Look what I found in my camera! This was when I accidentally set my camera on video instead of a timer. Ha ha ha.
Central Park, New York City. One fine autumn day :-)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Suites, Shoots, Tomato, Tohmahto.....
I was on my way to lunch, took the stairs going down to buy some grub. As I was walking down, two men, who were probably messengers delivering parcels to various offices in the building, were animatedly talking:
Manong 1: "Anong building nga ito? Legaspi Shoots?"
Manong 2: "Oo pare, Legaspi Shoots"
Me, thinking to myself.. "Legaspi Suites... SUITES!!!!"
I get the same problem when I speak on the phone and tell the address of the company that I am working for:
Me: "We are located at Legaspi Suites"
Person on the other line: "Lagaspi Street?"
After repeating the same conversation several times, I just spell it out of exasperation.
Me: "S-U-I-T-E-S"
Person on the other line: "Ah, Legaspi Shoots"
Ok, I give up :-)
Manong 1: "Anong building nga ito? Legaspi Shoots?"
Manong 2: "Oo pare, Legaspi Shoots"
Me, thinking to myself.. "Legaspi Suites... SUITES!!!!"
I get the same problem when I speak on the phone and tell the address of the company that I am working for:
Me: "We are located at Legaspi Suites"
Person on the other line: "Lagaspi Street?"
After repeating the same conversation several times, I just spell it out of exasperation.
Me: "S-U-I-T-E-S"
Person on the other line: "Ah, Legaspi Shoots"
Ok, I give up :-)
Lengua in Mushroom Sauce
Lengua (ox tongue) is a popular food here in the Philippines. The love for it started during the Spanish occupation. As one might notice, a lot of traditional Filipino food is highly influenced by the Spanish culture, since they occupied our country for four hundred years!
I have nothing new to blog, unfortunately. However, I would like to share this simple recipe with you, as shared to me by one of our company caterers.
You need to source out the best lengua that you can find, that's the secret to this dish. I personally prefer the New Zealand organic meats from S&R because they seem to taste better and are more tender. Not sure why though. Butter is also very important in rounding up all the flavors in this dish.
Lengua in Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pc Lengua
2 White onions, quartered
2-3 Laurel leaves
Whole peppercorns
Salt
2 Cans cream of mushroom soup (I like using Campbell's)
1 to 2 Tablespoons Knorr liquid seasoning or soy sauce
1 Large can whole mushrooms, drained
1/2 Stick of butter
Procedure
1. In a large stock pot, place the lengua and cover completely with water (do not season), boil until the white filament becomes more visible and easy to peel. This would probably take 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the size of your lengua.
2. Remove the lengua from the boiling liquid. Discard the liquid.
3. Cool the lengua but never, ever, immerse in cold or running water. It will toughen the meat because it will abruptly stop the cooking process.
4. Once the lengua is cooled, peel off the white filament. Discard filament. This is a very important step, please take time to do the first four steps before proceeding.
5. Once the filament has been removed, boil water, onions, laurel leaves and peppercorn in a large stockpot or pressure cooker. Add the lengua to the boiling water. Season with a little salt.
6. If using a pressure cooker, it will take about an hour to an hour and a half. For a slow boil in a regular stockpot, it will take maybe three hours or so, depending on the size of the lengua. I like it very tender so I tend to boil it longer.
7. When the lengua is tender. Turn off heat. Remove the lengua from the broth, cool and carefully slice in discs, set aside. Do not discard the broth yet.
8. In a separate pan, mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup and the equivalent of one to one and a half cans of hot broth from the lengua. Mix well until there are no more lumps. Simmer.
9. To the mushroom mixture, add Knorr seasoning or soy sauce. Mix well.
10. Carefully add the lengua to the mushroom mixture.
11. Add the mushrooms and simmer in low heat. If the sauce is too thin disperse a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water and add to the sauce while simmering. Do not simmer for too long, the sauce might burn.
12. Add butter and turn off the heat. Mix slightly until the butter melts.
Other variations of this dish include adding water chestnuts and/or cashew nuts, in lieu of the mushrooms.
For Pastel de Lengua variation, just add diced carrots and potatoes after you have added the Knorr seasoning to the cream of mushroom soup, simmer until the vegetables are tender and ONLY THEN, will you add the sliced lengua. Place the above mixture in a pie pot, cover with pie crust, seal the edges, poke a few holes in the pie crust to let out steam, brush with egg wash and bake until golden brown.
Enjoy!
I have nothing new to blog, unfortunately. However, I would like to share this simple recipe with you, as shared to me by one of our company caterers.
You need to source out the best lengua that you can find, that's the secret to this dish. I personally prefer the New Zealand organic meats from S&R because they seem to taste better and are more tender. Not sure why though. Butter is also very important in rounding up all the flavors in this dish.
Lengua in Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pc Lengua
2 White onions, quartered
2-3 Laurel leaves
Whole peppercorns
Salt
2 Cans cream of mushroom soup (I like using Campbell's)
1 to 2 Tablespoons Knorr liquid seasoning or soy sauce
1 Large can whole mushrooms, drained
1/2 Stick of butter
Procedure
1. In a large stock pot, place the lengua and cover completely with water (do not season), boil until the white filament becomes more visible and easy to peel. This would probably take 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the size of your lengua.
2. Remove the lengua from the boiling liquid. Discard the liquid.
3. Cool the lengua but never, ever, immerse in cold or running water. It will toughen the meat because it will abruptly stop the cooking process.
4. Once the lengua is cooled, peel off the white filament. Discard filament. This is a very important step, please take time to do the first four steps before proceeding.
5. Once the filament has been removed, boil water, onions, laurel leaves and peppercorn in a large stockpot or pressure cooker. Add the lengua to the boiling water. Season with a little salt.
6. If using a pressure cooker, it will take about an hour to an hour and a half. For a slow boil in a regular stockpot, it will take maybe three hours or so, depending on the size of the lengua. I like it very tender so I tend to boil it longer.
7. When the lengua is tender. Turn off heat. Remove the lengua from the broth, cool and carefully slice in discs, set aside. Do not discard the broth yet.
8. In a separate pan, mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup and the equivalent of one to one and a half cans of hot broth from the lengua. Mix well until there are no more lumps. Simmer.
9. To the mushroom mixture, add Knorr seasoning or soy sauce. Mix well.
10. Carefully add the lengua to the mushroom mixture.
11. Add the mushrooms and simmer in low heat. If the sauce is too thin disperse a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water and add to the sauce while simmering. Do not simmer for too long, the sauce might burn.
12. Add butter and turn off the heat. Mix slightly until the butter melts.
Other variations of this dish include adding water chestnuts and/or cashew nuts, in lieu of the mushrooms.
For Pastel de Lengua variation, just add diced carrots and potatoes after you have added the Knorr seasoning to the cream of mushroom soup, simmer until the vegetables are tender and ONLY THEN, will you add the sliced lengua. Place the above mixture in a pie pot, cover with pie crust, seal the edges, poke a few holes in the pie crust to let out steam, brush with egg wash and bake until golden brown.
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter! :-)
I've been looking forward to Easter Sunday for the past few weeks because it will be the first time that I will organize an Easter egg hunt at home.
My house has been bedecked by little bunny decorations :-) I got the bunny template from marthastewart.com.
Weeks ahead, I invited some family members but they cancelled a few days before the event. So, my party got toned way down. Since it will be just our immediate family who will be attending, we settled for a potluck lunch of a series of comfort food (most of which don't really go well together, but what the heck!). We had dinuguan from my in-laws, mom made the stuffed chicken (my lola's recipe), chicken macaroni salad and pancit molo soup, which is Ashley's favorite, I made the lengua in mushroom sauce.
I also made chocolate cupcakes with bunnies and Easter eggs on top. The yellow bunny kinda looks like my dog, Poe :-) The bunny toppers were pre-ordered from Love2Bake, a bakery supplier in BF.
I got some bunny hats specifically for the occasion. Here, worn by the kids. Nephew JJ, nieces Ashley and Jessica.
The highlight of the day of course was the Easter egg hunt. The adults hid the eggs right before we started the hunt since the temperature outside was scorching and were afraid that the heat might melt the treats inside the eggs. The adults had fun hiding the eggs too. I placed candies, chocolates and money inside them.
The kids seemed happy with their treasures :-)
Hope your Easter was as fun as ours :-)
My house has been bedecked by little bunny decorations :-) I got the bunny template from marthastewart.com.
Weeks ahead, I invited some family members but they cancelled a few days before the event. So, my party got toned way down. Since it will be just our immediate family who will be attending, we settled for a potluck lunch of a series of comfort food (most of which don't really go well together, but what the heck!). We had dinuguan from my in-laws, mom made the stuffed chicken (my lola's recipe), chicken macaroni salad and pancit molo soup, which is Ashley's favorite, I made the lengua in mushroom sauce.
I also made chocolate cupcakes with bunnies and Easter eggs on top. The yellow bunny kinda looks like my dog, Poe :-) The bunny toppers were pre-ordered from Love2Bake, a bakery supplier in BF.
I got some bunny hats specifically for the occasion. Here, worn by the kids. Nephew JJ, nieces Ashley and Jessica.
The highlight of the day of course was the Easter egg hunt. The adults hid the eggs right before we started the hunt since the temperature outside was scorching and were afraid that the heat might melt the treats inside the eggs. The adults had fun hiding the eggs too. I placed candies, chocolates and money inside them.
The kids seemed happy with their treasures :-)
Hope your Easter was as fun as ours :-)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sanctuario - Robinson's Summit Tagaytay
When Hubby and I often try out new restaurants that were, let's just say, below our personal palatable standards, we just console ourselves by adding that particular restaurant on the 'WHERE NOT TO EAT" list. Most of those failed restaurants never make it out on this blog.
However, I would like to write a simple review for Sanctuario, located at Robinson's Summit in Tagaytay.
If I were you, I wouldn't bother eating at Sanctuario.
Why you ask? Just look all the things that we ordered last night. None, I mean none tasted good. None.
Sanctuario can't even do french fries properly, it was soggy, unseasoned and the dipping sauce was rancid!
Lechon Kawali was soggy and had no taste. There is no exaggeration, I swear. How can you mess up fried pork?
Bulalo in Tagaytay is always good, right? In Santuario, it tasted like boiled water. I mean, how can it taste like boiled water when they stewed the bulalo for hours? I just can't fathom how they managed to do that.
Binagoongan? Ugh! The meat was tough and just awfully bland.
The Bangus Carbonara? Malansa and so devoid of sauce. I wanted to puke.
Chicken Barbecue was raw when it was served, when we returned it to be well done, there was no change in taste even if it was smothered in sauce! How can that be?
The sauce on the suman, was bitter. The mangoes were over ripe and the mangoes looked like they passed through a wrestler's knife.
After shelling out a few thousand pesos on a worthless, tasteless and awful meal, all of us had nothing good to say about our meal at Sanctuario.
My mom and I looked at each other and said in unision "Lutong Tamad" (lazy cooking in English). We felt that there was no effort made in making our meal.
Personally, I will never, ever eat at Sanctuario again.
Despite what you might think, I am not a picky eater, nor am I snooty when it comes to simple food (I often cook food with five ingredients or less). However, when I encounter those rare restaurants that I feel are robbing me off of a few thousand pesos on a single meal, while giving me crappy food, I really get annoyed. Wouldn't you?
However, I would like to write a simple review for Sanctuario, located at Robinson's Summit in Tagaytay.
If I were you, I wouldn't bother eating at Sanctuario.
Why you ask? Just look all the things that we ordered last night. None, I mean none tasted good. None.
Sanctuario can't even do french fries properly, it was soggy, unseasoned and the dipping sauce was rancid!
Lechon Kawali was soggy and had no taste. There is no exaggeration, I swear. How can you mess up fried pork?
Bulalo in Tagaytay is always good, right? In Santuario, it tasted like boiled water. I mean, how can it taste like boiled water when they stewed the bulalo for hours? I just can't fathom how they managed to do that.
Binagoongan? Ugh! The meat was tough and just awfully bland.
The Bangus Carbonara? Malansa and so devoid of sauce. I wanted to puke.
Chicken Barbecue was raw when it was served, when we returned it to be well done, there was no change in taste even if it was smothered in sauce! How can that be?
The sauce on the suman, was bitter. The mangoes were over ripe and the mangoes looked like they passed through a wrestler's knife.
After shelling out a few thousand pesos on a worthless, tasteless and awful meal, all of us had nothing good to say about our meal at Sanctuario.
My mom and I looked at each other and said in unision "Lutong Tamad" (lazy cooking in English). We felt that there was no effort made in making our meal.
Personally, I will never, ever eat at Sanctuario again.
Despite what you might think, I am not a picky eater, nor am I snooty when it comes to simple food (I often cook food with five ingredients or less). However, when I encounter those rare restaurants that I feel are robbing me off of a few thousand pesos on a single meal, while giving me crappy food, I really get annoyed. Wouldn't you?
Thursday, April 21, 2011
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