Yesterday was my son’s birthday, it was a simple lunch celebration, I cooked spaghetti and hubby made pork ribs barbecue which was a special request. Then we ordered pizza at Shakeys, he used the  pizzacard I had and we were able to avail the ‘buy one take one’ promo. He ordered 3 boxes and they  doubled them, thus we received six boxes of different flavor.

A big savings on our part as we can use the pizzacard for one whole year and avail the promo every time we order or eat at their store. Good marketing strategy for Shakeys and beneficial for their customers.  Our phone number is already on their database, so whenever we call they already knew the address for delivery. I’m sure they also use POS systems on their database.

Nope we didn’t eat them all because his guests arrived for dinner and we prepared another set of food, except for the spaghetti and barbecue, there were also cake, ice cream and fruit salad.

It was a nice start of the day when three 1-liter bottles of our favorite juice drink was delivered in our house this morning. The Sunkist Orange juice, very timely as we had spent the last bottle we bought in the grocery last week. I like Sunkist juice drink because it’s different from other juice drinks you will find in the market. Non-carbonated and is made from natural orange fruits, not too sweet and no preservatives added, with real orange pulp bits that are fresh and soft,  I don’t need to manually squeeze orange for my juice, with Sunkist I can get the same goodness of a freshly-squeezed orange. Very healthy as it is rich with Vit. C.

You can see more updates  when you visit Sunkist FB fan page.

Sunkist is another product of  RFM corporation, the leading manufacturer of Healthy Beverages in the Philippines.

Chicken Adobo sa Gata or Chicken Stew with Coconut Milk

My first try on Chicken adobo with gata or coconut milk. I was a bit hesitant at first as my two sons were not fond of eating viand with coconut milk, though me and hubby loved it. I’ve heard of this recipe a few times and was curious of its taste, so here it goes.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken cut into serving size
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 packed 250 gms coconut powder
• 2 pcs. finger green chili (siling pansigang) cut into three parts, remove the seeds if you don’t want it to be too spicy.

Cooking method:

1. In a saucepan, combine chicken meat, garlic, vinegar, ground pepper and soy sauce.
2.  Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender.
3. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool a bit.
4. Separate the chicken from the sauce and fry in another pan until golden brown.
5. Mix and dissolve the coconut powder on the sauce thoroughly until no lumps remain. Add the finger chili. Put it back on heat.
6. Add the chicken back and simmer for another five minutes or until the sauce thickens. (Stir once in a while to prevent from sticking in the pan.)
7. Season with salt or fish sauce if needed or as preferred.

My new Adobo turned out very good and tastier because of the coconut milk. And the good news was, my sons loved it too..

It’s that time of year again. Christmas is well and truly over, the New Year feels no different from the previous one and the weather is still miserable. So cheer you and the family up this January with this succulent slow cooked pork in a rich cream sauce with herbs, apples and apple brandy. Delicious served with creamy mashed potatoes, steamed greens and some crusty bread. Get your cookware at the ready and indulge in the perfect meal to feed those January blues.

Ingredients  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 175g (6oz) smoked bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 250g (9oz) small shallots peeled
• 1 ¼ kg (2lb 12oz) pork shoulder (trimmed of skin) 3cm (1 ¼ inch) diced
• 60ml (¼ cup) calvados (apple brandy)
• 2 sticks of celery diced
• 2 crisp, sharp eating apples peeled and diced (granny smith or similar variety)
• 2 teaspoons coarse grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 750ml (3 cups) pork or vegetable stock
• 100ml crème fraîche
• 2 tablespoons of cornflour mixed with 100ml (½ cup) water

To finish

• 1 small knob butter
• 8 fresh sage leaves

Method

Oven: 170ºC / 325ºF / Gas Mark 3, pre-heated

Fan Oven: 150ºC

Heat the oil in the casserole on the hob over a medium heat, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Drain the cooked bacon into a dish retaining the oil in the casserole.

Add the butter to the oil and cook the shallots until nicely browned. Add the pork a little at a time, allowing each batch to colour slightly before adding the next.   

Once all the meat has been added and coloured pull the pan away from the heat. Pour over the calvados and carefully ignite, standing well back until the flames subside.

Place the pan back over the heat, add the celery, chopped apple, mustard, pepper, herbs and stock, stir well to release any caramelized pieces from the base. Bring to a gentle simmer, place on the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 2 hours.   

Skim away the excess fat from the top of the casserole and discard. Stir in the cream fraîche along with the cornflour and water mixture. Return the casserole with the lid on to the oven for 15-20 minutes to thicken.   

Heat the butter in a small frying pan and gently fry the sage leaves until crisp.   

Remove the casserole from the oven, stir the contents and adjust the seasoning to taste with some pepper and salt if needed.

Serve the casserole decorated with the crisp sage leaves on top. Accompany with simply prepared potatoes, boiled or mashed, green vegetables and some crusty bread. 

Still fresh from the smoker oven. Hubby’s really serious in perfecting his homemade ham recipe, lol,  even after the holiday season he’s still making one. He had this ham smoked for three hours in his  smoker using old woods and was boiled in pineapple juice and herbs for another 1 and half hour. The same recipe I posted last month, only this time with additional procedure and tasted way better than the last one. It’s the smoked flavor that made the difference. I’m so glad that he loves cooking and experimenting with different recipes as this took off the cooking chore from me.. lol..

Because of this, I want to gift him something he kept wishing to have, a light vehicle he can use for his newly founded business, a buy and sell of computer parts. I’m already scouting on some  Gas Scooters displays for types and prices, hopefully before his birthday came, I had saved enough.