NOT EASY TO FIND FOOD FINDS

Coming across food finds makes TBW very happy especially if they are not easy to get.

Tabbouleh,  tabouleh or tabouli is a Levantine (countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt)  salad traditionally made of bulgur (cracked wheat grain),  tomato, cucumber, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion, garlic and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.   In the present generation of instant food, finding tabbouleh in a box almost ready to eat is a treat.

Easy does it. Just add hot water, diced tomatoes and olive oil and it is ready to go. Best eaten with lamb, any grilled food or by it's lonesome self. A great carb replacement.

Bibingka (Philippine native rice cake cooked over heated coals topped with cheese, salted egg or left alone).  This version which was a gift from the Dagelets was a beautiful cross between a fluffy mamon (light buttery cake) and a pancake.  Judging from the phone number on the box, this must be made in the province, probably Lipa Batangas where Brenda hails from.

Served lightly charred on both surfaces, toasted banana leaves wrapped around each one, with a hint of smokey flavor in every bite. Sarap (Yum)!

Mirabell’s Salzburger Mozarttaler.  Heavenly chocolates from Austria gifted by an Austrian friend.  Layers of delectable goodness in each chocolate.  Rich, dark chocolate followed by light and dark praline cream and a center of fine marzipan laden with pistachio nuts.  Deliriously good!

Most of the chocolates from Salzburg, Austria are named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and have his face on the box or wrapper. World famous and brilliant composer, Mozart was born and raised in Salzburg.

Anything hard to get is usually treasured and more appreciated.  Be it career, money, love or food!

FRESHLY INSPIRED TO BE HEALTHY

TBW was inspired by Forbes Luxe show on TLC featuring ten of the most extravagant meals in this planet.  There were white truffle 8 course dinners, a 24 karat gold Sultan cake worth USS 1,000, Thomas Keller’s French Laundry’s 12 course meal, caviar menu at Daniel Boulud’s Daniel in New York, etc.  Their common denominator was to use only the freshest and finest ingredients.

The inspiration then was to prepare a couple of  healthy items out of available fresh ingredients found in the kitchen and the garden.  And naturally,  to eat =)  These may be far from the extravagant meals seen on the Forbes Luxe show but they surely are good for the body.  And that alone is precious enough.

Portobello on greens

Sprinkle portobello mushroom with rosemary, freshly cracked black pepper and evoo (extra virgin olive oil) and grill.  Arrange mushroom on top of a huge, crisp iceberg lettuce leaf.  Few slices of curry seasoned chicken breast is added and finished with a home-made mango dressing.  Cut as you eat.  Do not cut & mix like usual when having a salad.

Creamy mango dressing

Mango dressing is made of ripened harvested green mangoes from FGR’s farm.  Not wanting it to go to waste, two to-be-ripened yellow-green mango cheeks were tossed in a food processor.  Evoo, garlic, dash of lemon, apple cider vinegar, cracked black pepper, mustard & mint leaves for the sweetish effect were added next.  Process until all ingredients have commingled and pureed.  Voila!  A spectacular tart, sweet, spicy, thick, creamy & super flavorful dressing, sans salt.  Goes well with anything =)

Refreshing drink of lemon grass from the garden & ginger extracts

Lemon grass & ginger tea.  Cut stalk and leaves of lemon grass diagonally to get those precious oils out.  Dice peeled ginger.  Boil both together in a pot of water.  Remove ginger pieces and strain remaining juices in pot using a sieve.  Add muscovado sugar according to your liking.  Transfer to a pitcher and chill.  Serve with ice cubes or crushed ice.  Add a few tapioca balls for novelty.  Truly refreshing & healthy even.

Salt and refined sugar, especially taken too frequent, contribute nothing good to our bodies.  If it is a necessity to have them in our food or beverage, a wise alternative is to replace salt with herbs & spices and white sugar with raw & unrefined.  Health is wealth!

BURGERS & OPTIONS AT STACKERS

Tookie loves burgers and will want to eat them any chance he gets.  TBW isn’t as fond so it is a relief to find burger places that offer options aside from the yummy fatty patty sandwiches.  Stackers is a burger cafe that has all kinds of burgers and other several offerings, even healthy ones, to satisfy both burger fans and not-so-quite-burger fans.

Some of the many burger creations

Tookies favorite burger type. Plain, no catsup/mayo/vegies, with a slice of cheese and bacon strips.

Garlic fries

Alternatives…..

Fish & chips, Fish burger. Good for Lent

Healthy asian salad platter

Burger salad bowls

BBQ burger bowl. Tasty, filling & healthier than a quarter pound burger sandwich.

Having several menu options allows diners to easily reach a compromise and this leads to peace and happiness.  See what food can help do =)

 

 

SALAD DRESSINGS FOR SALAD DAYS

TBW “found” Jardinero’s almost 10 years ago.  It was a lush and green organic garden with a covered dining area filled with bonsai and native artifacts. We would pick, weigh and buy our own arugula, lettuce and herbs and proceed to stock up on the bottled salad dressings that were made on a limited scale.

We discovered Jardinero’s caesar dressing back then and have recommended it to many who in turn, liked it very much.  Kuy2 who seems to be developing a more sophisticated palate, eats home prepared caesar salad only with home made dressing or Jardinero’s.  Other likeable dressings and sauces which were a hit were the peanut, pesto, papaya and strawberry.

Fast forward….March 2011, a much delayed visit to Jardinero’s was made after being absent from the scene for 2 1/2 years.  The place changed. There are still a few patches of vegetable and herbs being grown.  Salad dressings are available but are now bottled in round type containers in 200 ml and 100 ml sizes instead of the elongated one size bottles in the past. The taste of the caesar dressing and pesto sauce are somewhat the same but a distinct change in the type of oil used was noted.  Perhaps the person making the dressings and sauces is different from before.  Nevertheless, TBW still finds them (caesar and pesto) good alternatives to home made ones especially if time is of the essence.

L-R peanut & caesar dressing, pesto sauce

Jardinero’s is located along the left side of the road going to Tagaytay, across Ming’s Garden.

Change is the only constant thing in this world.  More often than not, change is good….but only if the after effect is also good.