Join Pinay Jade's Contest!

Here's a new contest from Pinay Jade. I'm urging everyone to enter, to have the chance of winning. Below is the list of all the prizes you can win from this fabulous contest.

* Cash Prize of US $25 from me - 1 winner courtesy of www.pinayjade.com
* BONUS PRIZE: 10 X 100 EC Credits to the top 10 best post - 10 winners to be chosen by Me www.pinayjade.com
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This contest is open to EVERYBODY :

1) who has a blog (naturally)
2) a paypal account
(optional) Entrecard account in case you win EC Credits. If you don't have an EC account and the EC prize fall on you, you can either sign up with ENTRECARD or I will pick another winner.

Just click on her link for her instructions. What are you waiting for guys? Go!
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Chilled Fruit Cheesecake

I love desserts! My family and I really love to eat sweets after heavy meals, and this is the reason why I always ask friends for recipes that I tasted and liked.

The following recipe is from a friend who gave me a chilled dessert on my birthday last year. I forgot about it but as I was preparing my menu for my father-in-law's birthday on June 12, I remembered it. And now, I'm sharing this with you.

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate cookie/biscuit crumbs
1/4 cup margarine, melted (better to use the light kind)
1 pack cream
150 g cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup orange/pineapple/mango marmalade
1 can (439 g) Fruit Cocktail (drained, reserve the syrup)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

Procedure:

Mix cookie/biscuit crumbs with melted margarine. Press into a round pan. Freeze for about 10 minutes to set.

Beat cream, cheese, sugar and marmalade until smooth.

In another bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the fruit cocktail syrup that you have reserved. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low heat until gelatin is dissolved.

Beat the gelatin into your cream mixture. Add fruit cocktail, then smooth over the chilled cookie/biscuit crust. Chill until firm. Top with preserved fruits/jam or shredded cheese before serving.

Kimchi (As Promised)

Here is the recipe that I followed. This is very similar to the Filipino "acharra" but instead of shredded green papaya, this uses cabbage. Jescel too, used cucumber in her ingredients (Spice of Life blog). This is rather spicy while our own local version is more on sweet and sour, not hot. But this could go well with grilled meat or fish. I think people who love spicy food would like this.


Ingredients

• 3 cups coarsely shredded Napa cabbage (8 ounces)
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, peeled and julienned
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons julienned ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons Chinese chile sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika


Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the cabbage and pat dry. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the carrot, bell peppers, daikon and scallion.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the fish sauce, chile sauce, the lime, lemon and orange juices and the paprika. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and toss well. Let cool. Transfer the vegetables to a tall airtight jar, cover and refrigerate for 2 weeks.

Kimchi

Today, I am not posting a new recipe because I haven't prepared one yet. But as I was watching a very funny Korean movie, I got interested in "kimchi" which seems to be one of their favorite food. So I browsed on Google and looked it up and I found varied recipes on how to prepare it.

I realized that it's a little like our local "achara" (pickled vegetables, without the cabbage). Well, I think I just have to try preparing kimchi so I could taste it before I post a recipe here.

I might do it today or tomorrow. I hope it tastes good. Wish me luck...

Roasted Lechon

What is a Filipino "fiesta" if there is no lechon? Lechon is the traditional centerpiece of a buffet table, filled with all the delectable dishes that people prepare for a very sumptuous meal during fiestas anywhere in the archipelago.

Usually, our local lechon is cooked over burning charcoal, a long bamboo pole is inserted from its mouth straight into the rear part of the lechon. Cooking is slow, it usually takes an hour up to two hours, depending on the size of the lechon.

However, for the purpose of those who want to serve lechon to a small group, you can prepare it in the comfort of your kitchen using your gas range.

Here's how to cook "lechon de leche".


ROASTED LECHON

Ingredients:

8 kilos whole lechon de leche(piglet, without its internal organs)
2 tsp sage
2 tbsp oregano
cracked black pepper
1 2/4 cups olive oil
onions, leeks, and lemongrass for stuffing

Procedure:

Bend both legs of the piglet and secure with a kitchen twine.
In a bowl, mix sage, oregano and black pepper.
Rub mixture all over the meat.
Pour olive oil on the piglet and massage all over.
Stuff the cavity with onions, leeks, and lemongrass.
Brush a large piece of foil with olive oil then use this to cover the lechon.
Roast in the oven until done, about one hour or so.