Pinoy Hubby

Restaurant name : The Old Vine Inn Location : Wadhurst, East Sussex Description : Pretty country pub established in 1515 with a nice restaurant and garden and rooms if you want to stay overnight. Reason for visit: My boyfriend took me llama trekking as a treat - we went to Bluecaps Llama and spent an hour walking through the woods with two very friendly llamas in tow. We went here for lunch afterwards as it was nearby and had been recommended by the owner of Bluecaps. Me and my llama I ate: seafood platter, that was designed for sharing as a (large) starter, but I had it to myself as a main course. It came with crusty bread and butter, mackerel pate, prawn and crayfish cocktail, smoked salmon and prawns in filo pastry, anchovies, capers and salad. I think it cost £15. My companion ate: ham, egg and chips. The food was : Mine was a really nice change from what I would normally order as a main course. I know it was designed for sharing but I thought there was too much smoked...

I've been on holiday for eight days so was really pleased to weigh in at Slimming World when I came back and find I'd lost a pound! It must be all the walking.... I also didn't have particularly big meals while I was in Cambodia, and I was so busy sightseeing in Singapore - and so hot, that I drank lots but never really felt hungry, that one day I skipped both breakfast and dinner, and only had lunch! But it was a good lunch, in the famous Raffles Hotel... I'll have to write a review soon! Anyway I'm trying to catch up on everything now I'm back and am still in the middle of unpacking but thought I had better work out what I'm going to eat over the coming week (and do some food shopping!). Monday Breakfast yogurt Lunch Tuna roll Dinner Out at choir rehearsal so I will take leftover pizza from my weekend treat - the amount I ate the weekend I got back, I will probably have put back on the pound that I lost! Tuesday Breakfast cereal Lunch out on a tea...

I love this cake - it's so girly! Yes, this is indeed a cake - or rather, the bottom half of the doll is cake. Her dress is made of fondant and her skirt is a chocolate cake - a delicious vegan recipe. In this post I'll also explain how to use a Garrett frill cutter, a piece of equipment I bought when I took a cake decorating class last year, and also review a brilliant new product I found at Ikea. So how did this cake come about? Well, my friend Ros - who some of you know as The More Than Occasional Baker - decided she wanted a pink princess theme for her birthday party in September. We might be in our 30s but that's no reason not to embrace our inner child... or our inner princess! I was very honoured when she asked me to make her a birthday cake, as Ros is such an amazing baker herself. As soon as she told me the theme I thought of this cake - I'd seen pictures of them before but never made or eaten one. You basically take a doll, like Barbie or Bratz, bake a dome...

Restaurant name Bill's Location Wimbledon Description Restaurant that seems to be a jack of all trades - it does breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea, the menu ranges from burgers to fish pie to mezze. Really popular with locals. Reason for visit The hen night of my boyfriend's cousin I ate Piri piri chicken followed by lemon meringue pie cheesecake My companions ate The burger was a popular choice and so was the halloumi burger with the vegetarians Lemon meringue cheesecake The food was The others really liked their food; some of them had been here many times and I got the impression it was one of their favourite restaurants in the area. My piri piri chicken was very dry though and would have been nicer served with some kind of sauce. The dessert more than made up for it; a lemon cheesecake with meringue topping, served in a glass. Worth coming for that alone! The service/atmosphere was Good, it was busy as we were there on a Saturday night and we were a fairl...

Monday & Tuesday - in Singapore/ travelling home Wednesday Breakfast yogurt Lunch Will probably have to buy something at work Dinner Salmon, veg and hollandaise sauce. My boyfriend is still pet sitting for his mum but hopefully he will come over for dinner, and I'll do him sausage and mash Thursday Breakfast yogurt Lunch sandwich Dinner TFI Friday's style Mexican chicken Friday Breakfast yogurt Lunch sandwich Dinner chicken fajitas or enchiladas Saturday Breakfast cereal Lunch Packed lunch - at choir rehearsal Dinner Will probably go to see my boyfriend's mum in the evening and might get a takeaway with her Sunday Breakfast yogurt Lunch homemade bread with soup Dinner spaghetti bolognese

Restaurant name: Byron Location: Old Brompton Road, London Description: Gourmet burger chain Reason for visit: Dinner before going to the nearby Science Museum Lates one evening after work I ate: One of their specials - I can't remember the name but it consisted of two 3oz burgers with double cheese, onions, burger sauce and in a potato bun, with fries. I also had a coke float - coke with a scoop of ice cream, which really takes me back to my childhood. My companion ate: 6oz hamburger with American cheese and fries The food was: Really tasty. I found my burger very filling and couldn't finish it; I thought that was because it was a double burger so was surprised when the waitress said it was two 3oz patties and their standard burger is one 6oz patty so exactly the same amount of meat! The potato bread bun tasted quite similar to normal bread but did start to fall apart while I was eating it. The atmosphere/service was: Good, it's a nice casual chain and always a ...

Kare Kare Estimated cooking time: 2 hours Kare Kare Ingredients: 1 kilo of beef (round or sirloin cut) cut into cubes, beef tripe or oxtail (cut 2 inch long) or a combination of all three (beef, tripe and oxtail) 3 cups of peanut butter 1/4 cup grounded toasted rice 1/2 cup cooked bagoong alamang (anchovies) 2 pieces onions, diced 2 heads of garlic, minced 4 tablespoons atsuete oil 4 pieces eggplant, sliced 1 inch thick 1 bundle Pechay (Bok choy) cut into 2 pieces 1 bundle of sitaw (string beans) cut to 2" long 1 banana bud, cut similar to eggplant slices, blanch in boiling water 1/2 cup oil 8 cups of water Salt to taste Kare Kare Cooking Instructions: In a stock pot, boil beef, tripe and oxtails in water for an hour or until cooked. Strain and keep the stock. In a big pan or wok, heat oil and atsuete oil. Sauté garlic, onions until golden brown, then add the stock, toasted rice, beef, oxtail and peanut butter. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt to taste. Add the eggp...

Sweet and Sour Pork Estimated cooking time: 45 minutes Sweet & Sour Pork Ingredients: 1/2 kilo pork loin, sliced into pieces 1 small can pineapple chunks 1 large onion, quartered 1 red & 1 green bell peppers, sliced into strips 2 tablespoons of soy sauce 3 tablespoons of peanut oil 4 tablespoons of cornstarch 3 tablespoons of ketchup 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 3 cloves of minced garlic Sweet and Sour Pork Cooking Instructions: In a pot, boil pork in 2 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until tender, then drain (keep the pork stock for later). Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and soy sauce then coat the pork with the cornstarch mixture. Fry the pork in a skillet until golden brown, set aside. Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch on 1/2 cup of pork stock - set aside. Sauté garlic and onions on oil, then add the bell peppers, pineapple chunks (including the syrup), ketchup, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the dissolved cornstarch. Stir until sauce thic...

I'm not sure I like this card all that much but I thought I would share it anyway - maybe someone has a suggestion for how it could be improved. I used a little wooden cat and mouse, which are three-dimensional but flat on one side so you can stick them onto the card, and some cardboard button stickers. I also have a small cat hole punch which I used to punch cat shapes along the bottom of the card. I mounted the cat and mouse on a piece of spotty blue backing paper and added a 'happy birthday' outline. The only problem is that the size of the cat and mouse means this card isn't a standard price to post and counts as a 'large letter'!

Sinigang na Hipon Sinigang is a Philippine dish famous for the variety of ingredients. Sinigang often incorporates fish, pork, chicken, shrimp, or beef. This time we'll use Shrimp for our recipe. Sinigang's characteristic taste is attributed to the ingredient that gives its sour taste and most commonly use ingredient is Tamarind or Sampalok for its sour taste. Ingredients: - 1 Kilo Shrimp - 1/4 kilo of Tamarind/Sampalok - 1 Onion, diced - 3 Tomatoes, quartered sliced - 2 pieces Radish regular size, sliced - 1 bundle of Sitaw - 1 bundle Kangkong, cut into 2" long - 3 pieces long green chilli - Salt or Patis to taste - Water Cooking procedure: 1. Boil Tamarind in water to soften. Mash and extract all juices and set aside. 2. In a casserole, boil water and Tamarind juice, onions, tomatoes and Radish. 3. Lower fire then add in Shrimps, Kangkong, Sitaw and green long chilli. Simmer it for 5 minutes. 4. Season with salt or patis. 5. Serve it hot on a pot or palayok.

Estimated cooking time: 35 minutes Pakbet Ingredients: 1/4 kilo pork with fat, cut into small pieces 2 Amapalya (bitter melons) sliced to bite size pieces 2 eggplants, sliced to bite size pieces 5 pieces of okra, cut in two 1 head garlic, minced 2 onions, diced 5 tomatoes, sliced 1 tablespoon of ginger, crushed and sliced 4 tablespoons bagoong isda or bagoong alamang 3 tablespoons of oil 1 1/2 cup water Salt and pepper to taste Pakbet Cooking Instructions: In a cooking pan, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside. On the same pan, saute garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. In a casserole, boil water and add bagoong. Add the pork in the casserole and mix in the sautéed garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add in all the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with plain rice.

I wanted to post something today so I don't skip a week in numerical terms - this is week 37 and I will just get confused if I leave it out! But there is no meal plan this week as I'm on holiday in Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia. See you next week!

Sizzling Pork Chop Bacolod Style One day when I was in one of the mall here in Bacolod, I have the chance to drop by in its food court thinking on what to eat. I’m not sure why that thought came into my mind then I realized that I’m craving for Sizzling Pork Chop. Sizzling Pork Chop tastes good and is easy to prepare. The sizzling effect makes this dish more appealing. Aside from the pork chop, mixed vegetables, yellow rice, and gravy are necessary to complete this dish. For the vegetables, I used the fresh frozen mixed vegetables. I placed it in the microwave oven for 2 minutes to cook a little. I was able to come-up with great tasting yellow rice by combining steamed rice with margarine, garlic powder, salt, and a little paprika. I want to write more about this dish but I can’t resist its inviting aroma. I better start eating while the plate is still hot. Happy cooking! Try this Sizzling Pork Chop recipe and let me know what you think. Ingredients: 1 piece (8 oz) pork loin chop 1 cu...

What gives this dish a wonderful twist is the addition of garlic. For extra flavor, the peeled potatoes are cooked in chicken broth. This salad is best eaten after it has stayed at least overnight in the refrigerator. 8 cups potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes and cooked in salted chicken broth 2 chicken breasts, boiled in salted water and cubed 6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped 2 cups mayonnaise 2 tablespoons white onions, finely chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon calamansi juice 4 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons white sugar 2/3 teaspoon white pepper lettuce leaves parsley 1 hard-boiled egg, sliced   Procedure: In a bowl, mix together the potatoes, chicken and eggs. Cool before adding the other ingredients. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Add to potato mixture and blend well. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves. Garnish with parsley and hard-boiled sliced eggs.

Restaurant name: The Landor Location: Clapham, London Description: Gastropub with its own theatre upstairs. It has a nice outdoor area partly under cover with leather sofas and wooden tables. Reason for visit: Watching a play based on a novel by Sophie Kinsella at the Landor theatre and meeting Sophie at a book signing- so the obvious choice was to eat here as well. I ate: Lamb burger topped with halloumi, £9.95 My companion ate: "Pasta of the day" - I forget what the actual dish was. The food was: Really tasty - though it's worth pointing out that four of the seven items on the main course menu are burgers (the other items are steak, fish and chips and pasta or risotto of the day). I think there was a specials menu as well but there's not a huge amount of choice. That's not actually a bad thing as what this pub does serve, it does really well. The atmosphere/service was: Very friendly, a nice relaxed pub and service was fast - we told them when we arriv...

Crispy Pata Preparation & drying: 4 hours to 1 day Estimated cooking time: 20 minutes Crispy Pata Ingredients: 1 Pata (front or hind leg of a pig including the knuckles) 1 bottle of soda (7Up or sprite) 1 tablespoon of salt 2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce) 1/2 tablespoon baking soda 1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG) 4 tablespoons of flour Enough oil for deep frying Enough water for boiling Crispy Pata Cooking Instructions: Clean the pork pata by removing all hairs and by scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly. Make four to five inch cuts on the sides of the pata. On a deep stock pot, place the pata in water with soda and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the baking soda and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove the pata from the pot and hang and allow to drip dry for 24 hours. An alternative to this is to thoroughly drain the pork pata and refrigerate for a few hours. After the above process, rub patis on the pata and sprinkle f...