As you can see, I made my patty really thick--more like a quarter pounder. I mean I'm making it for myself, might as well make the best right?? It's okay to make it as thick as you want just make sure you check that it's cooked all the way through. As for the additional ingredients, you can be as creative as you want. I just really like mine with a lot of vegetables. 

INGREDIENTS
tender beef (such as sirloin, ribeye, NY strip)
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Olive oil or other cooking oil
Rosemary
1 pack Chapagetti
1 pack Neoguri

PROCEDURE
1. Season your steak with salt, pepper and rosemary.
2. Heat pan with butter over medium heat. Add the steak and cook until nicely seared.
3. Once the meat is nicely seared. flip it over to sear the other side.
4. Once done with the steak, set aside and let cook. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
5.For the noodles, boil water in a pot. Add one noodle packet and cook halfway through.
6. Once cooked halfway through, add the vegetable packet and simmer for 1 minute.
6. After a minute, take out the water and leave just a little to mix the flavor packets with.
7. Combine thoroughly and add the steak on top and you're done!

Personally I like adding Danmuji (pickled radish) as a side dish together with kimchi and a runny sunny side up egg on top when I eat this dish. But, you do you! Experiment and let me know how it goes. Aside from having this as a snack, I also enjoy eating it with my favorite flavored Soju. But again, do what works for you. If you try this dish, let me know how it turns out. I know it's just Monday but enjoy the rest of the week! ❣

INGREDIENTS
Spaghetti (or any pasta of your preference)
All-purpose Cream
Full cream milk
Salt
Pepper
Quickmelt Cheese
Bacon
Garlic
Onion
Butter

PROCEDURE
1. Saute garlic and onions in butter.
2. Once the onion is translucent, add the bacon and a little bit of pasta water.
3. Simmer for a minute, once done add the all-purpose cream.
4. Add about 1/2 cup of shredded quickmelt cheese and simmer for about 2 minutes.
5. Depending on the consistency, add a little milk to even out the thickness.
6. Toss the pasta and season with salt and pepper.

NOTES

How is everyone doing? I'm trying to just keep my head in the air and take care of my mental health while we all go through this lockdown. To be honest I haven't been in my productive mode for the entire week because I just can't imagine having so much output given everything that's happening outside. I usually spend my day watching the news, trying to look for ways to source our supplies at home without having to go out, and just basically maintaining the household with my siblings. Even before the lockdown happened, my siblings and I have already decided we won't be going home to the province so we won't have to risk our parents.

Anyway, I've been trying to maintain our tiny household given the limited amount of groceries we have at home. We were able to stock up on some items but we all are clueless how long this lockdown is going to last and our supply is slowly depleting. I have to be creative with the dishes I cook to make sure I maintain balance between our stocks and making sure everyone's fed lol. Is this how it feels to be a mom?? Kidding. But I just thought I'd share some of the recipes I've been trying to maximize the things we have at hone. Let's begin!

INGREDIENTS
Pasta (any pasta of your choice)

Ligo Spicy Sardines (you can also do a non-spicy variant)

Garlic

Onions

Butter

Basil Leaves

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

Cherry/Regular Tomatoes

PROCEDURE

1. In a pan, melt butter and saute garlic and onion. 

2. Once the onion is translucent, add the sauce of the sardines first then saute some more. 

3. Add the sardines and crush into small pieces. 

4. Add cherry tomatoes and saute for about a minute. 

4. Right before turning the stove off, add the basil leaves and squeeze half a lemon. 

5. Toss the pasta and mix thoroughly!

NOTES

See, very easy! If you don't have basil at home you can skip it. It'll still taste as awesome. You can also play with spices--personally I used Oergano but you can also try Thyme, Rosemary, Dried basil etc. Also if you don't like the dish to be spicy, you can opt for the green can of Ligo which is the non-spicy variant. For me, I usually still top mine with chili flakes! And btw this is also best served with boiled egg on top. 

Let me know if you try this recipe! It's been roughly a week since the lockdown started and I still have a ton of recipes to share that you can still try at home. If you're bored, try your hand at cooking! This is the perfect time to experiment and learn a new skill. Wherever you are, I hope you're safe and sound. Remember to always stay home unless you really have to go out. Stay safe, everyone!

And that's it, easy peasy! I think one technique that I want to share is before cooking the mussels, put them in a basin with water so you can get rid of all the dirt. Someone when they're really dirty I brush the shell before cutting off the excess "hair" you usually see hanging outside the shell. I also tend to add green chillies towards the end for some added kick but again, that's optional. So there you have it for out first recipe of the year! Hope you guys are starting the new year right. Happy new year!

Ever since I quit smoking, I've gained a tremendous amount of weight. I would momentarily try to shed some of it off but for some reason, my diets and detoxes aren't as effective compared to when I was smoking. Not sure if nicotine plays a huge role in weight loss or it's just my body slowing its metabolism down. Eitherway, from 45kgs, I'm not at 60kgs in a span of 10mos, and yes I'm alarmed. I've tried to eat healthy but somehow my oral fixation would get the best of me and I'd end up binge eating again.

But lately, I've been more determined to lose this added weight since it doesn't make me feel good at all. My clothes don't fit and I'm in no mood to socialize since my weight gain apparently has also taken its toll on my mental health. Anyway, enough of that heavy shit. Since my birthday, I've decided to be more dedicated to this plan and not do on crash diets orr detoxes anymore. I'm trying to be more active although that's proving to be the most difficult part about it. The easy part is the food. I love cooking and experimenting so in the past 2 weeks, I've been having this breakfast smoothie and it feels great. I haven't lost any weight but I feel lighter so, shall we begin?


INGREDIENTS
Bananas
Soy/Almond Milk
Chia Seeds
Ice Cubes

PROCEDURE
1. Place your bananas in a ziploc bag and freeze overnight.
2. In a blender combine the frozen bananas, 1tbsp of chia seeds, soy/almond milk and ice cubes.
3. Blend until you get the consistency you want.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken (any part of your preference, I used thigh and leg)

Carrots

Garlic

Onion

Potatoes

Green/Red Bell Pepper

Tomato Sauce

Liver Spread

Salt and Pepper

PROCEDURE:

1. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant. 

2. Once fragrant, add the chicken and saute for about 5 minutes or until the skin turns brown. 

3. Add the tomato sauce. Just eyeball how much you'll need and add more as you go along. 

4. Add water, salt and pepper and do you first taste test. Simmer for about 3 - 5 minutes. 

5. Once you're okay with the flavor, add the carrots, potatoes, bell pepper and liver spread. 

6. Simmer until the carrots and potatoes are cooked to your liking. 

7. Adjust seasoning according to taste. Serve with chili and fish sauce on the side. 

And that's it! Easy peasy, right? A few notes, don't put the entire liver spread. Just take it one tablespoon at a time. Take it easy on the tomato sauce as well. If you put in too much, it'll be harder to remedy in the long run. It also tends to get more sour which means you'd have to put in more seasoning. But overall, I think you can't go wrong with this dish so goodluck. Btw, other versions have green peas and hotdog, I prefer to have those only during fiesta's (lol) but not when I'm cooking. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy cooking!

INGREDIENTS:
Shrimp
Butter
Garlic
Oyster Sauce
Ketchup
Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:
1. Melt half a butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add garlic to the skillet, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add oyster sauce, ketchup and sugar until consistency becomes a bit thick and all ingredients are well combined.
4. Add shrimp, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Serve with hot rice. Yum!

Ingredients

Labong (Bamboo shoots)

Saluyot (Jute leaves)

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Coconut cream/milk

Salt and pepper

Dried shrimp

Chili (optional)

Procedure

1. Before cooking, soak the labong in water for about 30mins to 1hr. 

2. Heat the saucepan and saute onions, garlic, ginger and chili until fragrant. 

3. Add the dried shrimp and labong and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

4. Add the coconut milk, saluyot, salt and pepper. 

5. Adjust the taste according to your preference. 

Notes:

Okay so a few notes on the recipe just in case some thing weren't clear. I usually soak my labong for an hour because the ones I get from the grocery have some funky smell. But the really fresn ones from the market, I don't soak anymore. The chili is optional because my god, have you seen the prices? Lolkl. A lot of people don't take heat as well so you can opt to add the chili towards the end. And if you guys are clueless about the dried srhimp, here's what they look like.  Instead of using shrimp cubes, I use the dried shrimps instead for the flavor. And that's it, you got yourself a decent meal to go with that super expensive rice that not NFA. Let me know if some of my other instructions were unclear, will be happy to answer everything. Happy cooking!

Hey, guys! Sorry to be interrupting the Discover Davao series, but I'm really excited to share this recipe. It's nothing special, and if you're still following my blog at this point despite the inconsistent blog posts, you'd know that I'm no fan of tedious recipes. I made a video out of it which is why I'm excited! As mentioned, my kitchen at the condo doesn't really give me enough room to get natural light, hence the recipes I film only come about when I visit Tagaytay with my boyfriend. They have an enormous kitchen with ample lighting, and it makes filming my recipes way easier!

For this recipe, don't be surprised if the hand in the video doesn't look to feminine. Yep, that's my boyfriend hand, haha! This is his recipe, and this time, I'm the one behind the camera! I'm so lucky because the boyfriend shares the same passion. He doesn't mind if he does the cooking or the filming so long as we do it together, lol. Ewww that was so cheesey almost puked myself, haha! Before I spew anymore cheesy statements here, let's begin!

Shakshouka or shakshuka (Arabic: شكشوكة‎‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎‎ ) is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have a Jewish, North Africa origin. Shakshouka means "a mixture" in Libyan Arabic or other Maghrebi Arabic dialects. It is likely that it was first known as chakchouka, a Berber word meaning a vegetable ragout,although "shakshek" means "to shake", in Libyan Arabic, Berber and Hebrew, giving a possible Punic origin to the name of the dish.(via)

Ingredients

1 can diced Tomatoes

4 large Eggs

4 cloves Garlic

1 big Onion

1 tbsp Tomato paste

1 tbsp Salt (adjust as necessary)

1 tbsp Pepper

1 tsp Paprika

1 tbbsp Chili Powder (optional)

1 tsp Cumin

1 tbsp Sugar

1 red Bell Pepper

Parsley (for garnish)

Olive Oil

Procedure

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onions and garlic until soft. 

2. Add the bell pepper and saute for about 5-7 minutes or until they're cooked to your preferred texture.

3. Once the bell pepper is cooked, add cumin, paprika, tomato paste and sugar. Stir well and allow mixture to simmer for a few minutes. 

4. Once the mixture has simmered, add the diced tomatoes. At this point, you can adjust the taste and add more sugar or salt and cayenne pepper based on your preferred flavor. 

5. Crack the eggs, one at a time, on top of the tomato mixture. Making sure that there's enough space in between the eggs. 

6. Cover the pan and cook for about 5-8 more minutes, depending on how you want the eggs to be cooked. 

7. Once the eggs are cooked, you can top it off with pepper and garnish with parsley. 

A few notes on the dish, I had a bit of trouble making sure there's enough space between the eggs so make sure you use a large skillet. The canned tomatoes also tasted a bit more sour than fresh tomatoes, which in turn prompted me to add more salt. Next time I make the dish, I'm using fresh tomatoes. Other than that, I loved it! This dish is easily customizable and is best served with hot garlic bread on the side!

I'm finally finished with my Conquering Cebu series! Before I resume my travel posts, let me just squeeze one recipe into the queue so I don't forget that this is a food AND travel blog, lol. I've always wanted to make a video out of my recipes. But my kitchen has really bad lighting, and I don't have a camera man to-go. I don't know how my favorite recipes make it on Facebook! But hey, here's to trying!

So, I made this recipe during the birthday of my boyfriend's sister. The theme was all-out Japanese and we were tasked to make Chicken Yakisoba. I haven't been utilizing my kitchen for some time because the heat is draining me. It doesn't help that our kitchen is not air-conditioned. The only time I get to cook is when I'm at the boyfriend's place in Tagaytay since their kitchen is spacious, a lot of space to move around. Plus the cold Tagaytay breeze is comforting when you're cooking. Let's begin!