Diamond Hotel Japanese cooking class & recipes from Yurakuen restaurant

yurakuen lunch.

I was privileged enough to participate in a cooking class offered every weekend by Diamond Hotel. Appreciated this very much as am a big fan of Japanese food. By now everyone knows that the cuisine is all about purity of taste, the freshness of the ingredients and the beauty of presentation of the prepared food.

For this class, we were able to learn a lot from Chef Junichi Sekiyama and his team from Yurakuen Restaurant. It was very helpful since we were able to learn a lot of cooking techniques and tips on what brands to purchase and where to source Japanese products in Manila.

For example, almost every Pinoy loves tempura, but do you ever wonder how to make the perfect one? Sharing here some treasured recipes from Yurakuen and Chef Sekiyama:

Ebi tempura

Choose one kilo good-quality fresh shrimps. Remove skin while shrimp is raw. Leave tail intact.

Scrape tip of shrimp tail with knife to remove dirty liquid and devein the shrimp.

Make small slices along the shrimp's body so shrimp will not curl when cooked.

Wrap shrimp in a paper towel and gently squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside.

Prepare the ingredients for tempura batter:

In a bowl, mix one cup Japanese tempura flour and 3/4 cup water with ice until lump-free.

Add one egg yolk to add color and texture.

Test heat of the oil by dripping a small amount of the batter into the pan. If batter floats right away, oil is ready; but if the batter hits the bottom of the pan before floating, oil is not hot enough.

Dredge shrimp in flour, then dip in batter.

Fry (preferably in corn oil) until coating turns light yellow.

Remove shrimps from pan and drain oil in paper towel.

To make tempura sauce:

Mix together six parts water, one part kikkoman, one part mirin and 10 grams hondashi. Place one tsp. ground fresh ginger and ground radish on the side.

Mixed Japanese fried rice

Saute chopped garlic in oil until golden brown. Add in chopped white onion and minced carrots.

Set side in one corner of the pan.

In the center of the pan, cook 10 grams of beef until it becomes white.

Add in 10 g. shrimp and squid and mix beef and sauteed vegetables all together.

Season with salt, pepper and Kikkoman soy sauce.

Move again to one side of the pan to makie room for egg.

Cook egg in the middle of the pan and scramble it.

Add steamed rice and mix well.

Season with more salt and pepper, if needed.

Lasang Pinoy 17: Squash Yema

squash yema.

Thanks to Angelo of Eat Matters who is hosting this month's Lasang Pinoy, a Filipino food blogging event with focus on any egg-based recipe, I had to rummage through my best culinary memory for a dish that can truly be considered Egg's a Deal!

The result is this simple but great-tasting yema; not just any yema, mind you, but a squash or pumpkin yema that my veggie-hating kiddos relished with gusto. Kids always love sweets and so entranced were they with the taste that they forgot it's something they wouldn't eat otherwise if the squash was sauteed with other vegetables or simmered in coconut milk.
A yema is a Filipino round-shaped candy of Spanish origin which counts among its main ingredients egg yolk and condensed milk. The mention of yema evokes memories of my childhood since I always happily munched on this sweet treat and/or cooked this in home economics class.

The recipe for the candy I adapted from "Filipino Cuisine," my favorite local cookbook published by Centro Escolar University.

How to prepare -
toast 1/2 cup pinipigchop three tablespoons of jackfruit or langkaopen one can of condensed milktake out two tablespoons of butter or margarine from the refrigeratorboil and mash one cup of squash, chopped into piecesprepare six pieces egg yolks by using egg separatorchop two tablespoons peanuts or cashew nutstake out three-fourth cup sugar

For the final countdown -

"Mix pinipig and langka in condensed milk. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine butter, squash, egg yolks and cashew nuts. Add to the pinipig mixture and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. When thick enough to hold its shape, remove from heat. Cool mixture. Form 1/2 tablespoon mixture into balls and roll in sugar. Wrap each in cellophane."

Cook's Notes:
1. Toast the pinipig enough only so as not to burn.
2. The reason why I shy away from buying squash and thereby cooking pinakbet is that it's so difficult to chop. Save kitchen time by buying chopped squash pieces in the market, but make sure it's freshly prepared.
3. The nuts are optional. I omitted them from my recipe and it was still able to hold its own. You can add more pinipig and more squash though.
4. Make the candy more attractive to kids by buying multi-colored wrapper. Enjoy:)

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Choco Cuppacakes
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

My son, who loves anything with chocolate and also adored the banana cake I brought home over Christmas, loved this muffin variation combining both bananas and chocolate chips. It was my first time to bake this after seeing it on Epicurious and am glad it turned out fine.I especially couldn't resist it when it was hot, hot, hot (fresh from the oven!) and the choco chips melted in my mouth like a piece of heaven. Easy to make and a must-try, especially recommended on those days when you want to offer the kids something other than what's on your neighborhood bakery. Besides, there's nothing like home-made!

How to bake these muffins: (Adapted from Epicurious)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Mix 1 cup ripe mashed bananas, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup milk in medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended, then add chocolate chips.

Put batter unto muffin cups then bake until done, about 35 minutes. Makes 12 delicious muffins.

Paksiw na Pata (Vinegar-Simmered Pork Hocks)

Humba
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

In the Visayan province where I come from, we call it "humba" but in Luzon, they call it "paksiw na pata." Whatever the terminology, this pork dish remains one of the desired-for main courses in the Philippines - one that's fit enough for a fiesta. I would think it's a variation of the adobo, the only difference is in the garnishing such as the addition of the banana leaves in the paksiw.

How I cooked: simmer about 1 kilo pork hocks in 2 to 3 cups of water. When half-tender, remove "dirt" that gathers on top. When water has been reduced, add 1 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, lotsa garlic, and a few pieces whole black pepper. Let boil until hocks are fork-tender. Season with salt and brown sugar. When almost done, add the banana blossoms which you may or may not remove prior to serving.

I do add hard-boiled eggs as it goes well with the delectable sauce that goes with this dish.

Rellenong Talong: A Variation

Rellenong Talong
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I like eggplants - whether it eggplant parmesan or good ol' piniritong talong with bagoong. And of course I dig the relleno version: the recipe is the same as tortang giniling except that the ground meat sauteed in onion and garlic sits on a bed of fried eggplant which was cut into two.

I saw a revised recipe in Food Magazine and I thought it was a good idea: you can actually add vegetables like Baguio Beans and carrots for a healthier alternative. What more, the veggies can act as extenders to the ground meat which is getting costlier these days.

Other ingredients you might like to add: potatoes, sweet peas, sausages and red pepper.

When I cooked this dish, I thought it was lacking in eggs and so I promise to do better next time. Talk about kitchen hits and misses:)

Adobong blue marlin in creamy sauce

blue marlin in creamy vinegar sauce
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

In a recent gathering, I made blue marlin a la pobre which consisted of the fish fillets being pan-fried in butter then topped with lots of garlic bits.... if you ask me, a good way to serve food to your guests when you are pressed for time. A chef once told me there's no use really drowning meats and seafood in gravies and sauces because this takes away their natural flavors.

But I still had blue marlin fillets left and so tried a blue marlin in creamy sauce recipe from The Best of Food Magazine. I revised this a little because I added left-over sour cream from a salad I made which further improved the quality of the sauce. Here goes:

Slice your blue marlin into cubes then saute in garlic and ginger for about two minutes.

Working quickly,mix vinegar, soy sauce and water as you would in adobo and top with a dash of sugar. Add this mixture to pan-fried fish and simmer for 1 minute.

Add sour cream until sauce is thickened and thoroughly cooked. In the absence of sour cream, mix corn starch with hot water.

Serve the creamy fish cubes and top with green onions, if desired.

Candied Yams with Citrus-Pandan Glaze

Candied Yams
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Sweet potatoes or yams are quite popular in the Philippines. They are known in local parlance as kamote and can be labelled as "poor man's food" because of their availability. However, there's no reason why you cannot add glamor to this edible tuber which are always in season and sold cheap in Philippine markets. As such, I thought it best to feature this recipe for this month's SHF event, billed Pucker Up With Citrus, by uber-energetic host Alice of My Adventures in the Breadbox.

This native dessert is quite easy to prepare. While the yams take centerstage in the recipe, the citrusy glaze takes the limelight as well. Doubled with the irresistible scent of pandan leaves, it is enough to make you think of sweet memories and special occasions when something good was wafting in the kitchen. Well yes, this was sweet indeed.

Candied Yams
From the recipe of Dorothy MJ Ferreria

1 kilo sweet yellow potatoes or yams

Syrup:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
Juice & rind of 1 orange
1/2 cup water
1 pandan leaf, stripped
1/4 cup mango, or pineapple, or orange marmalade
Juice of calamansi lime

Garnish:
red kaong or sago

Procedure:

1. Peel and slice sweet potatoes into large chunks.

2. To make the sauce, pour sugar and water in a large saucepan. Place over medium heat and allow to boil until caramelized to a nice golden brown.

Candied Yams cooking
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

3. Working quickly, pour in butter, juice and rind of 1 orange, water, pandan leaf and orange marmalde. Mix well.

4. Add raw potato chunks and continue cooking on low heat, stirring frequently until tender. Add calamansi lime after cooking for a stronger citrus flavor. Garnish with red sago and kaong.

Not your usual sinigang

Not your usual sinigang
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

When you're tired of your usual sinigang, why not do it differently? This popular Filipino dish need not follow the exact recipe, you can actually mix and match the vegetables according to your liking or what's in season. Here's one recipe I found from a Maggi leaflet:

Native Vegetables and Beef Sinigang

Ingredients:

100 g. beef round, sliced thinly
6 cups water
1/2 cup sliced kalabasa
1/2 cup sliced sigarillas
1/2 cup sitaw, cut into 2 inches long
1/2 cup sliced eggplant
1 27g. Maggi Beef Sinigang Flavor Mix
1/2 cup saluyot

Procedure:

1. Boil beef in water and cook until tender or about 20 minutes.

2. Add vegetables one at a time giving 1 minute interval before adding the next kind.

3. Add sinigang mix and bring to a boil.

4. Add saluyot leaves and turn off the heat.

Note: You may also add gabi. Cut into pieces and mash for a creamier, tastier soup.

Deep-Fried Pompano with Tomato Salsa

Deep-Fried Pompano with Tomato Salsa
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Pompano (or sole) is not commonly sold in Philippine markets.Maybe it's because this fish is quite expensive..whereas your P70 (a little more than a dollar) can yield you three to four pieces of tilapia, this amount can only give you one piece of medium-sized pompano. My suki (favorite vendor) tells me she supplies the fish to restaurants around the metro.

I like my pompano fried to a crunch and so the problem was just finding the dressing or the salad to go with it.Luckily, I found one recipe in Glenda Barretto's Via Mare Seafood Cookbook which was so easy to adapt in my kitchen. Here goes:

1. Season fish with calamansi (or lemon), salt and pepper.Set aside for at least 15 minutes then fry until golden and crispy.

2. Make the salsa. Combine tomatoes, spring onion, red onion, garlic and chopped coriander in a bowl, then add olive oil and toss. Season with 1 tbsp. fish sauce and arrange over th fish or as a side dish.

Macaroni Salad with a Twist

macaroni
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Everybody likes good ol' macaroni salad. It's one of those dishes I keep in stock for my always-hungry kids. But why not give this classic dish a makeover? I thus tried a tiny Lady's Choice food leaflet with a different mac recipe.This one called for no meat, just quail eggs and ready-made classic Caesar Salad dressing.For this experiment, I used half a serving Best Food Salad & Sandwich Mate (still my most favorite dressing ever!) and half a serving of the bottled Caesar's. Throw in the carrots, onions, pineapple tidbits and quail eggs and you have different but yummy-tasting macaroni salad this time.

Pasta recipes that will make you excited about Lent

spaghetti a la Rose Bowl
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

It was Holy Week, and everyone being on the "no meat mode," I joined the bandwagon. First on my agenda was trying the sardine pasta contained in my newly-bought cookbook of Beth Romualdez entitled Cooking Lessons. When I saw the recipe, I said "whattt?" Sure, pasta with tuna is rather commonplace but I wonder how it tasted like with sardines. All the more that I was curious because the author called it her "comfort food." So I wasted no time in going to the kitchen to experiment on this one. My verdict: it was damn good. But I followed the chef's advice to use only this brand of sardines. I figured that anything else would have been malansa or something like it.

Spaghetti A La Rose Bowl (adapted from "Cooking Lessons")

Ingredients:

2 cans (215 g. each) Rose Bowl sardines in tomato sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 packs (115 g. each) tomato sauce)
1 tsp. dried pepper flakes
small bottle capers
juice of 1 calamansi
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 package (500 g.) spaghetti
grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Remove bones from sardines and discard. Cut up sardines in small chunks with a fork and set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and add garlic and onions. Add sardines, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and capers. Cook for 2 minutes and add calamansi juice and sugar. Season with salt and plenty of ground pepper.

3. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

4. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Add sardine sauce as topping and mix.

Pasta with mussels in crab sauce
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I saw this second pasta dish in the latest issue of Food Magazine and was immediately enticed by the picture. It seemed easy to duplicate in my kitchen since mussels are a-plenty and cheap in the market & I also had a bottle of crab fat (aligue) that waited to be used. Sure, the crab fat is high cholesterol but it should be good to serve to your friends once in a blue moon since it's very easy to prepare.

Golden Pasta with Lemon and Garlic Mussels (from Food Mag)

2-3 kilos mussels
1 cup olive oil
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 cup crab fat (bottled aligue)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup cooking liquid (from cooking the mussels)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
400 grams linguini or other pasta, cooked al dente
parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, cook mussels in enough water to cover just until their shells open. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Remove mussels from the shells. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add garlic and saute until golden. Pour in crab fat, lemon juice and cooking liquid. Simmer for five minutes. Stir in mussels and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer for two more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3.Turn off heat. Add cooked noodles and toss to coat the strands evenly with sauce. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Clams in Wine

Clams in Wine
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I like the fact that clams are cheaply sold in the markets here and so I never hesitate in buying even a half kilo for my favorite clam soup or sabaw ng halaan. This simply calls for sauteing the garlic, onions and ginger in oil, adding the clams and pouring in a cup or two of water. The result is a very appetizing soup made possible by the very natural flavors of the clam juice.

On the other hand, I saw a very interesting clam recipe in a food magazine which would make use of the white wine chilling out in our ref. It is a simple, easy-to-make Portuguese dish called Bulhao pato and the recipe is this:

1.5 kgs. clams
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 glass white wine
salt and ground white pepper to taste
1 pc. lemon, juiced
1 bunch coriander, chopped
lemon or kalamansi wedges for garnishing

Procedure:

1. Soak clams in salted water for a few hours.
2. Heat olive oil in saute pan. Add garlic and clams, and saute for a couple of minutes. Pour in white wine, season with salt and water, and continue sauteing until clams open. Add lemon juice and chopped coriander, saute a little bit more and serve in a platter with lemon or kalamansi wedges.

*** I noticed that this type of cooking is similar to the recipe for Pasta alle Vongole. Just make a few adjustments to to transform this dish into a topping for your pasta and the result will still be incredibly good.

My Favorite Omelette

omelette2
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I love eggs, or any food with eggs on them, especially omelettes. Unfortunately, it's not something I always cook, maybe because my kids prefer their eggs either sunny side up or scrambled only. But I like the omelette because it's very easy to prepare and is versatile for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Here's my favorite recipe:

1 piece onion
3 cloves garlic
2 pieces medium tomatoes
1 can tuna
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1. Saute onion, garlic and tomatoes and cook till transparent.
2. Add tuna.
3. Transfer cooked mixture to egg bowl.
4. In a non-stick pan, heat oil and when hot enough, put in egg & tuna mixture.
5. When almost done, flip to other side and cook also till set.

omelette
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

This was how my omelette looked like when it was done. I am quite particular in turning out a perfectly-shaped omelette and what I do is put a plate or pan cover over it when it's ready to be served and flip to the other side. Ergo, you got a round (not folded) omelette.

Puto + Siopao = Puto Pao

putopao
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Even though am not much of a puto fan like my New York-based blog friend JR, I have my favorite puto, or puto pao to be exact.It's at this stall at the Rustan's food court of Harrison Plaza which sells it for only five pesos. A box of a dozen pieces makes for an affordable pasalubong at only P60 or $1.

As you might have guessed, puto pao is a variation from the traditional steamed delicacy because it has a filling, usually asado.

I still have to prepare something like it but luckily, I found one recipe in Food Magazine which might be worth trying:

Batter

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 cup powdered milk
4 tablespoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups water
3 pieces whole eggs

Topping

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 kilo ground pork or beef
2 tablespoons minced celery (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon seasoning
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
pinch of pepper
pinch of MSG

1. In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, milk, baking powder, water and eggs. Mix until well-blended. Set aside for one hour.

2. Prepare the topping: In a skillet, heat oil and cook ground meat until brown. Add the celery, soy sauce, seasoning, salt, sugar, pepper and MSG. Stir mixture occasionally until ground meat is cooked.

3. Pour puto batter in greased small muffin cups about half full. Add a tablespoon of topping in each cup. Steam for 10 to 15 minutes.

As a final note, do tell me how it turned out;)

A new way with shrimp

shrimpswithalavarsauce
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Somebody gave me a pack of Alavar sauce last Christmas which is a famous product of Zamboanga province in the South. My merry giver said this sauce goes well with anything - be it crabs, shrimp and meat.

I haven't eaten shrimps in a long time (maybe because this remains an expensive seafood in Manila) and so decided to cook it with the Alavar sauce. For those curious, Alavar is made from coconut milk and "secret" spices (as the packet says) and is yellowish in color. It is named after a popular restaurant famous for its Zamboanga cooking.

Cooking the dish entailed just sauteing the garlic until brown, adding the shrimps and sort of stir-frying them in the pan till they turn orange. Afterwards, I poured the Alavar sauce, letting it simmer for two minutes. The addition of Philippine green peppers completed this simple yet savory dish.

And yes, you guessed it...this is just one of my culinary inventions. I didn't come prepared with the precise procedures and ingredients. But am sure fellow cooks can picture what am saying here... saute, stir and simmer. Enjoy!

Merry, Happy, Full!

newyears' dinner
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I've never really liked New Year's celebrations because I dread the sounds of firecrackers on the streets.In fact this time I wanted to check in a hotel with the whole family just so I can have it in peace and quiet. However, a friend said New Year's feng shui required that I stay at home, open all the windows to bring in luck, wear a polka-dotted dress and lay out all the food on the table. So I did!

It turned out to be enjoyable.My son slept through the fireworks but the twins and me had fun dancing after the clock struck twelve. Then, it was time to head off to the table where I prepared a simple feast of the ham and fruits given to me over Christmas, assorted puto, and some of the food I prepared: the tulingan pasta, beef stew and special fruit salad.

Even though it was only the nanny, me and the twins sharing the meal, the simple feast proved to be fantastic.

The tulingan pasta, which is made from the Spanish mackerel fish growing in the Philippine seas, proved to be a revelation. I got the recipe from Chef Dennis of Hotel Pontefino and there's no doubt I'm cooking it again. I like cooking with wine and this tasted absolutely yummy, not to mention so easy to prepare.

The beef stew is an old specialty of mine while the fruit salad was a take-off from a recipe in Food Magazine.

TULINGAN PASTA

Ingredients:

15 ml. olive oil
20 g. garlic, chopped
100 g. shrimps, peeled and deveined
30 ml white wine
60 ml shrimp stock
200 g. spaghetti,cooked
5 g. basil, julienned
15 g. butter
40 g. sinaing na tulingan flakes
40 g. button mushroom, sliced
salt & pepper to taste
15 g. parmesan cheese
2 pcs. lemon or calamansi

In a pan, heat olive oil. Brown the garlic (I love garlic so I add a lot!), then add the shrimps and mushroom.Deglaze with white wine and add the shrimp stock.Toss in the pasta and fresh basil leaves. Add in the butter and remove from heat. Top with the tulingan flakes and parmesan cheese. Serve with lemon wedges on the wide.

**Notes: there was no basil available so i skipped it but the dish still tasted delicious with just the addition of Italian seasoning . The tulingan flakes I bought from a Batangas food vendor but you can try experimenting with other fish, like ordinary tuna.

A Taste of Taiwan

taiwan sausage
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I caught the last day of the World Bazaar Festival last Sunday at the World Trade Center and made one of my most important food discoveries of the year: the Taiwan sausage in choices of pork or chicken. It is simply so yummy that I've been eating it everyday for five days. A dozen cost only P160 pesos and is available in Chinese deli shops like DEC's deli and Shin Tong Yang on Gandara St. Binondo.

ice bar
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

In the same Taiwan booth, I tried their dessert which is called Ice Bar. I found out it was a better, tastier version than the rage of the moment, the Ice Monster. One had a chocolate-mallow topping while the other had cherries and preserved fruits. I heard the distributor is already accepting dealerships so it should be a craze soon. At only P35, the Ice Bar is definitely a treat.

My latest food adventure has aroused my curiosity of Taiwan. My Rotarian buddies were there recently to visit our sister-club and they were also raving about the food (not to mention running naked in the freezing open-air hot spring). Hmm, Taiwan should be on my list of must-visit places soon. If you have anything more to say about Taiwanese cuisine, your comments here would be much appreciated.

Sugar High Friday: Banana Pistachio Crunch

Banana Pistachio Crunch
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

I have just discovered Is My Blog Burning? or IMBB and I like participating in their activities because it gets me in touch with fellow foodies from all over the world who I could learn a lot from. As a result of surfing all the great food sites from Italy to France to California, I have also launched a separate food blog called Munchin' in Manila which is actually just a compilation of my food-related posts here, and then some! (It's a wonder how I make the time). Hopefully, this will motivate me to spend more time in the kitchen; after all Momma's cooked and baked treats are in-demand from the Three Incredibles.

It was great joining Jennifer's cookie swap and now it's time to show our wares for Sugar High Friday # 3 being moderated by Zarah from Denmark. Because of time constraints,I've decided to come up with the Banana Pistachio Crunch which calls for the simple recipe of baking the banana cake spiced up with sour milk and nutmeg. The no-fuss topping of breakfast cereals and pistachios gives this yummy dessert its "crunch."

How-to (as adapted from the Philippines' Food Magazine:)

1. Make the sour milk by combining 1 tbsp. vinegar, 1/4 cup evaporated milk and 3 tbsp. water in a small bowl. Set Aside.

2. Begin making the cake.
Preheat oven to 350F and grease baking pan.

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup condensed milk and 1 cup mashed bananas. Set Aside.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Set aside.

In a bowl of electric mixer, cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lower mixer speed and pour in the banana mixture and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with sour milk, ending with the flour mixture.

Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes. (Best to check cake for doneness)

3. Make the topping. Combine 3/4 cup cornflakes (in this case, I used Honey Stars cereals), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts and 2 tbsp. butter.

After cake is baked, remove from oven and sprinkle the topping mixture on top.

Return cake to oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until top is crunchy.

Photo shows what's been left of the cake after the twins lapped it up. Surprise! Surprise! This simple dessert gives extraordinary enjoyment.

Pasta puttanesca for when you feel s-e-x-y

Pasta puttanesca
Originally uploaded by annalyn.

As everyone probably knows, this pasta has a colorful history. Its name was derived from the Italian word "puttana" which means lady of the evening. One folklore has it that fishermen in the southern coastal towns of Italy traded their freshly-caught anchovies for the pleasure of a woman's company when they couldn't afford to pay the money up front. With all those anchovies, members of the world's oldest profession then found a way to make it into the zesty, piquant puttanesca sauce.

From reading, I found out that there are many variations of this pasta. Although some say it's better slow-cooked, I prepare it when I want to come up with a quick,satisfying meal that's a bit different from the usual carbonara and sweet-tasting spaghetti Filipinos often prefer.

Whether slow- or quick-cooked, what's important is that the basic ingredients should remain:

1/2 cup olive oil
minced garlic
1 small can anchovy fillets
fresh, red, ripe tomatoes - blanched & seeded
1 small bottle capers
1 cup pitted black olives (preferably Kalamata)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 tsp. dried or fresh basil leaves
salt to taste
pasta cooked al dente
parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil. Add garlic, taking care not to brown it.
2. Add anchovies, mashing lightly.
3.Mix in tomatoes, capers, olives, parsley & basil leaves, stirring gently.
4. Season with salt.
5. Mix with cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Oooh-la-lunch

For this jaded office worker, lunches can be the best part of the day. It doesn't matter whether I am eating my lunch at my desk or discovering some place new, the sight of food (preferably steaming hot) is enough to divert me from my jarred thoughts or the pressure of deadlines.

Market Cafe's Chinese Kitchen, originally uploaded by ajay1.

At the Market Cafe, originally uploaded by ajay1.

The Market Cafe in the new Hyatt Hotel & Casino (right beside our corporate offices) is undoubtedly my favorite restaurant at the moment. Unfortunately, I could only eat here once in a blue moon because of its five-star hotel prices. Come to think of it, $20 is not too steep for a buffet with great selections but still I want my expense account (ugh!)

I totally love the raspberry iced tea (they also have guava iced tea, and the apple-celery cucumber juice which I still have to try.) Featured in the crustacean bar are the shelled prawns and oh-so-fresh oysters which are shucked in front of you. The chef is so meticulous that he has to have it laboratory-tested before being flown to Manila.

The cafe also has a Western kitchen offering a variety of roasts, make-your-own pizzas baked in a genuine wood-fired oven, an antipasti bar, an authentic Chinese Kitchen manned by Hong Kong chefs, a Japanese Kitchen with all those sushi, sashimi tempura and yakitori as well as a full counter filled with all those sinful desserts. What is good about the cafe is that most of the food is cooked in front of you so it's fast and fresh.

Cafe Coquilla buffet selection, originally uploaded by ajay1.

My friends are treating me and giving me my present a month after my birthday. Why oh why...do you think that can double as your Christmas gift?? har!har!har! Anyway, it was better late than never when Notty, a.k.a. the Great Procrastinator, brought me to a sumptuous buffet lunch at the Cafe Coquilla of the Manila Pavilion Hotel.

I loove buffets although am trying to cut down on it. I think it is still the best way to discover new dishes and presentations. After sampling the high-quality specialties of the Market Cafe, this one rather pales in comparison. The roast lamb was not tender and the entrees looked like they were dying of dehydration from the heated-up chafing dishes.

The ones shown on the plate were the only ones I liked aside from the soup (clockwise): grilled tanguigue, grilled chicken with sate sauce, milkfish or bangus and smoked tanguigue which is such a favorite Filipino appetizer of mine, I could eat it in kilos.

Thanks for that sweet thought Notty:)

Oody's catfish salad, originally uploaded by ajay1.

We stumbled into Oody's just when we thought we didn't know where we were going to eat that day. It turned out Mayan would treat us for her birthday. The resto, which is located in a mall has tastefully modern Oriental interiors befitting the Asian fusion items on the menu. For this meal, we ordered Vietnamese spring rolls, chicken barbecue and Thai noodles with honey-stewed beef soup.They were all good.

But the star of the show was the crispy catfish salad which thrives in fish water in the Philippines. I was kind misled by the beautiful poster on the wall..I thought it was really the whole fish I was going to eat. It turned out they only retained the head and the tail, the rest of the meat was flaked and fried to a crisp and mixed with the onions, tomatoes, green mango, and sweet-spicy vinaegrette dressing. Heavenly! Once again it made me believe that salads are good.

Lau Chan chicken with tausi rice topping, originally uploaded by ajay1.

When I am not brownbagging my lunch, me and my officemates walk down to the nearest value-for-money resto from our office.Lau Chan Hotpot along Mabini St., which I earlier wrote about for their delicious shabu-shabu, also has a lunchtime promo at an unbelievably low price of P65 (a little more than $1).I say 'unbelievably' because their servings are big enough to fill you up; add another P10 and you get fried rice mixed with scrambled egg.

Photo shows their rice and chicken with tausi (fermented soy beans) which I chose yesterday. Aside from this, they have 35 or so items on their affordable lunch menu containing favorites like peking duck, assorted cold cuts, asado, chopsuey, beef brisket and even squid curry.

Long live, Lau Chan!