Eating veggies to your heart's content will not make you feel guilty a tiny bit. So I stuffed my face with this "chop-whatever-in-my-fridge-salad".
I just juiced all day, and as always, I find myself hungry in the evening. So I stuffed my face with this salad to ease my hunger. And it did fill me up.
There was a sudden kick of inspiration to cook and to take photos today. I was really feeling good. On Saturday I finished all my cleanup tasks and had an 8 hour sleep, so I woke up well rested, and with a clean house. The feeling is just great and positive (and it lasted for a day, hurray!).
I love fresh salads, especially easy to prepare ones. So here's my quick cherry tomatoes salad with bits of mushroom.
Ingredients:
- a bunch of fresh greens. This one looks like alfalfa (but I'm not sure). I love flavourful leaves.
- 5-10 pcs cherry tomatoes, depending how much you want to consume.
- slices of fresh or preserved mushrooms. (White button or baby portabello)
- a dash of extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Vinaigrette (optional)
1. Toss them together and give it a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. That's pretty much it. You can also use vinaigrette to dress it. In my case, I used my own favorite dressing - mixture of olive oil, white wine vinegar + a teaspoon of honey. Then drizzle dizzle!
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced.
- 1 small zucchini, sliced.
- 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
- extra virgin olive oil
- some lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- egg/cheese/croutons for toppings
1. Preheat your oven to 400C.
2. In a mixing bowl, put the tomatoes and zucchini together. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
3. Add garlic, drizzle some lemon juice according to your liking. This will give it a nice kick.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well.
5. Get your baking sheet on top of your baking pan and lay down the tomatoes and zucchini pieces. Drizzle some more olive oil if it appears to be dry.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until it looks roasted and the garlic is golden brown.
You can serve it with feta cheese toppings, or croutons. But I personally like poached eggs :). Enjoy!
Yes! I'm still alive!
I actually missed cooking and blogging. Lately I've been consumed by the demands of work and has been neglecting cooking - specifically healthy eating. No, not good.
During my dark kitchen days (that's still actually on-going, can you believe that?!) I find my comfort from as usual, my favorite blogs, Tika's savory dishes, Natalie's flavorful vegetarian delights, and Dulcie and Sarah's mouth-watering recipes. These girls should share their secrets in time management :). Oh well, it's really hard to be a working woman and a single mom of 6 cats at the same time :P.
OK enough of the excuses.
I did a simple recipe a few weeks ago because I felt special and wanted to reward myself a healthy lunch for the first time in 2 months. Meh, it's not really that special. It's just some boiled baby potatoes, poached egg and a bed of arugula. What made it kick up a notch from a mediocre salad to a special one was the candied tomatoes!
How To Make Candied Tomatoes ala Lekkericious
I'm pretty sure a lot have already thought and executed this (and probably a lot better), but sorry I feel like claiming it :P I swear I thought about it!
Ingredients
- some ripe tomatoes
- olive oil
- honey
- salt
1. Wash the ripe tomatoes thoroughly.
2. Slice vertically in half and remove the seeds. Then slice it the halves in 3 parts.
3. Sprinkle some salt on the tomatoes and toss. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the excess water come out.
4. Drain the tomatoes.
5. Drizzle some olive oil and toss again.
6. Coat it with generous amount of honey.
7. Add another dash of salt for grand finale.
8. Lay it evenly on your oven toaster pan. Do not over crowd.
9. Heat at 400w for 20 minutes or until wrinkled up but not burned.
10. When cooked, let it cool down so it gets stiff and chewy.
If you are making a lot, feel free to use your oven. I'd recommend low heat since tomatoes are quite delicate and they tend to get burned quickly. Check on it often if necessary.
Not all salad has to have green leafy lettuce. Salads also need not to be strictly all vegetable, or all fruits - you can combine them and it works ;).
I borrowed a citrus salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite sites to stalk when it comes to healthy food. I must say it is refreshing and it taste superb. It's nice to have a break from green leafy salad I'm so used to (and i super loveee), and go for some juicy, refreshing fruits.
Mixed Citrus Salad. Forgive my mint for looking dry, I forgot to sprinkle the dressing.
Ingredients:
- your own choices of citrus. In this recipe, I have orange, ponkan and pomelo.
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. crushed feta cheese
- fresh peppermint, sliced in to strips
1. Peel your citrus using a knife, removing the white pith or until you see the actual flesh of the fruit. It is quite hard to explain how but click here to view a video of how you can peel an orange with a knife.
2. Put your finely chopped onion in a bowl and rest a strainer on top of it. Slice the citrus fruits and put it in the strainer. In this way, the excess juices would fall on the onion to add flavor and to soften it a bit. I also like to squeeze the juice of the "rejects" slices (slices that aren't so pretty :P) on the onion to add more liquid.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the redwine vinegar (or lemon juice), mustard, olive oil together. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. I also like adding a little bit of honey to give it a sweet twist.
4. Get a big flat plate and layout the citrus fruits. Scoop out the red onion and spread it out. Sprinkle the half (if it's a lot) of the juices from the onion bowl too.
5. Drizzle the dressing (red wine vinegar + dijon mustard mixture) all over.
6. Top it off with crushed feta cheese and mint strips.
Bon apetite!
Dedicating this "tambog-tambog" recipe to Joyce O.
I don't know how many of my friends can eat salad alone on lunch or dinner, but for my friends (and readers) who are currently working on losing some weight, here's a substantial salad recipe that's healthy and filling. Just a nice-to-know, substantial salads are salads that are nourishing enough and can be eaten alone (without matching it with pasta or what not). It's like a full meal.
Ingredients:
- french green beans (they are thin and short)
- cherry tomatoes
- 1 canned tuna, drained
- 1 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.
- ground coriander (optional)
- garlic powder (optional)
- cumin (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
1. Wash the green beans and steam. Be careful not to overcooked, we want it cooked but still crunchy. Set aside.
2. Wash cherry tomatoes. You may cut it in half or just as is.
3. Put the canned tuna in a separate bowl. Add a dash of ground coriander, cumin, and garlic powder to add flavor. If you don't have these spices available, you can just use salt and pepper.
4. Pour the extra virgin olive oil and mix.
5. In a separate bowl, put the green beans, tomatoes, and tuna, toss them well.
6. Top it with freshly ground pepper.
You may serve this with slices of red onions.
Note: Tambog-tambog is just a slang for putting things all together without complication.
If you ask me what's the number 1 item in my grocery list, that would be tomatoes (yep, not rice). This house can't live without tomatoes, we eat it almost every day.
Being a big fan of tomato dishes, let me share this delicate, yet simple and tasty tomato salad that's easy to prepare.
This afternoon I made tuna salad for brunch. I needed a quick fix before we starve to death since my LPG tank ran out and the delivery took forever.
We spent the entire afternoon cleaning the house. Mark did the balcony (which he said it's 70% of the cleaning done) and I did the living room, kitchen and bedroom (so I guess in Mark's little world it's just 30% :P). Now that my LPG tank's delivered, I was too exhausted to cook, and too lazy to step out to grab a take-away. So I rewarded myself with the tuna salad leftover. It's filling as it was in our brunch, only I put more vegetables in it, matched with just a piece of toast.
I love quick meals!
Looks like my strawberry fever isn't over yet. Since strawberries are very photogenic, and we needed a hero recipe for our food photo session in the AFS Studio this morning, I prepared citrus and strawberry salad. I got this recipe from epicurious.com. The simplicity of preparation is what attracted me to make it, plus of course, strawberries being super photogenic.
Ingredients:
- fresh strawberries, sliced
- fresh oranges, peeled and sliced cross-wise
- thinly sliced pepper mint leaves for added flavor
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/8 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or more, depends how much dressing you want to pour in)
1. Mix the freshly squeezed orange juice and brown sugar in a small bowl. Dissolve the sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, toss the strawberries, oranges and thinly sliced mint leaves.
3. Using a spoon, sprinkle the orange juice and sugar mixture to evenly coat the fruits. I like using spoon versus pouring it entirely because I don't really like salad swimming on dressing. Using a spoon helps me control the amount of dressing to put in it.
4. Leave it for a few minutes to let the flavor blend together before serving.
A quick fix on a sudden crave for freshness.
I was obsessing with my plans for my first, official, full production food photography that's happening in 2 weeks (hahaha I made it sound super big deal)that I totally have taken for granted my dinner menus. For 3 evenings, I was just taking out whatever I can find in the fridge and toss together what seems to me would work together. You'd be surprised to see what you'll come up with. And of course, Mark, being my fiance, has to be the guinea pig >:).
So these are what I came up with. And as far as Mark's taste buds are concerned, it worked.
Something Fresh : Shredded romaine lettuce, tossed with sliced ripe tomatoes, diced cucumber and finely chopped red onion; tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice; a dash of salt and pepper; topped with hard boiled egg.
Baked Veggies : sliced eggplant, zucchini, and red bell peppers tossed in an oven proof dish; sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked for about 15-20 mins. Let it cool down and top it with feta cheese.
NE for No Effort : Instant marinated and ready to cook meat from your favorite korean store :). Also, take a look at what I caught in the act! meowww!
Ingredients:
- seaweed wrapper
- fresh spinach leaves, washed thoroughly
- crab meat, boiled
- mayo/mustard for dipping
1. lay the seaweed wrapper and top it with spinach leaves and crab meat.
2. Roll it, and lock the seaweed wrapper by rubbing a little bit of water using your fingertips on the ends so it sticks.
3. Cut in bite size.
If you are not a fan of spinach, feel free to free style. You can use romaine lettuce instead. The crunchiness of romaine lettuce is awesome! If you don't like crab meat, use tuna (canned). It's a nice simple snack when you crave for something fresh.
This cucumber salad is very similar to ensaladang pipino, but prepared in a different way. This was first introduced to me in Holland, via Tita Dijne (mark's mom). It's very simple but I find it appetizing. First off, the cut is different, and you put some spicy flavor in it.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, and cut into cubes
- 1 tsp sambal oelek
- 2-3 Tbsp. of calamansi juice
- 1 tsp. sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
1. Combine cucumber, calamansi juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Remember, you can always adjust the sweetness/sourness/saltiness according to your preference.
2. Add the sambal oelek. This will add that spicy taste.
Part of Catholic tradition during Lenten season is to abstain from eating red meat. It's a probably a bit too late to get you these menu ideas, but at least you can save it for next year :P.
Eggplant Salad
Ingredients:
- 3 medium sized eggplant, grilled.
- 3 chopped tomatoes
- 1 small white onion, chopped.
- Calamansi juice.
- Salt and sugar to taste.
1. Wash the eggplants thoroughly and grill it.
2. When the skin is roasted, set aside to cool down.
3. Peel off the skin, but make sure you preserve most of the eggplant flesh.
4. Mash the eggplant in a bowl using fork.
5. Throw in the tomatoes and onions, then sprinkle calamansi juice. This depends on your taste, but I prefer not too juicy as it's very sour.
6. Sprinkle salt and sugar, taste it until you are satisfied. Add a pinch of pepper.
Easy but tasty.
I love experimenting and freestyling in the kitchen, and I recently came up with this salad idea. This recipe may not be new and I'm pretty sure some salad lover have already came up with this long before I discovered it. But let me present it to you with some personal touch in terms of texture and flavor. I'm so crazy about this salad that I want to match it with every dish I cook. But seriously, this salad is best matched with your favorite grilled meat dish, or when you feel that sudden cravings for something fresh - this is a perfect fit! Simple and easy to prepare, yet classy and tasty :).
Ingredients:
- 4 pieces ripe tomatoes, bite size sliced.
- 1 white onion, cut in to C shapes
- Fresh basil leaves, finely chopped.
Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- a pinch of salt
- ground black pepper
(make sure you wash your veggies thoroughly)
1. Slice tomatoes to bite size. I personally like cutting it in half from the stem downwards, and then divide the half in to 3 parts. Set aside.
2. Peel and cut the white onion thinly. You can slice it in rings, it depends on your taste. But I like to cut it in half, and then slice into wedges thinly, so when you separate layers, you'll get like C shapes (sorry for that very poor instructions, but hey that's what the photos are for :P). I think that thin C shapes look good with bite size tomatoes. Set aside.
3. Coarsely chop the fresh basil leaves. You can tear it with your fingers for more different texture.
4. Put the balsamic vinegar and honey in a small bowl. You can actually use vinaigrette as a substitute to balsamic vinegar. It's all up to your taste, but the honey is necessary to give you that sweet and sour flavor. Put a pinch of salt to taste.
5. Mix all veggies together in a bowl, and sprinkle the dressing. Make sure that the dressing is just enough to coat the veggies, careful not to drown them. I always like lightly dressed salad and preserve the fresh taste of the veggies.
Your simple side salad.
I strongly recommend to try this, a quick way to serve something fresh together with your main dish!
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