In My Kitchen

Again, thank you FIL and Uncle George for these mangoes. Uncle George for growing and bringing it to my FIL house from FL, and to my FIL for taking it to my house. I have given 4 people so much of these. Sorry Vicky, I can't mail it to you in CA...lol. Here are 3 boxes full of Apple Mangoes and Tropical Mangoes. I am surprise they grow in FL. Maybe next year we can visit our Uncle and take home a lot of it. The only reason for me not having enough to go around is, they are too far away. Plus, they are too old to travel that far. Thanks to my other Uncle who lives half way in NC. I think they drive until they get in NC. Then stay the night and continue on to NJ the next day. I can't thank them enough for doing this for me.

For my pallet that is. I know some people are not fond of what I eat...he he he. Our Uncle who lives in FL is nice enough to think of me and sent me some of these. A few years back they had oranges, and this year they have Apple Mangoes growing in the backyard. While looking at them, I was thinking on what to do with it. I never liked the ones they sell in my local grocery stores. However, I can't stand looking at them and cut open one. It smell like Indian mangoes from back home and it taste like one too. I had so much, that I had to give some away and I force DH to eat some. He likes it all cut up. I don't have any choice and I did it for him. The below picture is slices of mangoes with saute shrimp paste. No drooling please...he he he A friend of mine got 4 big pieces. I cannot drop it to her early when still a little crunchy because she moved and working the whole time I got them. She some very ripe, and she told me it smell so good not like store bought. Anyway if you like...

Time to pick strawberries from your local farms. I am still trying to locate by me to take my kids. What can you make from strawberries? Jam, smoothie, ice cream, dip in chocolate, can you make pie from it? I like it fresh or blend with plain yogurt. I better get off here and start locating farm that we like to get these fresh strawberries from. They are in season now, yummy.

My DD and I went grocery shopping yesterday. I could not find a fresher Romain lettuce and I end up buying a lot of fruits instead. Most of the Romain lettuce my local grocery store have a soft leaves, I was thinking that it may turn crisp as soon as wash and leave them in the vegetables crisper but I opt not to experiment. Plus, when I buy lettuce we will not touch it until the end of the week (Thursday and Friday). I can't believe I got so much fruits. I even got an Avocado and Mango. I can feel an ulcer ready to come out of my mouth with all the sourness of Mango and Grapes. Why don't I learn that when I eat sour fruits I get ulcers in my mouth.

Simply to say "turon" from what I heard. I was craving for some of my own desserts and this is what I thought of making. I even forgot about the plantains fro a few days and it was almost too ripe and smelled very sweet when I finally get to cook them. I don't make it much because I am the only one that eat these in our household. I also thought about making "ginataang halo-halo" (mix fruits and vegetable roots with coconut milk and sugar) but I forgot to buy some glutenous rice flour. I cover the plantains in brown sugar before wrapping them in. I did not feel like spending too much time scrubbing the pans, but some still found the way to get out of the wrapper. I enjoyed eating it while hot because of crunchiness, I did want any as soon as they cool down.

A lot of fresh fruit to choose from. Not only that but I notice that summer fruits taste much better than any other seasons. And here is my strawberry smoothie by request of my DD and YDS. Only 3 ingredients: strawberries, plain yogurt, and honey as sweetener. You can also freeze the strawberries before making this, for thicker smoothie. This is my finish product. Somehow I can't find the straw for the picture. :( Want to have a taste, here is a glass of my strawberry smoothie just for you. Here is another favorite of mine. I eat a lot of fruit in the summer and sometimes I end up with stomach ache at the end of the day because I eat them right after the other. My stomach does not like it.

One of tropical fruits I miss the most. Winter season is always the worst when missing them. All I can get are the cans with added sugar in them. Sometimes I get the ones that are over ripe it's very soft. I like it when there is still some crunch on them. My parents have a several jackfruit trees on on their property and all we have to do is wait for them to fruit and pick when when ripe. Ahh, those are the days. These are perfect, fresh and still have some crunch on them. I miss living in the tropic.

This is a good source of vitamin C. Basically I mixed 1 cup of cottage cheese, 8 ounces mandarin oranges (drained), 8 ounces pineapple chunks (drained), slices of bananas and some sweetened coconut flakes. That's it, enjoy!

The Sproutwells are back with a new episode. I like the part when Romaina was telling her husband that they have a new addition to the family. Chips, the husband imagining having a new baby in the house but Romaina is talking about the dog. Please watch the video below to see who the Sproutwells family is. And have you visited freshfunds yet? Check it out, when purchasing specially marked Chiquita and Fresh Express vegetables and fruits you can collect points from the packages, make a bid on weekly auctions and win prices from Chiquita and Fresh Express. Always remember that eating healthy is rewarding.

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs Preheat oven to 325 °F. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. Pour into pie pan (Note: I used the cheese cake mold with the picture above. Rub butter all inside and flour to prevent sticking.) Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. How to easily cut the cheesecake For clean edges on the cheesecake slices, use sharp knife to cut the chilled cheesecake, wiping the knife blade with damp cloth between each cut. For Toppings use strawberries slices and arrange on top. For Syrup 2 lbs. strawberry, cleaned and cut lengthwise into 1/4 to 1/8 inch slices 1/2 cup sugar 1 pinch salt 1 cup strawberry jam 1 tbsp lemon juice Toss berries with sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes to dissolve sugar tossing occasionally. Mea...

I went out food shopping today and visit one of my local grocery store that I don't usually go to and found Guavas. I don't even know how much it cost, but I bought two pieces. It was unexpected because being far away from the ocean everything is very hard to come by...tropical fruits that is. I missed eating these things and when I got home I got right into it. I couldn't stop eating and it gave me a tummy ache :( I guess that is what i get. Taste just like home.

Another one from my other blog. Posted while I was pregnant. This craving thing is still going on. Did you know that when you are carrying a boy you tend to eat more than carrying a girl? Yes, its a proven fact. So today, I cooked pansit canton and lumpiang shanghai for lunch. I thought what I made was enough for the 4 of us home. Well, I always cooked too much, now I have to eat it until tomorrow. I'll let you in a little secret, I don't like leftovers; except for cakes and such...he he he. Lumpia mix: pork, shrimp, carrots, onions, and eggs with banana catsup for a dip. Pansit is mixed with pork, carrots, and green beans. And before I forget I had fruit salad for dessert. Pilipino style fruit salad: fruit cocktail, nata de coco, kaong, cream, and evaporated milk. Yummy, hubby likes it too.