All about cooking: Salsa Verde using convectional oven

One of the advantages of being married to a person with different race and you're a food lover like me, your exposure to new delicacies and sauce. And I am lucky to be one. I'm married to a full blooded Mexican. Aside from their famous frijoles (beans) and tortillas and all their mouthwatering delicacies one will always stand out for me and that's their SALSA (sauce).............

I alone is not into spicy sauce but in Mexico, I think they have a level of how their salsa will taste and I ended loving the mild SALSA VERDE (green sauce) , there's a kick but won't make you cry. And today I will share with you on how I make my own. So prepare your tostada (chips/tortilla chips) and lets enjoy dipping it with our salsa....

Note: Just got the advise of my Suegra (mother-in-law) if you want your salsa to be picoso (spicy), select a jalapeño pepper the one with stripes so the kick will level up but if you want it to be spiciest ( I don't know the right term :-) ) try the habañero pepper.

And let's get started... Total time to prepare this will be 25 to 40 minutes.

Materials you need:

• convectional oven 
• blender or food processor
• chopping board
• knife
• tongs

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of tomatillos (about 10 medium), peeled (some tomatillos is still wrap by its leaves) and rinsed
• 1 to 2 medium jalapeno pepper, stemmed (refer the note above)
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro
• 1 whole lime,squeeze (depends how you like your salsa)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt, to taste
• Optional: If you want your salsa to be creamy you can add 1 to 2 avocados

Instruction:

1. Preheat the broiler with a rack  about 4 inches below the heat source. Place the tomatillos and the stemmed jalapeños on a baking sheet or aluminum foil and broil, until it blackened in spots for about 5 minutes.
2. After 5 minutes remove the tray then carefully flipped the tomatillos and jalapeños with tongs and broil again for 6 to 8 minutes, until the tomatillos are freckled-black and blistered.
3. While waiting for the tomatillos and pepper to be done. In your blender or food processor combine your chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Add 1/4 cup of water and pulse until it liquify.
4. Once the tomatillos and pepper is out of the oven, carefully transferred it with there juices into the food processor or blender. Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunk remain. Season to taste with salt and lime, if desired. If you'd like to make it creamy add the avocado to your salsa when it cool down, then blend it for 1 to 2 minutes.

I used convectional oven cause I find it easier than the usual way that my Suegra was doing. And for storage suggestion it should be keep well refrigerated, covered for at least 1 week. And if you added avocado on it, it will keep well till 3 to 4 days.

Suggestion: With this recipe you can also use red tomato to make a Roasted Tomato Salsa. 

Recipe adapted from +Cookie and Kate...

All about Cooking... Chicken Curry Filipino Style

Hey Readers!!! Hope everything is well at your end...

Today I'll share with you a glimpse of some challenges that I have as a wife. :) And this is COOKING. Way back in the Philippines I'm not fond of cooking at all. If I cook I'll choose the easiest one Frying. hehehe... But being married I think this is a must for you to know how to cook, and thank God for the power of internet. So today I'll share with you my own version of Chicken Curry Filipino Style, mainly I got the idea from +Kawaling Pinoy and I just add a little sprinkle of my own style.

Filipino Chicken Curry can be made two kind the one with curry powder and the one without. Either the two it really taste so good. Partner this with rice.... Ohhhh that will be a sumptuous and colorful meal....

This recipe is good for 2 servings. And it took an hour and half (1 1/2 hours) to prepare and cook this viand.

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 large carrots or 8 baby carrots, peeled and cubes
• 1/4 big white onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 pieces of breast, cut into serving parts
• 1 tbsp  of fish sauce
• 1/2 green bell pepper, slice into strings or cubes
• 3 pieces of mushroom (optional just my husband loves this)
• 1/2 can of lite coconut milk
• 1 cup of water (can be more if you want more soup )
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a pan over medium heat. Heat a portion of the oil, then add potatoes and cook until lightly browned. Then remove it from the pan and drain on paper towels (to absorb the oils). Add the carrots and cook it for 1 or 2 minutes. Then remove from the pan  and let it stand on the paper towels as well.
2. With the remaining oil in the pan, add the chicken and let it simmer, with occasional stirring, for about 7 to 8 minutes or until the chicken changes color. Remove or set aside the chicken. Then add the rest of the oil in the pan and add the onions and garlic and cook until it becomes aromatic. Then add your chicken, your potatoes and your fish sauce and continue to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add your coconut milk and water. Bring to simmer. Then lower heat, cover and continue to cook for about 30 minutes until the chicken are fully cooked and potatoes are fork-tender (you can add more water). Then add your carrots and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add your curry powder and stir. Let it simmer until the sauce thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then add bell pepper and mushroom, cook for about a minute before you serve it. Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!!!!

If you ever tried to cook this and have some tips for me just leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you

kisses.... Emmelyn

How To Add Social Media Icon To Your Blogger Account

Hi to all my Readers!!! Hope your doing pretty well..

Today  I'll share with you my experience as a newbie blogger. Designing a blog templates is easy cause the blogger website are so helpful to give all the choices already BUT the tricky part is for you to incorporate your social media pages to your blog to gain more followers and subscriber, Right? Anyway, I spent like almost whole day just to search for a great video tutorial to help me put my icons on my blog (not so easy huh..) 

So yesterday I finally find the most helpful video of all in youtube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb94xCaWsnk, thanks to Ms. Karen Creftor. I just follow what she said on that video: 

Step 1: a. I access my blog go to layout, then on the right-side bar 1, I click the add a gadget.

  b. After that I click the add a gadget then it will open a new window of all the gadget you'd like to add, you have a choices to do the basic (where blogger made it convenient to all of us), then more gadget from third party and you can also add your own. So we will go to basic then choose the HTML/Javascript, then add it to your layout. Then it will open again another window to configure it. In the title just leave it blank, then in the content this is the code that you will follow, just copy/paste it for how many social media site  you want to incorporate in your blog, for me I want 5 so I paste this codes 5 times

<a href="LINK">

<img src="IMG LOCATION LINK" />

</a>

Step 2: a. At this point you need all the URLS from all your social media sites. And paste it at the first link of the code.

ex: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmelyn27">

<img src="IMG LOCATION LINK" />

</a>

just continue pasting it on how many social media you want.

Step 3: This is the difficult part cause this pertains to the image design you want, and I can only give you some of the icon I saw in pinterest that works. This is the blog website of the one I use http://www.hopefulhoney.com/2013/04/free-pink-social-media-icons.html, and I also read that she can also make an icon on her etsy account, so on this blog she has 12 free different icon you just click the social media you like then copy the URLS and paste it on the second quotation mark in the code, and same thing you will do on the other sites

ex: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmelyn27">

<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY6WzPgCyTRL9_PKnTwl5Ov9R11xcJRoT1LAMwHJoMO_XR0IFnvreCb16-NhYKwv8yuE0zhXQUwwwz2rFP2-9cNFQdV0nrx4KKwA_qP7FTu1X02uqOP3yCRnSPq_FhVpYVAhwpu_kF_0/s1600/Facebook+Social+Media+Icons.png" />

</a>

Step 4: After your done editing the code, just click save, then you can preview it or save arrangement to your blog and you can view your blog.

So that's it, I hope this blog will be helpful for a newbie blogger like me. Hit subscribe if you like. Leave a comment for any suggestion that you want me to blog next time.

Special thanks to Ms Karen Creftor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb94xCaWsnk and Ms. Olivia Kent http://www.hopefulhoney.com/2013/04/free-pink-social-media-icons.html. And most especially to all my readers......Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time guys.. Have a good day.. And remember Smile....