Imam Bayildi with Leek Foccacia

Italian eggplants make  delicious  Imam Bayildi

Imam Bayaldi
(The Priest Fainted)
Story goes---the Imam fainted because the dish is sooo delicious.
Another story goes--the Imam fainted because  his  wife used too much of the expensive olive oil they can hardly afford.



leek foccacia




Hot pink  radishes make a good  salad



radish, tomatoes and granny smith apple

Butterflied Biya

I bless the hands that butterflied, cleaned up and dried these teeny-weeny fishlings as I eat them one bite at a time. I truly appreciate all the effort put in the  preparation especially that the bag  was only a dollar and fifty cents each.

fried dried biya

                     

butterflied biya



butterflied biya flipside



watercress and radish salad goes well with the dried fish and rice

Pocono Mountains

passing by a frozen lake 

it snowed



and snowed some more




we finally  experienced some winter
scene from our window



gotta bring in some red sunshine to counter this cold predicament

tuna and tomatoes got involved

Mussels for free or so I thought

We use to do this easily when he was a toddler, but he is growing too heavy and too tall,  too fast.

While strolling and playing  down the shore with my little one, I stumbled upon a bunch of mussels rolling to and fro the beach with the waves. I inspected it and soon realized, the mussels were very much alive. I was so sure the shells will steam up nicely with my leftover white wine, ginger, garlic and onion. I picked the bunch up and headed towards the lifeguard chair where my son decided to climb on to. I stared at the bunch and contemplated the possibility of a free lunch care of Mother nature. I washed the bunch and fed them some cornmeal, thinking they'd spit out the sand they've acquired from all the rolling they've done on the beach. I thought they're smaller than the usual mussels you can get at market. Smaller means sweeter. I decided we'll have them for dinner instead so I could give them more time to relax in their spa of a cornmeal bath. Finally cooked them, and ooh....the aroma of ginger sweating in the white wine almost made me cry. If this dish were a success, I would be so proud of myself for foraging a meal. The moment of truth came. I tasted one mussel and yes, it was plump, sweet, and OHHH so delicious. The broth spiked with white was equally sumptuous. Unfortunately, I guess, these mussels have rolled too long from the ocean floor to the shore that it is impossible to  totally get rid of the fine sand from it's folds, nooks and crannies.


 



The cluster of mussels that did a lot of rolling on the sand



                                        



Washed and cleaned



Corn grits spa



Cooked in  white wine, fish sauce,  ginger, garlic and onion





So I picked some herbs and chili leaves and...

...made chicken tinola  for dinner instead



Mussels were a disappointment, but we had fun!

Granitas

Ahhh...granitas. Eating this in winter gets me excited for the coming spring, and then summer. I relish every crystal bite and let it melt in my mouth. How wonderful to eat a simple form of "icecream" and not feel guilty about gaining pounds. Any fruit that graces our fruit basket gets a chance to become a granita.

                                                               Avocado granita

                               Blueberry  granita

                              Peach-pear granita

               Blueberry granita

A Rainy Day Special

Today was a rainy-drizzly day and although most would say it's a monster nasty day, I beg to differ. I love rain. I love the way it makes the environment look fresh. I love the pitter-patter sound it makes. The gloomy but peaceful quiet soothes my spirit. The clouds rolling with the wind give me a feeling of anticipation of what might happen next. The barren trees swayed with the wind and I watched solemnly thanking God in my heart for the work of His hands. 

So as usual . around mid-day, I'd think of what I might cook for my small family. I thought, "Isn't soup in order for a rainy day like this? A rustic crusty bread will go well with it..."

Soup du jour

Lentil, pearl barely and split-pea danced in my blue pot with the onions, garlic, carrots and  bay leaves. Delish!!!

                    This rustic 5-inch tall boule rose up quite high, I though it'd never stop growing!

                    Crackly outside, holey and soft inside.

                          A perfect meal to end the day!

Rosehips

 

Every Fall I promise myself that I will make rosehip jelly since there's a ton of rosehips I can pick by the beach. I live a block away from the beach and where the dune starts there are bushes and bushes of wild pink single-layered rose petals that crown wide red-orange rosehips. One Fall, I did pick up two hands full of them, but I never got around to making them into jelly. I was so mesmerized by their shiny and fiery sunset color I just stared and feasted my eyes on them. I dusted my drawing notebook and started sketching them. Something as humble as rosehips growing in the sand dunes is a delightful treat to my senses. So much for jelly rosehips--uh-huh---maybe next fall...

Rosehips down the shore

One rosehip, seven perspectives

Another blissful-restful weekend I am spending. I love to spend time at home and be just  cozy and warm with a plethora of things I like to do. So while I do my laundry or  turn the  dishwasher on, I can do something else that I  enjoy. To be  productive with my  hands gives me joy no end. It seems that every weekend I feel a need to create or do something that gives me satisfaction whether it be food or a project. I made  a simple dessert from  sticky rice flour  and tapioca cooked in coconut milk and brown sugar. Steve loves it---that surely doubles my satisfaction of having made it.
        

                           

This morning I  stopped by the farmer's market and got me (this time) a purple cauliflower, two butternut squash, a bundle of kale (my new favorite greens) and a bunch of cilantro (my all-time favorite herb aside from  basil).

As usual, the beauty of the cauliflower (with its intense purple) holds me from cooking it too soon. (I'll probably start eating it as a crudite  slathered with some  onion dip---then cook the rest in curry and achar masala). Meanwhile, like its beauteous cousin (the purple broccoli), I let it sit on a goblet to grace my  wee dining table  and give my eyes to feast on for a day or two.

Here she is...my artsy craft for the  day:

                      

I do not have fish in my fridge right now but I guess I will be eating one very soon (one of these days) as I made my favorite condiment to eat with one whole fried fish---head, eyes and all.  I will always have time to make cilantro hot sauce.

                                      cilantro hot sauce

Last Friday, I contacted someone in  New York City who  teaches tatting at her home. I got really excited with the prospect of learning the craft. I wish I checked out youtube first before I emailed this tatting lady who graciously emailed me back with information regarding the lessons. In the afternoon today, while my favorite guys went to the library, I spent time learning the art of tatting. I've seen someone in my past make  lace (as a requirement for an home-economics project) but I have never tried it myself. I ordered a  book to have something on print and also watched tutorials on youtube. I just do not have the shuttles to start yet so by the time the sun set, my hands were itching to create something again and there  by my side table I saw my crochet needle and thread and started making some  snowflakes. (How apropo---winter is coming isn't it? Although I must admit, I already have a  gazillion snowflakes I crocheted a few years back for my Christmas tree) I find crocheting more snowflakes (still) fun.
 
                                            snowflakes pictures here

I started my Saturday with a drive to the middle school to drop off my little Zachary for his gymnastics and soccer classes. He really looks forward to these activities doing  forward rolls and kicking balls, and nothing else. (When I probe deeper, he tells me they played duck-duck-goose-goose in his soccer class) Going back home, I had two hours to kill (not a lot of time considering the clutter I have to straighten up), I stopped by the farmer's market and browsed through the items. A purple veggie I mistook for cauliflower kept calling my name so I thought I'd make a pot of  spicy curried (with achar masala) cauliflower that will make Steve happy (and healthy). When I paid for it, the vendor corrected me and said it is a broccoli [confused, I looked at the other stall where I thought I reall saw a purple cauliflower....and it was a cauliflower in the other stall, ONLY  much much deeper purple]. I've never seen a purple broccoli before.

When I got home, I inspected this broccoli in my hands and marvelled at its smoky purpleness. I realized I could not bring myself to cook this purple princess, so I trimmed its leaves and ensconced it on a goblet to grace my little dining table. It looked very happy and comfortable where I put it. I could almost read the florets' thoughts..."we are so pretty we might not be eaten afterall."

I continued to marvel at it through the day as I passed the table going here and there doing housechores. I sometimes pause to touch its purple wonder...I think to myself, "What am I going to do with you, oh  purple princess? You look so delicious---but you are too beautiful to cook." 

To get my mind off the dainty thing sitting on my table---I started to bake bread---reminiscent of a usual breakfast item back home. We used to have pan de sal (like rolls) with cheese and dunked in coffee in the morning. Lead me to nostalgia lane. People walk to the panaderia early every morning to get their  brown bags of pandesal. The same happens about 3 in the afternoon when people  eat their merienda (snack), this time  usually paired with  Coca-cola.

As dusk approached, two other items I picked up for good health now sitting in the  basket caught my attention. I swear they were saying "psst...pssst." (this is a very informal way Philippinoys catch other  Philippinoys attention. These red and orange beets, powerhouses of antioxidants stared me in the face as though asking---"are you gonna leave us to wilt  here in this basket?" I usually make use of  their leaves too (why throw a good source  of fiber when it's there?) I thought a good  boiling, dash of salt and pepper and drizzle of olive oil will highlight its delicious flavor.

These beauteous Latinas (they look to me, so colorful and full of life) attended our dinner as a side dish and they were surely devoured lavishly with a great smacking sound of the  lips.

Delicious indeed!!!