Young and Useless

Basic Risotto

2011-12-29T05:24:00.000-08:00

It has been my goal to satisfy my palette of how a risotto tastes like. I planned to go to Italliani's but that time never came. So, I decided to make my own version of a basic risotto with a guide from Foodie Magazine.

Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based. Many types of risotto contain Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. (source)

I used a short grain brown rice for this dish.

For the toppings, I had diced carrots, shrimp, and chorizo. They're all cooked in olive oil and butter.

You can actually add in any choice of toppings.

On how to make this, you will need:

chicken stock
rice
butter
shallots
parmesan cheese
olive oil

Then, you shall...

Saute shallots on olive oil and butter until translucent.
Add in 1 cup of stock and simmer for 1 minute.
Add in the rice. Continue pouring in cups of chicken stock when the liquid is soaked up.
Cook for 12-14 minutes until rice is aldente.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and parmesan cheese for creamier consistency.
Add in the toppings.

And that's it! It is best served while hot. I shall try another version soon. What do you think guys? :)

Bagoong Pasta with Black Olives

2011-12-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

I must say that the Bagoong Pasta from TOSH (The Old Spaghetti House) is one of the best pastas that I've ever tasted in my life since it brings out the Asian flavor that I devour for. So, I planned to recreate although I am assuming that I really cannot duplicate the dish 100%. Nonetheless, this was able to satisfy my palette.

I love olives, whether green or black. I also found out that green olives are more pricey than the black ones.

I also wrote the recipe on my planner. If you want to redo it, then go. But remember that you can always alter or modify the dish to your own liking.

By the way, I got the original recipe from Mark Magallanes. You can ask him the original recipe! :) So, tell me what you think of this dish? Will you recreate this? Or have you tasted something like this before? Can you recommend other restaurants that serve Bagoong Pasta?

Sonya's Garden

2011-12-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

Mom promised to bring me at Sonya's Garden that's why we had our lunch at the peaceful and cozy restaurant. Since it's Christmas which is their peak season, there were many diners enjoying the place as well.

The garden of herbs beside the dining area.

Are these tomatoes? Idk. Lol

This is the set menu for the lunch and dinner. This is an Eat All You Can style at a rate of 610 per person. It includes green salad, bread, pasta, dessert, and drinks.

Fresh lettuce and arugula leaves with edible flowers, broad beans, eggs, cucumber, pineapple, etc.

Whole wheat sesame bread.

You create your own salad by combining the fresh vegetables and fruits with Sonya's secret dressing.

Freshly squeezed dalandan juice.

For the pasta, aldente linguine can be enjoyed in two sauces such as sun dried tomatoes and chicken cream with mango. It can be topped with salmon belly,ratatouille, shitake mushrooms, black olives, capers, parmesan cheese, and chili flakes.

This is what I ate. Basically, it is a DIY food. lol

For the dessert we had these sweet food fingers.

Glazed sweet potatoes.

Banana rolls aka turon.

Chocolate cake.

Taragon tea.

Sonya's Garden also features aesthetically beautiful architecture.

Thrift shop. All items are for women only. :(

This is one of the several Green Houses where the herbs served are grown.

You'll see random pots with flowers around the place. It is lovely, isn't it?

I was also entertained by their various signage all over the place.

And here, have a dose of me. Look at my shirt! lol

Sonya's Garden also offers spa services, overnight stays, and retreat activities. You can visit their website for more information. I will definitely visit again and probably have spa there! :)

Cheese Fondue, a pre-Christmas Savory

2011-12-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

This is the Cheese Fondue that I made. I just followed the recipe from Yummy Magazine but of course, I modified it a little. I used three kinds of cheeses such as cheddar, gruyere/gouda (idk), and mozzarella.

Chopped mozzarella cheese!

Also, this a platter of pica-pica such as whole wheat chips, buttered cream dory fish fillet and crab sticks, blanched potatoes and carrots.

Also, new Teflon pans and knives. I don't have the picture but see the third picture. The blue knife is included in the set of knives from Italy. Four different knives in four different kinds!

So, there! Merry Christmas everyone! Have a good one! :)

Spicy Aglio Olio plus the Cheese

2011-12-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

Dad arrived last night* and he bought what he promised me. I am a happy kid right now with four types of cheeses in my hands! I can actually determine the Mozarella, but the three other I do not know.

Mozarella

This one looks like a block of Parmesan cheese.

This one tastes like queso de bola, maybe Gruyere.

Those are molds! Yes!

So, can you help me name those? Yes please?

Aglio Olio is one of the traditional pastas in Italy which means "garlic and oil." To put a little twist, I put in a tinge of spiciness.

What you will be needing are:

lots of garlic, finely chopped
a medium sized labuyo
olive oil
angel hair pasta
salt and pepper
cheese

The steps are really easy. You start with...

Boil your pasta according to pack instructions.
While waiting, heat your sauce pan then pour in olive oil.
Add in the garlic. It is important not to burn the garlic. To do this, remove the pan from the heat from time to time.
Add in the labuyo. After a minute, remove the chili. We just want to infuse its flavor into our sauce.
Toss the pasta while cooking.
To serve, finish with pepper and cheese.

I actually used the "tastes like queso de bola cheese."

Bon Appetit!

Spicy Aglio Olio

Tell me what you think!

*He came home from Brindisi, Italy.

Oreo Balls

2011-12-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, I learned this recipe from a friend who has a sweet tooth. And due to lack of imagination what to do the whole day, I decided to make her choco chewey balls. But I’m going to call mine Oreo Balls.

Pretty easy, okay?

Get 1 pack of oreo.
Scrape all the filling. We only need the cookies.
Crush the cookies until fine. A food processor makes this easier.
Put in a bowl and mix with condensed milk.
Then shape into small balls. HAHA
Set aside and chill for 30-60 mins.
OPTIONAL: Roll in desiccated coconut.
They taste best when chilled.

A repost from my tumblr.

Nutella Mug Cake

2011-12-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

So, I have been seeing people making their nutella mug cakes and so I decided to make my own too. The steps are indeed easy.

I altered some ingredients and measurements because I don’t want it to be super sweet! What you will be needing are:

4 table spoons of all purpose flour
2 table spoons of granulated brown sugar
1 egg
2 table spoons of cadburry chocolate powder (cocoa powder may be used)
3 table spoons of Nutella
3 table spoons of low fat milk
3 table spoons of olive oil

The steps? Easy as 1, 2, and 3!

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
Transfer to a tall mug. Do not fill up the whole mug. You need some space for the mixture to rise.
Microwave on high for 1.5-3 minutes.
OPTIONAL: Top with whipped cream.

A repost from my tumblr blog.

Photos taken using Sony Cyber Shot

HSM Christmas Party

2011-12-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

As part o the annual celebration of any organization, HSM (Honor Society of Mapua), held its Christmas Party at Mang Inasal, Morayta. We weren't expecting a lot of members to be attending since most of them had their prior commitments set beforehand. Nevertheless, the event was fun filled. As usual, PICTURES coming up.

Gifts, prizes, and raffle!

Abbey Reyes, our student adviser. She's one of the most beautiful persons I know. Both inside and out.

Gerand Elizano, a student leader. One of the persons I look up to.

They are actually giving their messages because they are graduating on February.

HAHA! Winners of the 30php load!

Batch 2008!

Batch 2009!

Batch 2010

Batch 2011, and two of our few applicants who attended the party :/

I must say that at that very moment, I already felt the Christmas spirit. Thank you HSM Family. Next year ulit!

Kangaroo Jack

2011-11-16T05:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a habit for me and a friend to go on a heavy dinner at the mall whenever we don't have a lot of school works lined up. So yesterday, even though it was raining, we headed to Robinson's and dine at KJ's or Kangaroo Jack!

At first, we were unsure if we're going to push through but since we were running out of options and we were really hungry that time, we decided to eat here.

So, let the pictures (from my phone) tell the story...

The Menu! Steaks, Grills, and Sizzlers.

We had Fish and Chips for our appetizer. The dipping sauce was great although I forgot what it is. lol. The fish is a little over cooked and the potatoes were a little under seasoned.

Cream of Mushroom

This what my friend ordered. Pasta, Steak, and Soup (above). I tasted the Steak and it was bit chewy. I think it was rare. She wasn't even asked on what temperature her steak would be.

Pumpkin Soup. The flavors were on. It was seasoned perfectly. I really like the texture since it wasn't thick nor "baby food-ish."

I ordered this one called Pasta, Hungarian, and Salad. Typical Spaghetti on White sauce served with fried sliced Hungarian sausage and some salad greens. The sausage was tender and juicy although a little under seasoned. I think it is better if the sausage is mixed in the sauce.

And oh lastly, I am not even finished yet. This is the 8-inch Four Cheese pizza. Although we were really full, we were able to savour the awesomeness of this pizza! I think the cheese were Parmesan, Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Ricotta! I think this is the star of the night.

We weren't able to finish the pizza because we were really bloated. We had to grab some coffee at Starbucks before going home to lighten up the loads on our stomach. lol

Overall, it was a mediocre dining experience. The price ranges from 120-200 php. Fair enough! ;)

Food Spontaneity

2011-10-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

When you have a lot of food in the fridge and you wanted to eat something new, you'll possibly end up with something like this. Well, we have bacon, eggs, chicken, and frozen hash browns.

Just so you know, I love cooking. I am fond of searching recipes on the internet and then recreating that certain dish afterwards. But this time it's different. I built up the recipe on my mind while cooking. lol. Masterchef's Pressure Test is my peg. I really don't know what to call this but the ingredients were the ones mentioned above.

KFC Original Chicken on top of Hash Browns topped with bacon bits

It is also served with caramelized onions on the side.

Steamed Eggs with Pepper and Bacon bits

Two eggs were steamed in this dish.

So there, I'll leave you with thoughts on how I cooked this. Basic cooking techniques were only used. I didn't even poached an egg. Meh. Share yours too!!!

Taft's Finest

2011-07-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

Moments ago, I together with my 4 other friends had a food trip along Taft Avenue. We originally planned to dine at Zark's Burger which is famous for their tall, greasy, humongous, yet appetizing Jawbreaker. But we found out that there are other restaurants along that area. We visited Zark's, Army Navy, and Flaming Wings.

Here, let the pictures tell the story.

ZARK'S:

Lemonade and Iced Tea for Mary and Joanne

Onion Strings for me

Fish and Chips for Zolei

Mushroom Dawg for Joanne

Tapout for Mary

Breakfast for Fang

Fang and his meal.

Mary trying to tap out her burger!

ARMY NAVY:

Chicken Burrito for me. Yum!!!

Libertea

Cheese Quesadilla for Zolei

Excuse my face.lol

Note to self.

For a food review of Army Navy, you may visit Ate Marianne's food blog! There's a lot to dig in there!

FLAMING WINGS:

Well, the last stop was for the desserts of my friends. I was already full and can't even contain a spoon of sweets. They ordered Wicked oreos!

Joanne and Mary

Wicked Oreos

There you go! I am certain of going back there some time next week. With friends, or alone! lol

P.S. All photos are taken via iPhone of Joanne. Post processing is done by me. Haha.

It rained for one whole week.

2011-07-10T03:20:00.000-07:00

I am a happy kid right now.

2011-07-09T05:18:00.000-07:00

Since there was a sale at SM Batangas, my mom got me 5 new shirts from F&H.

But hey, I don't like going out to the mall with mom. I am one impatient and selfish kid who wants to go the places and stores I like. Sometimes, mom's a bitch too...or is it just girls are really taking so much time picking up on every item at every store. Anyways, I am really happy right now.

Fried Balut

2011-07-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

This is a twist in the Philippine Cuisine.

The reason I wanted them deep fried is to be able to eat the duck embryo. But I guess I really can't stand eating a piece of little creature in its form. More of balut here.

Resto Kafe

2011-07-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I decided to have my haircut. But since there were still many customers in the salon, I asked my mom to drop me to the nearest coffee shop.

While enjoying my meal, I grabbed this issue of Vogue Magazine. Well you know, I was really cheering for Nole (Novak Djokovic) last night at the Wimbledon Open. And look, I found him on the pages.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2011-07-03T03:24:00.000-07:00

Do you know this lazy afternoon feeling during Sundays?

It rained a while ago for about 30 minutes. And then I and the kids decided to float in air for a while.

Ha! these kids really love posing in front of the camera. This is also my first time to make levitation shots!