Finally! After a few months of just thinking about it, I have baked another lemon pound cake – successfully! Haha. And I added some poppy seeds, too. So I am calling this recipe a Popping Lemon Poundcake. It doesn’t matter what it means in context; I find it catchy 😛
This is inspired by the Lemon Poppyseed Poundcake from my favorite site by Ella at the Home Cooking Adventure. You can find the recipe here. I love going to her page because she made it so easy, plus the videos had good music in them. It sets me in the mood of creating something on my own.
I’m currently enjoying my monthly mental break, the time where I spent the day doing nothing and absolutely everything that I can think of, except work. It has been five months since I decided to start doing it. I have lots of vacation leaves that were not used since I did not have the chance to go home and visit my family during this pandemic period. And since I work-from-home full time, I need this kind of break to enjoy myself in different kinds of self-care. That also includes limiting myself from going online. Usually, I am found curled up in my sofa reading a book or coloring or sketching, or in the kitchen trying out a new recipe, or walking outside. It’s therapeutic.
Ever since I moved out of the Philippines and started living abroad, I had difficulties getting the exact ingredients for the Filipino dishes that I want to cook every time I feel homesick. The taste is different when I don’t use Reno liver spread for my calderata. The adobo will taste different, as well, if it’s not the local brands for the soy sauce and vinegar.
And when it comes to the sinigang, it is different when it’s not kangkong or water spinach.
Sinigang is a soup characterized by its sour taste due to the tamarind mixed into it, or any other sour fruits (such as kamias, guava, unripe mango, etc.) or leaves as a souring agent. When I was in Thailand, they asked me to describe it, and I cannot think of any other easy way but say that it’s similar to tom yum, but without the red-chili spiciness or coconut milk in it.
Sinigang is typically cooked with pork. But the variety is endless, as there’s an option to use seafood like fish or shrimp or chicken, as well.
And since I’m away from home, I just used the sinigang powder mix I can buy in the Asian stores. Sometimes, there’s kangkong in the fridge, but it’s too expensive. My friend suggested using spinach instead, since it’s the one she uses anyway, and it’s cheaper.
Hmmm! Sarap!
This turned out so good. I bought the fish from the Pinoy store, where a pack of 8 cut pieces is priced at 4.99Eur. I only used 4 of them for this recipe, and I enjoyed it because the fish is fatty, and it adds flavor to the dish. The long Japanese eggplant is bought at the Indian store. I am fortunate to have a variety of stores in this part of France! 🙂 I only miss this recipe using long chili, which adds flavor, spice, and more aroma to this dish.
Ingredients: 1 pc eggplant (any will do), cut into medium-sized pieces 1 kl spinach 2 medium-sized tomatoes, cut into quarters 1/2 kl long beans, cut into medium sizes 1 pc white radish, sliced 1 white onion, sliced 4 pcs fish, sliced in a serving portion (or pork or shrimp, amount is whatever you desired) 1 pack sinigang mix pinch of salt 3-5 pcs long chili (if available)
Boil 5 cups of water in a pot. When it starts to simmer, add in the pork if you are using pork. Cook it first until it becomes so tender.
Once cooked and tender, add the onion, tomatoes and radish.If using fish as the meat, when the water starts to boil, add the fish along with the onion, tomatoes and radish.
Put the sinigang mix, too. Stir gently to mix it in the soup.
If you have long chili, add it in the pot after 5 minutes since you put the sinigang mix.
Once the radish is cooked, put the long beans, and cook for about 10 minutes.
Put in the spinach (or kangkong, if you have). This is the last and the easiest to cook, so turn off the heat. Season with salt or a teaspoon of fish sauce, and mix it gently. Cover the pot. The heat will help to cook it.
After a few minutes, this is now ready to serve!
I usually don’t put salt or fish sauce; I tend to forget about it. I love my sinigang sour, and it works for me most of the time. I leave it to you if you want to season it with salt or fish sauce to add a bit of salty flavor. How about you? Do you have a different way of cooking sinigang? Let me know, and maybe I can try that one, too! 🙂
I need to finish some presentation slides for this week’s session that I will be conducting in the office. But right now, all I want is to just lie down and relax. Today started with the sun greeting everyone with a smile, but after lunch, it started to get gloomy. I went to the local market this morning to buy some new flowers for my apartment, a small bottle of essential oil for my diffuser, some fruits and vegetables for this week, and cinnamon rolls in the bakery. Yummmmmm!
Alexia Mendoza instantly knew Richard was within the area. For some reason, her senses would go overdrive, aware of his presence. She didn’t know why. The first time she learned about Lucas Reyes’ nephew, she took all the information she could get about the drug lord’s most trusted relative. She had to cover all bases to know how she would act in front of Lucas’s favorite nephew. If he were smart, she would know when to be careful not to blow her cover.
Wandering Pinay 