Herb and Meat Sauce

Refreshing. That would be how I can describe this recipe. It was one of the dishes I prepared for Media Noche.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1/2 kg bacon, sliced into small pieces
Leftover Nacho Beef
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
Fresh tomatoes, chopped. Use as many or less as you want
Fresh basil, roughly chopped
Fresh sage
Fresh oregano, roughly chopped
Fresh spinach (you can also use young alugbati leaves)
2 cups broth - chicken or beef
salt and pepper

Procedure
1. Heat olive oil and saute onions and garlic
2. Add bacon and saute for 5 minutes
3. Add leftover nacho beef
4. Add tomatoes, cook for 3 minutes
5. Add all herbs except the spinach, stir and make sure the herbs are incorporated with the meat
6. Add broth and simmer for 3 minutes
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Add spinach and turn of the heat.

Top sauce to pasta of your choice. Serve immediately.

The sauce will not look like your usually creamy or heavy pasta sauce but very tasty and full of character.

Enjoy!

My Herb Garden

I've always wanted to have my own herb garden. Years and years of watching cooking shows has influenced me a lot. I told myself that one day I'd be cooking using ingredients freshly picked from my own garden. Now, I can happily say that I've been actually doing that for the past 2-3 months. My herb garden is organic, too!

Here are some of the herbs I have in my garden.

Basil was my very first herb plant. The first batch of basil I bought at Majogany Garden in Tagaytay. It was a wise decision to get basil because as far as planting is concerned, it's very easy to manage and propagate. Thus, very encouraging for first-timers like me. It's so easy to have your own basil farm! We read that it's sweeter if you grow it from seed. It's very easy and fast too. Cutting is also an option. Whenever I harvest for cooking, after I take all the leaves I stick the twig in a pot and just let it grow. All my previous basil recipes are from our own garden. Right now we have three basil varieties - Thai (my favorite), sweet, and red rubin . I'm partial with Thai Basil because of it's stronger taste and aroma, which I really really like.

Thai Basil - here are a few of the plants that we grew from seeds of our first basil plant. Erwin takes care of harvesting the seeds from the mature flower.


Red Rubin Basil - has sweeter and milder aroma compared to Thai Basil. It smells a bit like guava. Mature leaves have red veins.


Sweet Basil - they say this is perfect for pesto but I prefer using Thai Basil because of its stronger flavor. What I like about Sweet Basil is it's color. It gives the pasta a very bright green color. Almost looking like you used green food coloring.


Rosemary - this is my first Rosemary plant from Gourmet Cafe. I love the aroma. It's a challenge to propagate it but we're still trying. Rosemary is amazing with chicken. I've tried it with turbo chicken and even fried chicken - Erwin and the kids love it!



Tarragon - very sweet with anise aroma and flavor. My good friend Rochelle Leyba suggested I make tea of it and I've been hooked since. I think it's very potent. It's more relaxing than chamomile tea. As in it would really make me go to bed after a cup or two. Rochelle strongly suggests trying it cold - with ice cubes and honey. Will try that soon. I've tried it also with a cream-base pasta sauce with chicken. Yum!


Lemongrass/tanglad - great with chicken and fish. I tried lemongrass and ginger tea too and it's very refreshing. They say the concoction helps normalize blood pressure.



Pandan - great with steamed rice. Have tried pandan chicken also. Well, at least my version of it. We also put pandan leaves in the cupboard because they say it deters roaches.



Oregano - given by my neighbor, Mang Pete. He suggests that I use it as a bed of steamed or ginataang tilapia. When I have enough leaves, I'll try this recipe.


I still have more. Will just need to take better pictures. Posting them soon!

Basil Overload

I’m going crazy over basil! I can’t stop experimenting with it. Aside from the chicken curry recipe previously posted, I've come up with two new ones.

Hope you'll like them!

Ham, Cheese with Basil Omelet

Pasta in Tuna and Basil in Cream

Ham, Cheese with Basil Omelet

I’m a breakfast person. I love breakfast but I only get to enjoy a really good breakfast every weekend. One of my favorite breakfast dishes is omelet because you can do practically anything with it.

Just this morning, July 28, I prepare ham, cheese and basil omelet.

Ingredients


1 onion, chopped
3 slices of cooked ham, chopped
Button mushroom, chopped. (I used the canned one. For this recipe I used up 1/3 of the can. For the unused portion, I place it in plastic container and then refrigerate. I make sure I don’t store it too long. At most, around one week. Most likely, I’ll use it up tomorrow anyway.)
1 small carrot, grated. (I find it easier and faster to grate than to chop finely.)

Bunch of basil, chopped
Grated cheese. (I always make sure I have ample supply of queso de bola. During Christmas I look forward (and am very thankful) to getting them as gifts. Some say it’s a “too traditional” gift but who said tradition was all bad?)
Salt and pepper, to taste
3-4 eggs, beaten. (I usually add milk but this time I added around 3 tablespoons of mushroom water – the one from the canned button mushrooms.)
Oil for sautéing and the omelet.

Procedures - The filling
1. Put oil in a heated pan
2. Sauté onions until translucent

3. Add ham, sauté for at least 1 minute


4. Add carrots and mushroom

5. Add basil. Sauté for 1 minute and then remove from fire.


The Omelet Pan – very helpful in making the perfect omelet.



My love for cooking is mostly influenced by my Mom, Maloy. What I admire about her is how she’s able to play with taste. How she’s able to remedy too salty, too sweet, too bland dishes. She’s also great with sauces – the sawsawan. It was because of my Mom that I learned to appreciate the slimy saluyot – she told me to squeeze fresh calamansi over it.

Despite being based in Dallas, Texas, her cooking-influence is still there – she sends me kitchen stuff and gadgets. For this recipe, I’m using the non-stick omelet plan she sent. Oh yes, like any other Filipino bases abroad, my parents send us regularly balikbayan boxes full of different items. Used and brand new items. We’re always excited and thankful to get them. I’m always excited to find out anything to add to my kitchen.

Preparing the Omelet

1. Beat eggs
2. Add mushroom water
3. Add salt and pepper
4. Heat the omelet pan
5. Put some oil (optional) before putting the egg mixture
6. Put the omelet filling at the middle and top with grated cheese

7. Flip the sides of the egg to cover the filling

8. Serve hot.

The omelet went well with corned beef and fried rice. Breakfast was good today.

Pasta in Tuna and Basil in Cream

For this recipe, I used my leftover (uncooked) pasta. I had some fettuccine and twist. Any pasta will do. Just cook it following the instructions printed on the packaging. I don’t wash my cooked pasta over cold or tap water. I just drain. Once my sauce is cooked, I set aside some sauce for topping and then throw in the pasta on the hot sauce for even distribution/coating.





For the sauce it’s important to prep the ingredients first. Cooking time is approximately 10 minutes.

Sauce Ingredients

2 onions, chopped
½ head of garlic, chopped
1 can tuna in vegetable oil, drain oil and set aside
1 can of button mushrooms, drain water and set aside
Bunch of fresh basil, chopped
1 can all purpose cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
1. Cook pasta and set aside – drain but don’t wash cooked pasta with cold water. I do that only when I use the pasta for salad.
2. Heat pan and put oil from canned tuna
3. Sauté onions. Once translucent, add the garlic
4. Add tuna
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Add basil
7. Add mushroom water and cream
8. Simmer for 3-5 minutes
9. Put noodles in sauce
10. Serve hot


My eldest son, Renmund, volunteered to be my "model." He wanted to have his picture taken while enjoying the dish. He loves pasta. He says his favorite are Italian dishes. For him all pasta dishes are Italian.

I had some leftover sauce. I used it the next day as filling for omelet. It turned out ok. Sorry, no pictures this time.

I Cook (On Weekends) and I Love It!

To say that I love to cook is an understatement. One of the reasons why I look forward to weekends is because I get to do what I love doing - cooking tops writing for me. As I satisfy my craving and desire to cook, I satisfy my family’s appetite as well. Thankfully, my three boys (my husband and two sons) seem to anticipate also what I'd prepare for them. My worst critics are my sons. If they don't like what I prepare they won't even pretend. They don't eat - that's it.

I’m not afraid to experiment. Somehow, the years of trial and error (I have a lot!), reading cookbooks, watching cooking shows and surfing the net have made me confident to trust my instincts when it comes to playing around with different ingredients. I know I’m no gourmet. I wish I were. Given the chance, I’d take formal education to become a chef. That’s a dream, actually. When I was younger I also wanted to be a food writer.

The dishes I cook are your normal daily viands. I have a few tricks also when it comes to pasta dishes. And living in Cavite has made me fall in love for mussels (tahong). More than eating it, I love cooking it.

Today, June 23, for lunch I prepared chicken curry. The twist – added fresh basil. Last Father’s day, Erwin and I went to Mahogany Market in Tagaytay and bought some beef (very disappointing, it was so tough!) and herbs (basil and tarragon). I’ve always wanted to have my own herb garden and I’ve somehow started. I now have pandan, basil and tarragon. Using them is a different story. I’d better read and research more on this.

Anyway, the basil added a refreshing flavor and aroma to the dish. To complete the Indian touch, I also prepared grilled tortilla – an improvised naan.

Here’s how I did the Chicken curry with fresh basil and grilled tortilla

Ingredients

Fresh Chicken – cut to serving pieces
Cooking oil
Ginger
Onions – Erwin is not so fond of onions but the dish will not be the same without it. So what I always do (with any dish I cook) is finely chop the onions and he has no problem with this so long as he does not see them.
Garlic
Patis , salt and pepper – there’s a certain aroma and taste that patis brings to some dishes. After putting patis and the dish still does not have the saltiness I like, I add salt instead. Somehow this helps moderate the entire saltiness of the dish. If I add more patis the dish becomes too salty. I use freshly ground pepper. I love peppermills! I’m thinking of coming up with a collection of it eventually.
Curry powder– I bought a bottle of curry powder in Singapore. I’m very happy with the quality.
Fresh gata – ½ cup of pure coconut milk and 2 cups of the diluted one (pangalawang piga). I didn't use up all all the coconut milk (from 2 coconuts) because I'm making Ginataang Bilobilo later.
8 fresh basil leaves – I forgot the term of the chopping style but what I did is roll up the leaves together then chop. They came out like thin ribbons.
Tomatoes – I don’t put the tomatoes at the stage of sautéing. I add it when the dish is almost done. I like biting into chucks of tomatoes and tasting its sourness against the creaminess of the coconut milk.
Siling haba - the one used in sinigang

Eggplant and Okra - I didn't have any potatoes and carrots so I had to improvise. I used what was available. I wasn't sure if eggplant and okra would affect the taste of the dish so I fried them separately.

Tortilla – I use them also for pizza – my version of thin crust.

I did not put measurements because I did not measure. Well, most of the time I really don’t measure unless I’m following a recipe from a cookbook.

Procedures

1. In a skillet, heat oil then add the ginger and onions. Then add the garlic.
   
2. Add chicken and sauté until chicken is almost cooked
3. Add the curry powder
4. Season with patis, salt and pepper
5. Add the diluted coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes
6. Add the fresh basil
7. Add the pure coconut milk and siling haba and simmer for 5 minutes
8. Add the tomatoes and fried vegetables and simmer for another 3 minutes

For the Tortilla, it’s very simple. Just grill it over fire. Be careful not to burn it.

The finish product… I think fresh lime can also be added. Squeeze the lime over upon serving.

I didn't know that basil can also be ornamental. I place the pot it in our living room and people are surprised when I say that it's actually an herb.