Foodies for the Mind and the Heart: Kamote Fritters

Have you ever been in a situation where you are tired of eating canned foods? Well I have. It's the time when our house maid went for a for a 3 days vacation and your left me with my siblings and a lot of canned foods. Tuna in different flavors...Imagine that :)

My gulay, where are you? I wanted to eat gulay. Everything green.So, I went to check our backyard and found that their are no papaya. I don't have a recipe in mind for  malungay since we don't have meat in our fridge. All I see is kamote. I searched online but no recipe for kamote, just kangkong.

 KANGKONG.....loading...loading....and a big light bulb popped out!

So third in our menu is Kamote Fritters. Fresh and free kamote leaves! Not yet served in any restaurants or food stands. :)

Arial view of my crispy Kamote fritters:)

Ingridients:

A bunch of kamote leaves

Ice cold water

Cooking oil

Batter

1 cup cornstarch

I cup all purpose flour

2 cups water

1 egg

Seasoning (Like pepper or salt or whatever)

How I cooked it:

Wash and clean Kamote leaves and set a side in a bowl of cold water for 10-15 mins.

Mix all the batter and season according to the taste you want. After 10-15 mins, drain and dry with paper towel the kamote leaves then dip into batter and fry. Flip to other side if golden brown. Remove from pan and drain oil on paper towel. Serve with dip. :)

For our dip, we had mayonnaise but you can always try other dip like soy sauce or with ketchup.

Tip: Komete taste different than kangkong. Kangkong is bland while kamote leaves has this not so sweet after taste.

Kamote fritter is love...

Kamote fritter is comfort...

Kamote fritter in NOMNOMNOM!!! 

...plus it is healthy :)

nom nom nom healthy food

Unread Love Letter for Mc

Dear Mc,

Guido: I forgot to tell you.

Dora: Go ahead.

Guido: You can't imagine how much I feel like making love to you. But I'll never tell anyone, especially not you. They'd have to torture me to make me say it.

Dora: Say what?

Guido: That I want to make love to you - not just once, but over and over again! But I'll never tell you that. I'd have to be crazy to tell you. I'd even make love to you now... right here for the rest of my life.  ~ Life is Beautiful '97

Aside from that sexy quote for our valentine, mahal I just want you to know that I really LOVE you and that I'm so thankful that you have stood by me through thick and thin na kahit sobrang topak ko na and ilang beses na kitang binibitawan you stayed strong and held me tight by your side. Kahit wala tayong much in common at very tahimik lang tayo pagmagkasama we know nagkakaintindihan tayo at nagmamahalan. I'm sorry if matigas ulo ko and ikaw pa nag-aadjust sa atin instead na tayong dalawa. Sorry kung parati kong binabagsak yung phone pagnag-aaway tayo. ILOVEYOU so much Mc.
We've conquer 4, ano ba naman ang ilang taon pa diba?

Loved,
Berne

Foodies for the Mind and the heart: Palutaw

Second in our menu of most comforting food is Palutaw. Palutaw for me is LOVE!This should be the 1st in my list. My favorite! This is the one I could eat for the whole day with out having "umay". Pwedeng up to sawa!

Considered to be a native delicacy in my hometown-Antique,Palutaw is usually a "Lola's recipe". It is made from grounded sticky rice cooked with coconut milk or "gata" added with banana (Sab-a), yum/sweet potato/gabi and most specially BALLS.  : )  Balls made from grounded sticky rice. 

Seldom seen in carinderias or eatery but ought to have the most number of versions from different "Lolas" from our place. It has a wide variety cooking styles and colors. Yes! Colors.... see below how 1 recipe can have 3 colors? We have the plain white one, the purple-ish and the yellowish color.

This was cooked with purple yum that is why it looks kind of purple-ish

Ingredients:

4-6 pcs of Banana  (I'd prefer the almost ripe one, it gives a tangy but not so disturbing taste)

3-4 pcs of Sweet Potato (Depending on the)

Grounded Sticky Rice (Pilit in native term)

1/2 wash sugar or 1/4 Moscovado sugar

2 Buko of Coconut Milk (Gata) or 4-5 cups coconut milk

4-5 cups Water

2-3 cups of Sticky Rice (1-2 cups for the sticky rice balls and 1 cup for thickening)

1 spoon Vanilla Extract

Optional:

3-4 pcs Gabi

3-4 pcs purple yum

Grated Coconut

Sago

Grated jackfruit

Corn

How I cooked it:

Moisten sticky rice with a little water then roll into balls. Set aside after.

Boil the sago. When water is boiling, drop the sticky rice balls. Stir occasionally to avoid it from sticking in the bottom. Add the ingredients (Banana, sweet potato, yum/gabi etc.) and while waiting for the ingredients to cook, add the remaining sticky rice(dissolved in the water) to have that thick consistency.

Continue stirring then add sugar and vanilla for flavoring and aroma. Lastly, Place the coconut milk "gata", stir then serve.

Palutaw is love...

Palutaw is comfort...

Palutaw is NOMNOMNOM!!!

2 different Palutaw but same comforting taste

Foodies for the Mind and the Heart: Chicken Arroz Caldo

Recently I have been craving foods from my childhood, from Palutaw, to Champorado to Arroz Caldo to many many more. This are foods that I only get to eat during Flores de Mayo or when I'm at my grand parents place. Though some of it are served in our school canteen, it is not as tasty as the home made one. 

First in our menu is Chicken Arroz Caldo made from Japanese Rice.

Arroz Caldo is like our "Lugaw". Made from Sticky Rice, has egg and I guess the only difference is the "sahog" which for Arroz Caldo is Chicken and Lugaw has none(?) They are both thick soup and very  heavy to eat. Busog ka Agad even with only 1 bowl. Arroz Caldo are available in many carenderias especially in the morning for breakfast, during afternoon  for snacks and in the evening till dawn, thus it is cooked in several ways and variety.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Japanese Rice

1 chicken thigh

Garlic cloves minced and chopped ( Used for toasted garlic and to saute chicken)   

Peeled and Chopped Ginger

5 cups water

Knorr Chicken cubes (not paid to advertise)

Chopped green onions

Soy sauce

Calamansi

Pepper

Oil

Salt

How I cooked it:

I sauteed the chicken with the garlic and ginger until brown (but not totally)in a pot not in a pan (I dread make washing). Then  I set it aside.

Then I simmer the rice on the pot I used to saute the chicken. I added the broth cubes to add flavor to the rice.Then when the texture was almost thick, I added back the chicken and add some seasoning like the salt, soy sauce and pepper. You can add water depending on what consistency you want for the Arroz Caldo. For me I added an extra 2 cups because the Japanese rice absorbs water fast making it dry and the grain more "Malaman" (I don't know what is the right term, I  am sorry. Basta parang lumalaki lng ung rice). 

Place it on a bowl, add toasted garlic and chopped onion and viola! Instant Arroz Caldo. Easy right? You can also add egg if you like but in my case, no egg was available.

Though my Chicken Arroz Caldo was an Epic Fail (the soup just dried up after an hour, it was like plain yellow rice with chicken. Note to self: NEVER use Japanese rice for this dish) it still tasted great (walang halong biro).

Chicken Arroz Caldo is love...

Chicken Arroz Caldo is comfort...

Chicken Arroz Caldo is NOMNOMNOM!!!

Look at the grain of rice. Malaman :)