Recipe: Black Rice Salad

I love quinoa salads but thought I would go local by using black rise that grows here instead. I recently learned that consuming the heartier varieties of colored rice from the mountain provinces supports local farmers better. They are better off, and sometimes limited to, growing this rice over white rice because it is more resistant to damage from typhoons and other adverse weather. Bonus: it's whole grain and tasted great in a cold salad!

1) Greek style

For 6 servings, mix together:

2 cups cooked and cooled black/red/pink rice (or quinoa)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 cup chopped green onion
1 cucumber, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 red pepper, diced
150 grams Feta cheese, crumbled
1 can of garbanzo beans

Serve cold with a wedge of lemon or dayap (green lemon) to squeeze on it, and some salt and pepper. Or make this lemon vinagrette from Ina Garten (see original recipe).

Lemon Vinaigrette (Makes 3/4 Cup)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.


2) Italian style

Mix together:

2 cups cooked and cooled black/red/pink rice (or quinoa)
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 cucumber, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
150 grams Mozzarella cheese
1 can of red kidney beans

Serve cold with a balsamic vinaigrette of 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and 2/3 cup olive oil.


Thanks to my friend Megan Jentzsch who told me her recipes orally and who got me hooked on these salads.

Recipe: Panecillos de San Nicolas

Click here for a recipe and how to make these heritage cookies from Pampanga.

And click here for a detailed background and history of these cookies. 

Enjoy! 

Recipe: Chopped Thai Salad with Green Papaya

I love this salad, all the crunchy chopped produce in it make for a refreshing bite! I especially love that it has shredded green papaya in it, a fruit that I don't know many ways to use. And, the dressing this salad is paired with gives it the perfect flavor (thanks to the peanut butter and calamansi), as well as the perfect zing (thanks to the little red chili in it).

The recipe is from the Pinch of Yum blog. Lindsey is a food blogger who has lived in the Philippines, and she created this salad while living here. Take a look:

http://pinchofyum.com/chopped-thai-chicken-salad

Recipe: All-Filipino Granola

In a big bowl, mix together:

6 cups rolled oats (I used Quaker brand)

2 cups freshly shredded coconut

1/2 cup cashew nuts, crushed

1/2 cup peanuts, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl, mix together:

1/4 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add contents of small bowl to big bowl and stir together. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes, but stir half-way through cooking time.

Remove from oven and let cool. Add 3/4 cup dried mango cut-up in pieces, and stir. Store in airtight container. 

Can also add:

1 Tablespoon flax or sesame seeds

1/2 cup banana chips or raisins

Enjoyed plain, with milk or yogurt, or as topping on a smoothie or ice cream. 

Recipe: Malunggay Pesto

I love being able to use local produce, and I love it even more when it's something the whole family (i.e. the kids) will eat. And even better when that local produce is highly nutritious. I have enjoyed discovering malunggay and it's amazing nutritional properties. Some examples: it has 2 times the protein than yoghurt, 4 times more vitamin A than carrots, 7 times more vitamin C than oranges, 3 times more iron than spinach, double the calcium than in milk, and 3 times more potassium than bananas. I love that is is available so abundantly and so inexpensively in the Philippines. We even have a malunggay tree in our yard. I found this book at National Bookstore that encourages people to make use of the benefits of malunggay by incorporating it into more of our meals. Apart from in Tinola and Munggo stew, I've also thrown it into smoothies and pureed it into pancakes, with varying success as to the palates of my kids depending on their mood that day! But one way that they enjoy it for sure, is in pesto sauce! So, here we go, posting the recipe.

Recipe from "The Malunggay Book" by Day Salonga and Mon Urbano

Makes about 2 cups

2 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh malunggay leaves
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup cashew nuts, unsalted and toasted
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until it turns to a paste. Season with salt and pepper.

From a tree in our yard, to the blender, to the pasta.