A Scientist in the Kitchen

I’ve always dreamed of having pasta with very large meatballs ever since I ate meatballs spaghetti in Sbarro. That was way back when I was a teen-age girl. Somehow, I only got to cooking large meatballs spaghetti during the holiday season last year. I forgot about it until I saw this picture so it is only now that I am writing about it.

Large Meatballs and Linguine Pasta

500g ground pork
500g ground beef
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp of dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme)
250 grams unooked linquine pasta
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large white onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup broth from cooking the pasta
1 can diced tomatoes
fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix first five ingredients together. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Divide meat mixture into four and shape into balls. Brown the meatballs in a pan. Place the meatballs in the side then add the garlic and onion to the pan. Saute till they are cooked but not browned. Mix in the meatballs. Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Add the fresh basil, salt and pepper. Simmer everything till sauce is reduced. Add the cooked pasta, mix everything to coat pasta. Serve with cheese.

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Presto Pasta Nights is almost a year old. Thanks to Ruth for organizaing this event Ever wondered how a market looks like in other parts of the world? Check out “To market, to market”. Or you can share yours, too.

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Almost summer here, perfect for hiking up the mountain. Be great if I could get that Merrell shoes I’ve been eyeing for some time.

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Don’t forget, March 1 is the deadline for submitting your posts to To market, to market. This is a blog event I thought of to share with my fascination for farmers’ markets around the world. Yes it’ts true, whenever I travel to a new place, one of the itinerary would be going to the market place and look around at the variety of local produce. I am fascinated by the difference between different marketplaces -varieties of vegetables, types of fish and meat, local sweets and exotic fruits. WOuldn’t it be nice to cook them? Living in the Philippines, where rice is the staple food, you would be surprise at the variety of ways that it is prepared. Not the usual steamed rice but as cakes wrapped in banana or coconut leaves, cooked with coconut milk and ginger, fermented or mixed with chocolate or grilled.

Equally fascinating for me would be how local markets look like in temperate areas where the changing season would dictate the produce available.

Aren’t you curious, too?

Some rules:

1. Post a topic on a local market near your place, where you buy your food or from your own travels. Include pictures.
2. Link your page to To market, to market.
3. Email me the permalink to your post. Include your location, country, blog name and of course, your name
4. Deadline is March 1, 2008. I will post a round-up on the first week of March.

Hope to hear from you!

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Ever wondered how a market looks like in other parts of the world? Check out “To market, to market”. Or you can share yours, too.

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Each town in the Philippines has it’s own town market called palengke or mercado, depending on the vernacular. I read a short story once, that “for every hundred yards, there are also a hundred different sights, sound and smell” in the palengke. Well, it is true. The palengke supplies the town’s need for meat, fish, vegetables and all sorts of goods. It usually divided in sections, one for meat, another one for fish and one for vegetables. There is also a dry goods section where you can buy pots and pans, clothes and anything you need at home. The produce come from neighboring farmers as well as from far places especially the vegetables that don’t grown in the area.

The picture below shows the typical vegetables you find in the palengke. Mix them all up together and you would come up with a wonderful vegetable medley!

Vegetables according to numbering:

1. pechay (similar to bok choy)
2. green papaya
3. string beans
4. biter melon/ampalaya
5. eggplant
6. kangkong
7. a pack of vegetables for pinakbet
8. okra
9. taro
10. shrimp paste
11. squash
12. patola (can’t remember what’s the English term)
13. radish
14. garlic
15. onion
16. tomatoes

Vegetable Medley

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
100 grams pork meat, cut into strips
2 tbsp soy sauce

Sliced vegetables:

eggplant (talong),
squash (kalabasa)
sweet potato (kamote)
string beans (sitaw)
bitter melon (ampalaya)
any other vegetables

salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in oil till it is almost brown. Add the onion and mix till translucent. Add the tomatoes and saute for several minutes till tomatoe is soft enough to flatten. Mash the tomatoes while cooking it. Add the meat and saute till meat is cooked. Add the soysauce to brown the meat. Add the squash and saute for a few minutes. Add water, around 2-3 tbsp at a time so that the mixture won’t dry. Add the sweet potato and string beans to stir fry everything. Add more water to cook the sweet potato, a little at time. When sweet potato is almost half done, add the eggplant. Season with salt and pepper, according to taste. When eggplant is done, remove from fire and serve immediately.

To add more flavor, put a tbsp or two of fish paste when you add the eggplant.

For a more authentic vegetable medley, there is dish we call pinakbet which originated in the north of the country, the Ilocos Region. An enganging account of cooking pinakbet can be found at Burnt Lumpia.

PS - Don’t forget to submit your entry to “To market, to market” which I am hosting. It will be a wonderful collection of markets from all over.

Another PS -Great cooks are a cooking at the Great Cooks blogroll. See you there!

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