What's for Breakfast?

"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness

than the discovery of a new star."

--Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, THE PHYSIOLOGY OF TASTE

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's the one meal you shouldn't miss as it gives you the energy to get you thru. So if it's the most important meal of the day - even more significant than lunch or dinner - then it must be the best meal you should prepare and eat every single day, right? But making breakfast can be a challenge. It can't be too cumbersome to prepare as most of us simply want to get it over and done with so we can be out of the house ASAP. At the same time, it has to have all the nutrients to keep you up and about the whole day. It's also a bit tough to whip up a delicious meal while still only half-awake.

Hence, for a lot of us, quick and easy breakfasts have become a daily ritual - milk and cereals and instant oatmeal. But no man can live on cereals and oatmeal alone. Even the surefire crowd-pleaser, the no-fail peanut butter and jelly sandwich, can become boring at a certain point.

Making breakfast has therefore, become a chore none of us want to get involved in, except maybe for doting mothers and desperate housewives. But making breakfast - a tasty, hearty meal to kick off your day with - can be a joy. A really good one will set your day right, as if on a day that you're able to sit down leisurely and enjoy a delightful cup of coffee, some sweet and flavorful pancakes with a juicy bit of ham or bacon or some perfectly-cooked eggs, nothing on that day can or will go wrong.

So what's for breakfast? A thousand and one possibilities. Here's one that I picked up a couple of months ago that makes for a healthy and really tasty morning treat: SPANISH-STYLE BANGUS IN PANDESAL with TOMATOES, HERBS & QUESONG PUTI.

Bangus or milkfish in cans or bottles can be a quick way to put together a gourmet snack. Get one ripe tomato and chop it up along with some quesong puti and some black pitted olives. Mix everything with some minced garlic and chopped basil. Add a little Italian seasoning and salt. Finally, pour some extra virgin olive oil and let the mixture rest for a bit so the flavors come together.

Meanwhile, mash some slices of bangus and set about a couple of spoonfuls on one side of a pandesal or any flat bread you have on hand. Then set some of the tomatoes, herbs, olive oil and garlic mixture on the other side of the pandesal. Toast the pandesal in your oven toaster for 2 minutes. With each bite, you get a burst of flavors that will send you off into heaven and keep you afloat throughout the day.

Anybody CAN Cook

"We may live without poetry, music and art:
We may live without conscience, and live without heart:

We may live without friends: we may live without books:

But civilized man cannot live without cooks."
--Owen Meredith, LUCILE

Last year, there's been a lot, if not too much, attention given to cooking and the whole showbusiness of it. Ever-perky Rachael Ray elbowed out the matronly Martha Stewart, sensual Giada, and goddess Nigella for the attention of TV viewers. Emeril, Mario, Wolfgang, and the rest of the gang had a fair share of following despite competition from gruffy-handsome grillman Bobby Flay, boy wonder(ful) Jamie Oliver and dashing Rocco. And what else is there to say about Hell Kitchen's devilishly yummy Gordon Ramsay, a 6'2" former soccer player who threw in his jersey in favor of kitchen whites?

On the local TV scene, there's Tristan whose name now graces stainless cookware and Rob Pengson who looks good enough to eat alongside the likes of old-timers Heny Sison and Reggie Aspiras. With everyone trying to be a cook these days, you would think that there's a glut of chefs everywhere. Maybe there is, but are they all good?

But as in the animated Disney/Pixar hit, "Ratatouille," legendary French culinary hero Auguste Gusteau (a character inspired perhaps by Auguste Escoffier himself?) says with conviction that "Anybody can cook." If you take me as an example, yes, Gusteau is correct. I can whip up a dish easily these days and with daily practice at home, I've gotten a little better. And anyone who cares to give pleasure through food should give cooking a try -- at least once in their lifetime.

Here's an easy-to-do one-dish meal that "anybody CAN cook" without breaking a sweat: ARROZ CON POLLO or Chicken with Rice. A take-off from Spanish paellas, it's easier to put together and makes for a complete meal.

Cut up some chicken breasts fillets (around 4 breast slices) into bite-size pieces. Mix together 1 tbsp of melted margarine, 1 tbsp of salt, a dash of Spanish paprika and some pepper. Brush this on the cubed chicken breasts. Put in a greased oven-proof casserole dish and bake for 15 mins (175C).


Meanwhile, take a cup of rice, wash and let the grains soak for a while. Better to use the long-grain variety. Mince some onions (1 medium sized one) and chop 2 tbsp of green or red bell pepper and 2 whole red tomatoes. You would also need 2 cups of chicken stock, a dash of ground turmeric (instead of pricey saffron threads) and some frozen green peas (1/2 cup) later.

Once you have everything ready, in a large, non-stick skillet, saute the onions and peppers in some olive oil till soft. Then put the soaked rice. Saute until fully-coated with the oil and until the grains are slightly brown, about 4 mins. Then pour in the chicken broth, throw in the tomatoes and turmeric, for flavor. Cover entirely with a lid or aluminum foil and let the grains cook in the broth, for about 20-25 mins. Season with salt and pepper.




Once that's done and the rice is cooked al dente, put in the baked chicken and garnish with the peas. Let that cook for 10 more mins. and then your one-dish meal is done! Serve hot, serves 4-6 persons.

A Toast to Good Health

"Life is not merely being alive, but being well." -- Martial, Epigrams

Since my husband has only one good kidney left and has been keeping a low-salt, low-fat, no-red meat diet for the past six months, my cooking skills have recently been honed on doing a thousand and one variations of doing fish fillets.

It's a good thing, too, that cream dory fillets are now available in the groceries (check out SM Hypermart, Makro and Cold Storage counters). Cream dory fillets are versatile, soft yet not do not crumble easily when grilled or pan-fried and they are very easy to cook. You also only need a few minutes to get them ready. Knife skills don't count much when slicing the fish into the portion sizes you need.

To start the year right and healthy, it was Herb-crusted Cream Dory Fillets for us along with some hearty corn soup. I got an easy recipe for the fillets with simple ingredients that you just throw into a blender: a bunch of sliced green onions, juice from 1 lemon, mashed garlic clove, sliced red chili (1 will do so it doesn't turn out too hot), 1/2 tsp of dried thyme, some dried tarragon and chopped parsley and a dash of salt (it's low-salt, remember). Blend the herbs really well until you get a smooth mixture.

As for the fish, slice and season with salt, pepper and dredge in some flour. Dip or roll in the herb mixture and then back into some flour so that the herbs will stick onto the fish. Pan-grill on a skillet for 3 minutes on each side. And voila, your herb-crusted fish is ready to serve!

For last night, instead of green onions, I had to use onion leeks which worked just as well. Just make sure to slice the leeks in the middle and wash them very well under cold water to get the dirt out because leeks can have nasty germs inside which can't be seen. I couldv'e also used more of the herb mixture so it's slathered on the fish and not too spread out like how it turned out last night but it's still flavorful and yep, healthy!

Mise-en-place

"As I ate the oysters, with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans." -- from Hemingway's A Moveable Feast

It's Day 2 of 2008. It's been a slow day since I'm confined to the house while waiting for some work to be finished on our spanking new kitchen. To while away the hours, I've decided to start the year by creating yet another blog.

This time around, it's all about the four-letter "F" word no person can resist -- FOOD.

I've made it a point to cook even just a simple dish last year when I first began my journey into our kitchen, hence the blog address, 'anomeletaday.' With as much determination as I can muster, I will try to blog (and brag) about my kitchen adventures and the dishes I'm able to do, successfully or otherwise, everyday.

Food has been a new discovery for me - the craft of trying out a new dish and the joy of being able to make something for my family and friends to enjoy. It's wonderful to know I can do something with my hands other than to write and speedtype which I've been doing for the most recent half of my life. Cooking is totally left field for me and I know am not a natural born cook. But lording over my own kitchen, armed with a wooden spoon, a pan and a knife, it feels good to get burned or cut myself, have my own little adventure and have something to show for it -- and share -- at the end of the day.

Anyway, they say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So let's see if I can live up to my promise to create 'anomeletaday' and share it with everyone who cares as much about food. Here's wishing everyone a generous second helping of life's sweetest treats...