Visit to the Oriental Market

I visited the Oriental Market the other day and got A LOT of stuff! Since I got married, I have not cooked any filipino dish, or at least a dish that was made at my home. It's all about to change now!!! :-D

There are 2 specific items I am particularly excited about.... let me show you...

The one to the left is a sweet chili sauce that is oh..so...good!! The brand is Mae Ploy and one can usually see/taste it in Tijuana Flats since it is one of the many sauces available at their sauce bars. It goes great with fish, chicken, tacos, quesadillas...pretty much anything! :-D

The second bottle is Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce. I pretty much grew up with this sauce and it is one of my favorites. I can't quite explain it, but it is like a sweet gravy sauce...oh well, I guess you'll just have to taste for yourself!! ;-P Like the description says, it's a sauce for anything and everything...seriously. It's good with fried chicken, pork chop, and various filipino dishes such as tortang talong (eggplant with meat), crispy pata (crispy pork), and lechon (pork).

Clearly, these 2 sauces come highly recommended. For those living in Florida, here are some filipino and oriental markets that I know of in the Orlando and Kissimmee area... Enjoy shopping!!! ;-)

Kissimmee:
Fish N' Spices
1174 E Vine St.
Kissimmee, FL 34744

Orlando:
JM Oriental Market (near Florida Mall)

9421 S Orange Blossom Trl # 5

Orlando, FL 32837

Evcon Filipino Oriental Store

9251 S Orange Blossom Trl # 8

Orlando, FL 32837

Dong A Supermarket (in Viet town)

816 N Mills Ave

Orlando, FL 32803

De Guzman Oriental Food Mart

(this place also serves cooked Filipino food you can order to-go)

8433 E Colonial Dr

Orlando, FL 32817

 

Dinner Highlight: Chives and Tofu

Say whaaat?? Tofu??

YUP!!

For those who do not know, tofu is one of the healthier substitutes for protein in one's daily diet. Chives are usually used as garnish for entrees, but I believe this particular kind I bought at the oriental market can be served as a dish on its own. It takes some getting used to, but my husband and I think this dish is delicious!

I learned this side dish from a lady I grew up with who's very dear to me. She invented this dish, and needless to say, it is now one of my favorites!

The ingredients can be found, for the most part, at your local oriental or filipino market. I got them at the Oriental Market on OBT near the Florida Mall. Hope y'all enjoy this dish as much as we have!

Chives and Tofu

Ingredients:
15 oz. package firm tofu
 about 1 lb. chives
1/4 to 1/2 cup oyster sauce
half of a beef bouillon
olive oil 

Directions:
1. Drain tofu from its liquid and cut into about 1x1 inch cubes.
2. Rinse chives and cut about 2-3 inches off from the end (not the end where there is a sprout); these ends are quite tough. Then, cut remaining chives in half or in thirds, depending on length.
3. Add olive oil to large pan. Add tofu and cook for about 5-8 minutes (careful not to burn them or break them apart!). Add beef bouillon.
4. Add chives. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring to get tofu on top. Add oyster sauce. Stir until all ingredients are mixed well. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until chives are very soft and tender.

I served it with white rice and baked garlic-herbed chicken.  Enjoy! :)

Breakfast Highlight: Challah Coconut French Toast!

In the words of Rachel Ray... "YUMmmm-O!"

I cannot think of a better way to start off the Lord's day than with a deeeelicious breakfast! As a child, I remember my Mama always cooking "special" breakfasts for the family during the weekends. I say "special" since we always had oatmeal with our Milo chocolate drink and Tang orange juice from Mondays to Fridays, but when the weekend came, boy was I excited! For the most part, we'd have some kind of breakfast meat (sweet ham or traditional Filipino breakfast meats like longanisa and tocino) with either traditional Filipino bread, Pan de Sal, or breakfast rice, sinangag, and sunny-side-up eggs. I will never forget those days...they are so precious to me.

I've decided that I'd very much like to do that for my family. With that said, I made some french toast with eggs and ham on the side for me and my hubby! Enjoy!

Challah Coconut French Toast 

His-n-Hers French Toast breakfasts! :-D

**Can use bread of your choice. Challah is a traditional Jewish bread and can be found at your local Publix (if you're a Floridian) or Jewish bakery.

Makes up to 4 pieces of French toast

Ingredients:
Challah bread, 4 slices
1-2 tsp butter
1 egg
1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
sweetened coconut flakes
powdered sugar and cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
In a bowl or tupperware, add egg, milk, vanilla and salt. Beat mixture. Heat pan on medium heat and add butter. Dip bread on both sides. When pan is ready, lay one side of bread to fry, and on the top, sprinkle some coconut flakes (you can put as much as you want!). After about 2 minutes, flip the bread over. Another 2 minutes, your toast is done! :-D

On the plate, sprinkle some powdered  sugar and cinnamon on the toasts (optional).

You can include any other side items you'd like. This morning, we had some eggs and honey ham. Our tummies were certainly happy!! ;-)

Dinner Highlight: Tilapia Veracruz a la Elizabeth!

Healthy eating? Yes, indeed! :-)

Growing up, I was always on the "fluffy" side (aka "pleasantly plump," chubby," "baby fat"), and it wasn't until 2001 when I decided (with the aid of my step-mom) to become more active, eat healthier and lose some weight. It was a slow process, but needless to say, I achieved my goal! Yea! :-D

From 2001 to the present, I tried many different types of food that helped lose and maintain the weight, from fruits, veggies and protein (fish, chicken, steak - mmm..). I had also cut down on my carb and starch intake (rice, pasta, potatoes). It wasn't too bad. I was actually getting the hang of it. Now that I'm married, I want to continue eating the healthy yet delicious foods. Thanks to this new chapter in my life (and to my deep, deep passion for food and all its yumminess), I've been experimenting more with my cooking. This recipe is one of my (and my hubby's!) favorites : Tilapia Veracruz.

I tried this recipe for the first time when my husband made it for me. It was sooo delicious...

I never forgot that dish, so a few weeks back, I finally asked the hubby for the recipe so I could make it for dinner. He didn't have it with him, but based on my knowledge of what he had put in it, I decided to make it anyway with some changes. I made it again last night with the sides of veggies and Italian parmesan potatoes. Here goes the recipe... Enjoy! :)

Tilapia Veracruz -- a la Elizabeth

Ingredients:

For the main dish:
4 tilapia fillets
adobo seasoning
half a medium onion, diced
2 small tomatos, diced
2 Tbsp Spanish manzanilla olives (with pimiento), plus 1 Tbsp of the juice
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato dressing
1/4-1/2 cup water

For the potato side:
3 small to medium white potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
Italian herb seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse potaotes and rougly peel them. Cut them in rough 1x1 inch cubes. In a bowl, add the potatoes, generously drizzle some olive oil on them (enough to coat potatos), add about 2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 Tbsp italian seasoning and 1-2Tbsp of parmesan (can add more of any ingredients according to own preference). Toss all ingredients. Lay potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

While potaotes are baking, heat about 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium to large pan. Add the diced onions and tomatoes. When onions become translucent, add the sun-dried tomato dressing and water. Add olives and olive juice. Simmer for about 2 minutes. Season tilapia on both sides with Adobo. Place tilapia in the pan over the sauce. Cook both sides for 5-7 minutes.

You can make any vegetable side. I paired our dinner with Publix Italian blend vegetables. They can be found in the frozen section. I just added about 2 cups in a tupperware, seasoned with Adobo, and microwaved the frozen veggies for 2 minutes.

Buen Provecho!! :-D

El Gazpacho

HoLa!!

Bienvenido a Madrid!

In the summer of 2008 I visited Madrid, Spain as part of a study-abroad program during my undergrad at Rollins. Of course, I was suuuper excited to try out the cuisine.

Back in Spanish class in high school, we learned about the cold soup, gazpacho, that they made and served in Spain, particularly during the hot, summer months. I tried it for the first time in one of the restaurants at the Plaza Mayor (don't forget to pronounce "Plaza" the Spaniard way...with a lisp! ;-P). It was extremely refreshing and delicious!! Another plus was that my host mother made it for us, and it was oh so good. Thankfully, she showed me how to make it and gave us the recipe... Enjoy!

Machine:

blender or a large food processor

Ingredients:

2.2 lbs very ripe red tomatoes

1/2 of a garlic clove

1 cup day old french bread (left out to be hardened)

1/4 cup green pepper

less than 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 and 1/4 cups water

ice

Instructions:

If blender is not strong enough, peel tomatoes first. 

Add tomatoes, green pepper, garlic, bread, olive oil, salt and vinegar in blender. Blend until smooth.

Add water and ice to your personal preference. Color must resemble a salmon orange.

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