It’s really exciting to try out new dishes, pero if you are the cook, that can be quite tasking. This year, I am challenging myself to prepare  with 30 different dishes that I will serve to my family. And the challenge starts yesterday:

We had Pork Binagoongan and Sinigang na Bangus (recipes will be posted at Dishes by Pehpot, hopefully within the week). I don’t do this often, parining dishes, but he requested for this. I think we had too much rice we can handle yesterday. The saltiness of pork binagoongan compliments the sourness of sinigang na bangus very well. A perfect combination!

And that dish inspired me to do the laundry after lunch.. hehe talk about burning the calories!

We’ll be using the 30dmenu as category for this challenge 🙂 

There was a time in my life that I eat Pancit Canton almost everyday…. hello college days! Mura kase eh.. imagine how much Pancit Canton was during my college years (1998).. 5 Pesos if I am not mistaken or less? A toyomansi seasoning plus a cup of rice and lunch (or dinner) is done. That’s a little over 10 Pesos for a meal! And there was a time too that we had siomai for lunch or dinner.. and Spanish sardines too.. haay college life.. so simple and so tipid life!

Anyways, college life is not the main focus no (dahil pag iyon ang kinwento ko, ay maloloka kayo sa mga kalokahan ko dati hehe).. let’s give Pancit Canton the space it deserves. I stopped eating Pancit Canton when I joined my sorority. Kase naman, after cleaning pots with maggots, we were asked to cook pancit canton, on the same pots! Argh!!! super duper mega kadiri! Sinumpa ko talaga na hindi na ako kakain ng Pancit Canton ever! After 6 years (I think) I finally tried eating Pancit Canton again, but never without ice cold coke in hand.

Let me just make it clear ha, the pancit canton I am talking about is the instant pancit canton.. not the laborious pancit canton aka birthday noodles. And we all know that instant pancit canton is not a good option for meryenda (although it can be a good camping partner, imagine nemo tents plus hot pancit canton on a cold weather), specially with kids..so we try to avoid it as much as possible.. siguro we had it once every three months lang.. and yesterday was one of the rare moment we had canton for meryenda:

And while I was preparing it, I remembered a few notes on how to cook your instant pancit canton perfectly.

First, of course, is to read the instruction on the packaging. If it says cook it for 3 minutes, do not over cook it. Trust me an overcooked pancit canton is a junk.

Another thing you must know, is you should not lower the heat. Wait until the water is boiling then drop the canton and DO NOT lower the heat. Use a timer if you must, just so you can stick to 3 minute cooking time. And while waiting for that 3 minutes, start preparing the seasoning in a bowl, mix and mix.. Drain the canton and pour in the seasoning, mix it and enjoy with ice cold coke.

It’s also nice to add boiled eggs on pancit canton. Before, we used to cook the eggs together with the canton (to save cooking time).. but realized that’s just gross.. specially when you think where the egg came from! eweeeeeee Now, what we do (in order to save time pa rin) is boil water in large pot. When the water boils, we transfer half on another pot, which will be used for the eggs and the remaining half will be used for the canton. The cooking time and prep time is just enough to cook the eggs 🙂

with the ham in mind, I finally bought an oven.. you see, Noche Buena Ham will never be that deliciously glistening without a few minutes exposure to the oven.. and I do not want to rob myself with that deliciously glistening moment..

Say hello to my 35L capacity oven:  

Where did I bought? Quiapo, of course! (jusme, kahit yata bigyan ako ng isang milyon eh mauubos ko lahat sa Quiapo.. hangdameng pedeng bilhin!!!) got the oven at New Sin Kian Heng Quiapo for 2700 PhP..you can find any cook ware you can imagine, teh, pati talyasi meron sila! (sarap mag pancit!) and a few blocks from New Sin Kian Heng, you can find the store for baking supplies. Yan ang hirap sa Quiapo eh, uubusin talaga ang pera mo! 

New Sin Kian Heng is located at 196 C PALANCA SR ST, QUIAPO.. easier instruction.. go to Quiapo Church’s main entrance..the road in front of the church is Villalobos.. go straight to that street.. straight.. straight.. until dead end, which is Carlos Palanca road, go a bit right and you will see New Sin Kian Heng (malaki ung signage nila, hindi mo mami-miss promise). Just a warning, judging from our experience today, the atmosphere on the said store spells B.U.S.Y..spare yourself of having to deal with irate saleslady, make sure you already have a list of what you want to buy before going there.

Now, for the what have I gotten myself into? part…

I have told you not just once that baking is not my kind of tea.. I just cannot deal with dough and the grandness that comes with it.. (baka maiyak ako pag nakapag bake ako kahit pandesal haha).. this is a big step.. yes, we will welcome 2013 with dough! Where’s the confetti?

But it dawned to me… I don’t have baking wares! what the!?! as I consult Mr Walmart, I found so many nice wares that I want to buy! And the list starts with a Kitchen Aide mixer! argh!!!!

Baking wares aside (and the price tags that comes with it)..this big step, hopefully, turns to be an exciting and rewarding experience for me, as well as for my kids..

I can’t wait to bake this one:

Apple Cookies recipe card from Nestle Cream Facebook Page.. and see? the recipe calls for a mixer! Kitchen Aide, come to momma!