Muscovado Sugar

Nature's Muscovado Specialty Sugar P114 per 1kg

     I've been using muscovado sugar for more than a year now.  I use it in our coffee, milk, fruit juices and also for cooking.  Muscovado sugar retains all of the natural ingredients of sugar cane, making it a healthy alternative to white sugar . High in nutritional value, comparable even to pure honey. Muscovado sugar is unrefined, with a high mineral content.  White sugar on the other hand is bleached with chemicals to remove the molasses.  The refining process  for producing white sugar have eliminated all traces of nutrients in it.

     My kids got used to muscovado flavor in their milk, the sugar cane flavor made them think I am putting chocolate in it.  It's good to introduce healthier options to children while they are still young, so they consume less chemical foods while they are growing up.


     I buy Nature's Muscovado Specialty Sugar for P114 per 1kg packaging  at Robinson's Supermarket.  In it's packaging, they claim that it's pesticide free wherein no synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides are used from planting to harvesting of the sugarcane. It also went through a chemical-free process, absolutely no synthetic chemical additives nor has it been bleached or stripped of the flavor of sugar cane.

PASSI Premium Raw Cane Sugar P22 per 500g

     If the recipe I'm going to cook or bake calls for white sugar, I use PASSI Premium Raw Cane Sugar for P22 per 500g packaging.  This brand smells and taste better than the regular washed sugar I used to buy in the market, plus it comes in a resealable pack. 
   
    

    

Amber Restaurant

     My husband loves Amber's Pansit Malabon and Pichi-Pichi.  They have the best pichi-pichi I have tried, and my son loves their pork barbecue.  We ordered Original Pansit Malabon for 25 persons for P800, Lumpiang Shanghai 25 pieces for P200, Pork Barbecue 20 pieces for P340 and Pichi-pichi 60 pieces for P240.  Since the delivery charge is P150, I decided to include in our order some single serving of their different pansit in their menu.  We tried Bihon Guisado, Canton Special, Sotanghon Guisado, Bihon Guisado and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

Original Pansit Malabon P800

Fried Lumpiang Shanghai 25pcs P200

Pichi-pichi 60pcs P240

Sotanghon Guisado P50

Canton Special P50

Bihon Guisado P50

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce P60

     I forgot to take a picture of their Pork Barbecue but it's one of the best in their menu.  The meat and vegetable toppings used in their different pansit recipe taste just the same and cooked the same way too they just used different types of noodles.  The meat in their pansit taste a little sweet so a bit different from the usual pansit we used to try.  The pichi-pichi is really soft and the coconut toppings compliments it a lot, I like it more than the cheese toppings I have tried  before.

Boracay Sandwich - Army Navy

     Few of the things I miss about Boracay is the food.  We have this sandwich at Jonah's which I think would taste better if I'm the one who's going to prepare it.  I was a bit disappointed with their recipe because it didn't turned out what I have expected.  Their loaf bread I think is a bit burnt, their cheese sauce is too thin and lots of margarine not butter and the milk curdled.

     Ingredients:
          loaf bread lightly toasted
          cooked ham
          sunny side up eggs
          cheese
          butter
          milk






Procedure:

     1.  Lightly toast the loaf bread so it will not become too soggy when you put the cheese sauce.

     2.  Cook ham in oil until lightly browned on the edges.  Cook eggs the sunny side up way, put a little salt to taste.

     3.  Arrange the sandwich, first the loaf bread then put egg.

       4.  Put another bread on top of the egg and put ham and top again with another piece of bread.

     5.  Prepare the special cheese sauce.  In a small sauce pan put milk, butter and grated cheese.  Heat the mixture until the cheese are melted, do not boil or the milk will curdle.  Pour over the sandwich.

     This should be served as soon as you poured the cheese sauce, letting it sit too long in the sauce will make the bread soggy.  I was able to make this sandwich from Boracay a lot better, now I think I will not miss the food so much... Enjoy a taste of Boracay!

Seafood Pasta

Seafood Pasta

Ingredients:
     minced garlic
     minced onion
     chopped tomatoes
     tomato juice
     shrimp
     squid
     mussel
     tomato sauce
     dried oregano
     dried basil
     salt and pepper to taste
     parsley and basic for garnishing

How to prepare the tomatoes
      I bought about eight pieces of medium sized ripe tomatoes and cut them in half so I can remove the seeds.  I used a fine sieve to get the juice and set it aside. Blanch the tomatoes with hot water so it will be easy to peel the skin off and then chop it to smaller pieces.

 

     Boil mussel until cooked.  Open the shell and remove the other part of the shell without meat.

Procedure:
     1.  Saute garlic in vegetable oil until lightly browned, add in onions and saute until soft.

     2.  When the onions are cooked, add in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are soft.  Add all the seafoods and saute until shrimp turned orange. 

     3.  Add dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. 

     4.  Add in tomato sauce and tomato juice and simmer until cooked.  If the sauce is to thick, you can put chicken stock to thin it a little.

     5.  Combine cooked pasta with sauce and put minced fresh basil leaves on top.

Garden

     When I came back from Boracay, first thing I checked are my vegetable plants.  My husband made a drip irrigation for me so that in our one week stay at Boracay, somehow my plants can survive.

Carbon Block Filter

Drip Irrigation

       Though it was raining most of the day, some of my pots are under the roof and needs to be watered regulary.  I am really surprised the plants are doing great.  This is what it looked like when I got back.

 

     I was planning to cut this tomato plant so that I can put compost and prepare it for another plant that needed a bigger container.  Thought I do it when when I get back because I was so busy, the fruits was still small then. 

White Icicle Radish

Eggplant

Red Bell Pepper

Upland Kangkong, Eggpalnt, Sitaw, Tomato, Red Bell Peppers and Radish

        I was still able to harvest few vegetables from my garden, I cooked sinigang that day.  Now, I am preparing most of the pots, I am putting compost and burnt rice hull to improve the soil.  I have sowed pechay, okra, lettuce and sitaw today.

Boracay Day 6

     We are going island hopping on our day 6 at Boracay.  I was able to talk to the captain of one paraw ship and he gave me P1200 for three hours rent of his paraw.  We went snorkeling twice and went to Puka Beach.  I collected a couple of shells for souvenirs.

      A paraw is a small boat that is native to the Philippines. It's single shallow hull is usually made from wood and bamboo which is sturdy and versatile. On a paraw's sides are two floaters or logs that act as outriggers to help balance the boat and prevent it from capsizing.  At Puka Beach, there's a small cave called Puka Cave entrance is P20 each.  The children on the island will light a candle for the guests and they have flash lights you can barrow to explore the cave.

           After our paraw experience we are so tired my husband just bought food so we can just eat in our room  Andok's Roasted Chicken for P250 and plain rice P48.  In the afternoon, we went for a stroll on the white beach.  We went to Zuzuni for a light snack.  I tried their Tzatziki P165 - Pita bread with yogurt and cucumber dip.  My kids wanted Deluxe Waffle P205 and Chocolate Mati Sin P250 which is just like choco lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

Deluxe Waffle P205

Chocolate Mati Sin P250

Tzatziki P165

     While walking along the beach on our last night in Boracay we bought Mango Fruit Shake P95 at Jonah's, Starbucks Coffee's Dark Chocolate Mocah P185 and Loco Frio Mai Tai flavor.

Station 1, Beach Front

Dark Chocolate Mocha P185

Beachfront in Station 1

Loco Frio Bottle with Mai Tai Frozen Cocktail P270

Boracay Day 4

After staying at the beach from 7 to 9am, we just spent the day walking along the white beach.  We had lunch at Andok's.  We heard they have sisig, my husband wanted to try it.  Sizzling Sisig for P145 and Bistek Rice P70, extra rice at P12 each and as usual Dokito w/ Rice P42 and Spaghetti P33.  For the dessert we tried Aria's Gelato, Italian Ice Cream.  Variegato Amarena Cherries and Nuttela for P90 each.

Sizzling Sisig P145

Bistek Rice P70

Aria Gelato Italian Ice Cream

      It was raining so we decided to eat in our room for dinner.  My husband bought something to eat at Andok's.  Pork Sinigang P69, Dokit Frito P42, Pork BBQ P44(P22x2), Spaghetti P99(P33x3) and Steamed Rice P36(P12x3).  There's also Julie's Bakeshop at the D'mall, my husband bought assorted bread for breakfast for P179.

Boracay Day 5

     It's really nice to go to the beach early in the morning.  My kids enjoys playing a lot.  There are a lot of toys available on the stores along white beach, we bought something for them to play on the sand.

     We went to Don Vito Restorante Italiano for our lunch.  I heard it was awarded as Best Restaurant in the Philippines for 2011.  The restaurant looked cozy, the waiter asked us if we wanted to dine outside the restaurant so we can have a beautiful view of the beach while eating.  I decided to eat inside the restaurant so my youngest will not have the chance to easily go outside where the kids are playing.

     I wanted to try their Giardinera Pizza, it's an Italian wood-fire brick oven baked pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozarella grilled eggplant, asparagus, bell pepper, zuchini, onions, tomato and fresh basil P410.  I ordered Grilled Island Herb Chicken - A juicy boneless half chicken, specially marinated with herbs (thyme, basil and tarragon) served with mushroom gravy sauce, rice and vegetables P295. Classic Spaghetti with Meatballs. - spaghetti in tomato sauce, served with meatballs made from ground beef meat, mixed with sauteed onions, parsley, garlic and egg P360. For dessert we tried their Tiramisu ala don Vito for P160 and Gelato, Italian Ice Cream for P163 for 4 scoops.

Giardinera Pizza P410

Grilled Island Herb Chicken P295

Classic Spaghetti with Meatballs P360

Tiramisu ala don Vito P160

Gelato Ice Cream Vanilla and Chocolate P163

     In the afternoon we walked along white beach to see the sunset but it was too cloudy.  We had our henna tattoo, I got mine for P150 and my husband got his tribal henna tattoo for P250.

Henna Tattoo P150

Tribal Design P250

      We went to Rumba's Bar and Restaurant for our dinner. The restaurant is known for their US Angus Beef for P880, their Mango Shake is P110 and Sprite for P60. While waiting for our order, my kids went to try the Ferris Wheel P30 each and wall climbing for P50.

Ferris Wheel P30 per head

P50 per wall climbed

US Angus Beef P880

Spaghetti Bolognese P295

Half Pound Burger P170