Yes, we missed out on a coupl'a months... been really busy with work. Hehe.
Rainy Days Come and Go...
Have you noticed how terrible the weather has been lately? Well, back in June and July, we hardly had rain. Then towards the end of last month, we'd have really weird weather - scorching hot mid-days, then pouring rain in the afternoons! This makes for very lazy weather, don't you think? :P Makes you want to head to the mall and chill out, huh? Maybe take in a movie or check out some of the new food places...
Speaking of Movies and Food... (what a segue!) We were able to catch the advanced screening of the new Disney Pixar Movie, Ratatouille (pronounced as Ra-Ta-Tu-Wee). And we must say we LOVED the movie. Hmmm... not really sure about the Kikkoman Brand Manager though, she winced each time she saw all those rats onscreen (who could forget the scene where the ceiling falls and the colony is exposed? hahaha!) but the rest of us sure loved the movie! So much so that we got so curious about the real Ratatouille - the dish and not the... uh... Rat (whose name's Remy, by the way). So right after, we searched the net for the easiest Ratatouille recipe there is, only to be disappointed because all the recipes called for baking (and we didn't have an oven on hand... *sigh*). But one 5-star recipe we did find had dozens of comments, and we poured over each one, curious to see if anyone tried making the dish stove-top style. And there was this one college girl who got so interested in the dish because of the movie. Like us, she didn't have an oven, so she decided to toss everything in a saucepan instead. The end result turned out great or in her exact words - fabuloso! Ha! We decided to do the same thing. We headed over to the nearest supermarket, bought the ingredients available in the Philippines and went home to make our own version of Ratatouille. And boy, we were in for a treat because the dish we made already smelled delicioso right when we were making it. and it tasted great too (we actually zipped through the whole pan)! And yes, it didn't exactly look like the Ratatouille masterpiece Remy made in the movie... uh... ours looked a bit like mush. but hey, if mush tasted this good, we'll have mush everyday! :)
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a mediterranean peasant dish. Apparently, this is one cheap dish in places where all the ingredients come cheap (read: not in the Philippines, haha), but we tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with an affordable yet hearty (can we say delicioso again?) version.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp La Espanola Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 large cloves Garlic, minced (you can add more if you LOVE garlic)
1 large White Onion, sliced
1 large Eggplant, thinly sliced
1 large Zucchini, thinly sliced
1/8 Squash, peeled and thinly sliced (yes, take out the hard skin, of course!)
1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into strips
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips (optional)
1/2 Cup Mushrooms, cut into strips (we used oyster mushrooms)
2 large Tomatoes, chopped
Salt to taste
pinch of McCormick Rosemary
1/2 Cup Clara Ole Three Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (divide into 5 parts)
1/4 Cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Procedure:
1. In a large saucepan, saute Garlic in La Espanola Extra Virgin Olive Oil until light brown in color. Add half of the sliced Onions until Onions are coated in oil.
2. Add Eggplant. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and some of your Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. When Eggplant is half-cooked, add the Squash. Sprinkle a pinch of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. Add the Zucchini, sprinkle again with a bit of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. Add the rest of the vegetables (Mushrooms, Bell Pepper, Tomatoes and remaining Onions). Sprinkle with a bit of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well.
3. Add Clara Ole Three Cheese Spaghetti Sauce, small pinch of McCormick Rosemary and the remaining Parmesan Cheese. Mix well.
4. Put on medium heat until the sauce comes to a boil.
5. Transfer to a foil pan or microwaveable container. Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese on top. Serve over pasta, rice or as is.
You may opt to put the dish in the Toaster Oven for about 3 minutes (or 30 seconds in the Microwave) to melt the cheese, if y0u wish. The good thing about Ratatouille is that you can freeze leftovers and the vegetables still come out crunchy when reheated. It actually tastes a lot like lasagna. Difference is, this is made entirely without meat, and the ingredients are good for you. What more, you can try making this dish for your kids while the movie's such a hit. Don't say we didn't warn you if they start asking for more.
Rainy Days Come and Go...
Have you noticed how terrible the weather has been lately? Well, back in June and July, we hardly had rain. Then towards the end of last month, we'd have really weird weather - scorching hot mid-days, then pouring rain in the afternoons! This makes for very lazy weather, don't you think? :P Makes you want to head to the mall and chill out, huh? Maybe take in a movie or check out some of the new food places...
Speaking of Movies and Food... (what a segue!) We were able to catch the advanced screening of the new Disney Pixar Movie, Ratatouille (pronounced as Ra-Ta-Tu-Wee). And we must say we LOVED the movie. Hmmm... not really sure about the Kikkoman Brand Manager though, she winced each time she saw all those rats onscreen (who could forget the scene where the ceiling falls and the colony is exposed? hahaha!) but the rest of us sure loved the movie! So much so that we got so curious about the real Ratatouille - the dish and not the... uh... Rat (whose name's Remy, by the way). So right after, we searched the net for the easiest Ratatouille recipe there is, only to be disappointed because all the recipes called for baking (and we didn't have an oven on hand... *sigh*). But one 5-star recipe we did find had dozens of comments, and we poured over each one, curious to see if anyone tried making the dish stove-top style. And there was this one college girl who got so interested in the dish because of the movie. Like us, she didn't have an oven, so she decided to toss everything in a saucepan instead. The end result turned out great or in her exact words - fabuloso! Ha! We decided to do the same thing. We headed over to the nearest supermarket, bought the ingredients available in the Philippines and went home to make our own version of Ratatouille. And boy, we were in for a treat because the dish we made already smelled delicioso right when we were making it. and it tasted great too (we actually zipped through the whole pan)! And yes, it didn't exactly look like the Ratatouille masterpiece Remy made in the movie... uh... ours looked a bit like mush. but hey, if mush tasted this good, we'll have mush everyday! :)Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a mediterranean peasant dish. Apparently, this is one cheap dish in places where all the ingredients come cheap (read: not in the Philippines, haha), but we tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with an affordable yet hearty (can we say delicioso again?) version.Ingredients:
1 Tbsp La Espanola Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 large cloves Garlic, minced (you can add more if you LOVE garlic)
1 large White Onion, sliced
1 large Eggplant, thinly sliced
1 large Zucchini, thinly sliced
1/8 Squash, peeled and thinly sliced (yes, take out the hard skin, of course!)
1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into strips
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips (optional)
1/2 Cup Mushrooms, cut into strips (we used oyster mushrooms)
2 large Tomatoes, chopped
Salt to taste
pinch of McCormick Rosemary
1/2 Cup Clara Ole Three Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (divide into 5 parts)
1/4 Cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Procedure:
1. In a large saucepan, saute Garlic in La Espanola Extra Virgin Olive Oil until light brown in color. Add half of the sliced Onions until Onions are coated in oil.
2. Add Eggplant. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and some of your Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. When Eggplant is half-cooked, add the Squash. Sprinkle a pinch of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. Add the Zucchini, sprinkle again with a bit of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well. Add the rest of the vegetables (Mushrooms, Bell Pepper, Tomatoes and remaining Onions). Sprinkle with a bit of Salt and some Parmesan Cheese. Mix well.
3. Add Clara Ole Three Cheese Spaghetti Sauce, small pinch of McCormick Rosemary and the remaining Parmesan Cheese. Mix well.
4. Put on medium heat until the sauce comes to a boil.
5. Transfer to a foil pan or microwaveable container. Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese on top. Serve over pasta, rice or as is.
You may opt to put the dish in the Toaster Oven for about 3 minutes (or 30 seconds in the Microwave) to melt the cheese, if y0u wish. The good thing about Ratatouille is that you can freeze leftovers and the vegetables still come out crunchy when reheated. It actually tastes a lot like lasagna. Difference is, this is made entirely without meat, and the ingredients are good for you. What more, you can try making this dish for your kids while the movie's such a hit. Don't say we didn't warn you if they start asking for more.
Now for your favorite part... RECIPES!!!
Whenever it rains, don't you just want to curl up on the couch with a good book and a bowl of comfort food? Here are some recipes from our recipe vault that will surely have you asking for more. Yes, good food and snuggly weather = perfect combination! Click on the images to save your favorite recipes!
Soup!
Nothing like soup to warm you up during cold, rainy days. Try this one from San Remo!
and Salad!
Try this twist-of-a-salad from San Remo and Clara Ole!
Rice Topping... yum!
Do you notice how rice meals seem more appealing to the appetite on rainy days? This rice dish from Lee Kum Kee will surely make you come asking for seconds, or maybe thirds or fourths...
Or how about Noodles?
If you're not much of a rice-eater, how about a great stir-fry noodle dish from Kikkoman and San Remo?
Plus...
Do you ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed on rainy days? Or do your kids give you a hard time when getting out of bed on school days? Try serving this delightful, quick and easy-to-make JIF breakfast to start those mornings right... don't forget to top your french toast with Maple Syrup from Clara Ole!
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