Long time readers know my penchant for making broth from scrap bones which are sold very cheaply in the supermarket. When I get lucky, these scrap bones contain a substantial amount of meat. I pick the meat from the bones and make a new dish with it. Sometimes, it’s soup; other times, it’s fried rice. ... (more)
Braised pork with caramelized onions and lychee sandwich
I had half of a pork loin and the plan was to slice around it to come up with a half-inch thick rectangle. I was going to spread a fruit-and-herb mixture on the meat, roll it up then bake it. Like the rolled pork loin stuffed with garlic, onion, basil and tomatoes, and the one ... (more)
Pork menudo
This is Filipino menudo. Pork, liver, peas, potatoes, carrots… There is a Mexican menudo which is similar to what we call callos. Although menudo is not exactly something I’d serve at a party (my mother-in-law is right when she described it as too much everyday fare), I’d crave for menudo now and then, and especially ... (more)
Braised pork with tangy coleslaw
There is simply nothing that can compare to the texture of slow cooked meat. Moist and tender with fat that melts in the mouth. Oooh, just thinking about this dish now makes me hungry. Unfortunately for me, there’s none left. Speedy and I feasted on the pork and vegetables one day last week, I forget ... (more)
Barbecued pork sandwich with mangoes and red onions
Dinner doesn’t have to be labor intensive — a sandwich can be filling, delicious and exciting. But how to make a sandwich delicious and exciting? Well, you have to go beyond just bread, mayonnaise and cold meat. We were watching Everyday Exotic yesterday and Roger Mooking made a sandwich inspired by the Vietnamese bánh mì ... (more)
Waknatoy: a dish with a funny name
Marikeños like to say that waknatoy is a dish unique to Marikina. Well, the name is unique to Marikina but the dish itself is not. Waknatoy is simply a variant of menudo. The only marked difference is the addition of pickles which gives waknatoy a sweet-tangy flavor. The rest of the ingredients are the same ... (more)
Paratha with roast pork and two-mango salad
Let’s take a break from the Ilocandia food trip. There are still tons of photos to resize and crop, my eyes are getting watery from the job so let me switch to recipe mode for a while. A very simple recipe for a light lunch that won’t give you indigestion in the summer heat — ... (more)
Bicol Express
I’ve always wondered how Bicol Express could be cooked with lots of chilies but without making the dish too spicy that it practically scorches the mouth and throat. The answer was so simple I wondered why I never made the connection before — scrape off the seeds and membranes of some of the chilies. Gee, ... (more)
A nocturnal craving for beer and barbecued isaw (pork intestine)
Rumor has it that I’m pregnant. I’m not. I just get cravings at times. Two weeks ago, after vegetables and fish for three successive days, I wanted meat in a bad way. Even I was surprised. In our family, it’s an accepted fact that Speedy is the most serious carnivore. On the second day that ... (more)
A la schweinshaxe (German-style roasted pork knuckle)
If I had juniper berries, this would be an authentic schweinshaxe, a German roast pork knuckle (or trotters, if you prefer) with tender and moist meat, and crisp skin. Alas, I don’t know where to get juniper berries. Still and all, I decided to go ahead and make this dish because I wanted to find ... (more)




































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