Homemade Cacao Balls!

I harvested some cacao pods from the one cacao tree in our backyard. I love drinking hot choco, especially if it is "tablea" (how we call cacao balls in the Philippines). So, I searched the internet for the process of making it. It was a lot of work and a lot of waiting but well, it is all worth the wait!

The Cacao Pods. Took out the seeds and fermented it for 10 days. Then sun dried them for 3 days.

Roasted nibs. Ready to grind.

Grinded and made into balls!

End product of my first ever homemade cacao balls! "Mayo man ah"! (Good enough! - Ilonggo dialect in the Philippines)

I enjoyed 2 cups already! Tasted like dark chocolate because I only put 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. I can say it was a success and I'm happy!

Homemade Crushed Pepper Flakes

Everytime I am in the herbs and spices section at the grocery store, I always wanted to buy pepper flakes. However, it seems a little bit pricey, as most of the dried herbs and spices here in our country. I am trying to cut my grocery shopping and I thought of making my own pepper flakes since I just throw away the seeds from the peppers I use. So, I searched the net for ideas on how to make them and for my first try, I decided to use two whole peppers. I sun dried them and after two days, they were ready to be crushed and grinded. Good thing, hubby bought me a mini coffee bean grinder. It was the first time I used it too!

I am just so happy that my first homemade pepper flakes is successful and I was able to save money! I'm pretty sure I would be making it again in the future.

Too bad I always forget to take the before and after pictures of the things I make. But here is the final product.

Soft Choco Chip Oatmeal Cookie

Yehey!!! My first ever "successfully baked" cookie! This is the third time that I tried baking cookies and finally, I got it right! I over baked the first one and I don't know what happened with the second one (it did not dropped or spread out). I did follow the recipes, but maybe something went wrong with how I mixed the ingredients? Well, this time, I watched the video here over and over and followed it well!

The joy of baking, really!

Last week, I also baked my first pie. A pumpkin pie! It was okay, though my pie crust was not really flaky and I think the filling was a little bit watery. But I'm happy that I now know how to make a crust and bake a pie!

Linking to:

Longganisa Fried Rice

It's frugal Friday today! This time I am featuring my dinner (I'm eating alone) from some left-overs. I have about a cup and a half of steamed rice and two pieces left-over of Longganisa, a Philippine sausage. It's garlic flavor and it is really yummy! I usually save the garlicky oil that it produced to flavor fried rice. So, for this dish, I am copying the Chao Fan fried rice of a local Chinese fastfood. Well, eating alone can also be fun!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup steamed rice (left-over)
2 pcs. Longganisa (Philippine sausage)or Chorizo in Spanish
1 egg, scrambled
2 cloves garlic, minced and browned
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp Longganisa oil
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley

How I made it:

1. Crumble one piece of Longganisa. Set aside.
2. Scramble one egg. Then slice it into small cubes. Set aside.
3. Saute steamed rice in minced garlic and Longganisa oil.
4. Add crumbled Longganisa and mix well. Add scrambled egg.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in sesame oil.
6. Slice the other Longganisa into thin slices.
7. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Pork Kaldereta

Kaldereta is one of Philippines most loved dishes. It is my husband's favorite and when he comes home from his work overseas, he requests his brother to cook the dish. I wanted to learn cooking it myself, so I asked and tried it. The feedback is very good and I am so happy!



Ingredients
1 kilo pork
2 pcs. potatoes, large
2 pcs. carrots, large
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 pcs. whole pickles
1 can liver spread, small
1 can evaporated milk, small
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
cooking oil
salt
pepper

Cooking Method
1. Slice pork, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers and whole picles into medium size cubes.
2. Heat cooking oil in a casserole and sauté the garlic, onion and the beef. Add water, evaporated milk, tomato sauce and liver spread. Simmer until pork starts to become tender. Add in the potatoes, carrots and pickles.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Continue to simmer until pork and vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens.
5. Serve hot with plain steamed rice.

Linking to the following blog parties:

Baking Adventure Began!

I have been on blogging break for the last three or four months. Months when I have so many things I wanted to blog about, if only I had the time to do so. My husband was home for a short vacation from work, so most of my time was spent chatting with him, doing more household chores and cooking... oh, a lot of cooking!!!

Last July, we bought a new gas oven and I decided to try baking. Something I have always wanted to do. I was so excited!!! I still am! There are still so many recipes I wanted to try. So, my baking adventure began...

Baking is really fun! My first time, I just used a pre-mixed ingredients. It was a butterscotch mix, where you just add fresh eggs and butter, then mix them all together. I was nervous, but it turned out okay. Yay!!!

I wish Talisay (my hometown and where my immediate family are), is just so near! I feel sad that I was and am not able to have my mama, my nieces and everybody back home taste my baked goods. :(

What's the Occasion?

"What's the occasion"?... My niece asked me that question today, when I asked her opinion about the Chicken Teriyake I cooked for lunch. I always love her opinions because she would really rate it with phrases like, "I really really like it", "delicious, but not so so", "you shouldn't have put this and this" or "i don't really like it"!

Anyway, I was surprised with her question. I told her, there's no special occasion today, I just feel like cooking it. I seldom cook, and when I do, they are new recipes that I just wanted to try. That must be why they are so excited when they see me cooking in the kitchen... it makes them feel it is a special day!

My Chicken Cordon Bleu

Today is my husband's birthday and I cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu for lunch. It was my first try in cooking this dish and it was a success!!! I'm so happy! My mom, brother and nieces loved it! I have to wait for my sister's verdict later, as she was a little bit hard to please... jeezzz!



It's really a great feeling if you cooked something special and it's very much appreciated. My husband will surely like it, too bad he's still abroad. He's very excited though and it's gonna be one of the first dishes I'm going to cook for him when he's home. This dish is one of the main courses in our wedding reception. That's why it's special to me. Now, I'm inspired to research, learn and try new recipes!

Ginger

I am a facebook follower of Wai Lana, a popular Yoga and Natural Health advocate.

Wai Lana's Kitchen tip of the day: Besides lending zest, vitality, warmth, and energy to fruit and vegetable juices alike, ginger helps conditions like asthma, cough, cold, congestion, flu, high cholesterol, water retention, nausea, irregular or painful menstruation, constipation, and poor circulation.

Here's a simple recipe of Wai Lana's ginger tea (from her post Ginger for Winter Ills, Oct. 16, 2009):

2 cups water
¼ cup diced fresh ginger
2 tsp. honey

Boil the water, then add the ginger and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain into a cup and add 2 teaspoons of honey (or to taste). If you like, you can add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the pot to increase the stimulating, heating effect. Let me forewarn you now, though: This tea is fiery! Sip it—don't gulp it down.

Fried Okra

I finally made the fried okra recipe. I had it for lunch today! I first heard about it when a high school friend mention it on facebook. I got curious, so I looked it up in the internet. It is such a very simple recipe and yet, it is really good.

I plated it and took a picture...for souvenir =)

Callos and other firsts...

I cooked Callos for lunch today...first time and more of a testing. It's just alright, looks and tastes like Callos!

Today, I bought pork liver and it's also a first time... When I saw it in the market, I suddenly craved for fried pork liver that my mama and grandpa used to cook. My first time also to clean and slice an innard, and it went just fine!

I think, what I still can't really do is clean a live fish or any other seafoods!

My Mama's birthday!

Today is mama's birthday! I missed the celebration in Bacolod. Sis said they're having valenciana...it's my favorite and I really miss it! To celebrate in my own little way, I cooked spaghetti with chicken ala king sauce. I made it extra hot and spicy by adding red pepper flakes.

My recipe for succesful cooking...

Since I started cooking, I realized that the following are needed to make it successful!

1. Right and sufficient ingredients (of course!)
2. Common sense
3. Love and care for those who will eat them
4. Passion for cooking
5. Practice (So true, practice makes perfect!)

Now I know why in country magazines, recipes for spreads and jams are always featured. They are such a joy to make. There is the anticipation of how the finish product comes out. And when it comes out just right, you’ll be proud of yourself. If not, well, there is such a thing as next time and by then, you’ll know what to do.

The first cheese spread I made tasted like pizza flavor!
My fresh tomato jam was fine, although it’s not that sweet (the way Ilonggos like)!