Lovely Moms Café

I love chicken wings especially the ‘wingette’ (not the tip part) which have more meat in it.  This recipe brings more enjoyment in eating my favorite chicken wings because of its delicious marinade.  This is a simple marinade recipe that can be prepared several hours or even a day before cooking.

Ingredients for the marinade: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 shallot finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves 1/2 cup tomato sauce; 1 tbsp dried oregano; few drops of chili sauce; 2 tbsp brown sugar; salt and finely ground black pepper; 12 pieces of chicken wings

Procedure: Preheat the oven to 180C.  Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  Marinade the chicken wings for a couple of hours before cooking or even over night.  Oil a baking tray and arrange the chicken wings skin-side down.  Place in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Turn the wings over and cook for further 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Tip: I first cook the chicken wings for few minutes in a grill pan or barbecue grill.  I love the smoky taste that the grilling process gives to the chicken.  Then, after a couple of minutes, I put the chicken on the tray and straight to the oven.  The grilling also seals the flavor and liquid in the chicken, thus, making it juicy and not dry.

Dip: The used marinade can be made into a topping sauce for this recipe.  Simply put the marinade in a small sauce pan and add 1/3 cup of chicken stock.  Stir continuously in low heat.  Put in a teaspoon of thick cream and stir to blend.  This is a beautiful sauce.  The chicken wings in the photos have sauce in it, less the cream though.  This is because hubby is on diet and I preferred to do that to reduce calorie and fat intake.

If you want a thick dip instead of sauce, a mixture of sour cream, a tablespoon of lemon juice, crumbled feta or any soft cheese, and chives and black pepper make perfect dipping sauce for this.  Bon apetit!

(Ideas for this recipe were derived from ‘The Cooking Book’ by Brigitte Hafner.)

It’s the start again of another month. I am really hoping that this will be a more productive month than last month.  It was unimaginable how my responsibilities as a mother to my kids and wife to my husband made me on my feet most hours of the day.  That includes running around the household to finish the never-ending chores.  Being outside the household makes no difference; it cannot be an escape.  My multi-tasking as a grocery-shopper, driver, post woman, bill payer and a lot more makes my time everyday flies.

I think I deserve a break.  But do moms really get a break?  Lucky are those who can afford to get helpers at home.  Oftentimes, I wonder why here in this beautiful country house helpers are not common unlike in the Philippines.  Back home it is affordable to get helpers and even personal drivers.  And now I am dreaming…wishful thinking.  But life now is different.  Things change…even the direction of lives we’re heading to.  I think few years back, when destiny brought me here, my life’s direction has completely changed.  A very active, responsible and extremely challenging life.

Perhaps, for now, a good mug of my favorite coffee with lots of cream will do me a favor of few minutes of break.

A healthy choice for veggie lovers...

I have seen this a couple of weeks ago on my favorite cooking show.  That one of Giada in Food Channel.  I got very interested in this because I love green peas and I love the witlof with which she served the dip.  The thing is, I am not really fond of sundried tomatoes.  But still, I gave it a go.

Ingredients:  A cup of sundried tomatoes marinated in olive oil; 2 cups of frozen peas (blunched); 2 cloves of garlic; half cup of olive oil; salt and pepper; chili flakes (optional)

Procedure:  Put all the ingredients in the food processor and blend it until all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Make sure that it still has a coarse texture.  We don’t want the ingredients pureed.  Serve with veggies like witlof spears, baby cos/ baby romaine lettuce, seeded cucumbers or any veggies you like.

I served mine with witlof spears.  I love the sweet taste of green peas combined with the salty-sour taste of sundried tomatoes.  But since the witlof spears have a  bit of bitter taste, it may not be the ideal choice for those who do not like bitter veggies.  I recommend baby cos/ baby romaine lettuce as it is a bit sweet and very juicy.

This dip is ideal for dinner or cocktail parties.

Finger-licking good 'red wine adobo'

If you are a real Filipino you must love adobo.  Who is not familiar with adobo?  Whether you are in the Philippines or in other countries around the globe, Filipinos have to have adobo on their table once in a blue moon.  This is like a Pinoy ‘trademark’.  My friend in Las Vegas told me about the adobo they ordered in one of the restaurants there.  Yes, sure, it was yummy…but nothing can beat the home made adobo that we cook in our own version.

I have tasted and cooked different versions of adobo.  I love my mom’s version of adobo with dried banana flowers.  I miss it so much.  I promise that as soon as I find banana flowers here in Sydney I will definitely cook that version.  My brother-in-law’s version of adobo is worth the wait; he cooks it for an hour or so.  He cooks the meat first with the golden brown garlic then the rest of the cooking process lasts for an hour.  This adobo is one of the best I have ever tasted.  I love the garlicky taste.  This version has no sauce because it is cooked until it gets dry.

I came up with my own version of adobo.  This is spare ribs adobo with red wine vinegar.  What makes it different is the vinegar itself and the red wine.  The blend of the red wine vinegar and red wine with the flavors of garlic, a bit of sugar, soy sauce, black pepper corns and bay leaves is simply a piece of heaven in my palate.  The very tender pork spare ribs and the adobo sauce are finger-licking good.

Procedure: Brown spare ribs (1kg) in a bit of oil to seal the juice and flavor of the meat.  When done, set aside in a plate.  Put the garlic in the same pan and cook until brown.  Put in half cup of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce (or just enough to make the sauce salty).  Put in a bit of sugar, black pepper corns and bay leaves.  Cook until the meat is tender.  Pour in the red wine vinegar – the amount will depend on your taste, so aim for that taste that pleases your palate.  Pour in 2 table spoons of red wine.  Simmer until the sauce is reduced and sticky.  Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

When I first heard about the Pasta Diet, I was thinking and wondering how pasta can help a person lose weight.  All I know is that my husband and in-laws, who are Italians, are having a hard time losing weight and controlling the weight gain and high sugar due to pasta in their diet.  They cannot live without pasta!  I tried to put my husband on strict diet with only two pasta dishes in one week- to which he felt really miserable as if I was depriving him of his comfort and staple food.

So thinking about the word ‘Pasta’ and ‘Diet’ together seems to be ironic.  But for those who are pasta lovers ‘Pasta Diet’ is a good news.  At last, they were thinking, there’s one realistic diet that won’t starve dieters!  That is the whole point.  Pasta contains complex carbohydrates that keeps us fuller for a longer period of time and supply the energy that we need everyday.  Thus, not making you feel hungry and craving for snacks in between meals.

This diet is based on all the provisions, needed for health. The Diet is very simple and practical. The combination of the provisions effects your metabolism and therefore you can lose weight easier than with other diets. You can lose up to 11 lbs (5 kg) in 2 weeks and it is suggested for everyone with metabolism problems.  (Source:  dreamdiet4free.com)

The secret:  *It is all about the other healthy ingredients that you put in your pasta.

*Taking control of the amount of pasta is of utmost importance.  Pasta diet does not mean that you can pig out on pasta three times a day!!!

*One cup of pasta in addition to other ingredients – like fish/seafood, vegetables, meat – is the ideal amount per serving.

Other references for recipes and daily menus:

http://www.prairie8.org/the-pasta-diet.htm

http://www.dreamdiet4free.com/index.php?id=20

Suggested LMC Pasta Recipes:

Prawn Spinach Pasta

Spaghetti Broccolli

Other Pasta Diet recipes coming soon at LMC!

Prawn, spinach & Cherry tomatoes ready to be tossed with the pasta! Bellissimo!

This is not the first time I cooked my recipe, arranged it on the plate, served it on the table and forgot to take a photo for publication.  I cannot blame myself.  Once you tried this recipe you will also realize you cannot blame me for getting too excited to eat and please my palate.

Italian food is known for simple recipe and unique blend of flavors.  This is another simple, easy and quick recipe which is ideal for busy moms.  I confidently recommend this recipe to all  those who have no luxury of time to prepare two-course recipe.  Your plate will already be made complete with carbohydrates, protein and all the goodness of green and scrumptious baby spinach.  The sweet, citrus-y  and juicy cherry tomatoes are additional bonus to your craving palate.

Since the recipe is very simple, I will just put the cooking instructions and ingredients all in the next paragraph.  Amount of ingredients will depend on how much you want as well as on your taste.

Instructions: Saute garlic; put the peeled tiger prawns; splash a bit of white wine and wait for the alcohol to evaporate; put in the baby spinach and cook until wilted; throw in halved cherry tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper, and bit of chili flakes.  Toss with pre-boiled spaghetti or any pasta that you like.

Optional: Put shaved parmesan on top before serving.  You can also substitute baby spinach with baby rocket lettuce of any green leafy veggies of your choice.

Bon apetit!