Ginataang mais (pronounced GEE-nah-ta-ang MA-es) is a Filipino sweet corn dessert soup.  I know this may not sound too appealing for people who haven’t tried it, but it’s one of my favorite desserts and it really brings back a lot of memories.  It’s sweet enough for kids to enjoy, yet not too sweet that you couldn’t have multiple bowls in one day.

There is one ingredient that is required for ginataang that I have never used before: sweet rice.  I found a small bag for just about $5 at the international grocery store.  I haven’t seen it at regular grocery stores.  This is the kind I bought:

(Sorry, no, the frog clip does not come with it! Haha!)

One of the interesting things to note about this dish is that it can be served warm or cold, which makes it something you can make year round.

The Basics

• 5 cups of water
• 2 cups of sweet corn (I used frozen, but you can use fresh or canned as well)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of sweet rice

The Run-down

Mix all ingredients except for corn in a pot.  Heat until boiling.  Boil for about 20 minutes, uncovered.

Reduce heat to low and add corn.  Let cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve hot or refrigerate to serve cold.  Enjoy!

I never understood why there is such a stigma against brussel sprouts.  Personally I think they taste like mild, little cabbages.  By sauteing the brussel sprouts in a salty meat like bacon, prosciutto, or smoked sausage, the sprouts take on a wonderful flavor.

 The Basics

• brussel sprouts – fresh or frozen, quarter or cut in halves
• small onion – diced
• salty meat (I used smoked polish sausage) – dice
• cooking oil – I recommend vegetable oil over olive oil, because olive oil has a distinctive taste.
• salt and pepper

The Rundown

1. Saute oil on medium heat in a non-stick frying pan.
2. Add onions and cook until caramelized.  This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Add meat and mix with onions.  Cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. Add brussel sprouts and mix with meat and onions.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes until the sprouts are fork tender.  Enjoy!

I was talking with a co-worker about a recipe I read in the local newspaper.  The recipe was essentially green bean bundles wrapped with bacon.  She mentioned that her kids loved the way she prepares green beans, which I learned later called “green beans almondine”.

She sold me on the dish so I stopped by the grocery store on my way home that night to try it out.  And let me tell you, I was so blown away on how such a simple recipe could be so amazing!  I’m already planning to make this for my next event when I have to make food! 

The roasted garlic and almond flavor infuses this amazing flavor in the green beans.  I especially love the crunch factor of the garlic and almonds.  This is definitely one of my favorite sides and become something I keep in heavy rotation!

The Basics

• green beans – I used fresh but I’ve seen some recipes use frozen.  If you use fresh, be sure to wash the beans and snip the tips off
• garlic – I used 4 cloves because I love garlic; peel and mince the garlic
• almond slivers – I used about 3 tbsp
• extra virgin olive oil - about 2-3 tbsp
• salt and pepper

The Rundown

1. Steam the green beans.  (To reduce the amount of dishes I had to wash later, I used Ziploc microwave steam bags.  They are awesome!)
2. Heat the EVOO in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add garlic and almond slivers.  Keep stirring the mixture and be careful not to burn the garlic.  Golden brown = good, chocolate brown = evil.
4. Add green beans in the pan and toss. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Even though I grew up in the south, I wasn’t exposed to a lot of southern food.  It wasn’t until I was in my teens and early adulthood until I had peach cobbler and collard greens! 

I love the seasoned greens that come from a can, but I always worry about the amount of sodium.  I don’t like the lower sodium versions because its bland.  Making your own collard greens lets you control the amount of sodium and you get a lot out of a little dinero.

I like serving greens with baked chicken, friend chicken, ribs, or smoked fish.  Really, almost anything!  My friend Arianna likes to mix her greens in rice.  Which ever way you want to eat it, greens are definiately good eats!

The Basics

• A bag of fresh collard greens – I think it’s eaiser than buying the fresh greens because you have to wash them VERY well.
• Chicken both – 2 cans or 1 large box
• Smoked pork necks – Alternatively you can use smoked turkey wings
• Water – about 4 cups
• 1 small diced onion
• Garlic powder – A few shakes
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Vinegar – About 1/2 cup
• Red pepper flakes or hot pepper (optional)
• Ground mustard – A few shakes

The  Rundown

1. In a large pot, add all ingredients except water.  The greens may not be all submerged but it will cook down.
2. Cook until boiling.
3. Adjust heat to low and cover.
4. Cook for about 1.5 hours.  Enjoy!*

*I like sopping up the “dish water” (the collard green juice) with a piece of cornbread. YUM!

I’m not sure if this happens to everyone, but whenever I hear the word “quiche”, I immediately think of Rosie Perez.  What?  Is that weird?  Hahaha! 

If you’re an aficionado of 90s comedies, you might remember a great movie by the name of “White Men Can’t Jump” in which Rosie Perez is the girlfriend of Woody Harrelson.  Her character (Gloria, I think is her name) is constantly studying to be a contestant on Jeopardy and one of the topics is word that begin with “Q” (quince, quiche, etc).

Anyways, I digress.  Typical Filipino meals (including breakfast) feature rice, and this one particular morning I decided to go a different route.  I’ve only had spinach and cheese quiche made by my good friend Luisa. 

This was good, but I do wish I added some sort of salty protein like sausage crumbles or bacon to make it more lively. I made my own pie crust and followed the Easy Pie Crust Recipe from Allrecipes.com.

The Rundown

• Fresh spinach – Washed, dried and chopped roughly
• Zuchinni – Washed and diced
• Handful of shredded cheese – I used cheddar
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup of milk or heavy cream

The Basics

1. While pie crust is cooling, the oven should be preheated to 375 degrees. 
2. Beat eggs in a large bowl.
3. Add milk, cheese and veggies with a few shakes of salt and pepper.
4. Carefully pour mixture to pie crust.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until egg mixture has cooked completely.  Enjoy!

Holy guacamole, this is a super easy recipe!  Yeah, okay.  That was pretty lame.  But you know what’s NOT lame? Fresh guacamole!

I like to cook whatever is on sale, especially vegetables.  At the peak of the season you will get the best tasting and the best deal for produce.  If you can score avocados for less than $1, then that’s a heck of a deal!

Another great place to get produce are international or Asian markets, but buyer beware!  I’ve found that produce I’ve purchased there is usually already ripe so be prepared to start using it immediately!

The Basics

• 2 ripe avocados – They should be firm but have a slightly soft when given a tight squeeze.
• 1 lime – You can use lime juice if you have it.
• Garlic – 1 or 2 cloves should do the trick.  Finely minced or ground into a paste with a mortar and pestle.
• 1 small tomato; diced – I prefer Roma tomatoes.
• Coarse salt – Kosher, sea salt or the like

The Rundown

Half the avocado length-wise and running your knife against the pit.  When you remove the top half, you will have one half with the pit in tact.  To remove it, take a sharp knife and cleave it into the pit.  Hold the avocado and twist the knife and the pit should pop out.

Gently carve a grid into each half of the avocado.  Basically you will run your knife through, with the knife point scraping the inside of the avocado shell.  Once your done, you can take a spoon to scoop out the fruit.

Put the avocado in a large bowl.  Mash with a fork.  Add the garlic and tomatoes.  Add just a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime.  Mix the guacamole.  Add a little bit of salt at a time until it tastes right.

Although the lime juice will slow the browning (oxidation) of the avocado, I would recommend searching this the day of preparation or put in a air-tight container and serve the next day.  Enjoy!

A few days ago, I was challenged to make a vegan recipe.  While I could come up with vegetarian recipes, making a completely vegan meal was something I’ve never done before.

I wanted to make a satisfying meal without having to purchase specialty ingredients.  Thankfully, I was change my chicken lettuce wrap recipe into a vegan alternative!  This is a foodie exercise I will definitely try again soon!

The Basics

• Portabella mushrooms – Washed and diced into small pieces.
• 1 can of water chestnuts – Get the sliced kind and just cut them into smaller pieces.
• 1/2 med/large onion; diced
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Brown sugar
• Soy sauce
• Sesame seed oil
• Red pepper flake – Only if you want too make it spicy.
• Peanuts; optional
• Rice noodles – I checked the label and there was no animal products! Score!
• Lettuce – I used Boston lettuce.

The Rundown

In a frying pan, saute onions in a frying pan until translucent (about 3 minutes on medium heat).  Combine 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of sesame seed oil.  Add red pepper flake if you want.  Taste and adjust seasoning until it suits your tastes.

Add chopped portabella mushrooms to onions, and add prepared sauce.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes until mushrooms are fully cooked.  Add water chestnuts and a small handful of peanuts, and cook for 2 more minutes.

Put mushroom filling in a serving dish and serve with washed lettuce leaves and rice noodles.  Enjoy!

Candied yams are not just for Thanksgiving!  I LOVE candied yams (if you haven’t noticed, I have a vicious sweet tooth), but sadly it’s not a side dish I remember to make during the year because I associate it only with Thanksgiving.   But with a recipe this simple, you can definately make it year round.

This recipe comes from my mom — which is really not too surprising considering that she typically cooks for special occasions and holidays.  While this recipe excludes marshmallows, you can add them at the end!

The Basics

• Yams – peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
• Dark corn syrup – about 1 – 1 1/2 cups
• Cinnamon – about 2 tbsp
• Sugar – about 2 tbsp
• Butter – about 2 tbsp

The Rundown

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Pour a little corn syrup into an oven-safe baking dish.  Add a layer of yams and drizzle some corn syrup on top.  Mix together cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on yams.  Continue layering yams, drizzling corn syrup and sprinkling the cinnamon-sugar.

When finished, scatter thin sliced butter tabs.  Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the yams are fork tender.  If you’re adding marshmallows, add them at the end and broil the  dish for about 1-2 minutes.  Enjoy!

I love colorful food, but even more, I love TASTY colorful food. Like I mentioned before, I’ve been trying to keep a strict budget and continue bringing lunch to work.  Sometimes it’s a little difficult to make something on the healthy side when trying to save some moo-lah.

This is a pretty simple meal and is something you can make for dinner and tomorrow’s lunch!

The Basics

• Chicken – I bought chicken tenderloins for about $2-3.  You can use left-over chicken if you have it on hand.
• Pasta – I got the multicolor swirly kind with added protein.
• Diced veggies – I used tomatoes, green peppers, green onions and cucumbers
• Can of sliced olives – completely optional
• Parmesan cheese
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Italian dressing – I used about half a bottle of fat free zesty Italian dressing

The Rundown

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  I grilled it on the stove-top.  It’ll be about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how thick the chicken is.  Once done, cut the chicken into cubes.

Cook the pasta according to directions, which should be about 8 minutes in boiling water.  After draining and cooling the pasta, dump chicken, pasta and veggies in a large bowl.  Add dressing and heaping servings of cheese and mix.

You can serve it immediately or refrigerate it for later consumption! Enjoy!

Lucky Oyster is a local seafood restaurant, located in the Nimmo Parkway/Strawbridge area of Virginia Beach.  I’ve been to Lucky Oyster quite a few times, but one weekend my best friend Lindsey and I decided to try their brunch menu before a movie.

I ordered the Fresh Seafood Cobb Salad (about $12), which is a part of their standard menu.  This salad has the typical attributes of a Cobb salad (avocado, boiled eggs, and bacon) plus fresh seafood: scallops,  crab meat, and shrimp.  The salad was delicious; however when I added the Ranch dressing, the delicate flavors of the seafood.  I would suggest not mixing the salad all together if you want the different ingredients to stand out.

Bottom line:  I would order this salad again for a light meal.  If you would like something more substantial, try something else on the menu.  However if you like local seafood, check out Lucky Oyster!