Sweet Corn Flavored Ice Candy

It isn't officially summer in the US...but here in North Texas, where high temperature ranges from 93-96F, we can already feel the heat (which is heightened more by the tough match between Miami Heat & Dallas Mavericks)! On hot days like what we have now, ICE CANDY is the simplest treat that never fails to put smiles on my daughters' faces.

Ice candy is the Filipino version of pop ice that's in this little plastic bags, the end of which you nibble on to sip or bite the treat. The first time I shared Ice Candy here on Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner, I featured strawberry, avocado and chocolate flavored ice candy...now, it's SWEET CORN flavored. What's so good about making ice candy is that you can use any fruits that is in season or whatever is available in your pantry or refrigerator like chocolate, coffee, milk and even boxed or bottled juice. We love ice candy that I never want to run out of ice candy plastic bags. It's not available in Asian Stores here in the US, so I always ask friends coming back from the Philippines to bring us some. It's more economical to use compared to popsicle molds especially if you want to make lots of them.

If you loved my Avocado, Strawberry and Chocolate flavored Ice Candies, you'll definitely love this one too. Whether you are a sweet corn lover or not...this would be a very good summer treat for you!

I'm sharing this on Foodie Wednesday, Let's Do Brunch, Recipes I Can't Wait To Try, These Chicks Cook, What's Cooking Wednesday, What's on the Menu Wednesday, Miz Helen's Country Cottage's Full Plate Thursday and It's a Keeper Thursday

Yield 18 pcs.

Ingredients:

• 2 pcs corn on the cob or 1 can cream-style sweet corn (I prefer using freshly boiled corn on the cob.)
• 3½ cups fresh milk
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¾ cup condensed milk

Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Beans) and a Bunch of Awards

Munggo or Mung Bean which is the small, ovoid in shape variety of beans is a favorite ingredient in the Philippines. It comes in brown, yellow and green color. The brown is usually used for desserts, while the yellow and green ones are commonly used for this savory dish called Ginisang Munggo (Sauteed Mung Beans).

Ginisang Munggo which is usually cooked with shrimps or flaked fish and bitter gourd tendrils, is traditionally served on Fridays, as the majority of the Filipino population are Roman Catholic and abstain from meat on Fridays, even outside of Lent. I love cooking it any day of the week though!  And I usually cook it with shrimps and crispy pork belly, and since bitter gourd tendrils aren't available here, I use spinach leaves instead.

It is one dish I grew up eating frequently. Not only do I enjoy the ginisang munggo, I also enjoy eating the freshly boiled munggo with sugar and milk for snack. So whenever my mom was cooking ginisang munggo, she would always save a bowl of the boiled munggo for me.

For non-Filipinos, this may not look so appealing, but we Filipinos really love it...and I'm telling you, whenever we cook it, it always doesn't last very long on the table!!!

Check out my Ginisang Munggo recipe and let me know what you think!

I'm sharing this on Mangia Mondays, Mouthwatering Mondays, Hearth and Soul Hop Hub, Temp My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays At The Table, Delectables Tuesdays and Tasty Tuesdays.

Ingredients:

• 1 14-oz. pack green Munggo (Mung Beans)
• ½ lb pork belly, sliced in ½ “- thick rectangles
• 10-12 pcs shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
• 1 thumb-sized ginger, julienned
• 1 medium-sized tomato, diced
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 12 cups water
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil or pork oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Strawberries & Cream in Puff Pastry Cups: An Added Treat To Celebrate Clarise's Accomplishments

It seems like only yesterday when Clarise first set foot into her new school! Time flies so fast indeed! Another school year has gone by in the blink of an eye. This means that not only do I have a Fourth Grader by August...but also a Kindergartener! My baby Cherlin will be in Kindergarten next fall!!! But before I get too excited with all that, I want to take a moment to give my unending thanks & praise to God for another awesome school year for Clarise. Despite the difficult period of adjustment she had to undergo as a new student at Robertson Elementary, her academic and social performance showed how good she really is. She was consistently on the A Honor Roll throughout the whole school year. She has been voted Student Council class representative, and received a commendation for her outstanding performance and conduct while participating in Student Council activities. She also made it to Frisco ISD’s Gifted and Talented (GT) Program and has consistently performed above expectations in her GT class. She was also given the Reading Award for her high reading level. In addition to all these, she got commended for getting PERFECT scores in the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) Tests for both Math and Reading. I'm truly so proud of her! To God be all the glory!

Clarise really did such a great job and that calls for a celebration! We let her decide how she wants to celebrate...and she just chose to go to Gatti Town last night. I'm not a big fan of this place but it's Clarise's choice, so Gatti Town it is! With an all-you-can-eat buffet that offers pizza, pasta, desserts, salad and icee drinks, as well as a sports bar with big screen tv's and a giant room with interactive games and rides, it would probably be a 5 star place from a kid's point of view. But from an adult's point of view who takes into consideration everything like the look & taste of the food, cleanliness, security of the kids, etc. I'd give this place a two star.

One of the things I don't like about Gatti Town is that it has no security system which means that you should really keep an eye on your kids. Other similar places employs security measures where parents and kids get matching stamps upon entering the facility and they are checked when they leave. Gatti Town doesn't have that.

Regarding the food...I can say it's ok. Gatti Town is a kids' place and at the same time, an all-you-can-eat buffet, so you can't expect the food to be a 5-star gourmet. They have a wide variety of pizza which mostly has the quality of frozen ones, but their BBQ Chicken and Deluxe Pizza are good! The pasta and salad bar weren't that bad too. But I was really disgusted with their wet plates and cups. In buffet places, it's always nice to find plates, cups and utensils that are well washed and dried...but at Gatti Town, you can never expect that.

With Clarise's smile, I know that all those didn't matter. She came to Gatti Town to eat some pizza...

...and to play and simply have fun in its 9,000 square foot midway complete with kid-friendly bumper cars, bowling alley, a carousel ride and a game room stocked with fun games for all ages.

She and Cherlin had a great time, and it's all that matters! As for me and Ryan, we're glad to see the smiles on the girls' faces and we're excited to go home because there's this yummy treats waiting for us...

I made this just before I went to Clarise's school yesterday afternoon, and just put them in the ref so we could have a good dessert when we get back. This was inspired by my dear friend, Manu of Manu's Menu. Two weeks ago, she featured this STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM IN PUFF PASTRY CASES on her blog. Seeing her photos of it really made my mouth water and I told myself I will definitely try it when I get the chance! Since Clarise loves strawberries and cream, I decided to make it yesterday as an added treat for her good performance in school.

I didn't do it the exact same way as Manu's. I didn't have much time so I took some shortcuts. Her Pastry Puff cases are more elaborate than mine. I have lots of Cool Whip because it has been on sale at Walmart for weeks now, so I used it instead. Since I didn't have mint leaves to decorate it with, I didn't remove the leaves of the strawberries for topping and I used Belgian Chocolate thins for added decoration. :) 

For Manu's original recipe, click here. Mine are as follows:

I'm sharing this on Savory Sunday, Sweets for Saturday,  Sweet Indulgences Sunday, These Chicks Cook, What's Cooking Wednesday and Yummy Sunday.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 16 pcs strawberries for filling and 4 pcs strawberries for topping
• 4 Belgian chocolate chips, cut into 2
• 4 oz. Cool Whip
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp sugar to sprinkle on top of the cases
• Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp milk)

Pancit Puti (White Noodles) and My Brother's Birthday

I only have one sibling...a brother who is 2 ½ years older than me. As kids, we really didn't get along well. We weren't close growing up and we often fought intensely...but when we were both in high school, our relationship as siblings started to get better. We went to different schools but when I was a freshman and he was in his senior year, I became his messenger to this girl he fell in love with who was my schoolmate. I would deliver flowers, letters and other gifts for him. There started our friendship. When he went to college, we grew closer despite the distance. Since then until now, though we have a lot of differences, I can say we are pretty close...not geographically though! We have our own family and we live hundreds of miles apart...but I know that no matter what, he will always be there for me. We talk almost everyday over the phone and have occasional video chats...but I must admit that I wish we live close to each other so we could enjoy each other's company more often. 

 

As I remember him today on his birthday, I want to share with you a noodle recipe which I'd probably cook for him if he lives nearby. :) It's another version of the Pancit Bihon (rice noodles) which is called Pancit Puti. When I was working at China Bank in the Philippines, Pancit Puti used to be a craze in the office. All birthdays were celebrated with a big bilao (large woven tray) of this pale but so delicious noodle dish from Amber Restaurant. It is called Pancit Puti because it is white and unlike the common brown colored version, it is cooked without the soy sauce and has white chicken meat as the main ingredient.

Check out my Pancit Puti recipe as we all wish my dearest brother A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! As some of you know, pancit is always served on Filipino birthday celebrations because just like the Chinese, noodles for us, symbolize longevity of life.

I'm sharing this on Recipes I Can't Wait To Try, Miz Helen's Country Cottage's Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen and Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz. white bihon (rice noodles), soaked for 15 minutes then drained
• 2 cups cooked chicken, flaked or cubed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ medium-sized onion, minced
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil, for sauteing
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil (for additional flavoring)
• 2 hard- boiled eggs, sliced
• ¼ cup fried garlic, for topping  (For procedure on making fried garlic, refer to this post)
• calamansi or lemon (optional)

Fun-filled Memorial Day Weekend and Slow-cooked Beef Brisket & Vegetables

Our Memorial Day weekend turned out to be all about cooking, partying and spending time with good friends. It was a bit exhausting, but we definitely had fun!

Saturday was our goddaughter's birthday. She had a "Spring Tea Party" themed birthday celebration, and for that, I baked Inipit and Food for the Gods, which I wasn't able to take pictures of. But here are pictures of the birthday girl and my girls during the Tea Party. All the girls were really so pretty in their spring dresses and hats.

Then Sunday, after attending mass, we spent a few hours at our friend's lake house for a pre-Memorial Day celebration. I brought some Filipino Egg Rolls and Inipit. I was kinda in a rush so my inipit was a little more toasted than it should be. :)

Sunday was also the birthday of our dear friend, Melo who is Cherlin's godfather. We prepared a simple dinner for him and invited a couple of friends to come over. I cooked Filipino Egg Rolls and Pancit Canton. Ryan grilled some pork chops, pork belly and bratwurst. I didn't have enough time to make an elaborate cake...but I wanted his birthday cake to be homemade, so I decided to just make a simple strawberry shortcake which the kids really liked.

Yesterday, we decided to just stay home the whole day and take some rest while enjoying some good food. Ryan cooked Fish and Chips for lunch. He used White Bass fillet from the dozen of White Bass he caught last week when he went fishing at the lake.

And for dinner, we had Slow-Cooked Beef Brisket and Vegetables. This is one of my daughters' favorite slow-cooked dishes which I love making because of the ease of preparing and cooking it--- no basting, no flipping...It’s the kind of thing you can throw together and just allow to cook on its own.

It's so easy and delicious that I want to share the recipe with you...

* I'm linking this up on Savory Sunday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Mondays, Hearth and Soul Hop Hub,  Tuesdays At The Table, Tasty Tuesdays, Foodie Wednesday, Let's Do Brunch and These Chicks Cook.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs beef brisket, cut if necessary to fit in pot
• 6 medium- sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 6 medium-sized carrots, sliced
• 2 medium-sized onions, sliced
• 1 head garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 ½ cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner's New Look and Seafood Pancit Bihon Guisado

When I thought of creating Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner in January, I really didn't have the chance to give my page background and blog header much consideration. I love roses so when I saw the rose background on blogger, I decided to use it and adapt its color for my blog header and fonts as well. I simply wanted my header to be something related to cooking, with my picture on it to make it more personalized (LOL), so that's how I designed it, and my blog came out with this look.

Today, I'm saying goodbye to my old header and background as I try to make Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner a better reflection of myself - A Filipina (Pinay) who's loving her life in Texas but will always be proud of where she came from! My new header shows both the Philippine and Texas flags which now makes it more descriptive of my chosen blogging alias "Pinay in Texas". I still haven't decided on the background that best suits my blog...but for the meantime, I'm using this vector waves background with a mixture of blue and green which are both my favorite colors. 

Despite the new look, Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner's mission will remain the same, and that is to provide you with mouthwatering Filipino recipes and some non-Filipino ones which I modify to suit the Filipino palate. :)

Today, I'm sharing with you another "pancit" recipe.  Pancit is the term for noodles in Filipino Cuisine. I've featured other pancit recipes before like the Pancit Canton & Pancit Palabok. This time, it's Pancit Bihon Guisado which like the Pancit Palabok makes use of bihon or rice noodles. The difference between them lies in the cooking method and the special sauce used to top Pancit Palabok. Pancit Bihon is simply sauteed with vegetables, meat or seafood and flavored with soy sauce, fish sauce and broth. Like the Pancit Canton, it is very flexible that you can add whatever ingredients you want. Whether you add in plain meat, vegetables or seafood or all of it, it will still be good. 

This  Pancit Bihon Guisado that I'm going to share with you is my seafood version, and I just used fish sauce and shrimp broth to give it a real seafood flavor. I also didn't use vegetables which I usually do with my pancit. In this one, I just used more garlic for added flavor and green onions to give it a hint of green color. 

*I'm sharing this on Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen and Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home.

Prep Time: ~20 mins               Cook Time: ~25 mins                Servings: 4-6            

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white onion,chopped
• 3 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 14 oz. bihon noodles (rice stick), soaked for at least 15 minutes then drained
• 15 pcs. shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 15 pcs. mussels, boiled and shells removed
• 10 pcs. squid, innard removed and sliced into rings
• 6 pcs. squid balls, quartered
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 ½ cups shrimp broth (I made this from shrimp heads mashed using mortar and pestle then mixed with 2 cups of water and then strained, then boiled with salt and a pinch of pepper.)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 pcs. lemon (optional)