We've already started our countdown to Christmas and with just a few days to go, it's true that festivity is just around the corner. For us, Filipinos, Christmas time is synonymous to shopping, party, gifts and of course food (lots and lots of all kinds)! It's that time of the year where talks about dieting and slimming are considered taboo. It seemed that everybody found a way for an excuse to these things. We tend to indulge to high heavens in particular of sweets. Have you ever wondered why sweet goodies normally frequent gift baskets, boxes and jars during the gift giving season? Well, there are a number of reasons I'm sure. But foremost to that I think is that no one in this world hardly appreciate sweet treats. Everybody was born to have a sweet tooth. It's only our threshold that varies. So if you're thinking of giving home made present to your loved ones and friends, this is one recipe you can try and perfect just in time for the holidays. I remember making batches of this macaroon with my best friend during our highschool days. We learned the recipe from her aunt and just modified it ourselves. Eventually, we tried selling some to schools and small restaurants. We were so glad, we hit big time. This recipe is quite different from the usual macaroons we are all accustomed to. You'll find that the texture is between a typical macaroon and a cupcake. It's not gooey nor sticky. The aftertaste is so creamy and milky. You can also make different variations by adding fruits and nuts to it. If you want to commercialize it, you can blend it with natural or artificial flavors (e.g. hazelnut, dulce de leche and many more). This recipe is so easy to make, even kids can do it. So, have your mixer ready and start making this delicacy that is sure to delight anyone.

1/3 cup margarine, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 small can sweetened condensed milk, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/4 cup dessicated coconut

Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and condensed milk. Mix well. Add all purpose flour. Stir in dessicated coconut. Drop a teaspoon of batter into a macaroon mould and bake at 150 C for 15 mins or until browning is visible on top.

With the fast phased lifestyle many of us are living, short and quick fix meals are highly in demand these days. Most parents like us or homemakers in particular, are time-strapped yet the desire to give our family yummy treats and scrumptious meal is still ever burning. We all require convenience but at the same time we want our food to have our signature touch into it. For this reason, the need to bridge the gap between well laboured meals and instant foods became so evident. This Tuna Pizza recipe, a DIY (do-it-yourself) Pizza is an example of various food solutions for that specific desire. All you need to do is assemble, add some creativity and you're on your way to your own exciting, gastronomic creation. Apart from that, preparing DIY recipes such as this is a good bonding activity for family and friends. What could be more exciting than preparing your own food and relishing huge servings of good laughs in between? It is said that all good things in life are enjoyed best when shared.
What you need:
2 pcs ready to use pizza dough, 1 small can pineapple tidbits (drained), 1 can of tuna flakes, 1 small red bell pepper (chopped in squares or julienne), 1 small green bell pepper (chopped in squares or julienne), 6 cloves garlic (chopped), 3 large tomatoes (sliced in rounds), extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup mozzarella cheese or quick melt cheese

How to make:
Half all the ingredients. Drizzle each pizza dough with olive oil. Layer it with the rest of the ingredients starting from cheese, then tomatoes, pineapple, bell peppers, garlic and tuna. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts and the side of the dough turns brown or is toasted. You can adjust the amount of all the ingredients if you like. Always remember that when it comes to cooking, you can go by your own taste at all times. In as far as my culinary journey is concerned; this is quite like a mantra to me already.

This is the second post for the Taste Throwdown category of this blog. It's this blog's weekly event adapted from Bobby Flay's Food Network show. Check out my initial post about it here. I'm dreaming big about Taste Throwdown. I'd like to see it grow as a food bloggers' event soon. I'm planning to open it to the foodies out there who love to challenge the passionate "Cooks" in them and want to share their culinary gifts. I hope I can design the mechanics properly and roll it out before long. I'll make an announcement when it's done. Meanwhile, let me share with you my take on the recipe of the Coffee Cake preceding this particular post.
Last week, we were again generously gifted with lots of Pili Nuts from the province of Bicol. Incidentally, the husband has long been requesting for a baked goodie but this time around it was specified to be a Cake. A Cake! I repeated to myself. I’ve never tried making any of this kind at home. I would love to but I’m a bit apprehensive on the possible errors I could commit along the way then making it a complete disaster in the end. With little mouths always waiting to be pleased at the dining table and a husband who has such a high threshold for sweet goods, oh no, I can’t afford to offer any form of disappointment at all. Baking a Cake is something that I would leave for the baker or pastry chef to do, with me as spectator gloriously enjoying the scene of the art of baking. I was only technically trained to perceive, taste and evaluate a food but with very minimal experience on baking much less on Cakes. On second thoughts though, there’s absolutely no harm in trying specially in your own kitchen and your own food. So, there’s always this daring instinct that instructs you to do it and just try.

So with much guts and inspiration, I modified Gifts from the Kitchen’s recipe of Coffee Cake and Cinnamon Streusel Topping and had it tangier. I made the cinnamon flavour the overall character and not just a hint that provides an aftertaste. Also, I added the pili nuts which provided the creamy and nutty notes lingering through out the palate. Accordingly, I named it Cinnamon Cake with Pili Nut. If you’re a cinnamon lover, this cake item is for you.


What you need:
1/3 cup butter (softened), 200 g sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 4 tbsps milk, 215 g all purpose flour or cake flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsps cinnamon powder, 125 g pili nuts


How to make:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Sift flour and baking powder. Add in cinnamon powder and mix together. Cream sugar and butter in a mixer bowl until fluffy and yellow in color. Add milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually add in mixture of dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Using a spoon stir in 3 tbsps of coarsely chopped pili nuts. Add to a greased 9 x 2 inch round tin. Top with the remaining pili nuts. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the center comes out clean when inserted with a tester. Cool on a wire rack.

I have two mini cookbooks now frequenting our kitchen counter very often. Surprisingly, even my young tots are busy perusing these books, each spotting his/her own choice of food for request. Simultaneously, I hear cute pleads echoing through out the entire house "mommy, gawa ka nito, mommy gusto ko bake ka nito". Later, these culinary petitions made my weekends busily spent in the kitchen.

Perfect Italian and Gifts from the Kitchen both by Parragon are great foodie companion. They are affordable, handy and rich in delectable dishes to prepare at home. The following recipes were taken from these books but I added some twists to suit the flavor to our palate more.

Shrimp Linguine with Green Olives

400g linguine, 1/2 cup green olives, 250 g shrimps (shell removed and deveined), 4 small tomatoes (diced), 500g italian spaghetti sauce, 1 small onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (chopped), 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp ground dried basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste

Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain, wash in cold water and set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook shrimps until just tender. Set aside. In the same pan, sauté onion and garlic until fragrant. Add tomatoes, olives and italian spaghetti sauce. Season with salt, pepper and ground dried basil leaves. Boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in cooked linguine and shrimps.

Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

175 g butter, 215 g all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 200 g granulated sugar, 4 tbsps full cream milk, 2 large eggs, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 5 tbsps brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon powder, 100 g coarsely chopped pili nuts

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 9 x 2 inch round tin. Sift flour and baking powder. Melt 115 g butter then leave to cool. Cream sugar and melted butter in an electric mixer. Add milk, eggs & vanilla. Gradually add in flour mix. Blend well and pour into the prepared tin. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, pili nuts and remaining butter in a bowl. Mix until crumbly. Distribute chunks of cinnamon and nut mixture over the batter. Bake for 40 minutes or until the center comes out clean when inserted with a cocktail stick or tester. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Cool before serving.

Last week, an Indonesian colleague arrived from Thailand to work with us. Before she left, we teased her to prepare something authentic in Indonesian Cuisine for an afternoon nibble. Gladly, she yielded to our request. Armed with the necessary ingredients, kitchen tools and a blazing Indonesian spirit, she quickly made our office's pantry smelling with fried, pleasantly browned, crunchy notes. The avid epicures in us were all awakened. We can no longer contain our curiosity and craving. When finally the first batch landed onto the plate, we eagerly dig into it and delightfully rests this crunchy, nicely browned vegetable fritters called Bakwan. It tastes sweet at the same time savoury. The natural sweetness of the vegetables particularly corn, carrots and spring onions lingered all through out rounded with the fried note thus, giving it a complementing savoury twist. Bakwan is a typical Indonesian fritter that can be made with shrimps or vegetables. This is a very flexible dish as you can easily twist it to any way you like. Likewise, it's very easy to prepare. If you're tired with our very own Okoy (fish or shrimp fritters) or the usual omelette, this is an unconventional Filipino option. According to our Indonesian colleague, it's normally eaten with either chili sauce, kecap manis or sambal ketchup. For us, we liked it best with spicy vinegar or "toyomansili" (soy sauce, calamansi and chili).

If you want to try it at home, these are the ingredients and the procedure to prepare it. However, the portions are not indicated because the way I saw it cooked by my colleague was a classic "a dish - a dash style of cooking", you can just play around.

carrots, string beans, spring onions (chives), sweet corn kernels, onion, garlic, bean sprouts, eggs, all purpose flour, rice starch, water, salt, sugar and pepper to taste, vegetable oil for frying

Prepare a batter mix by combining flour, water, eggs (beaten) and a little amount of starch in a bowl. Mix well. Adjust the amount of ingredients to achieve a not too viscous batter mix. Likewise, do not add too much water so it won't be too oily when you fry it. The more water you put into it, the higher the oil absorption will be. Add all vegetables into the batter. Fry 1 tbsp in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

My husband’s colleague who went for a vacation in Cagayan de Oro brought us plenty of Cheding’s Peanuts, the pride of Iligan City. When I went to Mindanao, I remember buying a lot of this particular peanut brand as pasalubong (gift). We love Cheding’s Peanuts for its nice roasted character, strong peanut aroma and mild, creamy taste. We can’t resist munching it over and over. It’s a “sige – sige” experience, once you start you can’t stop. Because we have lots of it, I was enthused to create good chows out of it. From stir-fried egg noodles to snacks and desserts, I was busy sprinkling it onto our dishes. Here’s our Peanut and Raisin cookie with no less than Cheding’s Peanut as main ingredient. Grab a mug of your favourite drink and voila! you have a perfect snack pair. A heart-warming book is all you need to complete a relaxing treat.

1 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup dessicated cocount, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup cheding's peanuts

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Cream together margarine and sugars in a mixer bowl. Add egg and vanilla extract. Gradually add in mixture of dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Using a spoon, stir in dessicated coconut, raisins and peanuts. Drop a spoonful of cookie dough 1 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

When you were not able to perform your task and did not deliver what were expected from you, what do you normally get as a consequence? Penalty! This is what my colleagues and I got from not being able to meet the deadline for one of our KPMs (key performance measures) at work. That is, for having our report turned in late we have to face the unwanted outcome. Our punishment? We have to prepare snacks for the operations meeting. Can you really consider that as a punishment? Well to feed a bunch of foodies, to some extent for our pockets, it is going to be. But to our daring appetites, it’s a granted desire. So, with a budget at hand, we came up with the following dishes and happily shared hefty bites of these.

In as far as baking cookies at home is concerned, I am a newbie. I hardly make any or rather, I actually didn’t try to attempt at all. But since I have little palates to please with certain requests I can’t simply ignore, I had to endure the challenge of perfecting one. We had enough muffin and cupcake bashes in our kitchen but it seemed that our baked goods saga is bound to last for long. Only the kids know when, perhaps until the day their throat resists the sugar rush. So, it’s all about cookies the other day.

Different types of cookies exist in abundance. But the truth is, they are just combinations of flour, sugar, fat and eggs unless other variations are intended to be made, that will make a different ingredients list. At any rate, the first four are considered the foundations of the cookie. Proportions may be played around and substitution may be considered to make a cookie recipe specific to ones’ own liking.

In my case, I tend to value texture next to taste. Texture is an essential sensory attribute that greatly affects the overall acceptability of food. And when it comes to munching cookies, I prefer those profiles that not only swank of rich taste but those that exhibit yummy-licious bite. By that, I mean soft, gooey-chunky over crispy and crumbly. To achieve this, most players in the recipe should perform their vital roles properly. In general, quality soft cookies require: quality ingredients used in the proper ratios and the right time and temperature combinations for the baking process.

It may sound too technical, but actually with a reliable recipe at hand and just the needed knowledge with a dash of inspiration, you will be able to give your family and friends any type of cookie they may desire. For us, this is the cookie we like.

When it comes to home-made desserts, I love those that can be easily made at home. In particular, those that shies away from hard to find ingredients and the long wait for indulging. If there’s one very flexible and easy to work on ingredient for dessert making, nothing compares to Graham Crackers. It's affordable, readily available and can be transformed into any of your favorite dessert items such as pies, floats, cakes, polvoron and so on and so forth. You can have it baked or simply chilled.

If I will be asked to describe the orientation of my taste buds, I know that it's more of savoury rather than sweet. But I'll definetely wouldn't say a sweet bite wouldn't entice me to some extent. Perhaps a little nibble would be enough to please my appetite. But with savoury goods, I tend to munch for more. I have a slightly higher threshold for a saltier tang. With my kids, I know it's the opposite. They would prefer sugary and chocolatey foodstuffs. Their weekend cravings put me into a more challenging task. I love to prepare sweet items but only those that require a simple mix, toss, layer, chill etc. I usually avoid baking. Apart from having an impression that it's too laborious to do, I know that baking is a culinary gem worthy to explore; but there are far more challenges in-store as you go along. However, for the love of those sweet requests from the little ones why shouldn't I dare? As follows, my weekend was spent romancing cupcake recipes in the kitchen. Because my library does not possess any cook book on baking, I went to the world wide web for some help. My online-research brought me to some interesting recipes. I just followed my sensory impulse in selecting the ones that are worth trying. With some modifications here and there; my initial attempts finally came into moulds, ready to be chomped by little mouths impatiently waiting to be pleased.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175 C.

2. Mix flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a bowl. Beat sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a mixer bowl.

3. Slowly add in flour mixture alternately with milk.

4. Put 2 teaspoonfuls of batter into a paper-lined muffin moulds.

5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

6. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before frosting.

7. Make the choco-fudge frosting. Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat slowly until it boils briskly with constant stirring. Continue boiling until thick enough to spread onto the cupcakes. Remove from heat and add 4 tbsps butter and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir and spread immediately.

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 medium sized eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup fresh milk

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

2. Cream margarine and sugar in a mixer bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, banana and milk.

3. Add the flour mixture and blend until a smooth consistency is achieved.

4. Fill paper-lined muffin moulds with 2 teaspoonfuls of batter. Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

5. Frost with butter-milk frosting (1/2 cup butter, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 cup fresh milk heated in a saucepan until of spreading consistency).

I am elated being truly back to Weekend Herb Blogging. For those who have just heard about it and for those who, like me need to be reminded of how this activity works, click here. This week's WHB is being hosted by Joanna of Joanna's Food. My entry is a tempting fusion of sweet and savoury notes. Hence, the name Sweet-Savoury Banana Spring Roll. It's a spin off of a typical banana spring roll which is a favorite Filipino snack/dessert item we call "Turon". Last week, the refrigerator at home bragged an abundant supply of jackfruit courtesy of our dear neighbor. Knowing that it is the best pair to a yummy Turon; momentarily, I thought of preparing sweet banana spring roll with jackfruit, for a lazy afternoon nibble. The Turon, we, Filipinos are accustomed to normally comes in big sizes. Imagine 3 half slices of banana in a spring roll wrapper. That's how big it's gonna be. My threshold for that size only reaches two. It heavily-fills your tummy. That's why I like it when it's prepared in smaller sizes especially if kids will have their bite too. For this recipe I did just that. Although Turon is regarded as a classical Filipino food item, I wish there are other interesting sensory notes that can be infused with it aside from being heavenly sweet. Thus, when I saw the stalks of coriander resting on the kitchen counter, an enticing sweet-savoury union was all I imagined. Together with some other complementing ingredients, I was pleased with what was before me, waiting to be devoured delectably.

Ingredients:
4 pcs banana, quartered
1/2 cup brown sugar for coating
1/2 cup jackfruit, shredded
8 pcs spring roll wrapper, small size
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese or chopped cream cheese
coriander leaves, chopped
sweet chili sauce

Procedure:
1. Coat banana slices (2 pcs/roll) with brown sugar. Put into spring roll wrapper together with some shredded jackfruit (be generous, the more the tastier) . Fold the ends of the spring roll wrapper and close it with small amount of water.
2. Coat each prepared banana spring roll with brown sugar and deep-fry in vegetable oil until it turns brown.
3. Transfer 2 pcs of fried banana spring roll onto a serving plate and top with grated cheese. Pour over 2 teaspoons of sweet chili sauce and add the chopped coriander leaves (you may adjust the amount of these components according to your liking).

** The cream cheese worked better with the banana spring roll than the cheddar cheese. The saltiness of the cheddar cheese somehow prevented a harmonious fusion, but acceptable just the same. Only, a more balanced mélange of flavors is achieved with the former.

Father's Day was celebrated lavishly last year. We had an intimate feast in no less than Tagaytay's most amorous spot, Antonio's. It was French Cuisine at its best! This year, (drifting to the advent of austerity; seems everybody is for the hideous commodity prices these days) we decided to celebrate it simply. Where else but in the solace of our home! We had our humble dining table that offered an enjoyable feast nonetheless. There's nothing fancy or genuinely epicurian. It may even looked more of an ordinary dinner meal but what made it special was we devoured into this banquet together. Think of family eating together. What more can you ask for?

Ingredients:

1/2 kg fish fillet (tanguige)

1 small can tausi (salted black beans)

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups cornstarch

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

5 stalks of spring onion, cut 1 inch in size

kinchay, chopped (as garnish)

pepper to taste

canola oil, for sauteing and frying

Procedure:
1. Coat fish fillet with cornstarch, dip in egg wash then coat with another layer of cornstach. Deep fry until golden brown. Set aside. (Do this in batches to prevent drying of the batter mixture when coated in the fish fillet)

2. Saute onion and garlic in heated oil. Add black beans, onion leeks, oyster sauce, sugar and water. Allow to boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Add fried fish fillet and mix well with the sauce. Top with chopped kinchay. Serve hot.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 kg black tiger prawns
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oyster sauce
1 1/2 cups water
3 tbsps butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
pepper to taste
3 tbsps canola oil

Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onion in canola oil until fragrant.

2. Add the shrimps and saute until all slightly turns pink.

3. Add butter, oyster sauce, sugar, water and pepper. Simmer until the shrimps are cooked just right.




Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups pandesal (shredded)
1 small can condensed milk
1 small can evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tsps cinnamon powder
4 eggs


Procedure:
1. Pre-heat the oven at 345 F. Cream together softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Transfer to a baking dish and set aside.