Foot and Fire

     Back in college, I have this favorite restaurant in Jaro, Iloilo City called Bavaria  that served pan-fried potatoes which I severely missed when I went back in Negros. And my last eat there must be, I guess, way back in 2015 when I was still going "overseas" for my master's class in CPU.       I attempted to replicate the same many times but I guess since I don't use butter, I could not bust through the real thing. I drizzle mine with olive oil, season with Himalayan salt and pepper with some dried herbs or my fresh Italian oregano then when these marble potatoes abound. This particular gustatory memory must be the reason that I love potatoes and often look forward to the time when marble potatoes abound in the market. Abundance means cheaper price, so I got a kilo recently to cook all of them to accompany my lamb rack.      But today, I tried something new. The three ways I refer to are boiled, halved ...

1kl boiled potatoes, quartered 1/2kl boiled sweet potatoes, cubed 2 heads chopped red onions 1 cup mayonnaise Ground black pepper Salt to taste Dried herbs or fresh chives Mix all ingredients in a big bowl. Serve chilled. 

*** 200g Elbow Macaroni, boiled olive oil garlic, minced onions, chopped 50g Beef, ground 50g Chicken, cubed  2 pcs. Carrots, chopped 1 bunch of broccoli, chopped 25g Baguio beans, chopped Fish sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and Soy sauce Beef or chicken cube or powder  salt and pepper 1/2 head of Cabbage, chopped Do not drain the Macaroni in the pot.  In a pan, saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add the beef and chicken pieces. Let cook. Add the macaroni with the water. Transfer in the pot and let boil. Add the vegetables except cabbage. Add flavorings as per personal taste: I added Fish sauce,  Worcestershire Sauce and Soy sauce and chicken powder.  Add salt, as needed and lots of ground pepper. Let boil. Add the cabbage and cover with lid.  Remove from fire and Serve Hot.

This packet is a gift from a good friend who now works in Beijing, China. It says "Ginger Poweder" but from what I can understand from the photo, it is more like what we came to know as Chinese Five Spice. I wonder why they did not name it so. I googled and found these suggestion on how to make your DIY spice combination. This is perfect for beef stews and beef soups and stocks. Here are the varied stuff I found and brace yourself as I will post the ingredients which were posted at the back of this luckily in English: It is not five only. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted and ground 1 teaspoon ground star anise 1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground *** 1 tsp. ground Szechwan pepper 1 tsp. ground star anise 1-1/4 tsp. ground fennel seeds 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper *** Anise, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cloves, Ginger *** 2 tablespoons ground star anise 2 ta...

Two kilos beef, sliced as in tapa 2 pouches of Clara Ole's honey-mustard olive oil Garlic onion for saute onion for garnish Marinate the beef in the prepared honey-mustard marinade. Refrigerate overnight. Saute garlic and chopped onion in olive oil.  Quick-fry each piece of beef by batch and let the beef rest on the side of the pan while frying the next batch. Repeat until all beef slices are fried. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes.  Turn each piece of the beef and let cook covered for 15 minutes. Add the rest of the marinade and let cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with onions. *** Stirfry cubed singkamas, potatoes, sayote and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with dry italian herbs. ***

Bam-i is actually a combination of pansit bihon and dried pansit canton. For this one, I used vermicelli (mung bean glass noodle) and fettuccine (dried one available in the local market). 250 g vermicelli 250 g fettuccine 1 can tuna in oil garlic onion cabbage, sliced thinly 1 carrot, sliced thinly 12 sticks of baguio beans, sliced thinly salt and pepper to taste calamansi Place dried noodles in a bowl, add hot water and set aside. Drain water when the noodles wilt. Saute garlic, onion and tuna in the oil from the same can, add minimal oil if desired.  Add the vegetables and let cook for 3 minutes and adjust flavor with salt and pepper. Add the noodles until cooked. Add a spoonful of water at a time so as not to dry the noodles. Simmer until noodles are cooked. Serve hot with calamansi on the side.

By GERLIE M. UY 2 T olive oil 12 garlic cloves, chopped 1 big onion, chopped 1 thumb (or more) ginger, chopped 1/2 kilo chicken, cubed 1/2 kilo malagkit rice water 2 chicken cube soy sauce turmeric powder (kalawag) salt and pepper Toasted garlic for garnish. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil. Add ginger. Add chicken cube and stir fry for a while and add the washed malagkit rice. Stir again for about 3 minutes. Add water. Let boil until rice pops open. Add chicken cubes, soy sauce, turmeric powder, salt and pepper. Let the flavor sink in and the soup is ready to be served hot. Garnish with toasted garlic.

This is my favorite because while I get the full beef flavor just like bulalo without too much animal grease, I also get the vegetable serving of the day. 1 tablespoon canola oil 4 cloves of garlic 1 pc onion, cubed 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 ground beef Soy sauce Salt and black pepper 1 pc upo or bottle gourd, sliced 12 stalks of malunggay, leaves separated from stalks Saute garlic in oil until it turns golden brown and add onion. Add sliced tomatoes until cooked and add then ground beef. Let cook until tender and add soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Let meat cook through. Add 4 cups of water and bring to boil. Add about 3 cups of upo and bring to boil until upo is cooked. Add malunggay and close lid. Remove from fire and serve hot over rice or as soup.

By GERLIE M. UY Looking up close to the Summer Rolls which were made in 30 minutes and gone in 30 seconds. LOL 12 pieces rice paper warm water canned tuna, solid in water (reserve water) 2 pieces cucumber, cut into sticks 1 medium carrots, thinly sliced parsley leaves rice noodles hot water Hoisin-Tuna Sauce: 1/2 cup hoisin sauce water from the tuna water, if needed fish sauce pepper Prepare rice noodles by pouring hot water. Allow the transparent noodle to turn into white. Drain excess water and set aside. Lay rice paper in a clean and flat surface. Rub warm water enough to moisten it. Place cucumber and carrot and parsley leaves in the center. Add tuna and rice noodles. Quickly fold the portion nearer you and the sides and then roll. Set aside. Let the summer roll rest in the platter individually as it will stick together when place on top of each other. Sauce: In a pan, place all ingredients, simmer and then bring to a light boil. Serve in a bowl. In a saucer, place the summer roll...

By GERLIE M. UY The lemon temper the peppery taste while the garlic accompany the  ensemble well. Sampling the Steak... The lemon slices grilled beside the steak... Four pieces of T-bone steak with lemons on the side is ready for serving! 1 kilo T-bone Steak (4 pieces) Marinade: 2 T ground Pepper 2 T Pepper powder 4 T ground Garlic 2 T Garlic powder 2 T Onion powder 2 T Coriander powder 2 T rock salt 2 T white sugar 4 T canola/olive oil 1/2 cup water oil for brushing the grill slices of lemons Place the T-bone steak in a large baking tin. Mix the marinade ingredients. Pour a a fourth of the mixture in one piece and place apiece in the plastic bag. Continue until all steaks are coated and placed in a bag. Pour the rest of the marinade in the bag and seal. Refrigerate overnight. Slice the lemons in circle serving pieces. Heat oven top grill until very hot. Brush grill plate with oil. Place the steak one at a time. Grill for 3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the se...

1 french bread, slice into 12 pieces 3 medium tomatoes, chopped or cubed 2 green bell pepper, chopped or cubed 3 T dried basil leaves 3 T olive oil salt and pepper (optional) 6 T shredded quick melt cheese Preheat oven to 250F, mix all ingredients except the bread and cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes. Wipe each bread with oil coming from the mixture or extra olive oil if desired. Top each slice with the mixture and 1/2 T cheese. Put in the oven and let cheese melt for 10 minutes. Serve immediately with a glass of icy apple juice. By GERLIE M. UY bd669f03-e627-4f20-a7a3-9f85a6f92201 1.03.01