The Kitchen Newbie lives!

It has been four years since I first created this blog.

Since then, I hadn't been cooking religiously. Truth be told, life got in the way. It was easier to subscribe to a meal plan than experiment in the kitchen.

Until last year, M was diagnosed with a health condition that forced me to cook meals every. single. day.

So it's been more than a year since I got busy in the kitchen on a regular basis. I had been updating my progress as a #KitchenNewbie on my Instagram account, simply because it was an easy platform to access and update.

But perhaps there's some merit to resurrecting this blog by backtracking the recipes I've learned and the lessons I've picked up along the way.

So let's see if yet another attempt at blogging will stick this time. *fingers crossed*

Day 6: Tuna Spring Rolls... na hindi lumpia

M and I both have work tomorrow, and the best way to make sure that we have baon is to cook the night before. Last week was a toxic week, so the Tuna Theme continues until, well, I run out of tuna!

On the agenda was this recipe:

As I set out to prepare my ingredients, I noticed that the red bell peppers weren't looking too great. So I decided to call my mom for a quick consultation. Upon learning that I intended to fry the lumpia tonight, then we would just microwave it at work, she exclaimed with dismay, "Naku, lalambot 'yan! Huwag mo na lang i-lumpia!" After all, to turn it into lumpia, I would have to cool the tuna mixture first before putting it in the lumpia wrapper, roll each piece individually, then deep fry it. Seeing as it was already 10PM, I decided to take her suggestion.

So I followed the recipe up until the part where it required me to actually roll the lumpia. Here's everything I needed:

Already, I made my first booboo: burnt onions. I hereby blame the tuna that needed to be drained, and my lack of multitasking skills.

The recipe said to wait until they were translucent, so I'm pretty sure that them turning brown meant I had burnt them. I guess the pan was also too hot when I put them in? They are looking very sorry with the garlic.

Then I added the bell peppers and the carrots. The recipe said to cook them until they were soft, but I have no idea how to tell if they were soft enough. I tried spearing a piece of carrot to bite into it, and I guessed that as long as it didn't taste raw, it should be fine. Besides, the recipe also said around 1-2 minutes.

And so I added the tuna and the raisins, and proceeded to mix them well. In hindsight, I should've probably used a bigger pan since my mixing skills aren't great, but thankfully nothing spilled out of the pan.

The last step was to season the mixture with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. But when I added the soy sauce, it already seemed salty enough, so I no longer added salt and pepper. I suppose that's my saving grace: a good palate (if I may say so myself).

And so the Tuna Spring Rolls turned into an Arroz Cubana-like dish made of tuna instead of meat, topped over white rice. When I was done cooking, M came out of the room to say it smelled good, so I guess we'll see tomorrow if it tastes just as good as it smelled!

Good night!

Day 5: Tuna Fried Rice, leveled up!

One day back at home, my mom went on a cleaning spree and decided to dispose of old magazines. It was one of those rare days that I had free time on my hands, so armed with unused clear books, I checked the old issues of YUMMY Magazine and took the recipes I felt I would be able to *attempt* to make on my own.

Over the weekend, I finally resolved to start using the clear book of recipes. To be smart with grocery shopping, I decided to focus on one key ingredient per week. This week, it's all about TUNA (my fave!). So I chose my recipes, listed down the ingredients, and grocery-shopped with a clear idea of what I wanted to make, but not really knowing when I would get around to doing it.

And then today, I was all set to just add a can of tuna to leftover rice when ding ding ding!!! Might as well try THIS recipe I'm fully prepared for:

All I needed were the following ingredients:

To make sure that I could easily glance at the recipe without taking up any counter space, I decided to test this Pinterest hack. It really does make life easier (even if it doesn't look very glamorous, haha!):

Then I set out to follow the instructions:

Sauteed the garlic first, then the whole can of tuna. Added the rice, then mixed it all together. After mixing it, I added the whole can of corn, the sliced onions, and the beaten eggs. I skipped adding bagoong because I'm not really a fan. I figured since the recipe said "flavor with anchovy sauce to taste" that meant it was optional?

I kinda panicked a little after I mixed everything because I dumped the whole can of corn into the pan --corn juice (water? broth?) and all-- so it looked like it was getting watery. These recipes really need to spell it out, if you need to drain stuff first before adding them into the pan! So I decided to just put the pan on high heat (in my head I was thinking, maybe the corn juice/water/broth thingy would evaporate...?) and mix mix mix everything. Plus, the egg was raw, and I was getting praning that it wasn't cooking, so I figured the high heat would cook it even if I couldn't really see it.

The consistency eventually improved, so WHEW!!!

I could hear the husband waking up, getting ready for work, so I decided to put some in his tupperware already. Even filling up the tupperware, there was still enough left over for breakfast (one cup of rice for each of us):

The verdict: Too much corn and not enough tuna. The recipe didn't really specify sizes in grams and just said "one can", so I picked up the available sizes I saw. Today I learned that when the recipe just provides number of cans as the measurement, I should try to imagine the ratios even at the grocery. I could have added one more can of tuna or used just half the can of corn. So this is why they say you shouldn't trust the recipe blindly. Next time I make this recipe again, I know what adjustments to make!

Good way to start the week!

Day 4: Using a little math for French Toast

Yes, it is only Day 4 on my blog. Because truthfully, the holidays were so hectic that I didn't have the time to really cook. I was operating on survival mode, mostly-- opening a can of corned beef and mixing it with rice is hardly cooking.

So I decided to start the new year right by making something new for breakfast. Before we left for our out-of-town holiday, I knew we still had bread in our fridge. Upon checking my archive of YUMMY Magazine's old issues (useful articles have been compiled into a clear book for easy reference), it said that bread kept in the fridge can last up to two weeks after its expiry date. Since the expiry was December 28, I figured it was still safe to use to finally try to make one of my favorites in hotel breakfast buffets: French Toast!

I searched for an easy recipe --meaning, not too many ingredients and something simple enough that I can make it whenever I'm craving for it-- and stumbled upon this article on WikiHow. It even gives you two options on how to make French Toast: using your stovetop and using the microwave!

I liked this particular article because unlike others that would have a set list of ingredients that are specific to a serving size then force me to do mental math myself (how do you turn "Serves 4" into "Serves 1"?!), this one gave me ratios instead (here comes the math part!): 1 egg for every two pieces of bread; 2 tablespoons of milk for every egg. And so I wrote on my whiteboard, "2 tbsp milk : 1 egg : 2 bread". My Math teachers would be so proud (haha!).

At first I set out to make two pieces only, hence my single egg:

Then I thought, what the heck, let's live dangerously and make four slices! *Nom nom nom*

I took out my pan and coated it with olive oil, then I set out to mix two eggs, four tablespoons of milk, and some cinnamon in a bowl (went with my gut on how much cinnamon to put, since the article said "to taste"):

A tip from the article said that it's best to use hard breads so that it doesn't turn soggy when you dip it in the mixture. If you're using plain sandwich bread, you can toast it a bit first before coating:

Then came the fun part: dunking it in the mixture!

The article says to toast it for 45 seconds per side, but I like mine really toasted. I burned one as a result, but that's okay. You're not a real chef until you've burned something (haha!).

And voila! French toast for breakfast!

Now that I've devoured my creation, I learned a few things:

- The burnt one actually tasted the best because of the crunch. The pale ones were still a little soggy and eggy. Next time I should probably really toast them in the pan for more than a minute, or take the article's advice and add some sugar on top for a caramelized texture (naks!). Oh, and it needed more cinnamon too!

- I should use a bigger pan so I can cook two slices at a time. By the time I finished cooking the last slice, the first few were already cold and not as yummy. Cooking two slices in one pan means that when I'm not being matakaw and two slices is enough, I can enjoy both immediately!

- I should cook something else to go with it, like hotdogs or something. But I was hungry already, so that's for next time!

Happy New Year!

Day 3: Pasta and the Importance of Optimization

Coming from my last Pasta adventure, I decided to try again and make some tweaks while making Penne in Tuna Pesto. Of course, with these tweaks, I learned new things that could help me improve.

Boil the water before putting in the pasta.
The first time I cooked pasta in the rice cooker, I had put the pasta in with the cold water and waited for it to cook. This time, I tried to use the rice cooker to boil water. It turned out to be very tricky because unlike boiling water in a pot where you get the really big bubbles rising to the top, the rice cooker only had tiny bubbles despite being plugged in for a while. It was only when I started seeing the water swirling quickly to the top (but still no big bubbles) that I decided to put the pasta in. Once I did that, those big bubbles showed up. I suppose this means that the rice cooker can somehow detect that it's not really cooking anything yet. Sorcery, I tell you.

Time the cooking.
My mom advised me to cook the pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, so I decided to put on my timer. At 8 minutes, the pasta was still a bit tough, so I kept adding 2 more minutes until I stopped cooking at 12 minutes.

Since the timer was on, I had more peace of mind that I could do something else. I opened the can of tuna and combined it with the pesto sauce in a pan. After mixing it all together and after the alarm had sounded, I took the pasta out of the rice cooker and ran it under cold water to stop the cooking process (again, a handy tip from my mom). I strained the pasta then placed it in the pan to mix it in the tuna and pesto.

Timing the cooking helped ease my paranoia so I wasn't checking on things every minute. It also somehow increased my confidence that I was doing things right.

Serve immediately.
One mistake I made last time was I let the pasta sit too long. So while it was still good, it was also cold. This time, M couldn't wait to eat so right after I transferred the pasta out of the pan and into a bowl, we gobbled everything up right away! It tasted great while it was still hot, as pasta always does. Of course, I had to take a photo of my achievement (pictures or it didn't happen!):

Now I'm thinking of what else I can do with the pasta using just a few ingredients and minimal effort (haha)! On to the next kitchen adventure!

Day 2: Pasta and the Versatility of the Rice Cooker

It's no secret: I love carbonara. Every time I visit a restaurant and am not in the mood to be adventurous and try something new, I always fall back on carbonara. Mostly it's because I try my best not to have tomato-based pasta for fear of my acidity acting up. But I've come to love it in all of its many forms (except the ones that use too much milk).

After a few days of subsisting on sandwiches and cereal since I didn't really have enough time to cook something before heading off to work, I found myself with a full day of being at home and juggling work with all the other adult stuff: paying the bills, loading the laundry, and finally, cooking!

For tonight's dinner, I decided to test two things: the first is whether or not it really is possible to cook pasta in the rice cooker. A quick Google search shows that it's possible, but it was only when I spotted a recipe in a YUMMY Cookbook that said "Rice Cooker Pasta Cubano" that I became a believer.

I decided to follow this blog entry since it was the only one I found that had some specifics: how much pasta to put, how much water to add, and it spoke to me in layman's terms! So I crossed my fingers and prayed to the Pasta gods that I was putting enough water and pasta in the rice cooker. And hallelujah, it worked!

Just like cooking rice, I had to watch it for the times that the water would bubble over as it boiled. I also took the blog's advice and opened it a bit to stir occasionally. But unlike cooking rice, the cook switch didn't automatically go off. I knew something was wrong when I smelled something, so I rushed to the rice cooker and found this:

The pasta was starting to stick to the rice cooker's pot and burn! I quickly unplugged the rice cooker, got some water, and mixed it into the pasta. I breathed a sigh of relief as the pasta started to unstick form the pot and I could stir it again. Whew! I left the burnt pasta in, the same way that war veterans are proud of their scars. (Whut?!)

The next thing I decided to test was Del Monte's Heat and Serve Carbonara Sauce. I know nothing beats fresh ingredients and making the white sauce from scratch, but even I know not to bite off more than I can chew. So when I saw this at the grocery, I decided to check it out and see if the recipe on the packet really was as easy as it sounded.

Before anything else, I had to make sure the pan was hot. My mom's tip was to hold my hand over the pan to feel the heat, and maybe even touch it just to check. But I found a better tip online: put some water droplets into the pan then watch to see if it'll boil. I tried it now, and there are the droplets beginning to bubble!

I then added the butter, water, and the pasta sauce into the pan and started stirring. It just said to stir for eight minutes, but didn't really say if I should be watching for anything. Should the consistency change? Should I be smelling anything? Since nothing was really happening despite my stirring, I decided to add the pasta in bit by bit. I mixed it in and went by my gut feel on how the ratio of pasta to sauce should be.

Finally, my favorite part: the cheese! I disregarded the pasta sauce's instructions to put one tablespoon of grated cheese because the cheese lover in me was thinking, "One tablespoon?! WTF??" So I decided to just grate the cheese right into the pot and mix it all in.

I took a cue from Masterchef and decided to taste one noodle. It's edible! I wouldn't say it's fantastic because I do know how carbonara tastes like when the sauce is made from scratch, and you can tell this sauce was pre-made. But for someone who just doesn't have the time (or skill, like myself) to make it from scratch, it's a good alternative.

Of course, it's not carbonara without bacon. The plate on the left is mine, while the one on the right is for M. I haven't quite figured out how to cook soggy bacon; I'm afraid that it'll still be raw!

No plating yet because M isn't home yet, so I've left the pasta in the pot to keep it warm. We'll find out the verdict soon enough!


UPDATE: Success! M and I were both just going for edible (yes, we've both managed our expectations according to my skill level), so we were both pleasantly surprised that it tasted decent. I didn't do so bad at plating either:

There's still a bit of pasta left in the rice cooker, plus uncooked pasta in the container. I wonder what I'll try next!

Day 1: Bacon and the Importance of Kitchen Tools

My husband M and I have finally moved to our new place. Hooray!

Granted, we're still transitioning by shuttling to and from our parents' homes to pick up our personal belongings and our wedding gifts, most of which are things for the kitchen. But today was THE day for me.

Today was the first day that I would have to make breakfast.

To prepare for this momentous occasion, M and I went to the grocery last night to stock up on the easiest things to cook: breakfast food. Bacon, hotdogs, tocino, corned beef, Spam, and tuna. All things that, if all else failed, I knew I could pop into the microwave or just eat with bread (haha).

And so this morning, while M was still in the shower, I decided to start with my all-time favorite, BACON. I already knew that I could just pop this into the microwave and it would come out crispy (just the way I like it!), but felt that I would be cheating myself if I didn't at least try to cook it in a pan first.

So I referred to Huffington Post's article "How To Cook Bacon: Three Ways to Achieve Perfection" to test if I would, indeed, have the perfect bacon. Out of the three ways presented, I chose The Traditionalist. In my attempt to cook bacon, I learned a few things:

1. You have to know your stove.
The first step in the article said to start with a cold frying pan. So I did just that-- put the cold bacon on a cold pan. Then I waited forever. And then I got impatient, so I decided to crank our electric stove to the highest setting, just to speed things up. Sure enough, in a few minutes, the oil started to sizzle. Then I panicked and decided to turn it back low. The power light was on, then off, then turned on again, and I got so paranoid that I didn't know what setting I was on anymore. Meanwhile, the bacon continued to sizzle in the pan. Hallelujah, despite my fiddling around, it was actually cooking!

I grew up with a gas stove in the house, so I would see how high or how low the flames would go. It's a different story with an electric hot plate, so it seems that it really will take a few hits and misses to figure out just how hot is hot.

M later told me that after his experience with the stove, it seems that it automatically turns off when there's enough heat, then turns back on when the heat is not enough. How it has some self-regulating feature, I have no idea. There must be sorcery involved in this stove.


2. You need the right tools.
When M stepped out of the shower and smelled the bacon cooking, he happily said, "Wow, it smells good in here!" He looked over at the pan and said, "You should flip that over now. Where are your tongs?" I looked at him blankly and realized, we forgot the set of kitchen tools in my parents' house! No spatula, no tongs, no fork-looking pasta scooper thingy (I will eventually find out what this is really called, don't worry), nothing! Just our silverware. So regretfully, he said, "You should step aside. I'm gonna need to use a spoon and fork on this."

Just like that, I got relegated to dishwasher duties. Later, he explained to me that not only was it dangerous to use a metal spoon and fork in cooking (even I know how metal conducts heat!), these could also damage the pan. And if there's one thing I learned from our wedding registry, pans can be hella expensive! So later in the day, I made it a point to pop in quickly at home (and by that I mean brave one hour traffic at noontime) to get all the other kitchen stuff we would need.

3. What the Internet says is true-- don't crowd the pan. 
I am happy to report that the Internet has not failed me here. The bacon needs to breathe. I only put three pieces of bacon in the pan, making sure they weren't sticking to each other, and I liked seeing how each piece sizzled in the oil. They were all cooking evenly! I got something right! And I could just imagine that piling on the bacon in one pan would lead to uneven temperatures throughout. So this totally makes sense, even to a newbie like me!


4. The bacon is still cooking even when it's already on the plate.
When my bacon was still in the pan, I felt it was still looking a little pale. But M said, "You should take that out already. It'll come out crunchy. I'll make the next batch because I like mine a bit soggy." So I grudgingly took out my pale bacon and watched as M cooked his own batch. The next time I looked at my plate, the bacon was crunchy, just like he promised! Now I know that I shouldn't wait for it to seem crunchy in the pan because if I do, I'll end up with burnt bacon on my plate!


Day 1 was an eye-opener for both M and I. On my end, I've realized that learning how to cook really requires you to study your equipment first, and the right way to use them. And for M, he learned the true extent of my cluelessness in the kitchen. So much so that he's volunteered to cook for the first month, but of course I said no. How will I learn if I just watch him do everything?! We've decided to compromise: I'll let him teach me how to use the stove, and he'll leave me alone to learn how to make pasta dishes.

With that, I already have Day 2's lesson in mind! Stay tuned!