for cozy winter days...

So, after a little bit of hiatus, I'm back!

Since it's been a while, I figured that I'd post with something warm and cozy for the winter months . . . a hearty turkey meatball soup! I found this recipe off Pinterest while I was looking for something to do with kale. Kale is one of those random ingredients that I occasionally buy but never really know what to do with. That's when looking for recipes come in handy. ^_^;

For the soup, I decided to add my own twist to it by including some dried pasta. Again, I wanted a really hearty soup and this was going to be used for more of a lunch/dinner type of entree. I also changed the taste profile...the cumin and the star anise seemed really weird to me so I omitted them in my soup.

All in all, the ending result was nice...savory and lemony, hearty and filling like I wanted it. Add a couple slices of toasted and buttered sourdough and his was the perfect good eats for a cold day. This does make a big pot of soup, so be prepared to have leftover for a couple of days! Enjoy!

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Lemony-Garlic Turkey Meatball Soup with Pasta and Kale
(adapted from The Holisitc Ingredient)

For the Meatballs:
1 lbs. ground turkey
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped leeks, white part only
handful fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint leaves, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp bottled minced garlic
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
additional oil for cooking

For the Soup:
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
5 peels of lemon
1 tbsp minced bottled garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
12 cups (3 quarts) low sodium chicken broth
2 tsp fish sauce
1 (6.5oz) pkg dry cheese tortellini pasta
10-12 kale leaves, stems removes and torn into smaller pieces
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil for cooking

 
Make the Meatballs:
Combine all ingredients for meatballs and mix well until well incorporated.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Roll mixture into small meatballs, size smaller than a ping-pong ball. Fry meatballs for 7-8 minutes, turning them throughout so they are golden-brown on all sides. Set aside on some paper towels to drain any excess oil.

Make the Soup:
Over medium-high heat, add some oil to a large soup pot. Once hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, and lemon peels. Saute for a few minutes, then add garlic, thyme, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper then bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the dried tortellini. Continue cooking until tortellini is al-dente. Reduce heat to medium, add the meatballs, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Prepare the kale and add to the soup, stirring through, then cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat then add the lemon juice. Stir and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Let sit for 5 minutes off heat before serving.

Makes about 8 to 10 servings.

tagine, without the pot.

I love buying kitchen gadgets . . . especially if it's something that I'll particularly find useful. Sometimes, I buy them because they're cute or pretty. My latest splurge was at World Market where I got myself a nice-sized tagine!

I've been itching to use it and finally found a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. So, I got everything that I needed and started to cook. Unfortunately, I never used the tagine. Turns out, before you use a tagine, the bottom portion needs to soak overnight or else it'll crack. Not only that, but apparently I also needed a "heat diffuser" so that it'll protect the clay pot from excess heat. Who knew that clay pots were so finicky??

Luckily for me, I had a heavy-bottomed pot to use as an alternative.

Despite not using the tagine, this dish actually turned out pretty well! I used this and this as guides and went from there. And since I didn't have some of the ingredients listed, I made do with what I did have in my fridge/pantry: Moroccan oil-cured olives, saffron water, giant golden raisins, and plain lemons.

For the side, I decided to make some roasted beets. It's a little weird since I've never come across any Moroccan dishes that uses beets as a side dish, but it was either use them or let them go bad. Thankfully, they paired surprisingly well with the lemony tagine. I also served this with some saffron rice since the hubby isn't too keen on couscous.

So, what's the verdict? Two thumbs up from the hubby! Yay!

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Moroccan Chicken Tagine
(adapted from Simply Recipes and My.Recipes)

For the Chicken:
3 to 4 pcs bone-in chicken thighs
3 tbsp Moroccan spice
2 tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the Tagine:
1 large or 2 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 carrots, chopped to 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup large golden raisins
1/4 cup pitted oil-cured olives
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 lemon rind, pulp removed and thinly sliced
1 tbsp saffron water (or a pinch of saffron)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper, to taste
water, as needed
chopped parsley, for garnish

 
Marinate the chicken:
Combine chicken, spice, honey, garlic, and olive oil in a ziplock bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken to make sure it's evenly coated then marinate overnight (or up to 2 days) before making the tagine.

Make the tagine:
On cooking day, heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, along with marinade liquid. Cook the chicken until lightly browned then turn over and repeat with the other side. Once the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, add the remainder of the ingredients except for broth.

Cook mixture for about ten minutes. Add broth, scraping the bottom of the pan, then cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and tender. If the dish is too dry, add water as needed and cook for a further few minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as needed, then serve garnished with parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

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Honey Roasted Beets
(makes 4 servings)

5 small red beets, quartered
5 small golden beets, quartered
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, flavored or plain
2 tbsp chopped parsley

 
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Whisk together olive oil, honey, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss into beets then evenly spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet.

Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until tender. Remove from oven then add vinegar and parsley. Toss to coat, then transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle pan juices over beets then serve.

fish with a face.

I remember the first time that I ever had a "faceless" fish. It was right after we got to America, back in the early '90's, and were were "fresh off the boat". My father wanted to treat us to a buffet and I had never seen so much food in my life! One thing that I found odd, though, was the fish they served. Sitting there, under the hot heat lamp of the buffet, were slivers of fish flesh floating in an oil-slick of "lemon butter" sauce.

Confused, all I could think to myself was "Where's the rest of the fish?".

Soon after, I learned that people on this side of the world didn't like to see the face of what they were eating. Scratch that, they didn't want to see discernible parts that told them what the animal was. No chicken feet, no pig's head, no fish heads.

Fast forward to the future. I remember the first time that my husband ever had fried fish at my parent's house. While he dutifully ate what was presented to him during dinner, it wasn't until when we got home that he remarked on the "faces" of the fish. He found it odd that we didn't simply fillet the fish then fried it separate from the bones. How different, he remarked.

How do I explain? Eating the entire fish was normal for me. If he wasn't there, I would've cracked the skull open, scooped up the stray bits of flesh and offal, and would of ate it with delicious relish over rice. I would've picked the fish clean until only it's bones were bare and no morsel were left. This was how I was raised . . . to eat everything, waste nothing. And the heads, oh, the heads were the best part. The essence of the fish were contained in those heads.

It was moments like these that reminded me of how truly different we were from each other: my husband, a white mid-western raised boy from a small town in North Dakota. Me, a Filipina with a mix of Philippine roots and big-city Southern California upbringing. Our worlds could not have been any more opposite.

But that's why we're together. He's the ying to my yang, the butter to my toast, the cherry on my sundae. I love the easy-going friendliness he brings to my busy hurried life. Who knew afternoon naps could be so refreshing? And to him, I bring fishes with a face.

My favorite fish would have to be the pompano. It's a relatively firm fish with a nice mild flavor. Wrapped in banana leaf and seasoned with lemon, ginger, garlic, and parsley, this fish turns divine! I served this with my father's daikon radish salad, a type of Filipino sawsawan. We typically have this sawsawn with fried fish, but I had a hankering for it today. It usually consists of grated daikon radish, chopped tomatoes and onion, fresh cilantro, a mix of white vinegar and fish sauce, then seasoned to perfection with salt and pepper.

And yes, I did pick this fish to its bare, bare bones.

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Baked Banana Leaf-Wrapped Whole Fish
(makes 2 servings)

1 whole pampano, scaled and cleaned
1 lemon, sliced
1/2-inch knob ginger, peeled and sliced
handful flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 large banana leaf, enough to wrap fish

 
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Score the fish diagonally, up to the bone, a few times on each side. Spread the minced garlic in the cavity of the fish. Stuff the cavity with parsley, lemon, and ginger. Drizzle fish generously with olive oil then season well with salt and pepper on each side. Rub oil and seasoning into the fish, making sure to get between the scored flesh.

Wrap the fish in the banana leaf and tie well with either leftover banana leaf or kitchen twine. Bake for 25 minutes of until flesh between the scored skin is opaque. Remove from oven then cut the banana leaf open to expose the fish. Increase oven heat to 450F degrees and continue cooking fish until skin is slightly bubbled and banana leaf has charred, about 2 to 5 minutes. To serve, peel skin from meat and then portion out fish.

pear-fectly nuts.

Expectation: Making a breathtakingly beautiful but simple cake that looks exactly like the picture.
Reality: Not following directions and adding this and that and getting a cake that looks "okay"

I guess that's an insane thing to think, especially since I din't even follow the directions. I'm just one of those people that looks at a perfectly good recipe and says, "that's good, but what if I . . .". And that, as they say, is that.

But despite the substitutions and everything, the directions were surprisingly a little hard to follow. While it's stated in very simple terms, I'm more of a detailed baker. How much am I supposed to stir it? Do I whisk the dry ingredients together first then add it to the batter? How am I supposed to put the pear on it? Directions like that would've definitely helped.

While the directions did say to peel the pears first, I figured that leaving the skin on would be okay. I should've listened to the directions. Cutting into the cake was a little hard and the skins pulled slices of pears from the top of the cake. Also, I found that one thinly sliced pear was enough for the topping. Where she put the other pear is beyond me.

Regarding sweetness, this was a lightly sweetened cake. I knew that this wasn't going to be sweet enough for me, so I decided to pour some honey on top to not only add sweetness, but also to caramelize the nuts and pears since they didn't seem to be sinking into the batter like it showed in the picture. But again, this was probably the substitutions at work.

When all was said and done, this didn't turn out too bad. I served this with some additional honey, a dusting of powdered sugar, and some sweetened whipped coconut cream. Below is the "next-time-I-make-this" recipe adaptation:

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Pear Walnut Cake
(slightly adapted from Tartelette)

2 large eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup good quality olive oil
1 cup plain, low-fat or whole milk yogurt
zest and juice of a lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large pear, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup honey, warmed
powdered sugar, for garnish

 
Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line a 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper sprayed with a little cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and lemon-colored. Add the olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice and zest and whisk again so that everything is well mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.

Pour the mixture in the prepared baking pan. Place the pear slices on top, slightly diagonal and pressing gently into the cake, then sprinkle with the walnuts. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of crumbs. In the last 20 minutes of baking, drizzle the honey on top of the cake and return to the oven to finish baking.

Let cool completely before slicing and dusting with powdered sugar. Serves 8.

mom-inspired tuna pasta.

My favorite breakfast that my mom makes is ginisang sardinas, which is basically sautéed mackerel sardines in tomato sauce that's served with a side of hot, steamy rice. Her version, though, is slightly different in that she adds additional tomatoes, adds one or two bay leaves, and is heavy on the onion. Finished with a few squeezes of calamansi, and you have a great hefty meal to start the day.

I didn't really fully appreciate her cooking until I got married and started living with my husband. To date, I've only made a handful of Filipino dishes that were either a hit or miss with the hubby. I miss her cooking and I guess that nostalgia (and the fact that the husband is iffy on Filipino food in general) makes me shy away from making Filipino dishes on my own.

Today I was feeling a little homesick. Eating at the table with my mom's generous cooking and having a conversation about the day's events were the norm during dinner time. This was family time and I was missing my family. So to ease that, I decided to make her sardines, but in a more "inspired" version and with an Italian twist.

I started with using an almost 2 to 1 ratio of tomatoes to onions. Adding a good amount of garlic and olive oil followed, then finished it with some lemon juice for acidity and lots of parsley for herbacious freshness. Since sardines in tomato sauce isn't something that we regularly keep in the house, I used chunk light tuna that's always a staple in our pantry. Toss that together with some hearty rigatoni, and dinner was served.

While it's a far cry from my mother's sardines, the flavors were there and the bite from the rigatoni added a pleasant counterpart to the fish. Fusion pasta . . . mmmmmm. As an added bonus, this made for a quick and tasty meal that was ready in less than half an hour. Mom, here's to you!
 

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Tangy Tuna Pasta
(makes about 4 servings)

2 cups dry rigatoni pasta
2 cans chunk light tuna, lightly drained
1 clamshell grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped)
1 large onion (about 1 cup), thinly sliced
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 large dried bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

 
Prepare pasta as directed then reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes have softened then add the tuna and a third of the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautée for 5 minutes, stirring lightly, then add the drained pasta. Cook for another few minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid as needed.

Remove pasta from heat, discard bay leaves, then stir in lemon juice. Toss in the remaining parsley then adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. To serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and additional parsley for garnish.

scales like a...potato?

We finally finished the leftovers! I love Thanksgiving, but I can only eat turkey and ham for so many days. By yesterday, I was ready to throw in the towel. So for tonight's dinner, I decided we needed to "detox" from all that heavy eating.

And what better way to do that than through fish?

I was looking for a recipe that not only looked fancy, but also something that would be fun to make. When I came across this potato-crusted fish, I knew that I had hit the jackpot. Whenever I made fish, It was either baked, pan-fried, or steamed. This recipe seemed interesting and easy enough to do. I wasn't too crazy about the refrigeration or the pan frying part though . . .

So, I decided to take a little leeway from the recipe. I started with using frozen fillets straight from the freezer. I read this tip a long time ago, which saved me on having to thaw the fish before being able to use it. Then, instead of pan frying, I decided to bake these suckers to cut down hands-on time. Also on the plus side, I would be able to cook all the fish in one go. Huzzah!

Another thing I changed was adding more ingredients to the mustard mixture. Tarragon sounded lovely, as well as parsley and citrus zest. To cut down on the fishiness of packaged fillets, I thought it would be a great idea to cook them on sliced citrus wedges and some parsley.

The result? A lovely flavored fish filet that has an incredible herby and citrusy flavor! The potatoes aren't potato-chip crispy, but has enough crunch around the edges to make them irresistible. I also like the fact that the citrus slices helped to avoid the fish from sticking to the pan. Served with a salad, this was the perfect meal to have after Thanksgiving leftovers!

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Potato-Crusted Fish
(adapted from Live. Laugh. Cook.)

2 to 3 frozen fish filets (like salmon, tilapia, cod, flounder, etc . . .)
1 to 2 red potatoes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Dijon or favorite mustard
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp flat-leaf parsley, minced
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
zest from one lemon or orange
salt and pepper

handful flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon or orange, sliced

 
Preheat oven to 450F degrees.

Combine mustard, butter, olive oil, garlic, minced parsley, tarragon, and zest into a paste. Season with some salt and pepper then set aside.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, lay down two slices of citrus for every fish fillet used. Layer with a few sprigs of parsley.

Take a frozen filet and cover the bottom of the fish with some of the mustard mixture. Place on top of the parsley and citrus slices. After that, brush the top of the filet with additional mustard mixture then repeat process for the remaining fillets.

Take the potatoes and toss in the leftover mustard mixture and add olive oil to moisten, if necessary. Working one fillet at a time, arrange the potato slices in an overlapping pattern to cover the fish. Season lightly with salt and pepper then bake for 30 minutes or until the fish is done and the potatoes are crispy and tender.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.