German Apple Pancake

FF and I have been consuming more meat than a lion in a zoo this week.

 To give our arteries a bit of a break it need, I decided to go meatless this weekend. This apple pancake is so filling and hearty, we did not complain.

Hmmmm. The smell of caramel apple and cinnamon is just so comforting it made us nostalgicl!
It reminds me of winter and of Christmas!

But why wait for Santa when you can have your present and enjoy it now? 





My tummy is so happy it could sing!

I have a pen  a pan , I have an apple.
Uh!  APPLE-PAN!



Now, when you're done singing and wants to start cooking:

You need an oven-safe  skillet for this recipe.

Ingredients:
Pancake:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla sugar

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanille

Filling:

3 apples

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp. white sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp. coarse salt

Cinnamon sugar: 
3 tbsp fine sugar+ 1 tsp cinammon

1.  Sift flour and baking soda together.

2. Add in sugar and salt.

3.  Then the vanilla sugar. Mix! Mix! Mix!

4.  Whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla.

5. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients . Whisk gently until no lumps remain. Cover with cling foil and refrigerate for at least one hour.

6.  Peel , slice, dice or chop apples according to your preference. You like your apple ''chunky'', thinly sliced or finely diced? It's your choice.

7. Add sugar into your apples.

8. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Toss until well coated.

9. Dump apple into your skillet along with the knob of butter. Cook under medium low heat for about 10 minutes ( less if you cut/slice your apples thinly) or until sugar caramelise .

10. Sprinkle coarse salt over caramel apple.

11. Carefully pour pancake batter into the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

12. Then pop in a preheated oven ( 175°c ) until pancake turns golden brown. Each oven is different. Just keep an eye on your pancake.

Dance and sing while you're at it. 

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and enjoy!

Pumpkin Lasagne

If there's a part in my human anatomy that I tend to overexert/overuse or abuse,  then, it's probably my eyes. My  love for reading until the wee of dawn, short duration of sleep and over exposure to LED and all things bright and electronic are really taking its toll. The strain that I put to my ocular organ is confirmed by  my the ever worsening eyesight.


Without my eyeglasses, I could not drive , read street sign or see a crossing kangaroo even if my life depends on it. I can not recognise people standing 3 meters away from me and I hopelessly possess a nocturnal vision of an aging bat . My frownies is alarmingly deepening. Blame it on habitually  glaring I do every time my eyeglasses isn't on. Before this premature aging worsens, I really have to so something.

More healthy foods, more sleep and less reading time. Good luck!

Beta carotin is known to be helpful to the body, esp . our eyes. My granny, Lola Pilar, used to coax me into eating carrots and squash saying it could brighing my eyes like a flashlight at night. I never really believed her after checking it out several times in infront of the  mirror. Bless her for trying though.

I have been cooking many Beta carotene rich pumpkins this past weeks. After all, my eyeballs really need some pampering. This  is one of my favorites pumpkin based recipe so far. It's meatless, healthy and quite yummy. Hope my eyeballs are appreciating the effort.

Pumpkin Lasagne 
serves 4

Olive oil

1 pumpkin ( about 1 kg)

4 cloves garlic

1 chili pepper, seeded

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 can ( 400 g) of your favourite tomato sauce

400 ml water

60 g Parmesan cheese

 lasagne sheets as needed

400 g cottage cheese

100 ml milk

1 tbsp.  sunflower seeds

a handful Rosemary

salt and white pepper

1. In a small sauce pan, heat milk until scalding  hot. Turn off the heat . Stir in cottage cheese, 30 g of grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and white pepper.Set aside.

 1. Preheat oven to 180 °c. Cut off the hard stem of the pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into half. Scrape out seeds. Cut pumpkin into 1-2 cm  slices. Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until tender. Use baking paper to make cleaning and your life easier.

2.  Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Saute chopped garlic and Chili pepper.

 3. Add your favourite tomato sauce. I love meatless   bolognese sauce with  mediterranean vegetables ! Add  in water. Bring to a boil, season with Worcestershire  sauce. Let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes or until it thickens up a bit. Season with salt and pepper.

 4. Put 1/3 of the tomato sauce in your lasagne form. Cover with lasagne sheets.

6.Arrage baked pumpkin over lasagne.

 7.Sprinkle with with Parmesan cheese.Pour 1/3 of sauce over Pumpkin. Add in rosemary leaves.

9. Repeat and make second layer. Carefully arrange the last Lasagne sheets over pumpkin and tomato sauce layer. Carefully pour milk-cottage cheese mixture over the lasagne sheets.

 9. Sprinkle with sunflower seed. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Serve pipping hot and with greed salad.

Kalabasa na Ukoy

My husband is one of the most uncomplaining men I know. He finds happiness in simple things. Good weather, afternoon walks,  old classic movies and simple foods. He is not a difficult man to please . Yet, just like you and me, there are still things that make him roll his eyes in disapproval. The list is not long, so it is quite easy to remember .  For example, he has a   strong aversion to zucchinis , eggplants and squash as much as the unnecessary , dirty laundry airings on Facebook. Facebook has delete and unfriend button, but I have to do something with these vegetables since I love all three!

I made squash fritters or Ukoy today. Refused to tell him what's in it, actually.  Cruuuunch! crunch! Church! Only the sound coming out from his oral cavity can  be heard as he ate the Ukoy with gusto. I know my husband too well, I know that he likes it before he could tell me.  Hate list updated. One down, two more to go!

Ingredients: 

600 g kalabasa/ squash, peeled and julienned
3 stalks of spring onion, chopped

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp cup cornstarch

1/2- 1  cup ice water

1 large egg
1 tsp. crispy prawn chili paste, optional

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. annatto powder

1 tsp. white pepper

2 tbsp. salt

250 g shrimps, peeled  and diveined 

Oil for frying

Spicy dip 

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbsp. sesame seed, toasted

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. raw palm sugar
1 tbsp. of chopped green onions

1/2 tsp. chili paste  or 1-2 chilies, optional

Cooking instruction: 

Prepare dip: Toast sesame seeds in a pan until golden brown and aromatic. Mix the rest of the dipping  sauce. You can add or omit chilies. Set aside.

 1. Peel and cut squash into thin strips. Add in chopped spring onion.

 2. Mix together flour, cornstarch, annatto powder, salt, white pepper and garlic powder.

 3. Beat the egg and stir in crispy prawn chilli paste. If you don't have this spice, you could omit it.  Beat in 1/2 cup ice water.

 4. Add egg and water mixture into the dry ingredients , mix until  all lumps dissolve. If the batter is still too dry, add more ice water  until the desired consistency is reached. It should not be too thick and not too runny.

 5. Pour batter over the squash and onion.

6. Heat oil in the wok. Scoop a tablespoonful of squash and batter, press a shrimp on top and carefully drop into the hot oil. Flip and fry to a crisp . Drain on a paper towel and serve pipping hot.

Can't really blame him now, can we?

Honeydew with Tapioca Pearls

I have been French kissing ice cream, one scoop after the other  since local temperature soared , engulfing the  usually cold Germany in a much anticipated and appreciated summery heat. Although I undeniably  love ice cream in such hot weather , I did try to look for another cooling alternative. This time, with real fruits in it. The sight of fresh and aromatic honeydew melons at the local supermarket provided a welcome relief . Shake? Smoothie? Why not with tapioca pearls ? It's been sulking in the pantry for quite a while now, looking unused and unwanted . So sago ( tapioca pearls) it is!

Making this recipe was easy . Plus, the end result was delicious and just as promised,  quite refreshing  .  A perfect summer treat! If you like honeydew melons, give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

Syrup ( 100 ml water + 100 g rock or palm sugar)

1 honeydew melon

3 nectarine (alternative: Avocado, mango, watermelon, peach)

200 g fresh milk

200 ml coconut milk

1 Cup tapioca Or sago pearl

Instructions:

1. Make syrup. Bring 100 ml water and 100 g rock or palm sugar into a boil. Let it simmer until sugar dissolves. Take out from the heat and transfer into a bowl. Allow to cool.

2. Bring 5 cups of water into a boil. Pour tapioca pearls. Cover pot and cook for about 8 mins or until most pearls become translucent   Give the pot a good stir once in a while to avoid pearls from sticking together . Once cooked, pour  tapioca pearl into a strainer under running water. Drain excess water, transfer into a bowl and set aside .

3. Cut honeydew melon into half. Scrap out seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop the flesh out . You could also dice it.  Divide diced/ balled melon into 2 portions. Chill the half and keep the other half for the next step.

4. Blend the remaining half of honeydew melon together with fresh milk, coconut milk and syrup.
Refrigerate for hours or  overnight. The mixture thickens as it chills. Do not mix sago pearls at this point. It will absorb the liquid.

5. In a mixing bowl, put chilled honeydew melon and other diced fruits ( I used nectarine) and sago pearls. Pour the chilled ,blended mixture. Give it a good stir. Serve and let this treat do its magic..And oh yeah, enjoy it as much as I did!

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

When it comes to food, golden brown is my favorite color. Spring rolls , french fries, chips, bread, fried chicken, roast,  pies, cookies are just few foods the come with this color. This month, I make sure to add more hues into my plate. You know what? Colors come with flavours. Duh! After three weeks of consuming bright, zesty, flavorful foods ,plus a daily half an hour rendezvous with rusty-no- more home trainer,  I manage to shred THREE freaking kilograms-ses! I'm one happy loser! The best part is, I never really feel like I'm on ''Diet''. Oh I hate that word!

Oh I still eat my carbs, and my ice creams, and my chocolates, all right. But, I have been so full from eating my veges and fruits, I don't really have the cravings to eat the whole bag of chocolate or 5 scoops of ice cream or empty the entire contents of my rice cooker anymore. Yup, I am full, feeling not a bit deprive of anything. This recipe is just one of the things I've tried. It's delicious and it's green. It says it all, don't you think?

Ingredients:

350  g Chicken, boneless, skinless, cut into strips or cubed

Marinade: 1 tbsp. light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp . white pepper, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. white sugar

Sauce : 2 tbsp. light sauce sauce, 2 tbsp. oyster sauce, , 1 tbsp. corn starch,  3 tbsp. sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water.

1 Broccoli head, cut into bite sizes, blanched
1 bell pepper, sliced
3 tbsp. Olive oil for sautéing, 
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced

Cooking instructions:

1. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan. Brown chicken pieces, once chicken is almost done, stir in crushed garlic. Stir until garlic is aromatic. Take out of the pan.

2.Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil in the pan, toss chopped onion. Stir in blanched broccoli, stir fry for 3 minutes . Stir in  bell pepper. Add in chicken and garlic back into the pan. Toss until well combined. 

 3:Stir in sauce. Simmer for a minute or two  or until sauce thickens. Test taste. Season with salt.

4. Serve hot and  with white fluffy rice. Done!

Crunchy veges, melt in the mouth tender chicken pieces and savoury sauce. Beat any Chinese take out, any day. Give it a try!

A girls opinion on Wines and Lettuce Leaves: Part 2

If I am Achilles, to admit my own ignorance about wines will have me limping already. That is speaking from a foodie's point of view of course. Again in the  previous post, I claimed to have 2 weaknesses. Aside from not knowing a lot about wines , the other , much to my shame is....not knowing too much about vegetables. Ok maybe I'm being too harsh to myself, of course I know vegetables. I'm from Asia! We have enough sunshine  all year long to garantee a perfect tan and perfect gardening! Veges, flowers,  plants, trees , grass , weeds are around us. Vegetables and greens are  the cheapest things you can get in the market . The problem is, cooking or preparing it is a big challenge to me. Well brings me a wheelchair already!



photo from growyourownveg.com



I grew up in a minimalist kitchen. I guess it is still vivid in my cooking. I like things simple, non fussy and not so overly complicated . Back home, my mother cooked recipes that uses relatively few ingredients. Usually eaten with rice are  fish cooked in venigar ( Paksiw),grilled or simply fried . So to compensate for this  lack of nutrition ( her words), vegetable is almost always present in every meal.  Stir fried beans,  stir fried broccoli, stir fried spinach, stir fried lettuce, stir fried  cabbage  ooooh I could go on forever. We stir fry almost everything in garlic and onion! If not then tomatoes,  carrots, paprika, peas and even potatoes  are put into stews and meat dishes. The last option would be, having  my grandmother put  all things green  and healthy  in a pot and cook the life out of them. Boil them veges til limp baby. Then she will make us drink all the greenish and most of the time soury/bitter soup to get  all those non existing nutrients. Sigop gid damo sabaw apo ( slurp more  soup grandchild ) so you will  grow strong and healthy. Of course I never really knew that the sought-after vitamins and minerals have long evaporated in thin air at the first 3 mins of harsh boiling.

It never really occurred to me that one could actually eat vegetable raw. Salad is totally foreign to a simple town girl like me. Oh I know salads alright, or at least two of them then. Buco salad which is made from young coconut flesh and fruits which is served as dessert and macaroni salad which is cooked,prepared and mixed with  fruits,  shredded cooked chicken, mayonaisse and is also eaten as dessert. There you go, salads back home is associated with sweets and desserts. A treat!



picture from kuali.com



Then I came to Europe, people here eat salad almost every freakin day! And it's not the kind of salad that I know.The first month was hell, I had too much raw vegetables, my stomach probably suffered from  culture shock of having too much fiber in one day. I somehow missed my lola's limp and dead vegetable all of a sudden. Called home and told my mother ( in a rather overly cheerful tone) how much greens I  consumed in a month. Her reply: ''Wow! You are officially a cow!'', and I coudn't agree more. I ate too much raw lettuce it's a miracle I still haven't mooed in my sleep.

So after five raw-lettuce-eating-filled-years ,  I still am , to be honest ,not a fan of it. So making salad is still a challenge. But this challenge, unlike wine drinking,  am starting to take up. I don't want to be overly hard upon myself so when I make salad, I tried recipes with things I like in it. Here is one, I know a lot of non-lettuce-fans might equally like.

This Thai inspired salad is adopted from Jamie Oliver's  recipe. If you know nothing about something, look up to somebody who does for guidance. They knew at least what they are doing.The good thing about salads is, you have a choice what vegetable or fruit you can use. If you don't like a particular vegetable, simply replace it with something you like.

Spicy Mango Salad with Seared Scallops

In a big mixing bowl, put one stoned, cubed mango, one cubed cucumber, handful of beansprout, cherry tomatoes and something green like spring onion to give  contrasting color. Salads are often colorful and beautiful. Like I said, omit anything you don't like and replace it with the  vegetable of your preference. Put bell pepper in if  you like, chili strips for a lovely spicy kick, coriander leaves instead of spring onion if you fancy its flavor and aroma.

Prepare marinade  using one thumb sized grated ginger root, 1 small red chili seeded and chopped, 5 tbsp. lime juice,  4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil,  1 tsp. sesame oil and soy sauce, 1 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 clove of garlic crushed. Mix everything together. Drizzle half of the marinade on the scallops. Then pour the rest on the salad and toss everything. Sear the scallop in a pan for few minutes until done but still juicy. About 2 minutes on each side. Cooked too long it will be dry and rubbery. Transfer salad to serving plates and scatter some chopped roasted  peanuts . Toasted sesame seeds is an equally yummy alternative. Put seared scallop on top and serve. Almost as good as buko salad...well almost. Enjoy!

H-e-a-l-t-h-y  Me!