Spinach Kale Adobo W/ Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 16oz package of Center cut bacon
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 7 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 5 bay leaves
• 4 bunches of kale, stems and ribs removed, chopped fine
• 2 to 3 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 to 3 tbsp. coconut vinegar or white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 package bag of salad spinach
• 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Thai or serrano chile, crushed (optional)

Preparation

In a 4- to 5-qt. pan over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring, until extra crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain fat and reserve 1 tbsp of bacon grease for later, discard the rest of the bacon fat. allow bacon to drain all fat then crush to bits and set aside.

In the same pan mix olive oil and bacon grease and heat up. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaves and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onion is pale golden, 5 minutes. Toss in kale; cook, stirring, until wilted. Add 1 cup water, half the bacon, 2 tbsp. each soy sauce and coconut vinegar, the pepper, and chile. Simmer, covered, adding water if pan gets dry, until kale is very tender, 35-45 minutes. In the last 10-15 minuets add the whole bag of spinach then cover and mix. Add soy and vinegar to taste. Serve sprinkled with remaining bacon.

My Review:

This is an AMAZING side dish to have for dinner. It's a real good spin on my usual Adobo Kangkong (water spinach). The Kale has a very nice texture, and mixed with all the flavor its really just a good creative dish. Its also very easy to make. I kinda added too much bacon the first time, but after it cooked down it actually turned out really good. Another tip is to microwave the bacon in increments and drain the fat that way, it also leaves the bacon very crispy. Also at the end I used 1 tablespoon of regular soy sauce to give it more flavor.

Cali Bagel Brunch Sandwich

Blueberry Bagel + Fresh Avocado + Monterey Jack Cheese & Cheddar Cheese + Smoked Turkey Breast meat + Mayo & Mustard = Full Proof

"Pho-bulous" time for Pho!

I ate "Pho Cuong 2" in the Berryessa center (BX! Holla!). I've ate there a few times and the prices are reasonable and the service is.. sufficient. By sufficient that means it meets the bare minimum "most of the time", and by bare minimum I mean like following through with simple request like water refills. For those who eat at typical pho places, you know what i mean!

Anyway the pho here is good..! i like the taste of the broth, and i usually get brisket only or well done roundeye steak meat. Another dish i would reccomend is the Lemon grass chicken.




"Pho-bulous"! LMAO! =)

Beef Caldareta Tacos!

I get late night cravings all the time before bed and it never fails! So last night, I went to the fridge and put together this mouth watering "QUICK FIX".

Toasted some corn tortillas, then chopped and heated some left over beef caldareta. Then I chopped up some onions, avocado, and smoked Gouda cheese, then put it all together! Yes it was delicious, and full-proof!!!

High Protein mayonnaise free TUNA SALAD

Ingredients:

2 cans Tuna (Drained)
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Sweet Relish
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Japanese Pepa
6 eggs hard boiled and peeled
1/2 yellow onion diced!
mustard (honey or hot)




Smash peeled hard boiled eggs through a mesh strainer. the eggs should be a fine mushy consistency. Mix the strained tuna, with the eggs, onions, relish, lemon juice, salt & pepa. when its all mixed together add the mustard or your choice to make the consistency of the tuna salad more cohesive. For this recipe I used Beaver brand honey mustard. Mix it all well together and serve with bread or crackas!

FYI: the Japanese pepa is "shichimi togarashi" found in Asian markets.



(my attempt at presentation! Tuna salad on crackas and toasted bread circles! W/ white wine)


My Review:
While trying to find a mayonnaise free tuna salad online i came across this recipe but changed everything, and really made my own recipe. The only thing i kept was the hard boiled egg mush to make it mayonnaise free. This recipe is healthy, tasty, and high in protein! The tuna salad actually has the consistency of pate' or liverwurst, and its not bad at all. You can totally pass this off as some fancy "hors d'oeuvres" at your next party! LOL



Last shot of my creation garnished with chopped salad greens and pimento pieces! =)

Flip Breakfast

LING NAM!
2211 Gellert Blvd
South San Francisco, CA 94080


Recently ate Filipino Breakfast at LING-NAM in South San Francisco. They serve Chinese influenced Filipino food, and the food is not bad and moderately priced. I had the Adobo-Silog, and a bowl of Arroz Caldo.



ADOBO-SILOG


Filipino breakfast is typically a plate, with a variation of very-seasoned and very flavorful meat, such as Tapa, Ticino, Longinisa, Bangus, spam, bacon, adobo, sisig.. etc.! Its served with a hearty portion of garlic fried rice, and sunny side up eggs. traditionally a side of atchara (sweet shredded pickled papaya) or tomato slices are served. Yes i know this breakfast is very filling! extra Full-Proof! LoL!



ARROZ CALDO

Arroz Caldo is also served for breakfast. It is a hearty Rice porridge that has chicken meat. Its usually garnished with chopped green onions and minced fried garlic. This can also be served with a side of fried tofu, and you can use patis (fish sauce) or soy sauce in the soup for flavor.



These dishes at ling-nam were not bad. The adobo in particular was mediocre and too salty. The Arroz caldo was very uninspired! But i did like the fact that the chicken meat was boneless.



I would recommend this place if you are desperate, and are really craving Filipino food. I also recommend this place if you want something late night and are in the area. because they are open 24 hour on the weekends!

Thai Curry

Thai Chicken Curry (Red Penag Curry)



Ingredients:

3 lbs Boneless chicken breast
2 pkg red Thai curry paste
2 cans Coconut Milk
2 yellow onions
2 red bell peppers
1 pkg white or brown mushrooms
1 large can sliced bamboo shoots
1 bunch fresh basil leaf
1 bunch green onions
olive oil

Additional Ingredients:
Salt
ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
fish sauce (to taste)

Depending on how hot u like it:
Tabasco
Whole fresh red Thai chili pepper

*These ingredients are for a LARGE pot, cut ingredients in half for smaller pot.


Start off by Cleaning and chopping the vegetables. Yellow onions sliced lengthwise and set aside. Red bell pepper should be de-cored and de-seeded and slicked in little chucks. Basil Leaf picked from the stems and washed. set aside. Mushrooms cleaned thoroughly and sliced. Green onions should also be minced and set aside. Open the can of bamboo shoots and drain liquid, afterwards rinse the bamboo shoots while still in can.

Cut the boneless chicken into chunks and set aside. Season the chicken with Salt, black & cayenne pepper, and a little bit of fish sauce. Heat about 1 table spoon of olive oil in a large pot. when oil is hot put in sliced yellow onions and cover while stirring occasionally. when onions have become soft but not transparent put seasoned clicked chicken in pot with onions and cover, cook for about 5 mins. Then open 1 pkg of red curry paste and put in with chicken and onions. let cook for another 2-5 mins. when its all mixed together.. add bamboo shoots, bell pepper, mushrooms, last pkg of curry paste and two cans of coconut milk. mix it well all together and let it simmer for 35-45 mins on medium low heat.

When the vegetables look soft and the curry looks all red and orange, mix in the minced green onions and basil leaf. let it cook for another 5 mins and then remove from heat and let it stand to thicken and then serve hot with while rice.


*if you like it extra hot, add Tabasco to the raw chopped chicken, and poke holes using a fork to the whole Thai pepper. this will allow the heat from the pepper to distribute while its being cooked with the curry.




My Review:
This Recipe is amazing! I've been cooking this for a while and It gets better each time. The flavors really melt all together, and make this a very interesting dish. Serve with white rice and some hot tea, and you'll really feel like your eating authentic Thai food!

Other Variations:
You can use boneless skinless thighs, if you want dark meat. You can also use beef, or pork, or come seafood, like shrimp or fish. Just make sure its all boneless. You can also add other vegetables if you like or take some vegetables out of the recipie. Give & take, is fine! If you like more flavor add an additional pkg of red curry paste. Always be sure that 1 pkg of paste is good for 1 can of coconut milk. And if you like it more spicy add fresh thai pepper.






Please... ENJOY!!