На здоровье!

"Na zdarOv’ye!" means "Enjoy!" in Russia.  It's standard for my boy and I to say goodbye this way:  "Have a good day at school, enjoy your lunch.  See you later.  Love you."  He usually mumbles he loves me too but only when I repeat once or twice (with enlarged eyes), telling him that I love him.   Then he rolls his eyes.

It's the second week of school now and we're getting into the swing of things, the schedule and the study hours which compared to his old, slave driver of a school, isn't so bad really.  Except when we're trying to do Math.  I'm not the go to person for this, I should tell you.  Sometimes I try to teach him and then he comes home with brows in knots, "Mom.  You were wrong."  To which I properly reply..."Look at what I made, son."

I'm getting us a Math tutor.  Anyone?

Today's lunch: Russian Rolled Fish Fillets stuffed with Mushrooms, Leek and Parmesan Potato Pancake with Sour Cream  :-) 

Russian Rolled Fish Fillets*

Sole fillets (or Cream Dory)

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Butter

Mushrooms sauteed in Butter and some anchovies

2 eggs

Breadcrumbs

Marinate fish fillets in lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper for an hour, if you have the time.  If not, just season and squeeze the lemon on it and proceed.  (Just pack some slices of lemon along)  Put the mushrooms on the fillet, roll it as you would a jelly roll, secure with toothpicks.  Dip in beaten eggs and bread crumbs then deep fry.  Drain on paper towels and slice across as in the picture. Na zdarOv’ye!:-)

*Recipe from the Illustrated Food and Cooking of Poland, Russia and Eastern Europe

Is Van Valami Goulash?

"May I have some Goulash?" this is what the title of this entry means.  Which means (well not necessarily, since Goulash is also made in Austria, the Friuli region of Italy and Strasbourg, France) we are going to Hungary.  But since the title of the entry is in Hungarian...

Goulash is I think a close relative of Calderetta and is one of the easiest things you can make. I made this yesterday because as in all stews, it tastes better the next day.  The key ingredient of Goulash is of course Hungarian Paprika.  However, I have searched high and low for good Hungarian Paprika in Manila and have found none.  They all taste like paper.  So instead, in this recipe--well actually when any recipe calls for paprika, I use Spain's Pimenton dela Vera.  For me, nothing comes remotely close to it(see picture).  It may be a bit more pricey than your regular paprika from the grocery but really, it spells a whole world of difference.  It's got all the smokey goodness in it and comes in 2 varieties--sweet and spicy.  A little goes a long, long way so it's truly worth the purchase.  Try it for yourself and be smitten forever.  I buy mine at Terry Selection which is now also available at the shelves of Landmark grocery.  :-)

Today's lunchbox:  Hungarian Goulash (made with Spanish paprika) with Dumplings, Potato Pancakes with some sour cream and slivered leeks), Steamed Rice.  :-)


Hungarian Goulash
1 Kilo of Stewing Beef
1 large onion
1 large tomato
2 tablespoons good Paprika
10 cups beef stock
1 large pinch of caraway seeds
1 large green pepper
salt and pepper to taste


Sear your seasoned meat.  Sweat onions, add tomatoes, paprika and beef stock.  Add in caraway seeds.  Cook until until tender.  Add green pepper.  Adjust taste with salt and pepper. :-)

Isoide!

Isoide, I have just learned, is Japanese for "Hurry up!" (at least according to Linguanaut.com) I find myself saying this--Hurry up, not Isoide, an awful lot every morning.  Or any time I have to be elsewhere with the Kid.  The little one is easier to get moving since she still depends a lot on me, so how fast she gets ready is about as fast as I can get her ready.  But the boy is simply impossible.

To make matters worse, I can't even do anything to make him act faster.  Since he developed some anatomical parts which I am not to mention here for fear of being disowned as mum, I have been declared an alien who needs to present her passport to gain single, mind you, not multiple entries to his room.  The passport is just my screaming voice, actually.  But under normal circumstances, entry is non-negotiable.  I understand the need for privacy, really, I do.  I don't know what it is exactly that he does in there and frankly, so long as it's not drugs-- I don't really want to know.  BUT. PLEASE.  For the love of God and everything good and beautiful on this earth...ISOIDE!

Oh, he's going to Japan for lunch later.  Today's lunchbox contains: Beef Negimaki, Mixed Mushrooms Teppanyaki, some Tamagoyaki with spring onions, Japanese rice with a packet of nori.  :-) 

Tamagoyaki

I like to make my own and add stuff to it like I did in this recipe.  It's fairly easy to make.  Basically it's just rolling layers of egg back and forth on a rectangular shaped non-stick pan.  I made mine last night.  I like using Bounty Fresh Organic Selenium Enriched Eggs because they're as bright and yellow as sunshine and actually taste like eggs.  I learned to make this just by following the exact recipe from http://www.justhungry.com/tamagoyaki.  You can add stuff like cheese, ham, mushrooms and it will turn out like an omelet only Japanese which is what Tamagoyaki is. But, if you're too busy for this, there's no problem with buying the ready made ones.

Beef Negimaki

Thinly sliced beef (like sirloin or beef belly bacon cut)

1/4 Cup Mirin

1/4 Cup Japanese Soy

1    tablespoon Honey

Green and Red Bell Pepper Strips
Some Carrot Cut into long Strips

Marinate the meat in mirin, soy sauce and honey for at least an hour.  You can do this way ahead.  Like way ahead and just freeze it for future use.  After marinating, you can actually cook it as is but I like to make it a little fancier. So when I'm about to serve it, I roll the meat slices around my vegetable of choice.  Technically, it should be rolled around spring onions.  But I find that you can roll it around most any vegetable you like.  Carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, asparagus, zucchini.  Any vegetable you can cut lengthwise, actually. Then, I just toss them on the pan grill on medium heat until they're a little bit caramelized on the outside and the vegetables are still bright and pretty. And then it's good to go.

Mixed Mushroom Teppanyaki

Bunch of mushrooms (Shitake, Enoki, Shimeji, Oyster)

Onion Slices

2 cloves of Garlic

Some Japanese Soy

Butter

Wipe clean your mushrooms and heat some oil on your pan.  Throw in the garlic (don't burn it) and the onion slices.  Add your mushrooms, one kind at a time, being careful not to overcrowd them.  Season with some soy, salt, pepper and finish off with a tablespoon of butter. :-)

Ni Hao Ma, Kid?

Today is the first day of school for my boy, Enzo.  He is 13 years old and is now in Upper School. It wasn't so long ago when he was so little and couldn't let go of my hand. But now, he's much taller than I am plus I'd have to pay if I wanted him to hold my hand.  How fast time flies! I suppose it is good for him to become independent of me little by little rather than the other way around.  That is indeed a more worrisome state, right?  For him to become a Mama's boy?  I reckon it is every parent's fear and desire, in the same breath, that one day their child will no longer need them as they can stand on their own two feet.  But I'll worry about that later.  At least for now, I still get to make him lunch.

 

It is raining here in Manila as it usually does during the first day of school.  It becomes awfully cold in his classroom since there's just 20 of them at any given time so I decided that for the first day of school, we are going to China to eat something spicy--to warm him up and remind him a bit of the wonderful summer we all had.

Today's lunch box contains: Szechuan Chili Shrimps, Kung Pao Chicken (from last night's dinner) with Glass Noodles topped with more nuts, crispy shallots and steamed rice.

Szechuan Chili Shrimps

250 grams Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined

1    tablespoon Hoisin Sauce

1    tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

1    tablespoon Chili Sauce (more if you like it spicy)

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

2    slivers of ginger

1    clove of garlic

      drops of Sesame oil

In a wok, swirl some peanut oil until you see a whiff of white smoke rise.  Add in ginger and garlic and toss around for a bit.  Put in shrimps, the sauces and sugar and stir-fry until the shrimps are pink and curled.  Sprinkle with a couple of drops of sesame oil.

Kung Pao Chicken with Glass Noodles and Crispy Shallots

Kung Pao Chicken Leftovers

Glass Noodles (depends on how much leftovers you have)
Crispy Shallots (homemade or store-bought)
Additional chopped peanuts for sprinkling

Soak glass noodles in water to soften. Heat leftover Kung Pao Chicken in oil and toss in softened glass noodles.  Add a little bit of stock or water if leftovers seem too dry.  Stir around until noodles are cooked.  Top with crispy shallots and peanuts.