Meatballs on a tree.

I don't know about you but when I set up a Christmas tree I always fantasize about a gigantic edible peppermint or white chocolate tree with food decor.

Meatballs as Christmas balls and bacon trinkets, candy canes and twister fries all over, chocolate truffles stringed and gummy bears tied and hanging up there as well and then a huge star made out of pizza.

Perhaps, it's a lousy idea and I don't think food will last that long if you put it up as decor. Not in our house. It doesn't even last that long in the fridge, if you get my drift. Haha!

At parties, the best representation of Christmas, in my opinion, are not the gifts you bring home. It's always the food served on the table and when lucky bountiful enough, the leftover food you get to bring home as well.

I'm lucky to have a very festive family.

Cref Cake

It’s December and Christmas is coming up as well as the New Year! It’s been a fruitful 2009 for me and my family having moved to a new house and all. And since we’ve lived in there, I have graced the kitchen numerous times, cooking and creating whatever comes to mind.

I’ve always dreamt of a good kitchen with a bountiful pantry and that is one of my wishes for 2010 – to be blessed so I can share more of myself (and my food - if not the real thing, just the recipe *hehe*) to those who are around.

Looking at the list in this blog, it does not surprise me that I have yet to come up with one good dessert. I do not have a sweet tooth. I would even trade fries over ice cream on a hot day but there are times that call for some celebratory sugar-bombed stuff. There's no time more perfect than the Holidays! So today, I give to you the experiment that was a hit in my Culinary Lab class last year. This is a no bake crepe/pancake refrigerator layer cake which you can modify the flavors to your liking. Cref Cake = crepe ref cake gets?

Mini-Cheeseburgers (and a bit of news about the author)

A few weeks ago, I took my dusty running shoes out of its box and laced up for a walk. I figured it would be quite a nice change for me to spend an hour or two on the tracks than spending the evening indoors – watching TV and munching on whatever pasalubong my papa brought home from work. I have never been a fan of intense physical activity. I used to play basketball when I was younger but now, the closest I get to sports is “watching” it. I hate sweating. I hate jumping around.

The doctor advised me to get moving but she wouldn’t allow me to jog because I’m too heavy and this can cause me to break my knees. So I researched a few articles about walking and gave it a try. The first few days were pretty taxing but then after that, it got easier. All I ask myself now – what took me so long to try it out? I’m glad I did though because it’s been three weeks and I love it. Walking 3 miles a day doesn’t feel like work anymore, I even look forward to it. Who would’ve thought, right?

I’m just happy because I’m not getting any younger and it’s tough to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you’re me (lazy and procrastinating) but I’m really trying and I guess it’s all that matters. Taking care of yourself first so you can take care of those who are around you, which brings me to another great thing – food!

Cool Beans

So I watched Juno for the 2nd time and I thought Diablo Cody did a pretty good job writing up the catchphrases in there and I thought it would be pretty awesome if I name one of my recipes that. Since I'm truly madly deeply in love with tasty stir-fried vegetables, I came up with this protein-rich treat - even people who are not that into veggies will love it.

Cool Beans

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo Bean sprouts, washed and drained

1 cup Green beans, cut into slanted strips

1/4 cup Snow peas, cut into slanted strips

1 block Tofu, diced

1/2 can Corn kernels, drained

1 medium Carrot, cut into strips

1 green and 1 red Bell pepper, cut into strips

a handful Raisins (optional)

a handful Mushrooms (optional)

1 large Onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Cooking oil

1. Take a frying pan and fill it with 2 cups oil, wait till it's hot enough and fry in the tofu. When the tofu turns golden brown, what I do is set aside the pan and scoop out the oil into a separate container. You can do it this way or you can also strain the tofu out of the oil and use a whole new pan for sauteing. I opt for lesser utensils used.

2. Saute the garlic and onions with the tofu and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the carrots, corn kernel, green beans and snow peas. Mix it well for 3 minutes in medium heat. If you have mushrooms and raisins and if you like that, you can add some (I love mushrooms and raisins!) but you can leave it out if you don't fancy those. 

3. Lastly, add the drained bean sprouts and bell peppers. Season it with salt and pepper. You can add a bit of paprika powder or chili oil if you have it. Cover it and let it sizzle for 3 minutes without mixing. Turn off the heat, lift the lid off, and then toss it lightly like a salad. This way, your bean sprouts will still be plump and juicy and not ooey gooey wilted little things.  

Serve it hot on top of rice or for those who want to cut out on the carbs, crumble a couple of whole wheat crackers on top of Cool Beans. Enjoy! :)

Yield: 4-6 servings

Till the next eats,

♥ChefShak

Special Scramble

Eggs can kill alright, but I love it. The day just seem drab and wrong without having eggs. I can't decide which is my favorite way of getting it done but I'd down those anytime of the day to clog me arteries.

So I was watching TV this morning and saw a chef make a breakfast burrito. I thought how it's not easy to find tortillas in the local markets and those aren't cheap but her burrito filling really turned me on. It's got eggs in her recipe.

Lightbulb.

It was 11am and my tummy's begging for brunch. Time for some really quick DIY eats!

Huevo y Chorizo Scramble

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1 pc. Chorizo or Chinese Bilbao, minced
2 tbsp Button mushrooms, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp Evaporated milk
1 pc. ripe Tomato, diced
1 tsp powdered Seasoning (I love the garlic and pepper variety)
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 large Red Onion, minced
1 red or green Bell Pepper, diced
1 tbsp Butter

Pasta fight.

We didn't really throw pasta at each other but it was a good competition. Sad thing was, we never found out who won. I guess the people behind it decided to forfeit everyone after they found out we ate the entries. Haha!

So the game started out with us clueless of what to cook that day. We had 15 minutes to view the ingredients and 30 minutes to create the recipe. Another 15 minutes to go back and acquire kitchen utensils and the exact amount of ingredients and an hour to cook everything and serve it on tables that were set up at the lobby for everyone to drool over. We were feeling a little bit edgy but it turned out fine. The theme was pasta.

Lucky me, pasta had been a staple in our home since time immemorial and the ingredients on the table were not Iron Chef peculiar so my team partner, Seanette and I did not only share the same name but the same sentiments over the task at hand as well. 

We decided on a creamy yet flavorful dish.

Lip-smackin' snack.

I love to snack.

I could skip a meal easy but it's hard for me to skip a snack. I get hungry at odd times of the day - 2pm, 9pm, 1am. Back then when I was so young, I long for hot tasty snacks. My favorite were burgers (up to this day!) and sandwiches. My older sister and I used to rummage through the fridge and kitchen cupboards to find stuff we can cook and devour, never thinking it was "training" on our part that made us pretty much kitchen savvy now.

One day, I got the pangs for a hot bunwich. I found a few ingredients lying around the counter which I turn into:

Curry up!

"Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I'm taking with me when I go.”


-Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

Just thought I should add a random quote about spice for today's post. I'm not a big fan of curry but I don't hate it either. It's just there is something so strong about it that sticks with you all throughout the day.

The way it clings to your breath and a hint of it every time you burp when you had curried food - it's distracting! But really, in a sweet way like when an old flame crosses your mind on a random Tuesday morning as you throw out the garbage. Haha. What in the world am I talking about?

Two weeks ago, I created a curried dish. It was a self-dare somewhat, because I've never had curried pork. It's always chicken anywhere. So I did it and it was pretty yummy. It was a hit in the dining table.

Icebreaker.

Hi! By now, you must have gone through a lot of food blogs and recipe sites (or not). So, what makes diy-eats different from those? Nothing much really. It's still about food. The only thing is, there's nothing in here that's hard to make or expensive to buy, so think of this as a poor man's gourmet wonderblog of sorts. And of course, everything's delicious.

If you're here, you most likely know me already somewhere or have stumbled upon my shameless self-promoting links. (I googled my page and it's not in there. Ha!)
Okay, let's skip all the small talk and get down to business.