Fettucine Rigate is my favorite to use in dishes. Rigate is a member of the Fettuccine family. Fettuccine means “little ribbons” in Italian. Fettuccine Rigate differs from Fettuccine in that it has ridges on both sides (rigate means “ridged” in Italian). Pasta shapes with ridges tend to hold more sauce because of the grooves (ridges) versus the smooth pasta.

This sauce is a 'lighter' version of Alfredo sauce, not quite close but passable. Nothing beats the taste of butter in sauce, of course. Since we all want to eat healthy, I chose to skip butter and use olive oil instead. For cooking, I use regular olive oil but if a recipe calls for olive oil drizzled on the food before serving, I use extra virgin olive oil. I heard from Mario Batali, a well-known Italian chef that you shouldn't waste your extra virgin olive oil in cooking, save it for dipping or drizzling over food. So Rachel Ray aka E.V.O.O. , you don't know what you're talking about. LOL

I used asparagus here but you can also use spinach or broccoli. I recommend using freshly grated Parmesan cheese because it adds more depth to the sauce compared to the one that's already bottled.

Fettucine Rigate with Shrimp and Asparagus

1/2 pound fettucine Rigate
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp minced shallots
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup half and half
1 bunch asparagus stalks
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley
grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the fettucine rigate and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook until it turns pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Add the white wine and half and half to the skillet. Let simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.

In another pan, saute the asparagus in oil. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the shrimp to the pan with the sauce and stir in the parsley. Add the drained fettucine rigate to the shrimp mixture, tossing to combine. Add cooked asparagus. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving.


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Usually a staple in birthday parties in the Philippines, this became one of my favorite eats along with the Purefoods hotdog on a stick with marshmallows and the slice of birthday cake. Filipino spaghetti is distinctively different from the Italian kind because it has hotdogs/frankfurters and it is sweet which usually comes from the added tomato catsup or banana catsup. My kids never took to liking it, probably because they are used to the Italian-style spaghetti sauce that I cook. Hubby prefers the Italian version, I can't blame him though since he is part Italian. :)

Once in a while, when I make Italian spaghetti sauce for my family, I will save some and add hotdogs and UFC catsup for my own Pinoy spaghetti. For true Pinoy spaghetti taste, use grated Kraft cheddar cheese for the topping.

Note: Condensed milk is not used in making the spaghetti sauce.


Filipino Spaghetti Sauce

1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 cup banana catsup (Jufran, UFC or Mafran brand)
1/8 Tsp pepper
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp parsley
1 pack hotdog or frankfurters, sliced thinly
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 cup grated Kraft cheddar cheese or any mild cheddar cheese

Saute the garlic, onions in oil until wilted, add the ground beef and cook for 10 minutes, drain excess oil. Add tomato sauce and water. Add the oregano and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Stir and simmer for about an hour. Stir the sauce often so it will not stick to the pan. Add the banana catsup and hot dog at the last 10 minutes of cooking. Mix sauce with cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle grated Kraft cheddar cheese before serving.

Shortcut version:
Saute garlic, onions and ground beef, drain excess oil. Add any bottled spaghetti sauce, add about a cup of banana catsup and sugar to taste. Add hotdogs or frankfurters. Cook for 30 minutes while stirring often. Mix the sauce with the cooked spaghetti noodles and top with grated mild cheddar cheese.

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I received a tag from Liz of Mommy's Little Corner. :)

We had Ceasar Salad and Baked Ham last night (Holy Saturday) for dinner. Ceasar Salad is our favorite, we actually have this served in our wedding reception at Wente Vineyards restaurant. They served the hearts of Romaine whole with Parmesan shavings and croutons.

I like to make the Ceasar dressing from scratch. To limit the risk of Salmonella (the original recipe calls for raw egg yolk), I use the yolk from a soft-boiled egg.

Ceasar Salad Dressing

1 egg yolk
2 gloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 pcs. anchovy fillets, chopped
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Romaine lettuce
Croutons
Parmesan cheese shavings

In a blender or food processor, place egg yolk, garlic, Dijon mustard, anchovies, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper. Blend for 20 seconds until smooth. With the motor running, add the extra-virgin olive oil slowly to make the dressing thick & creamy.

Drizzle over the Romaine lettuce and croutons. Top with Parmesan shavings.

Pineapple Glazed Ham

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Spring...tulips sprouting from the ground, leaf buds growing on trees, grass a little greener, ground thawing out and lots of sun...NOT! Yesterday was the first day of spring but here in New England it was rainy the whole day. Now this morning I can hear the strong winds howling outside the window. I was hoping for 60's weather, okay, that might be stretching it, let's say 50's. I am so done with winter. Too bad Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow last February 2nd, that meant 6 more (looooong) weeks of winter.

Hmm, doesn't it make you wonder why humans depend on a groundhog to tell us that spring is not coming sometime soon? Although I have to give it to this groundhog, he is always right on the mark. :)

Now I'm off to starting my so-called "Spring Cleaning". I have to dust off this keyboard. LOL joke!

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If you are in the process of losing weight there are a lot of options nowadays. Sometimes, dieting and exercise are not enough. There are several surgical weight-loss procedures that you can choose from. There is gastric-bypass surgery and the lap-band system. The lap-band is much safer because for one, it is an outpatient procedure, it is not invasive, only tiny incisions will be made and it is completely reversible.

To help you with this process, Journeylife offers support from start to finish. They have free pre-operative surgical seminars all over the country. If you are looking for lap band in Los Angeles, Journeylife will refer you to one of their Bariatric surgeons. Their surgical center focuses mainly on making you comfortable during your stay. They also have a website where you can talk to former patients who had this lap-band surgery done, ask questions to a nurse and get recipes from a certified chef. All in all, Journeylife will guide you every step of the way.

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Pancit Molo is an adaptation of the Chinese Won-Ton soup. This Philippine dish has it's origin from a city in Iloilo called Molo. Do you know that in Iloilo, the first letter of your surname is the same as the city/town you're from? Interesting factoid. :) My maternal grandfather's real surname (he was adopted later and used his adopted family's surname) started with the letter D and he was from a town called 'Dingle' (deeng-leh).

Anyway, back to Pancit Molo and soups. My family and I love eating different variations of soup during winter, my favorite soup to make is some kind of noodle soup. Everytime I have pork filling left-overs from making Lumpia Shanghai, I make it into siomai or wonton and use this to make Pancit Molo.

To make the siomai, I use ground pork, minced carrots, flat-leaf parsley, onions with salt and pepper plus one egg to act as a binder. I wrap it using small squares of pastry made exclusively for wontons. Use at the most, one teaspoon of filling per wrapper. Close the edges using beaten egg to make a complete seal. I put a bit of flour on the bottom of the plate where you'll set the siomai so it does not stick to the bottom and to each other.

For the soup, I saute the garlic and onions. I add several pieces of chicken parts with bones and let it sweat. Afterwards, I add several cups of water and bring it to boil. I skim the impurities out and let it simmer until the chicken is tender. I take out the chicken and cut the meat into strips. Meanwhile, I add the carrot strips and other vegetables I have in the fridge like spinach and celery. Add the siomai to the broth, let simmer for 20 minutes. It is important to just let it simmer because if you have the broth boiling, the siomai might open up if it has not been sealed well.

Season to taste with pepper and either salt or fish sauce. Add the cooked chicken and minced green onions before serving. If you prefer, you can add noodles to Pancit Molo (just like I did). Add the noodles to the broth at the last 5minutes of cooking (depending on how long the noodles will cook).

As you may have noticed by now, almost all the dishes I cook make use of only one (or two at the most) pot or pan. Is it obvious that I hate to wash dishes? LOL Thank goodness for the dishwasher, one of the best (second only to the washing machine) inventions for the household. Anyway, if you're into washing pots and pans, you can make the chicken broth ahead of time (but why bother when you can do it in the same pot - that's always my opinion).

Pancit Molo Recipe

Filling:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 carrot, chopped
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Broth:
1 tbsp. oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 lb chicken bones
salt and pepper to taste
green onions, chopped (for garnish)


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To celebrate my dh's Irish heritage, I always serve Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day (March 17). This is one of those 'no-brainer' dishes that is very easy to prepare. Corned Beef in the Philippines always comes in a can. :) Fresh Corned Beef here in the US is completely different. Most Corned Beef sold in the grocery stores are the 'brisket' kind and that is what I have been using years before. This year though, I'm using the 'eye round' part of the beef which is much leaner. I personally prefer the brisket but dh ends up taking out a lot of it out because of the fat.

The Corned Beef is placed in a pot of water and brought to boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for three to four hours until fork-tender. I also cook the potatoes with the Corned Beef. Make sure you add the potatoes while the water is still cold. If you add the potatoes when the water is already boiling, you will end up with potatoes that are mushy on the outside but still hard on the inside. Cabbage is also part of the dinner and green beans, if you prefer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! :)

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I would like to congratulate our seminarian, Ian Gabinete. We have been sponsoring him for a couple of years. He will be ordained as a Catholic priest at the end of the month in his hometown, Paranaque. He is a graduate of San Jose Major Seminary at the Ateneo de Manila in Katipunan, Quezon City. Ian has always been at the top of his class. He has been the president of an organization that represents all seminarians in the Philippines.
I met him for the first time in July last year when I went back for my high school reunion. He is very low-key and very smart. His future parishioners are lucky to have him as their priest. Dh and I are very proud of him and wish him well. Congratulations Father Ian!

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With the rising costs of medical care, it really is very important to have health insurance. We've heard about horror stories that happened to people who have no health insurance of any kind, they end up losing their homes because of the huge hospital costs. No matter what your age, having health insurance is vital. You can get Free online insurance quotes to get an idea on how much it will cost you to sign up for either your own health insurance or your family.

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....Hey, you are cracking me up! *groan*. LOL I know, it is pretty lame but at least I tried. :)

So let us talk about oysters. I love oysters, so does my other half. There are different ways to serve oysters, in fact there are hundreds of recipes on the net. During summer, we like to use our charcoal grill to cook oysters. The best way to serve oysters though is raw. Raw oysters are also known to be an aphrodisiac, I still need to get back to you about that though. :) Raw oysters served with freshly squeezed lemon is just amazing. To get this kind of experience, you need to get oysters that have passed stringent quality control or else you get the risk of getting sick from bad oysters.

Whenever we want raw oysters, we buy Gulf oysters. Why? Because we know that Gulf Oyster producers use new technology reduce the risk of consumers getting sick from eating raw oysters. If you have a compromised immune system, you must be informed before consuming raw oysters. The BeOysterAware website has a lot of information about this, you will learn about the technologies used, facts about the bacteria that you can get from improperly treated oyster and many more useful and important information.

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I like to exchange links with fellow bloggers and I also visit their blogs whenever I have free time. Usually when someone asks to exchange links with me I add their link to my two blogs and then visit their blog to inform them that they have been added. I was about to do that when one person asked for a link exchange but somehow I ended up in the their blog before I added their link.

I was looking at their posts and read one post that lists their 'Favorite Heroes in Real World'. Number one on the list is Abraham Lincoln, then when I got to number two, I was flabbergasted...It listed Adolf Hitler...I'm sure I did a double-take and read the short paragraph again and again. It couldn't be, why would anyone in his or her right mind would list Hitler as their hero? This is just insane. Now, I am all for free speech and such but this just made me sick to my stomach. I was going to leave a comment on that post but changed my mind. What do you think, should I ask this person why they chose that monster as one of their 'favorite heroes'? Well, one thing is sure, you wouldn't find his/her link in any of my blogs.

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I have yet to meet a noodle that I did not like. :) I like to cook all kinds of Pancit, different variations of Italian pasta and this Thai dish called Pad Thai.

As with most other cuisine, the noodles came with the Chinese in Thailand. So basically, this is not the so-called 'authentic' Thai food. But hey,who cares? LOL This is one dish where you can taste almost all combination of flavors: sweet - from the sugar, salty - from the fish sauce, sour- from the Tamarind pulp and spicy -from the chili powder.

There are different variations on this recipe, some call for Tomato ketchup, uhuh, you read that right. Well, it's not as bad as you might think but for Pad Thai 'purists', this is a big no-no. The following recipe is what I use when I make Pad Thai. I omit the dried shrimps since I don't like the taste and the sweetened salted radish.

Pad Thai
Recipe by Kasma Loha-unchit

2lb. dried thin gkuay dtiow or rice noodles (also known as Ban Pho to the Vietnamese)
3 Tbs. fish sauce, to taste
3 or more Tbs. tamarind juice the thickness of fruit concentrate, to taste
2 Tbs. palm or coconut sugar, to taste
4 Tbs. peanut oil
1/3 lb. fresh shrimp, shelled, deveined and butterflied
3/4 cup firm pressed tofu, cut into thin strips about an inch long, half an inch wide and a quarter inch thick
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with half a medium onion)
1/4 cup small dried shrimp
1/4 cup chopped sweetened salted radish
2-3 tsp. ground dried red chillies, to desired hotness
3 eggs
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1 1/2-inch-long segments (optional)

Pad Thai Garnish
2/3 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
1 lime, cut into small wedges
A few short cilantro sprigs
4 green onions - trim off root tip and half of green leaves and place in a glass with white end in cold water to crisp (optional)

Soak the dried rice noodles in cool or lukewarm tap water for 40 minutes to one hour, or until the noodles are limp but still firm to the touch.

While the noodles are soaking, mix the fish sauce with the tamarind juice and palm sugar; stir well to melt the sugar. Taste and adjust flavors to the desired combination of salty, sour and sweet. Prepare the remaining ingredients as instructed.
When the noodles have softened, drain and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat until it is smoking hot. (Note: If your wok is small, do the stir-frying in two batches. The recipe may also be halved to serve two.)
Add 2 teaspoons of oil and quickly stir-fry the shrimp until they turn pink and are almost cooked through.
Salt lightly with a sprinkling of fish sauce and remove them from the wok.
Swirl in the remaining oil, save for 1 teaspoon, to coat the wok surface and wait 20 to 30 seconds for it to heat.
Add the tofu, frying 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pieces turn golden.
Add garlic and stir-fry with the tofu for 15 to 20 seconds.
Follow with the sliced shallots and cook another 15 seconds.
Then add the dried shrimp, sweetened salted radish and ground dried chillies.
Stir and heat through a few seconds.
Add the noodles and toss well with the ingredients in the wok.
Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes and when most of the noodles has changed texture and softened, push the mass up along one side of the wok.
Add the teaspoon of oil to the cleared area, crack the eggs onto it and scramble lightly.
When the eggs have set, cut into small chunks with the spatula and toss them in with the noodles.
Add the sweet-and-sour seasoning mixture.
Stir well to evenly coat noodles.
If the noodles are still too firm to your liking, sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of water over them to help cook.
Taste and adjust flavors as needed to your liking by adding more fish sauce or tamarind juice; if the noodles are not sweet enough, sprinkle in a small amount of granulated sugar.
When the noodles are cooked to your liking, toss in 2 of the 3 cups of bean sprouts and the garlic chives (if using).
Sprinkle with half the chopped peanuts and return the shrimp to the wok.
Stir and when the vegetables are partially wilted, transfer to a serving platter, or dish onto individual serving-size plates, and garnish with the remaining bean sprouts and chopped peanuts, the lime wedges, cilantro and green onions.

Serves 4 as a one-dish lunch. Squeeze lime juice over each portion before eating.

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Last year for Thanksgiving, we had my dh's family over. I made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 15 people, that was a lot of work. I was glad that I did not have any cooking disaster to report.

You can just imagine how tired I was the next day which is the most popular shopping day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving is called 'Black Friday'. I did not feel like going out very early to be one of the first customers in line outside ToysRUs and Best Buy to name a few, just to get the early bird deals they have.

I am so glad I found this web site where they have a lot of links to stores that offer great deals on Black Friday. They also offer you the option to sign up for their mailing list and they will notify you if there are any new Black Friday ADs that are posted.

Having this web site definitely made my life a whole lot easier. I did not have to wait in line to pay for my purchases and it saved me 'gas money' which is a big deal considering how expensive gas is. I was able to purchase the toys that my kids wanted for Christmas online without dealing with the crowds. I know, I've been to ToysRUs the day after Thanksgiving and it was crazy.

This year, on the days leading to Thanksgiving, you can be sure that I will be online and checking out the 2008 thanksgiving specials. You should be doing this too, it will save you time and effort. Before you know it, you will be done with your holiday shopping and have time to relax and enjoy the season.

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Usually the most delicious food comes from a very simple recipe, Halabos na Hipon is one of them. This is my number one favorite shrimp recipe. It is comparable to shrimp Scampi of the Italians or Gambas al Ajillo of Catalonia.

The only time I make Halabos na hipon is when I have whole shrimps from the Asian grocery. All the flavors to make this a great dish comes from the head. The shrimp products we have in the local grocery or the club store are the headless shrimps, I wonder what they do with the discarded shrimp heads?


The way my mom taught me to cook this dish is very simple. Place the shrimps in a saute pan with just a little water. Add salt and pepper. Once it starts to boil, saute it for about 2 minutes for medium-sized shrimps and around 3-5 minutes for larger shrimps. At the last minute of cooking, add a teaspoon of canola or olive oil to finish the dish.

I prefer my Halabos na hipon to have a lot of sauce so I use more water. :) This goes well with freshly cooked rice or French bread. Yummy!

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I grew up in a family where everyone loves shellfish, it is a healthy source of protein. Fresh shellfish is the best and nothing can beat the taste of raw oysters with some freshly squeezed lemon juice. When I was growing up, we always go to a beach in Cavite and get a big basket of oysters along the way for lunch.

My dad loves to eat raw oysters. Nowadays, he has to be very careful when eating anything that is raw, including oysters. He has Type2 Diabetes so his immune system is already compromised. He will only eat raw oysters if he knows that it came from a company with strict quality control inspection and uses one of the post-harvest treatment processes. Anyone with a compromised immune system should be very careful when eating raw oysters. People with Diabetes, liver disease, cancer, stomach disorders or any disease that weakens the body's immune system. If the oysters have not been properly harvested, cleaned and packaged, they might end up getting very sick.

Here in the USA, we always buy Gulf oysters. The Gulf Oyster Processors use new technologies to ensure that the raw oysters they sell are safe for consumers, including those at-risk. They use three different post-harvest treatment processes to achieve this: (1) IQF - Individual Quick Freezing (2) HCP - Heat Cool Pasteurization and (3) HHP - High Hydrostatic Processing. All these post-harvest processes reduce the risk of illness from eating raw oysters. So before you buy raw oysters, make sure that it has undergone one of these three safety processes.

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If you live in Sarpourenx, France and do not have your own cemetery plot you might have to die somewhere else. Sounds strange, doesn't it? LOL

Well, the mayor of this southwestern French village has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die. Apparently, the cemetery is overcrowded and there are no more spaces left to bury the dead. The mayor actually posted the ordinance in the council offices. The village only has 260 residents.

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I still remember when I first connected to the internet in 1993 using a 14Kb Dial-up modem. I use DOS to connect to a BBS (Bulletin Board Service). After you hit *ENTER* you will see the new page load up line by line. It takes a minute for the whole page to load, some pages take even longer. Can you imagine doing that nowadays? I was so happy when I was able to upgrade to a 28Kb then later on to a 58Kb modem. I thought then that this higher modem speed makes downloading files a breeze.

Then comes high-speed internet service, it is the best thing there is! Almost all web pages these days are full of graphics and content that will take forever to load if you are using a dial-up service. What takes a long time to download now takes just a couple of minutes depending on the file size. If you are still using dial-up internet service, you should now change to high speed internet connection.

Now you have a chance to bid on having Charter High-Speed® Internet for life. Bidding starts at $10.00 and there is no reserve. We all know how expensive high speed internet access can be. I pay almost $50.00 a month for my high speed internet. This is a chance to score a great deal on your high speed internet. You can actually save money on this considering internet access price increase almost yearly. When you register at the site, you will be entered to a drawing for a Nintendo Wii. Let me tell you, your family will love playing with the Wii. Now is your chance to get it since it is always out of stock in stores.
Click Here for a Chance to Win a Nintendo® Wii™!

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A stay-at-home mom of two. Loves to cook and bake. Brave enough to try new recipes and not afraid of failure. I took after my mom who is a wonderful cook. I'm lucky to have a husband who is not afraid to try anything (well, almost anything LOL). He's my proverbial guinea pig, a handsome one at that. :o)
I was born in Dapitan City, my mom's hometown and grew up in Pasig City, which is my dad's hometown. I migrated to the USA in 1989 and first lived in the San Francisco Bay Area where I met my husband of 11 years. I am currently living in the east coast.
If you have any questions, recipe suggestions or what not, you can reach me at that yahoo place through KUSINERAUSA.




I would like to thank my friends for these awards, it is very much appreciated! :) Thank you Mareng Amy, Mareng Lanie, Liza and Bless. (I hope I did not forget anyone.)

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I have been reading about Fengshui and Chinese Astrology since I first saw an article about it on a magazine many years ago. The basic principle of Feng Shui is to live in harmony with your environment so that the energy surrounding you works for you rather than against you.

Fengshui covers all aspects of our lives and to learn more about it, you need a very good resource. The website I always go to for Feng Shui information is http://www.dragon-gate.com/. Their website has a vast library of information about Fengshui and Chinese Astrology. They offer free newsletters and monthly forecast for Feng Shui. They also have a Feng Shui dictionary, an online Chinese Almanac and other tools like the Gua calculator that you can use.

This website has an online store where you can purchase Feng Shui cures and enhancements to counter any negative chi or energy. If you are not sure of what to purchase, they can help you find the right item. Their regular shipping only takes three business days.

Other great features about Dragon-Gate is that they offer for free a 2008 outlook and personal astrology. You can also have a FREE FENG SHUI REPORT sent to your email. All you need is the directions of your front door, stove, bedroom, toilet and kitchen.

All these Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology resources are at your fingertips at the website. The oldest and biggest online Feng Shui shop and resource is Dragon-Gate.

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