Corn Muffin (The Kenny Rogers’ Imitation)

I remember the first time I went to Iloilo City 7 or 8 years ago. The first thing I really looked forward to was SM City and Kenny Rogers. Since they didn’t have KR in Bacolod that time, we can only eat KR’s chicken and corn muffin when we go to Iloilo City. The muffin was one of the best in KR aside from their chicken. Although they have a very tough competition with Max’s, nothing can beat the delicious Corn Muffin. 

I was craving the whole day for anything with corn and I was so sad we don’t have Kenny Rogers here in Israel. What I did, I searched for corn muffin recipes in the internet and came across a site (homecookingrocks.com) where the blogger made a corn muffin a la Kenny Rogers. I believe she found the recipe in another blogsite. The ingredients are very simple. I can actually find everything in my kitchen aside from corn cobs which I need to buy in the supermarket. But because it’s Saturday today, everything is closed and I can’t wait for tomorrow to eat corn muffins, I decided to make it with canned whole corn kernels. Huzzah! Haha.

Fany was not so excited about it since she doesn’t like Muffins (daw!). When she was in United States, she ate muffins every single day the whole month that she was fed up and told herself she will not eat muffin again ever! (Let’s see). So as always, I will share the recipe and I really hope everyone should try it at home. 15 minutes preparation and 25 minutes of baking = delicioussssss/super sarap corn muffins! Yum!

here are some of the ingredients

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal or polenta

2/3 cup sugar 

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter; softened

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup milk

shreded corn from 2 cobs (as I mentioned, I used canned whole corn kernel which was drained very well and was about 330g)

Combine the softened butter, eggs, sugar and honey in a large mixing bowl and beat using a wire whisk. You can use the electric mixer but it’s not really necessary. Mix well until smooth.

Dump in your flour, cornmeal and baking powder and whisk together with your milk. Mix it really well.

When it’s smooth enough, dump in your corn kernels and fold in mixing it well with your mixture.

Divide it into 12 in your muffin tray and bake it in preheated 180C oven for 25 minutes.

Ready to Eat! =)

NOTE: My muffins doesn’t look nice compared to others who did the same because I forgot I have a turbo oven. I should have bake it in 160C instead of 180C or take it out after 20 minutes instead of 25. It should have been light yellow and not brown.. Haha. 

Anyways, it’s soooooo delicious (yabang!) and guess what? After 15 years, Fany ate a muffin again. Haha. She even told me to make more next time. I’m going out to meet some friends and maybe I’ll bring some for them to taste. Thanks guys for reading. Have a blessed weekend. =)

Zucchini Pashtida

This recipe was from Didy, Fany’s bestest friend. This was the first thing I cooked when I started to work with Fany 3 years ago. Usually I make Broccoli or Cauliflower Pashtida but I tried Zucchini and it was delicious. I was kinda afraid at first because I was thinking that Zucchini is watery and it can ruin the consistency of the recipe but like other vegetables, I washed it with cold water after boiling because it can be overcooked if you let it cool by itself. Then you have to drain or strain it well too until you cannot see any drop of water sipping through your strainer. This is best to serve warm with low fat yogurt or sour cream.

<—all you need are these 3 large zucchinis cubed like this —>

Other ingredients are:

3 tbsp. plain flour
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
3 eggs
100 g. Bulgarian Cheese; slightly salted
100 g. Cashcaval Cheese
(or you can use any solid cheese you like)
salt and pepper

• Preheat your oven to 180C.
• Boil your zucchini for about 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook it.
• Wash your boiled zucchini with cold running water and drain it well.
• In a large bowl, beat your eggs well together with your flour and mayonnaise.

my mixed eggs, flour and mayonnaise

• Dump in your well drained cold zucchini (make sure it’s cold enough).
• salt and pepper to taste.
• Dump in 3/4 of your cheeses leaving the 1/4 for toppings.

mixed with cheeses

• Mix well and transfer to a greased baking pan. You can grease your pan with melted butter but I prefer to use olive oil.
• Sprinkle the rest of the cheeses on top.

ready for the oven

• Bake it for about 30-40 minutes or until it started to be golden brown.

the best part is the burnt cheeses on top. Haha!

I just love the colors of green zucchini against the yellow-golden-brown. Some makes zucchini pashtida without the skin but i think, what makes this pashtida tempting and yummier are the colors. Hope you’ll try it at home and share it here. =)

My Brave Antibodies!

Sooooo happy with my Helicobacter Pylori Test (which I posted in facebook and my friend read it as Helicopter Pilot Test) result. NEGATIVE baybeiii!!

my helicobacter pylori result =)

Actually, i took this HBP test February of this year pa. But because of some unfortunate events that happened these past few months, I wasn’t in the mood to follow up everything. When you read my previous post about Chamomile Tea, it was a pain-free months until the other day when I had the attack. Fany was so angry at me that she even made the schedule herself. With sudden shoot up of blood pressure, she called the clinic and insisted on giving me a very early schedule. “ani rotsa tor le metapelet shili, Lo. Ani rotsa yoter mugdam” (I want a schedule for my caregiver for a check up. No, I want it earlier) Tunog prime minister ng Israel lang diba? Waha!

So anyways, I was with my doctor today and thank God, I have a negative HBP test. He gave me, as expected, 20 mg. of Omeprazole which I could take everyday an hour before breakfast which also mean… I am oblige to eat breakfast *rolling eyeballs*. I’m kinda upset because I’m not a breakfast person. I can live with coffee from morning until 1pm. But the most happiest from all the -estessstt was when he told me that I am allowed to eat what i thought I cannot eat. (Thank you google for the lies and for the frustrations, LOL). But I have to avoid Soda in any form and spicy foods. Citrus, sweets and oily I am allowed but with moderation. I’m just so happy today. *big grin* I’m just thinking that I have enough brave antibodies that protects me from any form of bacteria or viruses. I’m healthy, Let’s Eat!

Master Chef Israel

I am not a TV buff. I even prefer to spend the whole day rummaging the kitchen or surfing the net than to watch TV. Maybe because I am in a place where I could not understand the language very well. But we have tons of English Channels here at home. But I’m still taking the agony of downloading torrents than watching some of my fave shows on TV. I don’t know, I just don’t like watching TV. End.

But, when it comes to cooking shows, I’m on it. As another season of Master Chef Israel started this year, Fany and I found a new way to bond every Wednesday and Thursday night. Aside from Kokhav Nolad (a singing contest franchised from American Idol), Master Chef has been our favorite since it started last year.

The four judges of the show. I know the 3 men are chefs. I’m not quite sure of the woman. I think she’s a known model and a foodie. I like her though.

I’m rooting for this man to win this season. He’s a retired pilot i think. He’s so calm despite of the pressure. And he has blue eyes. “Nuff said. Haha. Go Emmanuel!

I don’t like this girl. I want her to be out next week. It’s just that she doesn’t pony her hair while she’s cooking. She looks sabog most of the time. Haha.

I thought one of these guys will go home today. I like them both. I hope they’ll stay until the finals.

Early closing today guys. I have an 8am schedule with my doctor tomorrow and…… I am excited to buy a box of Ferrero Rocher.. Haha!. Goodnight!

Baked Rice Pilaf

First of all, I miss the Ilonggo Style Arroz a la Valenciana. It’s been my family’s favorite eversince I could remember and never in our entire history of family get together that the Valenciana was absent. There are hundreds of ways to make Valenciana or Paella but there’s something distinct about the way we cook it from scratch. We use fancy rice or “pilit (malagkit)” as we call it and it’s always with a lot of toppings. From pork to liver to seafood to everything. We don’t even use Safran like how they make authentic Spanish Paella. We just use “kawalag” or yellow ginger. I think it’s something like Curcum or Turmeric in a way. I’m not really sure. What I can tell you is, if there are thousands of reasons why I always look back to where I came from, one of those is the Arroz a la Valanciana.

Today, as I dream about going home, I found 3 large chicken legs inside the freezer. Me and my capricious self made sure that I have all the ingredients I need to make Baked Rice Pilaf. Since I cannot have my Arroz a la Valenciana today, I found a way to cure the craving again. I wanna share this very very simple but delicious recipe that you can actually make for lunch or dinner. There are other ways to make Rice Pilaf but I prefer to make it this way because I love the rice crusts on top after baking it. 

Ingredients:

5 large chicken legs (or you can make this with chicken/turkey wings)

3 stems green onions; chopped

1 large red bell pepper; chopped in small cubes

1 large carrot; grated

1 tbsp. mushroom powder in 600 ml. of hot water (or you can use cream of mushroom soup diluted in water)

1 can sliced champignon or sliced fresh button mushrooms

1 cup rice

dill and parsley

*you can put any vegetables you like. Eg. broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, english peas and others. 

• Fry the green onions with 2 tbsp of olive oil; carrot and bell pepper; rice.
• Dump in your chicken legs and fry for about 3 minutes
• Dump in your champignon together with your mushroom soup or broth
• Simmer for 5 minutes; salt and pepper to taste.
• Put dill and parsley
• Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes in 180C oven until the liquid’s gone and the rice is done. If you want it to have some rice crusts on top (yes, i love it), then you have to leave it for like 10 minutes more.
• Let it cool a little before serving. It can burn your tastebuds.

There you go, hope you’ll try this and don’t forget to hit me back and tell me about it. Enjoy! =)

Ex-Lovers to Friends?

I cannot say that I have a very solid expertise when it comes to Love and Relationships but these past few weeks I’ve encountered some funny questions ’round twitter and facebook. One of these is “Can ex-lovers be friends?” or “Is it okay to be friends with your ex after a break-up?”

I know a few individuals who actually went from being ex-lovers to friends. Both of them went through another heartache before they found each other again, talked, said sorry and decided to be friends. This can possibly happen since the painful memories back then was replaced by another memories with another person. It was a closed chapter and there’s no reason for them to even talk about it. (guys you know who you are, haha)

Yes, ex-lovers can be friends BUT NOT AFTER THE BREAK-UP. Yes, that should be in caps because it’s not in any way possible to be friends with your ex after your break up. Well I mean genuinely of course. Some can be civil, live with hi and hello and deal with few meet ups with common friends. There’s always a thin line between them, a boundary. You can’t split up and still spend the day talking on the phone, exchanging text messages or have a “friendly date”? I mean come on, if you happen to see ex-lovers doing this, then there’s still something more in them than being friends. Some settled for this set up for an obvious reason, they still can’t let go. They didn’t work out as a couple so they thought they will work out as friends. But friendship will never work out after the break up. This can lead to hoping for second chances, holding on to nothing and painful disappointment. If you both agreed to go separate ways, then it means SEPARATE WAYS. No more what ifs, no more if only.

To those who really genuinely propose a friendship after a break-up, I salute you. Sometimes it’s too painful to just say “yes, let’s be friends” especially if you are still in love with the person. But at the end of the day, you still can’t bear the idea of not having him/her in your life anymore. So to friendship you will settle with hopes that maybe, this will be the way to rekindle the lost interests and love and sooner or later you can have him/her back. This is not friendship with 100% pure “friendship” intentions.

Some proposed friendship for you to be his/her “friend with benefits”. These are the users. Beware of them. You can distinguish them because you can actually feel that they don’t love you from the very beginning. They just take you for granted, let you fall in love, have sex with you then dump you. The reason why they want to be friends with you is because you have something that they need. Not you nor your boring-unconditional-love but your stupidity. It’s as simple as 123. Beware of a person who broke up with you today and proposed friendship tomorrow. There’s a big big uncanny reason/s behind it. It’s either they want something inside the pockets of your pants or they want something under your pants.

Maybe there are genuine people in this world, I don’t know. I don’t want to be judgmental but i just can’t see the possibility. Maybe there are ex-couples who started out as friends, decided to bring it to a higher level, failed, moved on and went back to friendship. I mean, it could happen but not as abrupt as 2-3 days after break up. You always have to mete a certain time for healing before you can invest your emotions again for another kind of relationship. Either for friendship with your ex or another romantic relationship with another person.

I am Allowed!

In line with the latest hullabaloo that’s been happening with my current health, a sad surprise came this afternoon when I went to the supermarket. The FERRERO ROCHER, my ultimate favorite in the world is on SALE and the catch?!…

I AM NOT ALLOWED TO EAT CHOCOLATES!

You can kill me now but I’m telling you, I’ll be back on Friday to get this. I am scheduled to see my doctor on Friday and I’m pretty sure he will give me some meds for my reflux. Guilty pleasures yes, but hey, we only live once right? And what’s the purpose of taking medications? If you want to torture yourself and take all the pain of Acid Reflux then eat all the bawal without medications. If you want to deprive yourself of happiness and pleasures then don’t eat the bawal and you’ll live a pain-free life. But I prefer to take the medications and at the same time enjoy living a normal life, a normal human being who drinks coffee, eats chocolates and eats go-large-french-fries at McDonald’s. Hah!

But folks, I don’t have a deadly disease. Yes, I am prone to peptic ulcer, GERD and stuffs like that. That I am fully aware. But i think a 20 mg of Omeprazole a day will let me at least pig out once in a while and not to live in misery. I am not setting a bad example here to others who’s suffering from any diseases. If your doctor told you not to eat this or that then you have to follow. Maybe you have a more serious health problem. I just want to enjoy my life with caution of course. I just can’t stand the idea of depriving myself with the things I want because of this stupid reflux. Basta, that Ferrero Rocher will be mine and yes, I AM ALLOWED! 

Thanks to Chamomile Tea?

pix from http://www.sciencedaily.com

I thought I’ll end up in the hospital again. Pew!

I remember vividly the night my friend brought me to the hospital because of severe stomach pain. Well, it was not actually my tummy but my upper abdomen near my chest. In medical terms, they usually called this part as the xiphoid process or the metasternum or xiphisternum. But before I’ll squeeze out my few recollections of these terms, I want to say thank you to Chamomile Tea for saving me today.

I’ve been suffering from on and off heartburn since I was in high school. But because its ON and OFF, i didn’t give a damn about it. I thought, I was just eating fast that I swallowed a lot of air so I need to burp. It wasn’t a big deal until that night when I cannot stand the pain anymore and I even bid goodbye to the world because I thought I was food poisoned. Hah!

I took a lot of medical tests, heliobacter pylori and all, and my doctor prescribed 20 mg. of Omepradex a day. I stopped taking medications because I felt well and I tried to avoid the “bawal” and everything. It was a free-heartburn months until recently, I had some pain from time to time especially when I overate. I was at the mercy of Tums until it was not helpful anymore. Then I tried Chamomile Tea. I just thought it could help since I know it helps muscles to relax and they even use it to aid sleeping disorders. And yes, it did help.

Today, after coffee in the morning, I already felt my tummy acting up but I went on with my Monday “ngarag” and ignored the whole thing. It was 1pm when I felt the need to eat lunch with Fany and we both enjoyed Ciorba (to my beki friends, yes I’m not bluffing. Ciorba/Churba is a FOOD), a Romanian rice soup which taste like Sinigang. 3pm and I was still okay. I was busy designing my blog when I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my chest. I knew I was going to have heartburn but I didn’t expect it to be so intense. Like I had cold sweats, so pale and I cannot even talk. I vomited a lot but the pain was still killing me and I felt the need to go to the hospital. I got myself a cup of Chamomile Tea but I couldn’t even swallow a drop. I did my best to take a sip, slowly I was able to finish a quarter of it then I felt much better. I still want to go to the hospital but as soon as Fany called a cab, I was totally out of pain. The wonder of Chamomile Tea. Hallelujah! 

After dinner, I busied myself googling (–is this a verb?) everything about Chamomile Tea and I found several interesting facts about it that I wanna share. 

Sleeping Disorder — The most well-known benefit of the Chamomile Tea is as a sleep-aid. It has tranquilizer effect that combat anxiety and insomnia. So the next time you find yourself owling at the wee hours of the morning, all you need to do is drink Chamomile Tea. Just make sure it’s not Angry Birds that’s keeping you awake.

Stomach Upset — The most widely-accepted use of Chamomile Tea is as a digestive-aid. It is very useful in combating indigestion, colic, peptic ulcer, diarrhea, gastritis and many others. This I can really say is true because I have a first-hand experience on this. 

Menstrual Cramps — One study found that drinking Chamomile Tea increases the urine levels of glycin; a compound that calms muscles spasms. 

Diabetes — Study shows that Chamomile Tea was found to prevent the progression of diabetic complications and hyperglycemia.

Wound Healing and Reduce Imflammation — There are Chamomile oitments for external use that helps promote healing. Study shows that there are substances found in Chamomile flowers that are like antibiotics or some sort that helps to reduce inflammation of wounds and other skin problems.

But you have to consider some precautions in taking Chamomile Tea especially if you are allergic to some plants in the same family with Chamomile such as ragweed, daisy, aster, etc. 

Chamomile should also be avoided if you are pregnant because it may act as uterine stimulant that increase the chance of abortion.

People with bleeding disorders should avoid Chamomile too because it has coumarin and may increase the chance of bleeding.

But even if I am pretty sure Chamomile helps a lot with my current health problem, I still scheduled myself next week to see my doctor. Chamomile only took away the pain but never the acid. These symptoms may lead to something more serious if I will not seek an advice from my doctor. But for now, I am just happy that I didn’t spend the night in the hospital again because of Chamomile Tea. Thank You Lord!

A Sunday Bliss

After a hectic week of dealing with our workloads, my sister and I spent the Sunday together for a long day of window shopping, eating, laughing and dreaming. We spent the whole day around Dizengoff Center where we usually drag ourselves to have some good time. We agreed that we were both fed up of eating the same thing in Boston Deli so we found ourselves inside Spaghettim, a pasta and pizza resto a few blocks away from Dizengoff Center. I was too excited because I’m now into food blogging and stuffs but I forgot my camera at home. Instead, I settled for my reliable phone.. again.

Prices are not so expensive and they have like 50 different kinds of pizzas and pastas.

My 12 NIS (120 pesos) fresh orange juice that i thought was 32 NIS. Haha. 

I had Pollo Al Gorgonzola (I’m not really sure). I just know that I ordered something with “pollo” in it. Hehe. It was sooo delicious and the whole serving can actually serve 3 moderate eaters for the price of one. It was with seared chicken breast, mushroom, onions and cream. After eating the whole thing, I realized that my stomach capacity is way bigger than I thought. Haha.

My sister had this Pasta Bolognese which became here instant favorite. I took a bit and it was heavenly. It’s a bit spicy, sweet and sour plus a kick of basil and onion. And again, the serving was insane. It was served in a huge huge serving plate. It’s 52 NIS and it’s worth the price.

My sister Jean, waiting for her food while I was so anxious to take pictures for this blog.. Hahaha!

This is not a paid blog but for you guys living here in Tel-Aviv, you can check this resto out. They are located at the corner of Sderot Ben Tsion and King George St. I’m sure they have several branches ’round Israel so the next time you crave for pizza or pasta, I highly recommend Spaghettim. Waitresses are friendly and yes, they speak very good English. No fuss for Israel foreigners. =) 

Check out their website http://www.spaghettim.co.il/

Home Away From Home

Let me take you to Tachana Merkazit (Central Bus Station).

For every Filipino living or working abroad, there’s nothing more rewarding than experiencing “Pinas” from time to time. And here in Israel, there’s nothing more Pinas-like than Tachana Merkazit here in Tel-Aviv. Though most of the local citizens deemed this place as the most unsafe/dangerous place in Israel, for us Filipinos (let’s include the Chinese, Sudanese, Nepals and others) Tachana Merkazit is HOME.

Foreign Workers lives here including us Filipinos who enjoys our weekly day off from work. You can find significant numbers of Filipinos here during Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All came from a week of hard work being a caregiver and house caretakers. Going to this filthy place is heaven for us. This is a place where we are allowed to be who we are, typical Filipinos who eats pork barbecue with sawsawan or eat shomai and arroz caldo or Chowking-like Halo-Halo under the heat of a summer sun. A place where we can buy Eskinol and Chinsansu, Mr. Chips and Boy Bawang, Safeguard and Creamsilk, even 555 Sardines and Lucky Me Pansit Canton. This is the place where we can enjoy a glimpse of the Philippines once a week, for 24 hours.

The pictures below are just some of the few stores and establishments that you will find inside the Central Bus Station. Majority of these stores are owned by a Filipino who became successful in putting up business here. From calling cards to cellphone loads, to kakanin and other basic necessities that a typical Filipino cannot live without. Honestly, Tachana Merkazit somehow reminds me not only of the Philippines but also of Bacolod, the city where I came from.

This is FilStar. This is where we send money to our love ones. They are affiliated to Banco De Oro so beneficiaries can receive the money in as fast as 2-5 minutes and cheaper than Western Union. This reminds me of ML Kwarta Padala Branches that you can find in every major streets in the Philippines.

Long telephone booths inside the Central Bus Station. A silent witnesses to the tears, laughters and sweet i love you’s from us who misses our love ones.

PNB Branch. It reminds me the PNB beside Capitol Lagoon in Bacolod. Here you can send money to Pinas too.

Tia Maria. Filipino food FTW! If you want to have a taste of Pinas by eating any Filipino dish, this is the place where you have to go. So cheap but delicious!

Who says you can’t eat puto, sapin-sapin, chicharon, leche flan and other kakanins in Israel?

This is Pinoy-Pinay. This is where you can find all the pasalubong and religious stuffs from Jerusalem. They also have a travel agency where you can purchase a plane ticket to Philippines both international and domestic flights.

We also have pirated DVDs.. Shhh…

Kitakits sa Mcdo!

Because of the latest craze about mobile phones nowadays, a Filipino must have one suki store to buy the latest cellular phone. That guy in the pic is a friend of mine. I’m his suki for ages now so I always enjoy a few discounts from his store.

A normal Saturday in Neve Shanan. A place where you can buy the things that you’ve bought before. Haha. I mean literally. This is where the thieves sell the things that they stole from poor people living in Tachana. So don’t be surprised if you’ll find your branded shirts and shoes scattered ’round here. hehe.

And if you really want to feel Pinas, go to this place. This is where you can buy PORK! ’nuff said. And check the store’s name. Kingdom of Pork Factory Price Here. Hhahahaa! Yeah.. Chinese!

So there you go. The filthy and crazy place called Tachana Merkazit. The home away from home for all Overseas Filipino Workers here in Israel.