Marriage definitely has a way of improving my kitchen skillz
For the record, I am not a good cook. I'm only a good cooking assistant. Cut this. Slice this. Peel that. Clear this up. Do the dishes. Buy this. Watch that. Yeah I'm that sort. I'm nowhere as good as my mom or my uncle or my father or even my brother and adding to that list of experienced cooks, is Duston, my hunny monkey.
I managed to make a successful round two of eggplant adobo last night only this time it had other ingredients added to it like Baguio beans (string beans to some of you) and pineapple and lots of sesame seeds. Eggplant adobo (Adobong talong in Filipino) is a classic emergency slash dormitory food. It's fast, easy to prepare and crazy cheap.
All you need to do is get two pieces of eggplants. cut them into three (depending on how long it is) and then lengthwise. Fry them in hot oil until brown. Set aside. Take 1/4 cup of vinegar (suka) and 1/4 cup soy sauce (toyo). Mix. Saute garlic and then pour the toyo-suka mix and then simmer for about 4-5 minutes and then pour the fried eggplants. simmer again for a few minutes then serve.
Another recipe attempt i made was Ube guinataan. Ube is purple yam. This recipe calls for coconut milk and galapong (glutinous rice balls), bananas. I had some raw sugar available and i added some cinnamon for added flavor. Lesson learned...a half tablespoon of cinnamon is TOO MUCH. I should use only half a sprinkle next time. hehehe! It was a success. Duston said that the flavor would be more enhanced with ice cream.
ICE CREAM?
@_@
That sounded so weird to me because I have never had or even imagined that guinataan would go with ice cream. He insists that it would be a perfect combo. I love ice cream and I agree it would go well with anything...like my face and even on the top of my head. But with guinataan??? Hmmmmm....as weird as it may sound to me but it won't hurt to try.
I'm getting more and more comfy in the kitchen although I still have not reached that level of confidence yet. Because everytime someone asked me what I was making...I always say...."I don't know yet."
So far none of my relatives have complained with the flavor. They even ask what I did or how I did it or what ingredient that I added to give that extra kick. My toughest critic that I look up to is Duston. Because he cooks way better than I do and most people I know. He's in that category of chef-like person to me. He knows his gourmet while I am a gourmet virgin. I like experiencing exotic menu but will still have incidents where I will wonder whether the flower in the table arrangement can be eaten too.
My okonomiyaki attempt had been fairly successful. Lesson learned: Tear the cabbage, NOT chop. I also found out that mixing ginger in the fish marinade adds an extra kick and controls the fishiness of the fish. All you get is lots of flavor. Lesson learned again, ginger is going to be a default kitchen item just like garlic and onions.
I am also appreciating market trips but it's not in the love level of things. I still prefer to do one major trip and get all the stuff I need and maximize its usage than making small frequent trips. I'm not too crazy about the market because it's so crowded and can be dirty at times. But I am a great fan of maximizing the budget so I still go there. I've found certain shops that have the right stuff I need and the price I want. Going to the market helps one really see the major difference of prices compared to getting them from the supermarket.
But here's the tip...never do grocery in the market because the prices are similar to convenience store prices. It's crazy, man. So keep the market stuffs to the market and do your grocery in the supermarket. Actually there are supermarkets located nearby that cater to retailers with wholesale prices. The price difference for such stores compared to mall supermarkets can range from one peso to two pesos. Wow! Imagine that!
But there's a slight downside to that because these wholesalers sell products that are commonly sold by retailers and usually they carry only mainstream or popular brands. There isn't much to choose from really. So when we like something totally different, we have to make that trip to the mall supermarket instead.
For dinner tonight...I think I will make corned beef with snow peas. One can never go wrong with corned beef especially the Libbys and Herford brands. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! It's the love yo! All that flavor can make you go for a second plateful of steamed rice. For a can of Libbys, I can extend that to four dinner servings. Yes, it's the love. The only thing I am not crazy about doing to corned beef is mixing it with egg and turning it into an omelet. ew. Corned beef has a limit. Don't mix poultry with beef in that manner. I dunno it just tastes wrong to me.
But corned beef served separately with fried egg is delicious and comfy. Very breakfasty food.
What's for dinner, baby?
I managed to make a successful round two of eggplant adobo last night only this time it had other ingredients added to it like Baguio beans (string beans to some of you) and pineapple and lots of sesame seeds. Eggplant adobo (Adobong talong in Filipino) is a classic emergency slash dormitory food. It's fast, easy to prepare and crazy cheap.
All you need to do is get two pieces of eggplants. cut them into three (depending on how long it is) and then lengthwise. Fry them in hot oil until brown. Set aside. Take 1/4 cup of vinegar (suka) and 1/4 cup soy sauce (toyo). Mix. Saute garlic and then pour the toyo-suka mix and then simmer for about 4-5 minutes and then pour the fried eggplants. simmer again for a few minutes then serve.
Another recipe attempt i made was Ube guinataan. Ube is purple yam. This recipe calls for coconut milk and galapong (glutinous rice balls), bananas. I had some raw sugar available and i added some cinnamon for added flavor. Lesson learned...a half tablespoon of cinnamon is TOO MUCH. I should use only half a sprinkle next time. hehehe! It was a success. Duston said that the flavor would be more enhanced with ice cream.
ICE CREAM?
@_@
That sounded so weird to me because I have never had or even imagined that guinataan would go with ice cream. He insists that it would be a perfect combo. I love ice cream and I agree it would go well with anything...like my face and even on the top of my head. But with guinataan??? Hmmmmm....as weird as it may sound to me but it won't hurt to try.
I'm getting more and more comfy in the kitchen although I still have not reached that level of confidence yet. Because everytime someone asked me what I was making...I always say...."I don't know yet."
So far none of my relatives have complained with the flavor. They even ask what I did or how I did it or what ingredient that I added to give that extra kick. My toughest critic that I look up to is Duston. Because he cooks way better than I do and most people I know. He's in that category of chef-like person to me. He knows his gourmet while I am a gourmet virgin. I like experiencing exotic menu but will still have incidents where I will wonder whether the flower in the table arrangement can be eaten too.
My okonomiyaki attempt had been fairly successful. Lesson learned: Tear the cabbage, NOT chop. I also found out that mixing ginger in the fish marinade adds an extra kick and controls the fishiness of the fish. All you get is lots of flavor. Lesson learned again, ginger is going to be a default kitchen item just like garlic and onions.
I am also appreciating market trips but it's not in the love level of things. I still prefer to do one major trip and get all the stuff I need and maximize its usage than making small frequent trips. I'm not too crazy about the market because it's so crowded and can be dirty at times. But I am a great fan of maximizing the budget so I still go there. I've found certain shops that have the right stuff I need and the price I want. Going to the market helps one really see the major difference of prices compared to getting them from the supermarket.
But here's the tip...never do grocery in the market because the prices are similar to convenience store prices. It's crazy, man. So keep the market stuffs to the market and do your grocery in the supermarket. Actually there are supermarkets located nearby that cater to retailers with wholesale prices. The price difference for such stores compared to mall supermarkets can range from one peso to two pesos. Wow! Imagine that!
But there's a slight downside to that because these wholesalers sell products that are commonly sold by retailers and usually they carry only mainstream or popular brands. There isn't much to choose from really. So when we like something totally different, we have to make that trip to the mall supermarket instead.
For dinner tonight...I think I will make corned beef with snow peas. One can never go wrong with corned beef especially the Libbys and Herford brands. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! It's the love yo! All that flavor can make you go for a second plateful of steamed rice. For a can of Libbys, I can extend that to four dinner servings. Yes, it's the love. The only thing I am not crazy about doing to corned beef is mixing it with egg and turning it into an omelet. ew. Corned beef has a limit. Don't mix poultry with beef in that manner. I dunno it just tastes wrong to me.
But corned beef served separately with fried egg is delicious and comfy. Very breakfasty food.
What's for dinner, baby?