Banana Cake
Topic: Snacks
There were ripe bananas left when we ate this afternoon and my husband requested me to make it a cake but I was little bit busy last night so I asked my sister Jong to make it, I taught her few months ago how to make one and this is the one she baked last night. We did not able to eat it all so we brought some slices in the office this morning.

Ingredients:
2 pcs. ripe banana, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 eggyolk, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
2. Cream sugar and butter, add eggs,milk and vinegar. Add the flour mixture and mix together using hand mixer until well blended.
3. Add vanilla and raisins. Mix.
5. Transfer the mixture into buttered and floured cake pan. Bake in a preheated 200 degree oven for 40 minutes or until done.

Coconut Muffins
Topic: Snacks
I made this recipe as an experiment, this is almost similar to the Puto Cheese, the only big difference was the method of cooking, this was baked while the Puto Cheese was steamed. My first plan was to make Bibingka, my brother Zul said he miss eating Bibingka a lot but we don't know how to make it. I know the ingredients but I am not sure about the measurement. I said I will try to experiment using all-purpose flour instead of rice flour, the result, it turned into a muffins! Now, I called it Coconut Muffins. LOL!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups thick coconut milk
1 1/4 cup white sugar
4 eggyolks
5 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
grated cheese
Margarine

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except cheese and margarine. Mix all together until well blended.
2. Place enough amount of batter in a paperlined moulder, sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.
3. Take out from oven and rub margarine to the surface.
4. Serve warm.

Lettuce Wraps
Topic: Appetizers
This recipe is one kind of Dim Sum meals and good as appetizers but sometimes considered as main dish. This recipe is design to be eaten as taco-style, with the lettuce/mixture folded into a package but as you see in the picture, the mixtures were not folded all since I ran out of lettuce last night, I cooked the mixture first without checking the fridge if we still have enough lettuce, only to find out that we had only few leaves left. Never mind, I still put some of the remaining mixtures to the plate. See!

Ingredients:
1 head of lettuce leaves
300 g ground beef or chicken flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tsp.sugar
1 tbsp. shredded ginger
1 cloved garlic, minced
2 stalk green onions, chopped
1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots,green peas and corn kernels)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups shredded cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:
1. Wash the lettuce, dry, and cut the leaves. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry until the garlic and ginger are aromatic.
3. Add the beef or chicken and cook until done. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir. Add the cabbage and mixed vegetable, cook for 3 minutes then add the beaten egg, stir well until the egg is cooked.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Turn of heat.
5. Lay out a lettuce leaf and scoop 1 tbsp. out of the meat/chicken mixture and place it in the middle of the leaf. Fold to cover the mixture. Continue with the remaining mixture and lettue leaves until done. Serve.

Boiled Beef (Nilagang Baka)
Topic: Beef
Our favorite part of the beef for boiling are the ribs and shanks since it gives a very delicious soup. Younger cows are the best, very tender and takes shorter time to cook. When boiling beef, usually vegetables are added and my favorite vegetables to add are the one that doesn't distract the taste of the beef broth. Some vegetables have strong taste, so if you want a very beefy soup, try adding vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cabbage, sweet corn on cob, lettuce,etc.
In this recipe, I add lemon grass since the beef we bought was not quite young and I am not satisfied with its taste so I find a way to make it better. Moreover, influenced by his Thai friends and classmates, my hubby likes lemon grass added in a clear soup, that's why sometimes I add it to the meals I cooked.

Ingredients:
500 g beef short ribs, cut into serving pieces
1 large carrot, cut into cubes
2 medium potatoes, quartered
1 small bunch of lettuce
1 whole onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 cube beef bouillon (optional)
1 tsp. sugar
1 thumb size ginnger, slice into strips
1 stalk lemon grass, cut diagonally
1 stalk green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil beef, onion, garlic, beef cube (optional),ginger and peppercorns in a pot with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, skim off the scums when it rises. Lower the heat,add the lemon grass and few salt, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender. Check water occassionally, add more if desired.
2. When the beef is cooked, take it out from the broth and transfer to a bowl, set aside.
3. Strain the broth, discard the spices to have a clearer soup.
4. Return the broth to the pot and season with sugar, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes, boil until done.
6. When the vegetables are done, return the beef to the broth and bring to a boil. Add the lettuce cover and simmer for 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve sprinkled with choped green onions.

Watermelon Salad
Topic: Salad
The water melon salad in a watermelon basket courtesy of my hubby!

Ingredients:
some slices of watermelon, seeded
1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
2 bananas, cut into bite-sie pieces
1 can 465 g fruit cocktail
1/2 cup milk powder
2/3 cup condensed milk
1 cup thick cream

Directions:
1. In a salad bowl, toss together fruits, milk and cream.
2. Mix all together, chill for an hour and serve.