Pat-A-Cake, Pat-A-Curry-Fishcake

Mother was quite into food experimentation back in the day. A dish that she picked up from a friend was curried potato cakes. Spicy, savory fried cakes that were great as snacks or as a side dish.

Remembering flavors from that point in time here' s a seafood variation of that vegetarian dish.

Ingredients: (good for 6 healthy eaters)

• 500 grams fish fillet (skinless)
• 1 cube S&B Golden Curry (#5 heat)
• 1 egg
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• cornstarch for dusting
• oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Put the first 5 ingredients in a food processor and pulse it til everything is well blended. Don't puree.
2. Transfer to a bowl and season to taste.
3. Dust your hands with a little cornstarch, while you heat oil in a frying pan.
4. Form a patty from 2 tbsp of the mix and transfer palm to palm to form a patty.
5. Fry over medium fire til golden brown.

This goes well with Sriracha Sauce or some guacamole and salsa (see recipe here) on the side.

**Guacamole Recipe:

1. Half, core and remove skin of one ripe avocado.
2. Mash with a fork and spoon in about 3 tbsp of our homemade salsa.
3. Season with salt to taste and enjoy!

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The PAELLAphile

Nothing more speaks to me of a family meal than the sea food paella. This traditional Spanish cuisine of rice, saffron, seafood and chicken has been officially classified as good eats in our home.

This is a recipe I got from my father (who makes the best sea food paella ever, as opposed to my mother, who makes the best arroz valenciana, a chicken paella of sorts). Hope you enjoy it as much as we do:

Ingredients:
This recipe can feed around 8-10 people, so just tweak it to suit your numbers Ü

• 1 kg mussels, sauteed in a tsp of garlic and onions slices, then boiled. Set aside 1 cup of broth. I prefer to keep some in a shell for presentation purposes, but I do take out most of the mussels from it's shell after cooking. You could also substitute these with clams. 
• 1/2 kg crabs, boil whole with next ingredient
• 1/2 kg prawns (shrimps medium-to large are fine too)
• 1/c squid rings (boiled til tender)
• 400 grams chicken, breasts (set aside raw) and soup parts (boil and set aside 2 cups broth)
• 2 pcs chorizo de bilbao, sliced
• 200 gms bacon or ham, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil, preferably extra virgin
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 c tomato sauce
• 2 c rice, washed 
• 3 c broth (from the ones saved above)
• 2 pcs bell pepper, one red, one green, cut into strips
• 1 egg, hard boiled for garnish
• lemon or lime slices
• salt
• 2 tsp saffron (this tends to be optional for us as the sea food's flavors are often more than enough)
• 1/2 c peas (which I don't put as no one really likes these except for me)

Procedure:

Before anything else, make sure you have a heavy pan to cook this with. If you don't have a heavy cast iron pan (or a paellarahan), the next best thing is trying to cook this in a pressure cooker's bottom half or something equally thick.

Most of the prep work has been indicated above. That' basically most of the work for this dish. Putting it all together doesn't take that much time.

• Start off by frying the chicken breasts, chorizo and bacon or ham (or both!) in the olive oil. 
• Push to one side and saute the garlic and onions together with the tomato sauce.
• Add broth and rice and mix everything else in the pan together
• Season with salt and cover to cook rice. **note: not all rice is created equal. some may require more water or less water. I'd put 2 1/2 c broth first, then add as I cook the rice to make sure the texture isn't too hard or too mushy. Cook til all the broth is absorbed.
• During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the mussels and squid. Then top it with the crab and shrimps. I would cut up some of the crab in half and some of the shrimp to mix in with the rice and leave some for garnish.
• Stir in the saffron, if any, at this point as well as the bell peppers. Save some bell  pepper for garnish too.
• When all done, garnish with egg and lemon slices as well (see pic above).
• The main thing you have to watch for in paella making is ensuring that none of the seafood is overcooked and that the rice is cooked to the right consistency.

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

Show Me The Salsa!!!

great ketchup substitute!

Easy to make, goes well with almost anything, healthy and fat-free are some of the many attributes of salsa. I usually keep a jar of our homemade salsa on hand as it also keeps well in the fridge and actually improves over time. Of course, we consume about a jar a month, so I haven't really tested if it can keep beyond that.

As there are MANY variations of one of the word's favorite condiment (next to ketchup) I'd like to share with you our quick and easy version.

the recipe below is for about 800 grams of salsa
(about 28 ounces)

For this salsa, you will need (if you have a food processor, or a chopper, chop everything up together after the prep work):

Ingredients:

• 2 c tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 c white onions, chopped
• 1c pickled jalapenos, cored, seeded and chopped
• 3 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 c tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp hot sauce (adjust heat to your own liking)
• salt to taste

**optional: 2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro. I love this but Phil isn't a fan Ü

prep work before I chop em all up

we're partial to jalapenos but you can add almost any kind of
 pepper (capsicum) for heat. I also add some of the jalapeno's
 pickling solution  (about 2 tbsp) to preserve the salsa

After chopping everything up, put everything in a bowl, mix in the tomato sauce and hot sauce and season with salt. Give it all a stir and ole! We have salsa Ü

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The Cunning Crabcake

I have always been in love and ironically allergic to this flavorful crustacean. This is probably the reason why I savor crab dishes on those rare occasions that we have it at home.

For this week's post, I've decided to feature the easy to make, no fuss to eat; crab cake.

Ingredients:
200 grams peeled shrimps (or a cup of deboned, skinless chicken breast)
250 grams crab meat, flaked ( I prefer the ones found in the frozen section as the canned ones tend to be a tad salty)
1/4 c carrots, finely chopped
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic, macerated and finely minced
1 tbsp celery powder (or fresh)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
1 c Japanese breadcrumbs
cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Throw the first ten ingredients in a food processor until well blended but NOT pureed as the hard ingredients have been pre-chopped already.
2. Take mixture out of food processor and heat up your oil (preferably not deep fry levels, like enough to cook an egg).
3. Form mixture into patties by getting 2 tbsp of the mix, form into balls and transfer between hands til it resembles a patty. 
4. It will be sticky so the transfer from palm to palm works the mix, allowing it to form better. When you get the desired form, dredge in bread crumbs.
5. Fry til golden brown, flipping to ensure both sides are cooked evenly.

Works great with salsa or a little Japanese mayo!! (salsa recipe here)

Quick, flavorful and somewhat light despite the breading and the oil. I loooove this dish!

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The Case Of The Cannelloni

Pasta has always been comfort food in our house, especially spaghetti. As much as my boys love plates of this, it can get a bit tiring. That's when finding something familiar yet quite different comes in...Cannelloni

Cannelloni are tube like pasta that are often stuffed with meat, veggies, cheese and whatever it is you would like to fill it with. This time around, I filled ours with chicken, ham and chicken liver.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Cannelloni (if you prefer to make your own, I'll include the recipe for fresh pasta below.

PASTA Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 All purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp salt

WHITE SAUCE Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c flour
• 2 c evaporated milk
• 2 c water
• salt and pepper to taste

TOMATO SAUCE Ingredients:

• 2 c tomato sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 c broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 c butter or margarine

FILLING Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter or margarine  and 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 250 grams chicken liver
• 1 1/2 c cooked chicken, ground
• 1/2 c cooked ham, ground
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs

TOPPING:

• 100 grams Mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

1. Cook pasta (if making fresh). If using the dry cannelloni, you can stuff it directly without having to pre cook it.
2. To make fresh pasta: combine flour and salt. Add eggs then knead into a smooth dough.
3. Roll out dough thinly. Cut into 4x4 squares after.
4. Drop squares one at a time into salted boiling water and cook for about a minute.
5. Immerse into ice cold water soon after and dry with a towel or cheesecloth. Set aside.
6. To make tomato sauce: melt butter or margarine in saucepan. Stir in tomato sauce, garlic and broth. Season.
7. Cook till it simmers. Set aside to cool.
8. Prepare filling by sauteing the garlic, onions and liver in butter and olive oil. Season.
9. When done, puree the livers in a food processor to make a smooth liver paste. Mix in the chicken and ham, followed by the eggs.
10. Fill the dried cannelloni with the mixture, and arrange filled pasta in an oven proof dish.
11. For the fresh pasta, put a tbsp of mixture on each square and roll to form a cannelloni, arranging it side by side in a shallow oven proof dish.
12. To make the white sauce: melt butter over low fire. Blend in flour (a wire whisk would be handy).
13. Pour in milk and water, stirring to ensure no lumps are left. Season and cook till bubbly. Set aside to cool.
14. To assemble: pour tomato and white sauce over filled pasta alternately. You could also layer the You could opt to make only one kind of sauce, but both is much more delicious.
15. Sprinkle with grated cheese or arrange mozzarella slices on top.
16. Broil til cheese melts and/or browns to your liking Ü

**Quick tip: grating/chopping any form of vegetable (as long as it's about 1/4 c total) and added to the filling is a great way to "hide" veggies from those who aren't fans. I chop a little spinach and finely ground carrots for an extra dose of iron and vitamin a, without affecting the taste

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!