josie's kitchen

I remember when my father used to go to Cagayan de Oro (Mindanao) to oversee the tomato plantation he financed that will supply our stall here in Manila. He will stay there from June, the start of harvest season until November, but come home for a while in August in time for my mother’s birthday and he will always bring home big fat crabs and durian candies.

It’s been so long since we had a crab meal for lunch. A fish vendor happened to passed by at our place and have crabs and shellfish in his cart. Crab is quite expensive and not always available here being  far from the sea. So hubby bought a kilo which we cooked for lunch in a coconut milk. Though the crabs were not as fat as what my father used to bring, we enjoyed eating it as much.

• 1 kilo crab (cut into halves, so the sauce can penetrate inside the crab)
• 1 cup pure coconut milk ( use canned or  powdered pack if fresh is not available)
• 2 cups kangkong leaves  (swamp spinach)
• med. size ginger root cut into strips
• 1 med. onion chopped
• 3 pcs. hot chili (siling labuyo) or depending on the spiciness preferred
• salt

• In a deep sauce pan, combine ginger, onion and coconut milk and simmer while stirring to prevent curdling, until creamy.
• Add the crab. Cover and let simmer until the crab is done. (No need to add more water, because crab will release some its natural juice.)
• Add kangkong and chili, continue cooking until the veggie is half cooked.
• Add salt to taste.

I’m a fan of home-improvement shows on TV like Clean House, Carter Can, Extreme  Home Make-over and many more. Watching them renovate the house or make new cabinets and storage from piled up woods in the backyard  or refurbish old furniture to make it look brand-new. It seems very easy to build them with the power tools they use, but of course if you are not a professional carpenter, you still need some guidance, especially the safety precautions in handling those power tools like wearing protective glasses to shield the eyes from flying debris when sowing woods or dismantling old cabinets and furniture. All in all it’s safety first above everything.

Thanks to modern technology, it really made our lives easier and lighter. lol. Do you remember the first computers, they were very huge and will occupy almost the whole room for just one computer. But now looked at them, you can hold them in the palm your hand like the I-pads and netbooks. And with the invention of digital storage like micro sd you can store all your files in one small chip unlike before you need a big filing cabinet to store all those data. Just insert this micro sd in your computer and you can store as many data as you like and you can carry it anywhere you go.

Little kids are beginning to be adventurous when they experienced riding a bicycle, you will see how they enjoy their new found quest. They even learn to mingle and play with other kids. You can spot the excitement in their eyes when they are able to explore other places while riding on their bikes. This was what I noticed with my kids during those times of their first ventures outside our home and into the yard. More so when their father bought them their first power wheels. They can’t wait to get out and drove around the neighborhood with their new “vehicle”.

This was hubby’s work (not his job) he just love to cook and try to create his own recipe. This is the of his home-made longaniza or meat sausage. You can store it in the freezer for future use. No additives and preservatives. Carrot is used to make it healthier. Good for the kids’ school snacks/lunch.

• 1/2 kilo ground pork
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 carrot chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 stalk Chinese celery chopped finely
• thin layer of fat or panyo (handkerchief) use as casing

• Mixed all the ingredients except the fat casing.
• Put 2 tbsp. of the mixture to the fat casing and roll.
• Steam for 5 minutes to cook the meat and fry until golden brown.
• Serve with steamed rice or bread.

Serves 6-8

From now on I will also feature some of the ingredients like herbs and spices that add flavor and aroma to all my recipes.

Pandan (Fragrant Screw Pine)

I use pandan leaves when I cooked our rice, it gives sweet aroma and nice flavor to the rice. It is also added to native rice puddings or rice cakes, sweetened fruit preserves and fruit juices and salads like buko (young coconut) juice and buko pandan (young coconut and gelatin concoction). It is easy to grow even in a small plant pot and we have one in our yard.

But do you know that there are many health benefits that can get from this simple plant and it is also use as cure for ailments in some countries.
• Treats leprosy, smallpox and wounds.
• Helps reduce fever
• Solves several skin problems
• Relives headache and arthritis
• Treatment for ear pains
• Functions as a laxative for children
• Eases chest pains
• Helps in speeding up the recuperation of women who have just given birth and are still weak
• Pandan reduces stomach spasms and strengthens the gum.

Preparation & Use of Pandan:
• Decoction (a method of extraction by boiling of dissolved chemicals, or herbal or plant material, which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) of the bark may be taken as tea, or mixed with water that is to be used in bathing, in order to remedy skin problems, cough, and urine-related concerns.
• Apply pulverized roots of pandan to affected wound areas to facilitate healing.
• The anthers of the male flowers are used for earaches, headaches and stomach spasms.
• Chew the roots to strengthen the gum.
• Extract oils and juices from the roots and flowers are used in preparing the decoction to relieve pains brought about by headache and arthritis.

We’ve heard of pork and beans, this one instead of pork I used ground beef. Almost the same procedure and ingredients.

• 1/4 kilo ground beef
• 1 cup cooked white beans or you can use canned beans
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 med-size onion chopped
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 pc. bell pepper cut into squares
• salt and pepper to taste

• Saute garlic, onion and ground beef, add a cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes in low heat. Stir once in a while.
• Add beans, bell pepper and tomato sauce, continue simmering for at least another 5 minutes. (Add a little water if needed)
• Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4-6

Variation: You can use jalapeño pepper if you like it a little spicy but remove the seed to reduce the heat.

Hubby chanced upon this pure crab meat (that means no more shell) on sale at the super-mart for Php 400/kilo ($9). He’s been looking for them at the wet market, but all they have are those still in the shell. It’s a tedious preparation to separate the meat from the shell, so he grabbed this chance. He loves this recipe and whenever we eat out, this is always on the order list. He only bought 1/4 kilo and add some veggies as extenders.

• 1/4 crab meat (cooked)
• 1 med-size onion chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked green peas
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• cooking oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste

• Since the crab meat is already cooked, just mix all the ingredients in a bowl including eggs.
• Heat the frying pan and add a little amount of oil
• Get a spoonful of the mixture, put in a fry pan and flatten.
• Fry and brown on each sides
• Serve with steamed rice
• You can use catchup or vinegar with minced garlic as dip (optional). I like it better with no dip sauce, so I can taste its full flavor. It has a natural sweet taste.

Serves 4-6

Variation:  You can place the mixture inside the top shell and fry if you like good presentation like this.

Are you dieting? If you think you looked fat or overweight, there are ways to lose weight that are safe and effective. You can work-out in the gym, run or jog, get your dancing shoes and dance away all those extra pounds. There are also healthy diet meals you can try. But if you think that all these has no effect on you and you decided to take weight loss pills like lipozene, read lipozene customer reviews first or get your doctor’s advice before taking anything. This is to avoid any side-effects you might encounter.

It’s good to be forty when you looked thirty, yes this is the line from one commercial of an anti-aging cream. And it’s true, just hearing those compliments when someone told you that you looked younger than your real age is very flattering (just make sure it’s sincere and not because he wants to borrow some money hehehe). Anyways, when you reach the age of thirty, it’s good to use wrinkle cream as early as possible. Tensions, pressures from work and at home, lack of sleep and pollution also cause wrinkles to appear.