Home Made Tinned Tuna Pasta

Hello!! Long time no see. I did not able to update my blog this 2 months because I haven't been feeling well, especially morning. I became to be able to enjoy the making "Lino's Baon" finally again.

Recently, I began to make fish dishes frequently.
Children need DHA & EPA for developing their brain.
In here Philippines, there are many manufactures of powdered milk and almost　all of the products claim that the products contain enough amount of DHA & EPA needed for children's grow up.
However, I wish to provide Natural DHA & EPA to my children from Natural Food.  

Fishes (especially blue fishes) contain a lot of good quality of DHA & EPA.
Today's Baon is Home Made Tinned Tuna Pasta contains a lot of Natural DHA & EPA.
It's simple, easy, and delicious!!

Ingredients: Home made tinned Tuna, Garlic, Olive oil (used for marine), Salt & Pepper, and Parsley.

《Recipe of Home Made Tinned Tuna》

*Ingredients*
・Tuna (Fillet the Tuna and remove tiny fish bone and skin.), 200 g
・Salt , 1 tsp
・Garlic, 2 cloves
・Whole black pepper, 1 tsp
・Bay leaves, 1 leaf
・Olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
・Others (Rosemary, thyme, red pepper) as you want.

*Procedure*
1. Sprinkle salt on Tuna. A little bit water come out from Tuna after 15 min, wipe it by kitchen paper to avoid a bad smell.
2. Boil sliced garlic, whole black pepper and bay leaves. Put the Tuna in to boiling water and boil it 5 to 10 min.
3. Remove the tuna from the pan and flake it. Put it and olive oil into a storage bottle. 
4. Please use the fish stock for delicious soup. 
　

These are some pictures of fish dishes I made recently.

*Grilled Salmon Belly*

*Grilled Horse Mackerel (Salted and 1 day dried) *

Failed！！ Gorilla Rice Ball

Sometimes, I fail to make a Baon. When I failed to make Baon, I did not post the picture of failed Baon on the Facebook or this blog. hehehe  (^_^;)
But I think I'll post the picture of failed Baon from today. Because my experience of making failed Baon may help someone to avoid the same mistake.

I tried to make the Gorilla Rice Ball this morning.
I used sliced cheddar cheese for the part of the face.
This cheddar cheese is easy melting type.

Can you imagine what happened?

The face of Gorilla was melting down during preparing of the Baon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before melting down the face, Lino said 『Mama, it's so cute♪』.

Yes, it was so cute. 

I recommend to to use not melting type of sliced cheese for making a face of an animal rice ball.

How to make "Gorilla rice ball"

1. Sauté 200g ground pork (or chicken) with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey. (Meat flakes)

2. Put the meat flakes and rice on the cling wrap. 

3. Roll it in small ball.

4. Cut the sliced cheese (not melting type) by tooth pick to make face of the Gorilla.

5. Decorate the eyes and mouth (seaweeds) and cheek (ketchup).

Try it!

Pink Rice Balls

This posting is 50th of this blog.
Is my English better than 1st posting? I hope so.
I'm so glad that many people around the world read this blog.
I want to contact with blog reader so please post your comments or contact through E-mail.

I made "Pink Rice Ball" for today's Baon.

The pink part is Salmon flaks.

☆How to make the pink rice ball☆

1. Steam or grill salmon. Remove the bones and skin of salmon.

2. Break the salmon using folk and put it and little bit salt into a brender. (Salmon flakes)

3. Put 1 tbsp salmon flakes on a cling wrap.

4. Put 2 tbsp rice on the salmon flakes.

5. Roll it into small ball.

6. Put the sesame on top of the pink rice balls as you like!!

How to make an Animal Rice ball (Pig ver.)

I made animal rice balls after a long time. Today's animal is Pig!!

Today, Lino's sister has a fever and I stayed home from work to take care my daughter. Lino didn't want to go to school because he wanted to be with me. However, he changed his mind easily when he saw today's Baon!! Power of Awesome lunchbox is so great♪ 

Today's Baon
・Pig rice balls
・Sauteed slab of bacon
・Kinpira* of Carrot (*sauteed carrot with soy sauce, honey, and black sesame)
・Boiled broccoli
・Rolled egg
・Tomato

≪How to make an Animal Rice ball (Pig ver.)≫

 Mix a cup of rice and 1 tea spoon of ketchup. Roll it to make small balls.
Cut a sliced ham for salad as shown in the figure above to make the parts of ears.
Cut a  sliced ham for salad by shaped cutter (check the previous article about shaped cutter : Guess! What's this?) . You can use straw as a shaped cutter.
Cut a seaweeds to make the parts of eyes and nose holes.

Let's try!!

Additive-free homemade chicken nugget

Lino couldn't go to school in this 3days because he had a fever. He was so excited to see his friends he didn't see during long summer vacation. So I think that he had a fever!! He still has a fever but not so high. He will be better tomorrow.

I would like to introduce additive-free homemade chicken nugget I was going to cook for Lino's Baon.

My children love chicken nugget. But this kind of commercially available processed meat products include large amount of salt and additives. Do you want to provide safety chicken nuggets for your children? You can cook it only simple ingredients and easily! Let's try!

《Additive-free homemade chicken nugget》

-Ingredients-

• Ground chicken, 150g

• Garlic, 1 to 2 cloves

• Salt, a little

-Procedure-

1. Chop the garlic.

2. Chop the ground chicken with chopped  garlic and salt until  mixture becomes smooth.

3. Wrap it with cling wrap and divide it from outside of the cling wrap. (If you want to make other shapes, fix in the desired shape with wet hands.)

✳︎I usually prepare the mixture day before of making Baon and keep it in refrigerator.

4. Fry it with small amount oil.

This chicken nugget is simple and delicious. It becomes more delicious by adding a celery.  

Today's lunch for children. (Chicken nuggets and cheese risotto of tuna, spinach, and asparagus.)

The Bento season comes again !

After summer, Bento season comes again!! Lino started to go to school from today and my hobby re-start also.

Last season, I published my opinions and some useful information on this blog. This season, I will publish the recipe mainly that is easy, healthy, and colorful. I wish my recipe will be helping you to cook faster, to cook unique recipe, and to have a lot of repertoire.

《Today's Baon》

・Rice balls mixed with salmon flake topped with black sesame

・Tofu hamburg steak 

・Boiled pumpkin

・Boiled Okura mixed with soy sause & Katsuobushi

・Scrambled egg with Tomato (Chinese)

The recipe of Tofu Hamburg Stake

Ingredients (for 4 pcs)

• Ground pork 90g

• Ground beef 210g

• Tofu 150g

• Egg 1 pc

• Onion M size 1.5pcs

• Salt 1 tsp

• Black pepper 1 tsp

• Nutmeg 1/2 tsp

Procedure

1. Chop the onions finely.

2. Mix well the all ingredients.

3. Make four hamburger patties and indent the center of each one with a finger. Heat oil in a pan and saute hamburgers over medium heat.

4.Turn over and saute the other side. Add 1/4 cup of hot water in the pan and put lid and steam hamburgers for a few minutes.

5.Remove the lid and cook until the water is gone. Transfer hamburgers into individual plates.

6.Add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in the pan after hamburgers are removed. Mix quickly over low heat to make sauce. Pour the sauce over hamburgers.

Cake salé of Salmon & Asparagus

Yesterday is the last day of the school!

I will not prepare Lino's Baon until June, so I will introduce previous Baon during summer vacation!

I brought the "Cake salé of a Salmon and Asparagus" for the last day party. 

When I bake the Cake salé, I usually use a bacon. But I like the Salmon Cake salé better that Bacon Cake salé.

[Recipe: Cake salé of Salmon & Asparagus]

- Ingredients (for 1 pound cake mold) -

• flour, 70g

• Baking soda, 1tsp

• Parmesan cheese, 50g

• Fresh Milk, 70ml

• Olive oil, 70ml

• Egg, 2pcs

• Salt, 1/4tsp (if you use smoked salmon, please adjust the quantity of the salt.)

• Onion, 1/2pc

• Salmon (row or smoked), 60g

• Asparagis, 4 to 8pcs

• Cream cheese, 50g

• Oil (for sauté), 1tsp

• Black pepper, a little

- procedure -

1. Preparation.

• Sift the flour with Baking soda and salt. 

• Cut the Cream cheese in to the 1cm cube.

• Sauté the thinly sliced onion with little bit Black pepper and salt.

• Slice the Salmon

• Pre-heat the oven at 180℃

2. Mix the eggs, Fresh Milk, Olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.

3. Put the sliced salmon, sautéed onion, and cube of cream cheese into the bowl. Mix well.

4. Add the sifted flour to the bowl and mix.

5. Line the Pound cake mold with cooking paper. Put the 1/3 of mixture and 2 to 3 pcs of Asparagus into the mold. Repeat twice.

6. Bake it 45 to 50 min at 180℃.

You can enjoy just baked Cake salé but it is more delicious to eat the Cake salé on next day.

Enjoy home made cake salé at breakfast or merienda!!

Would you like to eat "Crunchy Eggplant"?

I would like to introduce a recipe of "Crunchy Eggplant".

I like Eggplant cooked as Filipino food like "Tortang talong" (grilled and peeled eggplant omelet) and "inihaw na talong" (salad of grilled and peeled eggplant, onion, and tomato). I think that many of the Filipino Eggplant dishes are used grilled and peeled Eggplant.

The nutrition of Eggplant is not rich. However, it should be noted that the eggplant contains a high amount of antioxidants such as an anthocyanin and polyphenol included in peel of the eggplant.

The "Crunchy Eggplant" is used unpeeled eggplant. You can obtain a high amount of antioxidants by eating this dish.

 I prepared this recipe to fit to Filipino taste, so I think Filipino might become to like it! My parents in law like it!!

[Ingredients]

• Eggplant, 3 pcs

• Flour, proper amount

• Vegetables (it is yummy only eggplant. If you like to be colorful, you can use your favorite vegetables. I used Carrot, Cauliflower, Asparagus, and Okra this time.)

Sauce

• Soy sauce, 4 tbsp

• Vinegar, 4 tbsp

• Water or Sake, 2 tbsp

• Honey or sugar, 1 and 1/2 tbsp

• Corn starch, proper amount

• Ginger, small pc

(If you like spicy taste, you can put a red chili also.)

[Procedure]

1. Cut the egg plant into one bite size and cover it with flour.

2. Fry it with small amount oil.

3. Boil your favorite vegetables.

4. Grate the ginger and put all ingredients of the sauce into frying pan. Heat it until boiling while mix the sauce.

5. After boiling the sauce, stop heating it immediately. Mix the sauce with boiled vegetables. Put the sauce with vegetables on the fried eggplant just before to eat it!

Versatile foodstuff, 『Salted chicken breast』

I forgot to take a photo of today's Baon!! This is second time to forget taking a picture of Baon. At first time, I noticed before my son leaves the house and I could ask my father in law to take a picture of Baon. This time, I noticed about this thing during lunch time. I could not do anything.

I will introduce a recipe of 『Salted Chicken Breast 』. 

We can use the salted chicken breast for variety dish in spite of the procedure of cooking is very easy. 

Chicken breast is very healthy foodstuff because
・ Contains high-quality protein
・ Contains many amount of anti-fatigue substance "imidazole dipeptide" that helps to prevent to be tired.

I had understood the merit of chicken breast but I didn't like to eat it because I had not good at feeling of dried out of chicken breast.

However, from I met this recipe, I really came to like to eat chicken breast! It's surprisingly delicious!!

【Ingredients】
・Chicken breast fillet (without skin), any pcs. as you want
・Salt, 1/2 ~ less than 1 tsp / 1 pc. chicken breast
・Honey or Sugar, 1/2 tbsp / 1 pc. chicken breast
・Brandy or Sake,  1/2 tbsp / 1 pc. chicken breast
・Black pepper, a little
・Nutmeg, a little

【Procedure】
1. Mix the all ingredients in a food keeper (e.g. Zipplock). Marinate it in the refrigerator at least one day. (We can keep it maximum one week in the refrigerator.)

2. Before when you cook it, cut a little pc of salted chicken breast and boil it and taste it. If you feel much salty, put salted breast chicken into the water 30 min.

3. Boil, Saute, Fry, or Grill, please select the cooking way along the purpose of each dish.  

☆Ham of Salted Chicken Breast☆

Wipe off the moisture of marinated salted chicken breast Put the salted chicken breast on the cling wrap and roll it like a candy. Tied it with a string.

Put it into the boiling water then stop heating. Wait until it cools down. Enjoy eating the ham after chilling well in the refrigerator. 

☆Topping of Pho☆

Boil the sliced salted chicken breast 2 min and use for topping of pho.

☆With Salad☆

Boil the cut salted chicken breast 2 min and use for topping of salad.

☆Saute with vegetable☆

Saute the sliced salted chicken breast with Kale, Garlic and Olive oil.

Simple and Easy, Healthy and Delicious!!

I will introduce a recipe of " Carrot peperoncino". 

The peperoncino is formally called Spaghetti aglio e olio peperoncino  ("spaghetti with garlic, dried red chili, and olive oil" in Italian) is a traditional Italian pasta.

"Carrot peperoncino" is not pasta, so I think that it would not be called a peperoncino. But I call "Carrot peperoncino" this dish because "Carrot peperoncino" is so optimal as the name to call this dish.

The carrot include a lot of carotene that is  dissolved in oil easily. So we can absolute more carotene by eating carrot with oil. This dish uses olive oil that helps to absolute the carotene, very healthy! The ingredients are carrots, garlic, and olive oil only ( I didn't use dried red chili because I prepared this dish for children. I like hot version!), very simple! Procedure of this resipe is so easy. And delicious!!  

This time, I used organic carrot grown up by "Holy Carabao".

I was surprised to strong smell of the carrot when I peeled the carrot!!

[Ingredients]

• Carrots, 2 pcs.

• Garlic, 3 cloves

• Olive oil, 3 tbsp

• Salt, a little

[Procedure]

1. Slice the carrots into thin by peeler.

2. Chop the garlic. Sauté the chopped garlic with olive oil and salt.

3. When you feel good smell of garlic then put the sliced carrots. Sauté it 30 sec.

My children likes this dish!! My son was able to peel carrot and enjoy cooking, so let's try with your children.

Today's Baon

• Carrot peperoncino 

• Rice balls

• Rolled egg

• Sautéed chicken Brest and Kale

Sleeping Cat Zzzz....

Today's Baon

• Cat rice ball (The gray part : the rice mixed with ground black sesame.)

• Lunpiang shanghigh 

• Crisp salad of potato and carrot

• Rolled egg

• Boiled okra

This time, the request of Lino was a cat. I really enjoyed and concentrated to make "Cat" while thinking Lino's smile this morning, so I forgot to prepare the Baon for husband!!!! Sorry papa. Hehehe.

In Japan, the bento like this is called "Chara-ben". Chara-ben is a shortened form of character bento, or boxed lunch. Elaborately arranged lunch that features food decorated to look like famous characters from movies and such.

My friend asked me that will you make chara-Ben until what age of your children?

In Japan, the majority of elementary and junior high school provide a school lunch. So, I think that maybe Japanese mums make Chara-ben for the children age of around 6 to 7.

My mother often made for me an interesting lunch when I was kindergarten student, and even if I became a high school student, she made it some times. I remember that it was so fun and delicious!! This memory is a source of passion for making the Chara-Ben for my son. As long as the children request, I want to continue to make the Chara-Ben!!

I will introduce the recipe of "Crisp salad of potato and carrot".

[Ingredients]

• Potato, 1pc

• Carrot, 1/2 pc

• Garlic, 1 clove

• Rosemary. a little

• Salt and Pepper. a little

• Olive oil, 1 tbsp

[Procedure]

1. Cut the potato and carrot into thin strips.

2. Boil it 1min. (Check the color of potato! The potato is white at first and it becomes transparent. When the potato becomes transparent, it is a sign of  being boiled. If you boil more than 2 minutes, the crisp of potato is disappeared.) After boil, wash with running water immediately.

3. Sauté garlic with Olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Mix it with potato and carrot. It is good taste also to use bacon or anchovy.