The Price of Rice

And the country with most expensive price of rice is.....(insert drum roll)

Rowena's Buko Tart

Last weekend, napadaan kami ng Tagaytay, we came from Tanauan Batangas, but we took a shortcut via Talisay-Tagaytay Road and napabili nanaman kami ulit ng famous Rowena's Buko Pie. So, since I have a blog na, here are some of my comments:

No doubt, walang question ang sarap ng Buko pie ni Rowena, tamang tama ang tamis may streusel pa sa ibabaw. But, for me it's too pricey, for a box of 9pcs of tart they charge you of P180. This is another classic sample of over hype marketing that gives the business to control their price. 

Bukayo Macchiato

I was inspired by the Bukayo that I tasted from House of Sylvannas, that push me to create a new recipe of this native delicacy of ours. This Bukayo recipe has a twist of western taste; something soft, creamy and has aromatic vanilla aroma.  After several test and wasting some ingredients I finally achieve the taste and texture that I want. So, here is the recipe (I decided not to disclose my "other ingredients" for trade secrets purposes) 

Bukayo, reducing process

Bukayo Macchiato


Ingredients:
1 Coconut, grated
1 Buko, grated
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
Coconut Juice
"Other Ingredients"


Procedure:
1. Simmer coconut juice and add the brown sugar in high heat.
2. Once coco juice thickens add the coconut and buko
3. Add "other ingredients" and continue to mix until thickens
4. Set aside and once cool, mold it into balls or to serving pieces you want. 
5. Best serve when chilled

Bukayo Macchiato Balls

I received some feedback, that this Bukayo really taste good and unusual from the ordinary taste. So, I might consider to sell in the future.

Vanilla Cheesecake Shake - Nutrimeal Creation

Here's my another nutrimeal shake, receipe creation. If medyo sawa na kayo sa usual flavors ng nutrimeal you can try this to make a new twist with your diet shake

*Nutritional value of Nutrimeal may change for this recipe

Vanilla-Cheesecake Shake

Vanilla Cheesecake Shake


Ingredients:
Vanilla Nutrimeal, 3 scoops
Cream Cheese, 5tbsp. (Substitute with plain Yogurt to make it healthy)
Graham crackers, cracked
500ml Cold water
2cups crushed Ice
Optional for toppings
Cheesecake, diced store brought (Preferably from Italianni's)


Procedure:
Mix everything in a blender and add graham before finishing.
Fold diced cheesecake in the shake and top with remaining cheesecake and graham bits.

McDonalds; The Greatest contribution of America to the World

McDonalds menu are so simple yet so classy. Nothing unusual with Mcdonalds menu, actually you can have it too in almost all the fast foods or restaurants around the world or even in the side streets of metro manila; Burgers, fries, chickens, floats, spaghetti etc. but there is something in Mcdo that they make their menu looks classy and appealing to all brackets of people. The World loves McDonalds, and love ko to. As what they said, "McDonalds; the greatest contribution of america to the world"

Easy Chicken Terriyaki

Chicken Terriyaki, Pan grilled style

Chicken Terriyaki

Ingredients:
250g Chicken Strips
Marinate:
1cup Coconut soy sauce
Garlic minced
Ginger, grated
2tbsp. Honey
Peppercorn
Side:
Beans sprout
Garlic, toasted
Sesame seeds, toasted






Procedure:
1. Mix chicken strips in marinating ingredients and set aside for at least 30mins.
2. In Medium heat frying pan, add 3tbsp. canola oil and pan grilled the chicken until, char grilled effect is reached. Set aside
3. Saute beans sprout and add the remaining terriyaki marinate mix, pepper and toasted garlic.
4. Arrange beans sprout and chicken and topped with toasted sesame seeds

Food Safety; the most neglected practice in home cooking

Great food is not all about its taste, presentation or the fancy ingredients that are made of. Above all, food safety should be consider Always. I learned it by heart, Food safety is very important in food preparation not only for commercial kitchen but most of all it should be practice in our own home kitchen. Maaring ikapahamak ng sino man, or ikamatay (worst case scenario) pag binalewala naten ito. 

So, here are four easy steps that you can practice at home to prevent food contamination:

(this is a US/Global standard for consumer food safety, to know more in details you may visit www.befoodsafe.org)

1. Clean - always clean your hands before and after handling the food. Clean your cooking utensils, chopping board etc., clean your working area, wash fruits and vegetables before cooking.

2. Seperate - keep raw meats (seafood, pork, beef, poultry) from ready-to-eat foods, vegetables and other dried goods.

3. Cook - cook food at the right temperature.

4. Chill - Chilling food properly is an effective way to prevent food borne illnesses.  

Appetizer: Seaweed

Seaweed appetizer from KaLui Restaurant in Puerto Princesa City. Best eaten when chilled

Ingredients:
Seaweed, local clean and drained
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Mix everything and adjust taste as desired. chill for 30mins.

Seaweed has long been part of the traditional diet of coastal communities. It is still widely consumed in East Asia, particularly Japan, China and Korea, but not to any great extent in Europe. Seaweed has been attracting interest recently as a valuable food source with a number of health benefits - time for some facts.

Seaweed is an excellent source of fibre, minerals and phytonutrients.It is safe to eat, although care should be taken with some varieties as concerns potential levels of sodium, iodine or heavy metals. In general, seaweed can add usefully to a varied diet.

Umami; the misunderstood ingredient

Back then, it was called vetsin and now it's preferred to be called umami as what they refered to be more "politically correct" term.

Since then till now, umami or vetsin is "labeled" as harmful to use in our food. But what really umami is, why this salt like ingredient that everyone uses at their home or even in the restaurants has a connotation to be harmful or even fatal to one's health? According to google, Umami is the fifth taste, not salty or sweet, not bitter or sour but it gives a palatable or savory taste to food, or in pilipino this is what we called malasa. One of the hoax that we know about vetsin or msg, that this ingredient can cause cancer. This has been debunked by scientist and food experts worldwide. Glutamate is safe in all forms, whether msg or naturally found.

Umami is naturally found in some foods like, mushroom, tomatoes, soy sauce, cheese, ketchup and here in the Philippines you can found it in bagoong.  So, if you want your recipe to have a natural savory taste, just add these ingredients and you will find the difference. Umami taste is hard to distinguish, but try the below experiment and you will understand better what umami is all about. To wrap up, Umami is the savory taste. Umami is Safe.

Umami Kitchen Test 


Kumuha ng isang cup na malutong, mabango at bagong luto na french fries. Kainin ito at namnamin ang sarap, may napapansin ka ba? yes, maghahanap ka ng ketchup para mas lalong maging malasa ang kinakain mo. Yan ang umami, ang malasang lasa na hinahanap naten sa pagkain.

Here are the foods or ingredients that you can add up in your menu to create the Umami taste:

USANA Nutrimeal; the instant nutritious food

Because nowadays everything is on the go, I found this instant meal na easy to prepare and super nutritious pa. Meet USANA Nutrimeal, created by one of the best nutritional company in the world and created specifically as a meal replacement for busy people out there. Hindi lang sya full of nutrition, it also address weight management solutions for those who want to loose or gain weight. It's available in three different flavors; dutch chocolate, french vanilla and wild strawberry. Here is the some recipe idea you can do with your nutrimeal.

Dutch Choco-Banana Nutrimeal
Ingredients:

Dutch Choco - Banana Nutrimeal

USANA Nutrimeal Dutch Chocolate flavor

1 Banana

1 cup crush ice

1 cup cold water

Directions:

crush ice in blender

add water

add banana

continue to blend and add nutrimeal powder

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 319.0

• Total Fat: 9.6 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 390.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 49.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 9.8 g
• Protein: 15.7 g

*Watch out for more Nutrimeal recipe ideas

Let's start (Food) blogging

Welcome people! this is my first post and I really don't know what to write. to make it simple, I created my blog to share my love (and some knowledge) for food and the art and science of cooking. My dream is to build a test kitchen someday and since I don't have the capability yet, I'll write it first. this is not only a food recipe blog but I will do food research, recipe development, product testing and consumer insights like what a professional test kitchen do, but in a more simple approach. hope this blog might help to give information and ideas to everyone =)