Well done, Sam!

Dad and mom are so proud.

*1st Day of Potty Training at Daycare - Mom packed six change of clothes. All unused at the end of the day.

Commercial Break: Savory Chicken

This is our first attempt to recreate the uber yummy, highly missed...Savory chicken. We think we came very close. Not quite there yet, BUT still oh-so-gooooooood! There were parts of the skin that really tasted like Savory chicken. And because it was brined with spiced soy sauce, the meat was so juicy and tender.

We read somewhere that you need to treat spice like tea. The flavor will only come out if you apply heat. Makes sense! So for this brining solution, you must simmer the soy sauce with the spice before using it.

Star anise, bay leaf, peppercorn and salt.

Love lemongrass.

Put all the spices in a pot, onion, garlic, soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water and simmer for 3 minutes.

Turn off the stove and put in the brown sugar and sesame oil. 

Wait for the marinade to cool before combining with the raw chicken. You can really smell the spices. Mmmmm....Store in the fridge and marinade overnight. 

NOTE: Use whole chicken. We only had thighs in the fridge. But this would be MUCH better with a whole chicken.

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SO EXCITED

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THINKING OF THE CHICKEN

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AND FINALLY, the next day...

 Put the chicken and the marinade in a pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Place chicken in the oven at 180C fan grill for 40 minutes. Do not discard the sauce in the pot. You will need it for the gravy.

Oh wow.

 I fried one piece to see if it makes a difference. YUM too.

For the gravy, remove all the chunky spices. Add 1/4 cup of water and 4 tbs of flour. Use very low heat.

For dessert, strawberries. YUM.

What you will need:
1 small onion
5 cloves of garlic
3 pieces of star anise
2 pieces of bay leaves
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 tbs of rock salt
7 pieces of peppercorn
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs of sesame oil


1 whole chicken

Toddler Room

New Year. New Room.

 ...Toddler Room is FUNner with a BFF...

Commercial Break: Lemon Salt

Do NOT throw your lemon peel!!! Cut them up and let them dry. You can let them air dry or you can use the oven. 

When the lemon is dry,  put them in the jar with kosher salt.Just keep filling this jar with lemon when you have the opportunity. You use the lemon salt for ANYTHING. Toss them in your salad. Add them to your roast chicken. ANYTHING. Love it.

S100

500D

              
      

S100

500D

 Mackerel with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Use fan forced grill at 180C for 20 minutes.

Just like Sushi-ya. YUM.

The next dish featured today is the Adobong Pusit.

Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and eschalot.

Put in the squid, vinegar, water and fish sauce Let this simmer for 10 minutes. Do NOT stir! NEVER. NEVER. NEVER.

YUM. We miss Manila. We miss diving in Batangas and having fresh seafood buffet waiting for us at the shore. SIGH.

What you will need for the Adobong Pusit:

1 small onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

a small piece of ginger, julienne

eschallot (or shallot), cut into small pieces

3 tbs of fish sauce

1/4 cup of spicy vinegar

1/4 cup of cane vinegar

1/2 cup of water

3 handful of baby squid

Preparing for Battle

The Point of No Return

Afraaaaaid....

Such a Sweet Little Boy

Dad was putting medicine on mom's wound. Mom screamed in pain.

Sam : Mommy is owie (transation - Mommy is in pain)

Mom : Oooooooouch!!!!!

Sam : Mommy, look! It's Percy*! (Pointing to a picture of Percy and trying to distract mommy)

Mom : Ooooooouch!!!!! (tears starting to flow)

Sam looking distraught. Sam cups mom's face with his hands and tries to get mom to look at the picture instead of the wound.

Sam : Mommy, loooook!!!! It's Percy! (trying harder to distract mommy from the pain)

When the whole ordeal was over, Sam gave mom a kiss.

Dad and mom are so amazed and proud.

*Percy from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Commercial Break: Debut of the S100 Part 2

Lesson of the day: Always ask for an evenly cut pork loin.

Boil the 1 kilogram of pork loin in water with salt, peppercorn, bay leaves and lots of garlic for 20 minutes. When done, pat dry and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Cook the pork loin in the oven using fan grill at 200C for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 170C for another 40 minutes.

This should wipe Item Number 1 off your New Year's Resolution List.

Oooh-la-laaaa!!!

Because you feel really guilty for eating Pork Loin for lunch, you HAVE to eat fruits for dessert. And since you've already erased Item Number 1 from your New Year's Resolution list, you can eat this with lotsa nata de coco, thickened cream, condense milk and cream cheese. YUM.

What you will need for the Roasted Pork Loin:

1 kilo pork loin, skin on

salt

peppercorn

4 pieces bay leaves

1 head garlic 

What you will need for the Fruit Salad:

2 cans of fruit salad

1 bottle of nata de coco

200 ml thickened cream

250 grams condense milk

4 tbs cream cheese

Commercial Break: Debut of the S100

Unedited Percy.

Taken in a dark room.