Ricotta Pancakes, Hotcakes!

I have been such a slacker. I know. I'm not proud of it.

You don't know how many times I've attempted to post something new. I know my blog had been looking pathetic. I look at other blogs and marvel at how they are able to find time to update their blog consistently.  Am I the only one slacking here or what?  I have to get better at this.  If others can do it, so should I.   So.Help.Me.God. :)

Anyhow, I am here and I have something for you.  My ricotta pancakes.

 In the Philippines, we actually call pancakes as "hotcakes". I don't know why but maybe because they're best eaten hot and fresh from the pan?  Hmmmm.

Making pancakes for me evokes a lot of childhood memories.  My Mom taught me how to make pancakes from scratch at an early age.  She would often make this for my father who loves them, not just for breakfast but as an afternoon snack.  I remember that my father would simply sprinkle the cakes with a bit of sugar, roll them like a cigarette and eat them that way accompanied with a hot cup of coffee.

So you see,  making pancakes is near and dear to my heart.
 

This time though, the pancakes I made are not for my father.  Rather, I made them for the most wonderful staff at Metro Life Church.  Many blogs ago I mentioned that the hubby and I had gotten involved in our church's Hospitality ministry in which we have the opportunity to cook breakfast for the staff at least once a month.  Let me tell you, this ministry has helped us practice our craft. We so much enjoy doing it.  We love doing it. We are so thankful for it.

A couple of Sundays ago was again our turn to prepare breakfast.  Earlier in the week, I had no idea on what to do.  All I know was that I wanted to do something simple and light.

The inspiration came to me later in the week.  I had been craving for lasagna lately and then...the idea hit me -- ricotta! Ricotta Pancakes. I know the addition of ricotta is going to make the pancake light. I shared my idea with Mr. J and he agreed. So that settled it.

I've made Tyler Florence's ricotta pancakes before but I thought his version had too much work and ingredients involved.  So I searched for something simpler to do, in which  my star ingredient - the ricotta - can truly shine.  Thankfully, I found the recipe below. 

So, here they are.  Pancake ricotta for the church staff.

RICOTTA PANCAKES

1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown.

NOTE:  Serve your pancakes with fruit or maple syrup, and fresh fruits (berries would be the best).

Breakfast Light and Delicious

Hello friends!

It has been a while since our blog has been updated. Life has a funny way of demanding your full attention, but hopefully it will once again permit us to share with you some incredible dishes we've created recently.

A wonderful opportunity came our way. A few months back, Mr. J and I have joined the hospitality ministry in our church. Every so often, roughly once a month, we have the pleasure of preparing breakfast for the awesome staff at our church,Metro Life Church,on Sundays between the two services. Yay! We love to do this since it is a good outlet for our culinary adventures. But wait, this came with a couple of minor challenges. First, the food has to be low-fat, whole grain and "heart-healthy" for the sake of our dear Pastor who has had a serious heart attack a couple of years back. We are primarily cooking for him so this has to be strictly followed. Secondly, the food has to be simple enough since the staff has only 25-30 minutes to eat breakfast before the next service starts.

Hmmmm... healthy breakfast. We can't serve oatmeal/muesli, fruits or dry whole wheat toast all the time, can we now? Definitely, the challenge is for us to come up with healthy breakfasts without sacrificing the deliciousness of our food.

For starters, we created a kind of deconstructed eggs florentine inspired by my fave celebrity Chef, Giada de Laurentiis. Normally, eggs florentine is served on English muffins, but instead, the beefsteak tomatoes took its place. This definitely lightened the dish a lot. The tomatoes are cut into almost 1/2 inch thick slices, seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Then they are topped with a creamy, cheesy spinach. For a healthier version, we used non-fat milk instead of heavy cream and reduced-fat cheese for the spinach. Then, lightly poached eggs went on top of the tomato-creamy spinach layer. Finally, we garnished it with strips of baked turkey bacon . (I wanted to just crumble them on top, but I discovered that turkey bacon is not crumbly like the regular one).

Almost always, some type of fruit is provided either as an alternative to those wanting something lighter, or as a side dish complimenting the main dishes. Today, we served fruit salad with strawberry, kiwi, and bananas sliced into bite-sized pieces. We let the strawberry and kiwi macerate in sugar and limoncello (lemon-flavored liqueur). Yes, we served a liqueur infused fruit to our Pastor - no wonder he was preaching so good today!!! LOL!!! Seriously, we only used a couple of tablespoons of it so it provided zero intoxicating effect . The limoncello infused the fruit with a bit of lemon flavor and served double-duty by keeping the bananas from turning brown. It was a wonderful alternative to using lime or lemon. Thanks, Ina Garten for this idea!

For the finale, we wanted to make sure any hunger pangs were satisfied, so we made a Danish pastry braid with two different kinds of filling: apple-cinnamon and apricot with confectioner's cream. Both Danishes were topped with coffee-infused glaze. The recipe came from the book, Baking with Julia.

In order to make the Danish a bit "healthier", I decided to experiment a little bit by using whole wheat pastry flour with the apricot-cream filled Danish. Admittedly, I had a bit of apprehension since I've never used whole wheat for pastry dough before. So, as a fall back, I decided to also make the regular dough using all purpose flour incase the whole wheat pastry was unsuccessful. I decided to fill the whole wheat pastry with the cream-apricot filling; while the regular pastry was filled with the apple-cinnamon.

Thankfully, the whole wheat pastry dough worked! They both tasted delish. There's nothing better than freshly baked Danish pastry! I did notice though that the regular all purpose flour came out more puffy than the whole wheat one. Not that this matters since it didn't affect the taste; and I'm not sure if the puff was was due to the flour, or due to how I handled the dough.

Any theories, you pastry Chef's out there? Anyhow, everyone liked the breakfast.. **sigh of relief here**.

It's a great feeling to know that your food is well appreciated, isn't it? We are cooking again in two weeks so we'll keep you posted. Hopefully, we'll be able to come up with another creative, healthy breakfast. Suggestions are welcome.

Eggs Florentine
by Giada de Laurentiis

You Need:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 thin slices prosciutto
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 beefsteak tomatoes, trimmed and cut into 1-inch thick slices

Directions
1. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.

2. Arrange the prosciutto in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before crumbling into small pieces.

3. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and nutmeg and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. Fill a small saucepan with 3 inches of water. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the lemon juice. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Crack an egg in a small bowl, taking care not to break the yolk. Slowly slide the egg into the water. Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir the water around the egg. Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until the white has set and the yolk is still soft. Using a slotted spoon, remove the egg from the water and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

5. To serve, place a tomato slice on each salad plate and season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1/4 of the spinach sauce over the tomato slice. Top with a poached egg and sprinkle with the crumbled prosciutto. Serve warm.

Puto Maya (Sweet, Sticky Rice), Sushi-Style

“Ohhh.,… it’s mango season again!”

The words came out from my mouth almost like a song when I saw some mangoes being sold in the grocery that I go to. Adding to my delight was the fact that the mangoes are the ones that taste and look like those that come from the Philippines. I don’t see them often in the local grocery stores; I get them from the Asian markets all the time. I believe they are from Mexico. Naturally, I grabbed a box before they ran out.

This is one of the reasons why I love spring. Mangoes.

Mangoes are probably my most favorite tropical fruit. If you ask me, this is one of the food items that I miss most from the Philippines. I am especially partial to the mangoes that come from the city where I was born/raised – Cebu (Guadalupe). Those mangoes are so sweet; it is a dessert in and of itself. No kidding!

Philippine mangoes have none of that fibrous / stringy stuff, which is characteristic of those green/reddish mangoes that abound here in South Florida. They are pure, sweet flesh and the best way to eat them is by hand—yeah, peel off the skin and bite into it just like you would an apple (except that you have to remember, mangoes have huge seeds in the middle - you don’t want to loose a tooth). It’s a bit messy, but it’s totally worth it.



Having these mangoes is so timely. April was a crazy month for me, reason why I was MIA from the blog scene. For some reason, the past month was jammed with a lot of activities that ran from birthdays, baby showers to church functions. In the midst of all the helter-skelter, I began longing for something comforting; something that reminds me of home --- and this breakfast trio just hits the spot: freshly cooked "puto maya" (sweet sticky rice cooked in coconut milk), with ripe, sweet, golden mangoes and finished off with a hot "sikwate" (hot chocolate/cocoa drink processed locally in the Philippines). What is more comforting than something you grew up with eating?

So with my precious mangoes at hand, I was ready to tackle making the puto maya. Normally, puto maya requires soaking the rice for at least 6 hours. I believe this process lessens the liquid (in this case, coconut milk) needed to cook the rice in, at the same time, shortening the cooking period. However, I didn't have the luxury, nor the patience to wait for 6 hrs, so I decided to do my own short-cut method, hoping that it will yield the same results - more or less. And it did, thank God.

Mr. J likes the puto with mangga (mangoes, in our dialect) as well. As a matter of fact, it was him who suggested that I make sushi rolls out of it. He goes, “why don’t you make it like sushi? Form the rice into sushi, roll the rice in brown sugar to make them look like those sushi with fish eggs, and then put slices of mangoes on top of it!” (But I discovered later on that the turbinado sugar which I used melts easily that it didn't look right, so I ended up just sprinkling the rice with sugar as you can see in the photos.)

A popular Filipino breakfast served the popular Japanese way? A Filipino-Japanese fusion of sorts. Cute idea, isn't it? Now why hadn't I thought of that before?

“Oh, that is brilliant, Honey!” was my excited response to him. Not only is it brilliant, but it sounds like really fun to do (and it really was). Hey, who says we can’t have fun with our food? .. Which reminds me, one of my favorite bloggers, La Tartine Gourmande, did something similar to this but using rice pudding. Mind you, my hubby hadn't seen her post, so he thinks that this was a very original idea. I didn't have the heart to break it to him, so, let's just keep it a secret....ok??? SHHH...



This puto-mango-hot chocolate trinity is my entry to this week's Lasang Pinoy Sundays - Shades of Spring and Summer . La.Pi.S is a weekly food thematic photography meme, Filipino style.

Also, I'm sharing this to Iska of Iskandals for her Bloggoversary. Congratulations, Iska and here's to many more prolific years of cooking, eating and blogging!

Puto Maya
2 cups glutinous rice (sweet, sticky rice)*
4 cups thick coconut milk
3-1/2 tsps salt
1 cup sugar (or less, depends on how sweet you like it to be)
2-pcs ginger root cut into approx. 1", washed and smashed

1. Rinse rice and place in a 2-qt pot.
2. Add coconut milk, cover and let it come to a boil. When boiling, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir.
3. Turn heat to a lower setting and let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until rice is done. (I had to test the rice every now and then).
4. When done, scoop out rice, discarding the ginger root.Wrap rice in clean banana leaf, if available, and steam for about 30 mins.
5. If not, mold into cups and sprinkle with brown sugar if desired. Best enjoyed when warm, served with ripe mangoes and sikwate (hot chocolate).

Sikwate (Hot Chocolate/Cocoa Drink)
2 cups water
4 or more pcs tablea (pure dried cacao)*
1/2 cup brown sugar (or more, depends on your taste)

1. Place water in a pot. Let it come to boil.
2. Add the tableas and whisk vigorously by hand until tableas have melted.
3. Add sugar. Adjust sweetness to taste.
4. Serve with puto maya, while hot.

*NOTE: Glutinous (sticky) rice are available at Asian markets. Tablea is a Philippine product, so you might need to find a Philippine specialty store. Otherwise, you may use unsweetened cocoa powder as substitute.

Sweet Challah

This past week has gone by so fast. I couldn’t even believe that the weekend has come, and just as quickly, is gone. But you know what they say, when one is busy, one barely notices the time. I was defintely preoccupied at work. It was a pretty interesting week for me, to say the least. I wish I can engage you in an office gossip – but nah… LOL… you wouldn’t appreciate that in a food blog, would you now? ;oD

Anyways, I’ve always been a person who cannot sit still. I like to be busy. No, I thrive at being busy. I am always doing something even when I am sitting down. I’m the type who’s ever on-the-go and always ready to rock and roll, so to speak. I’m used to last minute changes and I adapt immediately to situations when need be.

The downside of this is that it isn’t easy for me to relax, and by this I mean, to just sit down and do.... nothing. I feel like there is always something important for me to do with my time. I have to deliberately slow down. Mr. J is very good at reminding me of this (thank God). I realize that I do need to take a break once a while. It is indeed important to take the time to appreciate the things around us, to enjoy and take in what we have at the moment, otherwise, we might miss out on a lot (and it might be too late when we realize that we did).

Anyways, enough about my rambling.



I love bread. Growing up though, I wasn’t so much of a bread eater. As you know, being Asian means that my house had more rice and noodles than bread. In the Philippines, the only meal served with bread is breakfast (pan de sal). Other than that, bread is more of a snack item to Filipinos than anything else.

However, my short stint in Europe years ago, and now being based in the U.S., have slowly changed me. I’ve come to eat bread with my meals more and I don’t crave rice as much as I used to. (Ugh. I can almost hear the gasp of some Filipinos who may scream “sacrilege!” )

I love to bake bread. Nothing compares to that sweet aroma that tantalizes our senses when baking at home. Unfortunately, with all the hustle and bustle of life, I rarely get the chance to bake them--- and I mean bake ’em in the old fashion way of kneading and manhandling the dough! Hehehe…. (It’s a good stress reliever, actually).



One of the breads that I love eating is Challah (pronounced “khal-lah” - you gotta make that gutteral sound too). Challah is a braided, eggy loaf of bread traditionally eaten by Jews during Sabbath, holidays and other ceremonies. It is very close to the French brioche.

I decided to make Challah for the first time. I buy it all the time so might as well try my hand at it. It came out good, didn't it? With a bit more practice, I'll have the braiding part down in no time.

Nothing beats home-made breads. They’re the best.

Sharing this home-made Challah to Lasang Pinoy Sunday: Bready Or Not. Lasang Pinoy (La.Pi.S) is a weekly food thematic photography meme, Filipino style.

This is also my entry to Homemade#2 Bread, an wonderful event by Ben. Hop over to there to check out all the wonderful creations by other home bakers.

Sweet Challah
from Cooking Light
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (100°F to 110°F)
3 tablespoons honey
Dash of saffron threads, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour (about 14 1/4 ounces), divided
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds* (I used more than this amount)

Preparation
1) Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl; stir in honey and saffron threads. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and egg; stir well with a whisk.

2) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 3/4 cups flour to yeast mixture, and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.

3) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will be very soft).

4) Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

5) Punch dough down. Shape dough into a ball; return to bowl. Cover and let rise an additional 40 minutes or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 15 minutes.

6) Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), on a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 25-inch rope with slightly tapered ends. Place ropes lengthwise on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; pinch ends together at untapered ends to seal. Braid ropes; pinch loose ends to seal. Cover and let rise 20 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

7) Preheat oven to 375°.

8) Combine 1 teaspoon water and large egg yolk, stirring with a fork until blended. Uncover loaf, and gently brush with egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

*NOTE: You may also leave the poppy seeds out, or substitute with sesame seeds, or maybe use sunflower seeds for that matter.

Whole Wheat Fruity Breakfast Muffins – Lasang Pinoy Sundays

I’ve been sluggish as of late. No kidding. My mind isn’t just functioning right, and I feel so slow that I even mix-up dates and times.

Last week, I had a conversation with my husband about stuff to do and I got confused for a while because I actually thought that the next day would be Thursday, when in fact, it was going to be Friday! I was 24 hours behind, imagine?! Tsk, tsk. My brain must have needed to re-charge so bad after all the frenzy during the holidays.

But not to worry, I’m getting better now. This past weekend, I took it all slow and chose not to think of those things that “needed” to be done. I gave myself a break, as my husband lovingly suggested.

As to holiday food left-overs, I don’t have any to speak of. For starters, I didn’t have a gathering in our house. We went to our friend’s family (like we always do every year) and so whatever we brought home from the party was gone. But, I do have lots of fruits. Remember my last post when I told you about our family's tradition of doing 12 (others do 13) different fruits for the New Year? (check my post here). Yep, I still have most of the fruits in that basket and they’re getting ripe by the day. I don’t want to have to throw them away, especially considering that nowadays, every dollar in our pocket really counts.

So in order to use up my fruits, I came across this muffin recipe which I modified a bit to include more fruits in it. That’s how I ended up with this whole wheat fruity muffin. I actually just threw them all together, crossed my fingers and hope that it’ll come out ok.

And they did. Mind you, this muffin is whole wheat, so remember, the texture is not the same as the regular ones. But the muffins came out moist and fruity, of course. My hubby says, “they’re actually good”. :o)

I am sharing this recipe with Lasang Pinoy Sundays: Left Overs - weekly food photography meme, Filipino style.


Whole Wheat Fruity Breakfast Muffins
1 cup organic wheat flour *
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
½ cup butter
½ cup raw sugar (turbinado)*
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 pc apple, diced
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cranberries
½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1-1/2 cups apple juice

* You may substitute with all purpose flour (APF) and granulated sugar, respectively. When using APF, lessen the apple juice by 1/4 cup.

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
3. In your stand mixer (or handheld) with paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar until they’re fluffy. About 5-8 mins at medium speed.
4. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, mash the bananas, and add the rest of the fruit, as well as the apple sauce.
5. Add the flour slowly to the sugar-butter mixture. Make sure that your mixer is in LOW setting or you’ll end up wearing the flour. :o)
6. Then add the apple juice. Mix briefly, just until everything is incorporated.
7. Then gently fold in fruits using spatula.
8. Fill well-greased medium sized muffin cups up to 2/3 of filling.
9. Bake for 20-25 mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
10.Let cool before taking them out of the cups.

Suggestion: You may make a glaze for the muffins, such as lemon. But as for me, I prefer it without.

Spam-si-log

Finally, I made it. I’m posting my very first regular blog after so many weeks of being away. Many of you know that I’ve traveled back to the beloved country where I originally come from, the Philippines. I was there for 5 weeks. My father had an emergency issue with his health that needed to be dealt with. His right leg had to be amputated asap, due to a gangrenous wound that had not healed for 9 months. We were trying to avoid losing my father’s limb, but in the end, it was still necessary, as the infection was growing and spreading fast. That’s why I had to be home for the operation to support my father. My mom passed away of breast cancer just last year. And I am an only child, so it goes without saying that I am the only one my father has to lean on for support (no pun intended).

Anyhow, now that I’m back home in the U.S. with my dear husband, I can only hope and pray that no other emergency concerning my father’s health will take place ever again. It is not only financially challenging, but emotionally trying as well. I can only take so much of those!

In the meantime, I am happy to share with you that my father is doing much better and is getting stronger by the day. Thank God.

I was hoping to be able to get back on blogging immediately after I came back from my trip, but between the jet-lag and work, it was just physically impossible. And honestly, I lost my blogging “mojo” for a while due to my exhausted mind and body. But not to worry, I am slowly recovering.. and pretty soon, I will be prolific again! Promise!


Today, I would like to share with you my breakfast, reminiscent to the ones I had while growing up in the Philippines.

A traditional Filipino breakfast is a full meal with rice, usually fried rice. Some years ago, a TV comedy sitcom coined the term tapsilog - which refers to a breakfast combination of tapa (cured beef), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (fried egg). This is a typical Filipino breakfast, but it was the show's "slang" that ignited its popularity, so much so that restaurants and even fast food chains have included these combo type breakfast meals in their menu. Since then, tapsilog has spawned so many other dishes (or slang terms, I should say) such as tocilog, (with tocino, the Filipino's version for bacon); longsilog (with longganisa, the Filipino breakfast sausage); and yes, spamsilog, (with SPAM, obviously) - all with fried rice and eggs.

SPAM is a favorite luncheon meat in the Philippines, but not enjoyed all too often because it is an imported stuff therefore, more expensive than local brands.

Anyhow, here's my spamsilog. I’m so proud to say that while Mr. J doesn’t count Spam as a favorite, but he willingly partakes of it with me every once in a while! I’d say that’s love, huh? :oD


This breaksfast is an easy one to prepare. For the spam, it is basically ready to eat so I just warmed it up a bit in the skillet. The eggs you can have however you prefer 'em --fried, scrambled, overeasy.. it doesn't matter. The only thing I really had to cook was the garlic fried rice, which I topped with garlic chips that I had gotten from the Philippines. Talk about garlic breath and all! You can bet no witch came near our house that day!

For the fried rice, it is best to use left-over rice. Don't use freshly cooked rice, as your rice will come out mushy. Make sure to separate the rice; I find that the easiest and best way to do this is to use your finger and work them through the rice to break the lumps. Lumpy fried rice is un-appetizing. Then make sure that your skillet/wok is hot.Just let your palm hover about 6" high over the skillet/wok, and when you feel the heat, then you're ready to start. And be ready to do everything quickly.

Sending a serving of this Spamsilog to Ces of SpiCes, as my entry to this weeks's Lasang Pinoy Sunday Edition #25.


Garlic Fried Rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 c rice (see instructions above)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp soy sauce (opitonal)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
fried garlic chips, for garnish

1. Set your skillet/work to high heat. When it's hot enough (see instructions above), add the vegetable oil.
2. Then add your rice. Stir the rice continously for about 3 mins. All you are doing is warming through the rice. Add more vegetable oil if you think your rice is dry.
3. Then add the garlic, followed by the soy sauce and pepper. Stir for 1 more minute.
4. Turn off the heat. Serve topped with garlic chips, if you like.

Ricotta Pancakes With Roasted Apples & Prosciutto

I am thankful that when it comes to television, Mr. J and I don't have a problem as far as what shows to watch. We like almost the same programs - I watch what he watches, and he likes to watch what I watch. My only problem with him is when he's got the remote control - he changes channels so much I get dizzy! He loves to scan the channels, and when commercial break comes, his fingers get busy with the remote almost like an instict. He can't just stay in one channel. He just has to look around.

I know though, that this is a habit not unique to Mr. J alone. This is a guy thing. It must have something to do with the nature of men.. their nature to explore and conquer?


Anyhow, we were watching Tyler Florence over in FoodNetwork on Saturday afternoon. We just got intrigued with these cheesy pancakes. Coupled with the prosciutto and the apples.. this breakfast looked like a winner.

"Hmmnn... Why don't we try that?" Mr. J. said. "But you don't like cheese", I said to him. Mr. J always teases me because I love cheese a lot. He smiled and said, "well, it's ricotta. I'm willing to try it". So that settled it. I have no problem trying Tyler's ultimate pancakes.

So that very day I went to the grocery and picked up what we needed. Mr. J didn't expect for us to have the pancakes that very next day,so he was a bit surprised. Since it's Sunday, I thought it was a good time. So, why wait?

This breakfast then is a collaborative effort between Mr. J and I. I love it when we cook together. I made the pancake batter, but Mr. J took care of the flipping, and cooking. The prosciutto and apple wasn't much of a problem because both gets thrown in the oven.

As for these pancakes, one really has to be careful not to use too much heat. The pancake is different in that it cooks very slow, due to the cheese in it I suppose. So if you use very high heat, the outside will get burned and the inside will be raw.. that's not going to be good at all... So this breakfast particularly needs a lot of TLC (tender loving care). (Incidentally, in the Philippines, we call them HOTCAKES, and not pancakes..)

So just be patient, because you're going to be rewarded with a very delicious breakfast.. heavy and rich, but delicious. This breakfast sustained us, so much so that we didn't get hungry until dinner!

Ricotta Pancakes With Roasted Apples & Prosciutto
recipe from Tyler Florence

For the topping:
12 slices prosciutto
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional
4 Golden Delicious apples
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup

For the pancakes:
2 cups ricotta
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
Butter, for cooking
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional
1 cup maple syrup, warmed on stove-top

For the topping:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lay the slices of prosciutto out in a single flat layer. Season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired, and pop into the oven. Roast the prosciutto until crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3.Cut each apple into thirds, remove the cheeks and discard the core. Slice each piece into 4 and toss with butter and maple syrup.
4. Transfer to a roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast the apples until they are fork-tender and slightly caramelized on the top, about 30 to 45 minutes depending on ripeness of the fruit.

For the pancakes:
1. Combine the ricotta, egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.
2. Sift the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into the ricotta mixture and stir until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then gently fold into the batter.
4. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter. Cook pancakes at a time using a 6-ounce ladle or measuring cup to pour the batter into the pan.
5. Cook the pancakes on 1 side until they set. When small bubbles appear on the uncooked surface, flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes (or longer). Keep the pancakes on a plate set at the back of the stove under a dry towel to keep warm while you make the rest.

To serve, lay the pancakes on a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with roasted apples, crispy prosciutto strips and warm maple syrup.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Here's a personal confession.

In the Philippines, biscuit or "biskwit" means, soda crackers, or crunchy cookies. Thus, naturally, I grew up believing that biscuit means the same in the US or elsewhere in the world. But little did I know that though it is spelled the same, outside of the Philippines, the word doesn't necessarily mean the same thing.

So when a franchise of Texas Chicken opened in one of the big malls in Cebu, the city in central Philippines where I come from, I was surprised to read that the menu includes: "2 pcs chicken with biscuit". Hmnn... I thought, "soda crackers with chicken? That's interesting!". So I made it a point to try, and when I did, I discovered that "biscuit" is actually a soft, round bread! And it tastes good too! That , ladies and gentlemen, was my first introduction of what "biscuit" in the western world is supposed to be.

Now that I'm based in the US, I've also discovered that what rice is to us Filipinos, is bread to the Americans. Americans (and Europeans as well)are major bread eaters, and would eat bread with everything. That's how Filipinos are too, with rice.

Well, I may have eaten countless biscuits since moving to the U.S., but I can never forget that very first biscuit encounter that I had in Cebu. That biscuit had a little honey on top that made it a bit sweeter... And to this day, that's how I like my biscuit... with a little honey and butter, reminiscent of my very first taste of this little yummy bread.

The biscuit recipe I have here is simple. The buttermilk makes this traditional Southern specialty especially light and tender. The recipe is supposed to make 12 biscuits, but since I used a 5-in cookie cutter which is slightly bigger than the usual size, I only made 8 pcs.




Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp chilled butter (or solid vegetable shortening)
1 cup buttermilk

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
3. Using a pastry blenderor 2 knives, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. (or you can do this in the food processor too)
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather into a disk. Knead lightly a few times just until smooth. (Dough can be made up to 2 hrs ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated until ready to use)
5. Pat the dough to 3/4-in thick. Using a biscuit cuttter or a glass dipped in flour, cut out biscuits. Place the biscuits, 2 in apart, on an ungreased baking sheet. Gather dough trimmings, pat to 3/4-in thick and cut out more biscuits.
5. Bake the biscuits 12-15 mins, or until golden brown. Serve hot.

NOTE: For flaky biscuits, take care not to overhandle the dough. For less waste and speedier preparation, pat the dough into a square form, then cut into square shapes with a floured knife.

Taste & Create X: Ham Croquettes (Croquettas De Jamon)

First of all, I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of Nicole King, the author/organizer, Taste and Create, an event where two foodie bloggers are partnered and then they get to do whatever recipe they like from each other's archives. I can just imagine the many hours she dedicates inorder to make sure that this event happens every month. Kudos to you Nicole - for your creativity and for your patience!

With that said, I am both thrilled and a bit apprehensive when Nicole advised that I will be her partner for this months' Taste & Create. Here I am, a novice at both cooking and blogging, paired up with an obviously seasoned cook and blogger. Just check out Nicole's blog (here), and you will know what I mean. But, learning from others and taking on a challenge is the essence of this event, right? So, I'm going to learn as much as I can, and enjoy the ride as well while doing it.

When I learned that Nicole will be my partner, I knew immediately what I would do. I visited her blog a few days before the announcement, and was already planning on trying one of her recipes (among others), the croquettas de jamon, or cuban ham croquettes.


ham croquettes on a cuban roll


It is ironic that I would get the recipe for this dish from someone who is in Germany! I am based in Miami, Florida where Cuban abounds (next to Cuba, that is) so I should have been the one who had the recipe, right? But sometimes, distance also has something to do with everything. Because these croquettes are readily available here in Miami, I never had the motivation to make them at home. Ok, ok.. excuses, excuses....

Seriously, like Nicole, I had honestly thought that this would be complicated to make. Almost every Cuban I know has a grandmother who "makes super good croquettas". So, I had naturally assumed that this dish is not only complicated, but would also be very time consuming..... WRONG! As a mattrer fact, it is exactly the opposite. And I have Nicole to thank for proving that it is not. Just read the recipe, or better yet, try it and you'll find out.



The croquettes that are commercially sold, I know, have lard and all kinds of preservatives in them which make them not so good for our health (and figure). With this recipe, I probably would never buy ham croquettes from the bakery ever again. This is so much better! Because I know the quality of ingredients that went into it, I can now truly enjoy eating them without feeling guilty afterwards. (Though next time, I will try baking them for an even healthier version).



If you want to make this, the recipe is here. When I was shopping for the ingredients, I was so delighted to find an already ground ham. Awesome. This has even saved me one more step in making this dish. Talk about living in America!

ham croquettes ready for frying

Anyway, since the ham is water cured and not baked (recipe calls for baked ham), I added a 1/2-teaspoon of cumin for a smokey taste in the background. And then, I also added about 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice for freshness, plus a dash of crushed red peppers for a little kick. These are about the only variations I did to the recipe, otherwise, everything is a-ok!

Now, the next step is to learn making another one of my Cuban favorite, those guava and cheese pastelitos... anyone have the recipe?

Simple Brioche

There's nothing like homemade bread. Nowadays, homemade breads are a luxury. But this is one luxury that I do want to indulge in. Nothing beats eating freshly baked bread - biting into that warm dough, seeing the butter melt when you slather it onto the piece that you're holding. Hmmnn..

Sadly, I haven't tried baking bread, on my own at least. I did it a couple of times with some girlfriends quite a while ago, and the bread came out good. But I cannot own the bragging rights about its success, because I did not do it by myself.

Bread baking has always intimidated me, but it is not to say that I am not willing to take on the challenge of learning it. I really would love to learn the art of baking bread, not just on bread machines, but the good-old fashioned way of kneading the dough by hand. But how else am I going to learn if I don't try ? As they say, practice is the mother of all perfection. So, what am I waiting for?

I looked through my cookbook, Baking With Julia. Oh my, there were a couple of pages of instructions for making different kinds of bread. I thought, I can never do this! Fortunately, I did a research and found this recipe in La Tartine Gourmande's site. A Brioche recipe!!! And I happen to love Brioche too. I ate this bread a lot when I was was in Europe. It is the simplest brioche recipe ever! Yipee! It is a perfect starting point for me. So, I rolled up my sleeves to do what would be my very first homemade bread....



Hmmnn... I just love the smell coming from the oven while the bread was baking. And my brioche came out not too bad for a first try. You can be sure that I will make this again. (Now this is a potential problem as Brioche is not the bread for the weight conscious).

I would have eaten at least half the loaf as soon as it came out from the oven. I had to exercise utmost self-control. Thankfully, I was able to stop so I had some left for breakfast the next day. Many thanks to Bea for this user-friendly recipe!


Simple Brioche
8 3/4 oz (1 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
2 3/4 oz butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 dose dry baker’s yeast (1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp fine sugar
1/3 cup warm milk
1 pinch salt
1 egg yolk, for glaze



1. In a bowl, mix the flour with the yeast, make a hole in the middle.
2. Add the warm milk mixing with the tip of your fingers (if using a stand mixer, pour the milk slowly and steadily while mixing, with the hook attachment.)
3. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt, then add the soft butter, piece after piece, waiting each time that each piece is asborbed.
4. Then one by one, add the eggs, mixing well between each. Work the dough until it is elastic and detaches from your fingers more easily (or from the bowl of the stand mixer).
5. Cover and let rest in a warm place, away from drafts, for two hours, until it doubles in size.
6. Work the dough again for 10 min and divide it in four balls. Place them in a greased rectangular mold and cover. Let rise for an hour again.
7. Preheat the oven at 400 F.
8. Brush the brioche with the egg yolk mixed with a dash of sugar. With a pair of scissors, make small cuts at the top of each ball.
8. Place in the oven to bake for 10 min then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for about 20 to 30 min.
10. Remove, unmold and let cool on a rack.

Oh No, Rice Again!

Hey guys...It's mystery chef here, and as it turns out, I found yet another recipe for the rice that I made a few days ago. This time I was inspired to make breakfast for my wife, but for lunch. The ingredients are as follows:

3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 diced onion
1/4 diced red pepper
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 cup spanish rice leftovers
2 eggs scrambled
1/4 cup italian blend cheese
1/4 cup salsa
sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
1 cup leftover diced grilled churrasco steak (oops thats another recipe...lol)

First, saute the onions an peppers in olive oil, salt and pepper, Then, add the spanish rice, leftover steak and diced garlic continuing to stir heating the mixture thoughly. When ready, add your scrambled eggs into the mixture and fold until it is cooked. Remove from pan and plate, adding dollop of salsa, a few shakes of Tobasco, and your cheese topping and enjoy! Yet another use for rice!

Quick-eesh

It's that time of the month again, in our office at least. Time to celebrate somebody's birthday.

The girls at work (yeah, that includes me) started a monthly potluck for birthday celebrants. This was also in an effort to have a chance to fellowship with each other and relax, even if it's just for a few minutes. And it has sort of developed into an official birthday treat for all the birthday guys/gals that month. It's the best excuse to have a potluck, wouldn't you say?

I thought that it would be good to bring something different during our potluck brunch other than donuts, breads or cakes. Does this sound like carb overload? Well, yeah, so I thought, maybe a little protein thrown in the mix wouldn't hurt us. So since last year, I've been making my now famous quiche for the potluck. And since then, it's been requested every time! Darn! Now, I am officially the quiche lady in the office. Hey, at least they like it.... But really, it's my pleasure to do this for them whenever I can.

This recipe is so simple even with my own variation - it's a breeze to do. Makes for a delicious and healthy breakfast, or brunch.

Spinach Quiche
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half (or for those not from US, combine half milk and half heavy whipping cream)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup onions, diced + 1 tbsp butter
Salt and garlic powder
8 ounces shredded Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach (wrung dried)
1 pre-made piecrust

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place pie crust in a deep, 9-in pie dish, or a tart pan (like I did). Bake for 5-7 minutes. This will prevent soggy crust.
3. Saute onions in the pan with butter , unti it has turned slightly brown. Let it cool.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, mayonnaise, and
flour. Add the remaining ingredients, including the cooled onions.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the crust and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour
or until the top is golden brown.

Additional notes:
- If you want a thicker crust, use two pie crust sheets.
- If reheating the next day, cover with foil to prevent top from being over done.

*** P.S.: My quiche was well done (well, ok, I was distracted by American Idol.. lol). But it was a good accident because the top was a bit crunchy, then the inside was soft, and the crust not soggy.

Salad Dressing In My Muffin?!

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My favorite salad dressing. It's a staple in my pantry because these two are very useful, not just for salads but for cooking in general. But as an ingredient for my breakfast muffin??? That doesn’t sound right.

I was watching Giada de Laurentiis make this muffin on Everyday Italian in Food Network. I was a bit skeptical at the beginning but by the end of the show, I was already so stoked to try it– my curiosity was a mile high. I gotta try this recipe, if only to find out for myself if these two ingredients will indeed work for baking as well as it does for cooking. Besides, olive oil is much healthier than butter or ordinary cooking oil, right? So these muffins should be a bit healthier than the normal ones. And I’m definitely in the lookout for healthier alternatives.Olive Oil Muffins:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.
3. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil.
4. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Crush the almonds with your hands as you add them to the batter and stir until mixed.
5. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes.

6. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the muffins and serve.

So… my verdict??? Well, it’s not what you would like if you have a sweet tooth. Maybe it’s something psychological because I’ve always had this mind-set that muffins are supposed to be sweet. This one is not sweet at all. Perhaps I ought to increase the amount of sugar than what the recipe states?

Also, I used a little more of the citrus (lemon & orange) zest than were called for and even added 1 tbsp of the juice of an orange for good measure. It’s not bad, though. Not at all. It’s just something different. Maybe the muffin just has to become an acquired taste???

Try and see for yourself. Let me know how it is for you. :oD

Good Mistake

Sunday breakfast (or brunch) for us is usually made up of the whole shabang -- - bacon, eggs, toast or pancakes, coffee, etc. It is the only time in the week that my husband and I can eat breakfast together, so I make an effort to prepare a good one.

But on this particular Sunday, neither one of us wanted a heavy breakfast. We wanted something simple - waffles. Just waffles. (Thanks to my friend Holly who gave me my Belgian waffle maker, now I can make my very own waffles instead of buying those pre-made ones from the grocery) .

Whenever I make waffles or pancakes, I always add a little bit of cinnamon to the batter as I just love the flavor. And I intended to do this, but I was busy chatting away with my husband and not paying full attention to what I was doing. I grabbed the bottle of what I thought was cinnamon and shook over the batter. Too late, I realized that what I picked up was the anise seeds and not the cinammon! I let out a gasp as I saw those tiny seeds in the batter. Oh boy! Should I fish them out? After only a second of deliberation, I thought.. Nah... Afterall, I add anise seeds to my cookies so it can't be that bad, and there weren't too much of it in there. So, I went ahead and added the cinnamon, as I originally intended.

Surprise, surprise. This little mistake turned out to be a good one as the hint of anise in the background combined with cinnamon is really wonderful. To quote Rachel Ray, "it's the thing that makes you say, hmmmnn, what is it??"...... So from now on, I'm going to be adding a dash of anise seeds to my waffles. Classic Belgian Waffles:
1-1/4 c sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
4 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c melted butter (or canola oil)
Pinch of salt
Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Dash of anise (optional)
Non-stick spray

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon and anise
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks lightly and add the milk, vanilla and melted butter. Then add the dry ingredients to the mixture and stir just enough to combine.
4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Gently fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula. Do not overmix! (Let batter sit for 4-5 mins before baking for better results)
5. Coat waffle iron with non-stick spray and pour batter into iron. Bake waffle until steam stops escaping, or until golden brown.

To serve: dust waffles with confectioner’s sugar and top with whipped cream and slices of fruits (like strawberry). Or, my hubby’s preference – slather waffles with more butter and a pour warm maple syrup on it.