Tropical Food for the Gods

Adapted from the traditional recipe of Otilia G.H. del Pilar-Caparas' Food for the Gods

Seafood Pochero

Recipe courtesy of Otilia G.H. del Pilar-Caparas

Spring stormy weather = comfort food

Do you find yourself craving nice, hot comfort food when it's storming outside? Seafood Pochero will definitely fit the bill. Seafood Pochero is a Filipino stew and like most Filipino dishes, Pochero is usually made with beef, pork and/or chicken. However this recipe is tailored for the more health-conscious, without losing the delicious comforting flavor of this wonderful stew.

Cake Pops with a Spring Theme

In the spirit of Easter, I am re-posting these fun Cake Pops with a Spring Theme!

Cake pops is the way to go to perk up your dining table or dessert corner at your next spring party. You can use your own cake recipe (from scratch) or a box of cake mix. Then add homemade icing or store bought frosting, some lollipop sticks and candy wafers... and you're all set to go!

Fettuccine Tartufate

This sexy pasta dish was inspired by Lupa Italian Restaurant located in the heart of Noe Valley in San Francisco.  Lupa is a beautifully designed restaurant, had a nice ambience and excellent service.

Hearty Cinnamon Orange French Toast

Good morning, readers!  This is guaranteed to be a breakfast favorite... Hearty Cinnamon Orange French Toast.

Garlic Prawns

My nickname for this recipe is Boracay Island Garlic Prawns.  It is a simple, yet flavorful dish that my husband and I tasted for the first time when we went to Boracay in May of 2000.

Mung Bean Soup (Ginisang Mongo)

Mung Bean Soup (also called Ginisang Mongo) is a comfort food that's perfect for the chilly winter weather we're having.  This is a Filipino dish... with an American twist.  My mother uses sliced bitter melon or bok choy to her recipe.  I like bok choy but I'm not too fond of bitter melon, so instead I use spinach or arugula as my green vegetable to make the soup more healthful and to add color and contrast to the soup.

Nutritional facts:  Mung beans belong to the legume family. They are also a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals. A cup of mung bean soup with one cup of Garlic Fried Rice is quite substantial, rich in nutrients, and will satisfy your appetite.

Garlic Fried Rice

Here's a nice and simple side dish that is very easy to make...

Plantain Spring Rolls (Turon)

It's good to be back from a month long vacation in the Philippines visiting family and friends!  It's been 10 years since our last visit and it's also my son's first time to meet his aunts, uncles and cousins on my side of the family.  At this last visit, we enjoyed lots of Filipino food and a few of them became fast family favorites, which I'll be sharing over the next few posts... beginning with...

Featured in Yummly!

I was about to turn in for the night last night... decided to check on any other email that might have come in yesterday afternoon, when, to my surprise, I came across this email from one Shelley Adler of Yummly.  Ms. Adler said that one of my posts was featured recently on Yummly's blog.

Yummly, thanks for selecting my recipe!
_____________________________

About Yummly

Founded in 2009 by foodies on a mission to invent a better way to find recipes, Yummly is the world’s first semantic recipe search and recommendation platform. Yummly enables you to find and customize recipes based on your personal taste, nutritional and dietary preferences. The site aggregates recipes from cooking websites, and is fully integrated with Facebook. Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, Yummly is backed by First Round Capital, Harrison Metal Capital, Intel Capital, and angel investors.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

The leaves are turning and soon enough, our surroundings will burst into lovely fall colors!  To get in the spirit of Fall, I've been making all stuff pumpkin... like these Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.  You will find this recipe at the bottom of this post.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Fresh Fig, Gruyere and Arugula Sandwich

You know Fall is right around the corner when those mildly sweet and luscious figs start showing up at your local grocery store.  I just craved for an open-faced fig, gruyere and arugula sandwich when I came across these lovely brown turkey figs at the store today!

Summer Berry Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

Berries are in abundance this summer season!  It's the perfect time to enjoy these wonderful berries in a delightful coffee cake with a nice cup of java!!

Cinnamon Streusel

Homemade Strawberry Jam

        

There is no better way to start the morning than with a nice strong cup of hot java and toast with Homemade Strawberry Jam. We are in the midst of the spring harvest of strawberries... so you will find an abundance of these beautiful berries at your local grocery store. It's hard to resist these berries so I always think of fun recipes to take advantage of fruit that are in season... and I started off with this Homemade Strawberry Jam.

Twirly Pasta with Spinach and Queso Manchego

Spinach is a one of the healthiest vegetables and is referred to as a super food.  It's low in calories and yet high in vitamins.  It's an excellent source of Vitamins A and K, calcium and folate, among many other vitamins and minerals.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

My son is turning 9 this month and his birthday party is fast approaching.  As you can imagine, I'm trying to plan a fun menu for the kids (other than the usual pizza and birthday cake).  I want to incorporate the colors of spring into the menu so lately I've been experimenting with a couple of treats.  One of them being homemade oreo cookies with colorful fillings!

Spring Strawberry Milkshake

So glad the sun's finally decided to come out.  Nice break from all the recent thunderstorms!  Cool sunshiney weather is most welcome right now.

What's for Dinner Tonight? Salmon Teriyaki with Citrus Sesame Noodles

Salmon is an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and proteins... and it is one flavorful fish!  In this article, I'll be sharing Helen Donovan's (my mother-in-law) homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe.  It's very simple.  You can make it ahead of time... and on fish and shellfish, you only need to marinate for about 10 minutes.  Marinate longer than that and you will find your cooked fish a little too salty (because of the soy sauce)!