Go IZZY!

"OH- MY- Gosh, OH My Gosh" was the scream I heard from the living room. It was almost midnight and I just tucked myself in bed and about to enjoy the warm comfy sheets, when I suddenly heard my daughter scream. Instinctively, I ran out to check what was going on. I saw my daughter gasping for breath.

"I got an A in Calculus II mom!" she excitedly informed me.   "I was trembling as I was typing my password" she said anxiously. "I'm sorry did I wake you up?" she quickly added apologetically, as she saw me wipe my eyes. "But you know this means so much to me" she explained further.

My daughter Izzy is very reserved but her scream was an indication of profound joy. I hugged her tight and I could feel her heartbeat beating so hard and fast... I hugged her even more.  I didn't utter a word we stood there hugging each other in the middle of the night  Just the two of us standing in complete silence.  Of course I know what getting an A in Calc II means to her.  As a senior she's all focused on her college apps,  And I've seen her work hard.   I want her to realize that hard work pays off... and I'm glad it did. I hugged her tighter because I want her to know that I share her joy and excitement!  Silently praising God. Grateful to have such wonderful kids such as Izzy.

A few weeks later, one early morning as I was packing lunch for my kids, I heard her exclaim  "No way... No way!".  I saw her face glow when she muttered in disbelief:  "I got in mom."   I ran towards her, with water dripping down my hands, and found out that she was included in the first batch of accepted students for a nearby university. I jumped for joy with her... Even if this is a reminder that she will be leaving us for college soon, I guess I have to be ready to set her free... and even if she's the second daughter for me to send off to college, it will never be the same without Izzy around the house.

But yeah we have to let them go... we have to let them discover their own future... but hopefully, they bring with them the love, the values and the faith that we parents have instilled in them.

In order to celebrate Izzy's good news, I want to share with you the recipe for CHICKEN CURRY Trilogy. Why the "trilogy"?  You'll find out below.  Enjoy!

Let's begin:

8-10 pcs. Chicken thighs deboned and sliced
2 tbsps. cooking oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 small onions, chopped
3 medium size potatoes, sliced
2 medium size carrots, sliced
1 medium size green bell pepper
1 cup chicken stock
2-3 tbsps curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans of coconut milk


In a wok, saute garlic and onions in cooking oil.  Add chicken and cook it for about 5 minutes or until slightly brown.  Add a dash of pepper.  Pour the first can of coconut milk together with the chicken stock.  Let it simmer until the chicken is tender. Spice up using the curry powder.  I like to make my curry rich and flavorful so I used around 3 round table spoons.  You may want to add 2 tbsps first and adjust it according to your taste.  Add the potatoes and the carrots.  Pour the other can of coconut milk and stir frequently.
Add the green bell pepper.  Season with salt.  But for my curry, I used patis (fish sauce) to season it. The sauce should be thick and creamy.


Preparing chicken curry does not end here. You have to serve condiments that go with it. My hubby is always requesting for chutney, although I still have to come up with a good recipe for it (please let me know if you have one). For him, curry isn't complete without it.  He wants the whole ensemble, which consist of: raisins, chopped onions, chopped boiled eggs, mango chutney and chopped tomatoes.

. 
Now I named my curry recipe a trilogy because I served it in three different choices... and I have three different carb beds:

1. on a bed of steamy linguine . 2, on a toasted pita pocket. 3, on steamy white rice.

So the results:
The curry on linguine was my pick.  I enjoyed twirling the curry dish with my pasta.  The condiments added more hints of flavors.  The crunchy-ness of tomatoes goes well with the slimmery hot steamy pasta:  Ooh lala heaven:

The second choice:
The pita pocket which Izzy picked was delectable. She enjoyed the crusty-ness of the pita pocket bread and the gooey sauce oozing out of the bread. It was finger licking good for her.

And lastly the bed of rice. My husband and son, enjoyed it tremendously! "I guess it's a guy thing" my son commented when they noticed that both men had the rice bed...

  

So take your pick... Choose the carb bed you want to put your chicken curry on... Or you can share all three dishes with your family for an even more meaningful meal.  I'm pretty sure you'll savor the moment... just as we did when the moment called for a celebration! 

Weekend Express

I always have a perfect description on how to spend my weekends: purely having fun and relaxing. It makes you feel like time is on your side, no deadlines and pressure from work and home. Well you know how it goes during the weekdays: when the alarm starts to buzz, you crawl out of bed, find your way to the kitchen, make coffee, then breakfast, (and well for me it includes preparing 3 brown bags for lunch). Thank goodness for weekends... the days to recharge myself... no jumping out of the bed early, spending my time instead to sleep, cuddle up in bed, sleep some more and as a bonus I have the privilege of waking up to the sweet aroma of bacon and toast that my hubby makes.

After breakfast, the pace of the day often changes. Ok if this was a movie this is the part where the calm music fades and changes to a different rhythm... I'm thinking from the piano-based music of Amelie to the orchestral bombast of The Gladiator. Having 2 teenage kids who are actively involved in serving the community, I have to drive them around, and on some weekends having an early start. Yes, early as in 5:30 AM when they volunteer for fun runs for charity, like Run for the Hungry in downtown San Diego, or Race for the Cure held at Balboa Park.

This weekend was one. A battle between the alarm clock and the comforter ensues. “Wake up!” the alarm clock commands, while my comforter seduces me to tuck myself in tighter and place the covers over my face. On a chilly December morning, the comforter wins… zzzzz. I need more sleep, I justify. My son comes in to my room and reminds me that they have to go in a few minutes… “Why do you volunteer so early!" I protested. "I think you’ve overbooked yourselves again this weekend” I whined some more... and my son was stunned, and sheepishly reminds me that I should be proud that they are part of the concerned youth movement trying to make a difference in the world.

Embarrassed by my own behavior, I instinctively got up. My son's words shook me and awakened me... Act like you’re the mom here I challenged myself… So off I go to the kitchen. I have to have breakfast ready in 20 minutes... so think fast Malou, work even faster... as I was trying to think what to prepare for them. I wanted to serve them something that would say, “Mommy is so proud of you!", like a cheerleader, I wanted their breakfast to say GO Kids , GO !

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST… came to my mind. Yes stuffed with a combination that is out of the ordinary: BACON and Nuttela. They love French toast and the extra stuffing should be able to perk them up. I love to see their pleasantly surprised faces after having a bite...Seeing their faces transform and hearing their praises for the food, the feeling is PRICELESS! So let’s begin:


STUFFED BACON AND NUTTELLA FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp French vanilla creamer
8 slices of white bread
3 tbsp butter
Break the eggs into a bowl. Whisk it lightly then add milk and French vanilla creamer.

Spread the nuttela on one slice of bread and arrange the bacon strips on a second slice. Pair them together.
Heat a skillet coated with a thin layer of butter.
Soak the pair of bread with the egg mixture then put it on the skillet. Cook it until golden brown. Flip it and brown the other side as well



Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish it with chocolate chips all around the plate. Serve it hot. As they bite, the bacon and nuttela will reveal itself. It would be gooey sweet and the saltiness of the bacon will stand out yet complement the chocolate spread… No need to add syrup.



P.S.
Thank you for the emails and the FB messages you've sent me... I got a suggestion from one of the readers, Cathrina (check out her amusing blog about design, shopping, food, and being a career-mommy at http://cathrinadionisio.blogspot.com/) that I should start a series where I'll be answering questions from the readers, and I think I'm convinced based on the emails that I receive. So I'd love to hear from you! If it’s a recipe, an ingredient or maybe a suggestion I would prefer that you ask it on the comment section of the post. That way everyone can benefit from the information. I will turn your questions and suggestions into a blog post.

Thank you and looking forward to hear from you!

xoxo,
Malou
a.k.a Impromptu Diva

Dancing In The Kitchen With My Daughter

My eldest daughter visited us for four days, but is now, as I type this, packing to return back to Berkeley. You would think that after three years of her being away from home, we would be used to saying our goodbyes. But it is still so hard to say goodbye. It seems that planning her visit for Thanksgiving took months to iron out but her four-day stay was ever-so-brief; it makes me wish that time would stand still for a couple of days. However, I am taking comfort to in the fact that she’ll be home again for Christmas in three weeks. So the waiting begins…again.

With a lot of things to celebrate, including her birthday and Thanksgiving, four days were definitely too short. She arrived here at home on the day after she turned 21. We decided that although it wasn't exactly her birthday anymore, we would still continue our tradition of singing Happy Birthday to the celebrant at midnight of your birthday and banning her or him from doing any chores for the whole day. We thought she still deserved the same privilege and at 21 even more…

We tried to get her 21 gifts but as we were ideating, we thought 21 was way too many. We ended up spelling twenty one, with each letter representing one gift. It was so much fun ideating what to get her. My two other kids didn’t want to get her random gifts, so on the letter O, we thought she would appreciate “our company!” Let’s be creative and have fun with her, we all agreed. So with T for tequila, W for wine (remember, she did turn 21) and E for envelopes containing our birthday cards and greetings from loved ones and so on, she appreciated everything that we got for her!

With Nicole turning 21, I can’t help but smile at how beautiful our relationship had turned out. Sure, we have our “conflicts” but it has definitely improved since she was in high school. So, how do we build lasting mother-daughter relationships? I guess through constantly understanding each other and loving unconditionally… and now that she loves to cook, we discovered that cooking too helps strengthen this lasting bond.

Last Wednesday, I was cooking a shrimp dish when out of the blue she asked me if she could cook fried rice to go with it. I excitedly said, “Sure!” and she immediately jumped into action. Initially, she had to accustom herself and asked where all the utensils and the ingredients were, but eventually, we were both busy in the kitchen with our respective dishes. We were a great team, just like something you would watch on Iron Chef, fully in synch and raring to go! The funny thing is, she even sang while cooking, just like I do whenever I cook. We were like swaying and dancing in the small space in the kitchen. Marching and swinging, it was one beautiful dance, one precious moment… and oh yeah the food turned out to be a sweet pair too!


SHRIMP ala Imrpomptu Diva




Ingredients:

2.5 lbs shrimp
5 tbsp barbeque marinade
3 tbsp banana ketchup (or you could use tomato ketchup)
1 medium onion(chopped)
3 cloves garlic
3 onion leeks
3 slices of ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch dispersed in water
Hot sauce (optional)

Directions:
Heat a saucepan. Sautee the garlic and the onions. Add the ginger. While doing so, mix the ketchup and the barbeque marinade together and add it on to the saucepan. Add the shrimp. Cook it for about 6-7 minutes. When it’s almost done, add the cornstarch. Stir until the sauce thickens. Serve it hot. Garnish with onion leeks and toasted garlic.

Shrimp Ball Rice ala Nicole(written by Nicole herself)



5 pcs Shrimp Balls (cubed)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 medium carrot (cubed)
3 egg (scrambled)
Green onion leeks
Filipino soy sauce dispersed in water with 1 tbsp brown sugar
Onions (chopped)
Garlic (minced)
Cooked rice

Directions:
On a flat pan with some vegetable oil, toss the garlic and onion in and cook until golden (NOT BROWN). Then, add the carrots. After a couple of minutes, add the cubed squid balls and add the oyster sauce. When this is cooked, set it aside on a plate. Using the same pan, put more oil and the cooked rice. This rice has to be rice cooked from the day before; if you use newly-cooked rice, the dish will turn out really mushy. Add the soysauce mixture to the rice carefully, bit by bit. you want the sauce to be evenly spread on the rice. (Note: if you have Kikkoman or any other Japanese-based soy sauce, just use that without the water and the brown sugar; Filipino soy sauce is saltier, so I decided to dilute it and make it sweeter) Then, add in two-eggs scrambled, but (just like what you did with the soy sauce) mix it in step-by-step. This way, the egg gets cooked evenly across the rice. Then, put back the squid balls/carrots that you fried early into the pan. You're done! For garnish, you can cook the remaining scrambled egg and cut it into cubes and add green leeks. Sorry if it seems so complicated, but the process works!

Breakfast Conversations with O

My sister-in-law Cesca called Friday night to tell us that they were driving to San Diego. “You don’t have to prepare anything Ate Malou”, she insisted “because we’re going to meet with Chami’s (her hubby) best friend from high school, so please don’t worry”. Cesca and I are like that…we always say to each other… “No pressure”… especially during impromptu moments such as this.

"No pressure” means flexible schedule, no meals for me to prepare… just a stress free vacation for them… yes San Diego is Chami’s and Cesca’s favorite destination when they want to unwind from their busy medical careers. And why not, San Diego is only 4 hours away from Nevada and it gives us a chance to reconnect in person. We would just enjoy talking and laughing, getting updates with each other, just a very relaxed and casual get together.

O is their one and only child. He is always excited to come visit us as he is very fond of my kids, especially my son Joey. O is one smart kid, (oh well that’s more of an understatement). It’s refreshing to see how an 8 year old boy prefers to play games that involve family interaction rather than his computer games and gadgets. “Give me some letters and I will form words, then make them into a sentence” he would command my son, and they would laugh at the words he makes and laugh even more when he tries to use it all in one sentence.

O and my hubby Chi have a special bond too. O calls him his Tito Ninong (meaning uncle at the same time godfather) and if you ask him who his favorite uncle is, he would say Tito Ninong. Their conversations runs a gamut of topics from Mozart to musical instruments to science, and listening to them makes me feel like I’m on the Discovery channel! And what’s my way of connecting with O? Of course it is through food! LOL! “What do you want tita to prepare for breakfast O?” I asked him and he just shrugs his shoulders… So I recited to him a long list and he picked French toast.

O was so easy to satisfy. “What’s that?” he inquired as he pointed to the champorado…. “It’s chocolate rice porridge”, I said. He replied “I think the last time I ate that was 8 years ago”, meaning he has never tried it before. But he enjoyed stirring the milk and sugar into the porridge. He said, “Can you give my mom the recipe for this so she could make me some at home?” He definitely loved it. I also made him some double French toast. I added French Vanilla Creamer in the French toast. His parents loved it too, and they kept guessing what the extra ingredient I added in the toast was.

Their visit was short, but it’s always a wonderful thing to reconnect with family, with the adults having fun and the cousins sharing a good laugh as well.

Double French Toast




Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp French vanilla Coffee-mate
8 slices of white bread
3 tbsp butter

Directions:
Break the eggs into a bowl. Whisk it lightly then add milk and French valilla creamer.
Heat a skillet coated with a thin layer of butter. Soak the bread slices one at a time with the egg mixture then put it on the skillet. Cook it until golden brown. Flip it and brown the other side as well. Serve it with butter, whipped cream and syrup.

Champorado (Chocolate Rice Pudding/Porridge)




Unlike the traditional champorado recipe, I used Jasmine Rice for this recipe. It turned out to be just as good. And it took me less than 30 minutes to cook it!

Ingredients
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
4 cups water
4 cocoa balls (you could use powder as well)
Chocolate chips
Evaporated Milk
Whipped cream
Sugar to taste

Directions:

Put the already cooked rice in a pot. Add 4 cups of water and let it boil. Add the chocolate balls. Stir constantly. Add more water if necessary. Cook until the rice is soft and gooey.
I like my champorado cold… better yet, cook it the night before. Put evaporated milk. Top it with whipped cream and sprinkle some chocolate chips… this will give the extra chocolate that's so divine and it would surely make you say… YUM!

Skip To MaLou

I have been living here in the U.S. for almost 10 years now. I am very aware that I usually stand out among the rest because of my ethnicity. It’s not that I want to conceal my nationality, but I usually try to blend in. I always tell myself to integrate. Still, no matter how much I try, I get quizzed if I'm Hawaiian, Spanish, Mexican or Filipino. Of course, I am always proud to say that I am Filipino!

It is so hard though to mesh in with the crowd when I have so many distinct traits that indicate that I am a Filipina. I remember my kids used to tease me whenever I brought a huge umbrella to the soccer games so that I could hide myself from the sun (I don't know why we Filipinos prefer to have fair skin). And while I was at Penn Station trying to catch the LIRR to Long Island, I was clutching my "handbag" when a lady approached me and commented on how much she liked my pocketbook. “Pocketbook?” I asked. “I am not reading a pocketbook!” I exclaimed then left her thinking that she was trying to rob me... only to find out that my "handbag" is the pocketbook she was referring. And there was also the time when my hubby and I were getting ready to go home from a night out with friends in NYC when a stranger approached me and asked, “Can I bum one?” I replied in disgust, “I’m married!” My hubby intervened and said “Sure”, as I looked at him in horror only to find out that the guy was only asking for a cigarette (confessions of a former casual smoker). I laugh everytime I recall these embarrassing moments even though it happened almost a decade ago. And yeah with a name like Malou how could I hide that I’m Filipina? “Ma- what?” they would ask… so I would tell them my standard reply: “It’s Malou, like skip to my Lou,” and that helps them with their pronunciation. They would say May-Lou!

Let me share with you one of my favorite salads. I’ve been on a diet and avoiding rice,but how could you possibly have adobo without rice? It wouldn't be the same, right? So I created a very good alternative. And the resulting dish is a tribute to my integration to America. I call this the Adobo Nation Salad Sensation. I am going to fuse the ubiquitous adobo with an unfamiliar partner, a bowl of romaine. Some prefer to use vinaigrette on the adobo but I like to use the adobo sauce with some pineapple/vinegar/rum dressing... Hmmm...just describing it makes me crave for a bowl right now. The adobo successfully blends into the bowl of salad, but the taste still stands out. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

ADOBO NATION SALAD SENSATION

For the adobo:

There are so many variations in making adobo.  I like to keep mine simple.  Also, adobo is better as it sits longer, so I usually make a big pot of adobo and hang on to the left-overs.  To get an authentic adobo taste, I would advice using  Filipino vinegar and soy sauce.  You could buy them from any Asian Store.

2-3 lbs. pork/chicken
3/4 c vinegar
1/2 c soy sauce
pepper
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 bay leaves (crushed)
3/4 c water

In a saucepan, combine all the wet  ingredients and crushed garlic together. Let it simmer.  Add black pepper and crushed bay leaves.  Allow the ingredients to fuse in together for a few more minutes then you are ready to add the pork/ chicken. Cook for about 30 minutes. Drain the pork and set aside the sauce as you will need it later on for the romaines. Let it cool.   Slice the cooked adobo into cubes (bite size)

For the salad dressing:
1/2 c pineapple juice
1/2 c vinegar
2-3 tbsp rum (optional but highly recommended as this was suggested by my friend Basil, and it definitely added the zing!)
salt and pepper to taste.
1/4 c white sugar (you could add more if you want it a little sweeter)
2-3 tbsp olive oil

In a separate pan, combine all ingredients and let it simmer, Continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.  Let it cool..

Pour the sauce mixture in a bowl.  Add 2-3 tbsps of olive oil.  Whisk it together.  This will serve as your salad dressing.


For the salad:

Ingredients:

Boiled eggs
Pickled Papaya (atchara-- or try pomelo/grapefruit or pineapple)
Croutons
Romaine (hand torn)
Tomatoes (sliced)
Raisins
Cashews

In a salad bowl, toss the romaine with the adobo sauce. Layer all the other ingredients, i.e. croutons, tomatoes, sliced boiled eggs, pickled papaya, raisins and cashews. Drizzle a generous amount of the Pineapple/Vinegar/Rum dressing. Enjoy!

The Longanisa Experiment

It was a quiet weekend. A prelude to what's going to happen next year... With Nics in college and Izzy out on a trip this weekend, it was just the three of us: my hubby, my son Joey and myself at home. This must be how it will feel starting September of next year when Izzy leaves for college... hmmm I still can't get over the fact that my eldest child is no longer with us and another daughter will be leaving soon. Indeed, it is painful to think of but it is inevitable.

My girls tease me a lot about how I will be hit hardest when my son Joey leaves for college. This is because they feel that my favorite child is Joey. And I can't blame them, he is my unico hijo... People say that the relationship between mother and son is special, similar to how a father is close to his daughter... and I agree. I saw it in my mom. I have 4 brothers and my mom has a soft spot for each of them. Not that my sister and I were less special but her relationship with them is something unique, something that is hard to explain. I remember when my brother Fr. Gerry would come home from the seminary, my mom's face was always aglow... and his favorite food would always be served...

I admit that I enjoy my son's company. This is because he is as funny as I am. He would always say I'm the jester of the family, although I feel he comes in a very close second, hahaha. I love to sing when I cook and he would mimic me closely, especially when the kitchen is very quiet. He would hide behind our kitchen counter and would spring out of nowhere and surprise me saying, "What you cooking Mum!". And how he would love this because I still get surprised every single time. Everyone loves Joey,ask the younger cousins in the clan who their favorite cousin is, and hands down they would say it's Kuya Joey.

I love cooking for Joey because he would judge the food as honest as he could. If I were a Top Chef contestant he would be Chef Tom Colicchio. He would "judge" my food as honest as he could... and when he truly loves the food he would always hug me. Need I say more why I love him?

For this dish, my inspiration is my son Joey, as his favorite is pasta. I took the longanisa (Filipino cured sausage, traditionally served for breakfast) out of the freezer and thought of making ... yep a pasta dish for the 2 men in my life. The dish was approved by them, no they didn't say "oh so delish" but in their own masculine manner they said, "this is really good"... and as a bonus, the compliment came with hugs from them both.

The longanisa didn't overpower the whole dish. I thought I was able to avoid this by using a "secret" ingredient, which of course is no longer a secret, LOL! But yeah, the secret ingredient is my Mama Sita Barbeque Marinade. I added this ingredient so as not to have the longanisa as the only "foreign" or "Filipino" ingredient, with its distinct taste, in an Italian recipe. And true enough Mama Sita provided the "magic", as it cascaded the sweet and sour taste that it gives... that's why I love Mama Sita Barbeque Marinade, it always does wonders when I want to perk up my food. It's like having an old reliable grandma around. She's there when you need her...LOL! Btw, that's an Impromptu Diva tip, to always have marinades or other sauces in stock, so that when you need to whip up something new, it will always be handy!

Longanisa Ziti

Ingredients:

longanisa (I used the Vigan Longanisa)
1/2 c water
2 small cans of tomato sauce
red and green bell pepper
black olives
2 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (diced)
parsley
fresh basil
4 tbsp Mama Sita Barbeque Marinade
1 package of ziti

Directions:

Cook the pasta as directed.
Heat a separate pan, add water and the longanisa. Let the water dehydrate. Brown the longanisa in all sides. Using the same pan, add the garlic and onions. Pour in the tomato sauce. Let it simmer. Add the sliced tomatoes, red and green bell peper. Give it a stir. Add the Mama Sita barbeque marinade then add the black olives. Pour it over cooked pasta. Sprinkle with toasted garlic...

A Fine Day To Take It Izzy

The alarm clock buzzed continuously as I struggled to get up. To wake up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday is never easy. But it is easier today than most other times; this is because my daughter Izzy is taking the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) today. As I entered her still unlit room, she was curled up in bed, sleeping so contently. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up. The past few weeks she’s been working hard and sleeping late, juggling school work, volunteering and standard tests preps, as well as writing college applications. But I have to. It reminded me years ago, how I would wake up my kids singing nursery rhymes, and I was tempted to do that. But knowing how tired she has been the past few weeks, I lay down next to her and hugged her tightly. She asked me sarcastically why I was hugging her and I mentioned to her I was her lucky charm. She replied that if that’s the case she would tie me around her neck and take me with her when she takes the test… and I said, “You don’t have to…. I am in your heart”… she remarked again with sarcasm: “Says who?”

Izzy is my second daughter and has been labeled by almost everyone I know as my “mini-me”. People who knew me from way back say that she looks exactly like me. My mom disagrees though. According to my mother, Izzy is the better version, as she got some good features from my mother-in-law too. Well, they say that you marry someone who will improve your gene pool, and in my case I believe I did. But an exact copy of me she’s not. I always tell her that I didn’t study (in my entire student life) as hard as she does, and she’s only a senior in high school. Izzy is one very focused, very diligent student. So soft spoken, a little on the shy side (which obviously is not one of my traits at all), but definitely driven, creative and reliable, traits that are present in me.

In a few days, she’ll be turning 18. Debut parties were a big thing in the Philippines when I was growing up. A coming of age party is planned by the family with the debutante’s closest friends and is usually held in a plush hotel or restaurant. Although I only had a modest party on my 18th birthday, I still vividly remember what I wore: a white three-layered skirt that dropped down to my ankles, a white tunic blouse with shoulder pads (purchased from Virra Mall in Greenhills), white stockings, red pumps and a matching huge red belt (bought from Celine’s also in Greenhills). If Project Runway’s Christian Soriano would have seen me back then, one word would come to his mind … “Fierce”, hahaha. Izzy will never wear anything like what I described, and looking back at how horrendous the fashion style was in the 80’s, I am glad she wouldn’t. So I asked her what she wants to do for her 18th birthday and she said “I would like to apply to more colleges than I initially planned, I want to choose wisely”. It amazes me how different she will remember her 18th birthday compared to my memories. She hopefully will remember how hard she worked to get into a good college and realize that was the initial step in achieving her career goals.

As she goes out the door, I couldn’t help but think of preparing something homemade for her when she comes back. “Can you make this more often mom” is her way of giving the dish I just prepared her seal of approval, something equivalent to my “oh-so-delish!” remark. She has said this about my Baked Ziti, one of her favorite “comfort food”, but it would be too predictable if I make this for her. Something light and something to snack on when she comes back.… SPAM MUSUBI came to mind.

Spam Musubi is a popular “sushi” snack in Hawaii. It’s made of spam marinated with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar, then wrapped with nori wrapper. However, I will add a twist by making an Impromptu Diva experiment in fusing one of Izzy’s favorite fruit--- pineapple, with spam musubi. As I was planning this aloud, my son was skeptical about the idea. He even hid the last can of pineapple that I had in my pantry. But I proceded with my new concoction, as I tie the strings of my trusty white apron. So here’s the result: Aloha Spam Musubi.

“Mom can you make this more often “, Izzy said as she was getting her next serving. Ergo, it is another super-liscious recipe for me to share with you.

Aloha Spam Musubi

Ingredients:

1 can of Spam Lite, sliced thinly
Nori wrapper
1 can of crushed pineapple (try to use pineapple rings instead, I just used the crushed one since I ran out of he pineapple rings in my pantry, the rings would be easier to caramelize).
2 tbsp sugar (you could add more if you want it sweeter)
2 tbsp cooking oil
Cooked jasmine rice

Directions:
Place the pineapple in a pan. Add sugar and cook it until dehydrated. Just when it’s about to turn brown, set aside.
Heat oil in pan. Cook the sliced spam until the edges turn brown. Let it rest on a paper towel.
Cut the nori wrapper according to desired size. I divided mine into 3 and used a corrugated knife to cut it. Place the nori wrapper on a flat surface. Spread the crushed pineapple and then the Spam and the molded rice. Wrap the nori wrapper around it. Enjoy!

Impromptu Diva tip: Use the empty can of spam to mold the rice. This will give it a more polished look. Be sure to wash the empty can thouroughly. Also, keep your hands wet, it will make molding and wrapping a lot easier as the rice wont stick to your hands.

Have fun and enjoy!

Missing Home (and Three Ways of Finding Your Way Back)

A table showcasing the ingredients for a roasted turkey at the grocery store made me realize that the Holidays are here again. You see, I have mixed emotions about the holidays. One is that it's the most "merry" of times, while it also reminds me of holidays past--- and yes it makes me miss home a lot!

Home for me is the Philippines where I grew up, where my parents and all my siblings still reside in (except for my sister in Orlando) and where my roots are. Although, Thanksgiving is an American Holiday, it's still a reminder that Christmas is just around the corner. It's been 10 years since I spent Christmas in the Philippines. The only way I could bring myself closer to home is thru ... TRADITIONAL FOOD! Indeed eating traditional home cooked food is like getting a hug from home, it is PRICELESS.

Holidays in my home country are typically marked by having a lechon (roast pig) to feast on. And being surrounded by the holiday festivities at the grocery store, I started craving for ... LECHON! Whenever I crave for lechon, I make my own version, a "somewhat close to" lechon. And it is also comforting that to re-create my own "lechon" doesn't take a fortune to do so. For one, pork butt or pork shoulder is only $0.99/lb. With a currently tight budget, that's like a gift from heaven for me. And I tell you to create this dinner, all it took me was less than $10.00.

So last night, I made my version of lechon (minus the whole pig) by baking 4 lbs of pork shoulder. And funny how I was telling my hubby how I used the lechon as a metaphor about life. You see my family approaches our lechon meal differently. My kids rarely eat rice these days, and they don't eat the skin/fat either. So I made them the Soft Taco Lechon Wrap. For me, I go for a low-carb diet, so I made myself the Lechon Lettuce Wrap. My husband, who can't survive without rice, had his the traditional way, with lots of crispy skin, meat and fat covered with lechon sauce (a liver-based sauce much like gravy). Again going back to the metaphor, eating lechon can be as varied as how each one of us approaches life! LOL! That could be a different blog altogether but for now, let me share with you how we enjoyed our lechon--- 3 ways: Lechon with rice, Lechon Lettuce Wrap and Soft Taco Lechon Wrap.





Lechon ala Impromptu Diva





Ingredients




4 lbs Pork butt or pork shoulder
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks of lemongrass

Directions:

Pound the lemongrass, rub it on to the pork. Mince the garlic and mix it together with salt and pepper. Rub it on to the pork. Let it stand for about 2 hours (but it's better if you leave it overnight). Bake it at 375F for about 3 hours or when the skin gets golden brown and very crispy. Voila it's done. (I even went walking while my lechon was cooking).


We shared the same lechon, however enjoyed it in 3 different ways...oh yes it did bring us HOME!


3 ways to enjoy it:
1. Slice the lechon as is and with lechon sauce and rice... and my hubby gave me the oh so delish thumbs up.
2. Lechon Lettuce Wrap:
I chopped the lechon, with the crispy skin and tender juicy meat and scooped a spoonful of my homemade atchara (yes folks I make my own atchara and I go to the post office daily to mail since i started doing it last week).



3. Soft Taco Lechon Wrap:
I sliced the lechon meat (took out the visible fat) into strips and put it on a soft taco shell with hoisin sauce and strips of cucumber and green onions/onion leeks.

here's a link to see more pics about this blog.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44316126@N07/