Corn on Cobb

 

For me this is the best snack ever.  Just boil some corn on cob then it is up to you if you want to eat as it.  Or you can spread some butter on it, then some salt and finally sprinkle some cayenne pepper and paprika.

Deep-Fried Mini Cookies

One day so I made pancakes for merienda.  I had made too much pancake batter so I decided to do an experiment. I had some old creamed filled cookies just sitting in the cupboard.  So I dipped the cookies into the batter then deep-fried them.  This experiment was a hit with the Little Ones, they did not pay any attention to the pancakes, instead they were popping the cookies in their mouths one after the other.   Will definitely be making this again soon. 

Kropek

I associate this snack with lots of fond memories from childhood.  My first happy memory of kropek is of Mr. Ho's restaurant in Makati.  The kropek was garnish  for their fried poultry dishes, us kids were more interested in the kropek than main dish.  Another fond memory was during Christmas season,  when we would go to the carnivals, kropek was my Lola Ying's favorite snack too, she would buy a bag and she would share it with me, our fingers would get all greasy from the oil.  Then there would be times when Dad would come home from work  his pasalubong for us would be several bags of kropek.  And the fondest memory was when Lola Ying discovered that you can buy uncooked kropek from the grocery and cook it at home. I remember her saying "Now Apo we can have it anytime we would  have a craving", and that she did, we always had a craving for it.  She would cook a bowl and we would share it while I tell her how my day was in school.  

I have to go now I have a bowl of kropek waiting for me, need to get to it before the Little Ones finish it all :)  

Lumpiang Ube Tikoy

This is a snack invented by my Mom.  She wraps up sliced ube tikoy and cheese in lumpia wrappers and then she deep-fries them.  It is a wonderful afternoon merienda treat for the whole family.

California Crunch Cassava Chips

I joined the Yummy Deals promo last July and I won, yehey!  The prize was P1,000.00 worth of California Crunch Cassava Chips.  We have not had these before so we were really excited to open the bags.  The chips come in two flavors Barbecue and Sour Cream.

The Little Girl instantly fell in love withe the Barbecue flavored chips.  She loved them so much that she finished two bags in one day. She loves that there is a balance of sweet, salty and spicy flavors in each chip. It had become an instant favorite of the Little Girl.  

White Corn Scoops with Homemade Chunky Salsa

I wanted to indulge today, so I decided to buy me some snacks.  I came across this huge bag of white corn scoops. I immediately thought that this would be great with homemade chunky salsa.  But I was hesitant to buy it since it was quite pricey at P158.00.  I thought to myself  I could use my supermarket rewards points to pay for part of the cost. I ended up paying only P50.00 in cash yehey :) 

I decided not to buy any other snack since the bag is huge. Love how the empty scoops look like, mini cups.  They are good enough to eat on their own, but since they were made as scoops it is best that you pair it with salsa or another chunky dip.

The scoops are a great idea, because there is less of a mess when eating tortilla chips with dips. The Little Girl and I absolutely love the combination of the white corn scoops and the salsa.  

For those that like it spicy, you can top the scoops with chili flakes yum!

Popcorn

I made the Little Ones' favorite TV time snack popcorn.  We make it the old-fashion way with fresh corn kernels, some oil in a pot with a glass lid.  This was also how my Lola use to make us popcorn. The Little Ones and I love hearing  and seeing  the kernels pop.  When the popcorn is done, we just season it with some salt, add another spice if we feel like it or sometimes we add a little butter.  Then we sit down and enjoy the popcorn and the show. 

Ice Candies

Yummy Icy Treats

The weather has been really weird the last couple of days.  July is almost over but it seems like it is still summer.  Then in the afternoon a brief rain shower would occur, then be gone in about an hour, making the weather sticky and humid.  I feel like I am in a sauna.  Good thing we have ice candy in the freezer to keep us cool in this weird weather. 

In the '80s it seemed iced candy was all the rage. During summer several houses in our village would put up signs - Iced Candy For Sale.  My parents did not want us to eat ice candy, they claimed we would get sick because the water used to make them was dirty.  And apparently my parents never had iced candy when they were young.  It seemed to me that I and my brothers were the only kids that have never had ice candy.  My Lola took pity on us, so she decided to make these treats herself. She used  powdered juices  Kool Aid or Tang, whichever was available.  And then there was this  liquid juice concentrate that I can't recall the name, this one produced the most flavorful iced candies. It was such a treat when we finally were able to take the candies out of the fridge, turn them over to bite off the plastic from the bottom end, and then finally start licking and sucking till our tongues became numb.

Nowadays ice candy has become sophisticated by using fresh fruits, milk, and cream.  One of these days I'll try to make this type of ice candy.  But for now I will have to use my Lola's simple version of powdered juice and water.  I will be forever thankful to my Lola for making us these childhood treats, despite my parents' objections.  She did not try to overrule them, instead she found ways to work around some of the rules.

As for the Little Ones, at this time they are not quite as fond as I am of these treats.  I guess they are still too young, they find it difficult to hold and eat. But I am sure in a few years they will grow to love these frosty treats as much as I do. 

Eat My GF (Garlic Fries)

Their kiosk in ATC (photo taken from their Facebook page)

Since I was sick most of 2010, I have not been out much.  It is only these last couple of months that I have had the urge and the energy to go out.  I probably missed out on a lot of new restaurants and food trends.  So whenever I do go out these days I make it a point to try something new.

Last week I together with the Little Ones and my Sister-In-Law found ourselves in Alabang Town Center (ATC) in search of an exhaust fan.  How our search for an exhaust got us all the way to ATC is a story in itself, but I won't bore you with the details about that one.

When we arrived in ATC it was already merienda time, the Little Boy is the type who sticks to a schedule.  If it is his snack time you need to feed him, or else he will throw a fit.  He kept on saying "I am so hungry na, please let's eat na, please."  So we went straight to the food court, in ATC it is called Food Choices, ang sosi di ba. Got the Littile Girl her KFC Chicken Alfredo and the Little Boy his Potato Corner barbecue fries.  I was still undecided as to what I would like to have when the signage Eat My GF caught my eye.  The quirky name got my attention.  After looking over their offerings I decided to get the Virgin Chips for us to share. 

The photo above does not do justice to how flavorful and yummy these fries are.  I think they should rename it because there is nothing virginal with these chips.  Let me prove my point, first the chips are deep-fried then sprinkled with seasoned salt,  a teaspoon of  finely minced garlic is added, and finally they top it with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.  Does that sound like a virgin to you?  Believe me it was no virgin, instead it had character and a powerful flavor. In fact the chips are so flavorful that they give you a free mint with your order.   The combination of all the ingredients give this snack a deliciously complex flavor.   The Little Ones did not take to it as much as I did.  I guess they are used to their favorite Potato Corner flavored fries which are greasy and salty.  Another thing I liked  is that not much salt was added, thus making it a better snack option for someone like me who has hypertension. 

Next time I find myself in ATC I'll make it a point to try out the Pinoy GF and the Nacho Mama.  

Check out Eat My Garlic Fries in Facebook. 

Recent Junk Food Discoveries

I admit it I am a recovering junkie - a junk food junkie.  I used to consume big bags of junk food daily - Clover chips, Jack and Jill's munchies, and Frito Lay's barbecue potato chips were my junk of choice.  Due to health issues, over the past few years I have tried very hard to cure my addiction.  But last week while doing the grocery shopping 4 new junk foods caught attention, it must have been their packaging and shelf placement that got me.

These two Wild Willy's chicarones were the first to catch my eye.  I did not fully read the labels and thought that they were veggie chicharons like that of Marty's.  Upon closer inspection when I got home I discovered that these are real pork rinds.  I opened both bags and shared it with the family, the verdict it's not worth the P30.00 plus price.  It is more air that rind.  I guess for us nothing will ever compare to R. Lapid's pork chicharon, it is the best.

This is the other "chicharon" that I bought.  Now this one is actually dehydrated peas that are made to look and taste like pork chicharon.  I guess everyone is trying to join the Marty's veggie chicharon craze.  In our opinion Chicharron ni Mang Juan is going to overpass Marty's in the veggie chicharon race.  This veggie chicharon tastes better and seems to be less salty.  Marty's used to be the Little Girl's favorite, but now she says that this is her new favorite. 

Does this not remind you of another cheese snack?  The font, the color and design of the package, including the placement of the mascot looks very similar.  From afar I thought that this was Cheetos.  I really fooled me.  Cheetos is the Little Ones favorite cheese snack, but it has gotten quite expensive.  A small pack can cost you  between P15.00 to P20.00 depending where you buy.

So when I saw this medium size back at P20.00 I had to buy it and see if the Little Ones would notice. The Little Boy did not seem to notice the difference he ate his share in silence.  The Little Girl being older, noticed that there was something off with her "Cheetos".  I had to come clean and admit to her that it was Chumbos.  She said it tasted ok, but she still preferred Cheetos.  I told her let's compromise and make a deal, for special occasions we will get her Cheetos but for everyday baon we will give her Chumbos.  She agreed, I am hoping eventually she will prefer Chumbos or better yet swear off junk food completely.  

D-I-Y Potato Chips

Since I learned how to make potato chips, the Little Girl would always request that I serve this for merienda at least twice a month.  

The secret to making the chips crispy is to slice the potatoes thinly.  You can use a knife, but it is best to use a mandoline to ensure the slices are very thin.

If you would like to make your own chips all you need are two large potatoes, this will be good for 4 to 5 persons. Slice the potatoes thinly with either a knife or mandoline. In batches deep-fry the chips until they  turn that beautiful golden color.  Drain on paper towels.  Then season with salt.  For our chips I add some pepper and a little sugar.

Tortilla Chips

The "old man" had the munchies the other night.  He was craving chicken and pizza, it was already 9:30 PM and the only place open was Yellow Cab.  I have never been a fan of their food, except for their tortilla chips.

So while the family had their hot wings and pizza, I enjoyed my bag of chips with salsa.

Cheese Sticks

I made cheese sticks for the little girl's and little boy's merienda.

Cheese Sticks were my comfort food in college.  After an exam I would head straight to the cafeteria for my cheese sticks fix .  Taking the first bite was always the best, hearing that crunch, then you get to taste the gooey hot cheese inside the crispy wonton wrappers dipped in ketchup.  This was the perfect reward for all that studying.  

After college my love for cheese sticks waned, I have not had them for years.  But now I am happy to introduce this old favorite to the little ones.  Based on the empty plates and the satisfied smiles it seems the littles ones are glad to have met this tasty snack.