Toad in a Hole
Topic: Breakfast Recipes
Actually, there was no toad in this recipe, lol! They named it toad in a hole since the egg in the center of the bread evoke and image of a toad sitting in a hole. The same idea with the Ants Climbing a Tree. I got this recipe from Kraft website but the original recipe used bacon instead of chicken franks. It was really good.

Ingredients:
4 slices bread
2 eggs
4 tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese
1 chicken frank, finely chopped
4 tbsp. melted butter

Directions:
1. Cut a hole in the center of 2 of the bread slices using 1-1/2-inch cookie cutter or rim of a glass.
2. Spread 2 tbsp. of butter over one side of each of the remaining bread slices. Place butter side down in a baking dish.
3. Top each with 1 tbsp. of the cheese, then bread slices with holes in the center. Break 1 egg into each hole.
4. Bake in a preheated 250 degrees C oven for 8 minutes or until the eggs are set.
5. When the eggs are set, take out from oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and chopped chicken franks, return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve.

Tips:You can also remove the sliced bread crust before baking if you don't eat it.

Baked Milkfish Fillet
Topic: Fish
One thing I like in Milkfish is it taste good even you cook it in a very simple way, even just broiling or grilling it without any spices nor salt on it, the taste is still very tempting since it has its own natural flavors. Last night, I tried to cooked the last piece of Milkfish in our fridge, I filleted it and planned to bake it with lemon juice and some spices but I changed my mind when I remembered a recipe in one Thai cooking website using the ingredients I will list below, I just omitted some spices which I think will not suit my taste, I also reduced the amount of red chili and fish sauce on it, the original recipe used 1 tbsp. chopped red chili (oh too hot) and 3 tbsp. fish sauce which I think will distract the natural taste of the Milkfish. The result is good but to be honest, I still prefer the way I cooked it before using only lemon juiced and soy sauce with few spices on it. I will just post it later here because I did not able to cook it again since I started this blog.

Ingredients:
1 whole 800 g Milkfish fillet
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. crushed ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp. finely chopped onions
3 tbsp. finely chopped capsicum
1 tsp. chopped red chili

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Marinate fish fillet for 25 minutes.
3. Cooked in preheated 250 degrees C oven for 20 minutes. Serve with lemon slices.

Shish Tawook
Topic: Appetizers
Shish Tawook is a Middle Eastern low fat recipe for marinated chicken breast, which can be baked in the oven or skewered and barbequed. Sometimes they served it as appetizer or side dish. It taste great with pita bread but it can also be eaten with Arabian Rice. Usually, the dipping sauce was made of mayonnaise and yogurt mixture but I still prefer plain hot chili sauce, lol :). Sorry, I did not able to take a nice picture of it.





Ingredients:
500 g skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp. plain low-fat yogurt
2 tbsp. tomato ketchup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/3 tsp. black pepper powder
1/4 tsp. curry paste/powder
1/4 tsp. corriander powder
1/3 tsp. salt

Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, yogurt and ketchup. Season with garlic powder, paprika, black pepper and curry powder. Stir in chicken pieces, coating all sides with marinade. Cover bowl, and refrigerate overnight.
2. To make dipping sauce, mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, garlic, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate.
3. Transfer the chicken pieces to a shallow baking dish and bake in a preheated 200 degree C oven for 30 minutes. Serve with Pita Bread and some vegetable salad.

Sauteed Squid
Topic: Squids
When I sauteed the squid I added little amount of water on it because my hubby liked it to be a little bit juicy. I used only the basic spices since we wanted the sauce to have natural taste.

Ingredients:
500 g squid, cleaned and sliced into small strips
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ripe tomato, sliced thinly
1 bell pepper, sliced
1/4 tsp. black pepper powder
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1/3 tsp. sugar
1/3 cup water (optional)
1/4 tsp. tumeric powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
1. (Sprinkle tumeric powder to the squid, mix well.)Heat oil in a pan, saute garlic until sligthly brown, then add onion, tomato and ginger, stir until the tomatoes are tender.
2. Add squid and light soy sauce, stir for few seconds then add water (optional). Let it boil, add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve.

See also:
Hot and Spicy Squid

Palitaw
Topic: Snacks
Palitaw is a native Filipino delicacies which is made of rice dough,formed into flattened balls, cooked in briskly boiling water, drained, then rolled into grated coconut, usually eaten with sugar. However, Muslim Filipinos had a different version of cooking Palitaw compared to the Palitaw made in the Northern part of the Philippines. The dough is made of plain glutenous rice flour and formed into balls instead of flats, they put some small cube of brown sugar brick inside the palitaw ball, hence there will be no need to dip or dredge it in sugar when you eat it. The brick of brown sugar melted inside the balls and it is very delicious to eat. One thing I love about Palitaw is it is very easy and quick to prepare, moreover, it is very yummy also. Donna made this Palitaw yesterday as our snack. Dessicated coconut was used since we don't have fresh one.

Ingredients:
3 cups glutenous rice flour
1 1/4 cup water (you can adjust the amount depending upon your desired smoothness)
1 cup dessicated coconut (used freshly grated coconut if you have)
brown sugar brick, cut into small cube

Directions:
1. Combine glutenous rice flour and water. Blend thoroughly until smooth.
2. Shape the dough into small balls, a little bit smaller than the size of an egg.
3. Flatten with thumb, then put a cube of brown sugar in the middle, seal it and form it again into balls.
4. Drop the palitaw ball in a briskly boiling water. The palitaw will float when they are cooked.
5. Take out the floting palitaw using a slotted spoon, roll it to the grated or dessicated coconuts. Serve.