Procedure:
Combine salad green, capers, and feta cheese
Using a fork, flake salmon into large pieces
Thin slices of red onion for additional crunch
Drizzle salad dressing

Again, the recipe is taken from my over-used recipe book, The Best of Food Magazine.

Ingredients:
2 blocks tofu (firm)
2 egg whites
1 cup Japanese bread crumbs
Cooking oil

Procedure:
Pat tofu dry with paper towels
Slice tofu into squares
Dip in egg whites
Coat with bread crumbs, taking care to cover surface completely
In a wok, heat cooking oil
Fry tofu, a few pieces at a time until coating becomes crisp
Drain on paper towels.

*serve with either Teriyaki sauce or Vinegared sauce

Ingredients:
½ kilo sirloin steak (porterhouse steak) – ½ inch thick
¼ cup cooking oil
1 cup water
1 medium onion, cut into ¼ inch slices
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon sliced ginger
1 medium green, yellow and red bell capsicum, cut into ¾ inch strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

Procedure:
Cut meat into one-inch strips
Heat oil in a large skillet
Brown meat in oil, turning frequently about 2-3 minutes
In a bowl combine water, onion, garlic salt, and ginger
Stir into skillet and bring to a simmer
Let simmer around 5 minutes then add capsicum strips
Blend cornstarch, sugar and soy sauce until smooth
Pour into meat mixture
Add tomatoes

Cover and cook over low heat until tomatoes are heated through, about two minutes.
Serve warm with rice.

Thai chicken curry should be a balance of spicy, sweet and sour and salty. Experts would advice to add fish sauce if not salty, add a little more sugar for a sweeter curry, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice if too salty.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp curry paste (a blend of chilli, garlic, onion, galangal, kafir lime, Thai ginger, lemon grass)
boneless chicken thigh or breast, cut into chunks
1 can coconut milk
1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise several times, then cut into chunks
1 tbsp fish sauce
a cup of chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and stems
a handful of coriander leaves for dressing
1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
2 tbsp. oil

Procedure:
Heat oil in wok
Add curry paste and stir fry briefly to release the fragrance
Add coconut milk, and bring to the boil
Add chicken, stirring to incorporate
When curry sauce comes to a boil reduce heat to medium-low simmer.
Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
Stir occasionally.
Add the red bell pepper and zucchini, plus a cup of chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and stems
Simmer another 2-3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened but still firm and colourful.
Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves just before serving
Serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients:
1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or
2 firm red roma tomatoes

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
2-3 tablespoons white white
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:
Bring a large pot of water, salted with a teaspoon of salt, to a boil.
Add the broccoli florets. Cook 1-2 minutes, drain
Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour dressing over salad and
Toss just before serving.

Ingredients:
1 packet rice vermicelli
3 eggs, beaten
oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
500g pork spare ribs, thinly sliced
3 pcs Chinese style Lup Chong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced
1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, julienned
1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup washed beansprouts
1 cup green beans, cut diagonally into one-inch length.
½ red capsicum, thinly sliced
½ cup dried black fungus,
2 cups water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 chicken cube
salt and pepper to taste

Optional for Garnishing:
Fried Fish Tofu, sliced
Fried dried shredded squid
Fried eggs, sliced into thin strips
Calamansi (squeeze calamansi juice into the bihon/bee hoon before eating)

Procedure:
• Soak the rice vermicelli in hot water for about 8 to 10 minutes until soft (al dente) Drain and set aside.
• Soak dried black fungus in hot water for half an hour. Drain and slice thinly.
• Fry eggs, fish tofu, Chinese sausage and shredded dried squid, separately. Set aside.
• In a clean wok add oil and sauté garlic, onion until fragrant.
• Add sliced pork and sauté until brown.
• Add water, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fried Chinese sausage, chicken stock cube and cook until pork is
tender.
• Adjust the taste with salt and pepper
• Add the carrots, beansprouts, red capsicum, green beans, cabbage, black fungus
• Stir to combine, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are starting to soften.
• Scoop and transfer the cooked pork and vegetables to a plate or shallow bowl and set aside.
• In the remaining broth, add the rice vermicelli in the wok, stirring constantly until the noodles have absorbed all the broth.
• When the noodles are done, add the cooked pork and vegetables and sesame oil to the pan and toss thoroughly.
• Serve noodles and garnish with the previously cooked egg strips, fried squid, and fish tofu.

Directions:
• Remove shells and halve eggs lengthwise
• Remove yolks, place in a small bowl and mash yolks with a fork
• Add the mayonnaise, mustard, curry powder and parsley to the eggs yolks
• Stir until smooth and creamy
• Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into the egg white halves
• Garnish with chopped springs onions or olives

Ingredients:
2 punnets of strawberries (i used rock and honeydew melons)
1 medium watermelon
8 kiwi fruits
4 bananas
Bunch of red or green grapes
(added pineapple)

½ cup sour cream
½ cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Directions:
• Peel fruit and cut into bite-sized pieces
• Thread fruit onto bamboo skewers
• Combine sour cream, honey and mint
• Serve with fruit for dipping
• Makes approximately 30 kebabs

Fortunately, Hubby, my 8-year old son and 15-year old daughter eat what is on the table. I have a propensity to organize and cook any viand they ask for. After several days of meat, meat and meat, just to finish off last week’s stock in the freezer, Hubby requested spaghetti and mussels.

Spaghetti and mussels in white wine
By: Connie Veneracion

http://pinoycook.net/spaghetti-and-mussels-in-white-wine/

Ingredients:
50 g. of spaghetti (I used 150g)
12 fresh mussels, soaked, washed and debearded (also included clams)
2 tbsps. of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. of white wine (used 1 cup of an already opened bottle of Evans & Tate, Classic Margaret River)
salt
pepper

Procedure:
• Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
• Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.
• Heat the olive oil in a pan.
• Saute the garlic and onion and cook, stirring, until they start to soften.
• Pour in the white wine.
• Boil, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Remember, reducing the liquid means heightening the flavors.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Pour in the pasta water. (I used ¼ cup of pasta water)
• Boil some more until reduced and the tomatoes start to turn mushy.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the mussels to the pan.
• Cook for a few minutes or just until they open
(alternatively, you can pry the shells open after debearding then discarding the empty half shell).
• Throw in the cooked pasta into the pot.
• Toss to coat. Serve at once.

Procedure:
• Fry onion until it begins to brown.
• Add the garlic and ginger, cook for a further 2 minutes
• Add the spices, stir well cook for 2 minutes
• Add the tomatoes, stock and lentils
• Cook until lentils have softened
• When cooked, remove cinnamon stick
• Stir through the spinach
• When ready to serve garnish with fresh coriander