Classic Polvoron

Filipino Polvoron are  much -loved,  flour and powdered milk -based, crumbly shortbread cookies. It comes in many different flavours , shapes and sizes. The most famous brand ,Goldilocks,  sells it in these neat  boxes and makes a perfect gift. Since stacks of these polvoron are readily available in many supermarkets, malls and even the airport, it became a convenient and very much welcome souvenir to bring back to family and friends.

I receive Polvoron  from Filipina friends who came back home from the Philippines . I also bring boxes and boxes of it and give it to them whenever I get back from our country. We usually bring other knick knacks, chips, sweets and pieces of home to share it with our little Filipino community but Polvoron is always among these Pasalubong.

August is my birth month and like every year, I invite family and friends over and cook up a storm. I throw a dinner party two days in a row, cooking different  dishes on each day. Classic dishes for FF's family and a more exotic ( shrimp paste, fish with eyeballs and all and lots of rice) for my Pinay friends. The only thing in common is serving Polvoron with tea  . I had basketful of these sweet babies after the meal and it was well received and appreciated by all. So far, I made 4 different flavours, this is just the basic recipe . More recipes coming !😜

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

2/3 cup sugar + 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar

2/3 cup melted butter

   

Let's make some Polvoron! 

1. Toast flour in a pan for 10-15 minutes or until light browned and aromatic.

2. Sift toasted flour and transfer into a big mixing bowl.

3. Add Powdered milk, sugar and vanilla sugar. Stir! Stir! Stir!

 4. Pour melted butter over flour and milk mixture . Mix until butter is well incorporated.

 5. Once the mixture resembles moist meal or wet sand, then it's ready! Use Polvoron molder if you got one . Simply fill each molder with poltroon mixture,  press to make a compact cookie.

5. Transfer polvoron onto a tray 

  I refrigerate my polvoron for 30 minutes to harden it before wrapping each individually. 

Tuna Canneloni, my way

My better half, FF , eats warm meal once a day and that would be dinner when he gets back home from work. When my own work schedule permits, I love to tinker and  tackle recipes in the kitchen to serve him something worth looking forward to. But sometimes, I am simply too tired or too lazy to cook something that required more than half an hour on the kitchen counter.

Today was one of those days. I am whipped from work that when I got back home I simply went  straight  to the couch, lied down and was dead to the world in no time. I woke up late in the afternoon  to  cold house and an even  colder kitchen. So I checked whatever I had in the kitchen pantry and found a pack of cannelloni , a bottle of marinara sauce  and some tins of tuna. My exhausted husband came back home to an aromatic dining table and to well rested wife. Praised me for uhurm, another tedious looking and delicious tasting meal. What do yah know, this pasta recipe became a keeper.

Ingredients of this recipe are things I found in my pantry, fridge and pots of herbs near my kitchen window. 

Ingredients:

about 400 g Cannelloni shells
500 g marinara sauce
150 g grated cheese, more if you like it extra cheesy
( Emmantaler, Gouda, Mozzarella , Cheddar or your favourite melting cheese)

Tuna Filling:
2 cans of tuna in olive oil, drained
1 medium sized red onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
400 g Kräuterquark ( or your fave cottage cheese)
a handful of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper and pepper to taste

Let's get cooking!

1. Mix tuna filling mixture in a big bowl until well combined. Test taste as season according to your preference. You can naturally add other species or chilis if you like it hot.

2. Fill each uncooked canneloni shell with your prepared filling. Lay stuffed canneloni on a greased baking pan. I made just 1 layer.

3. Pour  marinara sauce over the cannelloni. 

4. Spread marina sauce evenly .

5. Top it with your favourite melting cheese.

6.  Bake at 190° for about 30 minutes or until cannelloni is thoroughly cooked. Look at package's instruction.

Serve piping hot and with green salad. Yum!

Gnocchi in creamy garlic and spinach sauce

Sometimes, a good recipe requires very little effort and even less time to prepare. Economical and easy dishes are my  friends  and the   lick -smacking good  ones became my BFFs. One of my all time favourite recipe is this gnocchi dish. 

It's creamy, cheesy and  garlicky .What's not to like? 

 Aside from the gnocchi, two of the important components are garlic and baby spinach which are cheap and readily available almost everywhere. 

Although a friend of mine swears it's very easy to make your own gnocchi and how versatile this little knobs of carb could get once you master making them, I am simply too lazy to get my hand on the basic recipe. So I choose the most convenient way; the frozen section at our local supermarket. Fuzz and fail-free.  Good enough for me . 😉 

Ingredients:

500 g of gnocchi, cooked according to package instruction, 

my frozen ones requires only few minutes in boiling salt water

2 tbsp. butter

4-5 cloves of garlic, less if you're not a big fan, minced

2 tbsp. flour

1 cup cream + 1/2 cup milk

about 2 cups of baby spinach

salt and pepper to taste 

and as much Parmesan cheese as you like!

Let's get cooking!

1. Heat butter in a pan, saute garlic until aromatic. Stir in flour.

2. Make roux by add milk and cream into the pan. Stir until no lumps remain.

 3. Add your gnocchi , then the spinach. Season with  salt and pepper, cover pan for 2-3 minutes. Cook until spinach just wilted.











4. Turn off the heat, add your parmesan cheese and serve.  And Viola! Instant meal in no time.

One can not have enough cheese , so put that block of Parmesan on the table and add as much cheese as your conscience  will allow you!