Pancake

Another condiment leftover is in line so I got to think again for something I can do with it. I searched the net and found out that pancake can be made using rice flour too. So I grabbed all the other needed ingredients and tried it :)

Pancake rice flour version

Ingredients:
- 1cup rice flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp oil

Since the only available is powdered milk, I made use of this combination to have a cup of liquid milk: 6 tbsp dry/powdered milk dissolved in ½ cup of water

Procedure:
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients
- gradually add milk
- add egg and oil
- Use a non stick pan to fry for 2-3mins or until the top part is completely dry
- serve with honey

Macaroons using Flour

I’ve been thinking about how to use some condiments left over before going home next month. It will be wasted if I won’t do anything with those. I still have paper cups, brown sugar, and small amount of sweetened coconut flakes which I still don’t know what to do with, until I thought of combining them to make some macaroons – once more. I became interested in knowing if it is possible to make macaroons using a microwave oven (the only thing we have) so I read some forums explaining such. Very timely that a colleague’s wife was able to bake banana cake using a microwave so I thought of doing mine as well. Since I just had to consume what is in the kitchen without buying other ingredients (saving money, time, and energy as well), in this version, I made use of flour as an extender. Here is another macaroon recipe which fits microwave cooking.

Flour Version of Macaroon cooked in Microwave Oven

Ingredients:
- one egg
- 6 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/3 of 198gms of sweetened coconut flakes (left over)
- 1 tbsp butter

Directions:
- place the butter into a bowl and cream using a fork
- add all purpose flour, sugar and mix well
- add egg and mix well
- add the sweetened coconut flakes
- scoop 1 ½ teaspoon of the mixture and place in a paper cup (repeat until all the mixture is placed)
- get a microwavable plate and place the macaroons
- microwave in medium heat for 1 ½ minute
- cool down and enjoy!

Pakbet Tagalog

Pakbet is my top favorite vegetable menu may it be Pakbet Tagalog or Pakbet Ilokano. Pakbet Tagalog is the mixture of vegetables with Shrimp paste (Bagoong Alamang) while Pakbet Ilokano is the mixture of vegetables with Fish paste (Bagoong Isda). My maternal grandmother used to cook the very delicious pakbet that I’ve ever tasted which she would sometimes top with grilled fish Tilapya.

My Pakbet Tagalog

Ingredients:
- 2 medium pieces of eggplant
- 1 medium bittermelon
- ¼ cut squash
- 6 pcs small okra
- string beans
- ¼ lb pork
- garlic, onion, tomato
- 2 tbsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 cup of water

Procedure:
- heat the pan and put the cooking oil
-saute the garlic, onion, and tomato
- add the pork and cook until the color turns brown
- put in the shrimp paste and cook for 2 minutes
- add water and simmer for 10minutes
- put in the squash and cook for 5minutes
- add the remaining vegetables and cook for another 10minutes
- remove from heat

This is best with hot rice and grilled Tilapya.

Beef and Mushroom Sandwich

One of my favorites in Wendy’s (an international fast food chain originated in Ohio, United States, also available in the Philippines) is their mouth watering Mushroom Swiss burger. Sad that we don’t have a branch of Wendy’s here in Oman, obviously I can not eat that burger. Luckily, we have Hungry Bunny – a nearby fast food chain here in Nizwa which offers their version of Swiss and Mushroom combo meal which includes the sandwich itself plus fries and drinks.

Curious about the sandwich, one time I checked what’s inside it and tried to figure out how it is prepared. With the delicious taste that it gives, they may have secret ingredients (most of the restaurants have) which they would not tell in case I ask. So I once again did my own :). This may not be as perfect in presentation or as delicious as that of Wendy’s and Hungry Bunny’s versions, what is important is my satisfaction of doing my own and enjoy eating it.

My version of Beef and Mushroom Sandwich

Ingredients:
- 2 pcs slice bread
- Beef patty
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 pcs sliced fresh mushroom
- 1 tbsp butter
- 5 thin slices of cucumber
- Lettuce
- cheese

Procedure:
- Cook mushroom in butter until soft (do not overcook), set aside
- spread mayonnaise onto the two slices of bread
(use one piece as the base of the sandwich, the other piece as the cover)
- add the cooked mushroom
- top with slices of cucumber
- add the beef patty
- top with lettuce and cheese
- cover with the other slice of bread
- serve and enjoy!

Tips:
- fresh white mushroom is better than the ones in cans
- use butter in cooking the mushroom to provide more delicious taste
- you can also do your own beef patty, better than buying the frozen one
- tomato can be used if desired

Apple Smoothie

Been problematic with a lot of egg whites after making Leche flan, so I decided to search the net again and looked for a recipe which includes egg white. I learned that egg white is one of the ingredients of Fruit Smoothie so I decided to twist a bit and do this version.

Apple Smoothie

Ingredients:
- 1 pc apple
- 1 cup egg whites
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup ice cubes

Procedure:
- cut the apple in cubes
- using a blender, mash for 1 minute
- add egg whites and mix for 10-15 seconds
- add pineapple juice, milk and mix for 10seconds
- add ice cubes and mix until the ice
- serve and enjoy immediately!

Perfect this summer season!

Puto Pao

I’ve been thinking of this as one of the varieties of Puto. I searched the net and found pork as the main ingredient but since I do not have pork here, I decided to twist a bit – again :). On break, I decided to experiment once more and tried this beef version of Puto Pao.

My Beef Puto Pao version

Ingredients:

Filling
- garlic
- 300gms ground beef
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 18 pcs hard boiled quail eggs
- ½ cup cornstarch diluted in ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup water
- Salt to taste

Batter
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 5 cups fresh milk
- 1 cup melted butter
- Cheese

Procedure:

Cook the Filling:
- boil quail eggs for 15 minutes, set aside
- on a pan, stir fry garlic for 2mins
- add pineapple juice, cook for 3mins
- add sugar and water, simmer for 15mins
- add the cornstarch diluted in water
- add in boiled egg
- remove from heat and set aside

Prepare the Batter:
- combine all purpose flour, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl
- add fresh milk and the melted butter
- use a hand mixer to mix everything
- set aside

Cooking:
- get puto moulds and fill with the batter to about ¼ full
- put half of quail egg and a teaspoon of the filling
- fill with batter the puto mould until it covers the filling
- do for the rest of the puto moulds
- steam for 20 minutes
- top with cheese
- serve and enjoy!