holy week 2010 at home

This year, I stayed home for the Holy Week. Not that I’m complaining.  I actually needed a break from… well, everything else.

It was a quiet, restful week.  I didn’t go out but we did make a fast trip to the supermarket to ‘hoard in’ on some grocery items since shops will be closed for two days (Maundy Thursday and Holy Friday). I used this break to chill and to experiment with food recipes.

I’m starting to learn to relax when it comes to cooking and not be so uptight with the recipe instructions and amount of ingredients to put in.  I am also learning to use more of the unappetizing leftovers and put to use those dormant jars and bottles of oils, spices, etc. that I bought for some long-forgotten recipe. 🙂

Since it was the Holy Week, we were on a healthy vegetable and seafood diet so I took time to use whatever we had in the fridge and shelves.

Garden Salad (actually these were leftover veggies from the fridge: lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, & carrots). I added homemade croutons wherein I used forgotten stale pandesal or Pinoy round bread which I drizzled with olive oil and toasted in the toaster oven ~~~b(^-^) ~yum!~.   For a healthy dressing, I used honey, mustard, and olive oil (that have been sitting in my shelf for ages).

Badly-sliced Tuna Sashimi, anyone? lol! Since I forgot to buy wasabi, I searched for a great alternative dressing on the net. And what i found was Chef Wayne Nish‘s recipe of soy sauce, extra virgin olive oil, sesame seeds and chives (in this case – onion springs) and it was delish!

I also experimented with Seafood Okonomiyaki: leftover squid (from our dinner last night) and crabsticks from last week’s goi buoi. I added canned tuna, cukes, carrots, garlic chives and chopped cabbage. Mix them all up with one egg, 1/4 cup of flour, and bit of water and salt to make a pancake batter.

Okonomiyaki is fried like a pancake on both sides. I put tonkatsu sauce on it, and mayo, along with aonori (seaweed flakes) and katsubuoshi (bonito flakes).

Okonomiyaki is best served hot and freshly cooked so it is best eaten straight from the pan or griddle.  For more on okonomiyaki click here.

Have a restful and meaningful Holy Week.

†┏┛教会┗┓† (^人^ (^人^ )

 

Beef Pochero (SLP#4)

The first time I tasted pochero was during a lunch party at my uncle’s house in Cebu. I think that was like more than 15 years ago. Even if it was that long ago, I haven’t forgotten it because it was that memorable!  When I came back home to Manila, no one knows how to prepare it so I haven’t had one since then and ended up dreaming about it once in awhile.

Finally, I’ve had enough reminiscing of that unforgettable pochero meal so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I consulted the all-knowing Internet and found some good recipes and tips.

Pochero of Luzon (not to be confused with the bulalo-like Cebuano pochero) is a dish akin to the Spanish cocido. However, ours is probably more similar to the South American version of cocido (like the sancocho) with the use of plantains or saba (left).

There are two ways to prepare this dish: the first one is what I refer to as the Simple Pochero; and the other is the Fiesta-style Pochero (which has two courses). The latter was the one I had in Cebu years ago, and you only serve it when you have plenty of guests for lunch or dinner.  Since I wasn’t having guests for lunch today, I chose to make Simple Pochero (maybe I can try the Fiesta Pochero in the summer… Woo-hoo!).  Besides, since I’m just a beginner, I thought I’d practice first with the simple version.

For today’s Sunday Lunch Project #4, I chose Panlasang Pinoy’s recipe of beef pochero (Thanks, PP! – You’re MY Julia Childs – haha!):

I did exactly what PP said in the vid.  It was also my first time to cook beef, and understandably, I stumbled a bit with the cooking process. PP said it can be cooked for an hour and a half and of course, the naïve little me believed him.

I ended up cooking the meat for 3 hours before it became tender!  Oh, the pitfalls of being a novice… I even placed a metal fork in the broth (don’t ask me why or the purpose of it because I have no idea, too) but it didn’t do anything to speed things up.

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble (Right): Hmm, a pressure cooker seemed like a good investment right now.

Another slip-up was I kept adding too much water since it had been boiling for a long time.  The broth was beginning to get too thin and bland.  I replenished it with more tomato sauce and a beef bouillon cube to be sure.

I started out at 9 am but ended up eating at half past 1. Of course, we were famished by the time it was finished…

Sinful, tempting yumminess: Oh, all that artery-clogging goodness! But I made sure I placed lots of vegetables in the hopes of negating that vast sea of cholesterol. Heehee…

My SLP # 4:  The simple beef pochero. It is best when served with a side dish of eggplant-squash salad as shown in the above pic.  Pampatanggal ng umay, I learned.  To make it, I boiled  eggplants (peeled) and squash. I mashed them with a fork and added minced garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper.

So. Was my Beef Pochero a hit or a miss?

Answer: Despite its being an unhealthy dish (something to be enjoyed once in a blue moon), I consider it a hit! I enjoy eating it without rice. I use bread like pandesal instead to mop up the broth from my plate.  The garbanzos, chorizo and vegetables tasted really good in all that red tomato-beef broth.

1 Feb 2010 Update: I made quite a big batch that we ended up eating it for two days! But it was worth it. Besides it tasted better the next day when all the flavors were infused together. Oh, but my poor liver! Heehee. I savored every morsel of it since it’ll probably be a long time before we have this dish again. But I don’t think I’ll wait another 15 years though for that to happen. 🙂

Postscript: Thought I’d reward myself with a break from SLP. So next Sunday is my day-off from cooking. Yay! Besides, I’d rather gear up for Feb. 14 with a Chinese inspired lunch for a double celebration of the Chinese New Year and Valentine ’s Day… See yah!

Next on Sunday Lunch Project – Hainanese Chicken Rice (SLP#5)

Previous SLP Posts:

Sunday Lunch Project #3: My Dad’s Karimbuaya Chicken

Sunday Lunch Project #2: Yakiniku

Sunday Lunch Project #1: Thyme-Lemon Roasted Chicken

Pochero info source: marketmanila.com
Eggplant-Squash Side Dish recipe source: theeatingroom

 

Because I Have To

“Because I have to.”

Sometimes, those 4 words are all you need to start kickin’ yourself in the butt to get going…

Just like last year, I started the New Year of 2009 with reflections and a lot of mulling over my plans.  After looking back and rereading that post, I am ashamed to admit that all 3 things I mentioned there did NOT come into fruition. It is soooo embarrassing.

That is why I don’t like mentioning my resolutions or checklists.  You start hating yourself if you can’t follow through. But if I do have to start something, I prefer that no one needs to know about it. Rather than talk about it, I just do it whether it be in a checklist or not. But to publish it here for everyone to see, and not accomplishing any of it in the end? Yikes.

So. Despite my vehemence in coming up with NYRs, I will still do it. Why? Say it with me- It’s because… I have to:

One Step Forward into the New Year: Started my walking program (right pic) to lose these stubborn pounds as part of my NY’s Resolution… again.

1. Losing weight. One of my resolutions last year was to lose weight. Honestly? I really started on an exercise program early last year but had to give it up because I wasn’t losing any pounds. Nevertheless, I jump- started my walking and work-out routine late last year. And I am THRILLED to report that this time it is actually WORKING!  Yay for me!  How many pounds I lost is a topic worth posting some other time.

2. Clean Up! Another NYR from last year was to clean and organize my room, the house, my LIFE! And yes, I wasn’t able to accomplish it. But this time, I FIRMLY resolve to do this once and for all.

3. The Muse is calling! I will go back to drawing and painting. I do plan on going back to the arts someday; I might as well start little by little. Be showing my works here soon. That’s a promise!

4. What else is cooking? I mentioned in my previous post that I will start cooking more this year.  I am no expert in the kitchen but I am so tired of drooling over those dishes I see being prepared at the Asian Food Channel, Travel and Living, etc.  My culinary plans are already underway so I’m not worried about this. Actually, I’m already having fun!

Post Script: Anything related to my studies, I will not mention anymore. If it comes, it comes. It may happen this year or the next, I cannot tell but definitely I will finish my master’s degree... Because I have to.

 

hiatus pix

Here are the pix from my hiatus. Nothing much, actually. Just passing the time away and going through the day to day motions:

I’ve taken up brisk walking at night for the past weeks. I’m enjoying it immensely.  Good thing it’s safe to walk around my home at dusk.  Can’t say I’ve lost weight yet but I do have noticed that some of parts of me are indeed getting firmer and tighter. Yay!

Can’t say for my diet though.  A friend told me how to make glazed brie. This one was topped with a mixture of nuts, brown sugar, and brandy; then, baked slightly. Great with red wine and crackers! And besides, Sis has a brand new oven.  So…

And of course, when there’s an oven, baked mac can’t be too far behind. Just loved it! Pawie made this with ground beef, pepperoni, two kinds of melted cheeses, rigatoni, and some secret ingredients.  Yum!

Reunions: Family and relatives on my father’s side got together some weekends ago.  Two of my balikbayan uncles came and we celebrated the way we know best–eat!

At work, we had some celebrations, too.  We gave one of our staff, Lin, a baby shower before she had a maternity leave while two of us celebrated birthdays.  So many people celebrated birthdays in March!

Sign of the times: News of the recession can really be a bummer. This is the reason why I need to contemplate and reflect on some of my plans and life’s issues.  But I pray that we can all bounce back from this… as we often do. Kaya natin ‘yan! (b^ｰﾟ)

My room is still a mess. But it is a work in progress. I mean, I’m getting there… Really I am.  <(￣.￣*)> hmp!

Well, at least, I’m starting on my grad paper. So far so good.  In the pic above is my student and the case study that I’m working on. A good kid, love him to bits.

Kite-flying with another student of mine.  I’m proud of this girl. She has come a long way…

Family Day at EK: We visited a place called Enchanted Kingdom. Not really a kingdom, not really enchanting.  But it’s all we got so far…

Summer! Ahhh!  Fruits and ice cream… We’re all craving for iced fruity desserts these super humid days. Oh, God, I could use one right now…* drools*

And also, I’ve discovered the power of Japanese emoticons… sometimes they can say what you really mean when words are just not enough. Til then… (*ゝω・)ﾉ♥♥♥ ･ﾟ:*:ﾟ toodle-loo!