Chicken Macaroni Soup

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. The last few days have been very busy for me. Good thing though is I always take pictures of the food I cook. Last week I cooked chicken macaroni soup twice! This is one of the easiest dish to make and as time goes I must say I have improved my recipe. What's great about this is that I don't have any specific ingredients because I mostly use whatever vegetable I like. You can try it out too and try vegetables that you prefer.

The first thing to do is saute the chicken in garlic and onions. When it gets cook, add the water and let it boil. After it boil you can add your other ingredients such as your milk, cooked macaroni ( I had it boiled before hand so that I wouldn't make my chicken too soft), vegetables such as carrots and green peppers and your Chicken Knorr Cubes or chicken stock flavoring. Season your soup according to your taste and once it boils, add the cabbage or lettuce. This is one thing I add to my chicken macaroni soup that made it different. I add some leafy vegetables in the end like cabbage or lettuce. By doing this, it can add more flavor to your soup. I don't have a specific measurement for my ingredients because I based this on my taste. This is especially true if you cook this soup for a lot of people. I cooked it for 50 people last week! People loved it and I was pleased with the end result that I ate two bowls. LOL.

I hope you like my chicken macaroni soup and remember that you can use any vegetables that you like!

Keep on eating and blogging!!!  

Fruit and Vegetables Carving Course at MIHCA

Today, I went to MIHCA, Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, for a food carving workshop. I was really nervous doing this because I do not know what to expect from it. Plus I was really running late! Good thing I made it on time. I was really nervous when I got there but the instructors led by Chef Jose Mari Medrano were really friendly and had a nice friendly vibe that made us all at ease. The instructions were easy to follow and they did really help us learn how to carve properly. 

The first thing we carved was a pumpkin. We have a special kind of knife to use that made carving easier.

This is my pumpkin.

We made it into a flower with leaves. This was hard to carve because the pumpkin was really hard. But it was really fun doing it.

This is my watermelon and I turned it into a fish design. The watermelon was easier to carved and I was eating it while carving. I got hungry! We used an olive for the eyes.

The next thing we carved is this turnip and made it into a flower. I find this easy to do and we soak it into a food coloring to give it a little color. We made some carrots that look liked a rose but I didn't do a good job. It was really hard! I'll practice more at home though.

These are some pictures that I have taken after we finish carving all the food. We made a bouquet made of fruits and vegetables. It was really great because it can be a great centerpiece for any party.

Fruit and Vegetable Carving Course Batch April 17, 2011

This is me getting my certificate and being overly excited. I really had fun at this workshop and I think this can be the step I needed for the culinary career that I want.

I'm taking more workshops like this in the future!

Keep on eating and blogging

Le Bistro Vert

Yesterday I had lunch with my cousin Raquel in Le Bistro Vert. It was funny on my way there I have to run because I only have 30 minutes reservation. And I don't want to waste my voucher from this place. Anyway, I made it on time (2 minutes left actually) and I waited for my cousin. I was really having a hard time placing my order because all the food in the menu was so good!
When my cousin arrived we placed our order and while we waited they gave us some free sweet potato chips.

It was yummy and we were surprised that they keep refilling it! I think me and my cousin had 3 bowls... Well it's free! LOL

I ordered braised short ribs (simmered in dry white wine, soft potato mash, sauteed mushrooms). This is probably the most tender meat I have ever tasted. Seriously it can melt in my mouth. It can kinda tasted like beef caldereta (a filipino dish where there is tomato sauce, vegetable and meat) except it has a more richer flavor. The mash potato complemented it well. I wish ordered rice though! LOL

  
Raquel ordered Apahap fillet, Buro Mustasa (Citrus soy dressing. brown rice pillaf). I really wished I ordered this! Even though I enjoyed my beef, this fish really surprised me! The tangy taste from the sauce really compliments the fish and it really goes well with the rice. Plus it has a hint of something spicy. I love it! I took two bites from it. Hehehehehhehe.

  For our drinks I ordered watermelon and green mango shake. Which surprisingly goes well together. It has more watermelon to it so it is sweet but has a touch of sour from the green mango. I find it quite refresing and goes well with my dish.

My cousin had Tofu and Lychee shake. It tasted great and refreshing as well. I love lychee. It is one tropical fruit here in the Philippines that I really love because of its unique taste. Yummy drink!

For dessert me and Raquel decided to share a piece of cake. And we both chose...

Varlhona Sans Rival! Holy Sh#$@t I love this cake!!! I feel like I was eating a candy bar because it has so many layers of different food. It has nuts, caramel, chocolate. And since me and Raquel are sharing it and talking, we were eating it really slowly and I was savoring each bite. 

I really had fun spending lunch with Raquel. She's one of those people that I can share my problems with because even though we have an opposite insight about a certain subject, it was nice that we can talk about it and not argue. Plus she's into this healthy living kind of phase in food so Le Bistro Vert was the best place for us to eat. 

The restaurant offers the freshest ingredients and what's great about this place is that they have sustainable food menu which means that earth-friendly initiatives and help sustain local farmers. You can be sure that they have the freshest ingredients. Plus, the waiters and people working in this place is super friendly. 

I would really love to go back to this place. I want to try some of the dishes in the menu! Okay, I'm getting hungry again... LOL

Happy eating and blogging!!!

Chicken Marinated in Ginger with Creamy Basil Sauce and Rice

This was my lunch yesterday. It is one of my experiment recipe and I must say I like the result. The chicken was spicy and the sauce compliment it well. The marinated chicken was for another type of dish but I tried making some sauce for it. The result was great. I love creamy sauce and I was not disappointed on this experiment recipe. Try it out yourself! 

Ingredients:

Chicken Fillet 

Ginger Juice (You can do this by grating the ginger then squeeze the juice out of it. Do not add water)

salt

pepper

Magic Sarap (You can skip this one if you don't like magic sarap)

for the sauce:

2 tbsp. butter

3 cloves of garlic 

dried basil leaves (we dont have fresh ones)

1/2 cup all purpose cream (i'm not really sure how much cream I put because I just base this on my taste, this is my approximate of it. You can add more if you want.)

salt and pepper to taste

water to thin the sauce

Marinate the chicken fillet in ginger juice, salt, pepper and Magic Sarap for one hour or more. After that fry it in butter. You can make the sauce afterwards by heating the butter first, add the minced garlic and when it turns slightly brown add the all purpose cream. You can the dried basil leaves and sat and pepper to taste. If you think your sauce is too thick, you can add water to it. Plate your chicken and add the sauce afterwards. 

I ate this with rice. Can't help it rice is a staple food here! LOL.

Well I hope you enjoy my simple experiment recipe.

Keep on eating and blogging!!!  

Scrambled Eggs with Mayonnaise and Cheese

There is a new commercial here where they suggest putting mayonnaise in scrambled eggs. My friend Fina tried it out and we had i for breakfast. Surprisingly, it wasn't as weird as I thought it was. The scrambled eggs was really creamy although I would add more cheese next time. You guys should try this if you want something different with your eggs. Here's the recipe.

2 eggs
1 tbsp. mayonnaise
sprinkle of grated cheese
a pinch of salt (although I suggest you don't salt if your cheese is salty enough)
a touch of basil to sprinkle on top (optional)

Cook the scrambled eggs as usual but this time with all the ingredients.   

I hope you like this new recipe!

Keep on eating and blogging!!!

Gelatissimo Cafe

This is another restaurant that me and my friends visited last Saturday. After eating in Pepper Lunch , we went to this restaurant for dessert. They claim that they have the best gelato in the Philippines and this is also my friend Marie's favorite ice cream place. We went there for some ice cream and oh boy, you wouldn't be disappointed!

First of all, there are so many choices that you can choose from and you can have a free taste! Oh Yeah! I tasted the one with chili on it and it was weird. I was sweet but it gets spicy in the end.

I ordered the Chocolate Truffle and Creme Caramel. It was divine! This kind of ice cream has the right creaminess and sweetness to it. What I love about their ice cream is that it really has some bits of the chocolate in it. They don't use artificial flavors and use really fruits or real chocolate on it. That really made their ice cream stand out. I really recommend this place in case you visit Greenbelt 5 here in Makati. 

I hope you like my creamy ice cream pics!

Keep on eating and blogging!!!

Pepper Lunch

Yesterday, me and friends went to Greenbelt Malls for a nice girl's day out. We had lunch at a restaurant called Pepper Lunch. This was my first time eating at this place and it was a great experience for me! Not only that I had some great girl talk with my friends but the way you eat at this restaurant is a unique experience. You are the one cooking your own food!

What happens is that when you you order your meal, they put it in this very hot and sizzling pot where the meat are raw and the vegetables are half cooked. You have to turn the meat over and mix the vegetables to cook it. It is a fun activity to do and I must say that food was really good! That's me on the pic by the way cooking my meal. (Gosh I really need to comb my hair more). LOL.

This was my order. It is called Hito Kuchi Cut Steak. As you can see the food is steaming when I turn it over. Their pepper rice is yummy as well. The sauce was tasty because it was a combination of the sweetness and nutty taste of the sesame seeds and the salty taste of the soy sauce. I love dipping my meat and vegetables in it!

This is my friend Marie's order. It is called Combo Cut Steak and Hamburger.

This is my friend Jennifer's order. It's called Chicken Pepper Rice.

I really enjoy eating at this restaurant and I'm planning to go back next time. I'll try their other dishes. You can visit their site at http://pepperlunch.com.ph/index.html to know more about this restaurant.

Good food + great company = fun time!

Mushroom Omelette with Rice

Today I made mushroom omelette with rice. I'm thinking of adding a breakfast series here in my blog. I love breakfast, I really believe it is the most important meal of the day and if I don't have any full breakfast. I get cranky and my tummy hurts. Oh and I love eggs. I could eat them at any way you cook them. Today I decided to cook them as omelette's because I found some mushroom on our pantry. I forgot to add cheese though. Cheesy mushroom omelette would have been better. And unlike other people, I didn't use oil but chose butter instead. Mushroom cooked in butter is pure heaven for me. I love it when the butter is incorporated to the mushroom. Overall I had a good breakfast. With my 3 in 1 coffee with me and steaming hot rice, it was pure joy eating this simple food. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup mushroom
3 tbsp. butter
dash of salt

Procedure:
1. Heat your butter into the pan. Don't wait until it brown but when the butter melts add your mushroom.
2. After 30 seconds or when you can tell that the mushroom is cooked or is a little more brown, add scrambled eggs with a dash of salt.
3. Wait till the outside of the scrambled egg is cooked then flip it half way.
4. Wait for a 30 seconds or until you are sure the eggs is fully cooked.
5. Best serve with rice or toasted bread.

I hope you enjoy my recipe. You can add more if you want to. Like I said, if I had cheese I would have added cheese or even hot dogs! This is what great about omelettes because you can add anything you want in it.

Keep on eating and blogging!!!

Tonkatsu Tei Japanese/Filipino Food Grill Restaurant

Last night, we went to my mother's friend newly opened restaurant. It was her second branch that is in Caloocan. The first branch is here in Fairview Quezon City. I must say I had fun singing karaoke and eating their japanese/filipino cuisine. It wasn't fancy or anything. Just good food.

We had different dishes and I forgot to take pictures of some of those dishes. I was so hungry that I just ate. LOL. Good thing I did took some pictures of my favorites. The food above are Pork Tonkatsu and Miso Beef. I really love the Miso Beef because the meat was so tender and the sauce is divine. It was so good that we ordered another one!

And of course, I wouldn't forget ordering California Maki. Calirfornia Maki is my favorite. I admit this wasn't the best that I tasted but it was still good. They have different kinds of sushi and sashimi in their menu but we only ordered California Maki. We ordered extra and I ate them for breakfast this morning. heheheheehhe

I also love their Kani Salad. I guess it's because of the Japanese Mayo that they used. I can't get enough of it because the sweetness of Mango and the taste of the dressing really goes well together. I guess that's the secret of Japanese Mayo, it can go well in any vegetable!

I must say that the star of the night was the drink called Mindoro Sling. This was the first time I tasted this drink and I absolutely love it! I asked the waiter what's made of and he said it was mango juice and Tanduay rhum. Although my friend said it was more. I got a little tipsy after drinking this. I don't know how many glasses I had because it was so good I keep drinking. LOL. This drink is great for people who doesn't like alcohol but wants to get drunk. You can hardly taste the alcohol at all!

Overall, I had a great time. We sang karaoke (they have a stage and I sang! LOL) and went home afterwards. Good food plus good company makes me happy. (^_^)


Keep on eating and blogging!!!

Jollibee's 1 pc. Chickenjoy with Spaghetti plus Watermelon Float

I was feeling a little down today. Despite the happiness I felt from launching this blog, there are a lot of negative emotions inside me right now. I guess that's what happen when you get your heart broken for a million times. And so today I didn't have the energy to write, even for work! Around 4 pm I got hungry and I was craving for a spaghetti.
To be specific a Jollibee Spaghetti.
All the Filipinos around the world are very familiar with this brand.
After all, this is one of most successful food franchise here in the Philippines.
I was having doubts about eating this because I don't want to get out of bed. I don't even want to have them deliver!
But after reading Joanna's message that lifted my spirit, I took it as a sign.
And so I went to Jollibee.
I ordered the 1 pc. Chickenjoy with Spaghetti plus the new Watermelon Float they have.
Jollibee's spaghetti is different from other fast food restaurants because they made it sweeter to better suit the Filipino pallet. Filipinos love their spaghetti sweet and with hotdogs and that's what they did with their spaghetti. The chicken was okay but I really love the Watermelon float more.
I felt better after eating there and went home directly.
I feel like my stomach was fuller but I feel lighter.
There is still a hint of sadness but I felt better.
I guess that's what happen when you eat something like this type of spaghetti.
I mean it wasn't the most delicious or unique spaghetti there is but it reminds me of my childhood.
Just ask any kid out there and they surely know what Jollibee is.

Simple... Tasty... Comfort Food...

Welcome to my blog!

Hi welcome to my blog. My name is Phoebe and I currently live in the Philippines. I have numerous blogs before but none of them are as specific as this one. I am dedicating this blog about food and the culinary world. Join me in my culinary adventures and I hope you enjoy reading my blog.