By Walter Trupp > Train your Taste. One of the most important keys to being a successful cook is to understand and learn when something tastes right.
At the beginning of your journey with food and its preparation, almost everything new to you will taste amazing. Learning about food is easy, and the process can be sped up by paying attention to the food you consume every day and by asking as many questions as possible. Continue reading 10 Steps to Improve Yourself as a Cook
By: Sherry Sorono | We call it “Ampalaya”. In the Visayas Region of the Philippines, they call it “Amargoso” because of its bitterness. In Southeast Asia like in India, Pakistan and Banladesh; they call it “Bittergourd” or “Bittermellon”. Photo credit: Tastebuds Unlimited by Beth Celis
Ugly they are! and bitter too. But it is that bitterness that health expert s claim rids the body of its toxicity. We have gotten around that bitterness issue by concocting so many recipes, versions and twists in dealing with it.
Chopped in thin slices, its innards are scraped away by a spoon and then the slices are sprinkled with a little salt and after they are mixed in a mixing bowl, they are squeezed to take a little f that bitterness out.
Continue reading Sauteed Bittermelon with Egg
I bet most of us know Popeye and his very famous energy booster, the mighty spinach. When we were kids, we probably thought that it can only be found on cartoons, but wait, did you know that we have our very own type of Spinach growing here in the Philippines?
This tropical plant is the Water Spinach, with a scientific name of Ipomea Aquatica, or more commonly known here in our country as our very own “Kangkong”. You wouldn’t have any difficulties in finding this vegetable as this is popular among Filipinos, offered at a very cheap price at $0.25 per bundle (that’s about Philippine Peso: 10) over at the market or grocery supermarkets. Continue reading Health Benefits of Water Spinach
A Reblog | By: kabcphotography | In Tel Aviv, with 85 degree weather, its hard to say that its Fall. As much as I love long summer days filled with the beach and watermelons, I truly miss the feeling of Autumn. I miss apple orchards and pumpkin patches and the scent of warm spices.
While patiently waiting for soup season to kick in, I’ve prepared a light, whole grain salad filled with mediterranean flavors.
Continue reading Whole Wheat Couscous Salad with Za’atar Roasted Eggplant
By: Karen Bermejo | A Reblog | Since it started its operation in August 2005, Olé Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant has since become one of the most active restaurants in the island paradise of Boracay.
As what this Spanish word means, it has done a “good job” in serving its customers from over one hundred countries that have visited this unique and very palatable place, represented by the flags at the entrance of the restaurant.
Olé for some is also an expression of excitement.
Thus, the restaurant offers an exciting gastronomic experience of Spanish, Mexican & Cuban cuisine, and Filipino dishes too.
Olé is famous for its Spanish Paella, Mexican Fajitas and Cuban Palomilla Steak with Black Beans.
Mexican Fajitas
Spanish Paella
Other favorites include Nachos & Tacos, the Chicken Curry, the Filet Mignon and its various Fish and Seafood Entrees.
An Olé in Boracay experience is never complete too without the cold and hot Tapas, or Spanish appetizers and snacks with over 28 choices which include – Gambas Ajillo, Tabla de Chorizo, Shrimp Cocktail, Tabla de Manchego and Jamon Serrano which could tempt anyone to just eat more.
They also have a brand new breakfast menu that features healthy dishes made with poached eggs, salmon, spinach and other all the good things to eat.
Other choices include the famous favorites like French toast, pancakes; and eggs which could be cooked in nine different ways depending on how you like them.
For those in plant-based diet or in meatless lifestyle, Olé also offers vegetarian delights.
Indeed, there is something for everyone.
You can feast at Olé 24 hours a day and choose breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes all throughout the period.
To complete your sumptuous meal, another must try is their Spanish national drink, the Sangria. They also have a wide selection of wine from Spain, France, America, Australia and Chile at their bar. Beer lovers too could feast on over 20 selections of imported drinks. For healthy buffs, fresh special fruit shakes are also on their menu list to choose from.
The latest news from Olé is that they are expanding to cater more diners.
Come October, the second floor will soon be available to cater hungry locals and tourists alike – to bring its famous dishes to more customers.
What could be better dining experience is having the nicest people around. Olé thus have a capable, large staff supervised by experienced managers.
So, the next time you visit the island, give yourself “a treat you deserve.”
Never miss to drop by at Olé Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant along D’ Mall Boracay.*
To know more about Olé Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant in Boracay, visit their website at http://www.oleinboracay.com/
——————————————-
by SugarWithaSpice on September 18, 2013
By: Seth Kugel | A Reblog > Roasting a chipa caburé, a type of cake, in a tatakua, or traditional oven. Cooking a chipa caburé in a tatakua is surprisingly like roasting a marshmallow in a campfire. After wrapping dough around a stick, you place it just barely inside the edge of the domed brick oven and rotate it slowly. Get too close to the wood fire and the exterior burns; rotate it just enough and it browns beautifully as the inside cooks through, ready to be slid off the stick and eaten hot.I roasted my first ever chipa caburé – a corn, cheese and manioc starch cake the size of a corn dog with a doughnut hole where the dog would be – on a recent Saturday in the home of María Jacinta Leguizamón. Doña Jacinta, as she is known, lives in Asunción, the rarely visited capital of the rarely visited (and landlocked) country of Paraguay. On weekends she runs an informal prepared-foods service out of her humble home for the Loma San Jerónimo neighborhood, selling traditional foods like chicharo huiti (pork meat coated in corn meal) and sopa paraguaya, a tender cornbread. Nearby were the tatakua, a couple of gobbling turkeys and a slew of family members. “She’s anti-commercial,” her daughter-in-law, Zunilda Arce, a pediatrician, told me. “She does it the way you’re supposed to do it.”
Cuzco and Rio de Janeiro need not fear: Asunción, a city of about 500,000, is not poised to become the next tourism capital of South America. But it is a fascinating window into Paraguayan history and culture. Over the last 150 years, the country has been beaten up by two punishing wars and one wicked dictatorship, but has emerged with a fierce and peculiar independent spirit represented by (among other things) a national indigenous language — Guaraní — that just about everyone mixes liberally with Spanish. The city (and country) make for an interesting side trip from Buenos Aires or Iguazú Falls — or, though it would be a bold call, a trip of its own for travelers who prefer their destinations off-beat, unexplored, mighty friendly and shockingly inexpensive. Asunción was a bargain in just about every way imaginable (except for the $160 entry visa for Americans); for starters, its buses cost 2,000 guaraníes, or 50 cents at 4,000 guaraníes to the dollar, and get you just about anywhere.
Seth Kugel At Bartholu’s, sandwiches go for less than $5, and diners can customize them with a long row of toppings.But it is not a journey of the obvious. A good orientation involves reading a little history – you know, history, the part of the guidebook you usually skip past – and soaking up two powerful museums that go a long way to explaining Paraguayan identity. > Read More
______________
Bloglink: A Reblog from | The Frugal Traveler > http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/in-asuncion-paraguay-small-scale-charms-and-a-complex-history/?smid=fb-share&_r=0
make eat simple 