It was a very busy Saturday for me. I did the laundry, cleaned the house, and cooked 2 of my favorite foods, California Maki and Coffee-Chocolate Panna Cotta. While resting and reading about hgh supplements, I came across a site showing various Japanese foods and craved on sushi rolls. That’s what made me decide to make a California Maki. I’m glad that I still have all the ingredients needed, but this time I will be using ripe mango as one of the fillers.

So here are the ingredients and tools that you’ll need:

• a bamboo mat, wrapped in plastic to avoid the rice from sticking into the mat
• 2 cups of Japanese rice
• ½ cup mirin
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Nori sheets
• Japanese Mayonnaise
• Riped mango, cut into strips
• Crab sticks
• Roe (can be bought in Japanese grocery, I also found one in Landmark Trinoma)
• Black sesame seeds (can be bought in Japanese grocery)

Procedure:

Mix the vinegar and the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cook until sugar has dissolved completely; remove from heat.

While the rice is still hot, stir the sugar-mirin mixture into the cooked rice.

Cover the bamboo mat with plastic wrap.

Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat. Spread sushi rice on top of the seaweed and press firmly.

Sprinkle sesame seeds and roe over the sushi rice. (This time, I asked Andre to assist me.)

Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top. Place mango strips and crab sticks lengthwise on the seaweed.

Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients inside the cylinder-shaped sushi. Press firmly the bamboo mat with hands, then remove the rolled sushi.

Cut the sushi roll into bite-size pieces. Top with Japanese Mayonnaise upon serving.

Here’s the final product:

I  have noticed that Andre shows interest in cooking. He sometimes imitates what I’m doing in the kitchen. One time, while I am in the market, his dad saw him beating an egg using a bowl and a wire whip. The funny thing is that he put the whole egg in the bowl with the shell on and mixed them together. So, I decided to let him participate on my cooking occasionally. I will share with you our first time to cook together.

A few weeks ago, I decided to cook Spahetti for dinner. But, this time, I decided to cook Spaghetti with meatballs the Filipino style. Why the Filipino-style? It is because we don’t like our spaghetti to be too sour like those sold in the restaurant. Also, instead of using parsley, I used kinchay. I asked Andre to help me with my cooking and he agreed willingly. I asked him to form the ground meat into balls just like the clays he used to play in school. Andre said, “Parang clay mommy! (Sabay tawa)”. He enjoyed it as well as I did because it’s a great time for bonding and it kept him busy.

Here are the ingredients:

MEATBALLS
500 grams ground beef
fresh bread crumbs from 6 tasty bread
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
1 large onion, minced
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup kinchay, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 pcs eggs, beaten

TOMATO SAUCE
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz. can
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 beef cubes
¼ cup sugar
500 g UFC sweet style Spaghetti Sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, milk, and water. Allow to steep for 3 minutes.
2. Add the ground meats, onion, garlic, kinchay, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Mix until just combined.
4. Add the eggs and mix until blended.
5. Cover bowl with a cling wrap and allow mixture to rest for at least an hour.
6. Roll into balls and fry meatballs over medium heat in oil until browned and finish off cooking in the tomato sauce for another 5-7 minutes.
8. For the tomato sauce, sauté the onion and garlic in large sauce pan.
9. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and spaghetti sauce.
10. Add the beef cubes, sugar, salt, and pepper.
11. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened approximately 30 minutes.
12. Put the meatballs and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
13. Mix the sauce with cooked pasta and top them with cheese and fresh parsley.

Here are some of the photos during the preparation.