Dining At The Kitchen

Treating myself to a nice meal is something I look forward to at the end of a busy week. I think  a little pampering is what I deserve after a week's hard work. With my friend gone, I have been eating out solo. I am discovering new places to dine in my favorite hang out place in Chaweng, a short trip on a songtaew (taxi) from where I live.

Just recently, I found a place called The Kitchen, one of the many restaurants at the ground floor of Central Festival Mall. I had walked past it a few times before but it didn't cross my mind to try their food. I only had one meal and I thought  I was missing out on the good stuff all this time. The restaurant is definitely worth another try.

Moringa ( Malunggay) Pancit Canton with Vermicelli

Noodles is a reliable dish for potlucks. When my mom learned about the potluck my family was hosting on the first Sabbath she's here, she decided to cook the noodles I brought back from my trip to Philippines last Christmas. Mom cooked this delicious Filipino noodle dish called pancit canton, also known as lo mein or chow mein.

Cooking Japanese Udon Noodles ala Chinese style

Yesterday I felt like having noodles for dinner. I checked the cabinet and  found a pack of udon stashed in the back of the cabinet. I'd never cooked udon at home so I  cooked it ala cu mian style. It turned out the way I expected.

So what is Udon? Udon is thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine (Wikipedia). It is likely derived from similar Chinese noodles called cu mian. How? According to history of Asian noodles, Japanese Buddhist monks brought the udon noodles back from China in the 800s. In Japan, udon noodles are usually served hot as noodle soup. In China, as far as I know, cu mian noodles are either stir-fried or cooked in soup.

Tortiglioni With Tuna Sauce and Fried Garlic

Pasta with tuna sauce -  a delicious comfort food. Sprinkle fried garlic on top and you get an amazing flavorful dish. Last weekend my sister and I were both busy doing our thing that we lost track of time. She and I just noticed that the sun had gone down when our stomach growled.

The hunger growls made us take a quick break. I went to the kitchen. I checked the cabinet. I found a can of tuna, tomato sauce, tomato paste and pasta. I have 2 big packs of  tortiglioni so I have been thinking how to use them up. I came up with this simple dish and it turned out to be tasty meal.

Baked Fusilli Topped with Sliced Potatoes

The experimental cook in me has inspired me to make this dish from scratch. I was supposed to make dumplings but was unable to buy the ingredients for the fillings so I postponed it. There's a major downpour and the last thing I wanted to do was leave the comforts of my home and go out in the rain. With the limited ingredients I had I was glad I was able to whip up something delicious before my sister came home from work.

Japanese Cha Soba with Garlic and Olive Oil

Who would have thought that Japanese noodles are also good with garlic and olive oil? I had a pack of Japanese green tea noodles which I bought at the trade fair and I didn't know what to do with them. I didn't have the ingredients to make the sauce. It's my last day of work that week. I was starving and exhausted.  All I wanted was to have a delicious and healthy comfort food which I could whip up in a short time. An idea struck me when I saw the bottle of olive oil.

Moroheiya Stir-Fried Noodles

 Noodles is one of the easiest, quickest and tastiest dishes to prepare. My sister and I eat a fair amount of noodles.With our busy schedule we are always on the run. We don't turn to frozen food as the main energy source  so we need sustenance which can be prepared in a matter of minutes.

Last weekend, we had moroheiya noodle soup. There were still 2 package of the green noodles left. We wanted to cook the noodles in a different method. When I got home yesterday evening, my sister and I decided to stir-fry them. She did the washing and cutting of the vegetables. She took pictures of me while I cooked. 

Going Green (Healthy Moroheiya Noodles)

Moroheiya noodles are made from organically grown moroheiya. The green vegetable, also known as Egyptian spinach,  is believed to be rich  in beta-carotene, iron, calcium, Vitamin C, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Big sis got the noodles from a colleague who knows about her vegetable-based diet.

My sister's absence made me so relaxed that I didn't bother to cook a proper meal or even check what's left in the fridge.Weekend came, we found the vegetable crisper  had nothing but  half a head of cabbage. In just a matter of minutes, she turned the cabbage and the noodles into something delicious. A simple yet tasty noodle soup.

Spaghettini With Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I am alone in the house. Big sis is away for a week. I don't do much cooking because I only have myself to feed. The past few days I have been eating oatmeal, porridge and sandwiches . I had a loooong day at work today but as soon as I got home, I was determined to cook pasta, my kind of comfort food.

If you are rushed and have no time to labor over dinner, this easy-to-prepare dish cooks up in less than 30 minutes and  tastes good.

No Cook Tomato Sauce

When it comes to pasta dishes, I consider tomato sauce as its ideal partner. It is amazing how the rich flavor of  tomatoes could turn the bland pasta into something exceptional. We eat a  fair amount of pasta dishes at home so learning how to make a flavorful tomato sauce is ongoing.  Two years ago I attended a potluck at a friend's house. My friend prepared a no-cook spaghetti sauce. Yes, spaghetti was the first dish I ate and I fell in love with it in an instant. Since then I have reconstructed the recipe  numerous times at home. I vary the flavors by adding different ingredients and the result surprises me each time I make it.

Creamy Ditalini Soup

Pasta is my kind of comfort food. Whatever kind there is, whichever way it is cooked , I never tire of eating pasta. It's the type of food that takes uncomplicated preparations. For me, nothing is more comforting than eating pasta after a long day's work.

One of my favorite Filipino dishes is sopas or creamy macaroni soup. The original recipe calls for macaroni. The last time I visited the grocery macaroni was out of stock and Ditalini was the ones available.I still bought them as I was craving for this dish.

Pasta with Garlic Salsa Sauce

The month of April has lots of holidays. There's the Thai New Year that lasts one week and another holiday I can't seem to remember. I am thankful I can get to relax for a few days but having days off work is annoying because I have to double the amount of cakes I make to make up for the days I'm not working. Last week, I made 10 cakes in one day. I made the same amount 2 days after that. At the end of the week, I felt like my body reached its limit. Usually, on my way home, I plan on what to cook for dinner. But on that day, I was so exhausted I didn't even bother to think of what to eat.

Once home, I couldn't ignore the urge inside me to prepare something for dinner.I checked the cabinet and my eyes laid on a bag of pasta I just bought. So I made this pasta dish with the last bit of energy I had. For me, pasta is one of the easiest dish to make. I like it because not much preparation is required to do it.







I placed the pasta in a saucepan. I added oil and salt, and boiled it for seven minutes. I transfered the pasta in a colander. I placed it under a running water to remove its greasiness and drained.

For the sauce, I used the leftover Garlic Salsa sauce from days ago. The label says use within 2 weeks after opening. We don't have nachos in stock anymore. I might as well use it before it gets bad. I poured the salsa into a sauce pan, added mixed Italian herbs, freshly ground black pepper and a bit of salt to taste. I added tuna right before I removed if from heat so it would retain its shape and flavor.

I mixed the sauce with the pasta and served it with fresh basil leaf. We had a wonderful dinner.