Pesto Sauce: Great for Pastas, Dips & Sandwiches

Retrieved 1 July 2011 from CafeFernando.com

I find it amazing how flexible Pesto can be. I always make sure I've got one stocked in my kitchen just in case I wanted something special to go with my Tuna Carbonara & chunky Tomato pasta. I spread it on top of my toasted bread with butter, cheese & tomato slices for a delicious & healthy breakfast.

Pesto sauce is very easy to make. You need to have the ff.:

1 pack of basil (P9.00- P15.00)
3/4 cups of Olive Oil (extra virgin)
1 bulb or 10 cloves of garlic
Optional: pine nuts & cheese

Combine the ingredients in the blender. Take it out and store in an airtight container.

Tuna Carbonara w/ Pesto

My husband & I are pasta foodies. Two words that relate to food which my daughter first learned are: "fish" & "pasta". My ultimate comfort food which is very, very easy to make is a classic Tomato & Pesto pasta.

Tomato & Pesto pasta

It just consists of four (4) main ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, olive oil & basil. A very healthy and delicious meal indeed! (budget friendly too!) It takes me about 5 minutes to prepare it (and to finish it all up! :)

Earlier I mentioned about preparing easy pesto sandwiches that can make for a delicious & healthy breakfast/ snack. Here's what you'll need:

Toasted Pesto Bread with Tomatoes & Cheese:

Pesto

A slice of tomato, halved

A slice of cheese (Quikmelt)

butter

Optional: mushroom pieces, leftover chicken flakes, chopped salad greens (lettuce, etc.)

Cut the bread in half. Spread the butter and pesto in the bread. Toast for 2 minutes. Take it out and place 1 half tomato slice on each bread. Place cheese on top. You can also top it with leftover chicken flakes (from fried chicken) and some chopped salad greens. If you opt to use mushrooms instead, make sure that you cook it with butter & garlic first before eating. 

Retrieved 1 July 2011 from fitnesslifestylehealthclub.com

The taste is very similar to that of a garlic bread, instead we substituted basil instead over parsley :-)

Try it! 

Live Passionately,

Mara

Tomato Fried Rice Topped w/ Basil

I've always loved fried rice. I thought maybe I can change it a bit and try this recipe that I've read fromConnie Veneracion's blog. By the way, I love reading Connie's posts. She's smart, well scratch that, she's a really intelligent & highly opinionated lady. She's a lawyer (aside from being ultimate "culinary mama") and is the voice behind the Sassy Lawyer blog to which I think she'd already changed the name to Casa Veneracion blog.

So here's the recipe lifted from her blog. Compliments to Connie of Home Cooking Rocks. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 c. of olive oil
   1 onion, finely sliced
   2 cloves of garlic, minced
   2 c. of cooked rice
   1/4 c. of chunky tomato sauce
   sweet basil leaves, thinly sliced or roughly chopped, whichever you prefer
2. Pour off the olive oil until only about 3 tbsps. remain in the pan. Saute the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the rice and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring, until the rice is heated through and has absorbed the tomato sauce.
   Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve hot.
   
   
   Live Passionately,
   Mara

Stir-fried Eggplants, Bok Choy & Mushroom in Oyster Sauce

I prepare my family's meal one week in advance. It keeps me organized and keeps me on top of my priorities, which is cooking healthy meals for them. Last week, as I was planning this week's meals, I checked on Connie Veneracion's blog again for some inspiration. And then I saw her Vegetable recipe: Stir-fried Eggplants, Bok Choy & Mushroom in Oyster Sauce.


Here's a picture taken from her food blog, Home Cooking Rocks:

Here's the recipe as lifted from her blog:

Ingredients

• 3 large eggplants, diced
  150 g. of button mushrooms (or your preferred mushroom variety), sliced
  a bunch of bok choy, cut into two-inch lengths, white stalks and green leaves separated
  1 onion, sliced
  3 cloves of garlic, minced
  1/2 tsp. of grated ginger
  3 tbsps. of oyster sauce
  a drizzle of sesame seed oil
  salt
  pepper
  sugartoasted sesame seeds
  about 3/4 c. of vegetable cooking oil

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan until literally smoking. Fry the eggplants for one minute. Scoop out and drain on paper towels. Do not wait until the eggplants are very soft. Eggplants continue cooking in the residual heat even after they have been taken off the pan. Since the eggplants will be stir fried with the rest of the ingredients, it is best to undercook them a bit at this stage.

Pour off the cooking oil until only about a tablespoonful remains. Reheat the oil. Saute the onion, ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and the white stalks of the bok choy. Stir fry for about 45 seconds.

Add the eggplants and bok choy leaves. Season with the oyster sauce, salt, pepper and a little sugar for balance. Stir fry for another minute or so to wilt the leaves and cook the eggplants through.

Transfer to a platter, drizzle with sesame seed oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Here's the final outcome of my dish:

The dish tastes really good with a hint of nuttiness coming from the sesame seeds and sesame seed oil. The ginger & oyster sauce combined well together to create this sweet & salty background taste. This is a healthy dish that is best combined with hot rice & grilled or fried meat.

Try it out for yourself and enjoy a Chinese lunch with the whole family.

Live Passionately,

Mara