Rolled pork loin stuffed with garlic, onion, basil and tomatoes
Following the same basic recipe for the rolled porkloin with bacon, basil and rosemary, I did another rolled porkloin dish but, this time, the stuffing was more basic — chopped garlic, onion and tomatoes. The seasonings were just as basic too — salt and pepper.
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Herbed chicken and rice
This chicken and rice combo dish went into the kids’ lunch boxes last Tuesday. Cold cooked rice and the meat from the breast of a chicken and there was enough for baon and breakfast as well. This is a variation of the herb-loaded rice recipe in the archive which, in turn, was inspired by the herbed riced I enjoyed at Vieux Chalet.
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Peaches and cream
Unlike the older mango royale recipe, I have found a way to make the cream filling firm without freezing. My husband prefers this dessert frozen but it loses its light and airy texture and instead acquires the texture of ice cream with ice crystals which I really do not enjoy. I prefer the cream filling to be custard-like, similar to the cream-cheese filling of tiramisu. The trick? Well-chilled cream and sweetened condensed milk.
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Baby back ribs and mushrooms a la teriyaki
When Kenny Rogers Roasters came to the Philippines, baby back ribs became an instant hit. I don’t know why it should be anything new. I had been eating barbecued pork ribs since I was a kid. Whether it was a fashion thing or not, all of a sudden, people were saying baby back ribs in lieu of the usual spare ribs and many pork vendors tried to pass off just about every kind of pork ribs as baby backs. They aren’t the same and it isn’t just a difference in terms — baby back ribs and spare ribs come from different parts of the pig. Amazing Ribs has an illustration.
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Mackerel frittata
Fourth day without tap water and I’m losing my inspiration to cook. How can I get inspired when the primary concern is to use the least number of kitchen utensils so that minimal water is needed for the clean-up afterwards? That’s what happens when you try to survive with stored water and you have no idea when the next supply will come. So, last Saturday, while mainstream media and the internet were still buzzing with the latest political fiasco in the Philippines, I tried to cook the tastiest lunch that I could manage under the circumstances.
I cooked this mackerel frittata using a chopping board, a knife, a vegetable peeler, a can opener, a frying pan, a bowl and a spatula. Even I was amazed at how well it turned out — firm but still soft and very tasty. The secret? I beat the eggs WITH the liquid from the canned mackerel. That made all the difference.
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Lechon kawali with a new twist
When I posted a recipe for a dish that I called lechon kawali stew over three years ago, someone told me that its traditional name was lechon macau. Whether the name connotes the geographic origin of a similar dish, I really do not know. The dish I cooked was just something to make use of leftover lechon kawali. I was planning on cooking the same dish earlier today when the bottle of Kecap Manis in the fridge caught my eye. What do you know? It went perfectly with the lechon kawali.
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Pork and beans
The ‘pork and beans’ I grew up with came straight from the can. We only bought one brand — Hunt’s. My brother and I used to say how apt the name ‘pork and beans’ was — one piece of fatty pork and lots of beans. Much later, I would learn to remedy that by adding cubes of pork belly to the contents of the can… These days, I like cooking my own pork and beans using dried beans.
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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.
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