Cheesy Tuna Sandwich Spread

Though the Catholic Church only requires 14 years old and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, on all Fridays of Lent, and on Good Friday, my parents let me and my brother join the fun even when we were below 14. I really don't remember my exact age when I started doing seafood and veggie Fridays during Lent. All I remember is that my mom was very strict about it. There were even times when she made us abstain from meat for the whole period of Lent which means 40 days straight. But my brother and I have always loved seafood and veggies so it wasn't like a big torture for us. We were actually fine with that. 

It's very much the same with my daughters now. They love seafood and (some) vegetables so Ryan and I don't even have to force them to abstain from beef, pork and poultry. They've learned from church about the importance of this Catholic tradition and though they know that they are not yet required to observe it, they are very willing to. They are actually the ones who remind me that it's Friday so I will have to pack meat-free lunch for them.

Most of the time, my daughters prefer to eat sandwiches and fruits for lunch in school, and this Cheesy Tuna Sandwich Spread that I am sharing with you today is one of their favorite fillings. Like the Salmon Sandwich Spread that I have featured last year, this is not any ordinary fish sandwich spread.  It's very flavorful and it has cheese!!! Clarise and Cherlin love how cheesy and healthy this is...and they find eating it in sandwich rolls so much fun! I'm sure you'll love it too.

Homemade Fruit Juice Combos

Of all the kitchen gadgets we have, I must say that one of my favorite is our Jack Lalanne's Power Juicer. We have it for more than a year now, and considering how simple it is to use and how quick it allows us to have freshly squeezed juice, I really think it's such a great buy! We bought it for just $89.99 at Costco, and its performance and ease of use make it so worth the price. It is very easy to operate and clean, and it has a 3-inch wide chute which lets me add whole fruits and vegetables without having to cut them and I love that it truly saves me a lot of time. I also love that it has a big pulp catcher which means that nothing goes to waste. If you have time, you can use the pulp to make bread, cookies, muffins, cakes or even salsa. I highly recommend this juicer. If you want healthy delicious drinks for you and your family, you should check it out.

Though we still drink store-bought juice from time to time, we know that it's not as healthy as freshly made juice, so we see to it that we prepare homemade fruit or vegetable juices at least three times a week. We love individual fruit juices like apple, grape, grapefruit, mango, orange, strawberry and individual vegetable juices like carrot, celery, cucumber and tomato. But we enjoy fruit and vegetable juice combinations a lot more. It's always such a great drink to start your day with. I'm sure you will agree that two or more kinds of fruits or vegetables combined together makes a glass of juice healthier and more exciting to drink. :)

Among the fruit juice combos we enjoy are these two...

The one on the left is Apple Carrot with Ginger Juice and the one on the right is Grapefruit Orange Strawberry. Believe it or not, my daughters love these combos. They found it a little weird the first time they tried them. The second time around, I added honey and they found it awesome! After discussing with them how healthy these juice combos are, they loved them even more. They just love the thought that an 8-oz. glass of either  Apple Carrot with Ginger Juice or Grapefruit Orange Strawberry Juice will give them Vit. A, Vit. B, Vit. C and minerals such as calcium iron, potassium, phosphorus, silicon and chlorine among many others, and can help prevent cancer and other diseases. 

Next time, I'll share with you some veggie juice combos that we love. For now, enjoy these two refreshing fruit juice combos...

Mais Queso and Ube Macapuno Ice Candy

It's now summer in the Philippines, and it's that time of the year again when I feel like I really want to go there so I could enjoy summer the way I used to. Just like here in Texas, the scorching heat of the sun back home can be annoying, but our weekly beach picnics,  the deliciously refreshing coolers that my mom used to make and our vacations in Batangas and Bulacan (where my brother and I got to bike and play kites as much as we wanted) always made summer time so enjoyable and memorable for me. I don't remember any dull moment during my summer vacations...it was always fun, I tell yah. Even when I was just home playing with my dolls or reading my books, there was always this excitement within me because of the thought that when afternoon comes, my mom will always surprise me with a delicious treat.

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, our wonderful hosts, Arnold of Inuyaki and Jun of Jun-blog, want us to share Ice Candy or any frozen treats that remind us of summer in the Philippines. Back when I was a little girl, my mother used to supply ice candy to our school cafeteria so she used to make ice candy all year round. This is the reason why I've always considered ice candy as my most favorite Pinoy frozen treat, summer or not summer that is. So even though I've already featured a number of ice candy flavors here on PiTCC like strawberry, avocado, chocolate, buko and sweet corn, I still chose to share ice candy for this month's KCC Challenge. But this is no ordinary ice candy...the flavors I chose to feature are two of the most famous Magnolia ice cream flavors when I was growing up. They were actually my favorite flavors back then. I'm talking about the Mais Queso (Corn & Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam & Coconut Sport).

I know this may sound intriguing for non-Filipinos...but I tell you, these two combos are really good. For those who liked the other ice candy flavors that I've featured before, Mais Queso (Corn & Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam & Coconut Sport) are two flavors that you should also try. They're definitely delicious and refreshing! If you can't find ice candy plastic, just use any popsicle mold you have...it won't really matter. :)

Mixed Seafood and Vegetable Noodle Soup

It's Meatless Friday again here on PiTCC! Today, I'm bringing you a nice simple and very easy to prepare noodle dish that will surely be a hit on your dinner table. It's ready in less than 20 minutes so this will work well on busy week nights.

The combination of noodles, seafood and vegetables makes this dish a very delicious and filling meal that is sure to satisfy both kids and adults. The best thing about it is you can use whatever seafood and vegetables you like. It's so flexible and no matter what you decide to add in it, it will surely be yummy...that is why everyone in my family loves it! Check it out...

Pan de Coco and Pan de Ube (Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls)

I've been a bread lover since I was a little girl...but this is one thing I don't owe from my mother. As I've told you before, we didn't have an oven when I was growing up so my mother never baked bread. I owe my love for bread to The De Castro's, my childhood friend's family who owns Halina Bakery. This bakery has been selling the best tasting Filipino breads in the City of Calapan since I was a little girl until now. It is now being managed by my friend, and I must say that just like her parents, she's really doing a great job. I remember that there was this other bakery much closer to where we used to live, but we would rather go to Halina Bakery to buy pan de sal, loaf bread, ensaymada, pan de coco, monay, pan de lemon, pan de agua, kalihim, mamon, puding, spanish bread and hopia. All their bread really taste a lot better than those of the other bakery. I'm not saying this because it's owned by my friend. It's just how it is. 

One of my most favorite bread from Halina Bakery is the Pan De Coco which means Coconut Bread. It is a soft sweet roll with sweetened coconut filling which I loved having for afternoon snack. My mom would always buy it in dozens 'coz my brother and I never seem to get enough of it.

 

Last week, I thought of making Pan De Coco for the first time. I tried experimenting with my Pan De Sal recipe to transform it to a much softer and sweeter roll with a shiny finish. Was I successful??? Well, kinda. It's good...but I think I have to work on the softness more. I'm not sure if I just over baked it a little or I didn't knead the dough enough. But the rolls were delicious and soft enough though not as soft as I remember the Pan De Coco from Halina Bakery.  

I still have some Haleyang Ube (Purple Yam Jam) so I filled half of the dough with it, and half with sweetened coconut. I came up with 9 pcs. Pan De Coco and 9 pcs. Pan De Ube and they are all gone in 3 days! Clarise and Cherlin love ube so they both prefer the Pan De Ube more. Ryan, on the other hand, finds the Pan De Coco perfect for his coffee.

This Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls recipe is my entry to this month's Iron Chef Challenge at A Latte With OTT,A which is sponsored by Red Star, maker of high-quality baker's yeast in the country. For product updates and delicious tested recipes, visit their website or follow Red Star on twitter and facebook.

Milo Drinks: Dinosaur, Godzilla and NesLo

I wonder what your favorite drink was when you were growing up...
 
As for me and my brother, it's Milo. I'm pretty sure that you have heard of this drink. But  if you haven't, let me introduce you to it. :)

Milo is a chocolate and malt powder mix produced by Nestle and sold in a green tin designed with various sports activities. It makes a good energy drink when combined with hot or cold water and/or milk. According to Wikipedia, Milo was originally developed by Thomas Mayne in Sydney, Australia in 1934, and its name was derived from the famous Greek athlete Milo of Croton who has a legendary strength. Milo is said to contain 1,760 kJ (421 calories) in every 100 g of the powder, mostly from carbohydrates which can be used for energy by the body. That is the basis of Milo being marketed as an energy drink. The high calorie content means Milo can be useful for preventing weight loss.

I remember that when we were kids, my brother loved mixing it with Nescafe instant coffee. That drink was popularly called NesLo (Nescafe + Milo) during those days. As for me, I just loved it with milk and some sugar. I used to dissolve it in warm milk, add some ice and top it with some more Milo. It has been almost four years since the last time I had that refreshing drink.

Last week when we were having lunch with our friends at a Malaysian resto, we found "Milo Dinosaur" in the menu. We got curious, so we tried it. I was kinda surprised to find out that it's just a cup of Milo with an extra spoonful of undissolved Milo added to it. I really didn't know that the way I used to enjoy Milo when I was little is what's popularly known as Milo Dinosaur! That day, I also learned that there's another version of it called Milo Godzilla which is a bigger serving of Milo Dinosaur topped with ice cream and/or whipped cream. 

My daughters loved the Milo Dinosaur. They first had Milo when we went back to the Philippines in 2008. They've been drinking it here for a few months after we got back and I can't remember why we stopped buying it. I guess they got contented with Swiss Miss and Nesquik. But after trying  the Milo Dinosaur last week, they were reminded of how good Milo is and they insisted that we drop by the nearby Asian store to check if is available there. Luckily it was, so we bought one tin of it. Clarise and Cherlin have been drinking Milo everyday since then. Oh actually, it's not just them...Ryan and I too...so it was all gone in less than 5 days. Last weekend, we bought some more. 

Interested to know how we enjoy our Milo??? Let me show you...

The girls like Milo either hot or cold. Every morning, they will drink it hot and for their afternoon snack, they prefer it cold either as Dinosaur or Godzilla. For me and Ryan, we've been enjoying it with Nescafe coffee during the past week.

Thought of sharing with y'all how I make Milo Dinosaur, Godzilla and Neslo. These are truly refreshing drinks that you might enjoy...

Pandan Puto(Steamed Pandan Rice Cake)

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. Though we don't celebrate it, my daughters insisted that we make something green that I can post here. So, that's what we did early morning yesterday. With our jammies still on, we made these pandan flavored Puto, and then ate them for breakfast.

In the Philippines, Puto refers to a kind of steamed rice cake that is usually served and eaten with butter or grated coconut, either for breakfast or snack. The traditional puto are made in big round shapes about 1 to 2 feet in diameter and 1.5 inch thick, which are then served or sold in diamond shaped slices. Because of its popularity, different versions of puto came out. The one that we usually make is more like the Puto Mamon version which makes use of ordinary flour instead of rice flour. This variety of puto is usually steamed in individual aluminum or plastic molds which come in different sizes ranging from morsel to cupcake size. It is also made with different colors and flavors, making it more fun to eat. The ones we made yesterday are pandan (a tropical plant which is widely used in Asia as a flavoring) flavored so we would achieve the green color we want.
 

Instead of a Meatles Friday recipe, let me share with you these green treats for St. Patrick's Day just as my daughters requested. Clarise and Cherlin love puto with cream cheese filling so that's the version I'm sharing with you. Hope you'll like it.

Saba Banana con Yelo

It's spring break here in Texas this week. Though we didn't go out of town, my daughters are so excited to be off from school. Cherlin said she's thrilled to be home because she can help me do the cooking. Isn't she the sweetest??! She really enjoys helping me out in the kitchen, you know! She's only six but learning how to cook is something she really enjoys.

Last weekend, she helped me bake Food for the Gods and chop some ingredients for Beef Caldereta for a friend's baby shower. After that, she said she's really tired and would love something cold for snack. This is what we made together.

This is a favorite Filipino snack called Saba con Yelo. Saba is a variety of banana common in the Philippines and is very popularly used in snacks like ginataang halo-halo, turon, banana que, and halo-halo and in dishes like the pochero that I posted last Friday. Though I love just anything with this banana, the Saba con Yelo was my most favorite when I was growing up. I loved the thought of going home from school to this cold snack. My daughters, especially Cherlin, love this too. 

Check it out and see for yourself how the simple Saba bananas can turn into a delightful snack...

Next Day Flyers Custom Sticker Giveaway

My daughters love stickers. I guess all kids do. I remember that I was a huge fan of stickers myself when I was a little girl. I used to collect all kinds of them, but Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty and Minnie Mouse are my favorites. I loved to stick them on all my books, notebooks, bags and even on my rubber shoes. :) My study table and the walls in my room had stickers too! 

Now that I am older, I found a new use for them... and that is, for labeling stuff. Stickers really make labeling a whole lot easier for me. So instead of character stickers, label stickers are my thing now. I find them really useful all around the home. I actually have a sticker label maker, but I also enjoy having different personalized sticker labels printed online. These are some of them...but I tell you, I have a lot more.

Whenever I find a good deal online, I would order a set or two. I find them so useful for labeling my daughters' books and notebooks, as well my recipe books, freezer bags, bottles and jars in the kitchen. I also enjoy using them as return address labels and gift tags. 

When Next Day Flyers offered me to try their sticker printing service and at the same time, host a sticker giveaway for PiTCC readers, I was so thrilled. Knowing that this could be useful for me and for someone out there who's fond of personalized stickers like me, I just couldn't say no. Imagine, 100 pieces of custom made 2"x3.5" stickers worth $35.95 plus free shipping!  

Whether I use it for personalized labels or gift tags with my name on it, or just choose any colored print that I can use for writing labels, this is truly a good deal! The stickers can be customized with images, logos, text, and other design preferences at their online design center, or I can upload a design file that I've already created. I really haven't decided what design will I order, but I can go with any of these ...

Next Day Flyers offers high quality stickers as well as other full color marketing materials like  business cards, brochures, greeting cards, postcards, as well as specialty die cuts. If you’re looking to find a company to help market and promote your business, take a peak at Next Day Flyers. You might just find a product of theirs that suits your need!

If you are a US resident and you want to try Next Day Flyer's sticker printing service, enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter form below. a Rafflecopter giveaway  
Good luck everyone! Wishing you all a great day!
 

Fish Pochero

If you have read my guest post at The Exquisite Niche or if you've been to my Filipino Cuisine page, then you know how much influence my country's cuisine got from Spain. The Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards for almost 400 years, so many of our dishes are of Spanish origin. Today, I'm bringing you another one of those. It is called Pochero...Fish Pochero in particular. 

The term Pochero is from the Spanish word Puchero which means stewpot. According to Wikipedia, It is a kind of stew prepared in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, and in Andalusia and the Canary Islands of Spain. Just like Spanish Puchero, Filipino Pochero is usually cooked with a wide assortment of vegetables and meat like beef, chicken and pork, but Filipinos have come up with another version using fish. Beef, Chicken and Pork Pochero are the popular versions for special occasions like fiesta and Christmas, while Fish Pochero is commonly served during Lent. Regardless of the meat used, Saba banana is a must-have ingredient in Filipino Pochero. The dish won't be the same without it.

 

I remember how much my mom loved cooking pochero (all versions of it)! Instead of tomato sauce, she would sometimes use pork and beans. I really loved the sweetness it adds to the dish. So whenever she uses tomato sauce, I would ask her to add a little sugar so it would still be sweet...and I would always ask her to put lots of fried bananas which I really love!

For my pochero, whether I cook it with beef, chicken, fish or pork, instead of using pork and beans, I use tomato sauce, banana ketchup and a little sugar to attain the sweetness I remember from my mom's version. Aside from Saba bananas, freshly cooked kidney beans are a must-have for my pochero.

Check out my version of Fish Pochero for Meatless Friday and let me know what you think.

Halayang Ube (Purple Yam Jam)

Of all the Filipino desserts that my mother loved to cook, Halayang Ube (Purple Yam Jam in English) is the one I remember her cooking most often when I was little. It's because we used to have ube(purple yam) in our backyard together with kamote (regular yam) and gabi(taro) back then. Ube is a tuberous root vegetable that is used as an ingredient in many Filipino desserts and pastries. According to Wikipedia, it belongs to the species Dioscorea Alata that are native to Africa and Asia. It is bright lavender in color and is rich in fiber, potassium and Vitamins B6 & C. It also has anthocyanin, an antioxidant that helps keep your body’s immune system strong and prevent cellular damage. 

In the Philippines, Halayang Ube is the most popular dessert made from ube. It is prepared by simply mixing mashed boiled ube tubers with evaporated milk, condensed milk and butter. It is then cooked over low heat with constant stirring until it becomes really thick and sticky, and then bottled as jam or molded into different creative shapes (like flower, fish and star) to be served on special occasions like fiestas, Christmas, weddings and birthdays. It is also a favorite topping for the Filipino favorite cooler called Halo-halo.

Last week, we got to host The Family Rosary Crusade and I made this Halayang Ube for the final prayer meeting last Saturday. I don't have fancy molds so I just used a square pyrex dish. It may not look very attractive, but it was definitely a hit! I guess the purple color makes it appealing enough...and it's really delicious, you know!

Note: 
*Fresh ube can't be found here in Texas so I always use frozen grated ube from the Asian store whenever I make halaya. It's good but I must say fresh ube tastes better. 
*Latik (fried coconut milk curd) is the most commonly used topping for Haleyang Ube. I included a procedure on how to make it. But it really takes very long to cook, so I suggest that you just use toasted coconut flakes. It's a lot quicker to make.

Sarciadong Isda

It's Friday again...and today, I'm bringing you this fish recipe from the Philippines called Sarciadong Isda which simply means "fish cooked in sauce". 

Though in some regions Sarciado is cooked with scrambled eggs, in the province where I grew up, it has no egg. The one with egg is what we call Cardillo. Anyway, they are basically the same. In both dishes, fried fish is simmered in a sauce which consists mainly of garlic, onions, ginger & tomatoes. The only difference between them is that Cardillo contains scrambled eggs mixed to the sauce while Sarciado is cooked without the eggs. Both dishes are very popular due to their simple preparation. Filipinos find them to be the best ways to recook/reuse left-over fried fish.  But whether using leftover or not, fish is fried beforehand to prevent from falling apart while cooking in the sauce. 

Ryan & I like adding a little kick to it, so I often cook my Sarciado with Jalapeño. I always remove the seeds to make it kid friendly for Clarise and Cherlin. If you don't like it hot, it would be totally fine to omit this ingredient. :)

Hope you'll like this Meatless Friday recipe! 

The next time you have left-over fried fish, you should try either this or the Cardillo.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend with your loved ones! Enjoy!