Chirashi Sushi and Sauteed Chicken in thick Garlic Adobo Gravy

Chirashi Sushi
Calrose Rice
Rice wine, rice vinegar and salt heated enough to dissolve
Nori Seaweed
Hijiki Seaweed, hydrated
Black Sesame seeds, toasted not burnt

Chicken, thin sliced
Safflower and lil' Sesame oil, med-high heat
Brown the meat
Prepare Adobo concoction of Tamari, Vinegar and splash of Rice Wine
Sweat some minced garlic, then before it burns...
Add Adobo Concoction and saute (ginisang)
Remove Juice into a container (for final gravy preparation)

Thick Adobo Gravy Sauce
Add spoonful of Tapioca Starch (Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch works too)
Add Siling Lubayo
Mix it up good
After chicken is close to finish, pour mixture back into pan
Stir it quick as it will thicken with haste!
Remove heat
Dish it up and add thinly sliced cucumbers around, miso cut

Garnish with Black Pepper and Green Onion

For Goodness sake

Good Ol' American Coffee

From american coffee

Good Ol' American Coffee.


Brewed, Sugar with a healthy serving of Half&Half.


Such a concoction simply cannot be found outside of the tourist cafes in Europe. I wouldn't say that I necessarily missed it, but I was certainly delighted to taste its sweet and creamy goodness once more.

From american coffee

It was a minor objective of mine to sample the variety of coffee each country had to offer. The challenge was met with both diversity and satisfaction.


In Paris France they serve serve Cafe Creme instead of Lattes and are very much different. The milk is -consistent between the actual cafes visited- steamed neither flat or fluffy...sort of like sloppy cappuccino froth. The cappuccinos are more like Italian machiatos.

From Budapest_Bakery and Eszpresso Bar


Budapest, Hungary -Fortune lead me to the most lovely bakery hidden within the neighborhoods and away from tourist traffic. There I was served eszpresso along with various impressive treats. When asked if I wanted any cream I was shown a container of heavily whipped cream and quickly agreed. After adding one packet of sugar I eagerly took a sip and was immediately sent into a fit of satisfaction.



Anyone that goes to Budapest would add significant color to their trip by visiting this intimate little bakery.


Rome Italy -I ordered espresso, machiatos, cappuccinos. Everyone consistently tasted like the best here in the States. One bar however located away from the beaten path, fulfilled my desires to discover if the mythological espresso archetype was really more than a myth. The crema was sweet and thick and was persistent until the last drop, quickly covering the extraction with every gentle swirl of the cup. The bite of the espresso was neither intense of subtle, it was simply balanced. From that moment on I wondered no longer what is possible.


Lisbon Portugal -Bars. You go to bars and order a caffe and are served a shot of espresso...with a touch of milk if you wish. And there you will stand, at the bar, sipping your shot of espresso shoulder to shoulder with you fellow drinkers...some drinking spirits for their morning boost. There were western cafes available in the main parts of town that catered to tourists where one might have a Cappuccino of Latte, but if you want Lisboa's culture, do what you can to find a local bar and have yourself drink.


No matter the representation, coffee is clearly a major part of every culture I passed through during my short tour of Europe. Into Italy coffee spread from the Muslim world back in the late 1500s and the first Italian Coffee House opened in 1645. Perhaps Portugal's expression of coffee can be explained by their significant exposure to Arabic culture.


Brazil produces the most green coffee in the world, followed by Vietnam and Colombia. Indonesia and Ethiopia follow in the line up according to Wikipedi.


Back in the States, sitting at the local Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in my families town in Southern California, I realized I had never qualified American coffee as its own variety and further excluded it from ever doing so. I had fallen into the classic trap of comparison to what something should or could possibly be. Now after having drunk so many varieties of the same thing, I understand that we Americans are no different. It is an adapted taste designed by the needs of our culture here. This is not unlike American Whiskey, New York Pizza, San Fransisco Chinese Food, Japanese Spaghetti, and a European Hamburger.


I find it amazing that I had to immerse myself into other Cultures to discover American Culture.

Bibingka

...On a silver platter!

I've been making this dessert for a bit now and it gets better and better with each round.  The process keeps evolving (naturally) and this latest version -and batch- is my favorite.  Produced about 200qty of these little bite size squares, carried atop banana leaves for festive efficiency.

Malagkit Rice (mochi)
Brown sugar
Coconut milk
Salt
Fresh Coconut shreds
Dried Coconut flakes
Banana leaves- not for eating haha

Sea Vegetables! Scavenged some sea palm fronds

SEA WEED!


Yeah. I love the stuff.



Harvested and drying after a week...still very plyable.




Slimy. Little gas bladders.


Anatomy of Sea kelp

The research on this was a bit challenging at first. Finally, after changing strategy a few times and getting lucky on a link, the truth was revealed and its name is Sea Palm Fronds!


Guess what? They are edible! Taste good raw.

Soaked for 2 days and changed the water several times. Thoroughly rinsed and collected into a glass vessel placed in the fridge, while the drying lines are rigged.




Exciting! Our very first sea harvest experience!!


good links found along the way:
Sea Vegetable Scavenger
Algaebase.org
Capital Region District, BC Watershed Mgt website

Salted Carmel Vegan Donut @ Pepples Donut

Vegan attempt: Adobong Sitaw (Snake Bean Adobo)

Fesh Vegetable List:
Yellow onions ...1 whole
Garlic cloves ...x5
Basil ...a bunch
Red and yellow bell pepper ...half each
White mushrooms ...I use a lot
Snake Beans (chinese long beans) ... generous handful
Siling labuyo (thai chili) ...x2
other ingredients:
pepper corns ...teasoon or less
Wild bay laurel leaf, dried ...two of 'em



Sitaw (Snake Beans or also known as chinese long beans)...

Siling labuyo (Thai Chili) & basil

Cut the tips and about this long

Sinimak Spicy Vinegar...only 1week marinating .

1 part of this to infuse with fresh chili and crushed garlic...



No meat is used so this array of comprised the main flavors of this adobo

Strategy: Made a sauce concentrate in two components to assure the flavors will stand out from each other...at least that was the thought (it worked!) .

List:

1 part Tamari or soy sauce

1 part Sake

2 part Cane vinegar

1 part Brown sugar

The glass container in the picture sort of served as my impromptu measuring vessel.

mmmmm cane vinegar


There he is. Datu Puti, the historical descendant of Datu Lubay.

Just kidding.

Found some great organic oil that fries at high temp. Blend of soy, peanut, and toasted seasame oil. Infused with green onions, garlic and ginger. Great for stir fry not so great for peanut butter carob chip cookies.

Normally slow temp cooking the chicken or pork with the soy sauce and vinegar will naturally thicken into a gravy. I found some non GMO corn starch to substitute. This amount here ended up being a tad too much. Take about a teaspoon out or so.

Okay. Combine the list together and heat it up and pay attention as burning is very easy. The idea here is to dissolve the brown sugar. Remove this first component from heat as soon as the sugar and liquids have become one and then add the corn starch.
Mix it complete and as it cools it will thicken.

Second component:

Siling labuyo, finely sliced basil and smashed garlic cloves infused in sinimak utilizing an improvised double boiler. I use an MSR Ti kettle inside of a SnowPeak 1ltr Ti bowl.

If water from the carrying vessel spills out too much, simply decrease the amount and it seems to work nicely.

When done it is hot and potent - like it could make noises come out of your mouth.

One whole yellow onion cut like this.

Brown over high temp in oil and some times splashes of water followed with the lid to pressure cook...or however you like to brown your onions, sibling.








Now ..we stir fry!

I've never seen my mama stir fry any of her ingredients when she makes any kind of adobo, but again here I am attempting to make some of the various flavors stand out in this vegan rendition since so much of the traditional flavor is derived from the meat.

Stir frying with the main sauce will create a glaze that will coat the vegetables:

Give the onions a quick splash to coat,

next beans

then bell peppers.

edit note to self (a post in progress) : self, dont forget to finish this. I completed the post but lost the work in a play between Blogger and my internet connection. Pictures do go far sometimes... I just simple can't work any longer this evening on this post. My emotional grumpiness didn't last too long, thank all that is good!!!!!!

Very tastey.

Successful Adobo style sauce utilizing Sinimak Spicy Vinegar and entirely vegan!

Coming Next: Turon -brown sugar glazed bananas and jack fruit fried in Lumpia wrappers....oh my dearness.

Vegan Sour Vinegar Soup with Blue Oyster Mushrooms and Nori seaweed

Other than Sinigang (tamarind base) this is my other favorite soup to make with a Filipino twist.

List of Components

Spices:Oregano, Bay Leaf

Stir Fry Sauce:Rice Vinegar, Tamari soy sauce, brown sugar & organic Corn Starch

Stir Fry:
Yellow Onions, chunky
Garlic Cloves, pulverized
Ginger, finely cut long toothpicks
Thai Basil
Serrano Pepper
Chinese Green Beans, long w/ ends cut

Fresh Vegetables:Sweet potatoes, chopped in chunky blocks
Blue Oyster Mushrooms cleaned and soaked in salt water
Large diameter Diacon Radish, cut into large coins
Carrots , cut diagonal and long
Bok Choy, long cut
Spinach
White Cabbage, whole leaves

Add to taste:
Salt & Pepper
Nori Seaweed, cut thin


Preparation:

Potatoes:
Boil Sweet Potatoes, drain and refill pot ¾ full of water

Sauce:
1. 3 parts Rice Vinegar, 1 part Tamari, ¾ part Brown Sugar
2. In small pan, heat until sugar completely dissolves (this will not take long!)
3. Once cooled down to a warm temp, add ½ part Corn Starch, mix well

Stir Fry in Wok:1. Caramelize Onions. When they begin to brown add the Garlic.
2. Splash Sauce and stir, reduce heat to simmer
3. Add Ginger, Basil & Serrano Pepper
4. Add enough water only to immerse contents, let cook to infuse
5. Increase heat to med-high and add Green Beans
6. As water evaporates and infusion thickens, continue to splash Sauce as Beans Cook.
7. Add Bok Choy with another splash of sauce

· Sauce should thickly cover green beans and Bok Choy in a glaze
· Remove from wok into separate container

Final Bid:
1. Put Soup Pot to high heat
2. Add Bay Leaf and Oregano
3. Set wok to high-heat
4. Into wok: Add Mushrooms handful at a time
5. Sautee until coated with left over sauce glaze
6. Add promptly to Soup Pot

7. Add into Soup: Diacon Radish, Carrots.
8. Reduce heat to medium, cook until carrots just begin to soften
9. Once Carrots soften, add Stir Fry to Pot
10. Add Spinach
11. Lay Cabbage leaves on top of soup so that they cover entire contents.
12. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and let steep

· Place Nori directly into soup, salt and Pepper to taste and Hot Sesame Seed Oil
· Serve with Hot Jasmine Rice

Serious comfort food with light taste!

Also made a very savory rendention of Lugaw:

A spoon of brown sugar, a drizzle of seaseme oil, a pinch of black pepper and a touch of chopped thai basil...Oh my dearness.

Looking into this recipe for Sinamak, Spied Vinegar!

In search for some Bagiuo Beans. About a 15 minute bike ride is International Street, where all the Asian Markets are waiting for my arrival.

Pepples Organic Vegan Donuts in Oaktown...

The Dount Farm.
The only Vegan Donut shop in California.
Complete with the following:
A coooffee expresso bar with stools.
Fixie & single speed wielding greaser and punkster Hip-hipsters.
Run down good looks plus ultra friendly coffee donut bar tender type named Josh.

And Real life VEGAN donuts fried in Organic Palm Fruit Shortening.

Open Everyday from 9am 'till 3pm also featuring:
a veggie sautee brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

On San Pablo, past Stanford...about a block They even got a website, yo: http://www.pepplesdonuts.com/

Pinoy Comfort Food

From blogging

Tocino.

I made it.
Found a recipe on-line and went at it.
There are few foods that make me feel the way eating that sweat carmelized meat did.

From blogging

Along with it a wonderful lot of vegetables which included eggplant, all stirfried in an oystersauce and lemon juice splash.
Here's the recipe:
Marinade:I made two parts sugar to one part kosher salt with a little bit of rice vinegar for the marinade. This was massaged into the meat. Covered and put in the fridge.
Color and secondary flavors:On day two make another solution of mashed beets ( I used canned)or even beat powder, a little of sesame oil. and Rice Vinegar
Add that-- though I wouldn't bother trying to massaging it in.
Cooking:On day three fry the surface of the meat on high heat only long enough to caramelize the surface--remove it quickly and ready on a plate destined for the grill.
Grill the meat on low heat so as to cook it slowly-since it has been fried first, only the inside needs cooking, turning it over once (each side cooks evenly) It will happen quick, so good luck!
Bonus:If you want you could make a glaze for light brushing while on the grill. I made one of soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and lemon juice, with black and red pepper- patis if you like but the oyster sauce already provides the fishy accent.

"So-easy-even-David-could-make-it" Dip

At the behest of my local Velocitramp, I have decided to post this recipe. He LOVES this dip. It's ridiculous how much he loves it. It's incredibly simple. It tastes kind of like queso dip, but better. You can modify the quantities according to your preference. This is the way I made it:

2/3 brick of cream cheese
2/3 cup salsa, home-made or store-bought
5 sprigs fresh cilantro

Take the brick of cream cheese (I used lower-fat Neufchatel cheese) at room temperature or warmed slightly. It must be quite soft.

Cut about a third of it off and save it for later (I like to slather it on my hubby's face in his sleep).
Mix the other two-thirds with about two-thirds of a cup of salsa. I used store-bought for this recipe, but you can also use home-made, if you're so inclined. It'll probably taste even better.

Chop up about 5 sprigs of fresh cilantro. Throw that in, mix it all together, and presto-bango, you've got "So-easy-even-David-could-make-it" Dip. Serve chilled or room temperature (provided the room isn't 94 degrees - yek) with tortilla chips.

The more cream cheese, the milder the dip, the more salsa, the spicier the dip. As I said, it's solely based on your preference. I hate recipes sometimes because they give the impression that you can't make something just the way you'd like it. This one was a big hit at the BBQ.