Food articles posted in Aug 2008

Speedy’s burritos

Burritos — a Mexican food that consists of flour tortilla wrapped around a filling that can include beans, beef, vegetables or all of them. When we go to Taco Bell, we often choose the one with ground beef and potato filling. We’ve tried others (the pork barbecue is… well, just skip it) and we’ve always gone back to the one true and tested burrito that have never failed us. I suppose it was only a matter of time before one of us tried to reproduce it at home. My husband, Speedy, beat me to it.

If you want more photos of the burrito preparation, click here. Otherwise, read on for the recipe.

Dolor’s kakanin, revisited

I’ve written about Dolor’s Kakanin in 2006 (sorry, old photo missing) and I had nothing but praises for the assorted rice cakes that we used to drive all the way to Malabon for. We have two boxes of Dolor’s Kakanin in the house right now, and one has been opened. I thought I was the only one who noticed — the kakanin are not as soft, sticky and chewy as they used to be. They are firmer which makes me suspect that wheat flour has been added. The biko at the center of the bilao has undercooked rice grains…

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

It is possible that it really is a good recipe but I made mistakes and, hence, the cookies didn’t turn out they way I like my cookies — crisp outside and chewy inside. Perhaps, if I had let the butter soften a bit more before creaming it, or if I had creamed the butter and sugar longer, things would have been different. Not that the cookies tasted bad. Oh no, they were delicious. It was the texture that disappointed me. The batter did not spread so I didn’t have those thin, thin cookies that seem to melt the moment they touch the lips…

Spaghetti with Chinese ham and peppers

They might not sound like the perfect pair but the salty and pungent Chinese ham is great with pasta. And you don’t need so much ham to make a flavorful pasta dish. With Chinese ham, a little goes a long, long way. Not that Chinese ham is absolutely essential. Any smoky, salty ham will do just as well.

This spaghetti dish, last Saturday’s dinner, has very few ingredients all of which are pretty much staples in any kitchen…

Noodle soup with mushroom balls

They cost P375 per kilo but you can buy as little as 100 grams. I’m not a fan of processed food but my daughter, Sam, wanted crab balls and shrimp balls and I figured it wasn’t such a risk since we could only buy a hundred grams of each to try them out. Much more practical than buying the pre-packed brands. And since I can eat neither the crab nor shrimp balls, I ordered a hundred grams of mushroom balls as well… I placed them in a bowl with cooked noodles and vegetables and poured in hot home-made broth. Delicious!

Biko (sticky rice cake)

… what is biko? It is a cake made from glutinous rice cooked in sweetened coconut milk and topped with latik (curdled coconut cream). I was surprised to find a description of biko in another site as a rice cake with caramel topping so when I went to the market earlier today, I asked the hawkers the proper names for the different rice cakes on display. The consensus? What I’ve known from childhood as biko is indeed called biko and the one topped with caramelized sugar and coconut cream is called bibingkang malagkit…

Vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

It’s a mom-and-daughter baking project. I baked the cupcakes and mixed the frosting. Sam tinted the frosting and piped them on the cupcakes. She’s not a pastry chef. She’s turning 16 tomorrow and she’s never taken baking classes. If you want the full story on how we did the cupcakes, see “Once upon a time, she wanted to be a chef.”

Olympic chili coco chicken

We didn’t get to see the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics live on August 8. We would have missed it forever if it weren’t for a replay last Saturday morning. I didn’t even know there was a scheduled replay until about 30 minutes before it started. I had to decide about lunch in those 30 minutes and I knew that to enjoy the opening ceremonies of the Olympics to the fullest, I’d have to cook a dish that would require minimum supervision. A slow-cooked dish was the solution…

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House On A Hill

Asian cooking

• Shawarma
• Smoked salmon and tofu stir fry
• Beef asado noodle soup
• Japanese-style beef and cabbage stir fry
• Ikan Moolie (fish in coconut gravy)
• Home-style sukiyaki
• Budget cooking part 3 (twice-cooked chicken and tofu)
• Pho Hoa wins over Pho Bac
• Ostrich chop suey
• Vietnamese chicken and pineapple dish

Asia & beyond

• Spaghetti with longganisa (sausage) meatballs
• Budget cooking part 2 (fish and vegetables frittata)
• Chicken and mangoes in yogurt
• Corn dogs
• Pizza topping on my pasta
• Burgers
• Steamed pompano with ginger sauce
• Cliff sandwiches
• Salmon and tomato soup
• Baked stuffed potatoes