Ginataang Gulay (Vegetables in Coconut Milk)

This is a traditional dish that my husband likes to eat. This goes very well with fried daing or fish. It's a very simple dish that's easy to prepare, good for those who are busy and always in a hurry to cook their dinner.


· 250g pork belly, cut into small pieces


· 4 cups pumpkins, sliced to bite size pieces


· 5 pieces of okra, cut in 2-3 peices


· 10 pieces of long beans, cut in 3 inches length


· 5 cloves garlic, minced


· 1 onions, diced
· 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
· 1 cup water
· coconut milk
· 2 tbs fish sauce
· Salt and pepper to taste

In a wok, heat oil and fry the pork until brown, remove the pork from the pan and set aside. On the same pan, saute garlic and onion. Add water, pumpkins and fish sauce. Cook for 5 minutes. Add long bean, lady fingers and coconut milk. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Add pork. Cook for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.

Leche Flan

A popular dessert in the Philippines that probably has some Hispanic origin or influence as the name goes (the Spanish word "leche" means milk while "flan" means pudding.)

· 1 cup evaporated milk
· 8 egg yolk
· 2 eggs
· 1 cup condensed milk
· 2 tbsp grated orange, lime or lemon gind

In large bowl, mix eggs, egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk. Add the grated orange and mix well. Strain mixture into caramel-line containers.


· 1 1/2 cup water
· 1 cup sugar

Pour the water in the non-sticky pan. Put the sugar in the center and let it boil. Do not stir. When sugar starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat. Tip the pan back and forth to distribute caramelized sugar evenly in the pan. Steam for 30 minutes. Let it coll the chill before serving.

Turn the container onto the plate to serve.

Fried Spring Rolls

Fried spring rolls, or lumpia in Filipino, is a popular recipe in the Philippines that is always present in parties or special occassions. There are actually many types of spring roll recipes but for this one, I opted for a healthier variation so I used less meat and more vegetables.

· 2 tbsp cooking oil
· 1 cup water
· 20 spring roll wrapper


· 2 cloves garlic


· 1 medium onion


· 250g minced pork


· 1 potato (1/2 cup)


· 1/2 cup Jícama or mexican turnip


· 1/2 cup shredded cabbage


· 1 cup carrots


Heat oil in medium heat to saute garlic and onions. Add pork and saute until almost dry. Add water and simmer for 10minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes, carrots and jicama. Stir for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and mix well. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Mix well and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.


Wrapping:
To wrap envelope style: Place 2 tablespoon of filling diagonally, leaving 1" edge space on both sides. Fold one sideover the the filling. Then fold left and right side towards the centre and roll along the width of the wrapper towards the end.

After wrapping all. Heat the non-steaky pan. Pour oil and heat 2-3 minutes. When hit, fry rolls until golden brown on all sides.

Bola-Bola (Meat Balls)

My maid, Juvy went back to her hometown in Cauayan, Isabela for a two-month vacation. For almost two months since she left, I didn’t blog on my cooking because I didn’t have someone to help in preparing the ingredients and clearing my mess after cooking. In my cooking sessions in the past two months, I was just busy clearing my mess after cooking that I didn’t have the energy to blog on my kitchen adventures. She’s finally back here in Singapore so here I am again to share my recipes.



Bola-Bola (Meat Ball)

In English they call it meat balls. This is popular in the Philippines. My school canteen during my high school days served nice Bola-bola which I usually ordered for my lunch. So guys and gals, here is my version of Bola-Bola.

Meat balls:

• 500 grams minced pork
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup of plain flour or All purpose flour
• 1 tsp Salt and pepper

Sauce:

• 1 carrot (1cup)

• 5 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 onions, chopped

• ½ red bell pepper (1/2 cup)

• ½ green bell pepper (1/2 cup)

• 1 cup pineapple chunks

• ¼ cup tomato ketchup
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ¼ cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper

Mix meat, onion, salt and pepper. Form the mixed ingredients into balls. Dip with the white egg and roll it with the flour.

Heat the frying pan and put oil. Fry the meat balls until they become golden brown.

Heat a wok in low heat and sauté garlic and onions. Add the meat balls. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the carrots, ketchup, tomato sauce and water. Mix well and let it boil for 15 minutes. Add the red and green bell pepper and simmer it for 5 minutes. Add the pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes or until it your desired sauce thickness.

Playtime @ VivoCity

VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore, located at the HarbourFront. Nearest MRT: Harbour Front Station.

Vivo City has open-air playground at level 2. This mall also have water play area at third storey Sky Park, the wading pool.


VivoCity Fountain



VivoCity Playground

VivoCity Sky park with the view of Sentosa Island and the harbour


VivoCity wading pool

A stroll at the City

Behind the Maybank Building


Infront of The Fullerton




Cavenagh Bridge








Esplanade Bridge is a bridge across the mouth of the Singapore River.
The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay,the building located on waterfront land alongside Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River.





The Fountain of Wealth is the largest fountain in the world by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998. It located in Suntec City, one of Singapore's largest shopping malls. During certain periods of the day, the fountain is turned off and visitors are invited to walk around a mini fountain at the centre of the fountain's base for good luck. At night, the fountain is the setting for laser performances and FREE laser message dedications between 8pm to 9pm daily.

A drawing

Tonight after our dinner, Alvin drew a face of a man. While he was doing that, Albert was hiding behind him, kind of scared of the face. Then I suggested to Albert that he also drew a face. I was surprised to see his drawing. It actually looked like a cartoon character. This is his first time to draw such kind of face.