In view of breakfast items at home, we (my kids in particular) rarely have rice or bread. We usually dig into a plate of pasta or noodle dish. If you’ll ask me why we do not have the typical Pinoy breakfast plate of rice and viand or pandesal with spreads, it’s simply because my kids rule in this particular meal occasion. Also, noodles or pasta dish excites them more than the former options. I consistently stick into this morning meal repertoire because I think noodles or pasta offers more variety in taste and texture. It answers the need to break the satiation factor that is common to kids when it comes to eating. With the same base you can alter the taste and ingredients pretty unbounded.
So for Presto Pasta Night # 75, I'm sharing a recipe that both my toddlers love. Apparently, each has a different preference of sauce for a pasta. The eldest likes the red based pasta and the youngest hearts the cream based one. To satisfy them both, I came up with this fusion of both types which put their appetites into big cravings. I hope you'll feel the same way too when you try it.


What you need:

I am an avid fan of celebrity chef Bobby Flay's Food Network show called "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". It's a TV program where Flay challenges a Cook of a famous dish or food in a surprise competition hence, the name "throwdown". It's exciting and inspiring at the same time. I always look forward to how Flay will make his own version different and better than the original. Somehow, in someway I see my self in this celebrity chef. Almost always before I try on a particular recipe, I tend to evaluate it first. I scrutinize the list of ingredients, the manner of preparation and plating. These are essential elements that will make or break any food item in as far as its general acceptability is concerned. Besides, we all want to maximize our resources and time for cooking. Thus, it goes without saying that the food must be all worth it.

On to the initial Taste Throwdown entry, here's Tilapia Fish Cakes with Sayote Tops & Boiled Egg. The benchmark of this dish is "Salmon Fish Cakes with Spinach and Poached Egg" featured in the book How to Cook by Hamlyn. I made a very pinoy version of this dish which is likewise relatively cheaper. I preferred to hard boiled the egg because I have kids who will be my panelists. But you can also opt for poached or soft boiled. If you want an equally healthy and tasty vegetables other than Sayote leaves, Camote Tops makes a good alternative too.

Tilapia Fish Cakes with Sayote Tops & Boiled Egg

Yield 6 cakes

What you need:
1 1/2 cups tilapia fillet (coarsely chopped), 1 small red onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 cups diced potatoes, 1/2 cups diced carrots, 2 1/2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp ground whole basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste, 2 small eggs, 2 tbsps all purpose flour, canola oil for frying, 500 g sayote tops (blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes, seasoned with salt or fish sauce)

How to make:

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add fish, potatoes and carrots. Season with salt, pepper and basil. Saute for 2 minutes or until fish is tender. Take out from the pan and transfer to a small bowl. Add eggs and all purpose flour. Mix well. Heat canola oil in a frying pan. Drop 2 tablespoons of fish batter and fry 3 minutes on each side or until it turns brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels. Set fish cakes on individual plates, on a bed of sayote tops. Top each one with some sayote tops and finish with the egg.

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.

It's a healthy, colorful pasta salad this time around. I have made a number of red sauce and cream based pasta dishes but it's very rare that I share a salad recipe for Presto Pasta Night. So, it's Salmon Vegeroni Twisties Salad for this week which, is by the way being hosted by no less than passionate food blogger Ruth Daniel's of Once Upon a Feast.

Kids common repertoire of meals definitely includes poultry and meat. But how would you encourage them to have the other essential members of the food pyramid in particular seafood and vegetables? When you have kids to entice at the dining table, you tend to be creative and adventurous. For this particular dish, colour and shapes are the elements of appeal. For the less favourite items, their flavours were made to be subtle in release. And to encourage a big mouthful, sweet, creamy and juicy are the overall top notes.

Did I say it’s healthy too? Vegeroni Pasta is made from 100% durum wheat, with no artificial colourings nor flavourings and preservatives. It’s also cooked in just a matter of 10 minutes. Salmon on the other hand, is packed with omega-3 fatty acids. It’s the good fat that is hyped to increase the immune system and prevent certain heart-related illnesses and cancer. Although it’s canned, you’re still guaranteed with the same benefits as the fresh one as long as you’re buying the premium, 100% natural. You can also consider the brined one; where no other ingredients were added except salt to flavor it. Plus some servings of vitamins and minerals from the fruits and vegetables, what else can you ask for?

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.

Yesterday, a colleague excitedly showed me a copy of YUMMY magazine’s August edition. Little did I know that she’s off to break some good news? “Have you seen this?” she asked me while showing a page of the magazine. Momentarily, I got wide eyed with what was before me; my e-mail to YUMMY last June was published in their latest edition. Truly elated, more than I am! I didn’t expect that my e-mail would land into their picks. What I sent were actually words of delight for the magazine that had influenced me in many ways. I remember making a post about it here when I started buying issues of it. Thank you YUMMY! You keep on bringing genuine foodies with such gastronomic reads!

When it comes to preparing pasta dishes, I adore how Giada de Laurentiis of Food Network does this thing seamlessly. Most of her creations had me salivating to high heavens. As a result, I almost always wanted to carry her recipes into our own platter. Recently in one of her shows, she made her favourite pasta that reminds her of her childhood in Italy. When I saw her plated it scrumptiously and avidly dig into it, I just know that this is one dish I would like to try. From the way it looked through her mouth-watering chews, the dish seemed to be healthy and appetizing. True enough, when I prepared it at home, I was more than delighted with the taste. The dish is so simple to prepare and mildly flavoured. With the subtle blend of flavour notes of garlic, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, the overall taste is so natural to savour. Truly delicioso! Likewise, the pasta complements the whole dish. It does not overpower and the size perfectly suits my kids' little sensory orifice. What with the melted mozzarella cheese smothered onto the entire dish? A small serving is just not enough.

What you need:
1 1/2 cup salad macaroni pasta, 4 medium sized tomatoes (cut in cubes), 1 large bulb of garlic (crushed and chopped), 3 tbsps chopped fresh basil leaves, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (cut in cubes), 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

How to make:
Cook salad macaroni pasta in 4 cups of boiling water with salt and a little oil. Drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté garlic and tomatoes for 2 - 3 minutes. Add pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in mozzarella and basil leaves. Serve immediately.


Because there was still enough mozzarella left from the first dish, I might as well stretch this cheese indulgence to the fullest. Was there another dish made? You bet I did. So here’s my Baked Mozzarella Chicken that left us fully stuffed last weekend.

Yesterday, I took my 3 year old son to a trial class in a nearby learning center here in the south. My initial desire was actually to homeschool him in his toddler years. But because there are a lot of learning centers for pre-schoolers that had mushroomed out, I was intrigued to evaluate and try if there's any that will suit my child's needs. So, after much cajoling from one of the teachers, I finally yielded and we went to try out. The program started with what they call "discovery time". Initially, the kids played freely with all kinds of educational toys available and were encouraged to mingle with their classmates. The teacher coined this as the necessary conditioning process before getting the kids into the real-deal of the class. When it comes to kids these young, things shouldn't be hurried. And I do agree that making them comfortable at first is a must. At the same time, I thought that kids once again rule here! As I watched them play, I can imagine a voice echoing, "only when I'm ready, teach me." This is precisely the case why I want to test the water first. I'd like to see the consistency in my son's desire to go to school. I want to measure his preparedness prior to making the investment. This is no easy thing for him and for us, his parents therefore, it goes without saying that it must be worth it.

After two hours, we found out that my son is advance for that particular program. His vocabulary is above the others that the teacher anticipated a problem to occur later on. She recommended that we try the next level then. In this program however, he'll be the youngest in the lot. Honestly though, I would prefer to bring him in the later choice than the former. But other serious thoughts kept lingering through my mind. As I watched my son experience his first time in class, I can't help but entertain some worries. What if he wants to have potty time, who'll assist him? What if somebody from the class turned out to be a bully, who'll shield him from the danger it might bring? Will he learn the way I expect him to? Will the teachers' skills and patience sustain him to become a wholly educated young? I know that this is a common dilemma any parent would face in this chapter of his child's life. And I am just about to cross that path. Had it not been for a difficult environment we're living, perhaps the degree of my predicament will be lighter. But who knows, our parents would have undergone through the same process too back in the old days. Still, I've yet to deal with the question: attending pre-school, how tough is it going to be? How was it for you?

If there's one traditional noodle dish that's been popularized and made phenomenal in the Philippines, that would be no other than Iloilo's La Paz Batchoy. It's a noodle dish made with round egg noodles or miki , pork meat and organs, crushed pork crackling, egg and vegetables in a meaty soup stock . Ted's La Paz Batchoy claims to have the original taste of this noodle soup. In fact, it brought a significant number of branches in the Metro to carry its mission of giving Filipinos "the opportunity to savor the exotic and exquisite taste of the original La Paz Batchoy". I remember heading to one of its branches sometime ago to sample all the different types of batchoy it offers. Basically, what I found is one type of broth that can be served with different kinds of noodles. Depending on your own preference you can have misua, sotanghon, bihon or miki. Among all these, I liked best the Extra Super Batchoy that uses miki as noodles. The least however, is the Extra Miswa. The miswa absorbs the soup quickly that consuming it is synonymous to a marathon eating. Otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy noodle dish. Also, the strong taste of miswa masks the other flavors that only the umami taste is left lingering through your palate. But to prove that this noodle soup continues to conquer the noodle market, it's consumption has evolved in many forms. Very recently, a leading fast food chain introduced its own take of La Paz Batchoy at an affordable price of Php 25 per serving.