Tocino

Tonight I had homemade Tocino for dinner at a friend's house. That was really good! So different than the tocino for sale at a Filipino store. It was really moist, tender and just the right taste. Sweet and Salty. My friend can really cook. Everytime she cooks, it's always very good. Hmmm, I wonder when I will be able to cook like her. I know I don't have time but maybe in the future I can afford to stop working and just concentrate on house skills. lol! Well, for those who aren't familiar with it, click the below link and you will see a picture of peppered tocino from wbelmonte. Very interesting... I haven't tried that.

Peppered Tocino

Great American Seafood Cook off

This is one of my favorite simple crab recipes. My Mom used to cook it for me when I was young. Whenever we go to the market, I would always ask her for crabs and she would oblige. It wasn't only I who requested but my 5 other siblings. hehehe...Anyway, she can cook it in different ways but this recipe stands out.

Crabs in Coconut Milk

5 small or 2 large crabs
cloves garlic
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small can or 2/3 cup of coconut milk
1 hot chili pepper
salt and pepper to taste

To cook it, steam the crabs first. Set it aside. When cooled, remove the shells and cut them in half. In a skillet or pan, saute garlic and ginger in oil over medium heat until light brown. Add the coconut milk, hot chilli pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Let it boil then add crab pieces and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

The only thing that I would like to change in this recipe is for the addition of onions. I would love to have onions in this recipe to make it better. Anyway, I know that this is such a simple recipe but who knows what other people have done to this to make it the best there is. I'm excited to see the Fifth Annual Great American Seafood Cook off to be held at New Orleans in Aug. 2-3. Chefs from different states all over the US will fight for the title of Kind of American Seafood. Good luck to them all! Here in America, seafood is very abundant and also managed in a sustainable manner. I am impressed on how the government implement marine system to trully protect the marine resources of this country. You can really be assured that whatever seafood you are eating are safe and of good quality.

I am so craving for....

Ice Cream! Last night, I bought Eskimo bars although I already have a tub of Walgreens' Premium Rocky Road Ice cream in the fridge. Probably this is brought about by the hot weather outside although we often have showers in the late afternoons. This one has a similarity with the Selecta premium ice bar back home. Are they still sold in the market today? Or maybe this Nestle product is already available in the Philippine market? I love it! One bar is enough to satisfy my craving tonight. Next time, I might try the cone variety. I still have four bars left so maybe I'll buy this weekend. Don't ask me about the calories. I don't mind about it right now. lol! So good!

Chocolate Bath?

Gosh, I was craving for chocolate this morning and thought of searching the net to see what the best chocolate might be and hoping to carve out my craving by just looking at them on the net. The first one to show on the search results is Godiva. I clicked into their site and wow! So many mouth watering, deliciously looking and oh so tempting pictures of all the chocolates they're selling. I almost ordered but stopped myself and got out of their site. I then clicked on one of the picture results and found this out! Chocolate bath??? What a luxury! I didn't know that aside from a milk bath, a chocolate bath is also available. I only need one to two pieces of chocolate not a bath. Very interesting!

Seven Bridges

The ladies planned a dinner again. This time it's Seven Bridges at Southside. There were 10 of us ladies and 1 child of a co-worker. After work, I headed down there. Three of my friends were already there waiting for the rest to arrive. I ordered the Hawaiian Chicken and I wasn't disappointed. It was very good! The service was good, too. The place is very cozy and inviting. Their menu offers fresh seafood, steaks and pastas, salads, sandwiches and pizzas. With the company of friends and a nice restaurant, dinner was great!

Jax - Taste of Manila

I already blogged about this before in Friendster but since we went there today, I kind of reminded of writing about it again. They don't have their own website yet so at least I can spread the word about this recently opened Filipino restaurant. I have already dined there so many times since I learned about the place and I can say that the place might need a little bit of improvement but definitely they have me as one of their satisfied customers. If you live here in Jax and want to try Filipino dishes, check the place out. wink*

The Taste of Manila
Jacksonville's finest Filipino-American Dine-In Restaurant

3210 St. John's Bluff Road,
Jacksonville, Florida 32246
904.996.8862
Fax: 904.996.807

Serves:
Breakfast (8:00am - 10:30 am)
Lunch & Dinner
Open Daily (8:00am - 8:00pm)

Click here to map...