Garden Chef's Needle and Pen

The heavy monsoon rains intensified by the tropical storm these past few days resulted in suspension of government offices such that the working members of the family had no choice but to stay home. Time to rest, bond together around the table, while doing some social networking, or in front of the TV to get some news updates on the extent of the damages caused by the flood, if not watching a movie.  With the whole family at home, I had to think of what to prepare and serve on the dining table. Good thing I had a number of dishes lined up, waiting to be experimented on. I started the showcase with Mushroom Tortilla which I featured early this week. Click here for the recipe. In the evening, I tried for the first time Jill's Banana Oat Cookies .  Original recipe from Jill's Simple Daily Recipes I was so attracted at her cookies which I found in one link party that I had it pinned!I don't like raisins and shredded coconut very much so I used dates and almond...

Ever since I started blogging, this is the first time that I am featuring Moshi, our family's dog. It's time you meet Moshi, our 10-year old Labrador-Golden Retriever-look-alike pet.    He sings to the tune of Selecta Ice Cream each time the ice cream vendor passes by. He can sing, yes, but he can also cry, cry and cry out loud!   Asking permission that he be allowed in    Get to know Moshi a little bit more... His first call is to alert us in the morning when it's time for him to pee and a little after eating to poop, that is, if nobody is around to anticipate his personal needs. He would also cry when he senses that rain is coming, or when he would like to sit or sleep on his chair but it is out of his reach, or when there's lightning and thunder and certainly without a doubt, when fireworks start to explode during Christmas and New Year's Eve. Most often Moshi wouldn't pooh on any wet space in the garage. In my post yesterday, I ...

 Welcome this new dish--- Mushroom Tortillas--- on a rainy day. "Incessant heavy to torrential rains spawned by the southwest monsoon enhanced by tropical storm  Maring" ( Inquirer News says) struck the northern part of the Philippines yesterday. This brought heavy rains since last night and has left many flooded areas that aside from being a holiday in my place today (being Quezon City Day), suspension of classes and government offices has also been declared in the affected provinces. The photo below shows part of the South Luzon Express Way (SLEX) that Billy, my husband, was supposed to traverse today. It's a blessing that he was spared when he decided not to drive to the university (as he does very early Monday mornings every week) even before the no-class declaration was aired. This re-posted photo was shared by my husband via Facebook This simply means that, with hubby at home, I had to cook something healthy. So here's this new mushroom di...

There's a saying that goes, "One is enough, two is too much..." Uh uhhh, not for this!!! I'm referring to the Spanish Sardines Pasta which was my welcome post this year. My daughter, Ayana Grace, bought a bottle of pesto from the grocery store last month (she usually does...we seldom run out of pesto sauce in our cupboard) and I just wasn't able to resist making another try of the Pesto Spanish Sardines Pasta so here it is... Ingredients: 2 tbsps reserved oil from bottled sardines 2 tbsps olive oil 1 tbsp minced garlic 1/4 cup diced tomato 1 cup flaked Spanish sardines 1/3 cup Pesto sauce 1/4 cup pitted black olives 1/4 cup button mushrooms 1/2 kilo pasta noodles, cooked according to package instructions salt and pepper to taste Whole pieces of Spanish sardines (1 piece as topping per serving) Parsley for garnish   Steps: In a large saute pan, heat oil from sardines. Add olive oil as needed. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add diced ...

After making Fresh Oyster Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce , the first of the series of mushroom dishes I planned to feature, I ordered more packs of mushroom from the distributor CMAR Mushroom World . I was fortunate to have the mushrooms delivered to my workplace. So I was able to make another mushroom dish, Tempura . Here it is... Ingredients: Oyster mushrooms 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 2 eggs beaten 3/4 cup water 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Cornstarch (or ready-made breadcrumbs) for dredging Mushrooms dipped in batter and dredged in cornstarch. Ready for frying.   Steps: Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Slowly whisk in eggs and water. Continue whisking to make a smooth batter. Dredge mushrooms in cornstarch, then dip into batter. Deep fry.  Serve hot. For the first batch, I followed the instructions to the letter. But when I was about to refill the cornstarch for dredging, I suddenly remembered that I...

When I posted the Bitter Melon - Cucumber Salad last week, a blogger friend commented that it's like "eating the rainbow." I loved her comment and I said that sounds like a very nice title for my next blog post! Inspired by that, I'm featuring one of my signature dishes, an appetizing dish I learned from my parents and grandmother years back . Another rainbow dish, Astri? :)   Very simple and easy to make, this salad has become a favorite of my colleagues at work. Searching the net would yield many recipes of this salad appetizer, some giving tips on how to remove its bitter taste. Oh yes, some bitter melons are more bitter than the others, that's exactly why many people don't like bitter melon (known as ampalaya in the Philippines). Through the years, I learned that sprinkling some rock salt over the ampalaya and squeezing out the juice remove the bitter flavor. Removing the juice however reduces the nutritional value one can get from this vegetable...

This is not the first time I'm making this salad. I posted about this appetizer early this year. Here it is. Click this link to view.  Garden Chef's Needle and Pen: Bitter Melon and Cucumber Salad . I discovered this salad in Yummy Magazine . For this post, I'm featuring a remake of this salad that I prepared last week when Ana Cristina, my younger daughter celebrated her 21st birthday with her friends at home. The salad was not part of my planned menu ( Creamy Potato Salad , Caesar Crusted Crispy Chicken  Strips , Shrimps-on-Wheel and spaghetti, Tin's fave pasta, which Ayana Grace, my eldest daughter, cooked). Spur of the moment decision, however, caused me to make the salad so that  Billy, my husband, would have some veggies. I always make sure there's vegetable whenever he is at home. Here's the photo of the remake. I didn't regret making this as her friend, Karla, liked it! I'll feature the other dishes in another post. ============...