Fish Flakes Pinakbet
Topic: Vegetables
Pinakbet is a Filipino traditional dish and popular among the Ilocanos. Basically, it is a combination of vegetables like, squash, bitter melon, string beans, okra, eggplant, and tomato. Shrimp paste or bagoong is usually included but I never include it whenever I cook one, I'd rather used pounded dried shrimp instead of it. As usual, there are many cooking variations like sauteing the spices first in hot oil or others are boiling the vegetables first, etc. and additional ingredients like carrots, squash flower, chicken, meat or seafoods and sauces.

In this recipe, fish flakes are used, bitter melon was also omitted since my hubby sometimes don't eat that bitter vegetable.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant (big/round variety), sliced
2 cups sliced squash
10 pcs. young okra
1 cup sliced string beans
1/2 cup fried fish flakes
1 cup chicken broth or more
1 medium ripe tomato
1 onion, sliced
1 thumb size ginger, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cooking

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a skillet and saute garlic, onions, tomatoes and ginger until the ginger is aromatic.
2. Add the fish flakes, stir. Add in the squash and broth and simmer until the squash is tender but not soggy of course.
3. Add the remaining vegetables, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Season with black pepper powder if you like.

Serve.

Citrus Chicken Adobo
Topic: Chicken
Adobo is a common Filipino dish typically made from meat or chicken, the basic ingredients added are soy sauce, vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf, and black peppercorns. It is very simple and requires just a handful of ingredients. A good tasting adobo depends upon the delicate balance of all the ingredients, like other dishes there are many variations in the combination of ingredients as well as the cooking process. If you are adventurous, you can add some ingredients to add more taste to the basic.

Ingredients:
500 g chicken, sliced
juice of 2 lemons
1 small can pineapple sliced with syrup
4 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
8 pcs. quail eggs, boiled and peeled

Directions:
1. Heat butter in a skillet, stir fry the chicken until brown then add garlic, stir.
2. Add pineapple syrup and chicken broth. Simmer for 5 minutes then add peppercorns, bay leaf, soy sauce and lemon juice. Allow to boil.
3. Add the white sugar, oyster sauce, pineapple sliced and the quail eggs. Simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and serve.

Shrimp with Soy Bean Sprouts
Topic: Shrimps
This is a Thai dish which requires very short time to prepare and cook, better to cook it during meal time. When I made it last night, I prepared all the ingredients first, put it all inside the fridge and did some other things since we were not going to take dinner yet, my hubby was out, he's processing the car's insurance.
When it's already time for dinner, when other foods and everything were placed in the dining table, then that's the best time to cook this recipe.

Ingredients:
400 g shrimps, peeled
300 g soy bean sprouts
300 g mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cooking oil.

Directions:
1. Combine shrimps and garlic.
2. Heat oil in pan and stir fry the soy bean, add soy sauce. Take out of the pan, set aside.
3. In the same pan, stir fry the shrimps and mushroom over a high heat until the shrimps are cooked.
4. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir in the soy bean sprouts, cook for 10 seconds. Serve immediately.

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.