Domestic Goddess

K for Kalamansi I'll add a story. When I was a child, there was a kalamansi plantation behind our house. The trees grew the biggest kalamansi fruits I ever saw . The daughter of the owner (they lived in the middle of the plantation) taught me how to peel the big, ripe ones and dip them in rock salt before popping in your mouth. My mouth is puckering up and at the same time, salivating at this moment. We never had to buy kalamansi but my mother always gave 5 pesos to the owner's kids to gather her a basketful. We would enjoy freshly squeezed kalamansi juice diluted with a lot of water and sugar. My mother also fixed kinilaw (tuna or sometimes flying fish cerviche) which she would garnish with slices of kalamansi. It also perked up the taste of freshly caught fish, grilled over the fire by my Dad. The fish was caught early in the morning and bought by my Dad from the incoming fishermen during his early morning walks. There wasn't a meal that didn't include kalamansi. It was a staple on the sauces and dips that we have on our table (kalamansi with fish sauce, calamansi with soy sauce, etc.) What's the one ingredient I really miss from my country? The lowly kalamansi.

Sid Vicious and Girl Scout cookies Sid Vicious' girl friend (who he subsequently murdered) was Nancy Spudgen. Nancy Spungen was from a middle class Jewish family in the Huntingdon Valley area of Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. In 1933, Girl Scouts in Philadelphia organized the first official "Girl Scout Cookie" sale.

My contribution JRR Tolkien and lokum Another answer to Snoop Doggy Dog and Twinkies Snoop Doggy Dog has been arrested several times for possesion of marijuana. When you smoke weed, you get the munchies. When you get the munchies, most of the time, you reach for a bag of Twinkies.

I would like to take the challenge of Joan of Arc and bagoong (the right way to spell it). Joan of Arc was the warrior maiden who led the French armies through successful victories in battles. Gariela Silang was referred to as the Joan of Arc of the Ilocos Region of the Philippines during the revolution aganst the Spaniards; as well as Teresa Magbanua, who was referred as the Joan of Arc of the Visayas Region (Filipino-American war) Bagoong figures prominently in Ilocano dishes (from Ilocos) such as the pinakbet and also in Visayan dishes, like the humble laswa. There, that's a better explanation for Joan of Arc and bagoong.

Would a bottle of Blue Nun count or Cold Duck? Hmmm... I can't remember.

Would tv dinners help? I know, I know, but given your limited choice of cooking methods and options, these sound like a better meal than a bag of chips. I wish we lived near each other, I'll be glad to bring you home-cooked meals for brekkies, lunch and supper.

Prasantin - check your inbox for the longganisa recipe. Hope you like it!

I wholeheartedly agree! Then again, I might end up gobbling the stamps.

Lurking here, too. I gotta admit that I am truly enjoying the bits of history and trivia in here.

Joseph - I went to your blog and drooled over the food pics. Loved the story about the christian camp and the ice cream sandwiches. Also loved the pug pics - they're adorable!

I would list some of what y'all have mentioned: worcestershire sauce (great over steak/french fries/frites) lard (for the flakiest pastry crust or lightest bisquits) mutton (my ky hubby swears by this as bbq or smoked mutton - drools over pics of Moonlight BBQ mutton dishes)

GRITS hubby decided to make Fried Pork loin for him and the kiddies. He took the leftover seasoned flour from yesterday's fried chicken meal. He butterflied some slices of loin and dipped it in milk/egg mixture and then dredged it in the seasoned flour (even double dipped it). Fried Pork Loin

Sazji - I thought I sent you the poppy seed one but I was mistaken (re:my PM to you). I sent you the millet one! Hope it didn't wreck too much damage to your chompers. Next time, I'll send the more tooth-friendly mochi.

That looks really interesting, not to mention exciting. Beats boiling eggs in geothermal hot spring water. I'd like to try that only with pork.

I made this for dinner today. MAPO TOFU I gave some to my korean best friend when I made it the last time and her hubby ate all the mapo tofu before she could have a taste. Today I gave her 3 servings so that she can have a chance to taste it. Next week, I will be showing her how to make it. Ah Leung, your Mapo tofu is making rounds here in Janghowon, Korea and it's a real hit! I keep telling them I have a great Chinese teacher.

Dinner for tonight... Mapo Tofu (thanks again to Ah Leung!)

I found two more pics from our samgyeopsal eating excursion at Bawoo Restaurant. Here is the white kimchi plate: Raw crab marinated in red peppersauce (we sent this back since we all didn't like it):

We ate at the local BaWoo Restaurant and had Samgyeopsal for lunch. Samgyeopsal cooking merrily on our table top. Lettuce and shiso leaves for wrapping, salt/pepper oil for dipping, 4 seasons paste also for dipping and raw garlic to include in the wrapped ssam. Shredded leeks salad and pickled radish. The obligatory kimchi plate. Veggie stir-fry (button mushrooms, onions, broccoli and red bell pepper). Squash pajeon and mulberry? jelly. (Sorry for the blurry pic) Pickled cucumbers (they were really crunchy too!) and steamed squash. Shikkhe drink after the meal. I forgot to take pics of the macaroni salad, white kimchi, dwenjjang jjige and the steamed rice. Although we enjoyed the meal, it could have been better if the restaurant had live coals underneath to cook the meat. Bawoo Restaurant uses gas grills instead of charcoal.

More fried chicken!

Hubby decided to make fried chicken tonight. Here's my hubby (Kentucky boy) and how he makes the family favorite - homemade ky fried chicken. Soaking the chicken pieces in hot water. Dredging the pieces in flour mix. Letting the chicken pieces rest for awhile to let the coating get really sticky and gummy. Let it fry! Let it fry! Let it fry! Looking good. Our sides - french fries. You gotta love a man who cooks and cleans up after. The end product - FRIED CHICKEN!

Mine would always be Caesar's salad made from scratch. with lotsa bacon and croutons.

Our dinner tonight: For hubs... Roasted Pork Tenderloin For me, it was cleaning the fridge time... Chopseuy! (with ham, shrimp, oysters, imitation crab, bokchoy, mushrooms, etc.) I finished it with a liberal sprinkling of freshly-cracked Szhechuan pepper.

Great! I can eat and do my laundry too! ← The dried fibrous weblike cylinders are the best bath brushes I know. Some people also call the see guah by the alternate name of "loofah". ← In the Philippines, this is not called okra but PATOLA. We call the regular ones okra. Sliced patola soup with rice noodles is a common lunch side dish in my province. Usually paired with fried fish and rice.

Ah Leung, I'm buying a ticket to CA now to visit you for dinner! That is one scrumptious looking chicken!

I think that's sesame jellyfish but then again I might be wrong.