eggplant omelette (tortang talong)

Eggplant omelette or Tortang talong in Filipino is a popular Filipino dish. It's my first time making it so I had to google a recipe and found this really interesting food blog. Thanks tinybites.ca for the step-by-step and pictures =) Click here if you're interested! Eggplants are rich in folic acid and potassium and helps block free radicals. Delicious and healthy!

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
2 eggs
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Directions:
1. Using your oven, set it to broil on high. Put the eggplants in a rack and make sure to turn them to broil all sides.
2. After all sides are broiled, remove the skin.
3. Using a knife, cut the eggplant in strips, leaving the top part and opening the eggplant like a fan
4. Scramble the eggs and add salt and pepper. Dip the eggplant into the egg mixture.
5. Fry on medium heat and turn until both sides are cooked.
6. Enjoy!

comfort food

It's been raining almost everyday in Toronto but I refuse to be bogged down by this almost depressing weather. In times like this, it's nice to stay in and indulge in your favourite comfort foods. For me, it's cupcakes =) How can this sunny batch not bring a smile on your face, even on a gloomy day, like today?

 I haven't cooked in a while, so here's a good old recipe for Filipino style chicken noodle soup!

 Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

4 eggs

3 cups of pasta (macaroni or shells)

5 pieces of chicken hotdogs (cut lengthwise and into half-moons)

2 medium sized carrots (cut into half circles)

3 stalks  of celery

1 whole onion minced

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 tablespoons of butter

4 cups of milk

3 cups of chicken broth

3 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breast in a large pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, or until the chicken is cooked and tender. 

2. Drain the chicken. Save 3 cups of the broth in a bowl. Use a strainer to remove the fat and chicken bits. Cut the chicken into strips and set aside

3. In a separate pot, cook the pasta. In another pot, bring the eggs and the carrots to a boil. Drain and set aside. 

4. Add the butter in a pan on medium heat. When melted, saute the garlic and onion. Add the hotdogs and chicken strips and cook until brown, and almost crispy. 

5. Transfer in a large pot. Add the milk, chicken broth and chicken bouillon cubes. 

6. Add the celery, carrots, hardboiled eggs and pasta.

So, go ahead. Bring your umbrella and enjoy the weather!

random shot from Madison Square Park

fried bananas

Plantain bananas just like regular bananas is rich in potassium which is very good for the heart and prevents heart attacks. It is however, lower in sugar content, which makes it even better than regular bananas. It is also rich in magnesium, phosphate, a good source of Vitamins A, B6 and C which help maintain vision, good skin, and build immunity against diseases. 

You can simply fry them or, in this case, roll them in brown sugar before frying. The only thing missing, is the ice cream. Enjoy!

back to TO!

We're back in Toronto! Posting random thoughts while sitting on the plane, but mostly, just thinking of ways to amuse myself while waiting for Facebook to finish uploading. Tons of pictures from our trip...lots of memories, laughters and tears. Missing my family already. Here's a picture of a popular Filipino dessert --- the Halo Halo =)

craving Filipino food??

I remember Max's Restaurant as a kid. I remember their cheesy commercial tag line "sarap to the bones" so yes, when we heard they're opening a branch in Toronto, we were more than excited. I think we were more thrilled about the idea of having something so similar to what we were used to back then. We were one of the many Filipinos who came to visit their restaurant on opening day. Anyway, I cannot tell you if their Toronto branch is up to par with the original Max's restaurant since I honestly don't remember what they used to taste like. But don't worry, in a few more days, I'll be able to compare haha ;) Anyway, try the nilagang baka. It's quite tasty =)

taken from a random site through Google images.
1520 Steeles Avenue West Vaughan, ON L4K 3B9

Here's A. Telling people to come and eat at Max's haha. Babe, the food is here =P

Don't forget the Calamansi Juice =)

pata tim

This is Pata Tim. For those of you who are not familiar with this dish, let me tell you, you are not alone. In fact, I've never heard of Pata Tim until I met the Perlases. This is Nanay Rose's specialty. Although, I did not get this recipe from her (and that's probably a mistake because her pata tim is unbelievably good!), I had to decide what to do with left-over pork hocks from yesterday's kare-kare. I found this recipe online on Lutong Pinoy. I think the difference from Nanay Rose's recipe is she uses pineapple juice instead of root beer as stated in this recipe. At the end of it, it was very rootbeer smelling, which was weird for me. I am very bad at following recipes. In fact, I find that the six cups of water they said to boil my pork in was too much. Instead, I used the same water I had boiled the pork in the first time which is not six cups for sure. I just removed the fatty residue and foam that formed on the top and used the same broth. I also think 1 cup of brown sugar was probably too much as it made my pata tim a little too sweet for my taste. Nevertheless, here is the link to the recipe for those who are interested.