My family and I had a 12-day vacation in the Philippines a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun kahit na super init ng panahon. Pero papayag ba naman kaming maspoil ang bakasyon namin ng dahil lang sa init ng panahon? Shempre hindi! It’s summer kaya naman madaming usong pampalamig ang pwedeng gawin. I am so blessed to have a mom who cooks good food, she really took care of us plus our bellies! Nung dumating kami sa Pinas gumawa agad si mama ng halo-halo kaya naman pawing pawi ang init na aming naramdaman. Swerte kasi samu’t saring pagkain at kakanin din ang laging nakahain kaya sobrang enjoy ang bakasyon.

Now that we’re back in Cambodia, I’ll admit that I’m a bit homesick. Iba kapag may nanay na nag aasikaso sayo. Iba ang luto ni nanay. And because I’m now a mom too, inaalagaan ko din ang mga chikiting ko kahit na busy ako sa trabaho. Para hindi nila masyadong  mamiss ang Pinas, gumawa ako ng ice candy – ang paborito kong pampalamig nung bata ako, I’m sure peborit nyo din to! Enjoy akong kainin to kasi napakasimple nya at masarap. Naalala ko tuloy ang kapitbahay namin na best seller ang pinya at  sago flavored ice candy. Lagi akong bumibili sa kanya kasi ang sarap sarap nya gumawa at ang mura pa. P1 lang to dati kaya kapag may P5 ka mahaba habang enjoyment na ang matitikman mo. Meron din syang Milo, ube, orange, grape, at iba pang flavor. Basta ako solve na sa sago at pinya. The best!

So going back, I made ice candy for my children the other day. Mango and avocado were in season, so I chose them as my flavors and since it’s very easy to make you can do this with your children at home as a bonding activity.

All you need is the following:

- fruit in season

- condensed milk

- crushed ice

- water

- blender

- funnel

- ice candy bags

To make ice candy, simply scoop out the fruit (avocado or mango as I have used) and  put them in the blender. You will need at least 4 mangoes or 2 avocados and add half can of the condensed milk. Blend it for 10 seconds. Once the fruit is smooth, add 500 ml of water and keep on blending for another 10 seconds. Make sure the juice is now even out. Once ready, get your funnel and ice candy bags. Pour the juice in the plastic and lock it by rolling the ends. If you do not have the plastic bags, you may use any Popsicle mould you have, then put them in the freezer till frozen. Share and enjoy the fun!

For those who doesn’t know, Saturday is usually my marketing day. It’s the time of the week where I buy all the stuff I am going to need for my family – which include food and groceries. So today, I thought of cooking seafood but don’t really have a dish to start with. All I know is I want oysters and clams, and that’s it! I took my basket, drove, and off I went to Phsar Thmey or Central Market where you can buy good varieties of seafood.

When I got to the place, I was pretty overwhelmed with all the sea creatures I saw. Big crabs, fresh prawns, groupers, snappers, assorted shellfish, and the list goes a long way! However, the pretty mussels (tahong) caught my attention because it is not every day that they have this in the market. I guess they’re seasonal. So, I bought 2 kilos for $4 which is not bad. Normally, when I am staying in Cavite City, my mom will cook tahong or mussels in garlic and ginger, then she will put a little water to make soup. So I thought maybe it’ll be nice to have that for lunch, but my dear husband told me he’d want something else – he wants ADOBONG TAHONG.

Immediately when I got home I searched the net for the recipe and I was so pleased when I learned it’s soooooo EASY!

For those who want to learn this dish, here’s how

Direction:

1. Clean the mussels well through running water and make sure to cut or take off the hair-like part that lies outside the shell. You don’t really want to eat this one.

2. Put the mussels in a pot and cover with water. Then turn on the stove and bring to a quick boil.

3. Drain the mussels and one by one, take the meat out of the shell. Set aside.

4. In a medium heat, pour a little oil in a pan and saute the garlic.

5. Bring in the mussels and fry for a minute.

6. Add the soy sauce, peppercorns, vinegar, and simmer for another couple of minutes.

7. Taste and adjust if needed.

8. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Mangoes are in season now and they are sold cheaply in the market. Here in Cambodia, you can buy a kilo for only 2,000 riels or $0.50. I normally buy at least 5 kilos because my kids love mangoes and making it as a smoothie is their favorite!

Since the weather is extremely hot these days, my son Aaron would normally request for a cold drink and when he has time, he will make a smoothie for everyone in the family. Isn’t he a darling! I think my kids have developed a passion in cooking or food preparation since they always see me in the kitchen – which is really good!

For those kids who want to impress their mom and dad, try making this one at home

1. Cut the mango’s cheeks and scoop out the yummy, yellow fruit off the skin. You can discard the seed as you’ll not need it anymore.

2. Get your blender and put the mangoes inside. Click pulse a few times before blending in minimum speed for at least 20 seconds.

3. Add half of the content of condensed milk and put the crushed ice. Blend thoroughly.

4. Pour in a nice glass and enjoy

Para sa min namang nasa abroad, maswerte na kapag may kaong at nata de coco na tinda sa pinaka malapit na Filipino store, at kapag mayroon tinda, kami na mismo ang gagawa ng sarili naming halo-halo.

One good thing in living here in Phnom Penh is having a very close Filipino store where I can buy ingredients for my daily cooking. Fil-Mart has been a good source of cheese and other native delicacies, and though their prices are a bit pricey, many Filipinos still patronize the shop and their products.

So, going back to my halo-halo. I decided to make this delicious treat the other day. I didn’t prepare much for I can easily buy most of the ingredients at Fil-Mart. I have kaong, nata de coco, cream style corn, sweetened banana, and sweetened camote, leche flan and vanilla ice cream to mix in my halo-halo. I skipped the beans and garbansos for I don’t really like them.

The next thing to do is to get a tall glass and start arranging the ingredients. Line them up as if you’re making a master piece. Make sure that you put a little of everything because you still have to leave space for your crushed ice. Pour the milk on top of the ice and so with the leche flan. Place a scoop of your ice cream and the wait is done! You now have a yummy and very refreshing halo-halo. Enjoy!

Direction and Preparation:

1. Carefully separate egg yolks from egg whites, make sure no egg whites will be mixed up to your egg yolks.

2. Beat the yolks gently for several strokes preventing it from forming too much bubbles.

3. In a separate bowl mix well the condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt,extracts of  lime or dayap rinds (put the dayap rinds in a clean white cloth and squeeze to get extracts of it)

4. Gently put the mixtures together, beating gently to prevent bubbles forming. If bubbles appear after mixing, wear off the bubbles by using a spatula or a spoon.

5. Set aside your mixture and start making your caramel syrup. In low fire, put your mold and the sugar in it.Mix it with a spoon ensuring all the sugar gets melted. Do not burn it or else it will give a bitter taste. Let it stand for at least 10 minutes before putting the mixture in. Cover it with aluminum foil.

6. While doing your caramel syrup, start boiling water for your steamer,when water is boiling, bring your fire into medium heat and put the flan container(s) in the steamer. Cover it tightly and steam for about 15 minutes.

Immediately, I organized all the stuff I bought. Cleaned the fish and washed all the vegetables. Put them in the fridge and started my way cooking lunch. I made vegetable spring rolls for everyone to eat. Then I cooked the bananas.

The bananas are beautiful and they are just the perfect fit for my dessert. I peeled them off and set them aside while waiting for my sugar to be dissolved. As the sugar in the water continues to boil, I added vanilla, bananas, and langka. Covered the pot and waited till my bananas absorbed all the sweetness from the sugar. After sometime, it’s done and I liked it. It’s yummy and it’s really good.

Here’s how you to cook minatamis na saging:

1. Boil 500 ml of water in a pot.
2. Dissolve the brown sugar in the water and bring it to boil.
3. Add 2 tbsp of vanilla to give a nice aroma to the bananas.
4. Put the bananas and cover the pot.
5. Let it simmer until the bananas acquire the color of the sugar.
6. You may also add langka to the boiling if it’s available in your area.
7.  Enjoy your sweetened bananas cold.

To achieve perfectly boiled eggs, put your eggs in a pan. Cover half of the eggs with cold water, and add 2 tbsp of vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. These will help the egg whites to gather together and give a little kick to the taste. Set to boil in high and once boiling, turn the heat off and let it rest for a minute. Turn the heat on again, cover the pan and cook the eggs in medium heat for another 10 minutes. If you’re cooking more eggs, you may want to cook them for a couple of more minutes before letting them cool down.

Once the eggs are cool to crack, take the shells off and cut them into halves, separating the white from the yolk. Put the yolk in a bowl and  together with rest of the ingredients, mix them very well.

Scoop a tablespoon of mixture on top of the eggs and plate them according to your desire. Sprinkle with paprika and serve with rice or bread on the side. Enjoy!

Thanks Gigi for the message, hayaan mo pag gumanda na ang kitchen ko gagawa na ako ng mga videos para inde ka na magprint

Hi Kailey! Thanks for adding me too and I hope you’ll never get tired of my recipes

When I started this blog last year, all I have in mind is to have a portal of recipes that I’ve learned to cook through the years. I thought having an online recipe website would be convenient on my part for I always forget the ingredients of the foods I’ve cooked. I try my best to make it simple and at the same time enjoyable, to make it easier to maintain. I love to take photos of the foods I’ve cooked and they make me hungry too whenever I look at them. Sometimes I even try to pinch myself just to be convinced that I was really the one who cooked them all. I’d say I’ve been a long way and I am liking the journey that I am heading in order to make my family’s tummies stuffed with all the foods that they can think of. Though my knowledge in cooking may be basic, I’m still thankful that it’s leading me to a path that I might be able to improve more.

I have been inspired by many cooking websites all over the world, and there are some that really stands the most like Rasa Malaysia and Simply Recipes. Most of the foods they prepare in their website are simple and yet has elegant touch of presentation. I always adore how they can do it wonderfully and I dream to be like them one day. Someone who is well-known in cooking.

Now, looking back to what I’ve started, I am very much thankful to all my readers. You’re simply making my day whenever I see some 300+ readers on Statcounter, it really means a lot for a newbie like me. Thanks for dropping a comment to my recipes and even sharing it to your family and friends. Definitely Filipino has done a great job too since they’ve started posting my food shots on their Facebook page. It makes my heart melt whenever I read how fellow Filipinos comment on my foods – Ang sarap ng feeling!

I am overwhelmed with these simple gestures. Maraming salamat po sa inyong suporta, sana po wag kayong magsawa at maging guide ko po sana kayong lahat para mapagbuti ko ang aking pagluluto. To all mothers like me who feels incompetent in cooking, bumangon kayo at kuhain ang sandok at kaldero, sabihin ninyo sa inyong sarili na “Ako ang reyna ng kusina, kaya ko to! Isang luto ka lang!”

Happy cooking everybody

Since it’s something that we look forward to in a week, I think making it a little special by prepping some nice meal won’t hurt. Also, enchilada is ideal to eat when you don’t have much time to prepare. It’s easy, yummy, and way healthy!

I love the simplicity in my hubby’s plate for most of the seasoning are just out of my cupboard. Flank steak is a lean, somewhat tough but flavorful cut of beef that benefits from the tenderizing effects of a marinade, if you have the time. It is best cooked medium rare and thinly sliced at an angle.

Here’s how to cook it:

1. Wash the flank steak thoroughly in running water and pat dry with a paper towel.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and place the steak, make sure all the sides are evenly coated. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour or two.

3. Preheat the grill to high and coat the rack with olive oil. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.

4. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Serve with your favorite side dish.