Tinolang Manok (Chicken and ginger consommé)

A Jewish woman had two chickens. One got sick, so the woman made chicken soup out of the other one to help the sick one get well. ~ Henny Youngman

They say chicken soup is good for the soul. Well, in my case it's not only good for the soul but for colds too! The hot steam of tinola(1) together with the spicy aroma of fresh ginger clears my stuffy nose. The chicken is sooo crazy moist and the vegetables are just perfect for the chicken.

How to peel and seed a tomato

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad." ~unknown

It takes a little effort and time to do this, but it's fun and very easy. You can use this to your homemade tomato sauce, stews, pizza, salsa, or any dish that needs peeled or seeded tomatoes.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
Pot
Slotted spoon or tong

Homemade Chunky Tomato Sauce

"It's homemade, cheap and readily available" ~Karen Tandy 

Nothing can beat homemade food... It's inexpensive, delicious, fresh, and healthy. I'm really surprised how delicious it turned out. Try this and I bet you'll love it! You'll never buy canned tomato sauce again... unless you're busy? or lazy? to make this. :D 

Homemade Yogurt

It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary. ~Paulo Coelho

 Little did I know that a very simple ingredient commonly found in every Pinoy's fridge is the key for the success of my yogurt-making experiment. Thank you YAKULT for making it possible. :) I always thought that you need yogurt starter culture (the dried one) for you to enjoy the goodness of a homemade yogurt. Then I discovered recently that you can make yogurt using a store-bought yogurt as long as it has LIVE microorganisms. The first thing that popped in my mind was to try YAKULT since it's available in the fridge, it also has live microorganisms in it.

Pancit Malabon... my version

Every young man should have a hobby. Learning how to handle money is the best one. ~Jack Hurley

I challenged myself to spend 1,000 Php for our Media Noche... and yes, you're right, I didn't make it! Haha! But I'm very happy that I didn't exceed the 2,000 Php limit... and take note, everything is included (foods, drinks, desserts, and fruits). Yay! I'm really proud of myself! ;) *wink 

Ginataang Tambakol - Skipjack Tuna in coconut cream

Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. ~ Orson Welles

If you'll ask me what's my favorite food, ginataang tambakol is included on my top 10 list. I remember eating it with banana or mango when I was young. It sounds odd but the combination of hot rice, "gata" (coconut cream) and these fruits are SUPERB! Thanks to my mom, she always put sliced banana or mango on my plate whenever we have our lunch or dinner. I tell you, try this... it's crazy delicious! ;)

So this is our lunch today. Simple, easy to cook, economical, comforting, rich and exquisitely divine!

Halloween party

In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy, too. 

~ Robert Brault

I'm having second thoughts about this post but I really wanna share with you the halloween party held in our home last week. Yes, I know it's too late for the halloween theme this year but... not too late for next year - *wink! ;) 

Lowell, my eldest, did not stop persuading me to have a party. During breakfasts and even during bedtimes he was talking about the party. So to make him happy, I granted his wish. I wanted it to be as simple as possible that doesn't cost too much money and only requires minimum effort and time! I'm not a creative person but because I super duper love my kids, I became one! From the decors to foods to costumes, I did it all! Lowell was my buddy in doing the decorations, he messed up all the stuff I bought! Hahaha! But he's the one who gave me the idea for the decor's design. 

I baked cakes, cupcakes and made some cake pops. Cake pops are chocolate or candy melt coated cake on a stick. I've never tried making cake pops before and this is the first time I tried doing it. It's a little messy for me and requires patience but when you see the result of your hard work, it's like reaching the summit of your Everest. I mentioned earlier that I'm not a creative person but really... I'm proud of my work. Of course! Yay!

Tiramisu - Pinoy version

                             Sam Baldwin: What is Tiramisu?

                             Jay: You'll find out.

                             Sam Baldwin: Well, what is it?

                             Jay: You'll see.

                             Sam Baldwin: Some woman is gonna want me to 
                             do it to her and I'm not gonna know what it is!
                            
                             ~Sleepless in Seattle

When I was in high school, I thought that Tiramisu was a Japanese word (because of MY-San's commercial "Tiramisu Tira-mo-ko"), little did I know that this is a classic Italian dessert. And just recently I've learned the meaning of "Tiramisu"... Thanks Gordon Ramsay! This is what he just said to one of the contestant: "The whole idea of Tiramisu means pick me up. You just put me down. Great shame!" Ouch!