strawberry scones

Having picked so much strawberries from the farm left me wondering whether there were some other new recipes I could try. There's no recipe you can't have access to online. It's just amazing and so helpful. Here I tried strawberry scones - I found the recipe from a bed & breakfast website. This was from a list of a variety of breakfast food they serve in b & b's everywhere. I must admit these scones using fresh strawberries are just good while they're still hot & crispy. After a while the moisture from the fresh strawberries made the scones a bit soggy. This was the first time I used fresh fruit in scones. I've always just used dried fruits like cranberries most of the time. These strawberry scones are very good and go well with some homemade strawberry jam - check out the next article. Scones appeal to us more these days since we started drinking more tea than coffee and these are just perfect to have with tea. I guess biscotti is for coffee and scone is for tea!

strawberry jam

My friend's invitation to go strawberry picking again this year with her little boy and her idea to try making strawberry jam inspired me. There's a little sleepy town about 45 minutes from our place where we like to go. Although we didn't hit the prime season or our timing just wasn't too good, we were still able to pick and buy some of the best-looking strawberries out there. It was fun to go out there direct to the fields and pick them yourself.

My strawberry jam project yielded a few 8 oz jars like this one in the photo above. Those jams available in the market are sometimes just too sweet and just couldn't compare to homemade. And besides you have the option at home to use more berries and even reduce the sugar if you like. I chopped and didn't mash the berries but it all depends on your preference. Using the commercial pectin makes it a lot easier & faster. I remember when we had our guava tree back in Manila and my mother would make batches of guava jellies. She also used to make jellies and jams from a local fruit called "duhat". They're small, dark colored fruits which are very similar in appearance to black olives. My mother made a batch of those duhat jelly that was the right consistency, gelatine like in texture with a clear purple color. She was trying to get the same result but wasn't able to come up with the exact consistency again. Without the proper thermometer and equipment, the timing and measurements were not easy to achieve. This was just one of the many experiments my mother did in her kitchen. Some were frustrating but some were successful which brought us many happy memories of her love of cooking.

Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is one dish that's hard to mess up. With it's one primary ingredient - bacon - how can you go wrong? Chop the bacon in small pieces & throw into a warm pan.
Cook until brown & slightly crispy. It's okay if not all the bacon pieces are crisp because they will get mixed up with the sauce later on anyway. Perfect if you only have a few ingredients in your fridge - some milk, eggs & cheese are the basics you need. Good to serve with some green salad with vinaigrette. The acidity of the vinaigrette is a perfect match to the richness of the creamy carbonara sauce. Topping it with extras like fresh chopped basil & slivers of parmesan cheese adds to the texture & contrast of the dish.

Puto

My quest for the elusive puto recipe led me to experiment with recipes I have found online as well as some I found in Filipino cookbooks. One disaster after another later, I still haven't perfected it. Back in Manila, puto is available everywhere. There was no need to make them yourself. It was so easy to find them at the local palengke ( open market ) and no trip to the palengke is complete without puto or kutchinta in your basket. My memories of the traditional puto goes back when my mother was still alive and she used to make it for merienda all the time. The texture of the puto batter, the overnight soaking of the rice & fermentation period, the steaming procedure are still clear in my mind. But unfortunately, there's no trace of the exact recipe measurements. I remember my mother would use a wide pot into which a grill had been placed over the boiling water and lined with cheesecloth or any woven cloth available. She would then pour the puto batter directly into the cloth to steam then cover it with a bilao ( tray made of woven bamboo ). About less than an hour later, she would lift the bilao cover & lift the cloth with the perfectly steamed & fragrant puto. She also flavored it with anise seeds which I must admit I didn't care much for then. Sometimes she would top it with grated cheese. I remember I prefered the cheese topping better. Surfing the net recently for an authentic puto recipe was disappointing. I was searching for a recipe using galapong instead of flour. The puto I made ( pictured above ) made use of rice flour. They were edible but were more like cupcakes. My search for the ultimate ( help Tyler! ) traditional "puto binan" type goes on. I haven't given up yet!

thai beef curry

Very good curry with beef! I usually just get Thai red curry in a can or plastic container at the oriental market, it works great & keeps well in the fridge. I just control the amount of red curry according to taste & tolerance for spicy foods since this is very hot stuff. Add the quail eggs & red bell peppers last. The quail eggs are optional but looks great with this dish. I think in Thailand this is actually panang curry although that's supposed to be cooked dry. I think I prefer it a bit saucy like this.

Sunday brunch

My in-laws visited for a few days last month. It was a good opportunity to share a special breakfast treat with them. French toast made with challah bread ( which I learned from aunt in Chicago ) is always the best. The fritata has fresh sliced button mushrooms & bell peppers topped with slivers of parmesan cheese. I use the vegetable peeler for the cheese shavings instead of the usual cheese grater. We find it more flavorful like this. Fresh fruit is always a good accompaniment to a rich breakfast treat like this. For an added treat, I served pastries we bought from our favorite German restaurant.

leche flan with fruits

My husband recently invited three of his friends from work for dinner. He's very considerate though, he usually asks me first if it's alright. I like that. Tell you what, it's not easy to think of food to fix which appeals to anybody. No problem with the dessert though. This traditional dessert is a well-loved favorite back in Manila and not just back there. The Spanish influence on our food, having been under Spain for about 400 years, still remains. This dessert is also a Hispanic tradition and it's not unusual to find it in dessert menus in Mexican restaurants. It's often listed as flan. It's the same all-time favorite dessert. I also make a Venezuelan version of this using coconut milk instead of evaporated or regular milk. The texture is finer & lighter. I haven't met anybody who didn't like this dessert! So with a group of guys for dinner, with varied tastes in food, I didn't think twice, this is the dessert to fix! And I wasn't mistaken, they all loved it. Who wouldn't? This rich creamy dessert, with a caramelized sugar syrup running down the sides as you invert it onto a plate, is a sure winner.

fresh spring rolls

Using the vietnamese or thai spring roll wrappers, the kind you soak in warm water for a few seconds to soften, this is an easy & quick appetizer for an Asian meal. It's also a good snack idea or merienda. Frying is eliminated so it can be considered a healthy dish. For the filling, ground beef or chicken may be used. Another alternative is shredded boiled chicken. Mix in some veggies like carrot strips for color & sliced cabbage if bean sprouts are not available. You may also add some tree ear mushrooms soaked in warm water & sliced thinly. And don't forget to add some vermicelli or sotanghon. For the dip, I made some peanut sauce but sweet chili sauce also works. Serve them with green leaf or iceberg lettuce & you have an elegant Asian treat.

eggs benedict

A Sunday brunch favorite. I made them with split & toasted pan de sal ( a popular breakfast roll in Manila delivered by vendors usually in bicycles every morning still warm from the local bakery to your doorstep. Allow me to correct the writers of an international bread book, a copy of which I have, that bread is not popular in Asia since rice is the staple food but their research probably may not have brought them to Manila (again!) because if they went there, they would have surely found out about "pan de sal" which is a daily fare enjoyed in the entire country). Cold cuts may be used instead of the regular Canadian bacon. The hollandaise sauce was just the store-bought instant kind which works no problem. Served with Manchego cheese slices on the side, this makes an awesome breakfast food.