Foot and Fire

Gerlie's Lasagna Lasagna is a good pasta to eat but a tedious one to prepare. This is my own take of this favorite pasta dish. I don't use cream and condensed much these days but you can add some to yours. I also love the Clara Ole chunky tomato variant because it is not soury as its Italian variant and not too sweet as their Filipino style, plus of course, I can see some chunks of tomatoes indeed. If not for the words NO BOIL in the Ideal lasagna package, I wouldn't buy this because I know, it is a long procedure to complete a lasagna pan. And I admit, after the first try, that this still needs some boiling. It just didn't work out for me, the no boil texture. But I enjoyed my lasagna batches which I boiled... so im sharing my latest prep with pesto... i so miss the the basil scent!!! 1. PASTA: Boil as per package instruction ( still boiled, though I used Ideal Gourmet No boil) 2. SAUCE: 2T olive oil Garlic, minced Onion, chopped 1/2 kl Beef 1 cup S...

    I always imagine myself cooking squash flowers when they are aplenty. Since the squash flowers in the garden come one after another and not in one-time big-time occasion, I decided to root for the young leaves. Pruning the last leaves of the squash is important to guarantee a good growth of squash. I love munching the leaves in Monggo Soup (Mung bean). It's foamy chewy type of leaves.    For a change, I decide to fry it with the batter. And it's popular in the house. So I am sharing this to you.... Happy experimenting!!! Squash young leaves, roughly sliced 2 cups Flour 1 cup starch  1/2 c rolled oatmeal  salt and pepper mushroom seasoning 2 eggs, lightly beaten cold water oil for deep frying Slice roughly young squash leaves. Set aside. In a deep bowl, add flour, starch and oatmeal. Add salt and pepper and mushroom seasoning. Mix well before adding 2 lightly beaten eggs. Add cold water and mix batter well in a circular motion. Ad...

1 tablespoon Canola Oil 1 tablespoon of crushed Garlic 1 large Onion, cubed 1 kilo beef tenderloin cut in strips 1 kilo Broccoli 1 can button mushrooms bellpeppers 4 tablespoons of olives 2-3 table spoons cornstarch saved water from canned mushroom salt and pepper to taste Cut meat in strips. Cut the broccoli flowers from the stem and separate into desired sizes. Remove hard outer portions of the stem until the soft center reveals. Cut into bite size. Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl of water. In a wok, saute garlic and onion in oil, put the beef tenderloin and cover for three minutes. Remove impurities from the beef liquid, put a little salt and pepper and let cook for another two minutes. Put small amount of water or liquid from the canned mushroom, then place the broccoli, mushroom and bell peppers. Let cook for two to three minutes. Put sliced olives and the liquid from the canned mushroom. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for one minute. Add the dissolved c...

This is the five-color vegetables we ordered. We got a beautiful line up of stir-fried sweet peas, napa cabbage, young corn, cauliflower and carrots. We had this in Mandalay, but as in anywhere in Myanmar, vegetables are a side dish or a complimentary dish aside from the soup and mango chutney and fermented fish/prawns. *** This is one tasty fish which is first wrapped with chopped leaves which preserved the fish fat (see bottom layer) and spices before the banana leaves. This must be steamed and the fish meat (see the second layer) is very tasty while the skin is delicately smooth. I want to replicate this cooking. We had this in a Shan Restaurant in Mandalay near our hotel. *** Fish hot clay pot. Chunks of fried fish with vegetables and spices and visibly garnished with onion rings and pineapple slices. This is one nice rice partner. It is served in a small wok with a burner underneath. We had this in Bagan. *** Speaking of snacks, I like this deep-fried potato chips at 500 to 1000 k...

Shredded cabbage Grated carrots Grated cucumber Four tablespoons of Pickle relish with syrup Two tablespoons of sandwich spread or mayonnaise Blanch cabbage and drain. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix. Chill and serve immediately.

One of the challenges in making rolls is how to wrap it neat and firm. The secret is in the wrapper as it must be just- made. A day old wrapper is dry and unmanageable but a just- cooked ones are soft, pliable and easy to wet when closing the ends. It is a happy discovery to me that an old woman in my place still makes this tedious-to-prep lumpia wrapper. I just have to order a day before so she can make my order right in time. This is a happy find for me because those sold in our wet market is usually days old already. Here is our vegetable lumpia for dinner....tomorrow, i'll post the cheese sticks... And if i have time i'll take a photo of the old woman doing her thing and get a few tips from her.

By GERLIE M. UY Skewered Fishballs Fish Balls: 5 pcs fleshy fishes (e.g. marot) 2 pcs grated potatoes 2 pcs grated carrots salt and pepper 1 to 1 1/2 cup flour water Oil for frying Dipping Sauce: Sweet Chili Sauce Vinegar sugar salt and pepper water Bamboo Skewers How To: Boil the fishes until tender. Strain and let fillet and torn into pieces in a bowl. Make sure to remove all bones. Add grated potatoes and carrots Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust with soy sauce if preferred. Add the flour and adjust consistency with water. Form into balls. Deep fry and pierce four pieces in a bamboo skewer. Fo sauce: Add all ingredients, bring to slow boil and remove from fire. Serve as dipping sauce for the fishball. boiled fish Skewered fish balls The dipping sauce

By GERLIE M. UY Okra Tempura is ready to serve with your fave sweet-chili ketchup! More of the okra tempura... young okra sliced in half!!! 2 cups flour with turmeric powder and ground pepper my fave duo... beaten eggs  the batter the batter with the bread crumbs the batter and the okra... not-so-deep fry... my idea of deep-fry up close and personal with the batter mixture About 20 pieces young okra, sliced in to vertically into two 2 cups flour 1 T turmeric powder A dash of ground pepper A dash of fine iodized salt 1 cup bread crumbs 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 to 1 cup water 1 cup canola oil Sweet Chili ketchup, Plain ketchup or homemade thousand islands dressing In a bowl, add flour, turmeric powder, pepper and salt.  Add bread crumbs and eggs. Add water and mix thoroughly.  Add okra slices. In a small sauce pot, add the oil. When hot, add pieces of okra, one at a time.  Cook for a minute on one side and another minute for the other side.  Remove with slotted spoon a...

By GERLIE M. UY Actually, I was so hesitant to post this "kimchi attempt." Searching in the net on how to make kimchi is a big task. First, I have to find one which is not too chili-ful, not too complicated, and most of all easy-to-find-ingredients so I can make a version which is familiar-yet-not to Filipino palate. I made this a month ago and it's a surprise that the longer the fermentation, the better taste it gets.  What i love about using this native pechay is the crunchiness of the stalk and there is no after-taste or after-smell in its green leaves. This is indeed an accidental kitchen creation when I was confronted with many native pechay. Here's my kimchi attempt: Ing: 1/2 kilo native pechay 1/2 cup rock salt 4 liters water 2 tablespoon Cayenne pepper 6 chopped onions 2 chopped garlic 1/8 cup grated ginger 5 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 cup fish sauce    Cut the end of the bunch of pechay and separate each stalk with leaves.    In a large container, diss...

By GERLIE M. UY 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil 2 cloves minced garlic  1 medium white onion, chopped 1/2 cup chopped stalk (white part) of the native pechay   2 Tbsp sesame seeds 300g boiled rice 1 Tbsp butter (optional) seasalt and pepper to taste 2 fried scrambled eggs, chopped. 1 cup chopped leaves of native pechay Saute garli and onion in sesame oil. Add the chopped stalks and stirfry until tender. Add sesame seeds and stirfry until fragrant or brownish in color. add the boiled rice, stir. Add the butter and the chopped eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cook and mix well then add the leaves. Let cook until wilted. Ready to serve.