BroCheeLong

Okay so I forgot that I had broccoli in the fridge… but the good thing was, I remembered before it spoilt.

BroCheeLong

Brocolli with Cheese Sauce topped with Crispy Longganisa

What you need:

1. small head of broccoli. Separated into its individual bite-size florets.
2. Various melting cheese (grated or finely chopped) and cheese spreads (for this particular recipe, I used a single serve EDEN cheese, single serve Cheeze Whiz original packet, and a Cheeze Whiz pimiento packet.)
3. 1 pc. garlic longganisa (without the skin) (Use any salty or garlicky longganisa, just not the sweet kind)
4. 2 cloves of garlic minced
5. 2-3 tbsp of white wine (or water)
6. 1 tsp of flour dissolved in a little water
7. italian herb seasoning
8. salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1. Blanche the broccoli florets by boiling a pot of lightly salted water. When it’s boiling dunk the broccoli in and allow to boil until the florets look a lot more green. (You could also steam this but I’m too impatient so I’ll just boil).
2. When the broccoli is cooked through, drain the liquid and set it aside.
3. In a skillet pan, sauté the garlic and the longganisa meat till the meat is brown. Remove as much of the fried/crispy longganisa meat as you can and set it aside.
4. On low heat, add white wine (or water) and deglaze the pan. The liquid will probably be a bit brown. That’s okay, this sauce really won’t be the bright yellow kind of cheese sauce.
5.  Add your cheeses, Italian herb seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well incorporated. (No bits of unmelted cheese-unless you want unmelted cheese bits).
6. Add the flour water and mix. The sauce will start to thicken.
7. When satisfied with the taste and consistency of your cheese sauce, add the broccoli and mix it well.
8. Top the dish with the longganisa bits.

Here it is! It’s my baon for lunch tomorrow…woohoo!

 

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Shroomy Goodness

On my last trip to the grocery I found mushrooms (brown ones – sorry I dunno what they’re called, they look like small shitake or portabello mushrooms) and I immediately grabbed them. All I knew was that it was a meaty kinda mushroom that I could sauté.

Balsamic Mushrooms

What you need:

1. Small pack of mushrooms. (BTW this recipe only works for white button mushrooms, brown button mushrooms, portabello, porcini mushrooms and will definitely not work for oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, tenga ng daga.) Sliced.
2. Olive oil
3. 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
4. 1-2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (use less if you don’t like it too sour)
5. 2-3 tbsp. white wine (but I didn’t have white wine on hand so I used a rose called lambrusco, the wine is really used just to deglaze the pan)
6. Italian Herb seasoning (or other dried herb like oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)
7. Salt & Pepper to taste

How to:

1. Heat your olive oil in a pan and sauté the minced garlic. Don’t let the garlic brown.
2. Add in the sliced mushroom. Add salt, pepper and herbs to taste. Mix lightly. Allow to cook for a minute or so.
3. Add balsamic vinegar and mix. Most of the balsamic will be caramelize and remain in the pan. Some of it will be absorbed by the mushroom. Allow to cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the white wine, mix the mushrooms making sure you are able to scrape off the bottom and sides of the pan. Cook till the wine evaporates.

Voila! I love mushrooms. One day I hope to own a mushroom farm just so that I could eat mushrooms whenever I want.

For my dinner, these shrooms accompanied a smoked Bavarian sausage I got at the grocery, red rice and a glass of Lambrusco rose.

Sorry the photo’s blurred and I can’t retake it because I ate it all… hahaha

TIP:

1. Mushrooms (any mushroom) don’t keep well. So when you get it in the grocery or buy it from the market, make sure you use it within 24 – 36 hours. At 48 hours some types of mushrooms are just gross. You can always just throw them in the fridge and reheat anytime.
2. The meaty type of mushroom can be eaten raw so don’t worry about undercooking it…though it is a bit of an acquired taste. To test whether you like it or not, cut yourself a slice of uncooked mushroom and eat it raw. If you cringe, raw or semi raw mushrooms aren’t for you, if you don’t cringe well! WOOHOO. I put white button mushrooms on fresh salad 😀 it tastes lovely. Just remember to eat them fresh.

 

 

Smokey Cauli

Last Sunday I was hungry and I didn’t really have snackable food (save for Oreos na medyo pinagsasawaan ko na) so I decided to just cook a little cauliflower. Normally though, this is a side dish.

Smokey (Cumin) Cauliflower. 

What you need:

• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 small head of cauliflower (or whatever quantity good for one person) – divided into bite size florets
• cumin powder
• salt & pepper

How to:

1. Bring water in a pot to a boil. Dunk in your cauliflower. You’ll know its mostly cooked when the cauliflower turns to a brighter shade of yellow. Cook it some more just to be sure. Drain the cauliflower and set it aside.
2. In a skillet, sauté the minced garlic in oil and some butter. Add the cauliflower. Add as much cumin powder as you like. Season with salt and pepper.

Variations: At home we’ve used this same recipe swapping out the cauliflower with potato, carrot, singkamas and okra. Cumin lends such a smokey flavor to vegetables and meats it’s added to.