Tomato Jam and Planet Green

I was elated when I opened my FACEBOOK Inbox and found two messages from a very good family friend of ours, Jan La'O. Let's call him JL (we have the same initials hekhek). JL sent me this link:

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/

And interestingly, a TOMATO JAM Recipe which I'm so excited to try.

Tomato Jam
By Kelly Rossiter



1-1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño or other hot pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

THANK YOU, JL!!! You're very pro-active! Truly appreciated. :) See you soon? hehe

Paella ala Nata...Si Senora!

Philippines was colonized by Spain for more than a 100 years. Spanish culture is very much present in our lives - from architecture, language, and of course food.

When my friend Nata told me that he'd share his Paella Recipe with me and that it's OK to post on my blog that made me doubly excited. :) He did not give exact measurements on each ingredient. So here's to WIDOW MEASUREMENTS. hekhek!

The ingredients: chicken, 1 onion, 5 bulbs of garlic, green pepper, shrimps, one tomato, clams, parsley, salt, lemon and of course, rice

First, fry the chicken. Then saute the onion, garlic and parsley. Then add green pepper and tomato. After which, the shrimps. Pour in the soup of the previously boiled shrimp shells. So instead of using regular water to cook the rice, use shrimp stock!

Add rice. Add coloring (saffron). Put in salt and wait for 15 minutes. To add a little decoration, put red pepper and green pees. For the finishing touch, squeeze a lemon over the paella. And ya Esta! Ready to be served.

Here's Louie digging in:



And of course, the Paella Goddess.....Nata!



This is a light bulb moment (well, for me, that is). I never thought Paella was this easy to make. I love paella but it never crossed my mind to learn how to cook it because I thought that it is tedious and so much labor is put into it. I am wrong. Go Try niyo na. Now Na! :)

Dinner the Parisian Way

I can't help but reminisce good times with old friends everytime I feel melancholic especially when good times happen in the most romantic place in the whole wide world - Paris!

Last March 2009 I left for Paris and stayed with one of my dear friends, Louie - The most gracious host ever. Two days after I arrived, another good friend of ours from EL-AY flew in to bond with us. Let's call him "Super Mowdil". On the first night of "Super Mowdil" in the city of Lights, Louie treated us to one fantastic Parisian Dinner at the CHEZ FRANCOISE RESTAURANT.




Chez Francoise is a french gastronomic restaurant that is located in Les Invalides close to the Eiffel Tower. Louie made reservations online. We got there five minutes early and were greeted by their Maitre D' who was so gracious to lead us to our table.

Browsing through the menu, three of us decided to order different dishes so we can try it out.

We had the following Entrees:

Oysters from Marennes Oleron


Rabbit's Meat with Espelette Pepper Jelly (this made Mowdil's tummy turn upside down.... vomit moments? hehehe)


Foie Gras, Apricot & Fig compote


For our Main Courses, we had the following:

Monseiur Castaing's Duck Confit


Whole Sole Meuniere


Fresh Catch of the Day: Mowdil's choice!


And who wants to miss dessert? Not I! I cannot really remember the names of these desserts but I assure you It's TDF (To Die For!!!):

If I'm not mistaken, I think this is Warm chocolate fudge with Fromage (cheese) ice cream


This one, I really forgot. But I can assure you it was stellar! :)


Louie had these unpasteurised farm cheeses that stink like crazy! (super pangsot galore... I swear!)


Just like in a movie, all good things must come to an end. *sob* After dinner, we strolled our way back to Louie's Apartment. I wish everyday I'd wake up in Paris. *super sob*

Finally: Spinach and Salmon Pasta Sauce!!!

Yesterday mother came home with a huge plastic bag of Spinach! WooooHoooo! She bought the Spinach from the Carmelite Nuns. They are selling it at P20.00 per bunch. Uber cheap, don't you think? Then, came my excitement. I want to make a creamy (yet with little fat) spinach sauce with salmon.



Here are the Ingedrients:

1 213g Pink Salmon (small can)
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1/2 of large white onion - chopped
juice of 1/4 lemon
2 to 3 cups spinach leaves
1 1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 can of nestle cream (small can)
1/2 cup grated cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil

Procedure:
1. Blanch Spinach leaves for three minutes (in boiling water of course...DUH). Drain and squeeze out excess water. set aside.
2. In a sauce pan, saute garlic & onion in butter & oil
3. Add Salmon (include the juice). Mash salmon meat and let it stand for 3 minutes.
4. Add Milk, nestle cream. Bring to a boil.
5. Add Spinach. Whisk slowly incorporating all the ingredients.
6. Add cheese. Bring sauce to a boil until it thickens.
7. Salt & pepper to taste.

Check out the sauce: YUM-OH!



And here's the plated dish:



Don't you know that Spinach is good for you? Here are some Spinach facts:
1. It is low in calories.
2. It is Extremely high in vitamins.
3. It is versatile. Can be eaten cooked or raw.

Here's to a healthier YOU!!! Try it out. Now Na! :)

Black Mission Figs and Prosciutto Pizza

My dear cousin-ness from the other side of the Planet sent me photos of his own version of Black Mission Figs and Prosciutto Pizza which made me salivate like there's no tomorrow. Sigh! Suddenly, I miss the Figs & prosciutto pizza I had at one funky New York Pizzaria two years ago. Forgot the name of the Pizzaria though... Piggy something:



Now Here's cousin-ness version:



Now THAT is homemade pizza! Take note of the generous portion of Prosciutto! Yum! He claims to be "Giada" Garcia but I tell him that he's more of a "Barefoot" Garcia. hekhek!

He was sooooo kind to share his recipe. Here we go:

1 ball pizza dough

8 pieces black mission figs, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 cup Gouda cheese (Smoked variety is best)

1 cup fresh mozzarella, drained, patted dry and torn to pieces.
1 tbsp. good olive oil
2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. freshly ground pepper
10 slices prosciutto
1 tsp. coarse cornmeal (to prevent the dough sticking) or you can use all purpose flour for dusting.

If you’ve got a pizza stone, preheat it. Otherwise, preheat a cookie sheet in a 500° oven.

Once your stone or cookie sheet are preheated and the oven’s nice and hot (I like to leave it on for at least a half hour before I put the pizza in), roll or stretch your dough out until it’s nice and thin.

Sprinkle the cornmeal on the pizza stone and then assemble your toppings. Since you’ve preheated the stone or cookie sheet, the bottom of the dough will begin cooking. This is a good thing since it’ll keep your pizza from being soggy in the middle.

Layer your sliced figs, then drizzle them with the olive oil and honey. Sprinkle with the black pepper, then add the cheeses, making sure to distribute them evenly. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Remove to a cutting board, layer with the prosciutto, slice and serve!




Thank you, Jav! Can't wait to try it out myself!!!