I wonder how many homemakers adhere to their menu plan religiously? As, I, for one, am a usual violator of this task. Have you ever experienced visualizing a meal that’s supposed to welcome you home from work? If you're the one preparing it, you probably have played in your mind the ingredients and the best way to do it as you head home. But the moment you reached your kitchen, you suddenly changed your mind and decided to cook something unplanned. I just had that particular moment. For some reasons, I opted for these dishes which, can actually be included in Robin Miller's repertoire of Quick Fix Meals or Rachel Ray's 30 minutes meal. Hah, I think I made the reason more obvious then. But generally, whichever case it may be, either you go as planned or veer away from it, nothing compares to home-cooked meals.

vegetable oil for frying, wanton wrappers, 1 small can of hot & spicy tuna flakes, 1 small onion (finely chopped), 5 cloves garlic (minced), 1 whole egg, salt and pepper to taste

Mix tuna, onion, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Wrap 1 tsp of mixture in a wanton wrapper. Fold ends of wrapper to form a triangle. Fry tuna triangles in oil until it turns golden brown. Drain in paper towels. Serve with sweet-chili sauce.

Kangkong with Ground Pork
250 g ground pork, 3 bundles of kangkong (trimmed), 1 small onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (chopped), 2 tbsps canola oil, 1/8 cup oyster sauce, 1/4 cup water, pepper to taste

Heat oil in a wok. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add pork and saute until tender. Add kangkong (stalks first then leaves) and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add oyster sauce, water and pepper. Boil and simmer for 2 more minutes.

I'm inviting all food enthusiasts to join our new contest entitled "Name This Dish". I'm writing my first ever food book and I've started to screen the recipes that I will include in the overall concept of the project. Last weekend, I've prepared two dishes which were inspired by my desire to go healthy these days. Apparently, I was lost for words on how to rightly call these dishes. Thus, it turned out to be an exciting contest to have here in Our Taste of Life.

The second dish can be considered either a pizza or bruschetta. Originally, the inspiration of this dish is really a pizza. But since I used a different bread and when it came out from the oven, I realized it could actually fit into a bruschetta too!

It is a french bread layered with the following ingredients: quickmelt cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, chopped garlic, basil and olive oil. Baked at 175°C for a few minutes until the cheese was melted.

There you have it folks! Create the most appropriate and tasteful sounding name to grab a dining opportunity for a superb Spanish, Latino, Filipino and Mexican food offerings only at POQUITO MAS SPLATINO CUISINE. Send me those suggestions and win a delightful gift certificate worth P1000.00! E-mail your entries to sherra(underscore)bernardo(at)yahoo(dot)com

I will accept entries until 11:59 pm on Friday, July 11 and the winner will be announced on Sunday, July 13.

Poquito Mas' two branches are located at:

Paseo de Sta. Rosa 1

Don Jose, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna

Filinvest Corporate City
Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Tel. #: (632) 7711334, (632) 7711325

Last year, I made a post on Korean Noodles that are becoming more and more popular in the Philippines brought about by what many coined as the "Korean Invasion" of our country. Now, to continue this Korean culinary saga; I'm making another post on the most popular Korean dish - Kimchi. Kimchi is known to be the must side dish of any Korean meal. No Korean meal will be complete without it. I have a Korean colleague who can attest to that. Kimchi is a fermented type of dish that is usually made of vegetables. The most common of which is Napa or Chinese Cabbage. It maybe the best craved appetizer by the Koreans but for a Filipino palate, liking this dish might be very selective. It's actually one of those aquired tastes. I, for one, was initially not a fan of this dish. I had a chance to experience its authenticity in my first visit to Seoul. Apparently, I found the taste very foreign at that time. Eventually, because of culinary fusions happening everywhere and the opportunity of working with foreign migrants (koreans in particular), the kimchi note became a household flavor. It was not surprising then, that one of my local colleagues can now make Kimchi like a pro. I watched her prepare one time and she generously shared her well labored recipe. From her fermenting bins to yours, here's a homemade Kimchi recipe to delight into. Ingredients: 1 kg chinese cabbage, cut into halves vertically
90 g Korean raddish, cut into strips
24 g onion leeks, cut into strips
200 g rock salt
1.1 kg water
20 g malagkit powder (rice flour), cooked in 300 ml water
25 g garlic, finely chopped
64 ml fermented Korean fish sauce
70 g red pepper powder
6 g ginger, finely chopped
sugar to taste

Procedure:
1. Cut chinese cabbage into halves, do not wash.
2. Put rock salt in between the leaves. Soak in water for 3 hours (more salt means faster soaking time). Wash in running water after soaking.
3. Cook malagkit powder (rice flour) with continuous stirring. It's done when it starts to boil. Allow to cool.
4. Put malagkit paste in a mixing bowl. Add red pepper powder, fish sauce, raddish, onion leeks, ginger, garlic and sugar. Mix well (this is your Kimchi paste).
5. Spread Kimchi paste into individual leaves (make sure all leaves are coated). Fold and seal using the outermost leaf to avoid any spillage.
6. Put the leaves in tightly sealed containers and store in the refrigerator overnight. Continue storage in an ambient condition for 3 more days. On the 4th day it's ready to be consumed.