[Yummy Stuff]: Home-Made Lasagna

My family, friends, and I celebrated my birthday last Sunday since it is the nearest day of the weekend to my actual birthday, April 4. Mr.Gee and I went home to dear ol' Bacolod to spend time with my family. Even my in-laws came to visit us too.

Now, our household wouldn't be complete without any cooking action going on. Hence, another recipe that I cooked for my birthday. Beef Lasagna. 

P.S. We actually opted for beef since I had a certain friend over who doesn't eat pork. So, to be on the safe side, I used beef. But you can use pork if you want to.

Ok, another introduction: My Lasagna recipe.

Ingredients:

Oven ready lasagna

This does not need pre-cooking. Rather, you just assemble it on a tray with the sauce and bake it. However, the parts of the lasagna at the bottom did not soften very well, so I suggest blanching this a bit. Or, you can use the regular lasagna wherein you have to cook it in water first.

For the Red Sauce:

1) 6 to 7 cloves of garlic chopped into small bits; mincing would be much better too ;)

2) 1 knorr cube

3) 1 medium onion chopped

4) 1 250ml box of Nestle Cream

5) 1 kg Hunts Parmesan Cheese Spaghetti Sauce

6) 1/2 kg. ground beef

7) oil, salt, pepper and McCormick Basil, a tbsp. of all-purpose flour

And its as easy as:

1) Put oil on the pan. I used teflon so very little oil will do.

  

2) When the oil is hot enough, saute the garlic and onion.

 

3) Add the ground beef.

4) After which, add a little water (barely reaching the top part of the beef) for the beef to cook in. Then add the knorr cube.

5) When the beef is cooked, add the sauce. This depends on how much sauce you would like. I was only able to use 3/4 of the 1kg of spaghetti sauce.

6) Add the nestle cream.

7) Stir constantly to avoid the sauce getting burnt at the bottom. Season with salt, pepper and basil (I prefer lots of basil). Then dilute a tbsp. of flour in water and pour unto sauce. This would make the sauce thicker. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat.

 

For the Bechamel Sauce, you would need:

1) 6 tbsp. butter

2) 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour (in mounds though)

3) 1 250 ml. Nestle Cream

4) 1 can Carnation evap

5) Quickmelt cheese

And its as easy as:

1) Melt butter in pan over low heat. Add a little oil to avoid the butter from getting burnt.

2) Add in the flour and whisk constantly to prevent clumps.

3) Add the milk a little at a time while constantly whisking. This is a good workout ladies!

Until it reaches this consistency

4) Add in the cream and season with salt, pepper and basil. Whisk constantly till it reaches this consistency. Remove from heat.

To assemble:

1) Line the bottom of the pan (or Pyrex) with the lasagna. Cover the the red sauce and add quickmelt cheese on top.  
The thickness of the sauce would depend on how wide the pan is and how many layers you would like. Sorry, I do not measure, but for me, the minimum would be three layers (2 layers red sauce with 1 layer of white sauce in between) for a pan with approximately 10inx18in dimension. This recipe has 5 layers.

2) Put another layer of lasagna on top of the red sauce. Then spread the Bechamel sauce on top.

3) Do steps 1 to 2 till you reach the preferred number of layers. Since I got extra Bechamel sauce. I spread it on top of my last layer which was the red sauce. Then add grated quickmelt cheese on top.

4) Bake in 200-degree Celsius oven or turbo broiler for 35 minutes. I based the baking instructions on the lasagna box. But, you can check the boxes of other brands for their baking instructions too.

Ta-dah!

I heart Ayala Triangle Gardens

It used to be just a place of thick foliage where Makati yuppies would merely pass by, never giving it a second glance. When it gets dark, it can be a perfect place for people to avoid, or hide in. For the entire three years that I stayed and worked at the Ayala Triangle area, this is just another shortcut to the restaurants at the Paseo Center.

However, after two years, they finally thought of making over that part of lush greenery. And now here it is, The Ayala Triangle Gardens.

Spending more than two hours doing nothing but just sit on a cafe (read: tambay), made me realize how much of a good idea it is that they did this. I have seen and heard, through television and the internet, how they made this spot a spectacular sight last Christmas with beautiful LED lights hanging on the trees. Now that I am finally here, I have to say it is really beautiful. A stark contrast to everything around it. The place, despite being at the heart of the business district, is relaxing, peaceful, and a perfect place for a brief respite from the urban jungle. A bit ironic based on its location, but it worked. 

 

 

Parents can bring their kids and spend the time running and lounging on the grass. Joggers can do their morning or late afternoon or evening runs. And, people like me can enjoy hanging out in a cafe and observe and pass the time (while waiting for a friend to finish his appointment).

joggers

 

a playground for kids

restaurants and cafe

PSE, and at the left, my good ol' building, MSE

P.S. The pictures I took were only from the camera on my phone since I forgot to bring with me my digital camera.

Still, hope you enjoyed this.

[Ilonggo Goodness]: Pork Sinigang with Batuan

The secret to every successful Ilonggo recipe that requires sourness is no other than Batuan. It seems like Ilonggos are the only people that know about this fruit and its sourly goodness. I myself cannot find this on any marketplace in Manila or Cebu. So, whenever we have the chance to go home to Bacolod, we always make it a point to buy a kilo of batuan and store it in the freezer.

Hence, my first recipe: Pork Sinigang with Batuan, an Ilonggo twist.

Ingredients:

1) 3 cloves garlic chopped

2) 1 medium sized red onion, sliced

3) 2 medium sized tomatoes,sliced

4) 1/2 kilo pork, sinigang cut (you can have liempo

or any parts you like)

5) 5 pcs. batuan, with top sliced off

6) a bunch of kangkong leaves

7) 2 medium sized radishes, sliced diagonally

8) 1 Knorr cube (pork/chicken)

9) cooking oil, salt and pepper

And its easy as...

1) Saute the garlic, onions, and tomatoes with 3-4tbsps of oil. Then saute the pork.

 

2) Add water just enough to cover the ingredients in the pot. (You can add more if you want more soup, but you would have to catch up with the flavoring later on if that's the case). Bring it to a boil.

3) Once boiling and if pork is already tender, add the Knorr cube and the batuan. Then bring to a simmer.

4) Check if the batuan is soft enough then try to mash it so that its sour flavor will come out.

P.S. If batuan is not available, you may use the usual sinigang sa sampaloc mix.

5) You will notice the soup having a whitish haze. Bring to another simmer so the flavors will incorporate then you may add salt and pepper according to your taste.

6) Add the radishes. Bring again to a simmer until the radishes are tender.

7) Add the kangkong leaves. Bring to a simmer for only a minute or two. (It only takes very little to cook the leafy veggies).

8) Serve with a smile! :)

A weekend alternative

Then it had to rain, again, on a weekend! Thus, the Tingko Beach plan would have to be pushed to another weekend. I'm not sure exactly when though.

Anyway, to avoid another weekend of boredom, Mr. Gee, my housemates and I, decided to go to the "bukids". We thought of Mr. A which is not exactly on top of a mountain but it is at the most elevated part of Cebu City.

The last time I went there was almost a year ago, and we were pleasantly surprised that they now have a cafe overlooking the entire Cebu City landscape! A breath of fresh air if you ask me. You can easily imagine a "getaway" without actually getting out of the city. Easy on the budget and hassle-free, especially on a rainy day.
  

The cafe itself was wonderful. The location was incomparable from any other cafes in the city considering that you have a spectacular view of the entire city. The gloomy afternoon turned out to be satisfying for us. The breeze was cool and utterly relaxing. 

view from the cafe

 Not only was the place cool and comfy but the cafe also serves a variety of pastries, coffee and tea. We got to order only the beverages. I ordered the Hazelnut Mocha Frappe (Php110), while my housemate got Caramel Macchiato (Php95). Mr. Gee and my other housemate ordered brewed coffee (Php80). The items on the menu are varied and the prices are reasonable.

Clockwise from top left: Hazelnut Mocha Frappe, the gang, Caramel Macchiato, Brewed coffee w/ a free butter cookie

I had the chance to use their powder room, and I was impressed with the interiors. Very clean, very stylishly designed, with some scents and flowers at the lavatory. 

When we had our fill of the coffee, the beers came. Now, Mr. A already has a restaurant just a few steps higher from where the cafe is located. The best thing about it is that, you can order from the restaurant menu even if you're seated at the cafe. Very convenient for the customers!

Hope your weekend was great too!