Qwek Qwek

(Chicago) – This a simple and ever popular Filipino eggplant omelet. This dish could be simplified some more and just reduce the ingredients to eggplant, egg and oil. But I like my torta with some stuffing to make it heavier …

(Chicago) – I never like ordering food or microwaving frozen stuffs for dinners. After a long day of hard and stressful work, all I want is a home-cooked meal to bring me back to sanity. But the primary enemy is time. There’s …

(Chicago) – I eat vegetables but it’s not usually my preference especially if there’s a meat dish on the table. My doctor even reprimanded me for doing high protein diet …

(Chicago) – I am familiar with the dish “pochero” (or “puchero”) ever since I was a kid but I never really understood and appreciated the dish…

(Chicago) – Guisadong Monggo is one of my favorite Filipino dishes. It’s not expensive to make and highly nutritious. You can omit or limit the pork and bagoong if you have dietary constraints…

(Chicago) – This is a simple, hearty chicken stew and perfect with hot white rice. Ingredients: 2 tablespoon olive oil 12 chicken thighs 1 large onion, chopped 1 cup dry white wine ¼ cup fresh marjoram or 2 tablespoons dried marjoram 2 medium boiling potatoes cut in chunks 2 large carrots cut in chunks 2 [...]

(Chicago) -  I am confronted with a dilemma. I am inviting friends for a small BBQ party and I don’t want to serve rice, for a change. I know one or two Filipino guest will hate me but I don’t want this party to appear like an ordinary dinner of “ulam” (viand) with rice. Besides, [...]

(Chicago) – Many years ago, I participated in a mission trip, organized by my church in Manila, to a province in the Bicol region which is eastern part of the Philippines. I was so young then that I couldn’t remember the details of this trip but 2 things I can clearly recall still: the team was able [...]

(Chicago) – Do you think you’re cool as a cucumber? Not merely is the cucumber known for it’s ability to cool-down the body, it has additionally been seen to help with jaundice, diarrhea, epilepsy, sore throat, conjunctivitis (redness of the eye) and swelling of extremities.

(Singapore) – I think all food lovers and aspiring chefs were inspired by the movie Julie and Julia – and of course, my husband too. He got so excited after watching the movie that he bought a book called “Cook’s Bible” at a book sale and promised me that he will cook all the recipes [...]

(Chicago) – Green is my favorite color whenever spring comes.  If something becomes my favorite, it will be evident in the clothes I wear, things I buy and even in the food I fancy to eat. Yes, I notice that I eat more green vegetables during spring-summer time. And pea soup with mint is a [...]

(Chicago) -  Every now and then, I crave for Filipino food.  The first thing that usually comes to my mind is sinigang especially when it gets really cold here in Chicago. Sinigang is Philippines version of sour soup. Tamarind is the most popular source of tartness for the soup but to extract its acidic juice from [...]