Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Description:
This is our favorite when we go to Chinese restaurants! Thank you to my friend, Arlene for the recipe! Now, we can do this in our home and enjoy it! Super yummy!!

Ingredients:
lettuce head, separated, washed and dried
olive oil
chopped garlic
chopped onions
500 grams ground chicken
1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts

(I wasn't able to include this but you can if you want)
1 cup comprises of 1 tbsp chopped mushrooms shitake
1 tbsp chopped oyster mushroom
1 tbsp chopped mushrooms

2 tbsp chopped woodear mushrooms (tainga ng daga)
2 tbsp spring onions
1 tbsp coriander (wansoy)

SEASONING
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine

Directions:
1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. Mix all seasoning ingredients in a bowl. set aside
3. In a medium skillet, saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add chicken and cook till brown stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Add water chestnuts, 1 cup mushrooms and woodear mushrooms. Add the seasoning mixture and cook till sauce dries up a little.


TO ASSEMBLE:
Put lettuce in a plate, spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf, add spring onions and wansoy. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a BURRITO and ENJOY.

Croquettas

Description:
I bought and boiled too many potatoes for my Shepherd's pie. What to do with about 1/2 kilo of mashed potatoes? Make croquettas, of course! Good thing I had leftover ground meat from our soft tacos dinner the other night and some grated cheese. Perfect!

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo of mashed potatoes (potatoes mashed with butter and milk)
flour
egg
breadcrumbs
any leftover meat (chicken, pork, beef, etc.)
grated cheese

Directions:
1. Mix mashed potatoes with leftover meat and grated cheese.

2. Put mashed potatoes with meats in refrigerator to cool. When cold enough, form into elongated ovals (or round balls, whichever you prefer) and place in a plate. Place in freezer for a few minutes.

3. Heat oil for frying.

4. Coat elongated ovals with flour then dip in beaten egg. Roll in breadcrumbs then deep fry.

5. Serve hot with salsa or any other dip. :-)

Shepherd's Pie

Description:
My kids love mashed potato! Who doesn't? :-) So I thought of doing this dish complete with vegetables to entice them to eat their carrots and peas. It was a huge hit! Raya actually asked if she can have it for
lunch in school the next day. :-)

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo potatoes
butter
milk
salt
1/2 kilo ground beef or pork
garlic and onions for sauteing
salt and pepper
thyme
basil
1/2 pack of frozen vegetables (carrots, corn and peas)

Directions:
1. Peel potatoes and boil in water with salt.

2. While potatoes are boiling, saute onions and garlic in oil in a pan. Put ground meat and stir around until it browns and crumbles. Season with salt and pepper, thyme and basil. Add the frozen vegetables and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Set aside.

3. When potatoes are cooked, mash them and add butter, salt and milk until creamy.

4. Put cooked meat and vegetables in a baking dish. Layer with mashed potato. Bake for about 20 minutes until potatoes are slightly browned on top. :-)

Lifestyle Changes

A few weeks back, Mier wasn't feeling very well. He thought at first that this was because of his perennial sinusitis. A BP check showed his diastolic a little elevated. We decided to just see a cardiologist just to make sure that all is well. The doctor gave him antibiotics for his sinus problems then asked him to take a full blood check. Turns out that he has high blood sugar, high uric acid and triglycerides, high SGPT and SGOT results. In other words, high everything!

Since both his parents are diabetic, Mier could be considered as diabetic already based on the blood results. Well, he is more than 40 already and should really be watching what he eats. He used to play basketball once a week but when he stubbed his toe a few months back, he has stopped playing. The doctor refused to give him maintenance medicines just yet and says that all these results could be lowered by diet and exercise alone. And of course, less stress in life. :-) Doctor says that medicines are the easy way out and are for life. We won't need this if we eat right and play right.

So armed with this knowledge, Mier and I have talked about some lifestyle changes. More fish and chicken breasts on the menu. Whole wheat bread and gluten free foods. The doctor says we can still eat meat twice or thrice a week but less fat and less rice as much as possible. Mier doesn't want to switch to red rice but I think we can manage with white rice. Fruits can be eaten only with a meal and limited too. As much as possible no sweets.

I had to restructure our menu and plan around our diets. I had to think of fish and chicken dishes that are more palatable. I think so far, I've managed quite well. I haven't heard him complain of my cooking although most of the dishes are experimental. Hahaha! You can check a lot of my new recipes in the recipe section of this blog site.

He has tried to continue basketball and soccer too once a week and he tries to jog or brisk walk twice a week. He plans to go back to biking but needs to fix his bike first I think. We'll be checking his blood again in a month's time and hopefully results will be better already. I think we can manage with a change in lifestyle instead of taking in medications.

With these changes, we hope to teach the kids also to eat healthier and better. They have diabetes genes in both sides of the families (my dad is diabetic too) and I had gestational diabetes in 4 out of five pregnancies. I think this is a wake up call for all of us. Here's to a better life! :-)

Baked Fish in Foil

Description:
Found this recipe in a Cook magazine and saw it in one of those cooking shows in TV. The recipe says to use cod, halibut or snapper. I wasn't sure what the local names of these fishes were and thought maybe the parrot fish (mul mul) would suffice. It didn't come out as I expected it but Mier said it was yummy in itself so I can't argue with that anymore (Hahaha!). I will have to look for cod (ginadara or pina pina here) and do this recipe again with a different fish. But I would agree that it turned out pretty well too. :-)

Ingredients:
fish fillet
salt and pepper
1 1/4 tsps lemon zest
1 tsp thyme
4 tbsps butter, softened
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsps minced fresh parsley leaves
carrots peeled and cut into matchsticks
leeks halved lengthwise and cut into matchsticks
foil cut into 12 inch sheets

Directions:
1. Combine butter, 1/4 lemon zest, 1 tsp garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in small bowl.

2. Combine parsley, remaining tsp lemon zest and remaining garlic in another small bowl.

3. Place carrots and leeks in medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

4. I made 2 foil pockets dividing the ingredients into 2. To assemble: Place carrots and leeks on center of foil. Season fish fillet with salt and pepper and put on top of vegetable mound. Spread butter mixture on top. Place second foil on top and crimp edges together in 1/2 inch fold creating a packet.

5. Put packets on baking dish and put in heated oven for 15 minutes or less. After baking, carefully open foil, allowing steam to escape. Sprinkle with parsley mixture and some lemon juice. Serve immediately. :-)

Learning to Dance in the Rain

I have always loved the rain. The sound of the pitter patter on the roof, the smell of the grass and the ground getting wet, the feel of the cold air all around. I love curling up in a corner with a good book on one hand and a cup of chocolate on the other while the rains would fall down outside. I have have never been afraid of the simple rain. I would love the opportunity to get wet a little, to feel the water on my skin.

But just as too much of anything isn't good, storms are a different story.

I've had my own share of storms in my life. Storms that I feel have broken and hit me hard and yet I was able to go through them and have handled pretty well. Many of these storms have had strong winds and rains that have slapped me in the face and left me battered and bruised, cold and shivering. But I feel that I have weathered them all in my own way and in my own time, all with the grace of God. Do I ever regret these storms? Maybe at some point in my life. But I have learned that these are what make me who I am right now. That in some way they have molded and strengthened me that when the rains start getting stronger at times, I am able to shield myself from the big raindrops. I have learned when to appreciate it and when to keep its peace.

Recently, I've had another storm in my life, complete with thunder and lightning. This time, anger was just too much. I wanted to lash at the rain, fight it with all my strength and might. Funny because I've had worse storms than this. This isn't even an ounce of the others that I've had before. Maybe it's the timing? The PMS? The people involved? Or maybe I just wanted to see how strong I can be to overcome this. I don't really know. But I was so tempted to fight it. And yet, I knew if I did it on my own, I would fail. I needed His guidance and strength once again.

Maybe God has His own reasons for making me go through something like this again. I prayed for Him to guide me, to help me find the right words and the right actions. To know when to be silent and when to plow on. He promised me a rainbow at the end of the storm and although I still cannot see the rainbow, I know it is somewhere there amidst the clouds. Still hidden but ready to come out and be recognized. In time.

I hold on to that hope.

Kani Sandwich with Wasabi Mayo

Description:
While the girls had their soup with rice, Mier and I had it with this sandwich. If you know me, I LOVE mayo! Hehehe! This sandwich wouldn't have that extra 'oomph' without the wasabi mayo. Yummy!!

Ingredients:
For Wasabi Mayo:
mayonnaise
wasabi
honey

whole wheat bread
kani sticks
lettuce leaves

Directions:
To make Wasabi Mayo, mix together mayonnaise, wasabi and honey. Taste and season to your liking.

To assemble sandwich, spread generous amounts of Wasabi Mayo on bread. Put lettuce leaves then kani sticks. Enjoy!