"Oatmeal...not again!"

Every morning, I wake up really early, preparing for our meals/snacks for the day.

But I have to get my oatmeal fix (and hot tea) before I can start cooking.

Oatmeal. My husband and I one time agreed that we areboth tired of the usual plain oatmeal and soymilk, so I thought of making an effort to "decorate" our bowl of oatmeal - to give it more texture and a variety of flavor as well.

We do not like the instant flavored oatmeals, as those have lots of sodium - no thanks.

This morning, I thought of adding some craisins (sweetened dried cranberries), honey, bananas and unsweetened strawberry and corn flakes cereals as toppings. My husband added his usual vanilla soy milk and I added a mix of chocolate and vanilla soymilk (yum!).

Some other flavorings/toppings I usually add are: cinnamon powder + raisins, almonds, walnuts, chopped red apples, fresh blueberries, strawberries...

By the way, I make sure the oatmeal I prepare is not runny/soup-y, because we like it thicker, and with a richer texture, so I boil the water, add the oats (and craisins or raisins), cover it, and turn off the stove, so the oats will cook with the steam.

Coincidentally, I got an info update from Realage.com this morning about "How To Elevate Oatmeal To Superfood". The article said drinking orange juice with oatmeal will give better benefits - specifically stabilizing the LDL ( bad cholesterol). It says the combination of the phenols in oatmeal and the Vit C in OJ is a good combination for LDL.
Hmm...my husband can have the OJ with his oatmeal...not me. My tummy is sensitive to OJ in the morning, so I will just have my usual vit C tablets with my breakfast. ;-)

- Chichay

"Turkey Burgers" - Try Jenny-O's !

Tell me, who doesn't like burgers?

I do love burgers! Believe me, I used to eat 2 double- burgers a day...and just tried to burn it by working out 2x a day!

Yeah, I stayed slim, but I was just fooling myself because my cholesterol went up and my gallbladder complained as well. So I tried to stay away from patties...well, at least from fastfood burgers.

We still go out and have burgers once in awhile, but we try to eat the "cooked-from-scratch" ones(and make sure the patties have not been stored in a warehouse for a couple of years before they got served to us!).

We like going to John's or Paul's Place for lean burgers, but we try to avoid ordering oily sides (no fries, nor onion rings), and just enjoy it with lemonade, or iced tea. Not easy, but we TRY really hard.

Once inawhile I make burger patties (and meatballs) from scratch, using a mix of ground lean beef (10% fat) and ground lean turkey meat.

But the best discovery for me is trying "JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® All Natural Quarter-Pound Turkey Burgers" (not the Premium White nor the Savory Seasoned, as these two have higher sodium content!). These turkey burger patties are a tasty alternative to the usual beef burgers! These are made of ground lean turkey meat, have less fat, low sodium than the usual patties we can get from the market.

[CHICHAY TIP: I like other Jenny-O products - like breakfast sausages links and ground meat. I use the sausage links in fried rice, omelets...it's kind of chewy, so the texture is perfect as a replacement for chorizo in some dishes that require this ingredient.]

We avoid eating processed foods, but I believe this Jenny-O product makes it to my list of good alternatives to the "real" stuff.

Going back to the burger patties, I was reading an article yesterday about deceiving dishes/meals that are usually listed under "healthy choices" in restaurant menus, but in reality have more calories/fats than the "real" stuff. They said that in one famous restaurant, the turkey burger item is loaded with fats/calories, only because of the way they cooked the patty, the dressings and all the sides they include in the meal. Makes sense.

I suggest that to be consistent with trying to eat healthy, we then try to cook our meat in a healthier manner. Instead of frying your patties in regular oil, use olive oil instead.

[CHICHAY TIP: Olive oil doesn't have trans fats, not even saturated fat. According to an article I read in Consumer Reports' "ON Health", olive oil is good fat and it CAN help reduce cardiovascular diseases, because it has PHENOL (also found in oatmeal), an ingredient that keeps the arteries elastic. ]

So what I do with the Jenny-O patties is pan-fry it in some olive oil, or sometimes grill it - just spray it with some PAM olive oil so it's not too dry, and then [CHICHAY TIP: I just finish it in the oven for a few minutes, and wrap it in foil, minutes before I serve it, to lock in the juices on the meat (this keeps it warm and juicy upon serving it, not dry.]

Today, I just thought of having Jenny-O Turkey patties with a side of tomato and lettuce salad... great with oatnut bread, or with rice - OF COURSE! :-)

- Chichay

"Baked Salmon"

My husband and I love salmon - sashimi, sinigang, grilled, tossed in a salad of greens, paksiw, and most especially baked!

I learned this creamy, tasty baked salmon dish from my batchmate in highschool. He posted this years ago and from then on, I try to prepare this on special occasions for my family and friends. It's always a bit hit, I am telling you, just follow the recipe and you won't miss making this lovely dish!

But of course I also cook it once in a while for my husband - whenever I could find a cook salmon steak cut at the store. If you do not like the skin of the salmon, you can trim it before cooking. It also cuts the cooking time in half, since the salmon meat is tender and doesn't take long to get cooked.

By the way, I often make my dishes a bit healthier than the original recipes but adding less salt, oil, and the like. I am posting the original recipe, but just so you know, when I cook it, I use "light" mayo, and I use "Splenda" instead of sugar, and I use "Kikkoman Soy Sauce - Less Sodium". I tried both recipes, and it tastes the same, so it's up to you which ingredients you would want to use.

- Chichay

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"BAKED SALMON"

What You Need:

boneless salmon fillet, about 6 pcs

Sauce:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4c Kikkoman soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp juice of lemon

How To:
- combine and mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl
- arrange the salmon fillet pieces on a baking dish
- pour over sauce on fillet, cover with foil
- and bake @ 160degC (300-300degF) for about 40mins
- When done, remove foil cover and cook for another 5-10mins till the sauce becomes brown.

Serve with rice and/or salad

"Mussels and Ginger Soup" (Tahong Soup)

It's really cold today...I thought of making soup then.

Thanks to my friend's mom who made me try her Tahong soup last week, so now I am inspired to cook it for my asawa.

Tahong (mussels) is readily available anytime in the seafood market, either fresh or pre-cooked/frozen. I bought the pre-cooked/frozen ones because I didn't want to do the cleaning of the mussels anymore! ;-) They taste the same, as far as I know.

The greens that we used in the Philippines with tahong was "malunggay leaves", but I am still trying to find somebody who can give me fresh ones. I did not find it in the Filipino store we have nearby.

By the way, the mussels become rubbery when overcooked - so I suggest serve it immediately after simmering for a few minutes.

Sarap. Perfect on a cold, windy day.

- Chichay

Tahong and Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 pcs fresh ginger (about 3 inches long), peeled & sliced
• some patis ( or just use salt )
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 3 lb mussels (fresh, or use pre-cooked ones in a box)
• 2 cups of greens (spinach, or malunggay if available)
• 1 small green papaya, cut into cubes
• 4 cup water
• ground black pepper
  

How to:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium to high.

Add onions, garlic and ginger, and saute until the onion is translucent (do not let the garlic burn).. Add the fish sauce and chopped tomatoes, and saute for about 2 minutes.

Add the papaya and water.

Cover and bring to a boil.

Add the mussels, cover again and simmer for a few minutes

(if you used fresh, wait for about 10 minutes until the mussels shells open)

Add the greens, cover and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Season with pepper.

Serve hot.

"Guisadong Ampalaya At Hipon" on a windy day.

Hi! It's Chichay here, trying to write something that makes sense, despite feeling wary about the heavy winds we have today.

(Whew! This storm reminds me a lot of my younger years in the Philippines...the usual scenario would be me staying in my room at the 2nd floor of our house, and staring by the window, looking at the flooded streets outside, while munching on whatever my mommy and grandma would provide me with, umm...say bread, crackers, and peanuts - anything that would keep me from whining about the nasty weather. )

Alright since cooking makes me feel better here, let me share with you what I am making today.
I found out that my mother-in-law shares my liking for Ampalaya (bittergourd, bittermelon?), so am trying this Guisadong Ampalaya at Hipon (Sauteed Bittermelon with Shrimps).

I read several recipes online, and based on the ingredients I have in my pantry, this is what I came up with.

BTW, my husband said he will only pick the shimps, and won't eat the ampalaya...thus I have to cook another dish for him! :-)

- Chichay

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"Guisadong Ampalaya At Hipon"

Ingredients:

• one large ampalaya, cleaned and sliced


• 1 cup peeled shrimp


• ½ of a medium onion, minced


• 5 minced garlic cloves


• a bit of Kikkoman soy sauce


• 2 eggs, beaten


• salt and pepper
  
  

Prep:
Soak the sliced ampalaya in cold water with salt for an hour. Drain the ampalaya and squeeze out the excess salty water. Wash with cold water and repeat the process of draining 2x to remove the bitter taste. (I like it really bitter so I just drain once)

How To:

-Put a pan on high heat

-add perhaps 2 tablespoons of olive oil

-then place the onion, then garlic

-when the onion and garlic are softer (say 1-2 minutes) add the ampalaya, the soy sauce and stir

-add the shrimps and toss until the shrimps are bright orange (do not overcook)

-add some salt and pepper

-add two lightly beaten eggs, stir until cooked

-transfer immediately to a serving dish, so the egg and shrimp will not get overcooked.

"Shrimps with Chili-Garlic Sauce"

Hi there!
I mentioned earlier that since my husband doesn't like the "ampalaya", then I would have to cook another dish for him tonight, right?
Well, I reserved half the portion of my shrimps for this other dish, and I thought of making a variation to my favorite "Shrimp Scampi" that I normally serve over thin spaghetti noodles.
Here I added the chili-garlic sauce - the one that I bought from the Asian store. You may use any kind of hot sauce, or any thicker spicy sauce like Cholula. I tried it before with shrimp and it was good!
I thought of replacing the usual white wine (in other Shrimp Scampi recipes I read online) with red wine instead. I suggest that you use the red wine that you actually enjoy drinking - in our case, we like Shiraz, and it's available in my kitchen. Whenever I use it in red sauces, it thickens it and somehow sweetens the dish.
You'll notice I added a lot of tomatoes here - I just love tomatoes, and I guess you can put less if you do not enjoy tomatoes like I do.

The dish came out quite delicious ha. As usual, my husband wanted it with rice, and I served it with some steamed spinach as well. Busog ang asawa ko!

Hope you like this dish too. Enjoy!

- Chichay

(PS: Did I tell you this shrimp dish is like "pulutan"? Yeah, we had beer with our dinner, He had some ale and I had double-chocolate stout!)

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"Shrimps with Chili-Garlic Sauce"


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter


• 5 large cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)


• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)


• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (remove seeds)


• 1 1/4 pounds shrimps, peeled and deveined


• 1/3 cup red wine (or beer!)


• juice from 1 lemon


• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish (you can use dried parsley, but soak it in some olive oil before cooking)


• 1 tsp. chili-garlic sauce or any hot sauce (Cholula or Tabasco will do)


• some salt and pepper

How To:

- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add garlic and shallots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned, for about 3 minutes.

- Add shrimp, wine, and lemon juice, chili-garlic sauce and cook until the shrimp are bright orange (do not overcook)
- Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper.
- Serve on a bed of steamed spinach, with a side of rice, or garlic toast.