What lies within?....Door & Windows of Sagada

Let my silence speak this time.

Salmon Mini-Bouganvillea

At last it has flowered after waiting 13+ years! This teensy plant has me all excited since this is the first time it has ever bloomed profusely and I just can't stop admiring it each time I pass by the garden. This little patch of land which I have called my,Secret Garden, has gone through several facelifts over the 20 years that I have lived here. When I first started I had such grand illusions of what it had to look like and so like any novice gardener, magazines and pictures were my guide. Once, it had to be a flowering garden and all purchases for the garden had to do with flowers. You know how these seed packets have a picture of how your plants should look like once it starts flowering? Well what was I thinking! I had no idea about zones, temperatures and land preparation, so nothing much came out of the land. Believe me, but I even tried to plant Kentucky Blue grass once only to have the seeds washed out after a night of heavy rain. So we had Kentucky Blue grass sprouting at the sides of the canal outside our house. The garden had gone through a vegetable phase as well but I found growing them a bit labour intensive. I have finally found the garden I want and can live with and it is a combination of all those I have mentioned earlier and some. This tiny Bouganvillea has stood witness to most of these changes, maybe all these flowers are a sign that I am finally at peace with my garden and maybe with myself as well.

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage

Recent health concerns within the family have motivated me to look for more heart friendly recipes and this one has been in my recipe box for more than a decade. It's a simple and no fuss dish to serve when you have not much time. All you need is a good (organic is best) 1.5kl chicken. Cut it into pieces and toss in about 2 Tbps. of corn flour , 2 Tbsps. of Shaoshing wine, 1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil, 1Tbsp. Soy Sauce and some salt. Arrange in a heat-proof dish and insert slices of Chinese Sausages. Put in a steamer and let cook for about 45 minutes. Sprinkle chopped chives before serving.

St. Kieran's Ginger-Date Balls.....Now don't let the ginger turn you off from trying these crunchy sweet balls. Ginger has been known to be a natural cure for motion sickness, as a poltice for arthritis and rheumatism, sore throats and of course indispensable in the kitchen for tinola, steamed fish and chicken. This recipe came about when one of the mom's in my grandson's school, St. Kieran's, brought this during one of the school's fete's. It turned out to be such a hit that everyone was requesting for the recipe which she most kindly printed and shared.

St. Kieran's Balls
In a saucepan place the ff:
1/2 cup chopped dates
4 oz.(125g) butter
4 oz. preserved ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
Cook on low heat till dates are soft.
Cool, then add 2 1/2cups rice bubbles.
Mix well, then form into balls.
Roll in dessicated coconut.

Cubed Truffles

Quinito's Truffles..... My grandson loves almost anything chocolate and these truffles from Simon Johnson in Sydney are his favorite. Rich, pure chocolate at it's finest, with a sprinkling of nuts...ahh...I'm in heaven.

Shortbread from HRH Prince of Wales

Duchy Organic Shortbread......If only we stuck to just satisfying man's basic needs, our lives would be much less complicated and stressful, albeit a bit boring. But then, don't we all go through days when we just crave for the best of something simple and uncomplicated? These are by far the best Shortbread biscuits I have ever had! Rich, buttery and made from organic ingredients grown and harvested from organic farms in Britain including the Home Farm at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

Unlike gifts that come and go,
Or tinsel on the attic stowed,
May the spirit of peace we hold so dear,
Remain with us all throughout the year.

From our house to your house,
Happy Holidays!!!

Fuming about coffee...I roast my own coffee beans, grind them as needed and I do believe that I can make a fairly decent cup of fresh coffee be it from a drip machine or a French Press (plunger). Espresso and Cappucino...this is a different level of coffee making for me although I have made lackluster attempts, but I guess what I really need is a good quality machine and of course, THE PROPER TRAINING. This is a photo of what a perfect cappucino should be! Made with coffee with a thick crema and topped with a DENSE froth of milk. I am appalled at how a lot of coffee bars (including foreign franchises!) here try to pass-off a cup of watery coffee and soap bubble froth as Cappuccino. I know that in some countries, you cannot be a Barista without the proper training and certificate. I wonder if the people behind our coffee counters here even know what it takes to make good coffee or even what it should taste like. I don't think making a good cup of coffee is difficult, you just have to KNOW how to make it.

Bees and Strawberries...

I am not a breakfast person and I've never liked the feeling of a full stomach to start my day. Then I discovered the lovely combination of sweet and juicy strawberries with a creamy vanilla youghurt and a teaspoon of bee pollen. This with a glass of orange juice and a fresh cup of coffee is an ideal sunriser meal for me.

Strawberries & Bok Choy

When East meets West......The one thing that has made me love Australia is the diversity of its people and their willingness in accepting things Asian. Greek, Indian, Japanese, Thai, Portugese & Chinese are staples in food courts, presented in so many diverse ways. This photo I took of Strawberries and Bok Choy signify a merging of the East with the West.

Halluuuu! I'm back and look what I have here....Middle Eastern Orange Cake w/ Marmalade Cream. Special occasions call for special food and good food just like good books, just need to be shared and in doing so it makes for good conversation. I made this lovely cake for my daughter's 30th and we loved it. Thanks Meg for this one and you're right, it didn't stay around for long.

Hello from the land down under ! Melbourne at daybreak.

Big man in pink crib ........On one of our trips we chanced upon this truck and I just had to share this with you guys. What is going on here ?!  

Bugnay aka Bignay........It's not often that you find these trees and if you do, now is fruiting season. They grow in grape-like clusters and can be made into wine and some say it has medicinal qualites. I tried making jam last season and it came out good in flavour but a bit to thick in consistency ( overcooking perhaps ). There's a bitter-sourness that I like since I prefer my jams a bit less sugary . It's great on toast or served with panna cotta.

Asian Tapas....... During these trying times, when all newspapers leave nothing much to look forward to, we scrounge for something to uplift our spirits and make us believe that there is still that something or someone who can make us proud to be a Filipino. One such example is this Asian Tapas cookbook authored by Christophe Megel and Anton Kilayko, both of the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore. Kilayko, a very young and much talented Filipino from Bacolod, has been making a name for himself in the international hotel scene. If you're one who likes making small bites, this is for you. It features truly Asian recipes which are accompanied by detailed photos that will make you crave for these delicate and savory "tapas". Even the lowly "kangkong" is given an all new makeover with their recipe for Kangkong Wonton Rolls with Goat Cheese. Alain Ducasse in his foreword says, "...how happy I am to see a book which so thoroughly embodies the essence and attitude of contemporary cooking". If Ducasse is happy, then I'm doubly happy and proud of Anton Kilayko, who in his own way, gives us a semblance of hope and pride in being Pinoy.

Calamansi Pie.......To a lot of gardeners and tillers of the land, the El Nino Phenomenon is synonymous to disaster. But I really believe that nature has a way of putting some sort of a balance into everything. Never have I seen the Flame trees that line our highways bursting with flowers that they look like they're on fire. The scenery reminds me of an Amorsolo painting of the old Philippine countryside. There is an abundance of produce everywhere, even in my own little garden. The Calamansi shrubs are just overflowing with these plump, round citrus fruits that I just had to find some use for it aside from just making juice and using it as a dish degreaser. And so this pie came to be, it's a cloned recipe that calls for lemons but instead I use the juice of Calamansi. It's a cross between a cheesecake and a lemon pie and quite easy to make. I just love the tangy and "pucker-up" sourness that's balanced by the sweet creaminess of the cheese layer.... just like nature.
Calamansi Pie Recipe
Pre-heat oven to 350F (about 175c)
Crust - 1 cup crushed Graham crackers
1/4 cup Butter, melted
2 tbsps. Sugar
Mix together in a bowl and press the mixture into an 8-inch pie pan. Set aside.
Cheese layer - 8 oz Cream cheese
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat till smooth. Pour into pie crust and bake for 30-35 minutes or until your tester comes out almost clean. Let cool.
Calamansi layer - 1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsps cornstarch
1 cup Water
Dash of salt
2 Egg yolks
3 Tbsps Calamansi juice
1 Tbsp. Butter
In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, cornstarch and water and mix over low
heat till it starts to simmer, stirring often.
Whisk in egg yolks, then add lemon and butter. When mixture simmers
remove from heat immediately.
Pour over the cheese layer and let cool. When cool transfer to fridge for
several hours before serving.

Strawberries of Baguio........The early months of the year bring an abundance of these luscious red berries. We're lucky to have some of the fresh fruit in our local supermarket even if the price is triple that of the Baguio market. My mom's last visit was timed so that she could spend her birthday with us and so this is the birthday cake that I made for her. A simple pound cake topped with whipped cream and slices of strawberries was just the right dessert to cap our lechon and paella dinner. It reminds me of my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake and Cabbage Patch dolls. 

Pitik-Pitik on Betel Leaves........My first adventure into Thai food first begun at Flavours & Spices, and since then I have never looked back. The taste and aroma of food from this country of gentle people has always lingered in my memory bank right next to my Adobo experiences. At one occasion, I had the chance to dine at Martin Boetz' restaurant, Longrain ( Sydney) and I was just plain blown-off by the experience that I just had to order a dish to go and hand carried it over land, sea and air for about 8 hours. This is a starter that I made with Pitik-pitik ( Poor man's lobster ) during one of those moments when I just had to have Thai food. You spoon the filling onto these Betel leaves ( yup, the one's your "labandera" used to wrap their "nga-nga's" in), roll it up and savour. This may not do justice to Chef Boetz, but the mere scent of all the herbs and spices while preparing this brought me back to that cold winter day in Surry Hills.

Crunchy-flaky Empanada........In the island of Negros on the Occidental side is a quaint little town named Silay. A place steeped in tradition and made famous by the prominent sugar barons who settled and built grand houses during the 18th & 19th centuries. Food has always played an integral part in the lives of the people of Silay. There are secret recipes handed down from one generation to the next and one of them is this delicious Empanada made in the kitchen of Emma Lacson. You bite into a crunchy-flaky pastry and then experience a variety of flavours...sweet, sour and salty from the filling. Each piece of pastry dough is painstakingly made by hand with a technique that is in itself an artform. During the Christmas season this is one gift that never fails to elicit ooohs and ahhhs and yummms. Something as scrumptious as this is not sold in shops or delis, you get it the old-fashioned way, by calling the Lacson kitchen and having it made-to order especially for you.

Jiggly Eggs & Sweetcorn Cakes........Brunch is a rarity here at Loney Kitchen and if ever we do have it, Sunday is usually the chosen day. A bit of preparation is required since it's a bit of a special meal for us and eggs are always a staple. A moist and jiggly omelet is good company for spicy country sausage, tocino, San Andres tapa and in this case some crispy bacon with oven-roasted tomatoes and watercress, wedged in between sweetcorn pancakes and served with some grilled crusty bread. This is my version of Bill Granger's recipe which he serves with an Avocado salsa. You simply mix fresh corn kernels (canned will do) chopped onions and cilantro, eggs, flour and some baking powder and fry in a little oil. On a plate, start with a layer of corn cake, then bacon, tomatoes, watercress and top with another corn cake. My daughter taught me that the trick to making fluffy and moist eggs without the extra fat, is to add 2 tablespoons of water for each egg while beating lightly. Be sure to take the eggs off the pan while it's still wet and jiggly. After a meal such as this, all you'd want to do is crawl back in bed and spend the rest of the day in la-la land.