Fresh Salsa and Guacamole

2 c. sliced cherry tomatoes
1/4c. minced cleaned cilantro
1/4c. minced red onions
3T. fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice(more according to your taste)
1-seeded diced fresh jalapenos(optional)
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1-minced garlc

 Just mix all ingredients in a clean bowl,cover and chill for an hour!Serve with favorite chips.


Guacamole:

4- small  avocados mashed
3T. finely chopped red onions and cilantro
1- seeded finely chopped Jalapenos(opt.)
1t. powdered cumin
1t. Kosher salt(adjust salt to your taste)
4T. freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice
1- small plum tomatoes diced

Use a food processor and use the pulse button  to mix everything then transfer to a bowl and let it chill for an hour.If you don't own  a food processor a blender  will do or just mix it by hand. 

Julie's Caramel Brownies

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
250g dark cooking chocolates
3/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
condensed milk


Preheat the oven then grease the baking tray w/ butter, in a bowl, melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave, make sure not to burn the chocolate, then mix in the sugar, next is the eggs, then vanilla extract last is the flour. Pour in to the greased baking tray then pour some condensed milk on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes but don't overcook. Then you'll have a chewy moist caramel brownies.

***This is my sister chewy brownies recipe!

Easy Pitchi Pitchi

This is my sister Julie's recipe from Sydney Australia and I am posting it for her :)

1cup grated cassava

1cup water

1cup sugar

pandan flavoring optional

grated fresh coconut meat

mix the grated cassava, sugar, water all together, put in the container then steam for 20-30 minutes. Let it cool then scoop w/ a spoon then roll it in grated fresh coconut meat.

Raspberry Jam

6 cups fresh raspberries
5 cups sugar
4 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Mash berries with a potato masher. put into pan and boil for 1 minute.

2. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir.

3. Stir and cook on medium heat until it forms a jell. (about 5 min.)or use candy thermometer when it reaches to 230 F degrees  soft ball stage

4. Ladle into sterilized jars and process for 5- 6 min.

Tips:

• To determine when the mixture will form a gel, use the spoon test: Dip a cool metal spoon into the hot fruit. Immediately lift it out and away from the steam and turn it horizontally. At the beginning of the cooking process, the liquid will drip off in light, syrupy drops. Try again a minute or two later — the drops will be heavier. The jam is done when the drops are very thick and two run together before falling off the spoon.

• "The intensity of this jam is due to the fact that it has no added fruit pectin," says Topp. Adding pectin helps the jam jell, but necessitates more sugar, which dilutes the natural flavor of the fruit. Making jam without added pectin requires more careful cooking (see notes about the spoon test, above), but the extra effort pays off in a deliciously old-fashioned, fruity product.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Old-Fashioned-Raspberry-Jam-230700#ixzz0uO08Oj1I

Baby Back B-B-Q

1- Baby back ribs

1/2- bottle store bought BBQ sauce(I used Kraft original)

2t. salt, 1t. ground pepper,1t. red pepper flakes,1t. chili seasoning

4 cloves garlic chopped,1/2 med. onions sliced
3 small bay leaves

1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Wash the ribs and patted dry with paper towels and place in a pan.

3.Seasoned with salt,red pepper, black pepper,chili powder rub the seasoning evenly.

4. Place sliced onion, crushed garlic and bay leaf on top and bottom  of the ribs cover with foil and bake for 3 hours.

4.Uncover the meat and pour half of the store bought BBQ sauce, return to the oven for 6 minutes uncovered . Serve.  

Vegetarian Ginisang Munggo

1c.dried mung beans (soaked in water for an hour)
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 medium minced onion
2 medium minced tomatoes
1 small square of hard tofu(diced)
1 t. olive oil
salt and pepper
2c. of baby spinach(washed )

1.Cover mung beans  with enough water and cook in medium heat for 30-45 minutes until beans are tender.
2. In a skillet add a teaspoon of oil saute garlic,onion and tomatoes  cook it until tender.Add diced tofu and 
cooked  mung beans let it simmer for 8 minutes and add  cleaned baby spinach, salt and pepper to taste . Put the lid on and turned off the heat. Serve with rice or eat it by itself.Very healthy and low fat dish.

Soft Moist Mamon

2 1/4 cup cake flour(sifted before measuring)

1 1/4 cup superfine sugar( use ganulated white sugar and process it at the food processor)

1 t. salt

1 T. baking powder
1/2c. orange juice  plus 2 T.
1/2c.canola oil(vegetable oil)
7 egg whites
3/4 t cream of tartar
1/4 cup  super fine sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
1. Sift the cake flour,salt,baking powder and  1 1/4 super fine sugar.
2.In a bowl  of egg yolks add the canola oil,orange juice,vanilla  and the sifted dry ingredients.
3.Mix  the yolks mixture until smooth and set aside.
4. In a clean bowl, add egg whites and cream of tartar  and whip it with a mixer until soft peaks form,    gradually add the 1/4 c. sugar and continue mixing .
5.Fold the egg white mixture to the egg yolks dividing  the egg white into 3 parts with a rubber spatula use the cut and fold method very gently until all egg whited are incorporated.
6. Pour into a greased pan and bake 30-45 minutes.
7. Cool in a wire rack inverted.Serve it plain or brushed with melted butter then sprinkle some sugar and top it with shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese.

Some of the pans that we used are tuna cans(make sure you soaked and washed it thoroughly until fishy smells are gone) we got that idea in another blog. We tried the Texas muffin pans  and a loaf pans too.The recipe yielded 12 giant muffins,4 big tuna cans container and a small loaf pan.Wrap it or store into an airtight containers after they cool.Very soft and moist!

Delicious Peach Pie

We went to my in laws and picked  some sweet,luscious peaches and juicy tomatoes. So sweet and refreshing.The family ate all the sun ripened peaches as pie and top it with a dollop of Bluebell chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

2-8" store bought pie crust(Pillsbury  at the dairy section)
2 lbs. fresh peaches peeled and sliced  medium thickness
1 c. granulated white sugar or less depending on sweetness of the fruits
1/4c. quick cooking tapioca or 2T. all purpose flour
1 t. cinnamon and 1/2t. nutmeg,1T. lemon juice,milk for brushing the top

1.Preheat oven to 350.
2.Mix fresh peaches,sugar,quick cooking tapioca,1t.cinnamon or nutmeg and lemon juice.
3.Roll the bottom crust and put the filling and  place the lattice(crisscross) on top and brush milk on top. 4.Bake for 45minutes to an hour. Serve with a dollop of ice cream.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2c. whole wheat flour
1c. all purpose flour
3/4t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
1/2t.baking powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 T vanilla
 3 very ripe bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix all wet ingredients excluding the bananas in a bowl.
2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
3. Add bananas and pour into greased texas sized muffin pans.
4. Bake for 30- 45 min at 350 degrees

Melon Samalamig

Samalamig means  a refreshment with a lots of ice cubes to cool you off (in a  hot steamy Hagonoy weather)in Tagalog, hence the word lamig(means cold). This is one of the refreshment of my childhood.My classmates and I always buy this samalamig and a bag of kornik(fried corn with garlic)purchased at the side of the cemetery, oh yes! where the dead people rest.We munch that crispy salty ,spicy,garlicky snacks with a sip of samalamig  in a plastic bags with a straw on the way home and a lots of chitchat/gossips about school. My favorite sago at gulaman (tapioca pearls and unflavored seaweeds jello with a brown sugar syrup)that will be my next post as soon as I visit the nearest Asian store. If you don't have the melon scrapper, try  blender or a food processor (pulse it for a few seconds) but the melons turn to be  mushy to me using a blender then the samalamig turns to smoothie. Try it!

• 
  
  Simple syrup : boil a cup of sugar to 2 cups of water set aside to cool .
• 
  
  wash  melon with soapy water and dry with paper towel remove the seeds and scrape the flesh.
• 
  
  mix enough ice cold water about 3c. to the syrup and melons, adjust sweetness to your liking and enjoy! 

I sometimes just mix the melons with iced water and add splenda or equal as my sweetener. 

Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:
1 3/4 to 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 envelope Pizza Yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup very warm tap water
3 T oil


Toppings:  baby spinach,pepperoni,pineapple tidbits, mushrooms, cooked ground meat,tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese (any choice toppings)


1.Preheat oven to 425 F.
2.Combine 1 c. of flour,yeast,salt and sugar in large bowl.
3.Add water and oil. Mix together until blended: about a minute.
4.Add 1/2 c. gradually until soft dough is formed( it will be slightly sticky). Add additional flour if  needed  form a dough ball.
5.Knead on a floured surface adding additional flour if needed, until smooth and elastic; about 4 minutes.with floured hands,press the dough out to fill greased pizza pan(I used an iron skillet) or roll dough to 12 inch circle.
6.Top pizza with favorite topping and sauce,sprinkle some Italian  spices mix.
7.Bake for 12-15 at the bottom oven rack or until cheese is bubbly.

4th of july blueberry pie

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Ingredients:
4 cups of blueberries and a little bit of sliced strawberries
1/4 cup instant tapioca or 3T. of all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 dashes cinnamon
1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2-8"  Premade crust  pie crust
 a little milk (for brushing the top crust)

1.Preheat oven to 350
2.Mix berries and the rest of  ingredients in a bowl
3.Place the top crust or cut into desired  shapes (I used a cookie cutter)
4. Brush the top crust with milk using a pastry brush
5.Bake for an hour
6.Serve piping hot with vanilla ice cream on top!
7. YUM!
Kitchen Tip: Use foil underneath the pie pan for easy clean up!