Typical Saturday

Every Saturday, my whole family eats lunch at my house. I just prepare a simple meal for them mainly because they like to eat different things. I always have to have soup for my niece Gilly... she only eats the broth and rice... sometimes when she likes the food... she will get a little. My brother in law is simple to please .. he likes plain grilled or fried meat or chicken. But the rest of my family ... Ate.. Kuya... and Tita Portia .. we like to eat the same things.

The simple menu for today's lunch was: Molo Soup, Ginataang Kalabasa and Sitaw with Shrimps and Fried Chicken Wings for the kids. Coffee Crumble ice cream for dessert.

Ginataang Kalabasa and Sitaw with Shrimps - Favorite of Tita Portia

120 grams pork belly, cubed into small pieces

2 C. coconut milk, 2nd extraction

1 onion, chopped

1 head garlic, chopped

2 T. alamang or according to taste. Some raw alamang are salty and some are not.

Boil for 1 hour over low heat until pork cubes are tender.

1 bundle sitaw, cut into 2 inch long pieces

1 slice kalabasa, cut into thin square pieces

2 pcs. jalapeno chili

250 grams shrimps

pure coconut milk, 1st extraction

Add the vegetables to the pork and coconut. When vegetables are crisp tender, add the shrimps and pure coconut milk. Cook until the shrimps are not gray anymore. Do not overcook the shrimps or else the skin will stick to the meat. Serve immediately.

Molo Soup

1/2 K. soup bones

2 liters of water

10 peppercorn

1 T. rock salt

1 big white onion

Boil the chicken for 1 hour. Flake the meat from the chicken and set aside.

1/4 K. ground pork

1 slice SPAM or chinese ham (optional)

1/2 C. singkamas, chopped finely

1 egg

1/4 k. shrimps, chopped

1 T. flour

Molo wrapper from Ling Nam T. Alonzo in Chinatown or Bambi from the supermarket. Other brands have an unpleasant smell.

Combine all the ingredients for the filling, scoop 1 tablespoon and place filling in the center of the wrapper and gather the edges like a pouch.

It is better to freeze the dumplings at this point. Always grease the plastic container before putting the dumplings so it will not stick.

1 head garlic, crushed

1 onion, chopped

flaked chicken

soup stock

Brown the garlic in oil, set aside for the topping. Saute the onions, when wilted, add the flaked chicken... and then the broth. Adjust the seasoning according to taste. When it is boiling, lower the heat and drop the frozen (no need to thaw) molo dumplings. continue cooking for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are well cooked. Top with browned garlic and chopped spring onion.

Fried Chicken Wings - posted in one of my previous entries (March 29, 2010)

I was able to make Mango Jelly out of the frozen fresh mangoes I stored in the freezer last weekend. I didn't know what to do with it and my relative, Tita Yolly, suggested I make Mango jelly. I looked in the Internet and my old recipe books and found a simple recipe. It turned out quite well for an experiment .. if you like the guava jelly type of preserves.. then you will like my Mango Jelly experiment. I am thinking it would taste good over vanilla ice cream or toasted bread with butter... or crackers with cream cheese.

Mango Jelly

1.7 K. Fresh mangoes( skin and pith removed- not included in the measurement)

1.3 K. brown sugar

juice from 6 pcs. kalamansi

2 T. butter

Boil the mango with kalamansi until soft. Add the sugar and butter. Stir until the sugar caramelizes and mixture turns into jelly. Store in sterilized jars or new disposable plastic containers in the refrigerator.