Herbed Chicken and Boiled Vegetables

Well, I came up with two very simple but yummy new recipes today. It’s a Monday, but we didn’t have work because it’s a national holiday (Bonifacio Day). I woke up very early and spent an hour working out. I went running at the nearby park for about 40 minutes and spent the remaining 20 minutes doing some stretches. I was surprised to see so many fellow joggers. It was very motivating. It was also fun people-watching. Haha. When I got home, I didn’t realize how tired I was until I fell asleep and woke up two hours later. WOW.

I spent the rest of the day having “friend time” with Tracy and had my first cup of coffee after one whole month of going without it. I ordered my favorite blend called Raspberry Mocha Kiss, and it was indeed BLISS! As they say, delayed gratification pays. :-) I spent most of the evening cooking for tomorrow’s packed lunch (there’s actually enough for dinner, too) since I will be very busy with my usual “first-day-of-the-month-high” at work.

Herbed Chicken

I rarely cook anything deep fried, but I guess this is a good reward for working out and for eating well on a rest day. Besides, I am now gaining more and more appreciation for different kinds of fresh and dried herbs and was up for a little experiment.

Ingredients:

Fresh sweet basil leaves, finely chopped

Dried basil

Dried rosemary

Chicken breast fillet, cut into 3 inch slices

Eden Cheese

Pillsbury flour

1 egg, beaten

Lauric oil or canola oil

Steps:

Slice the chicken breast fillet into half, but not completely, creating a flap. Spread open and apply chopped fresh basil leaves.

Sprinkle with dried basil.

Add cheese, and close. (Use toothpicks to keep the cheese sandwiched in the chicken fillets if necessary.)

Repeat for the rest of the chicken fillets.

Sprinkle with dried rosemary.

Dip in egg, and then cover with flour.

Deep fry in lauric or canola oil.

Let stand on a strainer or paper kitchen towels to remove excess oil.

Serve hot.

Boiled Vegetables

This recipe is good for those who are watching their cholesterol level.

Some may consider this bland, but I do not agree because if one pays close attention (meaning that you are in fact chewing your food well), the vegetables have distinct individual flavors. Paying attention to how the individual ingredients in my food taste is actually one of those little lessons I learned from my little sister.

Ingredients:

Asparagus spears, cut into 3-inch lengths

Brocolli

Cauliflower

Carrots, slices

Water

Steps:

Bring water to a boil. Add all vegetables and cook for about three minutes, or until asparagus is soft, but not limp. Do not overcook.

Drain water.

Serve.

Wedding Bells

Have I ever mentioned that Chandler Bing was my favorite character in the tv show "Friends"?
I loved his humor and the fact that he resorted to it as a defense mechanism. (I do, too, that's why. Haha)

Anyway, I have been watching reruns of "Friends" lately--most of the time while waiting for pasta to boil or other stuff to simmer-- and I realized how fast time seems to be flying. In "Friends", for example, they were just these 25-year-oldswho laughed, cried, celebrated, and grieved together; and the next moment they were these 30-somethings who started getting married. Well, except for Joey anyway.

In the same way it's also a whole new season for me. My friends are starting to get married. In fact, there's gonna be another wedding in two weeks. It's gonna be the second one I will attend this year. I pretty much started 2009 with a wedding (Ate Neri and Kuya Aboy's last January 11) and now I'm ending it with a wedding on December 12. Cool, huh?

Anyway, this week, we will be having a "Wedding Bootcamp" in Lorie's Kitchen. I bet our friends will appreciate us looking fabulous in their wedding pictures. Haha. So, for this week's recipes, we will have more protein and less carbs.

13 days to go.Good luck!

Delirium’s Vegetarian Three-Color Twists

It's so tempting to write this recipe this way, as Delirium's balloons are written--Delirium’s Vegetarian Three-Color Twists--but I'm sparing us all of a bad headache. LOL

This recipe would be perfect if Neil Gaiman was coming over for dinner. Haha. I WISH. I named the recipe after his playful Sandman character Delirium. (The colourful pasta spirals remind me of Delirium’s hair. She’s always been my favourite, especially when illustrated by Jill Thompson (who is said to be pretty much like Delirium)). Oops. Parentheses inside parentheses!

I know I promised less pasta recipes, but I wanted to try making a new recipe using those pretty pasta spirals (called rotini or rotelle or fusilli). And since this week’s theme is vegetarian recipes, this is going to be one, if without the parmesan cheese.Cropped from "Delirium" artwork by Richard Case

Ingredients:

1 cup three-color pasta spirals

2 tbsp olive oil

2 pcs eggplants

2 pcs ripe red tomatoes, sliced

1 pc red bell pepper, sliced

parsley, chopped

½ tsp salt

ground black pepper

cashew nuts (optional)

grated fresh parmesan cheese (optional)

Steps:

Peel the eggplants and cut them into 2-inch lengths, about ¼ inch thick.

Toss with salt and place in a colander or strainer set over a bowl to catch the liquid (You’ll be surprised when you see the liquid!). Weight the eggplant slices with a small, heavy bowl. Let stand for an hour. Rinse off salt. Drain.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the eggplant slices until lightly browned. Transfer to a strainer and let stand (or pat dry with kitchen paper towels) to remove excess oil.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, or firm to the bite. This takes about 10 minutes. Drain.

Toss the pasta with 1 tbsp olive oil, tomatoes, red bell pepper, parsley, and eggplants. Sprinkle with black pepper.

Add cashew nuts and/or grated fresh parmesan cheese if desired.

p.s.

According to Marie Simmons’ “365 Ways to Cook Pasta”, the three colors the pasta comes in actually mean something: green=spinach; pinkish red=tomato; and natural.

p.p.s

Look how peaceful our street is, tonight! Everybody must be out since it's Saturday. I hope my friend forgives me for “forgetting” tonight’s dinner at a Japanese restaurant near my place that I’ve always wanted to try. Inspiration for new recipes rarely comes these days. Couldn’t refuse the call of the kitchen!

To-go Sandwich

Had quite a crazy crazy crazy week, so I didn't get to make any of those vegetarian recipes as planned. TGIF! And since it's a long weekend, let's see if I can actually do that.

Here's my new to-go sandwich. Perfect for when you have no time to get lunch. You can prepare it the night before and just put it in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

2 slices wheat bread,
tomato slices
cucumber slices
a thin slice of apple,
tuna chunks in water, sauteed in white onions and pitted black olives (tuna was pre-soaked in red cane vinegar)
parsley

Pasta recipes

Apologies for the deluge of pasta recipes these past few days. Haha. The next posts will be different. Let's see how many original recipes I can come up with.

Hmmm. I'm thinking of Vegetarian Cooking for this week's theme. Let's see if that's doable. :-)

Pasta in Three Herbs (Updated)

Will post the recipe later, but here's a very new (and healthy) pasta recipe I came up with today.
I think this should be called Pasta in Three Herbs Plus One because apart from the rosemary, basil, and thyme, I also added parsley to garnish. LOL. The orange bits are chopped red bell pepper and tomatoes.

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Boil pasta until al dente. Drain.
Sprinkle pasta with 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried rosemary, and 1 tsp dried basil.
Sautee white onions in olive oil until limp. Add diced tomatoes and diced red bell pepper.
Add Tuna (chunks in water) and sautee until cooked.
Mix well with pasta.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve hot.

Pasta with Celery, Mushrooms, and Black Olives

The Sony Service Center people informed me that they successfully repaired my camera. I picked it up this evening. I went through crazy traffic, a difficult taxi driver, and almost lost my patience with the long queue, but I finally got it. Whew!

I got inspired so I started digging through some old photos of original recipes I made but never got around to writing down. The photos helped me recall the ingredients I used.

Well, here's one I dug up from the recipe memory lane. Be warned, though, that not everybody likes celery the same way a lot of people (like my cousin Rob) do not like asparagus, but CELERY IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH.

I put cheese in almost everything I cook, especially pasta, but I intentionally left out the cheese for this particular recipe.


Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
10 pcs black olives, rinsed in running water and cut into halves
10 pcs whole champignons, cut into halves
1 medium-sized white onion, sliced into rings
1 pack Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti pasta
2 celery stalks, chopped

Steps:

Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and transfer in a serving dish. Set aside.
In a non-stick pan, sautee onions, mushrooms, black olives, and celery in oil.
Mix well with a wooden spoon until onions are slightly limp.
Add Tomato Sauce. Stir well. Simmer.
Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.

Bon appetit!

La la la

I finally got around to having my camera repaired. Apparently, it's the lens that got broken. The repair cost is crazy but I guess that's the price I have to pay for being so careless with it.

Anyway, the holidays are fast approaching and I will need it a lot. A lot of reunions, pre-trip get-togethers with friends, and send-offs are expected. Besides, I think I'll do a lot of cooking during the break. Would be nice to post high-res and good photos of new recipes again.

I know I am rationalizing, and I am comforting myself. Sigh.

Nowadays I am making austerity measures to simplify my life. It's pretty healthy, too! I wake up earlier than usual so I can walk to work (only 15 minutes even if I walk in a la la la way), bring my own lunch, bring fruits and nuts as snacks, and walk home from work. Will resume my daily evening jog too.

That's why I don't really gain weight even if I spend a lot of time in the kitchen with my experiments. Try it. It' sgood for you!

Kiwi Fruit Salad

Here's something simple, easy to prepare, healthy, and filling: Kiwi Fruit Salad.

Kiwi is one of my favorite fruits and I love snacking on them.

What you need:

2 pcs kiwi fruit, sliced
1 medium-sized carrot, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 medium-sized white onion, cut into rings
1 cucumber, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 apple sliced into bite-size pieces
grated cheese (just a little!)
Mayolite (Mayonnaise with 50% less fat)

How it’s done:

In a big bowl, toss carrots, apples, onions, and cucumber, in that order.
Add grated cheese and mayonnaise. Mix well.
Add kiwi fruit. Mix gently.
Serve chilled.

Here's my very healthy dinner: That's fried milkfish, marinated in lemon juice and garlic...storebought, of course. I prefer pre-marinated fish as I am not patient in preparing fish the same way I am not patient in cooking beef. Let's see if that changes.

Down with a cold, but the cooking continues....

A friend of a friend of mine owns a tea company. When we met, I had just finished my box of Twinings and was also out of my regular Tazo so I decided to try their brand--Green Forest Banaba All Natural Herbal Tea. I quite liked it. I also discovered the best way to enjoy it: Add 2 thin slices of fresh lemon. Hot tea with lemon helps bring comfort during a cold.

I've been catching up on posting some recipes (written in different notebooks, journals, random bits of paper, etc. I haven't quite reached that point yet when I've had to write on the palm of my hand, but if that happens, I will take a photo and post the recipe as is. Haha.)

Here's a recipe book I bought a year ago and have been skimming through again lately for ideas. I like getting ideas for ingredient combinations and trying them out on a completely different recipe. It almost always works.

Pasta de Sarde

It's Friday night and I'm not really famished but I remembered that I boiled 5 huge red tomatoes the day before with the intention of coming up with a new tomato-based recipe but ended up storing them in the refrigerator after accidentally cutting a small wound on my hand while peeling a papaya with a recently sharpened knife. Ouch.

It was a good thing that I was done cooking the tomatoes by then and was just waiting for them to cool when this incident happened.

So anyway, I decided to make a very simple pasta recipe tonight so I can use the tomatoes: Pasta de Sarde. As it implies, it's pasta with sardines.

When I was a child I saw a cooking show where this one particular celebrity cooked pasta with spanish sardines and I was pretty convinced that the host was just being polite to the celebrity in saying that what the latter cooked was yummy when in fact she really wanted to switch to a commercial break so she can spit it out. My, what an imagination I had!

I now wonder what my old friend Sigmund Freud has to say about me trying out a Pasta de Sarde recipe of my own.

Ingredients:
5 big tomatoes, boiled until their skins peel off. (Remove skin!)
1 tbsp lauric oil or olive oil
1 medium-sized white onion, sliced into rings
Spaghetti pasta
155g Spanish sardines, drained
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme

Steps:

1.) Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and transfer in a serving dish. Set aside.
2.) Transfer Spanish sardines in a small bowl. Mix with lemon juice and vinegar.
3.) In a non-stick pan, sautee onions in oil until slightly limp.
4.) Add the tomatoes, crushing them with a wooden spoon as you stir them in. Mix well.
5.) Add the Spanish sardines. Do not stir. Let simmer for about 3 minutes.
6.) Sprinkle thyme on the pasta.
7.) Pour sauce over pasta evenly, with the sardines on top of the onions and tomatoes as much as possible. Serve.

The problem with these Cooking for One Experiments is that I'd have to eat them too!

I ended up wolfing down a plateful of this tonight, with much guilt and gusto.

Pesto and Cheese Pasta

Good reviews from a few people who got to taste this recipe the other day. :-)

Ingredients:


1 tbsp lauric oil or olive oil
10 pcs black olives, rinsed in running water and cut into halves
1 medium-sized white onion, sliced into rings
6 tbsp prepared basil pesto
4.5 g grated cheese
1 pack Tomato Sauce/Pesto and Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
100g Spaghetti pasta

Steps:
Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and transfer in a serving dish. Set aside.
In a non-stick pan, sautee onions and black olives in oil.
Add the pesto and mix well with a wooden spoon until onions are slightly limp.
Add Tomato Sauce/Pesto and Cheese sauce. Stir well.
Add half of the grated cheese. Simmer.
Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.
Top with the remaining grated cheese.

Good Old French Toast (Update)

FRENCH TOAST ATTEMPT

Ingredients:
2 small eggs
1/2 cup milk
butter
sliced bread
Optional Powdered sugar and syrup (I used honey)

Preparation:
1.) Use a fork to combine eggs and milk in a shallow bowl.
2.) Over medium heat, heat a pan coated with a little melted butter.
3.) Dip bread into the mixture. Let the bread soak it up a bit before removing. Do this on both sides of the bread. Using a fork, allow bread to drip over the bowl.
4.) Place a slice of bread in the pan. Turn slice over when bread slightly brown. Repeat for all slices.
5.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with syrup.

A toast to a successful french toast attempt! :-)

p.s. I didn't eat all of these in one sitting! :-)

Good Old French Toast

Being all grown up means that you can have a granola bar for dinner and no one will give you THE LOOK or talk to you with THE VOICE. I actually miss home today--my mother's cooking, the healthy AND yummy food, and how easy mealtimes are: You wake up in the morning and there's food on the table. You do whatever you have to do, and when you're at home at the time, someone will just holler that lunch is ready. No matter how tired she is from teaching all day, my mother always cooks dinner herself. All we have to do is sit and eat. Well, except of course that after that my siblings volunteer ME to do the dishes. Haha. I don't mind, really.

They say I take after my mother, and that we share so many traits. (I once went to a wake where I met a lot of people my mother grew up with. They said I was a spitting image of her in her youth.) Well, at this point I don't feel like I am the superwoman that she is. I have been sick for two days, and whenever I am sick, I miss home. I have been pretty much on own since I was 17 and headed off to college. My mother bawled her eyes out during the first months, but she got used to me coming and going during schoolbreaks and holidays. I guess she was worried that I wasn't getting enough nutrition or that I was starving myself to death. True, there were weekends when I had chosen to use my allowance to buy my beloved books rather than to buy food (I feasted on my Ayn Rands and my Salingers with as much gusto as I would on a hearty meal.) but that was my choice. PLEASE DO NOT MENTION THIS TO MY MOTHER. SHE STILL DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS.

Tonight, I cooked broccoli in oyster sauce for dinner, but as I had no appetite at all, I put it in the fridge instead for tomorrow's consumption. I sliced apples and kiwi fruit to munch on instead

It's Saturday so I am making plans to have a nice breakfast tomorrow. I'm thinking of making french toast. I haven't done it before but as I always say, "How do you know unless you try?"

So, with a little research, this, more or less, is how french toast is made:

Ingredients: 2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
butter
sliced bread
Optional Powdered sugar and syrup (I plan to use honey)

Preparation:

1.) Use a fork to combine eggs and milk in a shallow bowl.
2.) Over medium heat, heat a pan coated with a little melted butter.
3.) Dip bread into the mixture. Let the bread soak it up a bit before removing. Do this on both sides of the bread. Using a fork, allow bread to drip over the bowl.
4.) Place a slice of bread in the pan. Turn slice over when bread slightly brown.
Repeat for all slices.
5.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with syrup.

We single people who live on our own owe a lot the Internet. LOL

Will post how it goes. :-)