unlimited brownies

After fruits, chocolates in any form come second in my list. When cravings strike my penchant
for this sinful dark temptation_ brownies come handy as a quick fix.



Many times, my favorite brand is not available while Brownies Unlimited is always around anywhere I go. My favorite from this box is the walnut swirl which luckily my girls don't pay any attention to.


I've learned to love these brownies because of availability and compare to others they are quite affordable. And look at their packaging, it's like a gift box. That's nice, isn't it? :D

loving longans

I'm a certified fruit addict. I eat fruits 24/7. Before, after, in between, with_ the three major meals of the day. I eat them in bulk.So I always go for fruit in season for practical reasons of availability and affordability.



Whether in the grocery or in my favorite wet market, I'm always on the look out for fresh fruits with mark down prices. Yet, I'm very particular to the quality of the fruit. I would always ask for pre-tasting of the item prior to my buying it.

One grocery day, I was happy to find longans in marked down price, actually buy one kilo take one kilo. I pre-tasted it and it was good.

On the way home, my older daughter ( my co-fruit addict) and I consumed the first kilo of longan. Imagine, in 30 minutes drive, nothing left but the rough barky skins of one kilo longans.
So I took home the lucky other kilo of this nutty, lychee taste like fruits.



If you haven't paid any attention to longan before_ it's a tiny round fruit, looks like our native lanzones but unlike the latter, it has rough woody skin. When peeled, it looks like a smaller version of lychee, has similar taste too only with a hint of nuttyness, just a little. It's succulent and sweet.
You could enjoy it the way it is, just peel the skin off and take the seed out. It's also a thirst-quencher when turn into a shake. Here's my home recipe:

Longan Shake

-puree 50 pcs, peeled,seeded longans
-add 2 cups crushed ice
-ready to quench your thirst

Enjoy!

Vigan Empanada

Vigan empanada is one of the two variants of Ilocos empanada.( the other one is the Batac empanada with orange shell.) Empanada from Ilocos is so much different from empanada I grew up eating, particularly from Cavite which is meaty, cheesy and sweet. If I had tasted the Vigan empanada in my youngster years of meat sauce, I'm sure I wasn't going to like it.



But now at this stage of my palate's evolution, when I couldn't appreciate a dish without veggies, Vigan empanada is just right to my aged taste always open for new concoctions.
As fillings, it has green papaya, cabbage, longanisa and egg. Garnish with vinegar mixed.






Whereelse would like to savor Vigan empanada but in the place where it was rooted_



_ In Ilocos!!

Are They Crustaceans?

Anybody out there who knows how you call these crustaceans (that's my opinion :>) either in english or tagalog?



I bought them from a wet market and forgot to ask what they were called. I just knew from the memories of my childhood that they are edible, I'm sure about this thu'. But I had forgotten how they tasted. I asked the vendor how to cook them.
It's like the way you cook/steam your shrimps and crabs.Basically, just sprinkle with salt, cover it and cook until it turns to color red.



My hubby taught me how to open the shell. It's similar to opening a lobster. You press the soft side of tummy part, then tear it apart easily.

Oooh soo yummy. It tastes like shrimp and crab combined.

KKK, MOA

KKK ( Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran) in MOA is a good place to eat Pinoy dishes. Prices are reasonable and foods are delicious.





Interior is very Filipino also, using native materials.


On the table :




- karekare with bagoong approved by the Board of Bagoong (my family)



- a mushroom and mussel soup (name version of kkk, I forgot)


- sinigang





- crispy bagnet


with bagoong balayan


-fresh watermelon shake

The verdict : Very nice place for hungry pinoy tummy. Foods are satisfying and service is kind and attentive.

Legaspi Village Sunday Market (part 2)

Here's a part 2 of Organic Sunday Market see here. There's really so much to see in a market. Legaspi Village Sunday market doesn't only sell food, there's a lot more which I featured in my other blog site.

- cotton candy for my teen

- dried fish everywhere, I wonder why daing and tuyo don't smell here the way they do in regular wet market

- my favorite yogurt, fair price

- popcorn, made from organic corn

- fresh fruit shakes, a glass in your hand while touring the market is very refreshing

-satay and other dishes from one of our Asian country neighbor

- tocino, longanisa,ham, bacon, without the harmful chemical preservatives

- suman, in different flavors

- free taste, told yah, it's everywhere

- lechon de cebu, yum!

- from Spain

- ensaimada, melts in your mouth

- sugar free sweet desserts, my pick to bring home

- fresh fruits

- preserved packs without preservatives?

- everyone brings cam now a days:))

Oyster Sunday

Sunday mornings are always fresh lumpia trip to Bacoor and one of these Sundays (of this month) while I was at the peak of nibbling a piece of rolls,I stumbled upon a vendor who sold real fresh oysters which personally harvested by her husband. The vendor was referred to me by the lumpia vendor, but I was having second thoughts about buying or not.



I have never prepared/cooked oyster at home. The few times that I remember eating oysters were at the parties and oyster bars/restaurants.I took a minute asking instructions from the vendor on how to clean and prepare the oysters:

- wash and clean the oyster's shell (I didn't just washed it,I intricately brushed each!)
- boil water
- pour over the shelled oysters
- remove the water
- the oysters are now ready to be opened

For recipes, I had one or two ideas, digging up from my recollections of oyster concoctions I had tasted from the past.

I went home excited with one huge can of oysters.



At home, I whisked each shell to prettiness. As instructed, I soaked them in hot water and witnessed the death of these species.




The water bubbled,as if the oysters were fighting for their last breaths (soft melancholy music
please..:<)
.


My brother opened one and we were satisfied to the freshness of the meat.







I was willing to try opening the shells myself, but my kind brother took the task as he thought it wouldn't be easy for me. He used a bread knife and watching him doing it seemed easier as it actually was , that was according to the one doing it







I did vinaigrette dip (see recipe on the next post) to garnish the oyster.



We gulped one after another and had to remind my partner in crime to slowdown because I wanted to try some baked oysters.



I prepared the oysters for baking.I arranged them on top of salt bed the way I saw them presented in a cooking show I recently watched on television.



After less than 20 minutes_tadahh!!_Baked oyster (see recipe on the next post),
sooo delicious! We finished them all on the spot and I headed on my 3rd recipe.



Kilawin na oyster. (see recipe on the next post). This one was my brother's pick among the three.



Empty shells.