LABONG TAN SALUYOT (LABONG AND SALUYOT)

3-4 cups water
1 medium ginger, peeled and sliced
1/2 kilo labong, thinly, finely sliced
1 bundle of saluyout leaves
fried fish (preferably Bonuan Bangus)
2 tbsp. fish paste (bagoong)
1 tbsp. fish sauce (patis)

In a large pot, boil labong with 1 liter of water. Simmer and covered until almost tender, about 30-40 minutes. Remove heat and drain. Set aside.

In a separate pot, simmer the ginger with 3-4 cups of water. Then add the labong, fish paste and fish sauce.

Add the saluyot leaves and fried fish. Cook for 5 minutes more.

Then serve hot with steaming white rice.

GINISANG KALABASA is a hearty, hefty, and simple Filipino vegetable dish sautéed in fresh shrimp paste. If you have allergies with shrimp paste or you simply not acquainted with it, you can season the dish with salt as a replacement. Still, you will get almost the same taste of Ginisang Kalabasa. Pinoy vegetable dishes are best paired with a fried fish and steaming white rice and a dip like bagoong with kalamansi or soy sauce with vinegar.

GINISANG KALABASA

1/4 cup cooking oil
1 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 onion heads, peeled and quartered
1/4 kilo porkloin, diced
1/2 to 3/4 kilo squash, peeled, seeded, cubed
5-8 pieces okra, head removed
1 cup string beans, cut into 3 inches long
2 tbsp. shrimp paste (alamang)
1 tsp. fish sauce (patis)
salt

Cook sliced porkloin with water until tender. Set aside.

Heat a large wok over medium-high heat. Swirl in the cooking oil, then
add the garlic and onion. Saute for 30 seconds.

Add in the cooked porkloin. Cook until pork turned light golden brown.

Add shrimp paste. Saute for about 2 minutes.

Add squash, okra and string beans, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Pour in the pork broth and bring the to a simmer, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly until vegetables are cooked.

Serve.

There are many versions of Ginataang Laing. I used to cook them with shrimp paste or alamang, some cook them with instant coconut milk, some cook them with fish sauce. But the classical way of cooking Bicol’s Ginataang Laing is so simple and easy – saute and simmer, so easy as 1-2-3.

GINATAANG LAING

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp. garlic, peeled and minced
2 medium onion, peeled and minced
1/2 kilo porkloin, sliced
1 kilo dried gabi (taro leaves) (you may also add dried shredded stems)
4- 5 cups coconut milk
salt
3-4 pieces red chili peppers, sliced

Saute garlic, onion and pork. Add coconut milk. Bring to boil.

Add gabi (taro) leaves. Cook until leaves are soft and meat is tender.

Season with salt and add chili peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

February is not just a season to celebrate the romantic spell of Valentine’s Day but the time of year to feast with the abundance of tomatoes. Tomatoes are sold in the wet market for only 5 pesos per kilo. Yeah, you read it right, FIVE PESOS per kilo. Some vendors actually even sell the over-ripped ones for only 3 pesos.

I arrived home from the market, Royce asked me, “Hindi ba OA ito? (Are you not over-acting?),” while holding 2 large plastic bags of tomatoes. Well, I was kind a triggered with the low price so I bought a lot, a lot really. You cannot blame me. With its cheap price, everybody will surely love tomatoes. Tomatoes are eveywhere – inside a sandwich, a side dish, an ingredient to a sautéed vegetable, a complement to a stew, an aid to a salad, a grace to a starter, a cause for a pasta, and many more.

Since our fridge is filled with tomatoes, I cooked GINISANG KAMATIS (Sauteed Tomatoes) to give space for other veggies. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which is one of the most powerful antioxidants to prevent cancer. They are also loaded with vitamin C, A, iron, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin and thiamine. Some say it is a fruit and some a vegetable. Whatever that is, tomatoes are loved throughout the world specially if it sold for only 5 pesos a kilo.

GINISANG KAMATIS (SAUTEED TOMATOES)

cooking oil
1 kilo ripe tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed
1 tsp. garlic, minced
¼ cup onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp. alamang or shrimp paste (optional)
Salt to taste

Saute garlic in cooking oil until light brown. Add onions.

Add shrimp paste. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes. Stirring constantly. Saute until tomato peels curl.

Add beaten eggs, still stirring constantly to prevent from burning.

Add salt, depends on your taste.

Remove from fire.

Serve with fried fish and steamed white rice.

I have bought on a bargain 3 kilos of Talong (eggplant) from the wet market. It cost me only 10 pesos a kilo. Some were cooked as Pinakbet, some were fried and dipped on soy sauce and vinegar and the rest were cooked as Ginisang Talong (Sauteed Eggplant in Shrimp Paste).

Since I am experiencing a serious aversion to meat, I make sure our fridge has plenty of vegetables inside. Though I Sauteed the Eggplants with little meat, I still set them on the side and just get those eggplants to eat. I don’t know why, but yeah, I’m pregnant and I think that would be a valid and acceptable reason. Some crazy things just happen in a woman’s taste buds when she is pregnant. I love being pregnant though. I get the spoiling and the treats from families and friends.

Anyway, here is the ingredients for the GINISANG TALONG (SAUTEED EGGPLANTS IN SHRIMP PASTE)

1/4 kilo ground pork or beef
3 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise
1 tsp. garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium tomato, quartered
2 tbsp. shrimp paste
1 tbsp. tomato sauce (optional)
cooking oil
ground black pepper

Brown ground meat on a pan. Set aside.

Saute garlic in cooking oil until light brown. Add onions. Saute until onion wilts and add tomatoes. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Add shrimp paste. Saute shrimp paste until cooked, stirring constantly. Then, add the browned meat and tomato sauce.

Add sliced eggplants. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add black pepper and salt if needed. Cook for another minute.

Remove from fire.

Serve with fried fish and hot rice.

I prepared this Fresh Garden Salad for my friend, Tina, who came to pay a visit few days ago. Tina wanted the vegetables dipped on a dressing rather than tossing them with a dressing so I just lay the vegetables on a plate and poured the dressing on the side.

You might wonder, I didn’t include quantity of the vegetables. Besides, I don’t want to mess the vegetables into measuring cups.

FRESH VEGETABLE SALAD DIP

lettuce, loose leaf or iceberg
carrots
tomatoes
turnips

Tear lettuce into bite size pieces.

Peel turnips and carrots and slice into strips.

Slice tomatoes into wedges.

Arrange vegetables on a plate.

Serve with thousand island or french dressing on the side as a dip.

By the way, banana blossoms will change to light color to dark when not immediately immersed in water. I also suggest that you put a drop or two of cooking oil on your hands to avoid the sticky sap from the Banana Blossom getting to your hands.

BANANA BLOSSOM BURGER

2 pieces medium banana blossoms
2 medium eggs
1 cup flour (or more)
2 medium onions, peeled and minced
1 tbsp. garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups cooking oil

Remove outer covering of banana blossoms. Pull together all Banana Blossoms and remove the tough part of the banana blossom. Tough part looks like a match inside the banana blossom. When soft leaves could be felt, usually light in color, slice thinly, cross-sectional. Immediately immerse with water and drain.

Pour water and banana blossoms in a stock pot. Bring to a full boil for about 7-10 minutes or until banana blossoms are tender. Remove from fire and transfer them on a strainer basket.

Wash with running water and drain. Using your hands, squeeze out thoroughly the excess water.

Place in a deep bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except oil in the bowl. Mix well.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan.

Make burger patties depending on the desired size of burger patty. Drop patties on a frying pan. Fry the other side. Place fried banana blossom patties on a paper to drain excess oil.

Serve as burger sandwich. Banana Blossom Burger can also be eaten with rice.

2 tbps. cooking oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove onion, peeled and minced
1 small cabbage, touch core removed, cut into 1 inch strips
1 can sardines in tomato sauce (I used hot)
salt

Heat oil in a wok. Sautee garlic until golden brown. Add onion, stirring often until softened, about 2 minutes. Add sardines. Cook until sauce thickens. Add salt according to taste. Add sliced cabbage. Stir often until cabbage is half-cooked. Remove from fire. Remaining heat will allow the cabbage to be fully cooked. Serve with white rice.

Vegetable dishes serve as the other half of the plate or counterweight of a balanced meal. Pairing sweeter vegetables with more full-bodied and robust main courses, mild or slightly seasoned vegetables with intense flavored meats, and sweet-and-sour pickled vegetables as side dish with a mellow grilled, steamed or fried fish or meat. Imagine the texture and taste – a creamy and chewy mashed potatoes with steak or a crunchy and moist buttered vegetables with roasted chicken or Filipino enchilada with Grilled Bangus. This would really assure that meals with vegetables will not just be a hearty one but will be beyond ordinary.

Here is the basic recipe for Chop Suey, a Chinese recipe embraced by every Filipino, a great complement for any dish or can be a main dish itself.

1/2 cup onions, sliced
1 tbsp. garlic minced
1/2 cup carrots, peeled, half lengthwise and then into 1⁄2-inch
pieces.
1/4 kilo cabbage, cut into thin ribbon-like shreds.
1/4 cup young corn, cut into two
1/4 cup baguio bean, stringed and cut into two
1/2 kilo sayote, peeled and sliced
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce (patis)
1 tbsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

In a large skillet, heat oil in a pan over medium fire. Sautee
garlic and onions for 2 minutes. Add carrot, sayote, young corn and baguio beans. Sautee and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add sugar, soy, oyster and fish sauce. Stir constantly allowing the vegetables
absorb the flavor. Pour chicken broth. Cover and bring to simmer.
Add cabbage and cauliflower florets. Pour dissolved cornstarch. Cook
for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to
taste.

Variations: (one or combination of the following)
Tofu
Chicken
Pork
Shrimp
Mushrooms
* Add after sautéing garlic and onions.

Quail eggs
* Boiled, shelled. Add before serving.

Going green is becoming a popular and wise choice for many individuals and families. Vegetarianism is following a diet that is excluding animal products such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, and honey, from the diet. Being vegetarian has several categories though, like for vegan – they only eat food from plant sources; lacto-vegetarian eats dairy product but no to eggs and meats; lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy and eggs products and no meat; lastly, ovo-vegetarian eats eggs and no to meats.

I am not a vegetarian… yet. But I am an advocate for a healthy and nutritious diet – a well provided variety of food which would include all the food groups with a right combination to meet my family’s needs and mine.

So today, I wanted to Go Green, partly green, I should say, with  Beef with Bitter Gourd / Beef Ampalaya. Bitter Gourd (Bitter Melon) or Ampalaya in local term is one of the most loved and hated vegetables.

It is one of the most loved because of its medical therapeutic claims to treat diabetes, liver problems, skin diseases and many more.  It is also one of the most hated because of its bitter taste.  But there are several ways to minimize the bitterness. One can rub a handful salt and squeeze the sliced bitter gourds to remove the bitter juice, but I do not recommend this if you are also after its medicinal benefits because squeezing out the juice also eliminates most of the nutrients. Another way to partially eliminate the bitter taste is to boil with water and drain. This process is repeated a few times. This also eliminates most of its nutrients and medicinal benefits. So if you are a health buff I suggest cooking it as it is.  The taste is acquired after a while I wanted my bitter gourds cooked after slicing, no squeezing out of its nutrients. Slice the bitter gourds into halves; remove seeds by using the thumb to scrape off from end to end the foamy white part that encapsulates the seeds, then slice each half thin crosswise.

1/2 kilo sliced bitter gourd/ampalaya
1/4 kilo lean ground beef
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
salt

Heat oil in a cooking pan. Sautee garlic, onion and beef until beef turns brown. Add sliced bitter gourd, sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cook for 5 minutes. Add water and salt to taste. Then cook for another 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.