Couch Potato

When I was pregnant with the young tongue, all I ever did was stay at home. My first doctor (I had to find a more lenient one eventually) advised that I were to strictly stay in bed and husband was more than willing to become the General Commander of the house. It was the first time in my life that I ever stayed still. Feeling the heat of the kitchen and traveling were few and far between. It was as if heaven and earth connived for me to have this much-needed furlough. And so it was, 8 months spent away from the kitchen. All I ever did was fritter away in my couch.

Whoever told me that I was going to be up and about after giving birth was right! Fast forward after months of nursing, setting up a business, and learning for the most part, how to become a mom -- we were busy negotiating for her new nest last week, so I acknowledge the fact that this blog has run dry. Mea culpa. Today, I have promised to work on my shipments for my up-coming on-line baby store (more about that later). Which left me with 20 minutes in the kitchen.  So to relish the potatoes in all of us, I have decided to cook something unpretentious.

Tyrollian Bacon with Chicken and Squishy Potatoes

1 piece Potato

1 piece Chicken Lollilop (or half a wing)

1 piece Tyrollian Bacon (about 1in x 1in x 1in)

1 piece Sun-dried Tomato

Water

Salt

1. Peel the potato and dice into small cubes. The smaller they are, the faster they'll cook.

2. Remove the skin from the chicken wing.

3. Boil some water. I usually cheat by doing this ahead of time.

4. Put all the ingredients (bacon, chicken, potato, sun-dried tomato, and water) in the pot. Ensure that the water covers all the ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer until the potato is soft. This will take about 15 minutes.

5. Season with salt. I only season at this point because I rely on the flavor of the bacon.

6. Transfer everything into a bowl. There should be enough liquid to help you mash the potato.

7. Remove all the meat and tomato. And using a fork, mash your potato.

NOTE: Tomato skins are the most difficult to digest. Remove the skin before giving this to your infant.

8. On a chopping board, slice and dice the chicken meat and the bacon to small bits, easy enough for your young tongue to bite. I also like playing with texture so don't let it get too mushy that there won't be a difference between the potato and meat.

9. Combine meat and potato and allow to cool.

10. Serve.

The Easy Rebel - Lentils with Fresh Apple Pork Sausage

Rebellious food, the kind that takes forever to cook or prepare, is always a love-hate relationship for me. Lentils are not top-of-mind whenever I want to give the young tongue high-in-protein food. Our pediatrician, Doctor V, advised that at this stage of the baby's development, protein is key. During my food anarchist days, I probably would've cried mutiny against all these healthy foods and eat instead, all those oh-so-yummy albeit deadly ones-- flavor always came first before nutrition! Fast forward to my first year as a mom and I've already swallowed several words and vices hoping that I can be a good example for my first born.

The young tongue's ninang visited yesterday and we had Fresh Apple Pork Sausage with Portobello Mushrooms served with heirloom tomatoes and caramelized balsamic vinegar for merienda (but that's another story).We had some leftover sausage and I thought I could pair this with lentils. It's insipid flavor (in my opinion) will be the perfect marriage with the nectareous taste of apples and the rich taste of the sausage. If you do not have this thing called Fresh Apple Pork Sausage in the fridge, fear not mommas and pappas! I'm sure you can just mix some freshly diced apples with our local longganisa!

So here's the recipe (and while I'm at it, I'm going to try a different writing style and I hope someone would leave a comment as to which is easier to follow -- the one I used for the couscous which is numbered or this one which is just a narrative...)

(forgive the photo... food can also misbehave during a shoot)

Lentils with Fresh Apple Pork Sausage

As I've mentioned earlier, lentils are rebels. These stubborn lentils take hours to cook. I suppose they have a fondness for swimming in hot water, mingling with the other lentils in the pot, taking time coming out of their shells! And then add a few more hours for them to meet the other ingredients that enter the pot before closing time is called. They also take time to prepare themselves for the big dramatic entry into the pot and when I say this I mean that they have to be left in a bowl full of water overnight.

So thats just what I did. I placed 3/4 cup of lentils in a bowl (good for an adult) and covered this with water up to the brim, covered it in cling wrap, and forgot about it. I finished half the season of "The Modern Family" (which is comical and side-splitting in all levels by the way!) and slept a good ten hours. As soon as I woke up, I read a Dr. Seuss book to the young tongue and went straight to the kitchen. I drained the now cloudy liquid that the lentils lazed in under the moon and placed the lentils on a pot with boiling water. Cranked up the heat in the stove and let the water boil until big bubbles were popping up and lowered the heat for it to go on a gentle simmer. At this point, you can forget about the lentils again but just do an occasional check and stir it up a bit.

I grabbed a teflon pan this time and put it on the stove and let it get all warmed up. Then I removed the skin of the sausage (I don't think the young tongue can digest this just yet) and placed it on the pan (with no oil as it will release it's own) slowly tearing it into small pieces. I just allowed it to sizzle and caramelize on it's own. Once it turned golden brown, I turned off the heat and placed it on a small bowl.

Back to the lentils -- it takes about an hour for it to absorb the water, so you just have to watch and stir every so often. About thirty minutes into simmering goodness, add five threads of saffron. If you don't have any, just choose your herb or spice of choice. I like saffron because it is mild and it makes the color very vibrant. It's also something the young tongue has not tried. Once the lentils are soft and the water has almost completely evaporated (texture of which is champorado-like ... a consistency we Pinoys know by heart) all you have to do is to season it with salt. I chose not to add pepper this time, to let the saffron speak for itself. The sweetness of the apples in the sausage will also accentuate the savory goodness of that pinch of salt you added. And oh, I also added another pinch of sugar just to give it a little extra ummph!

Place the lentils on a bowl and top with the sausage to serve.

At the end of the day, it really didn't take me too much time to prepare this dish. Maybe a good two minutes to actually put them in the bowl to marinate overnight, another five minutes to boil some water and let them swim on it, and another 5 minutes to cook the sausage. What dragged on was the occasional stirring of the rebel.

How did the young tongue like it? She just ate it with no complaints, smiles all over, and gave me a big hug immediately after (okay, okay, she opened her arms as if to hug me!).

Couscous Meats Lamb

The young tongue spent days on the beach and was delighted with the piquant and brackish taste of saltwater. Fatigued over the weekend's frivolities, I decided to cook something swift for today's lunch.

While feeding the young tongue with couscous and meatballs, she gave me this quizzical look. It's as if she knew it lacked mint jelly! The little one was so jubilant with the addition of this one ingredient, makes me wonder...how does a young tongue know at such an early age? Hesitant whether she loved just the mint jelly or the combination of all the flavors, I mixed them all up until it turned to baby mush. Oh the lengths I would go just to be able to discern better...If there's anyone out there with a baby guide, a cheat sheet, or pocket notes on how to judge your baby's cryptic reactions to your home cooking, please let me know! Recipes below...

Apricot Couscous

You'll need:

3/4 cup Couscous

1 1/2 cup boiling Water

1/2 Tbsp. Butter

1/2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 piece Onion, chopped

1 piece Garlic, chopped

10 pieces Apricots

1 Tbsp. Pesto

a bunch of Parsley and Basil leaves, torn

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. On a hot pan with olive oil, saute the onions until it turns translucent. I usually add a pinch of salt and cover it with a lid. Adding salt will help let the onion sweat and release it's flavor.

2. Add the garlic and cook until golden.

3. Toss in the couscous and add the boiling water and butter. Stir.

4. Once the couscous has absorbed the water, check if it has softened. Cooking this much couscous might take about 3 to 5 minutes. Once soft, it is cooked.

5. Add the apricots and pesto into the couscous.

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Add the parsley and basil.

8. Remove from the pan and place in serving bowl.

Couscous serves about two adults.

Lamb Meatballs

You'll need:

a patty of Lamb (ask your butcher for 125 g ground lamb)

1/4 tsp. Cumin

1/4 tsp. Marjoram

1/4 tsp. fennel seeds

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. In a hot pan (with no oil, I repeat...no oil), place all the spice and allow it to release it's own oil. You'll know that it started to release it's own flavor when you can smell the spices in the air.

2. Remove the spices in the pan and massage this mixture into the lamb. Season to taste.

3. I usually have a hot pan with some oil and at this point, I test some of the meat. Fry about a tablespoon-sized meat and check if your seasoning is right. If it's turned out okay, curve them into 1-inch balls by rolling it in between your hands. If the taste isn't quite right, add more seasoning and repeat the procedure.

4. Marinating this overnight will intensify the flavor but it's not necessary when you're in a rush.

5. In a hot pan with drizzled oil, cook the lamb balls. You'll know its done when there are hardly any bubbles in your pan or when you can hardly hear the oil touching the meat. Also, the color has turned out brown and crusty outside.

6. Please note that it isn't advisable to eat ground meat medium rare or rare. You should eat them well done because you avoid bacteria that can give you a bad tummy.

Makes about 3 meat balls, good for one adult.

My Roots

I was 9 years old when I decided I wanted to become a culinary artist. After finishing a business degree in De La Salle University, I studied at Le Cordon Bleu, London Culinary Arts Institute.

Captivated by an energetic team of instructors who have worked for Michelin-starred chefs, cutting edge kitchens for classrooms, and long established techniques for lessons, I knew that this was where I would get my foundation. You can sort of blame them for the beginning of my love affair with the rigidity and yielding ways of anything culinary.

No amount of summer jobs in restaurants prepared me for the year I spent here. This was where I learned my craft, smoked out the heat, and met some of the most captivating characters in my life.

Finishing in this school has constantly opened doors for me. I've used all the techniques I've mastered here in professional kitchens in Asia and the Middle East. And I still do now even though it's just in my humble kitchen and I only have a young tongue to feed.

The Tongue

Meet the young tongue. She's my ten-month-old baby with a ravenous appetite, enough to keep me busy in the kitchen.

I noticed that her palette was quite advanced at an early age of 7 months. 2 weeks into solid food, she would give me cryptic reactions to dishes that I would introduce to her -- as suggested by her pediatrician. Challenged by my youngest customer, I slowly added ingredients into her normal everyday fare, that other mothers could not even imagine a baby loving ... miso, gruyere, pecorino, parma ham, couscous, ras el hanout, kofta, and yes, even litchi yogurt (as today's discovery!) to name a few.

Cyber-maladroit, this is my attempt to share recipes I've made for my first born. Recipes and photos to follow in the next few days.