I’m Nut’s About This Honey!

At the farmer’s market in front of the Ferry Building, I stumbled on this particular stall selling honey.

What struck me was this Honey Mix-ins, which brought about a lot of ideas on application.  So I bought a bottle of the honey & sliced almonds hoping that it wouldn’t break or spill on me on my way home to the Philippines.  Probably one of the best buys I had from the market.  One real treat that I made from this honey (as soon as I landed) was topped a teaspoonful on Brie.

Melted it a bit on a toaster oven and voilà!  Makes a great hors d’oeuvre or an in between meal.  One time I even had it for lunch!  The sweet and crunchy honey mix added depth to the creamy cheese that keeps me making more.  I just can’t get enough of it.  Use good quality baguette or ciabatta bread.

This mix-in is so versatile; it’s also a great topping for my oatmeal, yogurt or ice cream.  Sometimes I just spread it on toast!

If you come across Marshall’s Farm honey selections at your local market, do give it a try.

Or if you’re feeling diligent, you can probably make your own by adding almonds to your favorite honey.

Posted on by Jenn 3

Antonio’s

Clockwise:  One of the many dinning halls, Steak Tartare, Pumpkin or Squash Soup, Panna Cotta with Vanilla, Caramel and Chocolate Notes, Sorbet, House mesclun salad with blue cheese and Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, Crispy Deboned Lamb Ribs.

One restaurant that never fails me is Antonio’s.  A lot has been written about the restaurant and its chef-owner Tony Boy Escalante and recently, it was named the 5th top restaurant in Asia by the Miele Guide.  It is in fact the only Philippine restaurant included on their Top 20 list for 2010/2011, sharing the stage with Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore on the top 5.

Most trips to Tagaytay would entail a sumptuous meal at Antonio’s, whether it be dinner or lunch.  Lovely food from starter to dessert, great service, throw in a welcoming ambience and you get an experience worth every buck each time.  Never fails.

Useful Info:

Antonio’s
Bgy. Neogan
Tagaytay City, Cavite
(0918) 899-2866

 

Posted on by Jenn 7

Weekend Lasagna

Boring weekends are the best time to try a new recipe especially if the recipe calls for more preparation time and effort.  So one Saturday with nothing much happening, I planned then purchased all that I needed to try this Lasagna recipe, which I cut into half or God forbid, I’d never want to see a lasagna again.  I do enjoy it every so often but lasagna is not something I ever crave for.  So you’re probably wondering why I’d even bother.  I got a box of lasagna as a gift las Christmas so what else do I do with it?   😛  It’s a  good time too to use up the left over Marinara Sauce, which I believe came out well with this recipe. There may be quite a few ingredients needed but believe me, this recipe is worth your while.  Even if I didn’t follow the recipe to a tee and used

this interesting new find (substituted this with the crushed tomato the recipe originally called for), and even if I couldn’t find sweet Italian sausages and settled instead for garlic Italian sausages, this lasagna came out truly delish.  For someone who don’t really care much for lasagna, it means a lot to say that I will be making this again.  So here’s my version.

What you need:

  • 250g sweet or garlic Italian sausage
  • 250g ground beef
  • ½ cup sliced mushroom of your choice
  • ¼ cup chopped onions
  • 1 cloves of garlic chopped
  • 2 225g Clara Ole Chunky Tomatoes with Basil
  • 1 250g tomato sauce or this Marinara Sauce recipe
  • 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 320g ricotta cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh grated or ground nutmeg
  • 1 egg
  • 500g shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4-6 lasagna sheets

Here’s what you do:

  • Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to cook. It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat.

  • Gently stir in the tomato chunks, sauce, paste and water.

  • Add the sugar, chopped basil leaves, half of the Italian parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
  • Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

  • Meanwhile, soak the lasagna sheets in hot tap water for 15 minutes.
  • While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling.

  • In a mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, egg, and the rest of the Italian parsley.

Assembling the lasagna:

  • In a 5”-6” inch baking pan, spread 1 cup meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Remove your lasagna sheets out of the water bath. Shake water off wet sheets.

  • Lay sheets across the layer of sauce. Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of sheets. Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.
  • Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layer.  Spread 1 cups meat sauce over the cheese layer.
  • Lay down the next layer of lasagna sheets.

  • Spread the remaining ricotta mixture over the sheets.
  • Spread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving some cheese for the top of the lasagna.
  • Put the last layer of meat sauce on the cheeses.
  • Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

  • It should look like the picture above. Cover with foil.
  • Bake in preheated oven at 350 F (177 C) for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.  Serves 4-6.

It may be more work than your normal stir-fry but hey, the weekend is free and if you double up the recipe, you have the week ahead to devour this one delish dish.

Posted on by Jenn 0

Double Double

Credits:  Papers from LivEdesigns’ SsunFun Paper pack — Moss, Sidewalk Chalk, Stripey and Vineyard.  Elements from PouYou’s Pink & Me kit — round stitch / couture 2; Scrapmatter’s Life’s Little Surprises Kit — dbo staple.

Over-rated or not, I am a fan.  Whether it be the fresh-never-frozen patties, the sweet, toasted buns, the sweet and tangy spread or the fresh lettuce, onions and tomatoes — all together, it is one burger that is without equal – still.  The quest for the best burger is still on for many but I think unless I stumble on another that can equal or top this, I remain a fan.

In-N-Out is the place to get real fresh burgers, great shakes and the hottest fries.  The menu so simple, unless you go for their Not-So-Secret Menu, has just 3 choices.

Posted on by Jenn 2

Blue Bottle Coffee

“Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis – a good hot cup of coffee.” Alexander King

A good hot cup of coffee is how I often start my day.  As soon as I wake up, I go straight to the stove and brew myself a good hot cup of coffee on my Bialetti Moka Express.  Aside from straightening up my wonky days, I love how the room smells after each brewing.

If faced with many choices, I feel like I’m in a candy store and cannot resist the urge to get myself something, “just to try”.   I tend to hoard as A would always tell me.  I know… guilty as charged.  He’d occasionally inspect the cupboard or the freezer and exclaim, “you bought coffee again?”   😕

I take mine black, and prefer it medium roasted.  I don’t like sour or bitter coffee, I prefer mine smooth with a tinge of sweetness at the end.  Does that make me a coffee connoisseur?  Not at all.  I just … love coffee to pieces.

I swore to myself that I’d stop buying until I’ve used up half of my stash but how could I resist this?  It seems like my kind of coffee!

While lining up for my drip coffee (at a stall outside the Ferry Building), I asked a staff, which among all the different kinds displayed would she recommend.  “How do you make your coffee?” she asked.  “I use a Bialetti stove top device”, I answered.  “Do you like your coffee bold, sweet, light?”  she probed some more.  Well… she got me at “how do you make your coffee”.   And that, my friends, was how I ended up with more stash.  And she hit it right on!  It was definitely my kind of coffee.   😀

Blue Bottle.  One of the best I’ve ever tried.  I highly recommend.

Useful Info:

Where I had my first taste of Blue Bottle Coffee:

Ferry Building Marketplace, Shop #7, 1 Ferry Building. San Francisco
M-S 7-7, Sunday 8-5

Farmer’s Market Day:

San Francisco Ferry Plaza Market – One Ferry Building
espresso, drip coffee and beans
Saturday west side and south side 7:30-2
Tuesday west side 7:30-2
Thursday west side 7:30-2

Visit the Blue Bottle Website to see other locations.

Posted on by Jenn 2

The Slanted Door

The plan was to have a meal at one of the stalls or food trucks parked in front of the Ferry Building. Serendipitously though we managed to get a table at The Slanted Door.

I think this was a day mapped out by providence.

The Phan family owns The Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant overlooking the Bay that showcases humble family recipes made exceptional (by Chef Charles Phan) with locally sourced ingredients.

The wait staffs were friendly albeit busy.  It was a busy lunch day after all and we were really lucky to have gotten a table without reservations.

We had, to share, the Green Papaya with pickled carrots, tofu, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) and roasted peanuts.  Love the fresh and crunchy papaya with the tangy dressing.

The Grass-fed Estancia Shaking Beef – tender cubes of filet mignon sautéed in red onions and a soy sauce vinaigrette and served with a pepper & lime dipping sauce — outstanding. Even without the dipping sauce, the dish stands on its own.  A must-have on every visit.

Perfect with their broken jasmine rice.

This codfish over rice noodle was delish too.

Modern and trendy, The Slanted door is more than the food.  It has a sweeping view of the Bay too to go with the food.

The Slanted Door
Ferry Bldg
1, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 861-8032
Posted on by Jenn 1

My Wonderland

If I lived in San Francisco, I’d be hanging out a lot here, spending all my hard-earned money on everything on display.  This is my wonderland.

Located at the foot of Market Street is Ferry Building Marketplace.  Shops in all sizes offer everything from frozen yogurt to artisan cheeses.

Acme Breads — giving Boudin a run for their money

Superb cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery — I went all gaga with the selections!

On the day we were there, stalls of fruits, vegetables, flowers and a wealth of other products,

which include artisan specialties like ice creams, cheeses and honey occupied the front of the building along the Embarcadero.

On the other side are food trucks and stalls where many from near and far would trek to enjoy good, affordable food.

Taken from the back… stall owners busy preparing orders.

Food trucks and stalls from the front

A really good food truck is Roli Roti that served a mean Porchetta sandwich — they wanted to go home and was selling the last slab at a very good price.  We obviously bought it to have for dinner that night.  Lip-smacking good!

At the back of the building, one could sit back and enjoy the goodies purchased perhaps from one of the stores or stalls while marveling at a beautiful view of the bay bridge.

As luck would have it, I will be back sooner than I ever expected but that’s a tale for another day.   😀

Posted on by Jenn 5

Awesome Marinara!

Credits: Jackie Torres URAwesome Quick Page

From my summer read last year, I came across many delightful recipes that I noted to try.  The book, Mediterranean Summer is an interesting read about David Shalleck’s life-changing culinary journey as chef on board the Serenity, the classic sailing yacht owned by one of Italy’s most prominent couples.  His challenge was to prepare all meals for them and their guests with no repeats, using only local ingredients that reflects the flavor of each port all from the confines of the yacht’s galley while at sea.

Shalleck provided recipes of the meals he prepared and I found many of them quite interesting.  I decided that my first recipe of his will be this simple Marinara recipe, which I can use a base for many meals.  It turned out really good.

The pepper flakes added a nice element of heat although the subtle tang of anchovies goes very well with fish and seafood, the sauce in fact works with everything – including sausages.

The recipe makes 4 cups, go ahead and make a whole batch, transfer them in bottles and just store them in the fridge.   It will keep for at least a month or so but trust me… it won’t last that long.

La Nostra Marinara

(adapted from the book The Mediterranean Summer by David Shalleck)

What You Need:

  • 1/4 cup pure olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled, cut into 6 wedges, and the layers separated
  • 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and light crushed
  • 1 tablespoon roughly chopped anchovy fillet
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
  • Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, pureed with their liquid
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Here’s what you do:

  1. Heat the olive oil, onion, and garlic together in a nonreactive saucepan large enough to hold the tomato purée over medium-low heat.
  2. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion and garlic are soft but not browned, 8-10 minutes from when the onion starts to sizzle.
  3. Remove the onion and add the anchovy.  Using a wooden spoon, mash the anchovy with the garlic so that they combine into a paste.
  4. Add the parsley, stir, and continue to cook for 30 seconds, and then add the tomato purée, oregano, hot pepper, salt and sugar.
  5. Adjust the heat to keep the sauce at a low, steady boil and cook, stirring from time to time to keep the sauce from burning on the bottom, until the sauce starts to thicken, 30-40 minutes.
  6. Check the seasoning and add oregano, hot pepper or salt to taste if needed.  Makes about 4 cups.
Posted on by Jenn 2

Tagaytay Food Trippin’: Marcia Adams

A reliable go-to if one just seeks for a relaxing time away from the metro is Tagaytay.  Nice charming restaurants abound and there is a buzz going around foodies of this new charming place called Marcia Adams.   I think it is such a secret that only those in the know would be able to find this place – without any sign that inside is a beautiful garden and a very charming restaurant that serves good food to boot.  Close to the main highway at the border of Tagaytay and Alfonso just across Villa Somerset, you will come across a gate, orange I think it is.  Stop and ask, most likely it is the place.

Once inside, you will be ushered in through the garden that leads down to the restaurant.

One can also choose to sit outdoor surrounded by a country cottage styled garden.  We chose to stay inside overlooking the beautiful scenery of hills and plains.

The interior is rustic, very Tuscan.

The food?  Beautifully cooked – all of those we chose at least.

We started with this Amalfi Prawns that is perfectly cooked, succulent and crispy.

We then shared a bowl of Aegean salad, which had a grilled pear on top of mixed greens with roasted pistachio and Italian ricotta cheese dressed in a herby tangy dressing.

For our main, I chose this Grilled Aromatic Pork, which was heavenly.  Soft and juicy and packed with so much flavor.

The Fish Souvlaki A chose, a Tanigue kebab marinated in olive oil, lemon and herbs, is also mouthwateringly good.

M chose Chicken Kebab marinated in cumin and yogurt.  Tender and delectable to say the least.

Left to right:  Panna Cotta with lemon Sauce, Guava Shells in Syrup with Crème Fraiche, Grilled Orange with Dairy Ice Cream

All their desserts sounded so good so we each decided to choose one so we ended up with these delightful beauties – the Panna Cotta with lemon sauce turned out to be our favorite and the Guava Shells was quite interesting too.  They’re all good!

Next time you’re in Tagaytay, make sure to pay a visit to Marcia Adams; she will definitely delight your taste buds.

Useful Info:

For reservations and directions:
Call (63) 917-801-1456

 

Posted on by Jenn 6

Parmesan Oatmeal

Credits:  Snack Bag, Sunshine, Fun Surf papers from LivE SSunFun collection; Floral clusters and journal tag from LivE U R Awesome kit.  All from LivE Designs.  Ribbon Acrylic from Scrapmatters Life Little Surprises kit.

After a 3-month non-stop feasting on all sorts of food, my test results finally manifested negatively on this indulgence.  Cholesterol levels are a tad higher than normal so I run to old, reliable oatmeal to deliver me back to health.  Aside from its many benefits – one being a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps reduce LDL cholesterol, I just absolutely love it – especially this Scottish oatmeal.  It is a quintessential start to my day until recently, that is.  I’ve been lazy in the morning, preferring easy, instant fares such as granola with milk or yogurt, toasted breads with loads of butter and jam (tsk, tsk.), or just plain coffee (if I’m really, really lazy).

Plain oatmeal is bleh so I almost always cook it with milk (instead of just plain water), somedays I sweeten it with agave syrup and a fruit (like bananas or mangoes).  More often though it’s the savory kind that I crave for – topping it with spicy tuna from the can, grilled sausages or even pork floss.  And recently I discovered that cheese goes very well with oatmeal too when I stumbled on Stephanie Izard’s recipe that suggested fusing olive oil, cheese, salt and pepper – but of course!  An instant favorite!!   😉  So here’s my version.

Here’s what you need

  • Oatmeal, preferably steel-cut
  • Milk
  • Parmesan cheese (you can also try gouda, edam or manchego)
  • Extra-virgin Olive Oil
  • Sea salt (I used flaked salt)
  • Freshly cracked pepper

Here’s what you do

Cook the oatmeal (as directed on the pack) with milk (or water if you prefer).  Drizzle some good EVOO, add a fair amount of shaved or cracked cheese and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper (adjusting to your taste).

Satisfaction twice over – healthy and great tasting to boot… is this a winner or what?   😀

Useful Info:

*  Bob’s Organic Scottish Oatmeal is available at Healthy Options.

Posted on by Jenn 4