The Real Carbonara Spaghetti is not really creamy. The noodles are coated in eggs and cheese. There is another way to cook Spaghetti Carbonara using processed foods at the grocery. This is really handy when you suddenly have guests that arrive. The canned goods comprise of canned mushroom soup, cream, ham, bacon and fetuccine noodles. You are also assured that the taste will come out a best seller. Try this next time when you have surprise guests. Here is the creamy carbonara recipe:

Ingredients

2 cans Creamed of Mushroom Soup (preferably Campbell)
250 ml All Purpose Cream (Nestle)
200 grams sweet ham, in small squares
400 grams bacon, shredded
Spinach Fettucine (noodles are green and I like the contrast of the white creamy carbonara sauce against the green noodles)
1 head garlic
a dash of nutmeg
a dash of pepper
Olive Oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese for topping

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Posted: September 7th, 2008 under Pasta, Recipes with 3,747 Views.
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I grew up smelling the sweet aroma of freshly baked cakes and bread as early as 9 years old. I practically grew up baking. My mom started a bakeshop when I was around 8 years old. She named it Sally’s Home Bake Shop after her nickname.

Her inspiration came after watching a movie. She noticed that a lot of moviegoers bought “kutsinta” or “puto”. She started with two product lines only. Then one day as a nine year old girl, I find myself being asked to help around the bakeshop.

I will share a few of her baking recipes. Take note that some of these recipes are quite old-fashioned,dating back to the early sixties. Who knows you might want to try out a few?

Here is a recipe for Sylvannas for the experienced baker. This is not the short-cut method of making sylvannas that one sees online. The recipe is made up of 2 parts: the Cookie and the butter-cream icing.

The Cookie Ingredients

2 cups eggwhites
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup cashew nuts or walnuts
1 cup cake flour
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Grease Cookie sheet and sprinkle with flour.

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Posted: September 5th, 2008 under Baking Recipes, Bread & Bakeries, Sally's Home Bake Shop Recipes with 5,146 Views.
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There is nothing like freshly baked puto right out of your steamer I always thought puto has to be made always with rice flour. The best texture and taste is using rice flour but I am sure some of my readers overseas appreciate a puto recipe without using rice flour but instead just the plain all-purpose flour. However, you can use rice flour if you can grind some.

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Posted: September 1st, 2008 under Recipes, kakanin with 8,895 Views.
Comments: 2

There are many versions on how to bake Leche Flan. I have shared my mom’s recipe on Leche Flan. Like I said before, the perfect flan is such that when you slice through it, it barely quivers like jello. There is very little syneresis, that is, no weeping (or lots of holes in it!). Surprisingly, I know a lot of people who likes holes in their Leche Flan. Of course, I prefer mine to be smooth I’d like to share with you another Leche Flan Recipe which is richer than my mom’s recipe because the egg whites are removed.

Ingredients
2 cans of Evaporated Milk
1 teaspoon lemond Rind
1 cup white sugar
8 egg yolks

For Caramel syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water

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Posted: August 30th, 2008 under Recipes, desserts with 3,434 Views.
Comments: 4

Just looking at the photos makes me want to eat more kilawin or kinilaw na isda. Once can use either tuna or lapu-lapu fillets to make this dish. I always associate the Kinilaw with a beach outing. Preparing dishes with vinegar ensures there is little chance of food spoilage. The fish is “cooked” using vinegar as the meat turnes opaque in color. Though kinilaw may not be as popular as adobo, it certainly has a one-of-a-kind taste that many Pinoys abroad crave for.

In Philippine Food and Life (released by Anvil Publishing in 1992), Gilda Cordero-Fernando narrates of an Ilokano group who, during the Spanish period, were part of the crew English navigator Thomas Cavendish’s ship. Right after the sailors threw all the intestines of a goat into the sea, the Ilokano assistants dived into the sea for their kilawin — dipped or cooked in bile sauce or broth. The chronicler, who was ignorant of what the Pinoys were preparing, described the dish as “a disgusting mess.”

Not only goats, which is believed to be a good source of protein and calcium, however, may be made into kilawin. Beef, carabeef, fish, shelfish, including octopus are also popular options.

(Sources: Alegre, Edilberto N. and Fernandez, Doreen G. “Kinilaw: A Philippine Cuisine of Freshness.” Bookmark Inc.,1991;Cordero, Gilda Fernando. “Philippine Food and Life.” Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, 1992)

Kilawin na isda is so easy to prepare too.

Here are the ingredients:

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Posted: August 29th, 2008 under Recipes, Seafood with 2,503 Views.
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The lapu-lapu is always a special dish. Childhood memories of our family dinner involves a feast of lapu-lapu topped with sweet and sour sauce known escabeche. Escabeche has a slight ginger taste to it unlike the Chinese version of sweet and sour sauce. I am not sure if this is a Cebuano version of the sweet and sour sauce because I have not tasted it here in Manila.

Here is how I prepare it:

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Posted: August 28th, 2008 under Recipes, Seafood with 3,140 Views.
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I never knew how to make ginataan until I became a mother. I recall eating ginataan as a child but never took the time to cook it as I was growing up. Even when I took up Principles in Food Preparation in UP Diliman under the late Matilde P. Guzman and learned the technique of Extracting Coconut Cream and Coconut Milk, I still didn’t take time to cook a batch of this yummy filipino merienda fare. Anyway, by the time I became a mother, I decided to cook it for my kids. Here is my recipe.

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Posted: August 25th, 2008 under Filipino Delicacies, Recipes with 6,292 Views.
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Adobo flakes is a hit in the family. It is quite easy to prepare. Just cook some adobo or recycle leftover Adobo, shred into flakes and toast to the right combination of chewy and crisp perfection. My husband prepared Adobo Flakes for the kids yesterday.

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Posted: August 24th, 2008 under Pork, Recipes with 2,167 Views.
Comments: 2

Chili Con Carne is one of the comfort foods that I remember in my childhood days. I remember placing chili con carne over rice enjoying the right amount of spicy flavors. It’s an all-time favorite food with my children. My kids are different. They also eat it with rice but add grated cheddar cheese on the top of the chili con carne. I know there are variations of Chili con Carne.

Chili con carne (often known simply as chili) is a spicy stew-like dish. The essential ingredients are chili peppers and meat. Variations, either geographic or by personal preference, often include tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, beans, and other ingredients. The name “chili con carne” is a slight corruption of the Spanish chile con carne, which means peppers with meat.

There are indeed many variations and I prefer to have more of the beef than beans. I also like to add tomato paste which some believe shouldn’t be in the recipe. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo lean ground beef
400 grams red kidney bean
2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 onions, chopped

1/2 cup Tomato paste
1-2 cups water
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
4 pieces siling labuyo
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Posted: August 22nd, 2008 under Beef, Recipes with 141 Views.
Comments: 2

I started my herb garden when we moved to our new home. It’s a great feeling to pick freshly homegrown basil and add it to our pasta. This afternoon, I cooked Shrimp and Pasta with Pesto sauce to make up for the Lechon Manok that I was supposed to buy.

Here is the recipe.

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Posted: August 17th, 2008 under Pasta, Recipes, Seafood with 587 Views.
Comments: 3

I am sure all of you enjoy feasting on comfort food. One of my fondest childhood memory is eating Ginataang Mongo. The flavor of toasted mongo and the malagkit is quite distinct. With the rainy season upon us, a hot bowl of ginataang mongo is dish that truly delights my children. Here is my recipe.

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Posted: August 17th, 2008 under Filipino Delicacies, Recipes, Rice with 422 Views.
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