Mason Jar Salad

Hi JK friends!

I’ve been making fresh salads in the past and I constantly have the problem of throwing leftover vegetables especially leafy greens. It’s always not good to serve it the next day because it doesn’t retain its freshness even you store it in the fridge. Just imagine the time it took from the farms to the grocery to my kitchen. Good thing I’ve discovered doing Mason Jar Salads.

 Placing the salad in mason jars will keep vegetables fresh and can save you time and money. It is also the best way to store other food items because it is endlessly reusable, easy to clean, and of course, BPA-free. When the lid is airtight, the salad can last even up to four days! There are just some easy guidelines that we need to remember and I would gladly share them with you.

1. In a clean and dry mason jar, place the salad dressing first followed by the heaviest veggies such as carrots, beans, etc.

2. Continue to add the remaining vegetables. The lightest should be on the top. Make sure the lettuce does not touch the dressing so that it will not be mushy.

3. Fill the jar with the salad until top, the less air pocket the better.

4. Close the lid tightly and place in the fridge.

There you have it! You can grab one salad jar anytime, bring it as a packed lunch or a healthy picnic treat.

Happy healthy eating!

Jane

Chocolate-Banana Pudding

Two of my daughter’s Jane’s Kitchen favorites are Brownies and Banana Cake. On the day we made this pudding, we neither had enough ripe bananas for a banana cake nor enough baking chocolate for Brownies. So we decided to make this Chocolate-Banana Pudding. It requires less of both ingredients but will definitely satisfy your cravings for both. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone! One tip, do not over-process the almonds so that there would still be something crunchy to the bite. It adds just the right amount of textural variety while eating the pudding.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed firmly

2 large eggs

3/4  cup all-purpose flour

1/4  cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup evaporated milk

2/3 cup ground almonds

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven at 175 degrees Celsius.

2. In your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

4. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, cocoa and baking powder. Sift this dry ingredient mixture onto the butter mixture, add milk and beat until just combined.

5. Fold in the mashed bananas, chocolate and almonds.

6. Transfer the mixture to a greased baking pan and place it in a water bath. (Fill up the baking tray with hot water.) Cover the top of the baking pan with foil.

7. Baked in the oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pudding comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and let it cool a bit for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Cheers!

Jane

Pininyahang Manok

If you are craving for something savory, creamy and sweet, well this dish might be the one for you. Pineappled Chicken is an easy-to-do and definitely a yummy all-time favorite among Pinoys. You can either use evaporated milk, cooking cream or even coconut milk for the sauce. And add as much chilli as you want for that extra spice. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (chopped into serving parts)

1 can evaporated milk

1 small ginger, sliced

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 can pineapple chunks (reserved the syrup)

Fish sauce to taste

Black pepper to taste

Cooking oil for sautéing

Procedure:

1. In a skillet of hot cooking oil, sauté the ginger, garlic and onions. Add the fish sauce.

2. Add in the chicken and stir fry for about five minutes.

3.  Pour the pineapple syrup and let it simmer for about fifteen minutes or until chicken is tender. Add the pepper.

4. Pour in the evaporated milk and the red bell peppers and bring to a quick boil.

Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy with hot steamed white rice.

Cheers!

Jane

Chicken and Pork Vermicelli

Chicken and Pork Vermicelli is a healthy and hearty dish which is rich in nutrients and history. It originated from China and is adapted to suit the Filipino palate. It is believed to bring long life (noodles are not cut prior to cooking) and is served at birthdays and special occasions. Though not necessarily a believer of that, we love this dish very much.

Ingredients:
1/4 kg sotanghon (glass noodles)
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1/4 kg lean pork, diced
1/4 kg chicken breast, sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
100 g string beans, sliced diagonally
6 pcs shiitake mushroom, sliced
3 cups water
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tbsp soy sauce to taste
spring onions for garnish
fried shallots for garnish
vegetable oil for sautéing

Procedure:
1. In a bowl of hot water, soak the vermicelli for about 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a wok, sauté the onions and garlic in oil. Add the pork and chicken and cook until tender.
3. Add in the vegetables and stir-fry until half-cooked.
4. Pour water and drop in the stock cubes. Let it simmer. Drain the vegetables and meat from the soup mixture and set aside.
5. While the soup is simmering, drain the vermicelli from the water and transfer it onto the simmering mixture. Season with soy sauce.
6. Stir continuously over low heat until the liquid is almost absorbed by the noodles or until cooked. Add half of the drained vegetables and meat and mix well.
7. Serve in a platter, top with the remaining half of the vegetable-meat mix and garnish as desired.

Cheers,
Jane

Banana Rolls

Here's a sweet offering, an all-time favorite Pinoy snack or merienda which can be bought almost anywhere in the Philippines. It is best consumed right after it is fried to enjoy the wrapper's crispiness and while the filling is still warm. It is commonly known as "turon" and sometimes filled with sweetened green or red bean, or a thin slice of fresh jackfruit.

 

 

Ingredients:

Banana (saging na saba) cut into two, lengthwise

Light brown sugar
Spring roll wrappers
Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Roll the sliced bananas in sugar and wrapped the two halves in spring roll wrapper. Do this until you have wrapped all the bananas.
2. Roll the prepared rolls in sugar just before frying.
3. Fry the rolls until golden brown and drain the excess oil.

At this point, the banana rolls can be eaten as it is or can be served with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and topped with almond slices. Serve immediately.

Share the sweetness!
Jane

White Bread

I have always wanted to try baking white bread but only got the chance to try it last night, probably after watching Food Factory the other day. We tested Grandma VanDoren’s White Bread Recipe from www.allrecipes.com. It has hundreds of good reviews so it is worth a try. Very few of the comments suggested using lesser sugar and yeast but I followed the recipe as is.

The wet and dry proportions were just perfect to make a nice dough. The rising times are also faster than what I have on my previous bakes. It is cooked in 35 minutes and the top is still light brown. It also slides smoothly out of the baking pan. The bread was crisp outside but very soft and fluffy inside. The scent of the yeast is “overpowering” for me so I will have to reduce it next time. I only baked one loaf and placed the two other unbaked loaves in the freezer. These need to be thawed at room temperature and let the dough rise before baking in the oven. I also managed to make small Nutella and Peanut Butter Buns and they taste great as well!

Here’s the recipe that I will follow next time.

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water

1/2 cup white sugar

2 packets (11g each) active dry yeast

3 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 cups all-purpose flour

flour for kneading

Procedure:

1. Using your stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast, salt, vegetable oil, white sugar, and 4 cups flour. Mix it well. Set aside until it becomes foamy and doubled its size.

2. Add the remaining 4 cups flour, one cup at a time. Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl turning once. Cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it doubled in size.

3. Punch down the dough and knead it a few times. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal parts depending on the size of your bread pan. Shape it into loaves and place it in the prepared baking pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap until it doubled in size.

4. Butter the top or do an “egg wash” for a crispier or shinier top. It adds flavor too!

5. Bake at 175 degrees C preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Share and Enjoy,

Jane

Carrot Ribbons and Broccoli

The year is young and the time is perfect to start making healthy choices. I believe we must be intentional if we really decide to follow a healthier lifestyle, and it all starts with our grocery list. Because the food we buy are the foods that we will prepare, cook and eat. So, we are trying our best to fill our fridge with fresh fruits and green, leafy vegetables, avoid foods that are sweet, salty and oily, and to cut down on our intake of the Asian favorite, rice.

Today, I will share with you a simple side dish which you can pair with chicken pallard or a grilled fish fillet. Here it goes.

Ingredients:

2 carrots (peeled and sliced)

1 broccoli

1/2 cup green peas

Olive oil for frying

1 tbsp butter (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Slice the carrots using a peeler to create ribbons (as in the photo above). Cut the broccoli into big bite-size pieces.

2. In a skillet, heat the butter until melted and add the olive oil.

3. Sauté all the veggies until almost done. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Happy eating!

Jane