Here’s an interesting way of serving a Filipino favorite, salted red eggs or itlog na maalat. Youngest Sister prepared it for lunch one time and it was so amazingly fresh tasting and different that I just had to make it for lunch today. The colors in the photo didn’t come out right for some reason but believe me, it made a very appetizing dish in looks and smell. (more…)
This is a salad my mom came up with way back when I was in my teens. It’s a very Filipino salad using the commonly used vegetables, bataw or hyacinth bean and sigadillas, also called winged bean in English. This is just another was you can use these readily available vegetables, aside from adding it to the usual sinigang or pinakbet. So I hope you’ll give it a try.
Every Filipino has probably disparaged our very unique Macaroni Salad, as I have. It’s not the usual macaroni, mayo and dill pickle concoction you’ll find everywhere else in the world. I guess you could call it a bit “confusilcated” as Spouse likes to say. A little bit of this, a little of that…and so much more. It’s a reflection of who we are, a melange of flavors and influences all in one bundle of confusion. I have this theory it’s also a reflection of the Pinoy’s openness to new ideas, cultures and flavors.
I really ought to stop intellectualizing now since, one, I’m not good at it and second, it’s just a salad. All I know is - it can be delicious if you’ll only give it a chance.
I don’t know why I never featured Coleslaw here before. Its one of our staples. This one in the photo was drier than my usual since it had about half the mayo I usually put. I’ve consciously been lessening meal portions and trimming some fats from a lot of recipes in the hopes that it will make a difference in our girth….right…wishful thinking.
I like coleslaw better this way - with less of the mayonnaise I mean. The cabbage was extra-crisp this time too and yes, I do put pineapple in my coleslaw - like any good and upstanding Filipino. I guess you could call this a very Filipino Coleslaw…
This coleslaw is usually paired with some oven-finished Banquet Crispy Skinless Frozen Chicken. It’s not the healthiest of foods so I always skip potatoes and carbs. This chicken is just so convenient and can be paired with so many different salads. You can also cut up the breast pieces and make that into a sandwich or a tortilla wrap with lettuce, tomatoes and bottled Caesar dressing. (more…)
I don’t think this quailifies as a salad although I put it in that category. It’s really just a mix of fruits I intended would be a salad with lemon juice and honey….when I started out anyway. Once I tasted how naturally sweet the melons were, I thought it would be a sin to disguise that with anything else.
So here it is, an unadulterated mix of fruits: honeydew melon, cantaloupe, blackberries, cherries.
This Shrimp Salad definitely qualifies as an easy summer lunch. It requires a minimum of cooking, plus, it’s very light and cooling on a hot summer day. I love that it looks so appetizing too.
There have been heatwaves in both US coasts the last few weeks. Thankfully, the summer has been pretty mild in Colorado this year. The fact is, I’ve never experienced a summer here that’s been so cool and wet before. Hot or not, a cool salad like this is always an enjoyable lunch. (more…)
I was trying to follow a recipe for this pasta salad but ended up making it my own way. A cold pasta salad is always a perfect summer dish. This one is particularly healthy and light with the tuna and vegetables. (more…)
The Potato Salads I’ve had in the US are just plain potatoes with mayo, mustard, onions and dill pickles….pretty boring I thought. Filipinos do potato salad a bit differently.
I only realized this when I brought a huge bowl to an outdoor, going-away barbecue for my husband’s former officemate. Everyone looked at my salad and said, “Oh this is different, I have to try this.” Sitting close to my salad was another bowl of the plain potato salad. Right there and then, my eyes were opened to the Filipino flair for drama and color…even in our potato salad.
Here’s an interesting alternative to your everyday garden salad with bottled ranch dressing. It’s easy to prepare, but not quite as simple as opening that bottled dressing. Like most things in the kitchen, a little bit of effort will be well worth it…which you’ll only realize in the eating.
With the kalamata olives and feta cheese, it’s Greek-inspired you could say. Truthfully, it’s just something I threw together which I hoped would go with some grilled lamb sausages from Wild Oats Natural Market. What a lovely combination the two made. (more…)
Couscous is one of those things I was happy to discover when I got married and moved to the US. It’s easy to make and there are a variety of healthy ways you can serve it.
I buy the regular grocery store couscous in a box and prefer the flavored ones from Near East. This one I’m featuring is Wild Mushroom & Herb flavored. (more…)
Do you like eating raw vegetables that’s not lettuce or tomatoes? Just the thought of it used to send shivers up my spine.
But then, I was put to shame by my pseudo-grandkids a few years ago. Their mom likes serving crudites with dips on occasion and it would’ve been embarrassing if I didn’t at least take a bite or two, while the kids chomped away unperturbed. This went on, occasion after occasion, until I finally started enjoying raw crudites.
Then last Christmas, I have to admit, I actually prepared a tray for Stepson and his friend. Yes, that was me who prepared and served it!
This entry is not about crudites though. It’s about another way to get anyone like me to eat raw vegetables. (more…)
If you’re a carnivore like I’ve always been, you’ll understand why I say, a salad for lunch is like undeserved punishment. It’s only after I got married a few years ago, that I started thinking of a more balanced diet and included salads in my regular fare. But this particular one is so substantial and good, even I crave it once in a while. It’s called Salad Nicoise.
This is a classic from the Nice region in France.The basic ingredients for a classic Nicoise will include anchovies, black olives, tuna, hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes. Everything else, so I’ve been told, is incidental or the ccook’s own choice.
You can use a bottled dressing but making your own from scratch will really only take a few minutes. It’s nothing at all like commercial preparations.
In the early days of my attempts at homemade dressings, I would put everything in a bottle, close the lid tight and shake it all up till it came together. I always worried about the dressing separating on me, mainly because it had - more times than I care to remember, actually.
Eventually, I realized if I make the dressing just before I serve, it won’t have time to separate - so there went all my fears….
This recipe is from Nora Daza’s “A Culinary Life” written with Michaela Fenix. It’s the best recipe for Nicoise I’ve tried. (more…)
