IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL #MerrySMChristmas TIME OF THE YEAR!

Christmas is remembering the Reason for the Season – it is celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, sharing His love and reaching out to others. And it is also spending time with those you love, those who are important and most dear to your heart.

For our family it has been some sort of a tradition to go to SM Supermalls during Christmas Season for some Family bonding and have our pictures taken around the mall. The atmosphere is so festive, you can hear the Yuletide carols and enjoy all the beautiful decorations around.

We have gathered so many sweet and precious memories through the years, and these memories have brought us closer together… memories to last a lifetime.

We also enjoy sitting in a coffee shop watching people passing by with their families, seeing their happy faces, enjoying simple things in life.

The kids were so excited to see the decors of Megamall and we brought them there the other day and have some Cousin Bonding.  We're definitely coming back for our Christmas Tradition with the whole family.

If you’re planning to shop for gifts for your loved ones & friends, please support  SM Cares Bears of Joy, for only P200.00, you get to keep one bear and donate the other to children of various orphanages and charitable institutions through the SM Cares Program.

I love the new SM Video showing “How #MerrySMChristmas Begins” featuring Cheska and Kendra Kramer. Please check-it-out guys!

This is how SM Supermalls prepared to give only the merriest Christmas for everyone! There are lots of surprises and activities lined up for the entire family throughout the season!

If you want to know the schedule of events in all SM Supermalls, you may visit the SM Supermalls Page  for more details on events this season.

May your Christmas be filled with meaningful times for you and your family as you take time to celebrate the gift of Christ. And may the magical memories you’ve created as family and friends gather together remain in your hearts forever. 

 

The Jolli Kidz

Hi Guys,  please Vote for the Jolli Kidz!  Thanks so much!!!

You may go to the JOLLIBEE Facebook Page and click SWEET SARAP BLEND VIDEO CONTEST and view the Video of the Jolli Kidz :)  

Pork Omelette (Thai Style)

Techie Mom in the Kitchen's guesting in PopTalk (July 12, 2014)

SARABASAB

Insarabasab or Sarabasab is an authentic Filipino pork recipe that originated from the Province of Ilocos.  Insarabasab is an Ilocano term which  means  - meat roasted directly in an open fire.  The dish is a mixture of grilled pork sliced thinly, onion, tomato, vinegar, chillies and some spices. 

This is my  take on  Sarabasab, made some adjustments to it to suit our taste and made it healthier by adding more veggies and turned it into a side salad.  ‘Hope you enjoy my version J.   It  can be served  to pair with grilled bangus, tilapia or fried galunggong or hasa-hasa.

Ingredients:

½ kilo Pork Belly or Liempo, grilled & sliced into thin strips

4 pcs. Medium Tomatoes

1 whole Onion, thinly sliced

2 pcs Cucumber, peeled and sliced

Dressing:

¼ cup white vinegar or any kind of vinegar you prefer

2 tbsps water

2-4 tbsps white sugar (more or less)

Slices of Red Chillies (Optional)

Salt & pepper to taste

Procedure :

In a big bowl put the sliced grilled pork,  cucumber, onion and tomato, then set it aside.  And in a separate smaller bowl mix the dressing ingredients, season to taste.  (Note :  I prefer the dressing on the sweeter side), once the dressing is ready pour  it into the mixture of pork and veggies.  Let it stand for a few minutes so that the veggies will absorb the dressing.  Serve and Enjoy!

SOPAS (Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup ) Video Version

SOPAS (FILIPINO CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP)

Sopas is considered a comfort food for Filipinos, we grew up eating this almost every two weeks.  It can be served as a snack but it can also be a complete meal by itself.  We can always enjoy a warm bowl of milky Sopas on a rainy day or any day of the week.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do in the family.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. Vegetable cooking oil

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 pcs. Med onion, chopped or sliced

1 whole chicken breast, boiled and shredded

3-5 tbsps patis

1-2 cups hotdog, sliced (or sausage)

1 ½ cups carrots, sliced

2 cups petchay baguio, sliced

2 cups, pasta noodles (elbow macaroni  or any pasta you prefer)

4-6 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp seasoning granules or broth cube (optional)

1-2 cups evaporated milk

Salt & pepper – as needed

Cooking Procedure :

1.     In a large cooking pot, saute garlic  until slightly browned, then add the onion, sauté it for a while until translucent, then put the shredded chicken, stir well, then add the fish sauce,  cover the pot  and simmer for a few minutes.   Then add the hotdog, let it cook for a while. 

2.     Then add the chicken broth, bring to a boil then put  the carrots, petchay baguio and pasta, stir gently and cover the pot.   Simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, then add the milk and seasoning granules (if needed).  Cook it for another 3minutes, add salt and pepper to taste.   Serve into individual bowls.  Enjoy!

Techie Mom on Pop Talk.... Yey!

POP TALK Sa Sabado na po, July 12, GMA News TV, Channel 11, 8:00pm, please watch  #Poptalk #GMANewsTV

Pata Kare-Kare Ala Barrio Fiesta - Easy Version

For the COMPLETE RECIPE OF KARE-KARE

you may go to this POST

PATA KARE-KARE ala Barrio Fiesta - Easy Version (Pork Leg Stew in Savory Peanut Sauce)

This recipe uses Pork leg and some vegetables cooked in rich peanut sauce. Once your pork is ready and tender and the veggies steamed, it should be easy to complete the dish. You can also use Oxtail (buntot ng baka) or Ox Tripe (Goto) both are  pricey compared to pork leg, and it would take hours before they become tender.

Watch the Video

There are other versions of this dish, there’s Seafood Kare-Kare, Chicken Kare-Kare and Vegetarian Kare-Kare. I like my Kare-Kare to be on the sweet side, that’s why I add a little bit more of the peanut butter, local brands are a lot sweeter :)

Besides the peanut, this dish depends on the sautéed shrimp paste served on the side, this dish will not be complete without it.

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork leg, cut into 1 inch thick
5 cups water (or more if needed)
2 tbsps cooking oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 large onion, sliced
3 tbsps fish sauce
1 small banana flower bud (puso ng saging) sliced, steamed or boiled
1 bundle pechay (steamed or boiled)
1 small bundle Sitaw (steamed or boiled)
2 pcs eggplants (sliced, steamed or boiled)
½ cup to ¾ cup peanut butter (mixed with ½ c of hot broth to soften)
1 pouch Mama Sita’s Kare Kare Peanut Sauce Mix 58 gms (dissolved in ½ cup water)
½ cup Sauteed shrimp paste

Cooking Procedure: 

In a large cooking pot put the pork leg together with water, bring to a boil, then let it simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the pork is tender, remove the pork from the broth and set aside both pork and broth. 

Meanwhile, in a separate pot, sauté garlic until light brown, then put onion, sauté the onions until translucent . Then add the boiled pork, stir occasionally, then add fish sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes. 

Then add the pork broth, bring to a boil then add the Kare-Kare mix dilluted in water. Bring the stew to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes until it’s thickened, stir it occasionally to avoid burning the stew. Then add the peanut butter which was thinned in hot broth, continue stirring gently, season to taste with salt (don't add too much salt, as you will still add sauteed shrimp paste as you eat the dish), or more sugar if needed.

After a few minutes add the steamed/boiled vegetables, and cook it for another 3-5 minutes and its ready. Serve hot with sautéed shrimp paste on the side. Enjoy! 

Cooking Tips:

• The amount of peanut butter you will use, will depend on how sweet and peanutty you want your stew                                                                                                                            
• You may boil the vegetables in the pork broth, for just a few minutes, then take them out of the broth and set it aside for later

MAMA SITA KARE-KARE PEANUT SAUCE  MIX

Net Wt. : 58 gms

An all-natural combination of toasted rice and annatto gives you the authentic taste of traditional Kare-kare (a rich peanut-based stew). 

This mixture has the following ingredients : peanuts, toasted rice, sugar, salt and annatto powder or achuete powder ( which gives Kare-Kare that orangy color)

GINISANG BAGOONG

(SAUTEED SHRIMP PASTE WITH PORK)

For the cooking video of Ginisang Bagoong, please click HERE

BARRIO FIESTA SAUTEED SHRIMP PASTE
You may use ready to serve Shrimp Paste in bottle.   A small bottle goes  a long way, they are very tasty and sometines we still cook this, sauteed in garlic, onion and tomatoes to lessen the saltiness of the shrimp paste.

CRISPY DULONG PATTIES (Silver Fish Patties)

Ingredients:

½ kilo Fresh Dulong, washed and drain excess water

2-3 pcs. Onions, chopped

¼ cup  Kinstay, chopped

½  cup  All Purpose Flour (or more, if needed)

1-2 eggs, beaten

¼ tsp salt or more if needed

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

¾ cup Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

In a big bowl transfer drained dulong,  add onion and kinstay  then the flour,  black pepper and salt, then the beaten egg/s.  Mix thoroughly with a big spoon. Set aside.

Meanwhile, add some cooking oil into a hot pan,  drop by the spoonful the dulong mixture  into the  pan, flatten the patties using the back of the spoon, let it fry for a few minutes, when brown, flip it over.  Adjust crispiness according to your preference.  When done, remove from the frying pan, and transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Then continue frying the rest of the mixture, you may need to add more cooking oil into the pan as needed.  You can serve this with Tomato or Banana Catsup, or Sweet & Chilli Sauce.  Enjoy!

(Picture from the web)

Dulong is a very tiny fish, barely an inch and quite transparent in appearance with beady eyes.  It is cooked in many ways like  sautéed, “pinaksiw” or “pinangat” (both cooked in vinegar) , also used in omelet, and as gourmet food in bottles – Dulong in Olive Oil.    

Dulong is also a healthier alternative to meat patties, you can replace your burger patties with Crispy Dulong Patties.