La.Pi.S #4 - Summer Drinks

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We have an Indian mango tree in our backyard. Every summer time, it gives us plenty of fruits. Sometimes, because of this, the fruits gets over ripe. That's why I came up with this drink. I don't like the idea, that food would go into waste without any effort not to. Instead of using the kalabaw variety of mango, I used what I have abundantly in my backyard. Here is the recipe.

Turon Triangles

I used the square wanton wrapper tucked in my refrigerator rather the traditional lumpia wrapper bought in wet supermarkets. I have some left-over when I did the recipe of "Fried Cheesedog Dumplings", click here for the recipe. And instead of putting strips of sweetened langka, which I didn't have. I add cheese as an alternative.

makes 24 pieces.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium pcs of ripe plantain bananas (saging na saba)
• 1/2 cup of grated quickmelt cheese
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 24 pcs square wanton wrappers
• 1 pc egg white
• 2 cups of cooking oil for deep-frying

Procedure:

Slice into twelve each piece of banana. Lay a wanton wrapper on a flat surface. Brush all sides with egg white. Put a slice of banana at the center. Top with a teaspoon of grated cheese and half teaspoon of brown sugar. Form a triangle. Sealing all the sides. Do the same to the rest.

In a pan, over medium fire. Heat oil thoroughly but not smoking hot. Drop carefully each triangle. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook until light brown. Turn to have an even browning. This would only take a few seconds. Drain in a colander.

Serve.

Spoiled Brat!

Everyone here in our home loves to eat bananas, it's a family favorite. Have you seen a dog who loves to eat fruits and veggies? That's our dear Luigi! Also, would you believe he loves fish more than meat. Next time, I'll post a photo of him eating his favorite "Sinigang"!!!

In the photo above, the husband is feeding him bananas after his weekly bath. He had three! Maybe you're wondering why is he fed still by hand though he's a big dog now.... Well, he likes it that way! If not, he wouldn't eat. A spoiled brat! (",)

"Indian Mango Shake"

We've harvested lots of indian mangoes from our backyard. Some are over ripe. I don't want it to go to waste, so, I made a fruit shake out of it. Here it is....

Ingredients:

• a kilo of over ripe indian mangoes
• 12 pcs ice cubes
• 3 tbsps evaporated milk
• 1-1/2 tbsp white sugar

Procedure:

Peel the mangoes. Slice mango meat into chunks, disregard the seed. Put it in the blender with rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth.

Serve at once.

"Milky Avocado Recipe"

Avocados are in season again, this is one famous recipe here in our household using avocados. My mom used to make it when we were little kids, my brothers and I. Even H love this recipe. It's like soft ice cream with chunks in it.... yummy!!!



Good for 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium pcs avocado
• 3 tbsps white sugar
• 1 small can (158 ml) evaporated milk

Procedure:

Vertically open the avocado. Remove the seed. Scoop out the avocado meat using a spoon. Remove fibers if there's any. Mash it lightly, I like mine with some chunks of avocado. Add in the sugar and evaporated milk. Mix gently until well-incorporated.

Chill for a few hours before serving.

Lola Lita's Homemade Bagoong & Indian Mangoes From Our Backyard

Our merienda. The mangoes are harvested from our own tree, in our backyard. It's brimming once again with fruits. Eating mangoes wouldn't be complete without "Bagoong" (Fermented Shrimp Paste). It is made by Lola Lita, whom I considered my second mom, specially for us. It's the only bagoong that my husband would eat beside my homemade bagoong.

Here's the recipe...

It is made from fresh tiny shrimps, wash and drained well.You should remove also the shells and tiny fishes in it. This is important, if you skip this step, your tiny shrimps would render a foul smell after sometime. Mix with a generous amount of salt. Leave it for 4-5 days in a container, should be properly covered to avoid the pesty flies diving into the mixture. Then, cooked in vinegar until all liquid has evaporated. Now, you should saute it, in tons of garlic and onion. Also with finger chilis and some brown sugar, for that extra sweet flavor and aroma.

Chico

Chico fruits are eaten fresh when ripe. It bears fruit most months of the year and can be grown in many parts of the country. It came from a prolific tree. The fruit is rich in calcium, phosphorus and iron. The native variety, also known as, "Pineras", it bears small fruit about 100 grams each.

"Arroz Ala Cubana"

Good for 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsps cooking oil
• 6 pcs ripe plantain bananas, cut lengthwise
• 2 small pcs (160 grams) sweet potato, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 large red onion
• 6 pcs (225 grams) red ripe tomatoes
• 375 grams lean ground pork
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2-1/4 tbsps fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 pc (40 grams) carrot, chopped
• 1/2 pc (15 grams) red bell pepper, minced
• 2 sachets (14.5 each) raisins
• 1/2 tbsp white sugar

thickening agent:

• 1 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca starch
• 3 tbsps water

Procedure:

In a pan, over medium-high fire, heat thoroughly. Put 1/3 of oil, fry the bananas until golden brown. Remove from pan. Drain in paper towel.

Back to the pan, put half of the remaining cooking oil. Heat again. Stir-fry the sweet potatoes until sides are lightly brown. Remove from pan. Retain oil.

Put the rest of the oil in the pan. Add garlic. Saute until golden brown. Follow with onion and tomatoes. Saute until translucent. Mash. Put the ground pork, black pepper, fish sauce and soy sauce. Stir-fry until pork separates and sauce thickens or dries up.

Put water. Cover. Bring to boil. Then, reduce heat to low. Simmer for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, put the thickening agent ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.

Increase fire to medium heat, put the carrot, bell pepper, raisins and sugar. Mix. Lid on. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes and thickening agent. Mix well. Bring to boil.

Serve with fried bananas, rice and usually with sunny side up egg, in which this time I did not, we had too much of eggs this week (",)

Typical Sunday

I woke up at around 8.30 in the morning, washed my face and brushed my teeth. I checked around and the kids are home, It means GJ, Yok are here, sometimes Pao is here too, but for today she's not home. I considered these kids as my own. My kid's cousins from both sides of the family. I fried the ham and cooked the ever-favorite sunny side up egg while my nephew, GJ cooked the fried rice. We had breakfast. The older kids, Yok and GJ, washed the dishes and cleaned the dining table.

GJ and Yok picking fruits from the Sugar-apple tree

After that, they went to the backyard to pick fruits from the Sugar-apple tree. While my kid and hubby played with our dog, Luigi. Luigi was going crazy running around, sniffing my plants and digging soil. Observing them, I got a warm and fuzzy feeling. Though, it reminded me that I'm getting old, it's such a nice view to see. I got my camera and took pictures of them.

Luigi terrorizing my chili and pandan plants while playing with my hubby's hand.

My kid acting out the kick-ass move he saw from the action movies.

Where have the years gone by? I still remember GJ as a baby when my hubby was still my boyfriend, that was almost 15 years ago. He was just a year old then. Yok was only 6 yrs old and a very talkative kid, hyper too! Now, we have a kid of our own. Getting old definitely is not a bad thing... a moment like this makes it worthwhile c",)

see how big GJ is... as well as Luigi!

Luigi, a tall and handsome dog!

last picture here...

"Ginataang Langka" (Jackfruit in Coconut Cream)

Good for 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 matured coconut, grated
• 3/4 cup + 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsps cooking oil
• 150 grams pork belly, cubed
• 1/4 tsp rock salt
• 3 cloves garlic, finely crushed
• 1 large (70 grams) red onion, minced
• 6 pcs whole dried hot chili pepper
• 1 tbsp anhovy paste (bagoong balayan)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (fish sauce)
• 450 grams raw jackfruit (langka), sliced thinly
• 1 tsp cracked peppercorns
• 1 finger chili

Procedure:

Extract first the coconut cream, using 3/4 cup of warm water and grated coconut.

For the thin coconut milk, combine the used grated coconut and a cup of warm water. Extract.

In a wok, over medium-high fire. Heat moderately. Put the half of cooking oil, pork belly and salt. Brown the pork lightly. Remove from pan, retain the oil. Put the cooked pork in the bowl of the coconut cream extract.

Back to the pan, put the rest of the oil. Add garlic. Saute until golden brown. Follow with onion and dried chilis. Cook until soft. Pour the anchovy paste and fish sauce. Cook until aromatic.

Put the thin coconut milk, jackfruit and cracked peppercorns. Mix. Put the lid on. Bring to boil. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Stirring often.

Add the coconut cream, pork belly and finger chili. Mix. Cover. Bring to boil. Then, lower heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Skinless Longganisa & Honeydew Melon

This was our lunch today, skinless longganisa and slices of melon. And some leftover soup and veggies from yesterday's "Sinigang na Bangus".

"Atis" (Sugar-Apple Fruit)

Sugar-apple, also known as "Sweetsop" and "Custard-apple", is a native to the tropical Americas. It is the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 8 m tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 7-12 cm long and 3-4 cm broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 2-3 cm across, with six petals, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.

The fruit is usually round or slightly pine cone-like, 6-10 cm diameter, with a scaly-like or lumpy skin. The fruit flesh is white, and resembles and tastes like custard. The name "custard-apple" is frequently, though technically incorrectly, used to refer to this species. In the Philippines, it is called "atis". The picture was taken at our backyard, planted by my hubby a few years ago. Now, it’s bearing fruits ! It is abundant in August to October.

Scientific Classification:

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Division: Magnoliophyta
• Class: Magnoliopsida
• Order: Magnoliales
• Family: Annonaceae
• Genus: Annona
• Species: A. squamosa

Nutritional Value:

Sugar-apple is high in calories and is a good source of iron.

Role in the Ecosystem

• In the Philippines, it is most commonly eaten by the Philippine Fruit Bat (Kabag or Kabog) which transfers it from island to island.
• It is larval host plant of the Tailed Jay Butterfly (Graphium Agamemnon)

Traditional Applications

It is used by some societies in India to prepare a hair tonic. The seeds are also ground and applied to rid the hair of lice.

Nutrition Week in School

For the celebration of Nutrition Week, which was held last July 24 to 28. My Little One had a project in school with the theme: "KUMAIN NG RIGHT PARA BATA MAGING BRIGHT". It's a hat of nutritious food and should use indigenous materials. My knack for something different than the usual got into me…. Yup, its my idea that the chicken sit right up on top of the hat, hehehe! Unique, right? It really caught the attention of his teachers and classmates! Well, it got the first place!

It took us 4 days to finish the hat with the help of Tito Jonathan, who shaped the chicken, fruits and vegetables, using only old newspapers. The bread around the hat that looks like floating slices of bread is really the real thing. I got the idea from my son’s fave art show. They used the bread as a canvas so you can draw stuff on it. My Little One also helped (dapat lang project nya to eh!) he’s the one who glued the crumpled tissue that looks like green leafy veggies. Actually, it’s his idea also.….. fyi, all the food on his hat are his favorites (“,)