Fresh Crabs With Coconut Milk

How do you like your crabs cooked? I like mine with coconut milk. Really? My sister-in-law never heard of such a thing when she heard it but yes it's true. I am an island girl so I have seen how seafoods have been prepared from simple to complicated ones. You can actually steam, fry, roast or grill or boil crabs. When we went to the grocery store this afternoon I haven't prepared anything for dinner yet. I am a little bit tired and about to get down with something but I didn't let myself get affecterd. I went with hubby to the store and saw the live crabs on sale. Fond memories of the Philippines flashed back into my mind. I remembered how much we love to eat crabs when I was small. My mom loves to cook too. I must have gotten this talent from her. Lol. While in the store we decided to get half a dozen crabs. I had the live crabs steamed for ten minutes before we went to pay for it. When I got home I right away got my ingredients ready and cooked it. My kids really love eating the messy crabs especially the claws. Here are the ingredients and how I did it.
Ingredients
6 crabs steamed
1 cup water
1 onion sliced
3 garlic cloves
1 jalopeno chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
1 green onions chopped (scallions)
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup lettuce or cabbage chopped
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes (optional)
1 small ginger chopped
2 tbsp canola oil
a dash of black pepper
a dash of salt
vegetable buillion

1. Heat the pan and put the canola oil.
2. Saute the garlic,onion, red pepper and ginger.
3. Place the rest of the vegetables.
4. Place the crabs too.
5. Put 1 cup water and bring to boil.
6. Pour the coconut oil and bring to boil til it thickens.
7. Place the vegetable buillion.
8. Season with salt and pepper then sprinkle the green onions.

Dinner is served with some rice. Yummy!

Dinner at Don Pablo's

It's good to dine out once in a while. It breaks the routine of having to cook. Aside from that you can see something new.;-)Last Saturday we surprised Tess with a dinner at Don Pablo's. She thought we only surprised her with giving her two pairs of prescription eyeglasses. The fun did not stop there. We also went and shared our last dining out together. We had ribs and some margaritas. It's a good combination, don't you think so. It's always fun to share good times with a good friend. Thanks to hubby for bringing us there.It was all his idea to go there since it was a block away from the eye doctor's office.;-)

Filipino Dish

secret ingredients



I was making some fruit salad and embutido (meatloaf) last Saturday night for my special friend's surprise despidida party. There's something funny about the fruit salad. She was the one who took the taste test if it was good enough to eat. She did not know it was for her party. Take a quick look at the pics I took of the embutido meatloaf. Embutido is easy to make since you just simply steam it. If I remember it right I have posted the ingredients and directions on how to make not so long ago. It is in the preparation time that you really need to be patient. Oh well, time flies by so fast when you do love to cook.;-)

Green Eggs and Ham

I was watching Rachel Ray's cooking on TV Network last Friday and was interested with it. She is an inspiration. She made green eggs and ham that I gladly tried for breakfast the next day. I know you will tell me it's not Dr. Seuss birthday but birthday or not this is an easy and fantastic recipe. The ingredients and procedure was so simple that I just watched it and remembered it by heart. I received a lot of wow's at home when they saw what I made for them. You can try it at home too.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted in microwave and liquids drained
1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream, eyeball it
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
8 slices deli ham or prosciutto di Parma
8 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the butter and sweat the shallots a few minutes. Add the spinach and stir in the cream, season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a little grated nutmeg. Cook the spinach, stirring occasionally, until the cream has thickened, 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Fold each slice of ham or prosciutto in half and line the nonstick cups with 1 slice of meat each. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cooked spinach into each of the cups, then crack an egg into each, making sure it stays whole (hint - if you're worried about breaking the egg yolk, crack the egg into a small bowl first, then pour it into the muffin cup). Season the tops of the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake in the oven until set, about 15 minutes. Allow the baked eggs to cool in the muffin cups for a couple of minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve immediately.

Dining In At a Log Cabin Restaurant

We dined out last night in a beautiful rustic wood-themed restaurant. The ambiance of this place pulled me back to it. Yes, we went to PJ Whelihan's Grill Restaurant located at the Medford Lakes. We passed by this place last week that is why I specially requested this place to hubby. It is located at a place where you peacefully see the log cabin homes. The restaurant was also design like a log house. We had an amazing experience. They really have good food at a great price. We ordered some hot and spicy buffalo wings as appetizer. It was served hot and saucy. It was one of a kind. I ordered my favorite salad- the mediterranean salad. Heaven gobbled her burger like she haven't eaten for years. James told me he loved the grilled cheese. Hubby had a reuben sandwich and he told me it is one of the best reuben sandwich he tasted in South Jersey. Bff had a chicken wrap. Hubby was interested in going back there again. After dinner we went around the lake, took pictures and went home. It was a great dinner experience.;-)

What's For Dinner?

I baked some tilapia fillet for dinner. I simply sprinkled it with some garlic powder, minced onions, salt and pepper, wrapped it in an aluminum foil then baked it for 30 minutes. I also sauteed some broccoli and beans to go with it. I garnished it with red pepper, onions, garlic and a spoon of soy sauce. Hmmm, it smelled really good. It is very healthy too! For sure hubby loved what I made. He is always proud I can cook. ;-)

100% Vegetarian

Kayun's girlfriend Sherry invited us to dinner last Saturday evening with her family. I did not know what the occasion was but my hubby told me that they were vegetarian so I would know what to expect. We visited a new friend before we went to their house which is 30 minutes away. To make the story short we were late but was able to come on time for dinner. Kayun thought we would never show up. We did not know what to bring for them as a gift so hubby brought a red wine but regretfully they don't drink wine too. Sorry for that. I looked over the window and saw there backyard vegetable garden.
We came to a traditional chinese family home who served us a wonderful vegetarian dinner. We were all impressed because we are omnivorous so to say. There was something that looked like chicken as Heaven described it but it was mushroom. We had vegetable lasagna, tofu, cabbages and rice. I thought it as amazing. We had juice.
Sherry's mom was very charming and pleasant to be with. She entertained the kids well. Even if she don't talk in English well but we are able to carry a conversation. Sherry showed us her paintings. We had tea together while the kids played wii and the boys talked had coffee after dinner. I thought the chinese tea taste a little bitter but it was placed in a small cup so it was fine. I asked Sherry's mom why they eat vegetables only and she said it is significant for a long life and a healthy body which I would really agree.
When we went home they told us they look forward to seeing us again. Sherry's mom wanted me to taste her version of vegetarian burger. Ohlala;-)
Thank you so much Kayun, Sherry and family for that wonderful experience. I do wish we can emulate your healthy living and wonderful family.

Dinner at Outback

When I went home after work hubby let me decide where to eat dinner. We went to Genuardi's for groceries since they have good sales this week. We ended up going home at 7pm so going to Bahama Breeze for dinner is not a good option. I kept thinking and thinking where and it came to my mind that Outback Steakhouse would be a good one. The kids were invited to have dinner with Madie so they did not go with us. Surprisingly stepson went dinner with us. We all had the same order the outback specialty of lobster and steak. It was amazingly good. We had some chicken quesadilla as appetizer. Stepson liked eating outback and told us that the next time we go there he will order the bloomin' burger. He also said it was his first time to eat lobster.