All posts filed under: To Eat

The Bacon of the Vegetable World

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I use the word bacon sparingly, because it is despicably used everywhere. These are one of the occasions worthy of the word. And I promise: it’s completely unlike the coconut bacon some places try to pass off as their inimitable pork original (I mean, what is that crap? Just… eat a mango, or something that’s clearly not trying to be one of the most delicious things on earth) So there were three onions sitting on the fridge for a week and a half. I always thought they’d be kitchen essentials, since my mom’s kitchen always had garlic and onions. But I hate chopping onions, because it predictably becomes a cryfest, and the smell. Even if they had the potential to become glorious caramelized goodies, the last last time I tried that out, it took too long and was basically hand char and half onion (no caramel magic). Anyway, the other day, I stumbled across this blog post on caramelizing onions. It’s the real deal, just using olive oil and onions (I’m a purist with my caramelized onions). The …

A Five Mushroom Tasting Session

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Aside from a pumpkin tasting session (delicata, kabocha, turban, acorn) we also had a mushroom tasting session last year in Seattle. Despite the recent food posts containing an embarrassing lot of mushrooms, do know that I’m a normal, non-mushroom-obsessed person who eats roasted chicken, Jolibee, lamb, and spoonfuls of Nutella. (on the days I’m well-behaved)

Avocado Breakfast Two Ways

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Three bags of haas avocados make me excited with the possibilities. Since the avocado season is over back in Manila, it’s here in Seattle that I continue my avocado exploration. This one’s extremely easy. I love how I can have a breakfast with a savory and sweet portion from this little fruit. It might not leave you too full, but eating the other slices of tomato plus another fruit while prepping could help. After all, they say breakfast should be the second most filling meal of the day. We’ll save our appetite for lunch.

Butternut Squash and Apple Hash

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What do you do when you have 4 cute little butternut squashes? Experiment. I’ve never cooked butternut squash my entire life, since we don’t have them here in Manila. I try to eat local, but when the occasional uncommon thing pops up in the market, it’s too interesting to pass up. Plus, I’ve been gathering quite a lot of butternut squash recipes. For my first experiment I chose Juli’s Apple and Butternut Squash Hash because it looked easy (didn’t have much time) and because I’ve been looking forward to trying out one of her many appetizing Paleo concoctions. Her blog is a great resource for people on the Paleo diet but don’t want gross/boring food. Mine is an improvised version since I didn’t have some of the ingredients on stock. Plus, I was craving for crispy fried egg.

A Roasted Little Forest: Broccoli, Mushrooms and Tomato Salad

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Where the broccoli florets are charred little trees, mushrooms are… well, larger-than-life Alice in Wonderland proportions next to the trees, and there are giant roasted red stuff. Plus fairy dust in the form of grated cheese. I’m really pushing it, aren’t I. Anyway, this is the kind of dish where you can just throw stuff together, watch a sitcom while you’re at it, and then devour with a feeling that life is simple and good. This would be a good accompaniment to a roasted meat dish. Roasted lamb? Roasted chicken? Anything seasoned with thyme or rosemary, and delicious oily drippings.

Crash Hot & Cheesy Sweet Potatoes

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I’ve never heard of Crash Hot Potatoes, but when I found this recipe which promised sweet and crispy sweet potatoes with a spicy kick, I couldn’t wait to try it. As a twist, I topped it with romano cheese for a more savory contrast. I also opted not to use any cumin, and some of the spices in the spice mixture. If you’re like me, the type who likes snacks/desserts that are subtly sweet, with playful contrasts, this could be a valuable addition to your collection of camote recipes. Whether you have an oversupply of fresh sweet potatoes or dried up old ones, this recipe can turn them into something good.

Pan-Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg & Miso Butter. Repeat: Miso Butter

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David Chang is one of my culinary heroes. The closest I’ve gotten to him is dessert at the Milk Bar, where for a few minutes I savored their Cereal Milk like a happy child. Cereal Milk is their soft serve ice cream that tastes like milk after you’ve finished all the cereal in the bowl. I tried their cookies and crack pie, but the ice cream melted a sweet nostalgia into my tastebuds. Dining in his NYC restaurants, Momofuku and Ko, remain on my bucketlist. While I save up for that, I’ll enjoy leafing through the Momofuku cookbook (which is entertaining even if you aren’t cooking, because it tells the story behind the recipes, the history of the restaurants, the culinary background of David Chang, useful tips/comments, etc.) and attempting some of them in my kitchen. This dish is one of my easy and healthy umami go-to’s. Initial attempts involved the wrong kind of miso (I used the little packets that came with instant miso soup because I was being resourceful… and oblivious that the …

Edamame and Some Sunshine

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The time had come to jazz up the usual edamame with sea salt side dish. What came to pass was inspired by this recipe because I had only three out of the eight ingredients. One of these days, I’ll try it out when I get my hands on some shiso leaves. Another simple, interesting thing to do with edamame would be sprinkling it with some Citrus Salt. Either case, it was delicious. Sunny Edamame Snack Steam 2 cups of frozen edamame pods (here in Manila, you can buy these by the bag in S&R) in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. While edamame is steaming, mix the juice of half a Meyer Lemon with 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Shell edamame from their casings, toss into the bowl with lemony-vinegary mixture. Add a dash of paprika (or chili powder, or something spicy) for some heat. Mix it all together. Devour while watching the latest episode of So You Think You Can Dance Season 9. :)