Squash and String Beans in Coconut Milk

(Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw )

How are you doing today? If you'll ask me, well my tummy is super happy. I have been craving for ginataang kalabasa and sitaw (Squash and String Beans in Coconut Milk) for days and finally, my craving was satisfied today. Let's just say it was so delicious that I had more than 1 serving of rice and let's not get into further details with that, please. Lol!

Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw 

Let me share the top 3 reasons why I think you should try this recipe. First, it's good for our health. Kalabasa (yellow squash) is rich in beta carotene that helps in repairing cells damaged by free radicals while sitaw (string or snap beans) is high in fiber that helps regulate bowel movements and lower cholesterol. And these are just a few of the many benefits of these vegetables. Coconut milk or gata, on the other hand, is also rich in vitamins and minerals that aid in bone health and prevent anemia. Secondly, this recipe is easy on the pocket because I only used dilis or dried anchovies and shrimp paste instead of pork and shrimp. And last and certainly not the least, is its palatable taste. The rich flavor of the coconut milk and squash mixed together with the saltiness of the anchovies and shrimp paste, all blended well into a sumptuous creamy flavor that just leaves you craving for more. It's just mmm.. mmm.. Gooood!

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, sliced thinly
- 1 to 2 tbsp shrimp paste (please adjust accordingly to taste as some pastes are too salty or )
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup dilis (dried anchovies)
- 2 pcs long chili peppers (siling pang sinigang), cut into 1 cm long
- 1 bunch string beans or sitaw, cut into 2 inches long
- 1/4 kalabasa, cut into 1x1 inch squares
- 1 cup thick coconut milk or gata (pure)
- 1 tsp black pepper, fine ground


STEPS:
1. Heat the large skillet over medium fire and toast the dried anchovies or dilis, stirring frequently until crispy. (Note: Do not put oil). Remove from skillet then set aside.
2. In the same cooking pan, heat the oil then saute the garlic and onion.
3. When the onions are caramelized, add in the shrimp paste and cook well. You may use either sauted shrimp paste or not and please adjust the amount of paste you will use, according to taste.
4. Add in the water and bring to a boil. It is important to let the water boil first before adding the vegetables so that the vegetables will retain their fresh colors.
5. Once boiling, put in the string beans, squash and chili peppers. Add in the ground pepper. Bring to a boil and do not cover. Again, I advice against covering because it destroys the color of the vegetables. Stir occasionally to ensure that the vegetables are all cooked evenly. Let it simmer until the vegetables, specially the string beans, are halfway done.
6. Drop the anchovies in and add the coconut milk. Bring to a boil once more, stirring occasionaly; let it simmer for a minute and then turn off the stove.

Note: I like my string beans cooked just enough so that they are still crunchy and snappy. Keep in mind that even after you remove it from the heat, the vegetables will continue cooking from its steam. But if you'd like yours to be well cooked, you may extend your simmering time accordingly.
And we are done! The best part, of course, is the taste test.

So I hope you enjoy this and let me know how yours went. Happy eating!

I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my post? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome and appreciated! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!


TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Budget friendly, Cooking Tips, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food

Adobong Alimango sa Gata Recipe

Hello there! So today, I'd like to share a very delicious recipe that I learned from my mom. We prepared this dish for Alex's 1st month celebration and it was a hit! It is so yummy that thinking and writing about it makes me drool already. LOL!

So first, I just wanna share the not-so-secret secret to cooking delicious seafood dishes and that is to cook them fresh--Always! For crabs, when I say fresh, I mean they are still alive and moving until they are on fire or ready to be cooked. When buying crabs, keep in mind to always check EACH crab if they are still alive. Based from experience, if you just let the vendor choose the crabs, sometimes they will sneak in a weak or dead crab, even if you specified for fresh ones, specially if you are not buying from your suki. So just to be sure, check that there are no bad crabs because they can ruin the taste of the dish.

One more thing, if it's possible choose the female ones. They have more fat which are yummier and it just adds more flavor to the sauce. You can distinguish them by the wider flap on their bottom as compared to the thin and pointy one on males.

Another tip that I can share is to choose the ones which are changing their shells, whenever possible. Because of the process that they will undergo to change shells, crabs will eat more so that when they are immobilized, they will still have enough energy to survive. Hence, they have more fats. You can distinguish these crabs because of their soft shells. These soft-shelled crabs are very delicious.

So enough said, here is the recipe and hope you'll like it too! Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS:
- 1 kl fresh crab (alimango)
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white onions, sliced thinly
- 4 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp black pepper (coarsely ground)
- Thick coconut milk from 1 whole coconut (Unang piga or kakang gata)
- 1-2 cups water

STEPS:
1. Clean the crabs well then cut them into halves.
2. Put them in a casserole and add in the vinegar, pepper, salt (to taste), half of the garlic, half of the onions and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil over medium fire.
3. While waiting for it to boil, put the oil and saute the remaining garlic on a separate pan, until slightly brown. Add in the onions and wait until they are transparent and shiny. Put in the tomatoes and let it cook until they are soft enough then mash them onto the pan (to make the tomatoes into a sauce).
5. Add the sauted mixture into the casserole with the crabs, cover and let it simmer until they are cooked and almost done. Add in a little more water, as necessary, so it won't dry. Just enough though because we want our dish to have just enough sauce but not SOUP. :-)
6. Lastly, add in the thick coconut milk and wait for the sauce to boil and thicken then turn off the heat. And then we're done!
I'd like to put an emphasis on puting the coconut milk just before we are done because we don't want it to boil too long or it will start to release its oil (just like in LATIK) and that would release a flavor that we don't want on our dish.

What's great about this recipe is that it's easy to prepare and is not really expensive. If I am not mistaken, a kilo of crab (as of this writing) costs around 200 pesos. You may also add prawns, if you'd like.

This recipe is good for 5-7 persons.

Adobong Alimango sa Gata, our finished product.

So I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how it went. Happy eating!

I'd like to hear from you! What do you guys think about my article? Your comments and suggestions are very much welcome! Or if you'd like to request a recipe, please let me know. Thanks!

TAGS: Between You and Cherry, Cherry Yutuc, Panlasang Pinoy, Pampanga, Lutong Kapampangan, Cooking Tips, Pampanga's Best, Recipe, Pampanga Cuisine, Cook from Pampanga, Philippines, Asian Food, Pinoy Food, Coconut Milk, Crab, Seafood, Gata, Lutong Bahay

Pure Happiness

February 2010. It was a very happy day. The day my husband and I got married.
..I guess when couples get married, people around unintentionally puts a little pressure on them on whether they'll have babies or not.. So imagine the pressure on us when 2 years after being married, we are still not pregnant. To be frank, I also felt scared....because I also knew that I had a "problem" and unsure whether the meds I took would correct it... 'cause if not, that would mean infertility for me, no baby for us.
September of 2012. One day, while working at a local hospital, I started to feel uncomfortable in the abdominal area.. I felt sick. It continued that way so that the next day, I had to call in sick because I wasn't really feeling well. My husband suggested that I take a pregnancy test before I drink any meds, just to be sure that it was okay. As usual, I expected a "negative" result because I didn't want to get my hopes high and be disappointed once again.
The instructions on the kit said, add 3 drops of urine and so I did..1.. 2.. 3... Then I covered the results area with my thumb and closed my eyes. I felt nervous having to wait for a few minutes for the sample to settle in. I kept thinking--it will be just another negative result though deep inside me, I knew that I was really hoping for a positive one. "Lord, please be with me," I prayed. I took a deep breath. I just wanted to get this over with. So I peeked in the control line.. There was a red line, like it was supposed to. Then slowly, I removed my finger covering the Test Line... I gasped. There was a faint red line! Suddenly, I heard my heart pounding and my eyes started to swell. Before I knew it, I was crying and smiling at the same time. I was elated. Oh my goodness! They say there is no such thing as a "false positive" result...so I am pregnant! I stood up and got myself together. I took a deep breath and wiped my tears.
I rushed out of the bathroom to show the result to my husband. He was just as happy with the news!
But then again, before we shared the good news, we just wanted to make sure that that faint line was REALLY a positive result. I told him I could not wait any longer so my husband bought another kit right away. And there they were....two kits telling me I am pregnant.

On my 8th week of pregnancy, we had our confirmation...my ultrasound results revealed a live single fetus. And on my 26th, we had our 4d congenital anomaly scan. A healthy baby girl is on the way! I could not be happier. For almost 3 years, my husband and I were happy just having each other. But then when we knew we were finally pregnant, the pure genuine happiness we felt is beyond explainable.
May 2013. Our precious daughter, Sophia Alexa was born..Thank you Lord for our precious gift... She is perfect..To God be the glory!

Diabetes: A Pandemic in the Making

What really is this Diabetes and why should we be concerned about it?

Diabetes Mellitus, or simply diabetes, is a disease that is metabolic in nature. Simply put, Diabetes is a condition that results from either an impaired production of the body’s sugar-regulating hormone in the pancreas or when the body cannot use this hormone; the effect of which results in an increased sugar level in the blood.

There are 2 types of diabetes simply referred to as Type 1 and Type 2. The key distinction between the two is that Type 1 diabetes is caused by an insufficient insulin in the body (due to the impaired production) while Type 2 is brought about by the weakened insulin resistance due to different reasons as people age. With Type 2 diabetes, there is enough insulin in the circulation but the body cannot utilize it for some reasons.

But before we go any further, let us first discuss: what is this insulin that we are referring to? 

Insulin is the hormone responsible for converting the starch and sugar that we eat into a form of energy that the body can use for our daily activities. If we don’t have it or it is insufficient in amount, sugar will be retained in the blood stream. Because of elevated sugar levels, blood becomes more viscous and consequently, if not properly managed, can lead to other life-threatening health conditions.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the year 2000, there were around 171 million people diagnosed with diabetes.  Nowadays (just 12 years after), it is alarming how the figures have amplified by more than a 100% and diabetes cases around the world  are now being tallied at 346 million...and counting. Between Type 1 and Type 2, the latter is more prevalent as it comprises 90% of the total cases of Diabetes Mellitus and the average age of people with diabetes are around 40 to 59 years old. In the United States, 30.3 Million are affected with diabetes or 10% of the diabetic population.

Experts say that the most common cause of diabetes is lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise or physical activities, obesity, unhealthy eating specially with sweets and soda and stress.

While a lot of people may be preoccupied with preparations from different epidemic diseases that are terrifying, isn’t it about time that we also give as much attention with diseases that are chronic in nature but may cause serious consequences on our health? One good example is diabetes. The sudden rise in Diabetes Mellitus cases is alarming and tells us that it is something that should not be ignored.

People affected with diabetes come from different walks of life – popular celebrities, rich and poor, old and young – anyone can be afflicted with it. Contrary to the common notion, eating sweets is not the only reason for diabetes onset. Anything in excess can be harmful to us and that is why we need to make sure that we take a close watch on our health by avoiding unhealthy lifestyle which can help manage, if not prevent, the onset of diabetes mellitus.

Preparing for the Survival of an Earthquake

Every year, the United States Geological Survey records about 20,000 earthquakes or about 50 earthquakes a day. On the average, 134 of which have magnitudes between 6 to 6.9 while magnitudes 7 to 7.9 and 8 and higher and having average annual episodes of 15 and 1, respectively.

Earthquakes, the trembling of the earth's surface, can be a devastating phenomenon depending on some factors such as its magnitude, duration and other environmental hazards around us. And despite having the best and latest technology, it is sad to say that there is still no proven way of predicting an earthquake. Because of its unpredictability, the best weapon that people have against this natural force of nature is to prepare for it.

The fact is an earthquake itself is not the real cause of deaths. Most of the time, fatalities are the result of secondary factors such as collapsed buildings, falling objects, shattered glass, fire and so on.

Therefore, one of the first things to consider when readying for such event is assessing the surrounding environment. Information, such as the strength of the buildings and the placement of some things around the house such as chemicals or heavy objects, are vital.

When planning ahead, it is important for each family member to know what to do and where to go when an earthquake happens. It also necessary to keep an emergency kit consisting of non-perishable foods such as canned goods, clean drinking water, flashlights, medicines, first aid kit, blankets, batteries and battery operated radio.

Another crucial consideration is to check all the flammable chemicals at home and make sure that these items are placed on low-lying cabinets and that they do not easily tumble and catch fire.

During an earthquake, it is most important to remember to try not to panic so that you will be able to think clearly on what to do. When the earth starts to shake, remember to practice "DUCK, COVER AND HOLD". This means to lower the head, cover it with the arms and hide under a sturdy table or desk and hold on to it. If there is no furniture, try to move into an open area such as hallways or stay near the house posts or walls and stay away from stairs, windows, high cabinets, appliances and heavy furniture. If you happen to be outdoors, stay outside and just remember to move away from buildings, trees or any possible falling objects.

Keep in mind to stay calm as possible during the shaking and stay in that position until the trembling stops and then check to see if anyone is hurt or if there is fire. Move carefully from your position and always use stairs when going down.

Strong earthquakes are extremely serious phenomena that can be devastating and horrifying. But instead of just being afraid, what we can do is to empower ourselves by educating ourselves and preparing so that we know what to do during these devastating events.

Breast Augmentation: What You Should Know About

According to the 2010 report of American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast augmentation remains to be the top cosmetic surgical procedure of 2009. In 2008, an estimated 307,000 cases of breast augmentation were filed and although there is a 6% decrease in 2009, this surgical procedure still remains on top of the list.

Breast augmentation, otherwise known as augmentation mammaplasty, is a surgical procedure performed to enlarge (or augment) breasts in order to achieve a fuller appearance. Others opt for this procedure for breast reconstruction purposes to restore breast volume, which may have been lost due to mastectomy, trauma, or congenital deformity.

In order to augment breasts, implants are used. Implants are breast-shaped prosthesis that are made of silicon covering and either silicone gel or saline (salt water) filling. 

Typically, the procedure is done on an out-patient     basis which usually takes two hours. The process starts with administering anesthesia which can either be under local or general anesthesia. Incision is then made around the areola, in the armpit or under the breast, depending on the type and size of the implant. The method by which the prosthesis is inserted also depends on the said conditions and after which, the incision will be closed.

As with any surgery, breast augmentation surgery has associated risks which include bleeding, infection, unfavourable scarring or fluid accumulation. Other risks associated with the surgery may be related to the implant itself such as obstructed mammography or capsular contracture, where a firm scar forms around the implant. And although most mortality cases are associated with anesthesia or medication errors, death associated with breast augmentation are extremely rare. Another important consideration that women should take note is that there are no lifetime guarantees with breast implants. And so before going into the procedure, women should weigh the pros and cons and decide, “Are you a good candidate for breast augmentation?”

Aromatherapy and Its Important Benefits to the Mind and Body

Aromatherapy is an alternative form of medicine that is used to relieve pain and stress.  This form of treatment employs essential oils for its aromatic properties that are believed to influence a person’s mood, thinking, mind-set and function.

The first known use of aromatherapy dates back to more than 5000 years ago. Back then, the people from Egypt pay tribute to the Egyptian gods by burning herbs, spices and woods in order to send their prayers to the heavens through the risen smoke.

Today, aromatherapy is used because of its medicinal value. Although it has not been proven that aromatherapy cures major diseases, it is on the other hand, known to be effective in lessening the pain and discomfort that are related to such conditions.

Aromatherapy can be used in three different ways. First is by applying it directly to the skin, also known as topical application. This is the method of application used for massage and baths like those from the spa. Topical application of aromatherapy benefits you in one of the following ways:

• Tissue and muscle repair of lesions, injuries, cuts or abrasions.
• Muscle relaxation
• Better sleep at night
• Improved circulation of blood
• Relief from inflammation
• Enhanced skin suppleness

Second, aromatherapy can be infused through inhalation of oil or infusion vapors. This is beneficial to the body such as:

• Relief of nasal congestion
• Relief of Lung infection that may be caused by bacteria and fungus
• Aids in expectorating phlegm
• Better sleeping pattern

Lastly, diffusion of oils in the air is another way to infuse aromatherapy. This method allows the aromatic smell to be utilized by circulating the aroma through the air. The smell may help the body and mind by:

• Alleviating headaches
• Energizing the mind and body
• Producing calming effects

In addition to that, aromatherapy is advantageous to the mind and body in a lot of ways. It helps relieve mind problems such stress, anxiety and depression and this in turn may also lower the blood pressure. With aromatherapy, you will also improve the circulation of your blood which in turn helps eliminate unwanted toxins and improve wound healing process.

Your immunity against certain illnesses and infections is also improved with this alternative medicine by improving your resistance. Aromatherapy also results in enhanced digestion. For women, you can also get relief from menstrual cramps.

There are a lot of oils and infusions that can be used in Aromatherapy. You can choose from a broad range of essential oils based from the scent you prefer and healing properties of each kind of oil. Simply put, aromatherapy has a long list of benefits to the body. It is a great, natural, inexpensive and effective way to alleviate certain signs, symptoms and conditions. And with practically no known disadvantage of its use, Aromatherapy is definitely one great alternative medicine that is worth a try.