Anyone out here?

One of my book club people asked for the link of this blog, remembering having seen it before but forgetting the url. I myself have already forgotten about this blog, what with real life (family + work) and book club and friends and book blog to keep me busy all the time.

But I haven't forgotten about food now, have I? In fact, I may have more to post in here now that I've been cooking a lot more (tabletop oven is a wonderful, wonderful invention), getting to try a lot of new restaurants and food in and around the metro, and discovering more gastronomic delights left and right. Perhaps it's time for a revival, yes? :)

Let me check what I have and I'll get back to you right away. ;)

What's for dinner? Let's ask Lolo Dad. :)

My husband and I went out for dinner to celebrate his nth birthday last week. We haven't tried Lolo Dad's Cafe yet, located along the stretch of Quirino Avenue, Malate, Manila, and we've been curious to try it out for the longest time. His birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so, and we did just that.

A cozy little restaurant along Quirino Avenue.

Since we were first-timers, we had to ask for recommendations. We can't not sample the house specialties, can we?

We decided on some soup in lieu of appetizers. Per our waiter's recommendation, we had their double espresso of mushroom and tomato soup. As you can see from the photo below, it's called double espresso because of how it is served - in dainty coffee cups. :) 

Farmer's Beef Stew

This is a dish that I first cooked in 2010, and has since forgotten about when I relinquished my small kitchen to the help after I gave birth to my daughter.

By way of a first post after a long hiatus from this food blog, I thought it would be nice to start out with something that I actually prepared. This is my take on the farmer's beef stew recipe that I found from a mini-cookbook that I purchased way, way back.

Farmer's Beef Stew

Serves: 4 to 5
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 small onion, chopped
500 g beef, cut into small cubes
1 can whole corn kernels, drained
1 can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
sliced spring onions

Tuna Pasta in Olive Oil

I tried this recipe last Holy Week, because Archie and I were craving for pasta but couldn't eat meat, it being holy days of obligation and all. This dish is easy to prepare, very cheap and of course, good for your health especially your heart. Here's the recipe. :)

TUNA PASTA IN OLIVE OIL

Ingredients:

1/2 k or 400 grams spaghetti noodles
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 heads garlic, chopped
3-5 tomatoes, seeded and julienned
2 cans tuna, drained

Directions:

1. Pre-cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan in medium-high heat. Saute garlic until fragrant. Careful not to burn them!
3. Add tomatoes and cook until tender.
4. Mix in the tuna and continue cooking until heated through.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. To serve, mix in with the pasta and toss together.

If you don't have a measuring cup, you can just use 3-4 rounds of olive oil on your pan. As for the tuna, you can buy the tuna flakes (like Century Tuna), either in brine or vegetable oil. Be sure to leave just a teeny bit of the brine or oil so that the flavor of the tuna will be retained. Or, if you want your pasta a little bit spicy, you can also use Spanish-flavored canned tuna.

Enjoy! :)

Mediterranean quick dinner

These are our favorite bites at Cafe Mediterranean ~


Grilled Chicken Platter with Hummus, Baba Ganoush and Couscous, and Grilled Beef Gyro Sandwich, aka Shawarma ;-)

Have them with loads of garlic sauce, and dinner's just perfect. :)

Take Two: Empanada

It's only the second time I'm going to make empanada, recipe courtesy of my friend and former officemate, Roge. The first time I experimented was around this same time last year, in time for Mama's birthday which we usually celebrate in the cemetery, being All Saints' Day. That first attempt was a disaster, as I didn't have the proper kitchen tools (read: measuring cup). This time, being fully equipped, I know I can do better.

Better, yes. Can still improve, definitely.

I've practically perfected the filling, it tastes just the way Roge makes it. So on that aspect, I give myself a pat on the back.


However, the dough is another problem.

I was doing great measuring, mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough, except for a few wee bitty times when the dough would stick to the board, which I remedied by scattering flour all over. When it came, however, to the part where I had to cut the dough into 20 equal pieces, which is necessary if I want to have uniform-sized empanadas, and then roll them out into perfect circles, I faltered. I couldn't seem to roll the dough thinly, and into circles ~ they just roll out into shapeless, uneven masses, and continued to stick to the board and the rolling pin. My neck and shoulders were sooo sore by the time I decided to make do with whatever shapes I came up with ~ at least, I can adjust when I folded and crimped the edges. Yun nga lang, di magkakasinlaki yung finished product. :(

Another blunder was when I dropped the first pieces onto very hot oil ~ I should've cooked them in medium-heat oil only. Mabilis tuloy nag-brown yung first batch, which is not really a problem because the filling is already cooked, anyway. But I would've wanted them to turn a golden brown sana, not toasted brown...


When it came to my favorite part though ~ the taste-testing ~ I had to just give myself not just a pat on the back, but a huge round of applause as well. Tasted really good!

I'll just have to work on the aesthetics. ;-)

Tokyo Cafe

This was our second time to visit the restaurant in Mall of Asia, and as per usual, we love what we had.

Their two-piece Hamburg Steak (really just your ol' familiar hamburger steak) with gravy is of course a delight. Archie had this before but with demi glace sauce, which is also good. The patties are not as thick as I'd like, but juicy and tender nonetheless. Trademarks of a worthy hamburger.



We also had their Pescatore, which is essentially seafood pasta with tomatoes and olive oil. It had a generous amount of clams and shrimps in it, and the tomato sauce wasn't too sour (some people like the Italian-style sour sauces... I like mine tempered).



Down it all with peach iced tea, and we're good to go! Price is reasonable and the wait staff are courteous, too, so we'll definitely be going back to this place.

Next time, we'll try the crepes. ;-)