Grow Your Own is now a twice-a-month blogging event, and celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This edition is hosted by Bee of Jugalbandi.

I used tilapia heads for this sinigang and kamias as the souring agent instead of the usual sampaloc. We have a kamias (bilimbi) tree that bears fruit profusely when in season. Coupled to that are young leaves from the birds’ eye chili (talbos ng sili) which is commonly added to tinola - a type of ginger-based soup.

In this case, I used kamias and talbos ng sili to make sinigang, this time a sour soup similar to the Thai tomyam soup minus the spicy flavor. Rather, it’s more like a blending of sourness and saltiness. Meat or seafood can be used and vegetables such as tomatoes, long beans, taro, egg plant and water spinach are the ingredients. The souring agent is commonly tamarind but other alternatives are ripe guava, kamias, or kalamansi.

In a pot, bring to a boil 2 cups of water. Add 2-3 chopped tomatoes and about 5 large kamias (also chopped). Add 1 tbsp patis. Simmer till tomatoes and kamias are tender. Mash some of the kamias on the side of the pot to release the sourness. Add 3-4 tilapia heads and 2 pcs of siling haba. Cook until tilapia is done. Taste for saltiness and sourness and adjust according to your taste. Add a cup of talbos ng sili, cover the pot for a minute or two then serve immediately.

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Ferns are part of a group of plants that are seedless and vascular (most of the vegetables and herbs we know are also vascular but produce seeds). Ferns can be found in a wide variety of habitats - from mountains to desert rock surfaces. The part of the fern that are eaten is called the fiddlehead fern - the unfurled fronds of young fern harvested for consumption. In Tagalog, we call these ferns as “pako”. These are usually sold in small bundles and are quite cheap (~$0.06). These are not cultivated but are picked from the forest so this is not really available all year in the Philippines. We usually have them during the wet seasons (like now).

Ferns have been part of many cuisines. In Indonesia, ferns are combined with a spicy rich coconut sauce called Gulai Pakis. It is eaten as vegetables in Japan and Korea. In North American Cooking, Ostrich fern fiddleheads are part of the traditional dish in New England, Quebec and the Maritimes. And, the Canadian village of Tide Head, New Brunswick is the Fiddlehead Capital of the World! In the Philippines, we usually serve this as a salad.

There was a bunch of ferns sold in the market recently so I decided to serve this with the sweet potato dumplings the last time we had family picnic.

Pako Salad

a bunch of pako
1 small tomatoes chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 inch knob ginger, crushed then sliced thinly
freshly crushed black pepper
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup fish paste
1 tbsp sugar

Cut the tender parts of the ferns into 2-3 inch pieces. Discard the woody parts. Bring 2-3 cups water to a boil. Blanch fern for 2-3 minutes then Wash ferns in running cold water. Drain. In a bowl, mix fern, tomatoes and onions. In a separate containers, mix the rest of the ingredients then pour over fern. Serve immediately.

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Have you been to market recently? What did you buy? What are the fruits, vegetables, meats or seafoods in season? What’s your favorite items to buy? Who’s your favorite vendor?

Your market may have a formal structure - a building with stalls upon stalls of produce available all week, or perhaps a street market on week ends, or those consisting of tables in street corners and available in the afternoons only.

As with most foodies, traveling means tailoring your trip around food, restaurants and markets. Why not share your photos of markets during those trips?

This event is open to all food enthusiasts, with or without blogs. The posts need not be wordy, but rather much like a photo essay. Share with us your posts on farmers’ markets you have recently visited.

Here are the rules:

1. Blog about a farmers’ markets you have recently visited. Post should include pictures. If you don’t have a blog, I can post them for you here. Only one entry per blog is allowed.

2. Link your entry to this page.

3. This is now a monthly event. Deadline for entries is the 15th of each month. Send your entries to:

ascientistinthekitchen AT gmail DOT com

with the following information:

Blog Name
Blog URL
Author’s name
Blog Post
Post URL

Want to host? Please email me if you are interested.

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I had this pasta at the height of the tomato season last March but just got buried underneath a ton of pictures. This is quite easy but takes time. Luckily we had a wood-fired stove at home and I let this simmer for about four hours. To make the sauce, I simply sauted 10 garlic cloves (minced), 2 large white onions (chopped coarsely) until both are cooked through then added 500 grams ground pork. I sauted everything till the ground pork lost its color then added a kilo chopped fresh tomatoes. Then this was simmer for about four hours at very low fire. At the home stretch, I cooked enough linguine for four (about 250 grams). Then I added salt and pepper to taste.

I’ve been wanting to make this sauce for some time. Well, every year actually when tomatoes are in season and we could buy it at 10 pesos per kilo (~$0.2). Quite cheap, right? My dad planted tomatoes a few weeks ago and my eyes are on them right now…

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My week as host started with Ashley of eat me, delicious‘ entry of Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons. Edamame, zucchini and mushrooms. What more could you ask for in a noodle dish?

Maybelle’s Mom has this pasta for all seasons - Pasta with warm egg and pea shoots or whatever vegetable is in season.

Anyone game for a BLT sandwich, err, pasta? Let’s head over to Eliza of notes from my food diary for her Bacon, lettuce and tomato pasta salad.

Beef and broccoli served with steamed rice is a popular Asian dish, but if you want to satisfy your craving for beef and broccoli and noodles at the same time, how about sara’s (of i like to cook) Thai-ish Beef and Broccoli noodles?

Need to jazz up your pesto? Try replacing basil with another herb or replacing parmesan cheese with another kind? The possibilities are endless such as this Watercress and Rocket Blue Cheese Pesto from Kittie of Kittens in the Kitchen.

While green eggs and ham are different to come by, you certainly won’t have a problem to whip this Green Pasta Lunch from Ben of What’s Cooking?.

When Serena of Rock Cakes‘ veg box came this week, bursting with courgettes, beans and broccoli, her idea was to combine all these vegetables into one creamy, lemony, check out her Tomato and Olive Spaghetti with Griddled Courgettes.

Italian sausages goes well with any pasta dish. To add an Asian slant to your pasta, try using spicy Thai sausages instead as suggested by Pam of Sidewalk Shoes? Her Spicy Thai Sausage and Cabbage Pasta is a winner.

Coconut milk is popular in tropical Asian dishes (particularly here in the Philippines), so I’m definitely going to try out Foodie Tots‘ Coconut Shrimp Soba.

Let’s welcome back Daphne of More Than Words for her first recipe since Mid-May. Check out her recipe for Seafood Aglio Olio and find out why congratulations seem to be in order.

From Hong Kong, Rita of Mochacholata-Rita shares with us her Tamarind-Grilled Snapper with Noodles. It’s a dish with tasty, hot, sweet, and sour noodles.

Cleaning out the pantry may given you hidden treasures worth cooking. That’s what TS and JS of [eating club] vancouver did and discovered a bag of coloured gemelli pasta. Presto! Smoky Summer Pasta!

Here’s another proof why pasta and sausages goes well together. Becke (Columbus Foodie) shares with us her Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage, a sure hit.

What to do when spinach and cheese come together? Try Joelen’s Culinary Adventures‘ Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni.

This is my first time to meet Katie of Soupus Dei and her Chicken Puttanesca with Basil Pappardelle sounds great! Read her “About Me” as well for an interesting story on food and writing.

For a flavorful and light pasta, Chicken and Broccoli Linguine hits the spot. Sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli florets makes this dish perfect for a summer day. Terry of Got No Milk shares with us her recipe inspired from a vegan pasta.

I’ve never had orzos before, tiny rice-shaped pasta but can be substituted for rice. And Marye of Baking Delights made this Orzo Salad with Asian Ginger Dressing with ingredients mostly from her garden. Wow!

This is an original recipe from Lore of Culinarty - Fettucine and Blackcurrants and Slight Soured Cabbage. The sourness you find in the sauerkraut juice is paired with the more fruity and cheery sourness of blackcurrants.

Here’s my pasta dish this week - Tuna and Thai Basil Pasta.

From of my favorite blogs, comes this Steak Caesar Pasta Salad. Katie of Thyme for Cooking has come with a great pasta dish this week as well another round of anecdotes of 120 kisses to say hello and a hundred kisses to say goodbye.

I didn’t know that seashell pastas are called Conchiglie. And this Conchiglie Stuffed with Roast Pumpkin and Ricotta is simply YUM. Avra of I’ve Got Food on my Brain loves the the combination of the tomato sauce and white wine which adds just the right finishing touch or perhaps it’s the creamy combination of the pumpkin and the ricotta or the the richness of the 10 cloves of garlic roasted or perhaps all of the above!

From Ruth, the creator of Presto Pasta Nights (hey, there’s http://www.prestopastanights.com already!), here are several ideas to make salad dressings that goes great with pasta.

Some extra cooked chicken, a bit of capers, add some garlic and cheese and your choice of pasta and you’ve got a delicious dinner. Here’s what Patsyk of Family, Friends and Food cooked up - Penne with Roasted Chicken and Capers.

Soba noodles is popular this week. Sherra of Our Taste of Life shares with us Soba Noodles In Sweet Soy Sauce. And it comes with an adult and kiddie versions!

What to do with those gorgeous shrimps and scallops? Try Shrimp and Scallop Mediterranean Pasta. Read also Jescel (Spice of Life)’s take on the difference between “super-size” in the US and “super-size” in the Philippines!

How about some pasta for dessert? Another new pasta I’ve are rosmarino pasta that resemble rosemary (rosmarino in Italian) leaves. Try this Lemon Pasta Pudding from Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once.

These are certainly a lot of ideas for making great pastas and noodles. Thanks to Ruth for letting me host this event. Next week, it’s back to Ruth for another round of Presto Pasta Nights.

Have a great weekend!!!

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PS - The next To market, to market… event is on! Deadline is on August 15. More details later.

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Got more pasta dishes up your sleeves? I’m hosting Presto Pasta Nights this week so you still have time to send me your posts. The email is ascientistinthekitchen AT gmail DOT com.

Tuna and Thai Basil Pasta

250 grams spaghetti pasta
1 can diced tomato
1 can tuna chunks in oil, drained and oil reserved
5 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 medium size white onion, chopped coarsely
chili flakes, pepper and salt to taste
A handfull of Thai basil, shredded in half by hand

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute garlic and onion in reserved oil. Add the tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. Add the tuna and stir a few times to mix the tuna and sauce. Add the Thai basil and simmer for a minute. Season with chili flakes, salt and pepper. Add the pasta and mix well to coat the pasta with sauce. Remove from fire and serve.

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Several mango trees were felled

What caught my fancy was her sweet potato dumpling. Mind you, sweet potatoes are that - sweet and we usually use it for cooking desserts (try this sweet potato dessert with a salty twist) and not part of entree. Much like avocado, which we eat in sweet salads or as shakes. It still takes some time for me to consider adding avocado to sandwiches. Since we had some sweet potatoes (we call them camote) dug up from the garden, I thought I give it a try.

Sweet Potato Dumplings

I usually make dumplings with meat so this is a first time for me to have vegetable dumplings.

Sweet Potato Dumplings

1 medium size sweet potato
1 small size carrots
50 grams oyster mushroom
1 small onions
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sesame oil
dumpling wrapper (molo/siomai wrapper)

Chop all vegetables fine. In a pan, heat oil then add the sweet potato. Stirfry a few minutes then add the carrots. Stirfry some more and finally add the mushrooms. A 1/4 cup vegetable broth. Cook till all ingredients are cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Add sesame oil then remove from fire. Cook to room temperature then wrap in dumpling wrappers. Lysse’s method for cooking the dumpling is to steam. I used the frying and steaming methob by frying the dumplings first in a non-stick pan then adding half a cup of water to steam them.

I prepared a dipping sauce of soy sauce, crushed ginger and calamansi (Philippine limes).

The sweetish taste of the sweet potato is balanced by the salt and spicy dipping sauce. Having made my first vegetable dumpling leads to a lot of possibilities for more variations of vegetable dumplings. The dumplings eventually graced our Sunday family picnic…

A picnic of sisig, fern salad and dumplings

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It’s so easy to make. Chop some ripe mangoes. Mix all-purpose cream and condensed milk according to taste. Dip graham crackers in milk and line a glass pan. Layer with mangoes and cream. Continue to layer graham crackers, mangoes and cream till you reach the top.  Decorate any way you wish. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

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Yellow is not only a color of summer but a color of hope for the fight against cancer. This month’s Click Photo Event is Yellow for Bri, dedicated to a fellow food blogger Bri of Figs with Bri, stricken with cancer.

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