Squid & Veggie Stirfry

slice some squid, tofu, green chillies, onions, garlic, ginger, scallions. I kept the cherry tomatoes whole, but if you find them too big, you can slice them in half.

heat up the wok or non-stick pan. Make sure that it's really really hot. Fry the sliced tofu in oil until golden brown. leave about 2 Tbs of vegetable oil. Sautee the onions, garlic, chillies. Add the squid and stir for a minute, avoid overcooking the squid because it tends to go tough. Add the tomatoes and tofu. Add about a tablespoon of soy sauce, a bit of salt and pepper, and you're done!

Chorizo Rice

This is a great breakfast treat!

Get some cooked rice (preferably some you've saved up, stored somewhere in the fridge that you forgot about. hehehe!) a couple of chorizos, an onion a pinch of saffron soaked in a bit of water (or you can use the powdered stuff) and extra virgin olive oil.

Cut up the chorizo as small as you can get them. Finely chop the onions as well. Heat some EVOO, sautee the chorizo till they're cooked, if you can get them to go crunchy without burning them, that's better! Add the onions and cook till translucent. Add the rice and sautee a bit, you can add a couple tablespoons of water to steam the rice. Add the saffron soaked in water and mix well to get the color even.

Shrimp Pasta

I like food I can prepare in a pinch... the Shrimp Pasta is another favorite of mine.

You can get either fresh of frozen shrimps for this. Sautee onions in extra virgin olive oil till translucent. Add in some garlic, capers and diced tomatoes. When the tomatoes are softened, add the shelled shrimps and cook for about 2 minutes. Try not to overcook the shrimps because they tend to turn dry and rubbery. Toss in cooked pasta and oregano. Plate it and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

A definite comfort food! :D

Salmon Head in Tamarind Soup

Sinigang sa Miso, or Tamarind soup with Miso, is on of my favorite dishes. In our house, the soup is usually made with Kanduli, a species of catfish, but any fatty fish would work well with this recipe.

Just boil some water with a chopped large onion and some tomatoes. When the tomatoes are tender, just mash them on the side of the the pot. Drop in some green chillies, sliced eggplant and sliced radish, then add the tamarind soup mix and a couple tablespoons of Miso Paste and bring to the boil.

When the radish is half-tender, add the Salmon head and let simmer for a 5 to 10 mins. When the salmon head is almost cooked stir in a generous bundle of mustard leaves. Once the leaves have wilted, the soup is ready to serve!

Bacalao a la Vizcaena

My sister's brother-in-law, Frederic, makes the best bottled Bacalao a la Vizcaena!

Made with the best Norwegian bacalao and finest extra virgin olive oil!

Priced at Php 275.00 per bottle, its a steal! Available in regular and spicy variants. Great for the coming Lenten season!

For inquiries or orders you can email me at icon216@gmail.com

Stuffed Green Chillies

These were made by my cousin Chiqui for my birthday, I really loved this dish and can't wait to make it one of these days!

For the stuffing, you can use any kind of ground meat. She used ground pork with onions, garlic, salt and pepper. The green chillies were sliced on one side and stuffed with the ground meat mix. If you like them with a bit of heat, leaves the seeds in, if not, remove the seeds.

After stuffing the chillies, wrap them in spring roll wrappers and seal them with a bit of water.

Now all you have to do is deep fry them to a nice golden brown and serve them hot, maybe with a nice sweet and sour dip or a roasted garlic aiole.

A wonderful party dish that would surely be a big hit!

White Beans and Sausage Stew

This is actually our version of Pork and Beans.

It's a good thing to soak the beans for at least 6 hours but not more than 8 hours because if the beans you got were as frisky as mine, they'd be ready to sprout after 8 hours! Having to soak them for a long time also makes one less likely to get gas! hehehe! You could just pressure cook the beans for a few mins which would also do the job of softening them, but I prefer the long soak, it makes creamier beans I think, just a personal choice.

Mince onions, a few cloves of garlic, chop some salt pork and chorizo. Drop the salt pork in a hot pot and let the fat render. Sautee the onions and garlic in the fat along with the chorizo. When the onions are soft and translucent, add the beans and some ham knuckles and let them simmer for a few hours (2 to 3 hours in my case) until the beans are soft and creamy.

I like having this dish with toasted crusty bread. I added a fried egg because this was my breakfast one morning. :D