Recipe: Menudo

Someone handed me a bag of raisins and that gave me the idea of making Menudo. Menudo is a staple in almost every Philippine gatherings and almost a comfort food. Everyone has different interpretation when it comes to this dish. I used Chicken and Pork with this recipe as well as Cayenne Powder instead of Paprika to give it a kick. Also, since I cannot find pork liver, I used chicken liver instead.

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork, cubed
1/2 lb chicken liver
1 chicken leg quarter, cubed
4 hotdogs, sliced
4 small potatoes, cubed
4 medium carrots, cubed
4 large plum tomatoes, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp cayenne powder
1 can (10 oz) chicken stock
1 cup raisins
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce (patis)

Cooking Procedure:

1. Combine soy sauce and fish sauce in a boil. Add in pork and chicken and marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pot. Add in onion and garlic powder, saute for a minute.
3. Add in pork and chicken and cook until brown. About 5 to 7 minutes
4. Pour in chicken stock. Add in cayenne powder, hotdogs and chicken liver. 
5. Stir in tomato paste. Add in raisins, potatoes, carrots and yellow pepper.
6. Once its boiling. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. 
7. Serve with rice. 

Enjoy!

Variation:

• You can cut down on the cayenne powder if you don't want it to have too much of a kick. Or use paprika instead.  
• Use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. 
• Pork liver instead of chicken liver. If you are using pork liver, make sure you saute it first in garlic to remove the gamey smell. 
• Instead of fish sauce, use calamansi or lemon.

Recipe: Tortellini with Spinach and Tomatoes

This is an easy to make recipe since I used store-brought frozen tortellini and pasta sauce while still incorporating   tomatoes, garlic and onions I got from a farmers market.

Ingredients:
10 oz frozen tortellini
24 oz Pasta Sauce (I used Mushroom with this recipe but you can use plain if you prefer)
1 large Yellow Onion
1 dozen Grape Tomatoes
6 fresh basil leaves
1 large bunch Spinach leaves, cleaned and drained
2 tsp oil

Preparations:
1. Prepare tortellini as instructed in package.
2. Meanwhile, diced onions, slice the grape tomatoes in half and chopped the basil.
3. Drain tortellini when its cooked
4. Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions, basil and tomatoes for 5 minutes.
5. Add in spinach leaves and saute for a one minute. Cover and cooked for two minutes or until the spinach leaves are wilted.
6. Add in the cooked tortellini and saute for a minute
7. Pour in pasta sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with some basil flakes

Tortellini with Spinach and Tomatoes

Variation: if you want to add meat, you can diced bacon or ham and saute it with onions and tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Okra and Tofu Stew

Okra and Tofu Stew

This is simple to make and its vegetarian.  Okra is a good source of iron and calcium and contains Vitamin A and C. It has a lot of benefits. The Okra fiber is excellent for feeding probiotics which contributes to the health of intestinal tract. It's good for constipation, stabilizing blood sugar and cholesterol level and known to treat lung inflammation, sore throat and irritable bowl syndrome.

Ingredients:
1 cup cut okra
1 cup snap sugar peas
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup cubed tofu
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onion
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 in ginger, chopped
Oil

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a wok, add in the onion, ginger and garlic. Saute till the onion browned.
2. Add in the mushrooms and okra, saute for three minutes. Add in the tofu, and snap peas.
3. Stir in soy sauce, rice vinegar and lime juice. Mix the ingredients.
4. Lower the heat, let it simmer for 5 minutes or until snap peas are cooked and still crunchy.
5. Serve on top of rice.

Enjoy