Banana Coconut Cookies - Toaster baked and Gluten Free

Got some overripe bananas and don't seem to know what to do with them? I've ran into  this problem countless times. Basically because my dad has a fondness in buying bananas by the bunch. And I mean the whole bunch, sometimes with up to 15 tiers. So most people buy a hand or tier of bananas, he buys the whole thing. The problem is, most of the time, they tend to ripen all at the same time. 

I personally believe that food should never be wasted. Because of this particularly common occurrence at home, I usually turn the overripe bananas to banana bread. But then again, it gets old and boring after a while. Not that the people at home get tired of it, they still love it. It's just that I want to come up with something new.

With a little research online, I came up with a different dish this time.

Banana Coconut Cookies!

 

Okay, I have a few roadblocks to tackle before I get cooking.

Problem #1

I don't have a conventional oven, I only have a toaster oven.

Problem #2

My mom and little boy are not allowed to eat grain products. So, the regular flour is a no-no.

To address both roadblocks, this little concoction took shape.

Banana Coconut Cookies: Toaster Oven Baked and Gluten Free

Ingredients:

4 pcs overripe banana (or anything equivalent to 1 cup of pureed banana)

1/2 cup Sweet Potato Flour

1/2 cup Cassava Flour

3/4 cup rice flour

3/4 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar (Muscovado adds a special molasses-y flavor)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups desiccated coconut

Special Equipment

A sturdy and dependable blender

Cookie Sheet or Wax paper

Preparation and Method

1.  Puree the banana in the blender

2.  Add softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Blend till the puree  loses the yellowish tinge.

3. Sift the flours.

4. Add the banana and butter puree.

5. Mix thoroughly. Knead the dough only slightly, just to blend the flour and the puree completely.

6. Add the desiccated coconut. Incorporate fully into the dough.

7. Form the dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

8. Line the toaster tray with a cookie sheet. Trim the edges to make sure that only the floor of the tray is covered with the cookie sheet.

8. Scoop little balls and flatten with your palm.  Arrange on the toaster tray

9. Bake for 15 minutes or till the tops start to brown.

10. Place in a cooling rack.

Enjoy! :)

Chicken Nuggets ala McDo!!! The Secret to those Yummy Bites

I have always been crazy for McDonald's chicken nuggets as far back as I can remember. There is just something about those nibblets that I find truly beckoning. Even during times when our family was not at the financial stability we have now, I have always, always, lusted for these. I have made many attempts at making or copying this, along with a lot of other fast food fares that I am crazy for, but have failed 90% of the time. But now, in my last attempt, finally! I have cracked the code. It's not the same as the one you can get from the drive-thru, but it gives you a myriad of flavors for you to play with.

Before we begin... I have missed two weeks of posting due to the schedule change at work. Man, after being in the early morning shift (how I hate having to go to work at 3 am...) we are now officially in the night shift. A team mate posted on facebook and her post kinda stuck in my head. And I quote: "I said i need to work, i didn't say i want to kill myself..." how true her words. But enough of my excuses. Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

Nuggets:
500 g chicken meat (I used a whole chicken and just deboned the breast part but for convenience you can opt to get the ground chicken meat available in the grocery or the skinless breast fillet.)
1 tbsp sea salt/ 1/2 tbsp table salt
pepper
variety of spices (for this recipe, I used, mustard seed powder, oregano, rosemary and paprika)
3 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
50g grated cheese (I didn't have parmesan so I made use of the cheddar I had in the fridge) 

Breading
1-2 cups of tapioca flour
1 egg, beaten
*optional
You can make use of fine bread crumbs, crushed savory crackers, panko or plain flour for the second coating. I opted to use tapioca all together for the crispness it brings and also due to health constraints of the the people at home.

Equipment:
A sturdy blender or a food processor

Method:
1. If using a whole chicken or a whole chicken breast, debone and skin first, then cut to about half inch cubes, don't worry about making pretty slices just approximate it to about the same size. Same goes for the skinless breast fillet just cut it up. If using ground chicken meat, leave as is.

2. Sprinkle the meat with salt. Add about 2-3 dashes of ground pepper. Massage into meat, Let sit for about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, skin the garlic cloves. Skin the onion as well and chop to about the same size as the garlic cloves. Cut the cheese up to approximately the same size, is using powdered parmesan, leave as is.

4. Mix the garlic, onions, the spices you wish to use and the cheese with the meat.

5. Put the meat mix into the blender and blend at low setting for about 30 secs to a minute. You can do this in portions if you have a small machine.

6. Put the meat mix in a bowl and shape into balls about an inch in diameter. You can make the balls bigger if you like bigger nuggets.

7. Put the flour in  a bowl. If using a different second coat, place in a different bowl.

8. Put beaten egg in another bowl.

9. Begin breading. Dip the ball in the plain flour bowl and coat evenly. Then dip into egg coat evenly. Then dip into second coat (mine is same as the first so I just dipped it there again :p). Coat evenly, flatten the ball in a separate flat dish lined with wax paper or a layer of flour. Do not over flatten, just flatten to about half an inch thickness and roughly shape into, well, nuggets. Do the same for the rest of the batch.

10. Once every nugget is coated, heat enough oil in a shallow frying pan to cover have the nuggets. Heat the oil in medium heat, do not over heat the oil. A way to check if it's hot enough is to sprinkle a pinch of flour on the oil and it should sizzle. 

11. Fry the nuggets. Try to fit as many nuggets as you can. If the oil is hot enough, they won't stick to each other. Fry each side for about 4-5 minutes or until you get a golden brown you are happy with. Flip the nuggets and cook the same way.

12. Drain in colander or in paper towels. Serve and enjoy!

***Now I just have to copy the barbeque sauce. LOL***

Note: The spices and the additives I added are as according to my taste. You can make do with just chicken, salt and pepper if you prefer it plain.

 Itadakimasu! :)

Chili Con Carne ala Pinas - Chili on a Rainy Friday Night

I remember watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory where Priya, Raj's sister, cooked chilli (Chilli, Chili Con Carne) for the gang.

PRIYA KOOTHRAPPALI:
Would you like some homemade chili?
   

SHELDON COOPER
Are there beans in it?
   

PRIYA KOOTHRAPPALI
Yes?

SHELDON COOPER
Then it's not chili. Real chili has no beans in it, but you're from a foreign land, so your ignorance is forgiven.

[Sheldon tries some of Priya's chili]
   
SHELDON COOPER
Mmmm, this is good... whatever it is.

I think this was when I first took interest in cooking this dish, Chili Con Carne. From the implication in the show, the dish was originally Texan in origin. So I went on ahead and, well, you guessed it, looked it up.

Since the article is too long to quote, let me do a summary of how I understood it. Chili con Carne is a dish that had been used by American frontier settlers originally comprised of dried beef, suet and dried chili peppers pounded together to form bricks for them to easily boil it on the road. It then gained popularity around late 1800s where Mexican women sold them in downtown San Antonio around dusk by the bowl to passers by. So, Texas-born Sheldon Cooper is actually accurate with his details, as always, regarding Chili.

Inferring from his snide remark on how "Real chili has no beans in it" is also on target as the original version does not contain beans. The addition of beans dawned early in the 20th century when beans was associated as a staple to Tex-Mex cuisines. So Texan chili may, or may not contain beans and I believe the distinction is, that chili with beans is called "Chili Beans" and the all-meat version is the one dubbed "Chili"

Okay! Enough with the history lesson and on with the cooking!!! I adapted this Chili from Jamie Oliver's Good Old Chilli Con Carne Recipe (click here). Just a note... I used all fresh ingredients except for the spices and the beans which are dried. Nothing canned or frozen since my mom is all the rage with "whole food" thing.
 

Chili, just before the slow cook simmering part

 Ingredients:
1 medium sized bell pepper
2 red lady finger peppers
2 green lady finger peppers
2 medium sized onions
2 small heads garlic (not cloves, I mean the whole garlic head)
2 stalks celery
1 medium sized carrot
2 medium sized taro potato (to my beloved fellowmen... this is the gabing pangsigang >_<)

taro root

1-2 cups dried red kidney beans
1/2 cup garbanzos (chick/ugly peas)
6 pcs medium sized tomatoes
1 heaped tsp chili powder
1 level tsp cumin powder
1 level tsp cinnamon powder
500-600 gm ground beef
2-3 tbsp cooking oil (olive/vegetable/palm/coconut)
salt and pepper to taste

Special Prep
3 days before the day you plan to cook your chilli, soak your dried beans in room temperature water with 2 tbsp of vinegar (organic or apple cider will do nicely). Just make sure that you let the water cover your beans completely with a margin above since beans usually swell up to 3 times their dried size. Don't panic if you see scum or foam forming in the surface and that it smells weird, it's fine, just leave it there for 48-72 hours. The scum formation are actually anti-nutrients like phytic acid that inhibits mineral absorption which can be detrimental to our health. Plus, soaking the beans eliminates the gassy aftermath of a bean based dish. Just make sure to rinse thoroughly before using.

Method
1. Chop the carrots, chilies, celery, onions and garlic. Chop them to bits.

2. Put all the veggies in a large casserole, add the oil then saute in medium heat till caramelized. Or until soft with little brown edges.

3. Meanwhile... drain the beans, the garbanzos (chick peas). Chop the taro and the tomatoes into half inch cubes. I forgot to take a picture of the taro and tomato huhuhu.

4. Back to the pot... Add the chili, cumin and cinnamon. 
5. Add the ground beef. Saute.
6. Add the tomatoes, beans and peas. Add 1 cup of water. Stir. At this point, you will have to add salt or if you prefer, you can use fish sauce. This will be according to taste. By the way, try to make it a little bland since the stew will have to be reduced so water will be evaporating. There is a risk of a too salty chili if you salt it too much. Remember, you can always correct the taste right before serving.

7. Simmer till the beans are soft enough for your. This will also depend on your taste. Leave it a little longer if you want the beans to be really soft. This can be anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours.

8. Serve with freshly cooked rice. 

Note: This goes well with yogurt or cream cheese. So while it's piping hot, you can put a dollop of yogurt or cream cheese and blend it in. It adds to the creaminess of the whole dish.

And left overs can be devoured the next day. That is, if you have any :)

Serves: 6-8 people if eaten with rice 

Happy weekend Y'all!

Homemade Tocino: Sweet Mornings, Candied Pork

Tocino... any Filipino can tell you that this is one of the traditional and all-time favorite "ulam" or viand especially for breakfast. Looking up the actual definition of tocino, the web tells me that it is simply "bacon" in Spanish as it is usually the belly or the bacon part that is cured with salt and sugar with a little salt peter for color.

I haven't been able to create entries to my blog recently due to my Dad taking the laptop with him to Manila. Unfortunately for me, my own laptop is dead as dust so I have to settle with borrowing my Mom's. Without a laptop to work on, I usually spend my hours in the net just watching videos and looking stuff up. And after stopping by the grocery on my way home, I bought a hunk of pork shoulder with no idea what to do with it. I was just attracted to the beautiful pink color pork gives you when it's really fresh.

And thus commenced my latest preoccupation: meat processing!

I remember my Dad attempting to make this same dish when I was I think 6 or 7. He was boiling meat in I don't know what, but it smelled really weird, like dried fish crossed with vinegar or something. I made a comment to my aunt later on, which had her laughing out loud causing my newborn cousin to cry. With that memory in mind, I still liked eating Tocino, but simply veered away from attempting to make it from scratch. But with the around 600g of pork shoulder on hand with nothing to do, I tried to think of what to do with it. It was too little to brine to make ham, too little to make pot roast either. Then it hit me... TOCINO!!!

Okay, before I lose my trail of thought again, the recipe:

Ingredients

500 g pork, sliced 1/8 inch thick (if you don't know how to slice fillets like me, just ask your butcher to slice it "tapa" style)
1/2 cup sugar (I recommend muscovado since it adds a special flavor)
1 tbsp salt (2 tsp if you're using iodized)
10 ml Soju (or any clear liquor you can get your hands on)
1 tsp achuete powder or beet powder (for a tint of color)

Instructions

Curing
1. Mix sugar, salt, soju and (achuete/beet) powder in a bowl.
2. Coat the slices evenly.
3. Store in a zip-loc or plastic container (please do veer away from reactive metals like iron or aluminum as it might react with salt and the alcohol and might pose a risk to your health)
4. Cure inside the fridge for 24-48 hours. The longer you leave it, the more candied the flavor, especially the fat. I recommend putting it in the fridge to avoid culturing bacteria. Traditionally cured in room temp, but since we are not using salt-peter, there is the risk of developing bacteria in the meat. Curing it in the fridge takes care of this thus avoiding the need to use salt peter.

Cooking
1. After curing, you can either cook the meat or repack it for freezing and storage.
2. Tocino is traditionally cooked 2 ways, you can fry it in oil, or boiling.
3. Frying, pretty straight forward. Heat oil, put tocino in, fry till golden brown.
4. Boiling, put the tocino in a pan, put just enough water to cover the meat halfway.
5. Boil till the water evaporates and toast a little.
6. Serve with hot rice.

 

 Post Script:

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and to all Daddies out there. Thanks Papa, for from your blood, I inherited the skill and love of cooking.

Me and my dad. Awwwww :')

Kimchi Girl's Adapted Kimchi Recipe

And at last! The Kimchi (or kimchee, kim chee, gimchi how ever you would like to spell it! :3) Recipe! Now wouldn't it have made more sense for me to have posted this first rather than, what, the fourth or fifth recipe in this blog? Hahaha! I know, I know. But I have come through and finally, the kimchi or kimchee recipe that everyone (I hope or I wish? lol) has been waiting for.

And being the OC (obsessive compulsive) nut that I am, I have to discuss what kimchi is first. And according to out handy dandy wikepedia:

Kimchi (Korean: 김치 Korean pronunciation: [kimtɕʰi]; English pronunciation: /ˈkɪmtʃi/), also spelled kimchee, kim chee or gimchi, is a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.[1][2][3] In traditional preparation Kimchi was often allowed to ferment underground in jars for months at a time.[4] It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber.[5] Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae), kimchi pancake (김치부침게; kimchijeon), kimchi soup (김칫국; kimchiguk), and kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap).

In short, it's a spicy and sour vegetable preserve... kind of... well that's one way to put it or to describe it to someone unfamiliar with such dishes. (You wouldn't believe how many types of description I have to come up with when trying to sell this to my office mates >_< )

Being that I am from the Philippines, and located in one of the smaller cities in the country, trying to follow the strict traditional recipe is, I would say, tricky. Mainly because some ingredients are hard to come by and sometimes I'm just too lazy to go to the next town just for grocery shopping. The first time I tried this, I really had to cheat or improvise on some of the ingredients. In case you're interested, here is one traditional kimchi recipe I stumbled into the time I was still experimenting >> Authentic & traditional Kimchi recipe!

Before we get started... Just one last segue:

Gochugaru Flakes/Powder

Gochugaru (고추가루, also transliterated as go choo ga roo) is red chili pepper, dried and ground into a coarse powder. In preparing Korean dishes, just about any ground chili pepper may be used as a substitution, but be aware that several varieties of chili powder (such as cayenne pepper) can be quite a bit hotter or milder than gochugaru, and so it is advisable to add in small amounts until the desired level of spiciness is reached.

I just wanted to acquaint those who are not familiar with it. And I say it's the most important ingredient since this is what makes it, well, kimchi. I haven't personally tried using cayenne or paprika or any other type of chili powder so if you definitely can not find a Korean deli or grocery, then as what was mentioned, add in small amounts to control the taste. You can always add more but it's near impossible to fix excess.

Alright! I hope the beautiful red color of the gochugaru flakes above whetted your appetites!

Kimchi Girl's Adapted Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients:

3 kg Napa Cabbage
200 g radish
200 g carrots
3-5 stalks green onion
200 g onions
200 g garlic
75 g ginger
1 cup salt
1/2 cup Glutinous Rice Flour (or mochiko flour. sweet rice flour, sticky rice flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fish sauce
1 cup gochugaru flakes
3 cups water

Method:
1. Cut the napa cabbage into 1-2 inch slices:

2. Wash the sliced napa twice and drain. Prepare a big enough container for the salting of the leaves.

3. Sprinkle the salt over the leaves and mix.

4. Let it sit for 30 minutes, mix and turn over leaves. Repeat 3 times (this should take a total of 2 hours)

5. In two hours, rinse the cabbage leaves once and drain.

6. While waiting for the leaves to salt. let's prepare the paste. Mix the 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour (aka galapong or giniling na malagkit), the 1/4 cup sugar and 3 cups of water in a sauce pan. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. The resulting paste should look like porridge. Set aside to cool.

 -->

7. Next the spices. Skin the garlic. Now you can do this manually by hand, or you can check out this video in youtube to save a little time (click here). Skin the onions and cut into cubes. Skin the ginger and cut into cubes.

8. Put the onions, garlic and ginger in a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup of fish sauce (a.k.a patis for most Filipinos). Blend for 1 minute or until pureed. Set aside.

9. Chop the carrot, radish and green onions into strips. I use this slicer I bought from a hyakuen here in the Philippines. (A hyakuen is a 100 Yen shop in Japan, in the Philippines you know this as the everything 88 or 99 stores that sells Japanese products ranging from hair care to kitchen wares to toys and basically anything under the sun. They even have snacks.) Set aside.

10.  Add 1 cup (or you can add more chili flakes depending on how hot or spicy you want your kimchi to be. 1 cup has a nice bite to it, but feel free to go hotter :3) to the pureed onion, garlic and ginger. Mix well.

11. If the paste is cool enough, add the chili and spices puree. Mix well.

12. Mix in the chopped veggies.

 Now we prepare the actual kimchi. The steps above were simply preparation steps :3

Important notes* Try to wear gloves when mixing the kimchi. The oils from the chili and spices can cause serious irritation when they come to contact with skin. In case you do get some on your skin, simply rinse and pour a little milk on it.

1. Grab a handful of cabbage leaves and put it into the container.

2. Add a scoop of paste

3. Mix thoroughly.

4. Continue the process until all the cabbage has been coated with the paste. Push down on the kimchi to squeeze out air bubbles. Ferment the kimchi for 24-36 hours. Or, alternatively, you can eat it fresh. Though I myself prefer to have it fermented first. :3

And there you have it folks! The Kimchi recipe I use for the kimchi I sell to people at the office.

I hope you enjoyed this and please leave a comment if you have questions, requests, and what have you.

Happy Eating!

Leche Flan or Caramel Custard - Quick and Easy Recipe

 Leche Flan!!! Who does not love this sweet caramel custard we have all come to love through childhood.

Hello Everyone!

I know that I promised the kimchi recipe next but I haven't really had the time to make a batch for me to take pictures from. So as a compromise, let me present you with this quick and easy recipe I have adapted for the ever sweet and delicious Leche flan! For those unfamiliar with the term, this is caramel custard, a cousin of creme brulee.

Well anyway, it had been raining a lot recently and I have been scouring youtube again for old anime videos just to unwind my tightly wound head. While delving deeply into Japanimation, I happen to come across a cooking channel that I've visited once before for her okonomiyaki recipe. I was poking around her channel when I found her custard recipe which happily enough is a close relative of the Leche Flan we Filipinos simply adore. (You can find her video here) This reminded me about this eggy, creamy dessert that my brother had been egging me to make for quite a while now.

And again, with the definitions (you will really have to get used to me explaining almost everything ^_^)

According to Wikipedia:

 Crème caramel (French: [kʁɛm kaʁaˈmɛl]), flan [flɑ̃], or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top. The dish is eaten throughout the world.

In the Philippines, flan is known as leche flan (the local term for the originally Spanish flan de leche, literally "milk flan"), which is a heavier version of the Spanish flan made with condensed milk and more egg yolks. Leche flan is usually steamed over an open flame or stove top, although rarely it can also be seen baked. Leche flan is a staple in celebratory feasts.

A heavier version of leche flan, tocino del cielo, is similar, but has significantly more egg yolks and sugar.

To provide a visual:

A freshly chilled Leche Flan

 That was the actual finished product.

Now this recipe can be done with just 5 ingredients easily found in your pantry. There are a couple of optional ingredients. Adding or not adding the optional ingredients makes very little difference to the finished product. The two optional things are just for aroma more of. :)

So without further ado:

Quick and Easy Leche Flan

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp water

1/4 cup condensed milk

1 cup fresh/evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 dash vanilla extract*

1 tsp lemon or calamansi juice*

*optional

Method:

Caramel Sauce

 1. Put the 4 tbsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of water in a saucepan. I used muscovado sugar but any type of sugar will do.

2. Heat the sugar solution over medium heat. Bring to a boil.

3. When the sugar reaches the stretchy taffy-like consistency (you can test this by dipping the spoon you are using in cold water)turn it off, add 1 tbsp of water and pour onto containers.

4. Let it sit and make the custard.

Custard/Flan

1. Crack the eggs in a bowl.

2. Beat them lightly. If you have a wire whisk, try to whisk without lifting the tip of the whisk from the bottom of the bowl, since I am still lacking kitchen tools, I made use of a fork. Just try not to make so much foam on top like I did... *sigh*

3. Set the eggs aside, (hopefully the foam eases down a little) and prepare the milk solution. Mix 1 cup of milk, you can use either fresh milk, full cream milk, evaporated milk, sterilized milk. Here I used fresh milk, but I have a feeling that evaporated or full cream would have made it even creamier. And 1/4 cup of condensed milk, or 4 tbsp of sugar)

(1 cup of milk, fresh or evaporated, 1/4 cup of condensed milk, or 4 tbsp of sugar)

4. Pour the milk solution into a saucepan and bring to a "near boil" the emphasis on near boil means... DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL. Just heat the milk enough to mix the solution completely. This is especially important if you are using sugar instead. Just remember, near boil only.

5. Once the milk and sugar/milk and condensed milk are fully mixed, remove from heat, swirl a little to cool it off and pour in with the eggs.

6. Mix the milk and eggs solution thoroughly. As much as possible, try to mix it well so that you don't lose much of the solution once you strain it through a wire sieve.

7. Strain the solution into an easy to pour container.

8. Pour into the cups/molds you lined with the caramel sauce from earlier.

9. Put a kitchen towel on a pan/steamer and position the molds on the surface. Cover the molds with aluminum foil to help with the cooking process. In my case though, I used the lids of the cups. The kitchen towel is to dissipate the heat from the pan. Too much heat can cause the custard to bubble and thus ruining the silky texture of the dessert. And in my case, it would melt the cups ^_^

10. Cover the pan. Steam for 10-12 minutes with near boil water. Again, NEAR BOIL. Try to set the stove to the very minimum you can get. One technique I learned from my aunt was to crank the switch on the stove towards the off position, tapping it to get it to go lower.

11. After 20 minutes, the custard should be ready. Remove from heat, cool down a little then refrigerate.

12. Serve Chilled. Enjoy!!!

And there you have it, folks! Quick and easy Leche flan in under an hour.