Birthday Bolognese

The Young Tongue turned ONE today!

I have fond memories of my birthdays as a child since I always celebrated it with my twin sister (I always blew the cake 5 minutes ahead of her and got a kick out of this -- even if we have several cakes to blow -- and even if we're already in our thirties). We always ended up having pool parties at home or by the beach with our cousins over my Aunt's delicious spread of food. My mamaninang (Aunt) always cooked for the family gatherings and her dishes were always to die for, modesty aside. Our birthdays were perpetually associated with her moist chocolate cake, blue-violet lips and nails (from staying in the water for too long), and spending the entire day (and night) with family.

I contemplated on baking a cake for her but the daunting thought of having to look for my baking tins out of our "moving" boxes scared me (it's a shame really, but you should see the state of where half our belongings are in -- still in boxes as we await for the completion of our closets). My twin sister slept over last night so naturally, she was the first relative to greet her a happy birthday (through several nursery rhymes, dances, and stories). My parents and my nieces came over and we sort of replicated the birthday parties we knew best so that The Young Tongue wouldn't be alone on her special day! And the menus from my past were relived.

I did a simple barby of chicken, pork, and sausages served with some Asian greens on sesame dressing. I also cooked some Bolognese and my parents brought the chocolate cake. I will share our heirloom Chocolate Cake recipe (but I need to ask my Mamaninang first since I have always been conditioned to think that this one recipe is just for family). In the meantime, let me share the pasta we dearly loved as kids.

I've done some modifications on our family's recipe since my last visit to Italy where one of my closest Italian friends introduced me to la mamma who taught me how to do it right.

Bolognese

400 grams lean Ground Beef

100 grams Ground Pork

2 pieces large Onions, chopped finely

4 stalks Celery, leaves removed, chopped finely

1 large Carrot, chopped finely

2 pieces Garlic, crushed

A glass of red wine

2 cans Plum Tomatoes

1 piece Bay Leaf

Mace, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Clove, to taste

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A box of Pasta

Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

1. In a hot pan with olive oil, saute the carrots, celery, and onion. Once translucent, add the garlic.

2. Add the ground beef and ground pork into the pan and cook until the meat is not pink in color and no traces of blood can be found.

3. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow to reduce by 70%.

4. Add the plum tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring it to a simmer.

5. Add the bay leaf, mace, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and clove. Allow the meat to soften. This will take from an hour and a half to two hours under gentle heat.

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Cook pasta al dente.

8. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Incognito Dining with The Young Tongue

I've been reviewing restaurants for three years now and as I've agreed with the publisher to keep things discreet, I can not share any photos of The Young Tongue (or anything that might give you the slightest of a clue) as I set about today's mission. I brought her with me as I reviewed the first restaurant in my list of several others. At first, I was hesitant to take her as my companion but after some thought, I figured that if my mom can bring her to breakfasts at the Penn, I should just be as approving.

What was supposedly a serious afternoon of examining and evaluating a restaurant's food, ambience, and service became an amusement of sorts. As far as the review is concerned, I'm giving that restaurant stars. So let's zero in on The Young Tongue shall we?

Once seated on her high chair, I began to read the menu and ordered what was to represent the restaurant's best. She busily looked around as if she too were reviewing the restaurant's ambience (without any explanation from my end about what I was doing). She smiled at every single waiter/waitress and also began to curiously look at all the tables filled with customers. They seemed to be captivated by her as I noticed that she was already grabbing people's attention towards our table which was in a quiet location. As the bread arrived, her gaze was directed towards the table and she gave me the "look" as if to cue me on my duty to share the afternoon's bounty (while they were hot of course). I willingly obliged and wish I had the words to describe her face -- beaming, The Young Tongue was also kicking her high chair with approval! She fell absolutely in love with the warm crusty bread sans the butter. She chewed away like there was no tomorrow and I already began to imagine how long it would take me to teach her table manners. I reveled in watching her take pleasure with the humble bread.

After the success of trying to contain her joy, our fresh strawberry shake arrived. She started pointing at the drink and I started scooping out some of it for her to try. I was worried about the cold but as earlier mentioned, if only I can find the words to describe her face, she began to beam once more! She absolutely loved it! Curious as can be, I tried the shake too (shame on me for making her try it beforehand) and fell in love with it the way she did.

That was all she tasted and I let her skip out on the courses (I ordered blue meat for starters and a medium-rare roast for my entree and they are not advisable for babies since they can not defend themselves in the presence of food bacteria -- which is always a gamble anywhere in the world, and if at all any). As I ate and deliberated on the restaurant, she kept herself busy smiling at everyone she can make eye contact with. She also managed to get a few guests (and waiters) to say hello to her. I have a hunch that dining incognito with her will be precarious business.

And as I reviewed, I began to think of what she might become as she grows up. Perhaps a food critique? A cook? A gourmet? A gourmand (yes, there is a big difference between a gourmet and a gourmand -- one knows good food and other eats a lot of good food)? Who knows? I resign today blithely seeing her enjoy the experience of dining in restaurants with me. More so, the thought of us enjoying exactly the same dish for the very same reasons. Perhaps after a few years of training... she'll even be better at this than I am!

Happiness Wrapped in Steel

I think it apt to give credit to Miele and Bulthaup who have made The Young Tongue's dishes worth the cooking. Short of two weeks in our new home, I also have to thank my husband for this fabulous kitchen!

I've used so many ovens and stoves in the past decade, both for industrial and home use that I've had my fair share of The Good and The oh-so Bad. I used to work for an Industrial Company that made products for the biggest Fast Food Chains and have handled their branches in Asia-Africa-Middle East. So using multi-branded equipment in different countries (and continents) have kept me busy. I won't share those who have misbehaved but rather, I want to share my recent amusement.

Presenting ... (drum roll please) ... Miele and Bulthaup!

Forgive the mess, we've just moved...

I've always had this love-hate relationship with electric ovens until I met mine wrapped up in a stainless steel oven called Miele encased in a kitchen system made by no other than Bulthaup. I used to be averse with electric ovens because of several acquaintances with burnt spots, rather slow cooking, and uneven temperature. But this Miele oven has proven me wrong and I'm eating my very own words as I type.

I've baked several times and have done Sunday roasts and the flavors are so spot-on I've fallen in love with a heart of steel. It's temperature is also flawless. I've tried it with several settings and my oven thermometer is just as enthralled as I am.

As for the kitchen system -- Bulthaup has enthused me with it's ever-so-clean lines, push-button cabinets, compartments that glide and slide so quietly I feel like the brambly one. If it had a gender, it would be female with it's smooth movements (it's as if it dances a ballet as it opens! ). It's really so sleek I fear that the ones who can destroy this piece of eye candy is my new house cook.

Everyday I wake up wanting to cook and every single time before I go to sleep, I already think about what I will be cooking the next day. For these toys will be my favorites for a very long time. And I'd like to keep my friendship with them for as long as I live!


Now off I go to cook The Young Tongue's lunch...

Cabbage Spud Kids

Today's dish consists of slim pickings -- the humble spud and cabbage! Preparing baby food, in my opinion, should be a no-fuss feat. Consider your young tongue's happiness (judged by an unmistakable smile after eating the meal) as one of your day's laurels.
Cabbage and Potato

1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 onion, chopped finely
1 piece Potato, peeled and sliced into cubes
1 cup Water
1/8 Cabbage, chopped
1 piece Bay Leaf
3 stalks fresh Thyme
Kosher salt, to taste







1. Saute the onions in extra virgin olive oil.
2. Add the potatoes and continue to saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add the water and bring to a boil.
4. Once it's boiling, bring it down to a simmer (bringing it to a boil before simmering is important as this will kill most forms of bacteria) then add the cabbage and bay leaf. Keep cooking until potatoes are soft.
5. With your cooking spoon (I use a silicone le creuset so that it won't destroy my cookware -- stainless steel on stainless steel will shed some particles you wouldn't want your baby to eat), mash some of the potatoes. Keep some whole so that the dish will have some composition.
6. Add the fresh thyme (remove only the green bits and discard the stalk) and season to taste with kosher salt. Potatoes are high in sodium, so season lightly.

Cabbages are rich in Thiamin, Magnesium, Phosphorus, dietary fiber, Vitamins C, K, and B6, as well as Folate, Calcium, Potassium, and Manganese. Potatoes on the other hand, are rich in Potassium, Vitamins C and B6.

We also paired this dish with some mangoes for her dessert. The mangoes were on it's way to ripeness so the sweet-sour note complemented the natural sweetness of the meal.

here you can see The Young Tongue holding her mango

Another laurel!

Summer Squash

Dry Spell? I blame summer heat for the lack of posts as of late. And the fact that we just recently moved to a house down South. That and the sudden disorientation of where local purveyors of Fine Foods are, has taken a toll on our diet lately (to those who live here in Alabang, notes on your "food finds" are welcome!).

Today, I decided to cook two kinds of Squash for The Young Tongue. I used a Summer squash (Zucchini) and Winter squash (Butternut) for lunch. Having to split my morning with our contractor, the search for our house cook, air-con technicians, and the village association office, I only had ten minutes to prepare her meal.

Zucchini and Butternut Squash

Half a Zucchini, sliced into cubes
Half a Butternut Squash, sliced into cubes
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I love using Arte Oliva which you can buy from Terry's Selection)
1 piece Rock Sugar (you can buy in any Chinese specialty stores)
Kosher Salt, to taste

1. In a hot non-stick pan, place your extra virgin olive oil.
2. Saute your butternut squash until soft and add your zucchini. Continue cooking until both are tender and have shown some signs of browning (at this point, it has caramelized).
3. Add the piece of rock sugar and kosher salt to season. Taste.
4. You can either mash it up to baby-friendly creamy goodness or keep it chunky so your young tongue can enjoy the texture.

Squash by the way, is a very good source of Vitamins E, B6, A, and C as well as Potassium and Manganese. It's very hard to believe that you can easily give all these vitamins to your young tongue in a dish you can prepare with your eyes closed! Watch them love the creamy texture and the hint of sweetness!

And to keep the color motif in tact, we gave her some sweet sliced cantaloupe for dessert .