Food articles posted in Nov 2007

Roast pork and cabbage fried rice

Most leftovers in our house end up as Oriental style fried rice. The thick slices of roast pork that had been sitting in the fridge for a couple of days were no exception. With eggs, shredded cabbage, finely chopped red bell pepper and carrot, I cooked this roast pork and cabbage fried rice for my daughters’ packed school lunch today. It’s a complete meal with meat, vegetables and rice. For recess, I packed some potato salad accompanied by store-bought cheese bread.

Shopping for cookware

What I really wanted was a Le Creuset but that can wait. Meanwhile, I spent an obscene amount of money shopping for cookware today. I would have spent more had I bought them at their regular prices. Fortunately, I only paid a fraction because there’s this fantastic bodega sale at the Cybermall in Eastwood City.

Potato salad with toasted cashew nuts

When I saw Elise’s macaroni salad, something ticked. Of course, macaroni salad and lettuce go together but I am used to having my macaroni salad served on a bed of lettuce rather than having the lettuce mixed with the salad. But I really liked Elise’s idea — so much that it inspired me to try mixing lettuce with potato salad. I didn’t stop with the lettuce though. I added toasted crushed cashew nuts as well.

Sandalwood in Vietnamese Pho

It might look picture perfect but no one wanted to eat this onion soup. An episode of Food Safari in the Travel & Living Channel showed how to make broth for the Vietnamese Pho by adding cinnamon bark and star anise to the usual spices and herbs. I did exactly that, except for the sandalwood which I didn’t have, used the broth to make some onion soup and… my hubby and kids said it tasted funny.

Shrimps, cabbage and bell pepper stir fry

Looks like I’m going to stop being a Shopwise regular. The Landmark opened at the TriNoma mall recently and the supermarket is a cook’s dream. We used to shop at Landmark in Makati but those were the days when I was still working in an office. For a stay-at-home mom, Makati is just too far away. The fact that the commercial center is a parking nightmare doesn’t make it any attractive either. But The Landmark at TriNoma… that’s manageable.

Steamed pompano with ginger sauce

Most of my friends who cook think that commercial broth cubes are an essential ingredient of steamed whole fish. I beg to disagree. Using broth cubes takes the control out of the cook because you’re stuck with the flavors in the broth cubes. Worse, the MSG content of broth cubes kill the natural flavors of the fish and who the heck wants that? Might as well eat canned fish.

Adjustable roasting rack

Last December, I was obliged to buy a roasting pan after the mess I created with my roast duckling. Unfortunately, the roasting pan was not that durable. After a few months, it rusted. Since there will be a lot of roasting over the Christmas season, we went hunting for a new — and better — roasting pan. The hunt brought us back to Living Well at the Mall of Asia where Speedy bought the lovely wooden pepper mills last summer.

Herbed chicken soup with assorted beans

Cook the beans in simmering water for an hour and a half. Cook a whole chicken in lots of water, a whole garlic, an onion, ten tomatoes, a bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, oregano and salt. Debone the chicken, peel and mash the garlic, onion and tomatoes. Return everything to the pot, add the cooked beans, simmer for a few minutes and you’ve got yourself a great soup.

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