White chocolate and Macadamia cookie

It's was Friday when FF came home from work looking quite excited. His briefcase is filled with packs of Macadamia nuts and white chocolates. Eyes wide as saucer, he asked me if I could make some cookie out of it. How could I say " No!" to that puppy look? Besides, our cookie jar's been empty long enough .  He was almost skipping around this Saturday , if he had a tail, it would be waggling by now.  The aroma coming out of the oven as the cookies bake was simply divine . We made some tea. Then, we had some cookie ,  two  three okay, honestly,   I lost count  how many we keep on popping in our mouth. It's soft, chewy and so yummy. If you're into white chocolate and macadamia nuts, then this might be for you. It would certainly make your Saturday happy. Actually, make that every day!

Ingredients :

250 g butter, at room temperature

200 g brown sugar

150 g white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla 

3 cups of flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp salt

250 g white chocolate chips or chunk 

150 g macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely

1. Using an electric beater, cream together butter and sugar until thick and fluffy. Keep beating for about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

2. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Add flour into the butter mixture, using a paddle hook or a wooden spoon, mix everything together .

3.Add in chocolate and macadamia nuts into the cookie dough. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. 

4.Scoop about a tablespoon of cookie and drop into the parchment paper. Leave enough space between cookies.  Bake cookie for about 12 mins max under 190°  c. Let it set for about 5 mins before transferring into the cooling rack.

 Thick, soft and chewy. Like every cookie should be!

Bistek Tagalog

I saw a picture of this dish on the Internet last week and  decided to give it a try. The whiff of lime and soy sauce emitting from the kitchen was so comforting.  It felt like I'm back home at my Nanay's kitchen. How I treasure those worry-less days. Nothing but finishing a homework is expected of me.  Mothers are really astonishing creatures. Nobody irritates a growing child more than their constant nagging and fast tract lecturing . My Nanay is renowned for her well developed bronchi. She could out-bellow a howling yeti any day. She's louder than any alarms I know every existed and  I swear, if she were born 2000 years ago, she could have risen Jesus on the second day. My brothers and I used to call her " Ang Kanyon" or  " The Machine Gun "  behind her back.  Yup, artillery,  for we go spread out faster than  any germs, cowering to dodge her booming vocal bullets, every time her infamous alto zooms  our way . Fast forwarding 25 years. Now,  I run my own household, pay my own taxes, settle my own bills, solve my own problems, find my own stuff , clean my own mess and cook for my own family . I somehow misses the time when she shrieks my name when dinner's getting cold and I'm still in my room, reading Tagalog pocket books. Aaahh those were the golden days. Why do we have to grow up and so, so damn fast?

Ingredients:

500 g sirloin or tender cut beef, sliced thinly

Juice from 3 limes

5 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1/2 cup light soy sauce , 1/4 cup dark soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

2 large onions, cut into rings

Oil for sautéing

Salt and lots and lots of pepper.

1.Marinate beef in lime juice, garlic, soy sauce and lots and lots of pepper. It's my personal preference by the way. Cover and refrigerate for few hours or overnight. Strain meat, keep the marinade.

2. Dissolve sugar and starch in the soy sauce and lime mixture. Set aside.Heat a bit of oil in a pan. Sauté onion rings until aromatic. Don't let it soften too much. Take out from the pan and set aside.

3.On the same pan, add a bit of oil and stir fry beef  with crushed garlic under high heat. Takes about 3 minutes. Don't overlook the beef otherwise , it turns tough and leathery. Put sautéed  onions back into the pan. Season with salt. Add in more pepper if you prefer it peppery like me.

4. Mix the soy sauce and lime juice mixture thoroughly, then,  add into the pan. Toss and stir. Done!

 Goes well with blanched broccoli and garlic rice. Enjoy!

Pork Binagoongan with Eggplant

OThere will be a battle in my kitchen today. Burns and  blisters are just few of the potential injuries the losing end's going to get. And that would be my end, by the way. On the other side of the ring  wok is a thick, unresponsive slab of meat, obviously long dead. The pork belly. For some reasons, pork hates their own kind. I swear,  it comes back to life , with a furious vengeance when deep fried! Look how it reacts, when laid in hot fat. It sizzles , splatters and spurts angrily everywhere , making sure you're getting a handful, in not  a face full. If you are smart enough to cower in a safe distance, the non-forgiving swine will make sure, you will spend the rest of the hour cleaning up its mess. After that, it will certainly keep its battle in your artery. Ahh this a love hate- relationship  I intend to keep forever.

Pork Binagoongan

To enjoy the crispy belly at its best , I good dose of alamang or fermented shrimp paste is the the way to do it. Yesss! That old, unwashed socks,  pungent smell that would leave your kitchen smelling like shrimps visited it, died and never left! And the smell, almost every Filipinos passionately love as much the Frenchs  revere their Eau de toilette !

Ingredients:

500 g pork belly

1 medium sized onion, peeled and quartered

1 small onion, finely diced

3 cups of water

1 whole head of garlic, crushed 

2 bay leaves

pepper and salt

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup fermented shrimp paste or alamang

1/4 cup apple vinegar

1 large eggplant,sliced 

oil for frying

1.Bring pork belly, water, half of the crushed garlic, quartered onion, bay leaves, whole pepper corns to a boil. Let it simmer until pork is tender. Takes about 1 -1/2 hours. Once pork is tender. Strain meat, pat dry using paper towel, slice into serving cubes , discard broth.

2.Heat oil in the pan. Pan fry sliced eggplant until fully cooked. Place eggplant on the serving plate. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in the wok and deep fry pork belly until crispy. Be warned. This is one messy, messy affair. Drain on kitchen towel. 

4.Sauté 1 small diced onion and the remaining garlic in a pan. Stir in tomato. Add shrimp paste. Toss until well combine. Add in vinegar.

5.Add in the fried pork belly. Stir well until each pork piece is slathered in tomatoey shrimpy goodness. Test taste. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.Alamang could be salty enough, depending on the brand. So, go easy on the salt.

Serve Pork Binagoongan over the pan fried eggplant.

 Eat and eat well.