Taste & Create: Pesto Pasta

"When are you going to blog again?" was Mr. J's question to me a few days ago. "Soon.." was my non-committal response.

I have to admit, I've been stuck in a rut lately. After my trip to the Philippines, I never expected that I would have a hard time blogging again. Don't get me wrong, the desire to blog never left me, and I've never stopped cooking -- it's taking the time to write, take photos and posting them up that I wasn't inspired to do somehow. It's as if my blogging "mojo" was sucked out of me. Ha,ha...

I don't know how others are able to get back into the swing of things immediately after a long break, 'cause I'm finding out now that it is not easy, uh-oh. Not for me, at least.. But I know that I should not stay in this rut for long, so in an effort to take myself away from it, I have decided to once again particpate in Taste & Create. I figured, it would be a good motivation for me to get out of this stupor and force myself to blog again, huh?

For those who don't know, Taste and Create is a monthly blogging event where bloggers are paired up, and then the partners get to cook/bake something from each other's blogs. It's basically swapping recipes, if you ask me.)

And so here I am, barely making it to the deadline, but I'm here nevertheless. That's what matters, right?

For this month's Taste and Create, I was paired of with Scrumptious of In My Box. Her blog is about the weekly CSA box that she gets from Eat Well Farm. It's not only a fascinating blog, but an enviable one as well. I wish I get the same fresh, organic produce regularly myself! Some people just have all the luck, huh? :o)

To keep things simple for me being that I'm not totally out of the rut yet, I decided to do her Pesto Pasta.... It looked so good to me and I needed something quick for lunch yesterday.


Her pesto is a vegan version, though, and since I am not one, I decided to do the regular pesto. (Check out her recipe here) For this, I changed up the nutritional yeast to parmiggiano reggiano - which I absolutely love! And for the veggies, I roasted a mix of zucchini and squash which I added to the medley of tri-colored spirals along with halves of cherry tomatoes.

All together, this pasta made up for a really colorful, light, healthy and quick but flavorful lunch.

Thanks, Scrumptious, for taking me out of this rut! And thanks Min, for hosting this month's Taste and Create. You did a good job!

I'm Back..

Hi, foodie blogville.. I am back in the homefront, after 5 weeks or so of being away. Whew! Wasn't that long??? Can't wait to get blogging again. But first, I just want to get over this jet lag. I'll be fine in a few days.... and then, I'll be back on board again!

Hope you'll come back to see what's up.

Hiatus

Hi foodie blogville... if you've checked my blog lately, you'll notice that it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I have an important reason for this, which I am about to share with you.

I am currently back in my homeland, the Philippines. This was an emergency trip, as my father has urgent health issues that I needed to attend to being his one and only child. It sucks big time to see your parents get older and in failing health. If you're curious and would want to know specifically what the emergency is about, then please check my personal blog here and here.

Suffice it to say that I am having one of the most challenging times of my life and would appreciate if you can say a word or two of prayer for my father and our family.

I miss cooking and blogging. But I gotta do what I need to do, and for now, my priority is my father to get well. I may be checking in once in a while, but I won't promise that I will be able to post anything till I get back to the U.S. a couple of weeks from now.

Hope you'll continue to check my blog... For Jude and Bethany, thanks for the tag/awards.. I will blog about it later when the dust settles.

Thank you.

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.

Brilliante Blog Award

I got my very first award, yay! Many thanks to Selina of Let's Chow for passing this award on to me.

When I started this blog, I was hoping to maybe meet some people but I wasn't really prepared to discover a whole "foodie world" out there; people from all corners of the world who share the same interest and passion in food as I do. Awesome.

It's been an exciting ride for me, so far, for the last 6 months. And I have learned a lot, which is why, in the first place, I thought of doing this blog. I wanted to learn more about food, about the cuisines from different countries. And along the way, I am meeting very talented, wonderful people. And I'm so glad.

Now, it's time to return the favor. I'd like to pass this award on to six other bloggers, following these simple rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when their entry is up.

So, for number 3 above, here are some little stuff about myself:
* Though I grew up in the Philippines where "balut" or fermented duck egg is a huge delicacy, I do not eat it. I tried but just couldn't swallow the stuff. It grosses me out.
* For the same reason as above, I cannot eat any food that has any animal organ in it such as liver, brain....... you get my drift.
* I love jazz and lyrical dancing, and have taken some lessons on it. I have been a dance minister in my church both in Philippines and in the U.S. So you'd understad if I tell you why I love the TV show, So You Think You Can Dance... love it!
* According to the latest typing test I've taken, I type 96 words per minute.
* When I was a kid, I wanted to become a CNN reporter, which led me to study Communications. I don't know what happened.. :o)
* I have a mini-spoon collection which I always get from souvenir shops whenever I travel to new places (cities, countries). So far, I've 52 of them and counting.

There you have it, folks. Now you know just a little bit more about me.

So, it's my time to tag 6 people. These are some of the sites I frequent:
Divya of Dilse
Jude of Apple Pie, Patis & Pate
Rita of Mochachocolatarita
TS of Eating Club Vancouver
Nicole of For The Love Of Food
Gert of My Kitchen Snippets

Have a good day to y'all!

Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese)

It is a fact. Technology is taking over every aspect of our lives.

For the last decade, the advancement of technology from the medical to industrial to the telecommunications industry (most especially), has truly made leaps and bounds. Amazing.

So much have changed that I feel the world actually seems so much smaller than ever. The internet has done a huge difference in our day-to-day existence. Instead of writing letters via post/mail that will take days to get to the recipient, we send an email that only takes seconds to be read. Text messages have replaced personal phone calls. Photo albums are now gathering dust somewhere in favor of digital pictures that are saved in our computers. We can now all view videos together even if we are halfway around the world from each other, thanks to YouTube. News can be broadcast within seconds worldwide. Heck, we can now even date online. And with cell phones and every conceivable tracking device there is, “not being able to contact” someone has become short of impossible.

I can go on and on regarding the merits of technology but on the flipside of it are also its disadvantages. Technology has replaced our interpersonal communications that we have lost much of that valuable “personal” touch in the process.

With these techno-gizmos available at our fingertips, a question begs to be asked. Will there come a point that people will actually forget how to communicate personally? Worse, will the English language change to wazup, LOL and BRB, from hello, you’re funny and goodbye?

In a society that's laden with superficial standards which we don’t feel we always measure up to, computers have become our scape-goats. It is easy to hide behind our monitors to avoid being judged. How long before a personal handshake be completely replaced with the keyboard? Will a robot eventually take the place of a human-to-human, interpersonal communication? Hmmnn… food for thought.



I miss the good old, simple life sometimes. Yes, technology is good, but there are things in life that cannot be replaced with it. So once in a while, let’s remember those times before the internet, iPhones and iPods, shall we? Let’s make time for our friends and families by speaking to them in person, sending them cards with personal handwritten notes or even visit them in person, ok?

So with this post, I would like to remember our missionary friends (the Logan family) who are in South Africa. I have actually made this for them in the past as mentioned in my previous post, but thought that this dish deserves a post of its own.

This salad is not only pretty, but delicious as well. It is especially good for warm summer days when the last thing you would want to do is stand in front of the stove /oven and cook!

Moreover, this is a breeze to make. You can put this together probably within 5 minutes and you’ll have a fresh salad that will transport you to the isles of Capri -- with the aid of your imagination, of course! :o)

Insalata Caprese
(from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis)

1-1/2 pounds tomatoes like vine-ripened tomatoes*
1 pound fresh mozzarella
3/4 to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup packed basil leaves, torn or cut into thin strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
drizzle of fresh lemon juice

1. Slice the tomatoes and cheese into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange the salad on a serving platter or individual plates in an alternating pattern.
2. Season with the salt and pepper to taste.
3. Scatter the basil leaves over the top and drizzle with the oil and lemon juice.
4. Serve at room temperature.

NOTE*: I used two types of tomatoes. I thought that the different shapes would help the salad look attractive. If only I found sun-gold yellow tomatoes or even heirloom ones, then this salad even look more "summery"...

Avocado Shake

Gosh, I hate going to the dentist. It’s one of those things that if only I can do without, I’d gladly refrain from having. I just can’t stand the sensation I get from someone picking on my teeth with metal, or the scrubbing/scraping/drilling/grinding, or the simple fact that you lay there with your mouth wide open for a long time that your jaw hurts! Uh-oh. Not pleasant at all.

Not that dentists are bad or anything. They’re not. In fact, I know that in the whole scheme of things, having a healthy set of teeth is really essential to our well-being. But I don’t know how or why I developed a negative attitude towards going to the dentist. Hmmn. It could be because the very first visit (that I fully remember) entailed a tooth-filling – and that horrifying, anesthetic-free “teeth-drilling” experience left me scarred for life? (Yep, not even a topical anesthesia was given!)

But I have to tell you this. In a 3rd-world country such as the Philippines, the people’s priority is to put food on their table; everything else becomes secondary – and that includes seeing the doctor for merely routine physical check-ups or regular dental cleaning. People there GENERALLY seek medical attention ONLY when there are already symptoms of disorder showing up physically; or when they are in actual pain; or when they already need urgent care. Once again, this is due to the lack of means to be able to afford regular visits to the doctor. Most folks there don’t have insurance policies; heck a lot don’t have a steady source of income in the first place and majority live below the poverty line.

Anyway, forgive me on my ranting about the dentist... You guessed it, I've just been there! Hah! And I needed to express myself. I'm fully convinced, whether it's in the Philippines or the US, I still don't like paying my dentist a visit!

So as a tribute to all dentists, here is something that you can enjoy, even if you are toothless. HAHAHAHAHA…. Presenting to you my AVOCADO SHAKE.



This is one of the things that I was so surprised about when I came to the US. I noticed that here, avocados are mostly used for savory applications – in salads and salsas. In the Philippines, I’ve only had this fruit eaten with a bit of sugar, as a dessert mashed with condensed milk and cooled in the fridge for a few minutes, or as a shake!.. (Oh yeah, I’ve had guacamole there, but back in my days, Mexican food wasn’t as popular as it is there now).

Avocados just remind me of my childhood as well. That’s probably why I like ‘em so much. Reminds me of those days when me and my cousins would run along the little plantation my grandparents had in their property. They have mostly “cacao” (cocoa) and banana plants as well as coconut trees, but there were a couple of huge avocado trees as well that would yield the sweetest, finest evergreen-avocados I have ever seen.

So here’s my all time favorite summer treat, second to mango shake, of course. (We can have this all-year round in the Philippines, actually.)

I am also sending this treat to Grace of A Southern Grace as an entry to her Beat The Heat event. This doesn’t require much to prepare – just a few strokes from the blender, and voila…. a refreshing treat!

Hope you try it.. it’s really good, filling and healthy too!

Avocado Shake
1 ripe avocado
1 cup evaporated milk (or fresh milk)*
1 cup crushed ice
3 tablespoons sugar (or more, depending on your taste)

Scoop the avocado from the pulp and into a blender. Add the milk, ice and sugar to desired taste. Blend until pureed. Garnish with slices of avocados.

NOTE*:You can substitute with condensed milk. Start with 1/4 cup and add some more until you get the desired creaminess and sweetness to your liking. If you use condensed milk, omit sugar as condensed milk is already sweet.