The Vegan Adventure

After so many years I sat again at the Vipassana Meditation Course in Cavite. The food is simple (and others not so simple) vegetarian dish. Vegetarian here means no meat whatsoever. But after having read so many articles on vegetarianism, I'm now getting confused if using fake-meat like tofu and the likes to simulate meat on a dish really falls for the category of vegetarianism. Anyhows here's another confusion for you all! ha ha ha!!!

The Vegan Bagoong

(sorry the picture is not so clear, this was taken long time ago, prior to the lost of my camera phone)

Bagoong is a Pilipino dish otherwise known as salted shrimp paste. This Vegan version was a mainstay in the Vipassana Course, courtesy of Ms. Rose who always make this ahead of time in two big containers. The secret of this vegan version is not the vegetable used or the salty canned thing that was in it but the ''metta'' that was put in the making process. Metta is a Pali word meaning loving-kindness or friendlyness which one will often hear in the course and even after the course and more in the kitchen!

I've experimented on this kind of dish (or side dish?) with red onions (just like in a Malaysian website) and Sayote! The last one in honor of the Sayote boys in the Course's Kitchen. But I dont have any pictures of these because my fone with a camera has gone, and the digicam at hand is currently not working, I don't know why.

After serving at that one course (Dec 2010), I tried to maintain eating more veggies and less meats and staying away, as much as possible to all sentient beings that has internal organs including eggs and other products that has animal content to it (was told Eden cheese is an exemption).

The first thing that happened to me every after a course and after eating a tofu dish in a pizza restaurant was that one of my little finger started to get swelling with pain (arthritis? bursitis?) so I asked the waiter, if there's any animal thing on it and he said none. Later I found out that they were using mayonnaise. Hello!!!! Eggs on mayo!

Now I can eat any vegetables and nuts considered uric-producing foods without pain and swelling. The side effect is whenever I eat a little bit more of animal products the inflammation starts.

So? What to do? Everything is arising and passing away. Just eat whatever is there, and stay away from the causes of pain (as much as possible), if not just remember that it too will pass away.

Birthday Foods

T'was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon when my cousins woke me up because they cant wait to eat the ice cream..

They told me that they already ate the Spaghetti and the puto-cake early lunch and since i havn't resurrected yet from my cave, they cant wait to eat the ice cream and reminded me t'was my birthday! I stopped celebrating when i turned 21 way back in the Big House!

This is Lyn's Spaghetti, a sanitized version of Joyce's Spicy Version. The secret behind this? Beef, lots of it.. i think only one third is pork, but not very much of beef.. Joyce's version has a 'twang' of spiciness.. if there's such a word.. hehehe... after all the pasta went to our stomachs, i made the sauce as 'ulam'.. grabe sarap talaga Tokne!

Then Jenny made this BIKO (sinukmani) not because its my birthday but because that day also was the 9th day of Joel's (husband) Mom's death.. hit by a speeding motorcycle.. Yeah, just a motorcycle, the driver was driving without a license, and Joel's Mom was just about to cross the street that night to 'ask the result of that night's Small Time Lottery winning numbers'.

Lesson of the story: just wait until tomorrow...

Then the last one is the Puto-cake from San Vicente.. This is so good! i think they used cake flour and the sticky rice flour has been thoroughly sifted and carefully mixed with beaten egg whites..

That technique will make a good sponge cake, fluffy but not airy, the texture will surely pass as a real cake! just dont put those cheese and 'itlog na maalat' (slices of salted eggs on top, see?)

Oh i forgot to take a picture of the 'dirty ice cream'. For about two gallons, it doesn't come cheap at 800 PhP! but the taste is really good!

All these care of kuya Noniet.. plus Mr. Grant andMr.Hamilton! (who's still with me, i'm having a hard time thinking where to use them)

One thing i learned from this occasion, the birthday is not so much for the celebrant but for the kids and the guests who cant help waiting to eat.. hehehe

Food Stop

I was told by my nephew to share my food blog in facebook, so here goes..

It all started sometime last year when I was watching Martha Stewart show on cable tv. Then it came to me, why not try something from my 'stock knowledge'? so i made this..

and the story behind this simple and yet so cute cupcakes was posted in jeepney.spaces.live.com, and now i will resurrect that long forgotten blog and consolidate all my food stuffs here, so brace yourselves... eat your heart out chefs, restos, wala akong palalampasin! hahahaha! kahit nasa kalye kokomentan ko! (translation: i wont miss a thing! hahaha! even streetfoods i will make a comment)

It all started from a simple pastillas de leche, then to polvoron, then i made a huge success in cupcakes.. and here's the story of that cupcake:

I was thinking of making a cake but my oven toaster wont do justice for the recipe so i made "mini's". I altered the recipe from watching Martha Stewart at Lifestyle channel in cable tv. I cant expose the details how i made this one because of my "secret machine" - my oven toaster. Yeap! You can do wonders with an oven toaster, just do some modifications in the recipe and keep a watchful eye..

and then i got tired of making cupcakes because as soon as am done cooking, they're all gone.. so i made cookies.. which turned out to fall in the same circumstance, cook 'em and they're gone!

A relative even thought that i was just buying Mrs. Fields Cookies! and heating them up! Shame!!!!

And so the next one from that old blog is this:

In Pursuit of the Best Pudding

This is my latest pursuit.... a bread pudding.

The first one was a hit due to its secret ingredient - nutmeg and cheese

The second one is also a hit, minus the nutmeg and the cheese.

Istead of Animal Milk, i put on SOY Milk is much tastier and healthier.

The Recipe:

20 pcs Pandesal (more or less)

2/3 cup secret ingredient

1 cup Soy Milk

1 tb vinegar

water

vanilla extract

lemon extract

cinnamon powder

The How:

Grease 5x8 rectangular pan, enough to fit an Oven Toaster,

yes, am using an oven toaster...

the one with a 15 minute timer? Yes that's it! Amazing huh?

Just keep an eye before it catches fire.. hehehe

Mix all ingredients in a bowl

and let stand in refrigerator for about 15 to 20 mins,

or until after your favorite tele-novela. Why that long?

Well its really up to you if you're not in a hurry so the milk can curdle...

this process will make the pudding more like that one made with eggs

(there are no eggs in this pudding, due to health reasons).

Set the Oven Toaster for 15 minutes and bake.

Turn around the pudding after 10 mins to evenly bake.

Watch for the burning stage...

if that happens, cover the top with foil.

If you think it's not yet done, it will rise slightly and dry,

then you nid to add more 5 minutes in the timer.

Let cool and serve. I like it cold so i put it on the ref and eat the next day.

It will stay in the ref for 5 days,

unless somebody will discover it and devour it in one sitting.

So there goes my first entry..

There's still more to come.. i'll just have to find the pictures and the stories behind them..

where did i stack them anyway?