What’s Cooking?
A different way of cooking hotdogs for kids
Andre loves hotdogs as much as I do, and all kids do! I know that we should avoid kids eating processed foods like hotdogs, but it would be impossible because they are really delicious and parent like me also love them. Maybe we just have to limit them from eating them everyday. Twice a week will do. 
I was thinking of a different way of cooking hotdogs. Normally, hotdogs are cooked by frying and grilling. This time, I am cooking hotdogs the different way. Since Andre loves hotdogs and catsup, I have come-up with a recipe using both. Here it goes:
I used 12 pcs of cocktail hotdogs and sliced them diagonally. I sautéed 1 medium chopped onion in 1 tsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp butter. Then I added the hotdogs and 2 tbsp of catsup. I let them cook for about 3 minutes and seasoned with salt and ground pepper.
Voila! A new hotdog recipe that kids will surely love. It is so easy diba!
Litratong Pinoy: Almusal – Tinapang Bangus, Pritong Talong, Itlog, at Kamatis
Sarap ng walang pasok! Dahil walang pasok kahapon, at feeling ko eh Linggo, naghanda ako ng masarap na almusal. Pumunta kami ng maaga sa palengke ng aking mister upang bumili ng mga sahog para sa ulam. Nakakita ako ng boneless tinapang Bangus at aking iyong binili upang aming agahan. Sinamahan ko din ng talong para iprito. Habang ako’y nagpiprito, nagsaing ako at inilagay sa ibabaw ang 2 itlog at kamatis. At ito ang kabuuan ng aming agahan:
Tinapang bangus, pritong talong, kamatis, at nilagang itlog.
Sautéed Shrimp with wine, mushrooms and cheese
Last Saturday, I was thinking of what to do with a half kilo of shrimp in the freezer. I need a very easy and simple dish for dinner because I have no enough time to cook that night because I need to go the nearest mall to look for the best wrinkle creams for my aunt. Sautéing is the fastest way that came into my mind. I have come up with a very simple dish using one of the common ingredients that can be found in my pantry, button mushrooms. I always include mushrooms in my grocery list. Aside from the fact that I love mushrooms, they are also easy to cook. I can easily sauté it on butter and garlic and make a very easy side dish, which is best to pair with fried fish or chops.
At first, I was thinking of just sautéing the shrimps in butter, garlic, and mushrooms. But, I wanted a recipe that is untraditional. The result: Sautéed Shrimp with wine, mushrooms and cheese.
Here are the ingredients:
½ kilo of medium-sized shrimps, shelled
2 tsp of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of mushrooms (pieces and stems)
1 TBSP white wine
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Procedure:
Firstly, I sautéed the onion and garlic in olive oil. After the onion became translucent, I put the mushrooms and cook it for 1 minute. Then I put all the shrimps and white wine and let it simmer for 2 minutes or until the wine evaporates. (Note: Do not stir! Just let the white wine to evaporate.) Then I seasoned it with salt and pepper. Put them on a plate and topped them with parmesan cheese.
Voila! Isn’t that simple and easy?
Singaporean-Style Chili Crab
I soooo love crabs!!! Last Thursday, I wasn’t able to go to the market due to the typhoon. Luckily, a vendor passed by our house selling crabs. So I excitedly asked him how much is his crabs. He told me that it costs P340 a kilo of female crabs and P280 a kilo for male crabs. I chose the female crabs because they have more “aligue”, my favorite part of the crab. I’ve bought 3 medium-sized crabs that is about 800 grams and paid only P250. Tumawad pa ako hehe.
However, the husband is not fond of crabs because, according to him, crabs are difficult and messy to eat, and it doesn’t make him fully-satisfied. But, I insisted to cook them using a different recipe.
Here it goes:
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized fresh water crabs ( alimango )
1 head minced garlic
a thumb-size ginger, chopped and crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup tomato catsup
2-4 pcs red chilis (or more, if you want them spicier)
2 TBSP oyster sauce
2 tbsp Chili-garlic Sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee)
1/3 c vegetable oil
salt and pepper
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2 TBSP soy sauce
¼ cup water, or as needed
1 tsp sesame oil
How to do it:
Scrub crabs with stiff brush and rinse well under cold running water.
Remove claws and smash slightly.
Chop crab backs into two. Take extra care to avoid discarding the aligue. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok and fry crabs for 2 to 3 minutes. The crabs will change its color to orange. Set aside.
In the same wok, sauté the ginger, garlic, and onion. Lower the heat to avoid the garlic from getting burned.
Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, tomato catsup, salt, pepper, chili-garlic sauce, water, and red chilies. Let it simmer for 1 minute in medium heat.
Then add vinegar. Don’t stir for 3 minutes.
Add the sugar. You will notice that the sauce will thicken. You may add more water if the sauce turned out to be very thick.
And finally, add the crab and sesame oil. Cover the wok and cook for about 5-8 minutes.
Serve with plain rice.
Voila! Dinner is ready! This Singaporean-Style Chili Crabs made my day. 
Avocado Smoothies
Avocado is one of my favorite fruits. But, I believe it only bears fruit once in a year. We have an avocado tree in my hometown, which I planted when I was seven years old. It used to bear many fruits before, but these past years, there were only a few. It didn’t stop to bear fruits but it stopped growing.
If I remember it right, the tree bears fruit during the rainy season. I’ve been seeing avocados in fruit stands lately and recently found out that it is a cure to hormonal imbalance. As I’ve said before, I have Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome, wherein one of the causes is hormonal imbalance. Two weeks ago, I bought about 2 kilos of avocados and made an Avocado Smoothie. Oh boy, they were so good. I wish they are available all year round.
By the way, here’s the procedure on how to make an Avocado Smoothie: In a blender, combine meat from 3 avocados, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup sugar (or adjust according to your desired sweetness), 3 cups crushed ice or 1 tray ice cubes, and 1 cup water. Blend well. Transfer to a glass. This is a great refreshment. Love it!