Turbo Chicken with Fresh Garlic and Rosemary

We prepared this dish in our Nutrition and Food Safety and Basic Food Preparation and Presentation month - Day 2 ( Caregiver Training ).

The ingredients for this recipe are simple and procedure is easy to follow. This dish exudes a wonderful aromatic flavor.

2 whole chickens
1 head garlic, pounded
1 tablespoon coarse salt (add more if needed)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fried minced garlic (optional)


1. Split chickens into half length-wise, then pound to flatten. In a small bowl mix the garlic, salt, and pepper and rub thoroughly inside and outside the chickens. Put fresh rosemary sprigs inside the cavities.

2. Rub olive oil all over the skin and sprinkle some dried rosemary leaves on top. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Arrange the chicken pieces in a pan lined with foil. Bake in over or turbo broiler for 45 minutes, ir until done, turning the chicken pieces every 15 minutes and basting them with fat and cooking juices that collect in the pan.

4. Or, if not in a hurry, bake chickens in 325F over for 1 hour on one side and another hour for the other side, skin side up, basting occasionaly with the pan juices, for more tender chickens.

5. Arrange on a serving platter, and sprinkle fried garlic on top. Pour pan juices over the chickens before serving.

6. If desired serve with roasted potatoes.




* In our preparation, we prefer not to split the chicken into half when we baked it just for the sake of our presentation. :)

Watermelon Basket

A rich variety of shapes and colors makes this light dessert very appealing. Suggested fruits include banana, apple, papaya, pineapple, honeydew melon and grapes.

1 medium watermelon
2 cups diced fresh or canned fruit
1/2 cup sweetened orange juice
grated cheese (optional)

1. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of the watermelon so it will sit flat ( don't cut into the fruit ).

2. Make zigzag wedges on watermelon. With a sharp knife cut watermelon following the outline.

3. Scoop out all the flesh with a melon baller, trying to remove as many seeds as you can.

4. Wrap the empty watermelon bowl in a plastic wrap to keep it moist.

5. Refrigerate until ready to fill with fruits. Use fruits with a variety of shapes and colors.

6. If using canned fruit, drain fruit well and discard syrup. Combine watermelon balls with other fruits.

7. Drizzle orange juice on fruits. Spoon fruits into prepared watermelon basket.

Upo Guisado

Guisadong upo is one of the sautéed vegetable dishes popular in Philippines more commonly on provinces where bottle gourds are abundant. This cheap and simple dish usually is made out of 3 main ingredients which are pork, bottle gourd and tomatoes. A simple yet rich dish which is enjoyed as mains paired with rice.



2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup pork, thinly sliced
1/4 cup shelled shrimps
1/2 cup upo (bottle gourd), sliced thinly or cubed
1 cup shrimp juice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet then saute garlic, onions and tomatoes. Add pork and cook until lightly browned. Add shrimps and cook until it changes color. Add the upo and shrimp juice. Simmer until tender but not overcooked. Season to taste.

Herbed Loin of Tuna

Here is one of the recipes we tried during our Caregiver Class. It is a mouthwatering Asian tuna dinner fit for any table..

Prep time: 15 minutes    Cooking time: 1 hour    Yield:  4-6 servings

1/2 kilo whole loin of tuna

oil

juice from 1 lemon

1 onion, choppeed

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, sliced thinly

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.

2.  Make a shallow cuts on the top and sides of the fish.

3.  Spread some oil on a baking tray.  Place the tuna and drizzle with the lemon juice.

4.  In a bowl, combine the onion, garlic, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper.

5.  Fill the shallow cuts on the tuna with this herb mixture.

6.  Pour the wine over the fish.  Sprinkle the remaining herb mixture all over the fish.  Top with lemon slices.

7.  Cover the pan with foil and bake the fish for about 40 minutes.  Uncover and baste with the pan juices.  Continue baking until done.

* Serve it with Red Wine.

Fried Lumpia / Lumpiang Prito

Lumpiang Prito literally means fried spring roll. It consists of a briskly fried pancake filled with bean sprouts and various other vegetables such as string beans and carrots. Small morsels of meat or seafood may also be added. Though it is the least expensive of the variants, the preparation – the cutting of vegetables and meats into appropriately small pieces and subsequent pre-cooking – may prove taxing and labor-intensive. This variant may come in sizes as little as that of lumpiang shanghai or as big as that of lumpiang sariwà. It is usually eaten with vinegar and chili peppers, or a soy sauce-and-calamondin juice mixture known as toyo-mansi.  But I prefer eating friend lumpia with vinegar and lots of garlic.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup sliced onions

1/4 kilo lean pork or chicken, chopped

1/4 kilo shrimps, chopped

1 cup carrots, cut into julienne strips

2 cups bean or mongo sprouts (optional)

2 cups singkamas, cut into julienne strips

1 cup cabbage, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

lumpa wrappers or spring roll wrappers

Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup white vinegar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in skillet and saute garlic and onions until tender. Add pork and saute until browned. Add vegetables and cook until tender, yet crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with soy sauce. When mixture is cool, add bean sprouts. Salt to taste.

2. To assemble lumpia: Carefully separate wrappers. To prevent them from drying out, cover unused wrappers with moist paper towel. Lay one wrapper on clean surface. Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling near the edge closest to you. Roll edge towards the middle. Fold in both sides and continue rolling. Moisten opposite edge with water to seal. Repeat with other wrappers. Lumpia can be frozen until ready to use.

3. Deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sweet sour or vinegar and garlic dipping sauce.

4. Vinegar Dipping Sauce: Mix together all ingredients and let sit for 1/2 hour. Makes 1/2 cup.

Guinataan or Binignit

Binignit or Guinataan is a warm root crop and fruit stew  from the Visayas region in the Philippines.The dish is traditionally made by Cebuanos with slices of saba, taro, sweet potato. The people in the neighboring island Leyte, usually include landang (palm flour jelly balls), langka (jackfruit), anise and thickened with milled glutinous rice in cooking binignit. The vegetables along with pearl sago is cooked in a mixture of water, coconut milk and the local landang and sweetened by muscovado or brown sugar.

It is a Filipino sweet dish which is usually served as snacks and usually prepared during the Holy Week especially Good Friday.  The soup is best served when hot.


 Ingredients:

2 pieces yellow camote or sweet potatoes (cubed)
1 piece white gabi or taro root (cubed)
1 piece ube or purple yam (cubed)
4 pieces ripe saba banana (sliced)
6 pcs ripe langka or jackfruit
4 tbsps landang or tapioca
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut milk, diluted with water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Procedure:

 

1. Place the diluted milk in a large pot and add the bananas, ube, camote and gabi. You can also save a lot of time by boiling the hard ingredients first before adding to the diluted coconut milk. 

 

2.Add the landang or tapioca, salt and sugar.

 

3.Add the langka strips and simmer until the mixture is thick and all the ingredients are tender.

 

4. Pour in 2 cups of coconut milk and adjust the heat to medium.

 

.5. Do not bring to a boil to prevent curdling of the cooking liquid.

 

6.Place in small serving bowls and serve.

Egg Omelette for Breakfast

An omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat (often ham), or some combination of the above. Omelettes may be only partially cooked on the top side and not flipped, even prior to folding.

Here in the Philippines, we do sometimes call it Scrambled egg.  It's one of my favorite dish not just for breakfast but also for lunch or dinner.  I always eat it with rice or bread.  Countless fillings such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, corned beef, potatoes, peppers or any possibly leftovers like ground, chopped or shredded pork and beef are used.  I prefer spring onions and tomatoes or sometimes potatoes.  Try it!  

2 eggs

spring onions, finely chopped

tomato, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

oil to fry

1.  Beat the eggs. 

2.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Heat oil in the frying pan and add the beaten eggs.  Cook over low heat till mixture is bit dry.

4.  Add the spring onions and tomatoes at the center.

5.  Then fold it...  flip it if you want to fry the other side or just leave as that if you want the top is partially cooked.

6.  Serve hot with plain or fried rice or bread.

Holiday Bubbly.. A Cool Refreshing Drink for Summer!

We prepared this refreshing drink in our Caregiver class few years ago.  It's a rich, luscious blend of fruits spiked wit the fizzle of soda. You can serve it with pica pica and light, sweet desserts...

Just mix Sweetened Orange Juice Drink, Pineapple Guava Juice Drink and Sprite or 7-up. Make 7 servings.

How to Make Coconut Oil?

Coconut has been part of the culture and traditions of many countries, apart from being used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is one of the most revered item in  "Ayurveda" ( The complete knowledge for long life) , which originated in India. Uses of coconut oil include its role in the treatment of a number of medical conditions, like constipation, jaundice, swelling, toothache, scabies, colds, burns, scurvy, sore throat, etc. Coconut oil is used in the manufacture of cosmetics, soaps, massage oils and detergents.

Virgin coconut oil is said to be the best type of coconut oil.  It is made from natural processes without using harmful chemicals just to produce good quality of oil.  Plus, it can easily be made; you can do it yourself at home.

Here is how to make coconut oil, specifically  virgin coconut oil:

1.  Get a fresh and mature coconut.

2.  Split the coconut shell with the use of a machete or any cleaver knife. Be very careful in doing this. 

3.  Once you have broken the coconut, grate the coconut meat with a grating machine or with a grating bench. Place the grated meat inside a net bag.

4.  Press the bag tightly with your hands to squeeze out the milk.  Produce more milk by soaking the pressed coconut meat in the coconut water and squeeze it again. 

5.  Coconut oil can be produced from this milk through two different methods - natural fermentation and heating. In the first method, you have to mix the remaining coconut water to the milk and fill the mixture in a transparent glass jar. Allow the jar to remain at room temperature for about 20 hours. This allows the water to settle at the bottom. You can find oil floating above the water and above the oil, there will be a layer of protein, which is white in color. You can then filter the oil, which will be colorless or pale yellow in color.

6.  Another method to make coconut oil is by heating. The coconut milk extracted from the grated coconut meat has to be heated over a low flame. You have to stir the mixture continuously. The mixture becomes thicker as it boils. After some time, the oil starts separating from the mixture. The water will evaporate, leaving the oil behind. Cook for some more time, before turning off the heat. 

Once cool, fill the oil in a clean glass jar, which is devoid of water or moisture. Your homemade coconut oil is ready and you can use it for cooking or for applying on the skin or hair. It is believed that coconut oil is good for a healthy skin and hair. You can even start a coconut oil diet.

source: Buzzer.com 

We tried to make virgin coconut oil last Thursday (April 14, 2011) and applied it on my hair :)

 

Fresh Lumpia

Fresh Lumpia or Lumpiang Sariwa is a traditional Filipino dish. It consist of minced ubod (heart of palm), flaked chicken, crushed peanuts, and turnips as an extender in a double wrapping of lettuce leaf and a yellowish egg crepe. The accompanying sauce is made from chicken or pork stock, a starch mixture, and fresh garlic. This variety is not fried and is usually around 2 inches in diameter and 6 inches in length; it is also the most popular among the Filipino variants. It is derived from the original Chinese popiah.

We always prepare and serve Fresh Lumpia in our family reunions, birthday parties and other special occasions.


3/4 kilo ubod ( heart of palm )
1 cup ground pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 kilo Baguio beans
1/2 cup shrimps, shelled
salt and vetsin to taste
1 medium size onions, chopped
2 cups water with shrimp juice added
carrots and lettuce

Extract juice from shrimp head.  Set aside.  Saute in garlic, onions, pork and shrimps.  Add water and shrimp juice mixture.  Let it boil.  Add ubod and beans.  Cover and cook until done.  Season to taste.  Drain.  Set aside to cool. 

Cut lettuce in half lengthwise. For each lumpia, place a piece of lettuce on wrapper. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling into center of wrapper. Fold bottom third of wrapper over filling, then fold in sides.
Serve with garlic dipping sauce or a mixture of hoisin sauce and soy sauce.


 Lumpia sauce:

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
garlic, crushed as desired
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cups broth
2 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients and heat in low fire.


Homemade Lumpia Wrapper:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 egg
salt and vetsin to taste

Mix all ingredients.  Brush on Teflon pan.  Yield: 10-15 pieces