The Amateur Cook in Me.. Tuna Lasagna and Mascarpone Cheesecake

Cooking is one of my love languages. Sharing with you an easy, filling and delicious lunch combination - Tuna lasagna and Mascarpone Cheesecake. Hope you enjoy it! 

TUNA LASAGNA

Ingredients:  

Bechamel: 

Olive oil

2 teaspoons of flour

1 cup full cream milk  and 1 cup low fat milk or 2 cups evaporated milk or 2 cups low fat milk 

Lasagna Filling 

2-3 small cans of tuna

Finely chopped mushrooms (optional) 

1-2 hard boiled egg/s

Tomato sauce 

Garlic

Onion 

Pepper to taste 

Sugar to balance the acidity of the tomato sauce 

Olive Oil 

Lasagna - soak in warm water for approx 10 minutes and stir from time to time so they do not stick

Mozarella cheese 

Procedure: 

1. Prepare the Bechamel by pouring the olive oil and the flour.  Stir until properly incorporated.  Then slowly add the milk (alternately, pouring the milk and mixing).  When there is a thick yet still liquid consistency, set aside. 

2. Prepare the lasagna filling.  Saute olive oil, garlic and onion.  Add the canned tuna, finely 

chopped mushrooms, pepper to taste.  Stir. Add the tomato sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir and then add the sliced hard boiled egg.  Mix until everything is properly incorporated.  Set aside. 

3. Dry the lasagna and prepare stacking following this order: bottom of the pan, first add the bechamel and then lasagna tuna filling. Put the 1st layer of lasagna, lasagna tuna filling, bechamel, tomato sauce, mozarella and repeat until the pan or the casserole is filled. The topmost part should be covered with mozarella chesse. 

4. Cook in the oven at 180º for 18 minutes. Enjoy!! Enjoy!! 

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE 

Ingredients: 

250g Mascarpone Cheese 

half a cup of Evaporated milk

Melted butter 

Brown Sugar 

2 Eggs

Oats 

Vanilla extract

Procedure: 

1. Mix the oats, a portion of the melted butter and 2 teaspoons brown sugar, until they are properly incorporated.  Put them in the base of the mold or tray for baking. Set aside. 

2. Mix together the mascarpone cheese, evaporated milk, 2 teaspoon of sugar, 2 eggs and vanilla exxtract until everything is silky smooth and properly incorporated.  

3. Pour the mascarpone cheese mixture on top of the oats base. 

4. Cook in the oven at 180º for 18 minutes. Let it cool.  

5. Ready to serve. This is a multi purpose pastry - for breakfast, dessert or snack. Enjoy! Enjoy! 

The Amateur Cook In Me. Cabbage Recipes

The star of this weekend´s ALTANGHAP (ALmusal, TANGhalian, HAPunan, literally means: Breakfast, lunch and dinner - the Filipino way) and repeat performances (meaning it can be eaten, reheated in the microwave until supplies last 😁😃😊😉 is CABBAGE (Repolyo in Tagalog or Repollo in Spanish).  For this weekend, I prepared:  Cabbage Rolls and Sauteed Cabbage with Canned Sardines (Ginisang Repolyo with De latang Sardinas) 

Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage Sliced in Julienne for my Sauteed cabbage with sardines and Cabbage leaves for the Cabbage rolls

Cabbage Rolls - low carb, full meal dish. 

Ingredients: 

Cabbage (get the outer part, full part as we will use it to wrap the filling) 
For the filling:  ground meat (either pork, beef or chicken, we used beef), minced garlic, minced carrots, minced shrimps (optional), minced ginger (for the added flavor), small egg, ground black pepper, herbs such as parsley 

Procedures: 

1. Blanch the cabbage (put it in hot, preboiling water for a minute, get it and put in cold water with ice). Set aside. 
2. Mix all the ingredients of the meat filling until they are all fully incorporated 
3. Scoop a teaspoon to a tablespoon of the meat filling, depending on the size of the cabbage leaf and put it in the blanched cabbage 
4. Pour water into your steamer.  Steam the cabbage rolls from 20-25 minutes. 
5. Best served as it is with soy sauce and lemon/calamansi.  Delicious. 

 Blanched cabbage

 Cabbage Rolls in Steamer

Finished Product! Success! Delicious Cabbage Rolls!!  

Ginisang Repolyo with De latang sardines 

Covid Chronicles: Q&A in this time of Covid

Working from home with the kiddos is literally juggling between the kids, family and work.  My 9 year old love of my life, my precious son, is always understanding with our work commitments. But there are days that he is more clingy. And when he sits on my lap and looks at me with the puppy eyes, please mom look, how can my heart not melt and give in?  In one of my conference calls, he gladly obliged for a Q&A as I cannot move away from my laptop and my headset.  😀😀

Sharing with you our random and impromptu Q&A, done on April 16, 4pm.  

I had to be somewhat present in my conference call but the important thing is my son and I had a quick yet meaningful mom and son quality time.  I love you always my son! Always and forever! 

Question	Answer
How many days are we in quarantine	A LOT (with feelings!)
What do you miss most during this quarantine	My school
Who do you miss most during this quarantine	My friends and family/relatives
What have you been eating	A LOT of stuff
What is your most favorite activity during this quarantine	Doing homework, I really like that
Do you take a shower daily	No
Do you brush your teeth daily	Yes
Have you been sleeping late	Yes
Have you been sleeping well	Yeap
What will be your 1st activity when quarantine is lifted	Go out to the park, go to school
Message to Covid	You're stupid and I hate you
Are you happy with the way the govt is managing the covid pandemic	Yes, because they are doing their best
Do you clap your hands at 8pm to salute the frontliners	Yes
What is your favorite TV program during this covid	Victorious of Nikoledeon
What is your favorite movie	Toy Story 4
Have you been spending lots of time with mom and dad	Yes
Who spends more time with you dad or mom	Both
What keeps you busy	Doing homework and playing with my toys
Have you been reading a lot	Yes
What was the last book that you read	Geronimo Stilton Wild, Wild West
What is your typical bfeakfast	Cookies, toast and milk
What is your typical snacks	Apple
What is a new skill that you have learned during this quarantine	I learned how to do canapes
What values did you learn or relearn	To be more respectful and contain my emotions especially when I want to go out
What household chore do you do	Prepare the dining table, clear the dining table and tidy up my toys
Do you wash your hands often	Yes
Do you watch Kdramas with Mom	Sometimes
Kim Soo Hyun or Lee Min Ho	None of them
Do you talk to Google Nano/Okay Google	Sometimes
What was the last song you requested from Okay Google	Follow the Leader by Wysin and Yandel
What was the last song you sang	Well, I practically didn't sing any song
What was the last meal that you ate	Chicken Curry
Who cooked the chicken curry	My Mom
Was it delicious	Yes, pretty delicious I have to say. It was the best chicken curry I've had in my life
Message	We can do this! We can beat this virus, once and for all.

The Amateur Cook in Me.. Filipino Classics in this time of covid quarantine

The kitchen is my sanctuary.  I am so fortunate that in this period of quarantine, I am able to do mindful cooking. And the result is tastier, more delicious food!! My outpouring love as I cooked the dishes was so evident in the taste!! 

This is a homage to the Filipina and the Ilocana in me. :)Mangan tayon! :) 

Main dishes:  Chicken Adobo Flakes 
Ginisang Repolyo with Canned Tuna and Sardines 

Snacks: - typical during the lenten season 
Ginataang Bilo Bilo 
Biko with Latik (Glutinous Rice with Coconut Curd) 

Chicken Adobo Flakes 
Complexity: Easy 
Prep and Cooking Time:  45 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. Chicken wings or chicken thighs 
2. Soy sauce 
3. Vinegar 
4. Lots of peppercorn 
5. Lots of garlic, minced 
6. Water 
7. Olive oil 
8. Diced potatoes, optional 
9. Ginger, optional

1. Heat the pan with olive oil. 
2. Slightly fry the potatoes until they are light brown.  Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add a portion of the minced garlic and the ginger.  Mix. 
4. Add the chicken and cook until they are brown. 
5. Add the peppercorn, soy sauce, vinegar, water and let it boil. Upon boiling set to medium fire until the water evaporates and the chicken is cooked (typically in 10 minutes).   
6. When the chicken is cooked, separate the chicken from the adobo sauce (strain). Debone the chicken and cut them into strips. Set aside. 
7. In a separate heated pan, put olive oil, the remaining garlic, the deboned chicken and the fried diced potatoes.  Pour the remaining adobo sauce and cook for additional 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced. 
8. Ready to serve and enjoy with steamed white rice!! Naimas! Masarap!! Que rico!! 

Ginisang Repolyo with Canned Tuna and Sardines 
Complexity: Easy 
Prep and Cooking Time:  25 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. Minced Garlic
2. Minced Onion
3. Olive Oil 
4. Fish Sauce and Water 
5. Ground black pepper 
6. Cabbage thinly sliced 
7. Carrots sliced in julienne 
8. Canned Tuna and Sardines 

1. Heat the pan with olive oil.  Saute garlic and onion. 
2. Add the cabbage and the carrots. Add the black pepper. Mix. Cover and let it steam for 3 minutes.  Mix well. 
3. Add the canned tuna and sardines.  Add the fish sauce. Mix and add water. 
4. Let it boil.  And then simmer until the cabbage is cooked (additional 10 minutes). 
5.  Serve with white steamed rice!! Enjoy!! Naimas!! Masarap! Que rico! 


Ginataang Bilo-bilo 
Complexity:  Easy 
Prep and Cooking time:  45 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. 1 can coconut milk 
2. Glutinous flour
3. Sweet potato/camote, diced 
4. Banana, sliced 
5. Optional:  langka, ube halaya, tapioca 
6. Brown sugar 

1.  To prepare the bilo-bilo:  in a bowl, mix the glutinous flour and water until they are all incorporated and sticky.  Using yours hands, form in small circles the bilo-bilo and set aside. 
2. Pour a portion of the coconut milk with water and the diced sweet potato in a pot.  Upon 1st boiling, add the rest of the ingredients - banana, langka, ube halaya, tapioca, bilo-bilo (glutinous flour), coconut milk and brown sugar. 
3. Cook until all the ingredients are properly incorporated and cooked.  
4. Serve and enjoy while still hot!! 


Biko (Glutinous Sticky Rice with Coconut Curd) 
Complexity:  Easy but requires a lot of muscle strength for mixing 
Prep and Cooking time:  45 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. Glutinuous Rice. cleaned and washed 
2. Coconut Milk 
3. Brown sugar 

1. In a pot, put the glutinous rice with coconut milk (1 cup). Cook until the glutinous rice has absorbed all the liquid and has rice texture. 
2. In a separate pot, pour the coconut milk (1 - 2 cups) and let it boil and evaporate until all is left the coconut oil and the coconut curd.  Stir to avoid being burnt.  Set aside. 
3. In a separate pot, pour 2 cups of coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Mix well, until a slightly thick consistency is achieved. Add the cooked glutinous rice and mix well, until all the ingredients are properly incorporated. 
4. Transfer the biko (cooked glutinous rice) in a tray and put the latik (coconut curd) as toppings. 

The Amateur Cook In Me.. Various Recipes in this Covid Quarantine

Here are the recipes of some of the dishes that I prepared during this time of covid.  Needless to say, they are delicious, budget friendly and cooked with love.  

Asian Dish:  Beef with Broccoli 
Complexity:  Medium 
Prep and Cooking time:  45 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. Beef sirloin
2. Ginger or turmeric 
3. Garlic 
4. Onion
5. Cornstarch dissolved in water 
6. Broccoli 
7. Carrots 
8. Olive Oil 
9. Water 
10. Egg 
11. Ground black pepper 

1. In a bowl, put the beef and add the soy sauce, cornstarch, black pepper and egg.  Mix well and set aside. 
2. Blanch the carrots and the broccoli and set aside. 
3. In a pan, pour the olive oil and saute a portion of the the garlic and the onion. Add the ginger. 
4. Add the beef. Cook the beef until tender and set aside. 
5. Saute the remaining garlic, onion and ginger.  Add the blanched broccoli and carrots.  Pourthe remaining soy sauce, cornstarch dissolved in water. And mix.  Add the ground pepper to taste.  Let it boil. 
6. Add the beef and simmer for 7 minutes. 
7. Best served with steamed white rice.  Enjoy! 

American Dish:  Home made Flatbread (home made dough) 
Complexity:  Easy 
Prep and Cooking time: 3 hours 

Ingredients: 
For the dough: 
1. Flour 
2. Salt 
3. Water 

For the flatbread: 
1. Mushrooms 
2. Garlic 
3. Canned tomato sauce 
4. Mozarella cheese 
5. Ham

1. For the dough: Mix the flour, salt and water.  Knead until the ingredients are properly incorporated. Cover with damp towel or in a kitchen film and set aside for 1 hour to let it ferment/set. 
2. When the dough is set, with the rolling pin, form it as a pizza or flatbread base. 
3. Slice the ingredients - mushroom and garlic. 
4. Prepare the flatbread. Flatbread dough, tomato sauce, mozarella cheese and the toppings. 
5. Cook in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. 
6. Enjoy!! 


Spanish Dish: Merluza con Salsa Verde 
Complexity:  Easy 
Prep and Cooking time:  30 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. Hake/Merluza 
2. White wine for cooking 
3. Parsley 
4. Potatoes 
5. Onion 
6. Olive Oil 

1. In a pan, pour the olive oil and cook the potatoes until they are brown.  Set aside. 
2. In the same pan, saute the onion, add the fish (hake/merluza) and add the white wine.  Let it simmer until the alcohol from the white wine evaporates. 
3. Add the potatoes. Cook them all together until the potatoes are cooked. 
4.  Add the parsley. 
5. Ready and enjoy your meal! 

My Journey to raising a pampered child

I hope the title did not freak you out nor did it raise some eyebrows.  Most of the times, the word pamper connotes overindulge or spoil.  As a mother beaming with so much love in her heart, I can say that indeed, I am raising a pampered child as I am overindulging him with kindness, love and attention.  I am feeding my son with all the love in the world as the positive feeling that emanates from this motherly love will definitely accompany him in this journey called life. 

I am very gracious, generous and very giving to my son.  He is now 8 years old but he still sits on my lap, he still asks that I cuddle him, he asks that I embrace him a lot.  I still tuck him to the bed as requested, we still play and read together.  He demands that Mom and Dad spend time with him.  Is he overreacting?  Am I overindulging my 8 year old son?  I don’t think so.  I am just a mom willingly giving in to my son’s whims. 

And why I am willingly giving in to my son’s whims?  I believe that he is at a growing up stage where he must be confident and secured of himself.  And  parental love and attention is a sure approach in promoting a child’s security.  He must feel loved, sheltered, protected yet at the same time, he should feel that he is independent and that he will grow to be the person that he is meant to be, different from mom and dad. The challenging balance lies in showing him what love is, the goodness in life but not making him feel entitled at all. 

We are blessed as we have the opportunity to buy him the books and toys that he wants.  We are not materially wealthy.  But we are blessed with good jobs which are our partners in improving the quality of our lives.  Having said that, we always instill in our son the value and importance of hard work, mindful and smart spending.  I would always tell him stories on how different my childhood was (my father was the sole breadwinner.  Food, shelter and education were the priorities prior to toys.  It is a good think I have 5 brothers who I played with) so he will value all the books and toys that he has.  I also remind him that our material possessions are products of our time spent away from each other, as we work hard and thus, we should value them.  Nobody gave us anything for free. With the toys and books, comes the responsibility to take care of them, arrange them, put them in order and treat them with love and respect.  I am indulging in my son´s needs and whims yet at the same time, I am strict with his responsibility.  At a young age, I am already letting him know of the value of accountability. 

My son loves to be the center of my world.  I am there when he tells me to come over to his room or whenever he tells me that he wants me to carry him.  I lovingly do that because I know that when is bigger, his world, his priorities and his  outlook will change.  Maybe being around with mom will become too mushy and cheesy for him.  I spoil my son yet he understands and respects our personal space.  He perfectly recognizes and acknowledges that sometimes, after a day of hard work or after a challenging week, mom and dad just want to stare at a blank space. Hahahaha He respects when at times, I have to say no.  He also compromises.  On the nights that I would do my yoga/meditation, he would tell me to cuddle him after my meditation session.  That shows that my son albeit pampered is understanding as well.  

Raising a pampered, sheltered and too much loved child is never wrong.  But as loving parents, we can do ourselves and our children a big favor by encouraging pure love and not materialism.  After all, love and memories will linger.

Fostering multiculturalism in our household

Aside from being bilingual at Spanish and English and kicking off with his tagalog (my national language from the Philippines), my son is in touch and connected with our world. He understands how big and diverse our universe is.  That even if we come from different background and ethnic groups or origin, we are all the same and that respect is primordial in our dealings. School also plays an important role in promoting diversity and multiculturalism.  They have lectures about global and specific traditions.  

Travelling is indeed one of the best, if not the best form of immersion and understanding other cultures.  In my case, I do not have the luxury of time and resources to dedicate a lot of time travelling. In this post, I would like to share with you personal tips and experiences to  increase awareness on multiculturalism.  These can be applied directly in our household.  With these, I am very happy to say that I am raising a multicultural kid. :) 

1.  Take the time to address the inquisitive kid:  My son has been and continues to be curious about practices and traditions specific to certain countries.  He would ask why most Japanese sit during mealtime, why is it customary to remove your footwear when you are entering an Asian household, why is curry or spices core ingredients in the Indian cuisine, time differences, etc.  We take these questions as opportunities to sit down and talk about lifestyle, history or practices across the globe. Another easier approach is to start showing your child about Wikipedia :) which is a go to online "encyclopedia" :)  However, it is advisable that kids are accompanied whenever they navigate online.  

2.  We buy books about other countries/cultures and read them together:  We have books about Chinese, Japanese, Indian/Hindu, etc cultures and languages.  These books were selected by our child and we read them together so it is a learning experience for all of us.  We really invest on books.  We may have limitations travelling but a curious mind is limitless and books are great instruments in empowering a curious mind.  

3.  Museum and cultural trips:  My son is already 8 years old so we are able to go to museums and catch contemporary artists and their works.  The paintings or work of arts are most of the time reflection of the culture, mindset of the artist and his upbringing.  We also take the time to go to flea markets and events highlighting a specific tradition or holiday of a country, for example:  Chinese New Year, Thanksgiving, etc.  

4.  Watch movies or youtube videos in original version:  Even if we are fluent in Spanish, English and Tagalog, we prefer watching in original version.  My son has watched many kid friendly anime movies in Nihonggo (Ponyo, Kiki´s Delivery Express, Wolf Children Ame and Yuki, Totoro, Spirited Away, etc), in Italian, Portuguese and original movies in English such as Harry Potter series, Nanny McPhee series, etc.  Watching international movies increases our idea on other cultures and lifestyles.  My son has an idea of how agricultural some countries and some areas are and what type of lifestyle such entails. He also understands that weather and climate are different across the globe and the lifestyle involved in the different climates. Again, watching youtube videos should be supervised.

  

5.  Cook different cuisines and have your child as your sous chef:  My son recently asked me about Kaju Burfi which is a typical dessert/sweet in India.  He learned it from the school.  We would prepare food of other countries.  We are experts with our Spanish and Tagalog/Filipino dishes.  From time to time, we prepare tiramisu, pizza and pasta (Italian), arepas (Venezuelan), chinese cuisine, Indian curry, English fish and chips, etc.  As we go through the preparation process, we talk about the essence of the food on the culture.  I still remember how my son one time said that he felt that we were in Mexico because we had home made fajitas and tacos! Hahahaha  

6. DIne out and be adventurous with food:  This is an alternative to cooking.  Sometimes, when we dine out, the restaurant has the cultural vibe.  In cases that cooking a particular cuisine is difficult, we would dine out if our time and resources can afford.  We have our go to Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, American, Spanish and Chinese restaurants. And my son is such a trooper!  

7.  Do artworks together:  This is a creative, sweet and fun bonding time together.  My son and I would write a story book about Italian characters, we would make cut out pieces of Indian accessories, we would draw our dream Japanese temple, etc.  This is a very stimulating activity.  

8.  Playgroups:  As Madrid is an international friendly community, I bonded with foreigner moms like me -  Latin American, Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, French and my fellow Filipino/Pinoy mothers and we would from time to time organize playgroups with our kids.  We would meet up in parks and have potluck where we would have our local cuisine, snacks as contribution.  It is a very good bonding time for the kids and moms as well!  

*** photo not mine.  downloaded from the internet.  credit to the owner. 

I hope you will find these useful.  I would love to hear from you on how you encourage multiculturalism in your household.  

Thank you and take care!