Foot and Fire

Last week, the heat index was high and a vegetable "suki" seller sold me tomatoes. They're not big and fleshy but they are ripe so I decided to make sundried tomato for my spaghetti bolognese this long weekend. On the first day, the tomatoes were under the sun the whole day but on the second day, it drizzled so I decided to air dry the same in my airfryer. 1 kilo ripe tomatoes, sliced round or quartered about 1/3 inch thick Iodized salt Olive oil Sun-dry Arrange each slice in a platter. Sprinkle with salt. Place a food net to avoid insects. Place under the sun. Repeat for about three days. Place in a glass jar with oil if not used right away. Refrigeration is optional. Can make a cup of sundried tomatoes. Airfryer method If using the air fryer, set the same in 100C and the maximum timer. Mine has 60 minutes or an hour. Let cool. Next day, airfry again for another 60 min at 65C. Place in a glass jar with oil if not used right away. Refrigeration is optional. Ca...

  Summer is here. Yes, there's no such thing as summer in the Philippines because our season here is called Dry and wet season. What a dry name then. Summer is equated with sun so let me use it to lump all the vegetables I plucked from our wet market recently and made into stir-fried noodles which Koreans call Japchae and we call bihon or sotanghon guisado. But since I used the sweet potato noodles of Korean brand, let's call it Japchae. 500g Sweet Potato Noodles 50g Sweet Pea 2 medium carrots 1 medium head brocolli olive oil 1 big white onion 100 g shredded roasted chicken 6T Soysauce 4T Mirin 4 Fish sauce 2T Nutritional Yeast 4T water 4T oligosaccharide salt and pepper sesame oil Chopped parsley as garnish Bring water to boil and add the sweet potato noodles and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from fire, drain with water and set aside. Steam vegetables until cooked but still crunchy. Set aside. In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients to make a seasoning sauce. Mix well....

Buruanga's stretch of white sand is not as long and continuous as the Station 1 to Station 3 of Boracay but it sure charmed me by its clean shores and crystal clear waters. I am a sucker for clean waters and I believe that a saltwater touching the skin is the ultimate therapy there is for one happy soul and healthy body. The backdrop of the beach is a stretch of trees too giving a cool shade and protection from the seething heat of the sun this dry season which officially started last March 26 for this year. The beach floor has lots of rocks when it is low tide which are not sharp so they were not bothersome but some areas are clear so I go to that area so I can clearly see fishes and fries swimming along with me.  Kayaking is one activity that can be done aside from island hopping by boat. But I soaked in the beauty of the sunset on this side of the archipelago. We had a drizzling afternoon on our first sunset and a pretty fast one the next day.  We stayed in a ro...

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French dish known for its wine-rich flavors and tender beef. Here's how to make this delicious meal. Ingredients 1 kg beef (chuck or brisket, cubed) 3 carrots (sliced as big as the meat chunks) 200g pickled onions A handful of olives (pitted) A can of sliced mushrooms 1 big white onion (diced) 6 bellpeppers (sliced) 3 tbsp soy sauce 3 bay leaves Dashes of dried parsley 3 anchovy fillets (mashed) Salt and pepper to taste 6 tbsp corn starch 2 cups red wine 120g tomato paste 1 cup water/ beef stock 4 tbsp agave syrup Instructions Season beef with salt and pepper, then coat with corn starch. Brown beef in oil (saute setting). set aside. Sauté onions and carrots, then add pickled onions, olives, and anchovies. Glaze with red wine, add beef, bay leaf, and soy sauce. Stir in agave syrup, adjust seasoning. Set instant pot to Meat Stew, from 35 minutes, lower to 25 minutes. Let cook. Wait for 20 minutes to rest before removing lid.  Remove bay leaf,...