our "food"...our service...

           I write this piece about a different kind of "food", that which nourishes our soul. Would like to share how me and hubby are nourished in a different way..by the service and life that we have come to share in Familia. For the years we have known each other until now that we are married, Familia has always been a beacon light, guiding us and reminding us of the reason we live..to serve others. Thru all the joys and trials of our family, the love and support of our ka- Familia is most evident and heartfelt And for the years to come, may we be able to serve more and grow together through this "food" that we have come to love..

strawberry wine..and 17..so goes a beautiful country song.. tells a story of a girl falling in love one summer time...it is one favorite country song among Igorots in the highlands..how we come to love country songs is a testimony to our way of life..we like it laid back, peaceful and optimistic..the Igorots of Benguet are peace- loving and always welcoming. 

and in our place abound strawberries, sweet and succulent come December when they start to fill the air with their scent..up until summer time when visitors try out fruit picking in our farms..check out locally made strawberry wines at the la trinidad strawberry farms..

i long for a freshly brewed hot cup of coffee, picked from my grandmother's age-old coffee trees in our hometown...looking forward to it this Christmas holiday! 

squash maja blanca

an early morning trip to the market made me remember of my plan to cook what's left of the huge squash sitting in our fridge. i have long planned of making maja blanca, since it has always been a favorite dessert with my hubby. you might say hesh.."sisiw lang yan!"..but then i guess the art of cooking at home makes it more delicious and surely a treat for my kids too. so i bought freshly grated coconut because i didn't want to settle with powdered instant gata. boiled water to use for the gata, i used a cloth to squeeze out the milk, just as we did years ago when i was a kid where we would always help Mama prepare kakanin for Nov. 1..

boiled the squash and mashed them..

then mixed them together, added 3/4 cup of cornstarch diluted in water to prevent lumps, added a dash of salt

used 1 can of condensed milk in place of sugar and evaporated milk..

mixed them thoroughly and passed it thru a sieve to give it a smooth texture, note that this takes a long time if you want your mixture to be smooth and free of lumps and fibers from the squash.

then the mixture is placed in low heat to cook, continue stirring to prevent from sticking until it boils..it becomes cooked when it has a "shiny" texture to it...

             pour into pans to cool...shredded cheese may be placed instead of toasted coconut...

squash spaghetti sauce

Troy is 3!! yup and as a treat for him we made spaghetti for dinner which is a must for my chinese heritage which says noodles bring long life so for every birthday in the family, a noodle dish must be present. In this case i opted for spaghetti (again!)..
The sauce we made was vegetable enriched, in this case we added squash. My dad brought home a half of a big squash and i remember Troy enjoyed them a lot boiled or added to pinakbet. Made good use of it which i boiled, mashed and stirred into the sauce. Chopped some garlic, sauteed in a bit of oil then added in some tuna (from the can), next came the squash, seasoned with salt, pepper and dried basil. Let it simmer then add 2 packs of spaghetti sauce. Stir then sprinkle  some grated cheese.. serve over pasta..enjoy!

chicken penne-pesto pasta..

Saturday night dinner is pasta..again? you might ask..well, it's a family favorite and it can be prepared in a lot of ways too. This time i made a new sauce called chicken pesto on penne pasta.  It was summer time when i had my first taste of this recipe and only now did i have to chance to re-create and suit it to our taste. You see, the one i had at the restaurant was a tad too salty, and the pasta was not so al dente. 


The pasta i cooked as to package directions and set it aside. For the sauce, it was one chopped medium head of garlic, about two tbsps. of freshly chopped basil leaves, bite-size sliced lean chicken breast, one box of Alaska cream, grated cheese and some black pepper. No salt was added since the cheese was enough to give flavor. 


Saute the chicken pieces in hot oil until they turn white, push the pieces to one side of the pan and saute the garlic next. Stir until it turns golden brown then mix the chicken, add the basil leaves then stir. Add the cream then season with powdered pepper. Sprinkle in the grated cheese, continue stirring and adjust flavor. Turn down the heat and mix in the pre-cooked penne, mix well. Serve immediately..


It was an instant hit with my kids, really rewarding to see them enjoy what mom prepared..

Chicken Tausi

It is common for me to be cooking meals out of ingredients i find in the fridge and usually they turn out better than the ones i plan for, i mean those that i list down its ingredients. Thus is what happened for dinner today.

It is also my first time to use tausi or black beans in cooking. Bought a can last week to use for fish tausi, then kept half of it. The fish tausi recipe was such a hit with my hubby that i decided to try it out again this time with chicken..

While the fish dish i did was fried then sauteed with lots of onions  and soy sauce, this chicken recipe was done another way. First the chicken pieces were simmered in water for about 20 minutes. Then i sliced up 3 heads of red onions and 8 medium sized tomatoes. Sauteed it in hot oil then put in the tausi. Then i poured in the chicken together with its stock, the idea was to let the stock simmer until it thickens into sauce. We had a leftover adobo sauce and that went in too, and i put 2 teaspoons of Pinoy Kurat suka and salt to taste..voila! the flavor was tangy and just right! We ate it with red rice and me had a cup of tea after...ahhh..a simple meal made special when shared with family!

spicy pesto-sardine pasta!

Meals from scratch really taste better all the time..for dinner on a lazy sunday, hubby thought of whipping up spaghetti for the kids. This got me into craving for pesto pasta too, well lucky for us we have homemade pesto stored in the freezer. So he cooked the pasta and divided it into two parts and did the sauce for the kids which is tomato based with carrot and hotdogs while moi did the pesto sauce. 

For the pesto sauce, fresh basil is always available at the baguio city market, ours was made with olive oil, garlic, salt n pepper and blended till smooth. Place in a jar and store in the freezer for longer life. It is ideal for pasta sauces and sandwich spreads.

I came up with the spicy pesto-sardine sauce when i was pregnant with Troy and was always craving for new tastes. It has since been a favorite recipe especially for my hubby who loves spicy foods. A can of spicy fried sardines sauteed with garlic and the pesto sauce completes this oh-so yummy, elegant-looking-but-affordable creation..bursting with flavor too!

lumpiang ubod...my mama's way.

over the weekend we had the chance to go home to my parents' place in Mankayan. It was to celebrate our dad's 58th birthday. It was gonna be a simple lunch with the family. So i brought ingredients for spaghetti, then hubby made pinikpikan with a native chicken while my sis brought pork for adobo. Mama's recipe was lumpiang ubod, so lovingly and painstakingly prepared. First the young bamboo shoots are harvested, peeled, chopped then boiled with salt.

Then the wrapper is cooked one by one. The sweet sauce comes next, along with chopping and toasting the nuts and garlic..the result is a yummy treat which an Igorot like me rarely encounters in my mountains! I ate 2 pieces of the lumpia along with the lunch, whew! it was a guilt-free indulgence considering everything was naturally prepared and no cholesterol too!

veggie-laden chicken curry..

dinner tonight is one of my most loved recipes, it has such flavors that even my kids have come to like..it was months since i cooked this and missed it a lot.. it is vegetable loaded this time- carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, camote, string beans and the usual aromatics- ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes..did a lot of peeling and chopping here..

this is how i did it-
slice up a kilo of chicken thighs and season with salt, fry them till slightly browned on sides, remove and set aside, saute the aromatics starting with the ginger, garlic then onions and lastly the tomatoes. Then put back the chicken pieces into the pan, add water to boil, then season with salt, pepper and curry powder. I used the powder variety of coconut milk and it is equally good, mix and taste.Let it boil. When seasoning, put each spice in moderation as not to have one taste overpower the rest and putting a lot of the curry powder may cause your dish to have a bitter taste so be careful. Add the cut up potatoes, carrots and camote then cover and let boil.

when the veggies are half-cooked, add beans and bell peppers and let simmer..serve with rice or maybe eaten as is, the vegetables have all the carbs as with rice...this is my version of chicken curry...mangan tako!

pickled ampalaya

a good way to enjoy raw ampalaya is by pickling or in Filipino we say ensalada.. this recipe we picked up from Jarz, a colleague and neighbor. Hubby improvised by slicing the ampalaya thinly and soaking it in salt then squeezing out the liquid..this way the bitterness may be reduced..then we added chopped tomatoes, onions and ginger and juice of two lemons..season with salt, pepper and vinegar..the original recipe we tasted had green mangoes in it but i wasn't able to buy some today. the good thing about this ensalada is it can be kept in the fridge, thus i can buy some green mangoes and add it up tomorrow...goes well with fried foods, looking forward to eating this with boneless bangus..

bukayo..

the soft and chewy kind..what a delight!! went to the market this morning and there amongst the display of lowland vegetables sat an old woman with her bilao of freshly cooked bukayo. it was a rare find for me since bukayo varieties nowadays are the already hardened ones formed into balls and sprinkled with sesame seeds..my mom introduced me to this delicacy during my childhood, and since then have always looked forward to it as a treat.. it is such joy to savor the natural goodness of coconut not the dessicated or canned kind..
after enjoying a hearty breakfast, am now munching on this sweet delicacy while typing away..yummy!

in an effort to start eating healthy, me and hubby opted for ham sandwich for dinner..boiled ham, slices of cucumber and tomatoes, romaine lettuce..and a dressing made with sour cream, mustard, salt n pepper...this in the hope of consuming lesser calories which is a goal for us both... also made potato salad and same dressing was used..this can last for days and best when chilled first... also made mashed potatoes for the kids..

 lovely orange colored camote mashed up with a few potatoes...

brewed coffee

a beauty of being in the highlands is having great access to coffee, not the instant kind but the freshly picked, roasted and ground beans.. i always buy my coffee in Garcia's Pure Coffee at the baguio public market, the friendly lady at the counter (manang to me) is expert at her beans i say, have been in the business for long they were one of the originals in the market. you can also buy brown sugar or muscovado from them, which is the perfect sweetener for that freshly brewed cup. Garcia's  brew good coffee is an institution for Baguio settlers. Manang confirmed even that a well known uber expensive coffee shop buy beans from them! why? because our home grown arabica beans taste way better than their imported ones! reminding me not to spend my money on that coffeeshop again, i can make my own cup of brew at the comfort of my home

..my sister now based in South Korea brought with her kilos of coffee as pasalubong and how her in-laws loved it! now she misses them!! one of the things she misses about Baguio.

indonesia also has great coffee selections, me and hubby always look forward to a bag or two of their brews whenever my sis-in-law comes home for a visit.. here is a variety which is a mix of arabica and robusta varieties, from Singa Coffee.. tastes so good i can have two full cups for the day and not be jittery..good cup of brew.. :)

pinikpikan..

native chicken, etag (salted pork), ginger and sayote....these are the main stuff in bringing out a really authentic pinikpikan..a true-blue Igorot food..

umali kayo, mangan tako!!!

Fathers' Day food

my own version of garlic-rosemary micro-grilled chicken.....love the smell!! of course tastes yummy and juicy too!!

post Dad's day treat for my Babe...Ethan says "mommy can i help..please!!"..we did this together..he mixing while i poured ingredients...nice team work!!

malunggay-enriched pancit miki..

Dinner for Sunday was pancit miki which i bought from the BSU marketing center last week.. It is a new product which is vegetable enriched, malunggay was added thus the green color of the noodle. Since my family love noodle-based dishes, this is a welcome find..not only delicious but superbly nutritious as well. Also i was able to buy a head of cabbage which is organically grown in one of the university's greenhouses. It costs a fortune but knowing that it was not pesticide-laden was worth it..

i cooked it together with ground pork and seasonings and it was oh so delish....

afternoon coffee..

made a visit to my hubby's office last week for a change, the kids paid a visit to their grandparents' house thus had the afternoon off from them..while hubby was clicking away at work, i was trying to finish off a paperwork that needed to be given elsewhere. Then 'twas coffee break, nice time for a hot cup of coffee..hmmm..so where might there be a good one? then he remembered of a coffee brand that was inside the university marketing center. So we walked over and lo and behold! it was the Rocky Mountain Cafe that i was reading all about in the news! for a coffee lover like me, it was a happy moment! so there i was all eager to have a cup of their brew, and another cup of latte, wouldn't want to miss the flavor! funny thing he never mentioned that they had set up shop inside the university. When i asked the crew since when they started, they said January of this year.. oh my here i am so excited about a coffee find when it was right under my nose all these days..oh well, i say better be late than never to have tasted such a good and fresh brew!

penne from scratch..yummy!!

dinner was a pasta dish i made from ingredients found in the ref...

pasta dishes are a family favorite, my kids love pasta so much they can just eat it without the sauce! well anyway, here is a simple sauce to make for penne pasta, 

for the sauce i used two varieties which are the sweet style and pesto-cheese combi. For most times, we add a lot of vegetables like carrots, zucchini and bell peppers. But since me had no time to go to the market, i just grated in a piece of carrot..there goes the veggies, disguise them in the sauce so kids will eat them.

Tricks a mom would really love!

first i finely chopped 5 cloves of garlic, then in a pot placed about 1/4k. of ground pork, put a bit of water to boil the meat up. when the water has gone, put some oil, move pork to one side of the pan then saute garlic. when it has turned brown mix it with the pork then grate the carrot into it..stir it all up, add salt, pepper and basil with a bit of water to boil..then add the two sauces and about 1tbsp. of cream..let it boil, then lower heat to simmer..season to taste..cook the pasta according to directions, when done drain off water. grate the cheese on top of cooked pasta before mixing in the sauce...mix well...

dinner is served!!