You Like Smoothie?

NUTRITION

Here’s a little health tip. You can make milkshakes without all
that sugared ice cream. I’ve been freezing bananas when they start
getting quite ripe (slice them up before freezing) and using other
frozen fruit. This gives the milkshakes (just fruit and milk – and
yogurt if you wish) a thick consistency.

However, this gave them more of a “smoothie” taste, which did not
impress my daughter. “Make it with ice cream this time, please.”

So here’s how you make it taste like a “milk shake”. Add a
touch of vanilla.

Happy Guy, April 10, 2009

Practical Help in the Kitchen

Keep your muffin tins, baking pans, and other rarely-used items in plastic bags when not in use, to protect them from dust.

Got an extra napkin holder? You can use it to hold mail.

For red stains on fabric, stretch the stain over a bowl and cover it with salt. Then pour boiling water over it and wash as usual.

Did you know that you can use old newspaper to get rid of the smell in food containers? Simply put a ball of newspaper into a lunch box or container, close it, and leave it overnight. The smell will be gone in the morning.

Stubborn crusts on pans? Just put a little baking soda on them and leave them for about 5 minutes, then scrub clean as usual.

Did you know you can use vinegar to remove messy gunk that price tags and stickers leave behind? Just brush the area a few times with vinegar, leave it for 5 minutes, and then wipe it off.

Adding a little salt to your cooking water when boiling eggs can prevent the eggshells from cracking.

Source: Kitchenomics Club

Chicken Afritada

Trying to explore my kitchen with uncommon recipe that I don't usually cook. I used the very simple Chicken Afritada Recipe on this one.


















You may also try this one here. This is a sweetened Chicken Afritada. I'll try this myself later on.




Chicken Afritada Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken, cut into pieces

• 5 pieces potatoes, peeled and halved

• 1 red onion, diced

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

• 2 cups pork or chicken stock (broth)

• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Cooking Instructions:

• In a cooking pot or wok, heat oil.

• Sauté garlic and onions.

• Add chicken and slightly brown.

• Pour the tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

• Add potatoes and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

• Add the green and red bell peppers, simmer for an additional minute or two.

• Salt and pepper to taste

Serve this chicken recipe hot with steamed rice.

Sunday Ritual is back!

I had a night out spent in my daughter's home. And this morning, we decided to have our old tradition back for a day, at least. Her husband was very pleased and he enjoyed eating the food we used to prepare each weekend at home. We kept this ritual since my children were little.

The trimming was not complete because I forgot to tell them all we needed. I just assumed my daughter remembered but she didn't. Since these are all basic foods, I did not include the recipe.

• Apple stew

• Pancake

• Silverside

• Scrambled Eggs

Hot Chicken-Rice Pot

At home, we call this Arroz Caldo. I Anglicised the name to make it sound appealing to my children's picky taste. I cook this when they have problem with colds, sore throat and when they are plainly sick. I cook this in winter for body sustenance.

Ingredients:

6-8 pieces chicken drumsticks, remove joint bones
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 of onion bulb, finely sliced, lengthwise
2 x 1 inch length fresh lemon grass, cut into half
1 tsp finely sliced, cubed or diced fresh ginger
1 cup broccoli, cut
3 tsps finely diced capsicum (red, green and yellow or any of the two)
3 pieces of shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp of cooking oil (I used either olive or rice bran oil)
a dash of annato powder or paprika powder for colouring
salt to season, soy sauce
1 cup of half-boiled rice. (I do this for quick cooking).
2-3 cups rice stock.

Stock: Reserve the second and third washing of rice. Meanwhile boil the rice in a rice cooker. I use a cup of half-boiled rice to add to the recipe.

Method of Preparation:

Clean drumsticks with white vinegar; rub them with salt; wash under running cold water, and drain.

Place cleaned drumsticks in a saucepan, fresh lemon grass, and ginger. Cover and boil to extract its natural juice. Occasionally stir and turn over and adjust heat to moderate.

In a frying pan, saute garlic and onion with oil till brown; pour into the saucepan and stir. Cover with lid and continue boiling in moderate heat for 5 minutes. Add rice stock gradually, boil, then add more stock to cover the mixture and simmer. Occasionally give it a stir to avoid sticking in the bottom.

Add half-boiled rice, stock and add annato or paprika powder. Add soy sauce sparingly and salt to enhance flavour. Then continue to simmer till tender. Add broccoli. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add capsicum last.

Sprinkle finely chopped shallots. On serving, you may squeeze fresh kumquat, lemon or lime as you like.

Makes a nice healthy hot soup to ward off winter chills.

Bon appetit!

Diced Steak Stew

It's Wintertime again, time for those hot stuff on the table...

Ingredients:

500 g diced (beef)steak
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced potato
Onion, finely chopped
1 small green capsicum, diced
1 small red capsicum, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons gravy
salt to taste
olive oil or rice bran oil

Method:

Rub diced meat with olive oil to seal its flavour. In a hot deep pan, saute garlic and onion and add meat, stir, cover to bring out its natural juice for 3 minutes and reduce the heat. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of beef stock or water and simmer till the meat is tender. Add carrots and potato. Moisten gravy with the meat juice and stir into the stew then add capsicums altogether. Cover with lid and take out of the stove.

Season salt to taste as required.

Serve with boiled rice or toast bread.

Note: I am not much of a salty person. My salt intake is under control, ditto with sugar intake.

My Big Brekky Break

I made this special big brekky yesterday.

I prepared the following:

One piece square cut of Turkish Bread
2 eggs
1 red firm Tomato (truss)


Method:

I fried the eggs sunny side up with little amount of olive oil in a big deep pan together with sliced tomato. I turned over the tomato. [Do not overcook the tomato].

At the same time, I lightly toasted the Turkish bread under the griller.

Arranged bread on a plate topped with fried eggs and neatly stacked tomato on its side. I seldom take salt or pepper.

I had banana to go with it and creamed decaffeinated coffee. I'm actually using Ecco coffee made from Barley, Malted Barley, Rye and Chicory.

Try it! You'll love it!

Bon appetit!