Recipe Share: Baked Mozarella

One of my recipes reminds me of how I do makeup, it's sort of a go-with-the-flow thing, just getting what I see in the fridge and trying to see what stuff I could magic out of. This recipe is quite easy and makes use of only few ingredients and a microwave oven, so this could be made in a jiffy. A little story on this, I woke up from a long nap and it was time to make dinner. As usual, pasta would be my default dish but I wanted something to go with it. The process of making this is an experiment actually turned nice.

This is a foolproof baked mozzarella version that's a great appetizer or a great snack served to guests without taking much time. It's yummy on its own or what I do, I sear up tortillas so there's something to balance it off.

Thanks TJ Cafuir for the photo.

So here's how to create this simple foodie, no complicated equipment needed.

What you need:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Thin slices of tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• Thin slices of mozzarella cheese
• Balsamic vinegar
• sprinklings of salt and Italian Seasoning
• A microwave-safe plate
• A microwave oven

How to go about it:

• Drizzle olive oil on the plate and spread it all out so it covers the plate so the mozzarella doesn't stick on the plate.
• Line the plate with thin slices of mozzarella cheese. You could buy mozzarella per 100 grams in the local supermarket or deli and have them slice it for you.
• Top with thin slices of fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.
• Sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and Italian seasoning.
• Chuck the plate on the microwave and microwave on low heat for a minute or just until the cheese bubbles but doesn't stick, shrink, and burn on the sides.
• Let it cool a bit and serve with heated smoked ham or any of your favorite deli.

While at it, tortillas are best heated on a nonstick teflon pan on its own. Heat both sides until they're all nice and toast-ey. For more flavor, you could sprinkle the mozzarella with Parmesan cheese.

This is a fairly easy recipe that's a quick way to entertain guests without leaving them for a long time to slave yourself in the kitchen.

Hello Breakfast, How Sinful Are You Today?

You're sinful as sausage, cheese, and eggs in one dish drizzled with honey barbecue sauce because I felt guilty if I put hollandaise there.

Behold my from-the-top-of-the-head eggs benedict.

I split a plain bagel in two and toasted it a bit till it's all warm and toasty. While at it, I sliced Italian sausages and fried some eggs keeping the yolk nice and soft. After placing the sliced sausages on top of the toasty bagel, the egg came in next (ratio: one half of a bagel to one fried egg) and grated cheese on top then toasted them in the oven just until the cheese melts.

The brown drizzle is actually honey barbecue sauce, since I didn't have time to make hollandaise sauce.

For a small, light, and tart dessert, I sliced strawberries. Strawberries are quite tart to some, especially our local strawberries (the huge imported ones are really yummy but dayum they put a huge dent on the wallet) so my solution was to drizzle honey or pancake syrup on them to sweeten them up, then let them soak it in a bit so they're nice, soft, and sweet.

Lunch, I go healthy definitely.

Calamansi + Lemongrass for a Dinner Drink

Ever since I tasted refreshing lemongrass drinks, I wanted to know how they're made from scratch. Lemongrass is readily available here. We could pluck them from the ground or soil if we're lucky enough to grow them in our garden or friend's garden and once we get the recipe right, we're good. If not, lemongrass (locally known as tanglad) is available in small bunches at groceries for about Php 5.00 - Php 7.00.

My first attempt at a lemongrass drink didn't turn out quite well. It was drinkable yes, but I sort of overboiled the lemongrass so it tasted more like the water in sago't gulaman than the refreshing sharp lemongrass taste. Here, it's best that I use white sugar here since brown sugar colored my liquid brown when I wanted a greenish hue for my drink.

While prepping dinner, I saw the lemongrass bunch I purchased on a recent grocery trip and

decided to give it a try again, reducing the boiling time. By serendipetous chance, I saw the calamansi I got from our house in Las Pinas having already wonderfully ripened that they're yellow instead of green. You know what? This calls for a time to experiment to make calamansi lemongrass drinks.

When I make my drinks, I don't have exact measurements. Everything's just to taste, so in this post, I won't be writing much measurements. The measurements I used here might not work on certain people so it all depends on taste preference.

The first thing I did was squeeze the calamansi juice into the pitcher. I put a strainer on top of the pitcher since citrus pulp annoys the crap out of me. I squeezed 13 fruits because I finished that big bag. I like that they're all yellowed so the fruit's soft.

Normally, to make calamansi juice you need to dilute the pure juice with water right? Instead of pure water, I used lemongrass water. To make the lemongrass water, I needed to prepare 4-5 stalks of lemongrass. I washed them of all debris and dried them. I peeled the dry stalks out and sliced the brown rooty bottom part so I get that nice juicy bulb in the bottom and fresh green stalks. Carefully I sliced the stalks lengthwise and pounded them with the blunt end of a chef's knife since this helps to get the juice out. While at it, a pot of water's just boiling, around 2-3 tall glasses of it.

Once the stalks and bulbs are all pounded, dunk them in the pot of boiling water and boil the lemongrass until the water turns into a nice green color. Be sure not to overboil. What I did was lower the heat after 10 minutes to a nice simmer, stirring constantly. I usually check the aroma of the lemongrass water. If you get that distinct refreshing lemongrass scent, you're all good. After it all simmers down quite nicely, I let it cool until it's just warm. I strain the mixture and then slowly mix it in with the calamansi juice in the pitcher until I get the right taste I want. By this time, I make adjustments. If it's too sharp, I add some water. If I want it tad tarter, strain some juice in.

To sweeten, I use white sugar here since I want to maintain the green-yellow color of the drink. I like drinking this cold, dunking 6 ice cubes in the glass. Honey could be used to sweeten, kinda lacing it in before serving. Yumm!!!!

Just some tips:

1. Pound the stalks. If the blunt of the chef's knife doesn't work, use the mortar. That's a way of getting all the juice out.

2. Sugar dissolves better in warm liquid. That's why the lemongrass water and calamansi are warm.

3. It's best to use glass pitchers here with higher resistance to heat.

Have fun!

Cooking While Waiting and More Experimenting

The new closet is going to be delivered today. Since we're practically stuck in the four corners of the condo, we decided to finally clear up the ref of foodstuff to make way for new ones. First I got rid of the tomatoes by turning them to pasta pomodoro with lots of garlic. by lots I mean I had three-quarters of a head crushed and the quarter of it sliced then stewed the tomatoes with tomato juice, canned tomatoes, and seasonings till I get the taste I like.

The event at SpaRga had us taking home fresh herbs as giveaways. I got mint, tarragon, and oregano, and they seem to have made its home in the condo's quadrangle (perks of having our unit at the lower floor so I could just go out and pick from our herb pots). Now I want a basil pot now so I have a full fresh supply of basil. I just found out that basil grays out days after buying them, even if they're kept sealed.

As soon as the closet guys arrived and installed the closet, we had a lot of free time, and free space I got all giddy at the sight of the new closet.

Now I have an excuse to have more dresses since there's more space! :P

Anyhow, weekly grocery shopping was next so we headed over to Rustan's Rockwell for fresh produce and supplies since we haven't been to Rockwell. Turns out the fruit department in Rockwell is different from the one in Glorietta so I wasn't able to get my Dizon strawberries. I was able to get fresh lemongrass to make lemongrass drinks, vegetables, and pasta.

I went over the deli and grabbed some cheese and a piece of Italian sausage since I'll be experimenting on sandwiches tomorrow for breakfast. I told them to keep it plus-minus 100 grams since I just do small servings anyway. I love Rustan's for slicing them for me so it's more convenient. They asked if block or slice, I was like just slice, so I get a sliver of 100 g instead of a slab of cheese that I don't know I'll finish. Didn't know that slice meant to slice them conveniently to thin sheets.

Turns out though I'll be experimenting on grilled cheese when I got home.

Whole wheat bread drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. Fillings were gruyere cheese, slices of sausage, and a strip of mozarella before grilling both sides in a pan griller (my second overused piece of kitchen equipment next to the nonstick frying pan and the coffee maker).

Cheese to the extreme come dinnertime with leftover pasta pomodoro and grilled steaks. I thought I'd jazz the steak by topping it with slices of mozzarella cheese and honey barbecue sauce. Eating in is so much cheaper than eating out. The only not fun part is cleaning up. Then again, paying the tab isn't that fun either. By the way, I placed the mozzarella slice on top of the steak when it's already on the plate (not on the pan) still hot, so it melts on the meat's heat. The texture is interesting and it provides a certain richness without the sharp flavor. I like mozzarella. It's mild and it can be addicting.

Since I already made what I'm supposed to experiment for breakfast, I need to get creative for a breakfast meal tomorrow. By the way, I followed no recipe book. Everything is at the top of my head. The mozzarella on steak was very random really, I just thought of putting the slice there when I wanted more color on my plate for picture purposes. But it worked well, didn't it?

Spicy Chicken and Cheesy Potatoes for Dinner

Dinner was homemade today but since I want a slow day, I just did something that's no brainer. Ironically, although dinner outside is usually comprised of complicated dishes, I keep dinner light and simple at home usually. After all, I'll just be sleeping right?

A few weeks ago, I was at Mercato Centrale and I ordered cheesy potatoes from a stall because they were dirt cheap. Figured if I could make my own at home, with marble potatoes (i.e. small potatoes like marbles, you buy them per pack) bought from m favorite grocery. Since them potatoes were hard as a rock, the solution was to pre-boil them first till they're soft prior to cooking them in oil. Prior to cooking though, I washed the potatoes twice in running water and even had to scrub a tad of liquid soap foam then rinse them well to make them clean. I know I'll boil them and drain it out, but I can't bear the thought of soil-y potatoes.

After they were boiled and drained, I put the potatoes in a pan with heated canola oil and started pan-frying them but not to the point of charring their skins. The original potato dish had bacon, but I wanted herbs so I sprinkled some rosemary and Italian seasoning on them with a tad of salt and pepper and mixed. As soon as I lowered the heat, I spooned cheese spread (like Cheez Whiz) and turned off the fire, letting the spread melt and mixed away. Some cheese was burning through though so I removed the pan from any heat source and used the heat source from the potatoes and pan to warm and melt the cheese and mixed in some more. My tip here is to use a nonstick pan for easy cleanup.

For meat, I pan-grilled pepper chicken breast fillets, which were pre-marinated and bought per 100 g at Rustans. They're really hot and I suggest buy them only when you have high tolerance to spicy foods or love spicy foods. I slathered honey barbecue sauce on them too and chased everything down by glugging a glass of lemon water.

Had I had time, grilled tomatoes on the side would also have been great for this.

A dish of spices call for something sweet, so right now, I'm eating two slices of mango for healthy sugar rush. Yum!!!!! I really should get more pots now, as I've been dependent on two frying pans, a pan griller, and this pot that I use to make broth, boil spaghetti, and now boil potatoes in. I need a saucepan to make gravy and jelly now. Plus a pitcher when I make lemongrass drinks.

Honey Ginger Chicken For Lunch

Because dining out is expensive, I have resulted to the uncanny thing which I have avoided for five years... pots, pans, and knives. Well what do you know? It's not that bad. I just needed to have my own kitchen and little corner. Plus, it gives me topics and pictures to write here in my food blog. Food recipes are usually researched online or inspired from what I see in Asian Food Channel or whatever cooking show I see on tv. Today's lunch and dinner and probably also tomorrow's is taken from an easy recipe I saw online - Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry. You could find the recipe here if you would like to replicate it yourself. I didn't follow the recipe entirely substituting frozen stir-fry blend for fresh carrots, broccoli, and red bell peppers.

I grated the ginger right on the measuring spoon reserving any juices. While cooking and I feel like adding a bit more kick, I grate some more ginger on the dish as it simmers. The water chestnuts are really, really interesting. They're like sweet radishes that are white on the can but of course, the honey makes everything all golden brown. Why my choice of veggies? I wanted something nutritious and I have always liked carrots and bell pepper. I wanted a bit of contrast to the color scheme by adding something green so broccoli was my choice with the texture and nutritional benefits as well. Plus, broccoli is so easy to prepare... Just remove it from the humongous stem and separate the little segments. For honey, it doesn't have to be imported or expensive. I used local honey. They sell it in Rustan's supermarket for less than 100 pesos. They're in glass containers shaped like Tanduay bottles.

Just a heads up though, when you taste it while cooking, it tastes a bit bland though, but the flavor develops when the meal cools down. So try to hold on to the taste. I lower the heat too after stirring and adding the sauce so I don't burn anything.

While cooking though, let me share the space-saver thank you to the Japanese home stores that sell dirt cheap but useful stuff:

Now I never have to scramble for the cheese grater, or in my case - my any-grater since it grates cheese, lemon or orange rind, ginger, and all.

Trying My Hand At Beef

So far, my kitchen meal skills in the protein department are eggs, chicken, and fish fillet. With the higher cholesterol-ladden protein, i.e. beef and pork, I have deemed scared and unsuccessful either my beef is too tough. But fear should be conquered right? Right! So indeed, I tried my luck at steaks today.

Too cheap to buy t-bone or sirloin, I went for thinner round cuts. Nasa timpla lang 'yan. And speaking of marinade, I just dunked meat tenderizer then washed it then the basic marinades - spices, lemon, olive oil and grilled it after letting it sit for a while. Oh, and this had no recipe in mind. I was just inventing as I go. I'm a rule-breaker that's why.

Needing veggies, I grilled the carrots, tomatoes, and olives and sprinkled my can't-live-without Italian Seasoning on them. The green stuff are olives. I bought them in the vacuum-packed plastic containers. Rustans, I gotta love you for selling these but I wish they came without the stone. The stone annoys the crap out of me.

Revamped rice by making it herbed butter rice, which basically means I sorta fried the rice with a teensy pat of butter and sprinkled rosemary and Italian seasoning on them plus a smidgen of pepper. I wanted potatoes but I didn't want good rice to spoil. So just revamp it instead of letting it sit on the ref.

This my dears, is a recipe with no name.

Tutti Frutti: The DIY Frozen Yogurt Treat

Ever since I had frozen yogurt, I hardly ever looked back. I'm a fan, a lover, and a promoter of frozen yogurt I have at least two every week. I love it because it gives me excuse to be healthy while eating something sweet. It fills in my calcium needs without my lactose-intolerant stomach complaining. The tart taste has grown on me, I guess.

The soft opening of Tutti Frutti made me go wild and mad with flavors that didnt cause me to pump them out of my digestive tract. Yes. The heavens have heard me this time. Gluttony without consequences. Going DIY fuses my creativity with my ultimate katakawan.

Tutti Frutti (at least the branch I visited) is located in Glorietta 4 near the food court. This is different from all frozen yogurt stations since not only does it boast more flavors (lychee, green apple, kiwi, peanut butter, taro, banana, chocolate, pineapple, and the original tart flavor), it also gives us the ultimate liberty to choose our own flavor combinations, size, and toppings (as much as we want) until we pay the tab.

So what's the price? This sign tells it all.

The style of this place is DIY and self-serve, meaning the attendants are just there to guide. You pick your yogurt combination and toppings yourself.

First the cup....

Small, medium, or large it's up to you.

Then go pick a flavor or flavors:

Yay! I get to make my own yogurt combination. I chose first a twist of Death By Chocolate (oooohhh deadly) and original tart. Plus I squirted on some peanut butter since I wanted something sweet. I just watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs so I wanted something fun and sweet. Besides, I never tasted chocolate yogurt before. EVER.

Onto the toppings bar, there was absence of my favorite topping: mochi balls, so I piled on mangoes, cherries, graham crackers, coffee jelly (I told you I was crazy) and caramel syrup. After that, they weigh your cup and tell you how much it costs. Since it's DIY and by the ounce, allow a bit of allowance from your estimated cost.

So here's my after-movie dessert:

The caramel syrup freezes upon contact with yogurt so it's more of a candy. kinda like the caramel-covered ice cream bars before. Speaking of ice cream bars, my flavor combination is perfect for those who aren't too keen on yogurt's tart taste. It's sweet, I didn't think I was eating yogurt. It's a bit soft though, but the toppings added variety to what I'm eating. The cost for my cup was roughly Php130.00. I'm not actually a fan of chocolate ice cream but chocolate yogurt and I bonded really well.

Do I like this? I sure do. I probably will go back there tomorrow during my break and try a different combination this time.

Anyone try this yet? Do share your combination.