Blue Cheese, Parmesan and Green Olive Bread Sticks

My mum asked me to make a starter for Christmas dinner and I was faced with a problem. Between the six people who would be there, dislikes included: salmon, prawns, pate, salad.... I decided I would be safe with cheese. I also knew it had to be something I could prepare the day before and transport down to my parents, and that my mum wouldn't have a lot of space in her kitchen for preparation or oven for cooking. So the easiest thing, and something...

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Meal Planning 2013 - Week 52

I'm really pleased that I lost 2.5 pounds last week given it is so close to Christmas! I am going to make more of an effort with Slimming World next year but this week I will be staying with family and friends so won't have as much control over meals.Monday I've got the day off today though my boyfriend is at work. Today I'm going to make the dessert that I'm taking to my parents on Christmas day (assuming I can fit everything in my boyfriend's...

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Meal Planning 2013 - week 51

I put on a little weight last week which really doesn't surprise me. Since my last weigh in I had: lunch and drinks with friends on Sunday; dinner and drinks with a friend on Monday; lunch and drinks with work colleagues on Wednesday; the work Christmas party (with a free bar) on Thursday, and a takeaway with my boyfriend on Friday! Though the way it has turned out means I have no social events or plans at all this week, so I am going to try hard...

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Best Blog Award- Capricorn Challenge

I was thrilled to be chosen as "best food blog" for the month of October by Capricorn Goat's Cheese. I had a lovely email from Ethel the Goat telling me they had picked me and that my prize was a year's supply of goat's cheese! The reason that I am only mentioning this now is because I was waiting until my prize arrived to discover how much they reckon a year's supply is! Rather than fill my fridge with a ton of cheese at once, they very kindly...

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"X- Rated" Cookies (Bonking Biscuits!)

If you are easily offended then look away now... these are a little bit naughty! And I don't mean in terms of calories.... I have done my best to make the photographs 'artistic' and indeed not too revealing. I was given these cookie cutters last year by a friend and wanted to hang on to them until Alphabakes came up with the letter X - there are not many things I can bake beginning with X so I think these X-rated cookies are just the...

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Meal Planning 2013 - Week 50

Monday Breakfast yogurt or cereal Lunch I was meant to be doing a cookery class for lunch today but it got cancelled at the last minute so instead I will probably make a sandwichDinner I'm going to see Rick Stein Live at the Palladium with a foodie friend and we are going to an Italian restaurant for a quick dinner beforehand.Tuesday Breakfast yogurt Lunch sandwich or cous cous Dinner Chicken kiev and chips for the Other Half, salmon for me - though...

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Baby Back Ribs, Pinoy Style

Baby Back Ribs, Pinoy Style. I would like to share my easy Pinoy version of Baby Back Ribs for this Holiday Seasons. Most would have thought that Baby Back Ribs served at classy steak restaurant would be difficult to make. My version is fairly easy and any novice cook can make it as long as you have an oven at home. For this this recipe I used pork ribs rack which should be available in most large supermarket. For our dish today I bought it from...

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Pinoy Lengua Estofado

Pinoy Lengua Estofado may not be as popular with Menudo, Kaldereta or Afritada but it is a special holiday dish to those who have acquired the taste and texture of the ox tongue. This version is the closes Pinoy version of Lengua Estofado that I could think of. Sure there are other Lengua Estofado versions that use fancy ingredients but those are reserved for future post. My version of Legua Estofado is cooked using the traditional cooking method...

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Fish Menudo, Tuna Menudo

Fish Menudo, Tuna Menudo is our next 2014 Celebration’s Recipe that I would like to share. This dish is a non-meat alternative for your Christmas celebrations which most likely is a feast of meat dishes. For my Fish Menudo I used tuna for the reason that the meat of these types of fish is firm. The basic ingredients are similar to the regular Menudo except of course that we are using fish instead of meat. Cooking method is adjusted since fish cook...

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Kare Kare, Kare-Kare

Kare Kare. It’s time to again celebrate Christmas it has been an OPC’s tradition to post as many special Pinoy Christmas dish for the Holiday Seasons. For our first 2014 Celebration’s Recipe I would like to share an easy to prepare and never go wrong Kare Kare dish. I have already cooked this on countless occasions in Australia using oxtail, yes I am back in Manila for the Holiday Seasons. For this recipe I used the local cow tail that you have...

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Baboy at Langka with Black Eyed Peas

Baboy at Langka with Black Eyed Peas. This recipe is adopted from KBL - Baboy Langka at Kadyos a popular Iloilo. Kadyos is obviously not available down here so I used black eyed peas or beans instead. I have just recently cooked a similar black eyed beans dish using fork belly instead of pork hocks or pork pata, Black Eyed Pea with Pork Belly, that dish however was adopted from a similar dish called Pinablad a Pusi. There are also similar beans...

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James Martin's Orange Curd Pudding

Recently I have been adding to my cookery book collection every time I go into my local charity shop - but I've had to stop as I've run out of space on my shelves! One of my last purchases was James Martin's Desserts - James Martin is regularly seen on Saturday Kitchen on the BBC which I do like to watch when I get the chance. I liked the look of his 'fresh orange curd pudding' which looked quite cake-like in consistency and perfect for a cold...

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