Cooked From the Heart » Archive
LP15 – Stuffed Ampalaya
Leftovers in our kitchen are recycled and reloaded regularly, so for this month’s Lasang Pinoy theme hosted by Mike of Lafang, we only had to stretch as far as the refrigerator for inspiration. I like to call these moments my Iron Chef events. I start pulling things from the refrigerator, lay them on the table and try to come up with a dish that will give leftovers a makeover. One of the shortcuts I make with ground beef, especially with the large packs bought from Costco, is to pre-saute the pack (with onions, garlic & seasonings), divide it into portions and freeze some for later use. We had just used up some pre-sauteed ground beef to make some enchiladas, but had a handfull left. I put them aside to use … Read entire article »
Filed under: beef, Filipino, Lasang Pinoy
Potato Salad with Herbs
The weather has started to turn cooler, and so we’ve had to take in the remains from our garden. Not willing to let summer go quite yet, we’ve taken advantage of the fall sunshine to do a bit more grilling. I came across this recipe for Potato Salad with Dilled Vinaigrette and decided to use up some of the fresh herbs from the garden before they are dried for the winter. This is my variation, and my entry for weekend herb blogging which this week is hosted by Fiber of 28 Cooks. INGREDIENTS:New Potatoes, cooked and halved/quartered2 medium carrots, cooked, diced1 green bell pepper, diced8 Tablespoons Olive Oil1 cup sweet onion, diced2 cloves garlic, sliced2 Tablespoons fresh dill3 Tablespoons fresh italian parsley, chopped3 Tablespoons chives or green onions, chopped4 Tablespoons lime … Read entire article »
Filed under: salads, side dishes, vegetables
Purple Basil Chicken Bake
If you hadn’t noticed already, yes, we do bake a lot of chicken. We have our favorite way which is also the simplest way, but once in a while, especially when we have an abundance of a particular ingredient (in this case purple basil), we like to change it up a bit just to have some variety. This is our experiment with purple pesto, and it turned out pretty well. INGREDIENTS:Juice from 2 limes4 cloves of garlic1/4 cup or 1/4 of large onion, roughly chopped1 cup purple basil, chopped3 Tbsp. pinenuts Put all the ingredients above in a food processor to make a purple pesto. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place the chicken pieces in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper then spread the purple pesto over each piece. Put … Read entire article »
Filed under: chicken
Simply Fried Pork Cubes
What can be simpler than frying up some meat for dinner? This is one of those dishes that just kind of evolves simply because you have ran out of time and hungry kids are banging on the table for food (I’m exaggerating). I was going to make a slow simmered stew with these cubes, but between the slicing and dicing of all the veggies and spices required for the stew, I knew that would be out of the question. So as a quick and easy solution, I simply salt and peppered the pork cubes and fried them up in hot oil until they were nicely browned. Just so they won’t look so pitiful, I sliced up some green onions and threw them in the skillet just before taking the meat … Read entire article »
Filed under: pork
Pinakbet Tagalog
Whenever I see this grouping of vegetables, the first thing that comes to mind is another traditional Filipino dish called Pinakbet. This is what I call Pinakbet waiting to happen. When cornered into translating this dish for English speakers, I simply call it vegetable stew. Basically, that is what it is, a melange of vegetables stewed until their flavors meld. I called this one Pinakbet Tagalog because that is what my Ilocano grandmother calls this sauteed with meat version. The Ilocano version uses no oil and uses Bagoong (fermented anchovies) instead of Alamang (shrimp paste). Although this dish is traditionally cooked with pork, I have also cooked this as a side dish sans the meat and it is just as delicious. The combination of the vegetables is just classic. There have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Filipino, stews, vegetables
Chicken & Vegetable Curry
This recipe is probably not very authentic, actually it is NOT authentic anything, but it is another way of using up the vegetables we have from the garden. Even the potatoes were from our garden, I’m proud to say. I was in my iron chef mode again and started pulling stuff from the refrigerator and the pantry and this is what I came up with. It’s a twist on an old recipe, but isn’t that what cooking is all about? Taking something you are familiar with and putting a twist on it. INGREDIENTS:10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs1 head of garlic, chopped1 lg. onion, chopped1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped2 Tbsp. Curry Powder2 cups coconut milk4 small potatoes, quartered2 carrots, cubed3 cups yard-long beans (sitaw), cut into 2 inch length2 cups okra5 chili … Read entire article »
LP 14 – Fish Escabeche
The theme or this month’s edition of Lasang Pinoy is Ala Espanola. We will feature Filipino dishes influenced by the cuisine of Spain. So you ask, how is it that an island nation in South East Asia could have a cuisine touched with Spanish overtones? Over 3 centuries of Spanish colonization will do that. The cuisine of the Philippines is heavily spiced with the taste of old Spain. My grandparents hail from the Ilocos region on the northern part of the Philippines. Their home cooking style mainly consisted of dishes that were either roasted, steamed, boiled or raw. We didn’t have many of the traditionally Spanish type dishes as part of the daily menu. Those were reserved for more festive occasions or ordered at restaurants. However, I did have an … Read entire article »
Filed under: Filipino, Lasang Pinoy, seafood
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