Thursday, October 28, 2010

#19: My Banoffee Pie

My daughter's bear even covets to have a bite.
So, I got enamored with the flavor, elegance and simplicity of Banapple's Banoffee Pie. I wanted to eat some more so I said I'd rather stuff myself with it at home. I then relived all  the flavors I enjoyed, checked the internet for some of my co-foodie's versions and came up with my own. Yeah! One whole pie just for me and my household!
You will just have to have a hand mixer though to whip the cream that we have in our recipe. I'd like to make the caramel sauce our featured ingredient but it is not exactly an ingredient. Caramel sauce calls for its own recipe so we'll make it the banana. 
We are used to eating banana just as it is when we need a quick snack or when there is nothing else to eat. Well, it is becoming increasingly popular anyway as a breakfast or meal substitute because it has all the works: vitamin C, potassium, energy from natural sugars, digestible carbohydrates, zero fat and cholesterol, dietary fiber. However, we fail to see that we can squeeze it into a sandwich with some peanut butter, or toss it with some orange segments and simple syrup,  or turn it into a luscious dessert just like this one! Oh this is going to be exciting! 

Thursday, October 21, 2010

#18: A Banoffee Pie and 10 Books

A very good friend took me out a month ago because my system was aching for non-Anne cooked food.. or to be more specific, pastry. Or anything with cream and caramel! Help!


So the sky took pity on me and caused a friend to take me to Banapple in Il Terrazo in Tomas Morato. It is such a cozy place with light, flowing curtains, soft lighting, homy decor and warm , happy colors. 
Thanks to banapple for their picture!
Their tables are very nice, too! It is made of marbles stuck in clay or cement then let dry, as seen on this picture on the left. It feels ticklish in my palms. It makes the plates wobbly though but I really did not mind it much. :-D

Saturday, October 9, 2010

#17: Pininyahang Atay ng Manok (Sarap nito!)

Perhaps I was treated to a death-by-tomato-dishes when I was young that is why I'm more inclined to prepare coconut or milk-based sauteed dishes now that I have my own kitchen. I still loooove kalderetang baka (the type that has peanut butter, and cheese and coconut milk *sigh*. I'll share the recipe for that soon!) but there is something refreshing and light about this Pinoy dish that we're going to bring to life this time.


This is an attempt to make you liver-haters to love the luscious, buttery, slightly bitter and earthy taste of our featured ingredient: chicken liver. Chicken liver is much smoother and lighter on the palate than pork or beef liver. Its rather eccentric characteristics are balanced out by the beach-loving, tangy flavor of pinapples that is sweet, sour and fruity at the same time. Then the whole marriage is tied by the rather subtle but creamy contribution of milk, both cow's and coconut (or whichever is available in your pantry at the moment). This nutritious and friendly viand could easily become a favorite in your repertoire of good food.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

#16: Why Saute?

Filipinos, being stove-top-cooking creatures, love dishes that involve sauteing. When my friends ask me to teach them how to cook most common Pinoy viands my first line is always "So long as you learn how to saute, you will be well on your way." That is because that is the foundation of most Pinoy favorites like afritada, menudo, kaldereta, guinataang gulay, pininyahan, tinola and of course adobo. The next thing you should know after that is an idea of how long your ingredients cook. The only rule there is, you place first the ingredients that cook longer, then add later the ingredients that cook faster (unless you need to sauté them).


Thanks to http://food.rlove.org for thepicture! 
So why sauté?

Friday, October 1, 2010

#15: Pumpkin Bisque





Don't you just love that dollop of cream on top?
Thank you http://www.olivecocomag.com for
the tantalizing photo!
Okay fine, it's really just pumpkin soup. Bisque just sounds more expensive. :-D

A  very good friend of mine hate our featured ingredient today: pumpkin or what we Pinoys commonly call kalabasa. The mere mention of kalabasa as part of her meal will make her stick out her tongue. Maybe because her only idea of kalabasa dishes are Pinakbet  and Guinataang Gulay (Vegetables in Coconut Milk). But I take pride in the fact that I was able to make her enjoy kalabasa through this hearty soup. She liked it so much she requests for it every now and then if she’s ever gonna visit our place. When we have this in our home, I just eat a big bowl of this filling soup with 4 pices of buttered toasts (although that is not a very good diet option, is it? Wheat bread perhaps?) and I’m good for lunch. Even my almost-2-year-old loves her rice to be swimming in this soup. Come to think of it, this is one tasty way of having your children get that beta-carotene in their diet.