Home-made Banana Split-Vanilla Ice Cream Edition

Here are some ideas on perking-up vanilla ice creams!

Banana Split V1: Vanilla ice cream at the center of sliced lacatan banana, topped with chocolate bits.

 Banana Split V2:

Vanilla Ice cream scoops in between lacatan banana slices topped w/ Ferrero Rocher , sprnkled with Nesquik powder!

Banana Split Kiddie Version:

My kids fave!
In the middle of lacatan banana slices, put scoops of vanilla ice cream, drizzle with cocoa powder and mini M & Ms.

Uber Yummy!

Banana Heart Fritata

     An Experimental dish.   I first knew it at my daughter's school during their Nutritional month activity.   They made a burger out of banana hearts, however not most of the children liked it.   Maybe it was because of how it was cooked, or the ingredients used.
    However, as an experiment, it turned out to be fantastic.   My kids loved it, without them knowing it was "puso ng saging" (banana heart in Philippine translation), hahaha, tricky mommy am I?...  As a mom, I do want my kids to eat healthy foods and let them be adventurous in their eating habit without resorting to junk foods.
     This goes so well with any adobo variation, veggie salad and other veggie stews or soup.
So without further ado, here is how to make this.

Banana Heart Fritata

2 pcs medium banana hearts
1 onion large, chopped
3 eggs
chicken coating mix
salt, pepper and spanish paprika for seasoning

To do:
   Boil the banana hearts, careful not to over boil, once the outer red skin has turned very light, you can remove it and wipe off excess water.  Chop.  Mix with the other ingredients, onions, chicken coating mix, seasonings and eggs.   Mix well, I use my bare hands to do this, make sure hands are sanitized.
  Heat about 1/8 cup of cooking oil on a frying pan, and fry a spoonful of the mix.
  Works well as an appetizer, and goes well with any other dishes!

Corn and Coconut Granita

   

Simplifying yumminess is what I do best!

I took a champagne  glass, layered with coconut, 

Coconut Granita *, and Corn.

Walaaa!  A dessert! A snack!  A healthy Option!

Granita (in Italian also granita siciliana) is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, although available all over Italy (but granita in Sicily is somewhat different from the rest of Italy), it is related to sorbet and italian ice. However, in most of Sicily, it has a coarser, more crystalline texture. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten says that "the desired texture seems to vary from city to city" on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. ^[1] This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals.
( copied from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granita)

How to make Coconut Granita:

    In a pitcher, mix coconut juice from 2 coconuts and half cup of condensed milk.   Once mixed pour on a 5" to 7" plastic tray, cover and refrigerate for an hour.  After 1 hour you will notice the top hardens a bit, scrape it off and mix.  Refrigerate for two more hours, scrape again until you achieve a slushy consistency in the ice.  It will be ready to serve by then.

Sweet Apple Omelet
(condensed from Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano)

2 medium Golden Delicious, Rome, or Empire apples
3 tbl extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbl granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbl grappa*

2 tbl unsalted butter
1 tbl honey
4-5 large eggs
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting


*Note: I didn’t use grappa for two main reasons. The first is that I really don’t like grappa so I don’t have any in the house; the second is that my stomach is just recovering from a nasty virus and I didn’t think I could even handle the smell. If you’d like instructions on how to incorporate the grappa I suppose you’ll just have to buy the book (or keep your fingers crossed that you’ll win a copy–be sure to comment)!
Peel and core apples, cut them into quarters, then into slices. If you’d like to make a pretty flower to garnish like in the picture above, peel the skin with a sharp knife beginning at the top of the apple in one continuous strip, as demonstrated here and then roll it up and set it on the plate. Thanks Meredith!
Heat a large saucepan over medium and add olive oil, followed by apples. Sauté until they just begin to turn soft, translucent, and tender, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon, shaking to coat apples. When apples are completely tender, remove from heat and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat; don’t let it bubble. Add honey and swirl the pan so they combine thoroughly. Remove from heat and set aside. Prepare a serving plate dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
Crack eggs into medium bowl and whisk until combined. In a nonstick 10-inch omelet pan, melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, swirling it around to coat bottom of pan completely. When butter begins to bubble, add eggs.
Use a fork or spatula to pull any cooked egg toward the center of the pan while tilting so that any uncooked egg moves to the edges. Continue moving eggs around until they are cooked, 2 to 3 minutes.
Very quickly, spoon some of the cooked apples into the center of the omelet in a straight line spanning the diameter of the omelet. Shake pan to loosen the omelet completely, then fold one side of omelet over apples.
Quickly slide the omelet onto the sugar-dusted serving plate, folding it over on top of itself with the edge of the pan or a spatula. Immediately drizzle the warm honey-butter mixture evenly over the surface of the omelet, and dust with confectioner’s sugar (I also sprinkled a little more cinnamon).
Serve immediately, cutting the omelet into 2 large halves or 4 smaller quarters.
I did it in halves, and was plenty full after my half. Yum!

Clam Hot To Tai

Ingredients:
1 K clam or Halaan, washed and drained
1/2 can corn kernels
2 packs miswa
sliced leeks
1 onion
minced garlic
minced ginger

How to cook:
1.   Sautee ginger, garlic and onion.   Season with salt, Magic Sarap and pepper.
2.   Put halaan, water until submerged. Cover the pan.
3.   Once halaan slightly opens up, put miswa and corn kernels.
4.   Simmer until halaan opens up fully, put the leeks.  After 2 to 3 mins. Put of fire and serve!

Crusty Parmessan Round Eggplant and Spicy Bunga ng Malungay

 

Crusty Parmesan Eggplant

 

Spicy Bunga ng Malungay with Tahong (Mussels)

Round Eggplants also known as aubergines.

You can also use the regular elongated eggplants.

For the Crust or breading mix...

Version 1:   Mixed Bread crumbs and Parmesan Cheese

Version 2:   Garlic Flavored Coating mix.

Dip sliced eggplants in 1 beaten egg.

Then cover with the breading mix, either version.

Then fry on hot oil, medium pan. When brown on both sides, remove from pan and serve.

For the vegetable,  saute garlic to brown, put in shelled tahong, then put in the vegetable, add a few water and flavor with half a  teaspoon of soy sauce.   Season with salt and pepper, then put in the sliced chilly pepper.  Count  10 seconds remove from fire.   Serve.

Orange Pasta Salad

I love preparing easy yet yummy dishes, here is one inspired from the famous Waldorf salad, however instead of apples  I used orange slices.
Prepare slices of oranges, bacon strips and/or ham, cheddar cheese, carrots, celery, and boiled potatoes.   Put them on a bed of cooked pasta.  Top with mayonnaise or prepared thousand island dressing.   Just toss them together and season with salt and pepper.