Cardiac Arrest

I had a very special menu tonight for my dinner guests, Tita Nene and the Batcave Junkies, Mona, Tricia, Cat and Shey!

I called it my Cardiac Arrest menu.... Especially planned with Tita Nene in mind. I promised her last year that I would cook for her.... All our heart stopping favorites!

Bulalo Soup!

Just the marrow and clear hot broth!!!!

A lot of people are afraid of eating bone marrow.

I have been telling them for a long time that bone marrow is good for your body! It is a mono unsaturated kind of fat! For your point of reference, olive oil is also mono unsaturated fat.

The healthy benefits of bone marrow:

http://www.lahealthyliving.com/1/post/2013/06/bone-marrow-is-an-extremely-nutritious-food.html

Lechon Kawali! Perfect partner for Bulalo Soup!

Hahahaha Can you feel your arteries clogging already?

Camaron Rebosado con Jamon y Lardo!

What does that mean?! Shrimps with pork fat and Adelina's Ham which I bought all the way from the main branch on Kalentong Street.

I also cooked Tricia's favorite Pata Tim.

Mona's dessert was Buko Lychee Salad.

Earlier in the day, I received a text message from. Mona that her cholesterol was 8.26 or equivalent to 320! I immediately replied and asked her, Do you want me to ask Hermie to cook Paksiw na Bangus for you?!?!

Hahahahaha She said, she would rather go home than eat Paksiw!!! She promised to go on a diet this Wednesday.

I suppose I am blessed with good genes. I used to eat 2 eggs a day for several months and my cholesterol level was lower than normal. The trick there is not to eat it in combination with wheat.

I will have my blood test soon! I hope I pass the cholesterol test with flying colors! I know I am going to fail the blood sugar test but I am already on wheat free so I need a few months to lower it for a better test result next time.

It was such a delight cooking for Tita Nene because she liked (I hope?!) my heart stopping food!

I love it when people enjoy life to the fullest.

Until our next dinner date, Tita Nene!!!!

The Wriggly Chronicles

Wriggly was feeling under the weather but when Tricia, one of his favorite humans, arrived....

He perked up!!!

 

 

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Chicharrones

I have not stopped looking at the picture of the Chicharrones I cooked the other day.

I wanted Mona to taste my new experiment. I was buying Liempo at Rustan's, Rockwell but the meat was not fatty enough for this dish. I asked the butcher why was there no fat!?!? He said, they rejected the pork belly with fat.

So.... Mona and I just kept staring at the picture. THIS picture!

Hahahahaha

I posted the youtube link in one of my blog posts but I will share the recipe here. Very easy to make and the was no oil splatter!!!!

Latin Chicharrones

1 K. Fatty pork belly strips, 1.5 inch thick

1 t. Baking soda

1 t. Fine salt

2 C. Water

Rub the baking soda on the rind of the pork.

Season with salt and let it stand for 30 minutes.

Lay the pork belly strips on the frying pan. Add the water and cover.

Midway, turn over the belly strips. When the water has evaporated completely, lower heat and cook until light brown in color turning the meat once or twice.

Remove Chicharrones from the frying pan. Let it rest for about an hour.

Using the same pan and oil rendered from the belly, fry the Chicharrones over high heat until the skin blisters. Be careful not to burn the meat or else it will taste bitter.

I removed the rind after frying then refried it in the same pan.

The rind became very crunchy.

I wish I could let you all try my Chicharrones or better yet.... You should experiment one of theses days!

Promise!!!! It was so easy to make!

 

 

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Callos

My family loves Callos. I do not eat it but I enjoy cooking their favorite at least once or twice a year.

I was so excited to use the beef knee cap I had in the freezer and was able to buy Jamon Iberico bones from the deli section of Rustan's, Rockwell.

Initially, I just bought a tray of frozen tripe, but I did not realize it would shrink! I had to buy again another tray in Rustan's, Rockwell. As I was about to pay, I realized, I forgot my wallet at home! Good thing, I met Shey and she paid for my tripe!!!

Thank you, Shey! You were a life saver!

My recipe is not for people with high levels of uric acid, cholesterol and blood pressure. It is a vertigo, heart attack and stroke waiting to happen all at the same time!

Imagine sautéing the garlic and onions in oil rendered from 250 grams of bacon! Then add all the other ingredients.... Whew!

Aside from the bacon fat, it also had about half an inch layer of fat from the boiled beef knee cap!!!!

Not for the faint of heart! Only for the brave!

Callos

1 K. Tripe

1 K. beef knee cap (I prefer it to ox feet)

Ham bones, preferably Jamon Iberico or Prosciutto

250 g. bacon

garlic, chopped

white onions, chopped

2 pcs. Chorizo de Pamplona or El Rey, sliced

1 Knorr beef cube

2 T. Patis ng taga Malabon1

C. Del Monte tomato sauce

1 small pack Del Monte tomato paste

stock from the boiled meat

1 can Molinera chick peas, skin removed

2 pcs. red pepper, cut into squares

20 pcs. green olives

1 t. Carmencita paprika powder

1-2 T. olive oil

Boil the tripe, knee cap and ham bones until tender. Drain and reserve the stock.

Fry the bacon, cut into small pieces and set aside.

Saute the garlic and onions in the bacon fat and olive oil. Add the chorizo slices, cook until the oil becomes orange.Add the boiled meat, Knorr beef cube and patis.

Saute over low heat for 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. When it boils slightly, pour in the stock and the cooked bacon.Let it boil and then lower the heat.

Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Season with paprika.

Add the olives and chick peas, when heated through... add the red pepper. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes more.

Best served with crusty bread.

 

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Diet Food

I started my wheat-free diet last Monday. Of course, I had to eat my last gluten-full craving which was Ebi Tempura.

My Sunday lunch was Ebi Tempura at Nihonbashi Tei on Pasay Road.

Sunday's dinner was...... Ebi Tempura again at Mitsuyado Sen.

It is my favorite among the tempuras out there.

Being on a diet does not mean you will not eat delicious food.

Well.... anything I prepare at home is good enough for me.

Jing had lunch at the house last Monday. We even measured our rice, half cup each but it was a very tightly packed half cup of rice.

Ginataang Kalabasa and Sitaw

Grilled Tilapia

With kalamansi and chili pepper.

Jing brought something very cute!!!! Lechon de Leche!!!!

Hahahaha It was pan de Leche. It really looked like a cuchinillo.

Another diet food.... Sizzling Bangus

One of my afternoon snacks.... Green mango with Bagoong

I have been browsing the internet on how to make chicharon because I have many pork skin in the freezer.

I came upon a YouTube video of Latin Chicharrones and I experimented.

http://youtu.be/-grzmsG06yI

It was like cooking Lechon Kawali but the oil did not splatter.

I removed the rind, cut it into smaller pieces and refried it in the oil rendered from the pork belly strips.

Deadly but oh so good!

I cooked Beef Bulalo Pochero for Mariger and Jing.

Ohhhh the sauce dried up a bit because we were chatting with Celina via Facetime while I was cooking and forgot about the stew!

Another wheatfree food - Sinigang na Bangus

I checked the contents of my fridge and was able to collect ingredients for Beef Teppanyaki.

The next day, I had Beef Teppanyaki at Sumo Sam

And Chicken Terriyaki.

I only eat half a cup of rice twice a day. I hope my blood sugar improves.

I am very excited, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday!

I think I am the only one who gets excited over a consult with a doctor.

For sure my blood sugar result will be high because I was eating all kinds of sweets last Christmas plus let us not forget all the bread, pasta dishes and pastries I had!

I always pray that I do not get tempted to veer away from my health goals.

As always.... Wish me luck!

 

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I Fell in Love with The Lord and Master of Soloviento

BINGO, The Lord and Master of Soloviento.

He is a 7-8 month old Jack Russel Terrier and I fell in love with him!

The first moment I laid eyes on Bingo, I knew I wanted him to be mine!

He was waiting at the port for us while we were being ferried by the barge to Soloviento.

His tail was wagging non-stop! Excited to meet the new comers!

Be ready to be boarded by the welcoming committee!

And welcome he did!

Such a playful pup with boundless energy and stamina.

I saw him near the pine trees and called out his name, BINGO!!!!!! And he ran as fast as he could towards me!

He has a little Elmo toy which he got from one of his hiding places ( under one of the campers).

He would run around the place with it!

One moment you can see Elmo near the dock, then the next, it would be in another location.

He was also well behaved especially during meal times. He would just sit on a chair and act as though he was the host and we were his guests.

He never begged for food, just for our attention.

Hahahaha We were screaming when he went up the rooms with dirty paws!

Ohhhh did I mention he likes to be included in photo ops?

I swear to God, as we were about to leave, he hugged Sherman's leg with crossed paws! Then he started biting the pant leg, preventing us from going home. He went with us all the way to the port.

I wanted to take him home with me!

But it was not fair because he was so happy where he was..... So free and loved by everybody.

The Lord and Master of Soloviento, BINGO.

 

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