Valentine’s Day is not just for couples because Valentine’s is all about love, you have to give love to each member of your family and it is very nice to give gifts to grandparents and since all my grandparents are long gone, I will definitely give gifts to my parents, who are already grandparents to my son. I know what to give my Dad and I only have to think of what to give my mom and I think I will give her the one that my friend suggested that she saw online which are berries for grandma’s birthday that she happens to give her grandma last December and she told me that they are so good. I think they are eye candies…

In a household, we need to plan all the meals for at least a week and as you grow older, you tend to plan healthier meals. I advise mothers out there to be more conscious of the calorie intake you and your family take in your bodies because it is very much important. There are so many nice recipes that we can cook for our family that can be delicious and healthy at the same time.

Here is a sample of a well planned meal from EatingWell.com

BREAKFAST
1 Cup Skim Milk
1 Orange, medium
1 Cup Cheerios Cereal

MORNING SNACK
1 Cup Cantaloupe Melon

LUNCH
Vietnamese-Style Beef & Noodle Broth
1 Whole-Wheat Pita Bread, small
1 Cup Skim Milk
1 Fudgsicle, no sugar added

AFTERNOON SNACK
2 Tablespoons Prepared Hummus
3 Ounces Celery Sticks

DINNER
1/2 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
Green & Yellow Beans with Wild Mushrooms
Roasted Cod with Warm Tomato-Olive-Caper Tapenade
1/2 Banana, small

You can get some of the recipes on the site and see more of those well planned meals there too.

I’m trying to condition myself of eating less meat because I am thinking of going vegetarian when I reach 40. I am not quite sure if I can do it, but I want to and so once in a while, I want to try vegetarian food. Glad that my husband’s agrees. He grew up eating meat, he is used to eating dry food like fried chicken, fried fish and the likes. When we met, he started trying other cuisines because I love trying out new cuisines, with me he learned eating, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian foods. Anyway, I discovered a “not-so-new” restaurant in Quezon City called PIPINO by Pino and I ordered delivery from them. We had one vegetarian lunch at work…

Our Mango Tango salad for starters

His Friend Eggplant and Adobong Kangkong with Nilasing na Mangga and Brown Rice

My Portebello Inasal with Red Beet Puree, Ensaladang Talong and Brown Rice

Will I try PIPINO by Pino again? Most definitely.

My best friend asked me if I know how to make it and it got me really curious and since I love eggplants in Italian dishes, this is a must try very soon:

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the baking sheet
* 2 large eggplant, about 2 pounds
* Salt and pepper
* 2 cups basic tomato sauce, recipe follows
* 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
* 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/8-inch thick
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, lightly toasted under broiler

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Using some extra-virgin olive oil, oil a baking sheet.

Slice each eggplant into 6 pieces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Lightly season each disk with salt and pepper and place on the oiled sheet. Bake the eggplant at 450 degrees F until the slices begin turning deep brown on top, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the eggplants from the oven. Remove the slices from the baking sheet and place them on a plate to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In an 8 by 12-inch brownie pan, place the 4 largest eggplant slice evenly spaced apart. Over each slice, spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle with a teaspoon of basil. Place one slice of mozzarella over each and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon grated Parmigiano. Place the smaller slices of eggplant over each of the disks and repeat with tomato sauce, basil, and the 2 cheeses. Repeat the layering again until all the ingredients are used.

Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top of the eggplant dish, and bake uncovered until the cheese is melts and the tops turn light brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Basic tomato sauce:

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
* 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
* 1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
* 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
* Salt

Tomato Sauce:

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Yield: 4 cups

I thought we wouldn’t be able to bring the planned home cooked food at work last Wednesday, our double bowl undermount sink broke and it took a few minutes of my time to get it fixed before I cooked the dishes. Whew! That needs a replacement and after Holy Week, I am sure I will be browsing online for the replacement because my mom asked me so. Anyway, back to the meals. We are saving a few bucks for our son’s education and since we take him and his nanny often at work, I decided to bring home cooked food for our lunch and so what I do is I wake up earlier than the usual to prepare food to work before taking a shower and dressing up, last Wednesday after fixing the sink, I cooked…

Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil Sauce plus Spiced Chicken with Veggies. It was a hit of course, my family loves my cooking.

My husband and my best friend didn’t like Laksa when they both tried it, I on the other hand loved it especially the one from Orchard Road, a restaurant in Megamall. So I googled the recipe and will definitely try making one at home when I get the time…

Laksa:

…is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore, and to a lesser extent Indonesia.

Ingredients:

* 50g medium rice noodles
* 2-3 tbsp laksa paste
* 400ml tin half-fat coconut milk
* 500ml chicken stock
* 150g cooked large prawns , from a sustainable source
* a handful bean sprouts
* ¼ cucumber , seeds removed and cut into strips
* a small bunch coriander

Procedure:

1. Put the noodles in a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave to soften, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Heat a pan, add the laksa paste and a splash of coconut milk. Fry for 3-4 minutes, add the coconut milk and stock, stir, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the prawns and heat through. Stir in the beansprouts. Put the noodles in two bowls, ladle soup over, and top with cucumber and coriander.

My best friend and I tried the Hainanese Chicken Rice in Orchard Road Restaurant in Megamall and I think it’s nothing fancy, I thought it is something different but it tasted just like my favorite White Chicken we always order in Chinese Restaurants, served as one of their cold cuts. What amazed me is the rice though, in my opinion it gave the chicken recipe a twist.

INGREDIENTS
Chile Sauce:

* 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh red chiles
* 5 cloves garlic, chopped
* Salt

Chicken and Rice:

* 1 (2-pound) chicken
* 1 scallion, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 4 slices fresh, peeled ginger
* 6 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
* 6 to 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 4 cups long-grain uncooked rice
* 1 teaspoon fine salt

DIRECTIONS

Make the Chile Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and season with salt, to taste. Set aside

Make the Chicken and Rice: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (enough water to immerse the chicken). Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the scallion and ginger. Add the chicken to the boiling water, breast side-down. Lower the heat to a simmer just under boiling point and cook, covered, until just cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to an ice water bath for about 5 to 6 minutes. (This is to arrest the cooking and will make the chicken skin crisp.) Drain. De-bone the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the chicken stock, and keep hot.

Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the rice and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough of the hot reserved chicken soup to reach 1/2- inch above the top of the rice. Bring to the boil, add the salt, and lower the heat to low. When steam holes form in the rice, cover the wok, and steam until cooked, about 30 minutes.

Whisk 1/4 cup of the hot chicken stock into the chile sauce.

Arrange the rice and poached chicken on a platter and drizzle with the chile sauce.

*Some cooks may add coconut milk to the rice, reminiscent of the Malay dish nasi lemak. The dish is usually served with several dips, including chilli sauce and pounded ginger. It is common in Hainan to also offer a third sauce involving oyster sauce mixed with garlic, while dark soy sauce is more commonly served in Malaysia/Singapore. The Malaysian/Singaporean version of the chili are also much hotter, reflecting its Southeast Asian influences, and may also involve a mixture of chilli with garlic.