Banananana Bread*

*borrowed heavily from from Terry Pratchet's Discworld books with its banananana daquiri references


I cleaned out my fridge yesterday. It looked a lot worse but this is how it looks now. I was sick and tired of having frozen stuff fall out and bruising my noggin and toes. Plus, there were a lot of stuff in there that needed to be thrown out (like half eaten popsicle sticks - Billy's). There were mysterious food stuff there from God-knows-when but then I just stuffed it back in. I might chuck them out later. And then I spied this. A lot of it.



It's not what you think. That mass of black stuff used to be bananas, old bananas that were too mushy to eat. I used to chuck them into the trash bin until somebody told me it was great for banana bread, just stuff it in the freezer and thaw until I was ready to use it for baking. Only this time, I think I had about two bunches of bananas, all stocked up.

So I took down a batch (there were enough there for 4 batches), thawed it. And took out my handy, dandy recipe book. Here's my very own recipe of Banana Bread.

Banananana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups unsifted flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups ripe, mashed bananas
1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn oil is the best)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped chocolate pieces

1. Lightly grease the bottom of a bread loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine the first dry ingredients in a large, mixing bowl.

3. In another bowl, add banans, oil, eggs and milk. Blend with a handheld immersion blender until everything looks like creamy porridge.

4. Mix the wet and dry indredients together.


5. Add the chocolate pieces to the batter. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center, comes out clean.


*Note: If you have too much batter like I did, just get out your muffin cups and make banana muffins.


And you would know if you did a good job. Because you will get scenes like this.

Happy baking!

Paksiw na Bangus (Boiled Pickled Milkfish)

When I was little, this was my least favorite lunch food. It was like eating sour fish in very little sauce. Usually, paksiw means stewed or to stew in Filipino. Paksiw na Isda is stewed fish. The fish I used is Bangus or what you call milkfish in English. It has a gazillion bones in it and it annoys the heck out of my hubby when he sees me try to eat it. LOL

But the bangus belly, with its cm of glistening fat, is one of the most scrumptious things in the world. And paksiw na isda is best served after 2 days in the fridge. Letting it sit for awhile enhances and brings out the best flavor in the dish. One guilty luxury of eating paksiw is that after you pour some sauce over rice, add a smidgen of oil rendered from pork fried in it. Not too much, you just want to add a sheen of goodness in your rice. And to eat it, just have a saucer of fish sauce ready to dip pieces/chunks in it.

Here's the recipe to make Paksiw na Bangus. Note: you can substitute sardines or any firm, white fleshed fish for the dish.

Paksiw na Isda

1 kilo Bangus (milkfish) or any white-fleshed fish, scaled, gutted and cleaned
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 inch ginger, sliced
2 pieces banana peppers or any green, mild chili peppers
1 asian eggplant, sliced diagonally

1. Cut the bangus fish into 4 slices. Place fish in a non-reactive pan such as a teflon or porcelain coated skillet. I used my Vision glass pan for this. Add all other ingredients, except the water and the eggplant.

2. Cover and bring to a boil. When the vinegar starts boiling, add the water. Let simmer about 10 minutes, turning fish once to cook evenly.

3. Transfer to a covered dish and store in the refrigerator to "age" for 2 days. After that, once again bring the paksiw to a simmer and then add the eggplant slices and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked.

Serve with rice and fish sauce for dipping.

I need sleep...

more cat pictures

It was another 5:00 am morning wake-up for me. It wasn't my internal clock this time (that was yesterday), it was the sound of Billy crying because his feet hurt. Growing pains that's what hubby calls them. Billy and I were already up last night several times, with me rubbing his feet to make them feel better. I even tried the tying a loose sock/towel over the ankles technique (perfected by Meemaw [HubbyMom] on Hubby's knees and foot when he had the growing pains when he was a kid).

Nothing worked.

Until I remembered my Mom telling me that my brother had growing pains too when he was little and soaking the achy feet in warm water until it cooled help lessen the pain. I made Billy come down from his bed and heated up some water. He sat in the sofa and when the water was ready, poured it in a basin and let him soak it while I brewed myself some decaf coffee.



Five minutes later... this happened -> It worked. Moms really do know what's best.

So when the water cooled I made Billy climb back into bed to get more sleep. It was still 5:30 am. I am still up with my big mug of decaf coffee.

Now if I can only go back to doing this.

Paksiw na Isda (Pickled Fish Stew)

The photo may not look appetizing but Paksiw na Isda or Pickled Fish stew is a comfort dish for a lot of Filipinos. It is usually made with bangus or milkfish or any firm white-fleshed fish like sardines. I used to be really not fond of dish. I only like the sauce mixed with pork fat oil and drizzled over rice. Oh, it may not sound good but it tastes divine.

I got a couple of bangus fish from my friend, Elena, who's selling Filipino products here in Korea. I was wondering what to do with the fish until I remembered about paksiw. So I went on a search on the internet and found the recipe that sounded like how my mom would do it. I found one and tried it out. I had my pork fat oil too and the first taste was heaven. It brough back a flood of memories, of lunches with long gone elderly relatives.

In my family, there is usually fried pork chops or pork slices that accompany a paksiw meal. Sometimes, my mom would buy chicharon or pork cracklings and we would eat them with the paksiw. It goes like this, take a piece of fish, put on top of a spoonful of rice, load it in your mouth and then take a bite of chicharon. Everything comes together in a wonderful mixture of texture and taste. So if you're adventurous enough to try this very Filipino dish, here's the recipe.

Paksiw na Isda

1 whole milkfish, gutted, scaled and sliced into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 whole cloves of garlic
1 japanese eggplant, cut into 2-inch diagonal slices
1 bitter melon, cut like the eggplant (OPTIONAL: I don't really like bitter melon so I leave this out.
2 tbsp. of pork fat oil
2 banana chili peppers (Optional if you don't want the heat)

1. In a non-reactive pot, place the ginger slices and garlic cloves on the bottom of the pan. Add the fish pieces on top. Add the vinegar and turn on the heat. Cover and wait for it to boil.

2. When the vinegar starts to boil, add the salt and the water. Lower down the heat and simmer. After 10 minutes, add the eggplant, banana peppers and bitter melon. Simmer until the veggies are cooked. When done, add the pork oil on top.

Note: This dish is best enjoyed after a day or two in the fridge. Usually my mother would make this a day before she plans to serve it to us. The time in the fridge makes all the flavors meld and the dish takes one a different level.

Diniguan (Filipino Chocolate Stew)

No, it is not the Philippines' version of the Mexican dish Mole, but a blood stew. Some would say that Diniguan or Pork Offal in Blood Stew would be a dish fit for the Fear Factor Show. But I would say, they shouldn't diss the dish until they tried it. When done right, Diniguan is a savory stew with tender bits of offal and pork cubes in it. Different regions of the Philippines have different recipes for it. Some even add coconut milk to the stew.


Here's my easy version of the stew. I cheat using cooked offal that you can buy with the Korean Sundae sausages (pictured on top). Sundae sausages are blood sausages stuffed with potato noodles and some chopped veggies. They're usually dipped in salt mixed with red pepper powder (gochukaroo). When served the sliced sausages have sliced lung, liver, pigs head/ear and other offal with it.

Diniguan is usually made when we Filipinos cook lechon (Roasted Pig on a spit). When the pig is killed, cleaned and gutted for the lechon, the various innards are not wasted but cooked in savory stews like Diniguan, Menudo (Offal Stew in Tomato Sauce) or the Ilocano soup called Pinapaitan (Bitter Soup).


For the Diniguan, here's the ingredients you would need. Note: all the offal here are of piggy origin. You may substitute chicken innards or beef innards, if you have them.
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked liver, cubed
1 cup cooked lung, cubed
1 cup cooked intestines, cubed
1 cup cooked stomach, cubed
2 cups cooked pork with some fat on it, cubed
2 cups of pig's blood
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 small, onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a knob of ginger, sliced
1 small package of Filipino Sinigang mix (or a spoonful of tamarind paste)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup of pork stock or water
2 banana chilis or any mild-flavored chili pepper that you have
salt and pepper

1. In a large bowl, dump the blood and vinegar and maserate (mash) with your hands. This is to prevent the blood from coagulating.
2. In a large wok or pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the ginger pieces and stirfry until golden-brown. (You can actually smell the aroma of the ginger when it is done). Add the minced garlic and do the same. Now add the diced onion and stir-fry until it changed color.
3. Dumped all the cooked meat (offal and pork cubes) into the pot. Stir-fry everything for 5 minutes. This is important as the little bits of meat gets caramelized and will make the stew taste better.
4. When everything has bits of toasty brown bits all over it, add the pork blood. Stir everything and then add the pork stock or water. Let simmer.
5. When it starts to simmer, add your Sinigang mix. If you're using tamarind paste, mix some hot water to it in a little bowl so that it will dissolve first.
6. Add your chili peppers now. Let the stew simmer, not boil as you don't want the blood sauce to curdle.
7. After 10 minutes of simmering, take the pot off the heat and serve the diniguan stew with fresh, hot rice.