later at home, this time with my own twist---fresh shredded corn...delish!
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| BLUE CRABS WITH BAMBOO SHOOTS AND CORN IN COCONUT CREAM SAUCE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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| GARLIC HERB SHRIMPS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Another dish I made for her "surf & turf" theme party...
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| GRILLED PORK BABY BACK RIBS |
Sweet, gooey, melt-in-your mouth goodness...decadent!
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| CASSAVA PIE WITH CARAMEL TOPPING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
A delectable mouthful snack...nicely sweet, crispy crunchy on the outside, soft & super-moist on the inside with each cinnamon-y bite:) Thanks to my friends June, Gina, Sunil & Ting for being my "guinea pigs"...
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| BANANA FRITTERS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR |
Got bored one night and I was totally craving for something sweet...had a couple of apples left in the fridge, took a quick peek in my pantry, found some flour, dried cranberries, raisins, and...here's what I made.
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| APPLE CRANBERRY RAISIN MUFFINS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
I like to use the pork belly boneless cut for my meat...just 'cause I feel I get more bang for my buck. I usually marinate my meat for 24 hours prior to cooking, I give it enough time to soak & absorb all the flavors of my soy-citrus garlic marinade.
I like to use the pork belly boneless cut for my meat...just 'cause I feel I get more bang for my buck. I usually marinate my meat for 24 hours prior to cooking, I give it enough time to soak & absorb all the flavors of my soy-citrus garlic marinade.
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| GRILLED PORK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The same can be said for my skewered chicken...only sweeter |
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| SKEWERED BARBECUE CHICKEN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Best accompaniment for paella or tapas, and one can make this for any occasion or non-occasion. Love this drink, so simple yet so refreshing!
Here's my recipe:
1 bottle dry red wine (750 ml-Spanish red wine, if available)
1 orange
1 lemon
1 large apple, cored
1 large nectarine
1 cup rum
1/2 cup triple sec
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 can Apricot nectar (Hansen's)
Cut orange, lemon, apple and nectarine into thin wedges or rounds. In a large bowl or pitcher, mix together rum, triple sec, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, apricot nectar and sugar. Float the lemon, orange, apple and nectarine slices in the mixture. Best chilled overnight for flavors to infuse.
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| RED SANGRIA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Filipino-style chow mein noodle...can be made fancy enough for any feast or simple enough for an everyday fare. One of the most versatile, complete (one-dish meal) dishes, I think...
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| PANCIT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Another one of my faves, this is such a comfort food for me...aside from pasta, I think this is my go-to food, and my kids totally agree.
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CHICKEN AFRITADA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
It's always been said that in cooking, one has to always use the best ingredients--in this case, I suppose fresh lump crab meat would be considered the best, but I tried the canned crab meat I picked up from my local Costco, it was just as mighty tasty...
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| CRAB OMELETTES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
