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.

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.

Eleven Minutes was touted as Paulo Coelho's second international best seller next to The Alchemist. According to the author, it was his boldest story ever made. Must agree, I would. It's a story about a woman who lived a life full of emotional and physical struggles in the pursuit of her dream. It's a plot enriched with love, lust, melancholy, sacrifice and hope. Maria (the protagonist), an innocent girl turned into a prostitute, instinctively took the winding road in realizing her dream. Unfortunately, her journey didn't happen the way she expected it to be. It didn't provide her a smooth run but a tougher and highly pebbled one. It even came to a point of almost losing her true self in exchange of awakening, sexual experiences.

When I bought this book, I didn’t have a slightest idea of what eleven minutes exactly means. My impulse just trusted the name Paulo Coelho in having it. Half way through the pages (more or less), I learned that it’s how Maria coined her work as a prostitute. Perhaps to mollify the guilt that's resting inside her, she made herself believe that she only loses her pride, experiences humiliation and abuse, in eleven minutes. Tolerant that afterall, she submissively performs her work only in a matter of eleven minutes. Then, she can redeem her self again.

This novel is about self-discovery and how human life normally faces the battle between free-will and determinism. In Maria’s case, she was able to endure the battle and came out victorious in the end. She was able to transform her eleven minutes into a lifetime. Whenever we face such life’s conflict we were always left with different choices. One, we allow ourselves to be taken by the flow and let destiny gets its toll on us. The other, we take full control and drive our lives to whichever way we want. But is it always more fruitful to have the later choice? Yes, for some may be not for others. At any rate, the choice is always ours.

My Pasta story for this week started with my wandering in the kitchen. I exactly didn’t know what to prepare. I’m not craving for anything neither did my kids. I rummaged around the kitchen cabinets and drawers and found a can of tuna, Italian spaghetti sauce and vegeroni pasta spirals. Inside the refrigerator, there are carrots, cucumber and red bell pepper. I gathered all these things together on the kitchen table mulled for a while and voila! I’m cooking Tuna Vegeroni Pasta in a pan.

When I plated it, unfortunately, the pasta looked too orange-red for me that the colourful vegeroni pasta spirals were already well too hidden. Lesson learned? Vegeroni Pasta is better prepared with white sauce or practically anything but red sauce. The nice colour combinations of the pasta albeit well hidden, still provided that distinct veggie taste. Thus, I would rave about the taste more than the plating. Taste wise, there’s nothing sophisticated in here, it’s very straightforward. It’s a union of flavour notes of seafood and vegetables rounded by tomato taste with a slight sourish back note. On the whole, this is a healthy pasta dish.

What you need:

1/2 of 375 g pack vegeroni pasta spiral, 1/2 cup of pasta water, 1/2 cup carrots (cut into cubes), 1/2 cup of cucumber (cut into cubes), 1 small red bell pepper (seeds removed and cut into cubes), 1 white onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1 small can tuna chunks or flakes (drained), 250 g italian spaghetti sauce, 2 tbsps olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

How to make:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/2 cup of pasta water. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant. Add tuna and continue sautéing for a minute. Add carrots, cucumber and red bell pepper. Mix well. Add the tomato sauce and pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Boil and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta and blend well before serving.

For other mouthwatering pasta dishes, check out Ruth Daniels round up in Once Upon a Feast. Our pasta queen is hosting this week's event.

It’s been such a long time since my husband and I were able to watch a movie together in big screen. Since the arrival of the kids, time seemed to be so out of the way for this much missed leisure pursuit. So when he invited me to see the film MAMMA MIA, I didn’t hesitate to give my nod. The first time I saw the movie trailer, I was already intrigued. It gave an impression of a happy, fun-filled, feel-good movie, just my kind of taste for a film. And gladly, it did not disappoint me at all.

The story started with a girl’s dream of meeting her long lost father to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. To live this dream, she invited the three men from her mother’s past but only to find out in the end that neither of them can identify who her real father is. From there, the story will evolve into love being rekindled coupled with good laughs that maybe contagious at times, and a showcase of friendship that lasts a lifetime. All these were musically woven by no less than ABBA’s greatest hits. Had I not been aware that I was watching a film, I would have mistaken it into an ABBA’s music videos rolled into one. But honestly, it was fun and yes, enjoyable. It’s a musical film, and I must say that this is by far the best that I have watched in this particular genre. I practically grew up with ABBA’s songs. My aunts and uncles were all fans of them so much so that their music became poems and teenage lullabies to me. Seeing these timeless songs come to life, was real entertainment.

I can only care less on whether the film was really shot in Greece or not. The cinematography alone made me dream of a Greek Island getaway outright. On the actors, it's the cutest of Meryl Streep that I have seen. She's light and funny here. She's so unlike any of the previous movies she had made. This lady really stretched her acting abilities well too wide. With Pierce Brosnan, oh boy, this man certainly aged so well. There's a particular scene (when he's watching Meryl Streep sing together with her friends) where he exudes real charm and sexy appeal. I liked his shot there. However, I find him too stiff whenever he sings much more when he danced. Nonetheless, it's a new thing to watch from Pierce Brosnan. With the rest of the actors, they were all enjoyable to watch.

Overall, this movie promises you of a good time. Beyond that, it can also be inspiring and musically magical.

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.