TST

Because most of the groceries in my cupboard are about to expire, I thought of cooking pasta. We used to do tuna spaghetti during Silab gatherings because one of the alumni, Tessa, is a vegetarian (but she eats fish). So I call this recipe TST or Tuna Spaghetti for Tessa. Although during college, it was just a simple recipe, I added some stuff I could find in the cabinet and gave it a good mix. :)


TST

Ingredients

1 can Century Tuna flakes in vegetable oil
8-12 button mushroom - sliced
4 pcs hotdog - sliced
1 500 g pack Spaghetti Sauce
tomato sauce
5-7 cloves garlic minced
quarter of a normal sized onion - minced
dried basil leaves
salt and pepper
water
Penne Rigate (depending on how much you will eat)
Grated Cheese

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Set Aside.
Boil hotdog in small amount of water until all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
Use vegetable oil from canned tuna to saute garlic. Add the onions and continue to saute. Add tuna, be sure it is in small bits already. Add hotdog and mushroom and continue to saute.
Add 1 pack Spaghetti Sauce and a little of tomato sauce. Ensure everything is well mixed. Add basil leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with grated cheese on top.

Handuraw Pizza

After Kat's persistence, I was convinced to check out her new found spot at Katipunan:  the Handuraw Pizza.

For first timers it is hard to find the place since it is not visible from the Katipunan Road.  Surely, its customers have known its existence due to word of mouth and how great their thin crust pizzas are.  The place is shared with XBX Interactive and has only about 6 tables to fill.

XBX interactive as its housemate

Kat and I ordered Mozarella Triangles as appetizers.  It is madeof crust triangles filled with mozarella cheese. Some of it were hallow though.  Also we add in our table a bucket of iced tea which is too sweet so we requested additional water to unsaturate its sweetness.

Mozarella Triangles

If you would think that their food is mediocre based on my previous paragraph, stay for long for their thin crust pizza will surprise you.   To maximize our money, we thought of having two flavors of pizzas in one pan. We had Handuraw Special loaded with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, bacon, mushroom, olives, onions, green bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese on their homemade tomato sauce and in the other half, we got Meatlovers which is topped with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, onions, and mozzarella cheese.  It was magnificent at 298Php. Because it is thin crust, you would get to taste the soulful blend of its generous toppings. You will surely be transported to pizza heaven...It was really a superb experience!

2 Pizzas in One Pan: Meatlovers and Handuraw Special

Handuraw could be found at:

XBX Interactive, 2F Burgundy Place, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Tel. No. (02) 435-4361.

Their original place is at Cebu with 2 branches:

Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City

Tel. No. (032) 232-6401

One Mango, Gen. Maxilom (Mango) Avenue, Cebu City

Tel. No. (032) 416-3200

Pesto Zest-o!

Pesto sauce is I guess the easiest pasta sauce ever come up… Not to mention that most of its ingredients are affordable and nutritious.

Almost a decade ago, my friend Chloe had ordered Pesto for dinner which we thought of sharing because we have eaten dorm food before we met up with our highschool buddies from Ateneo in one resto in Katipunan. I think that was my first encounter with Pesto and I would never forget how much I disliked its taste… talk about buying something, have a taste, then another and then eventually quit on it. The only thing that kept you on to the second forkful of noodles was the thought that the money you will be paying the bill would be totally put to waste. Chloe and I ended up wasting on food that night.

I have avoided pesto for quite sometime. Not until I have tried living healthy with options of fruits and veggies for food. So when deciding on pasta, the popular choice for trying-to-live-on-veggie people like me would be pesto. I don’t know if taste buds mature but I clicked with pesto. Time and time again, when I feel like eating healthy, pesto was my reliable choice.

But the high and irrational price of pasta and pesto for that matter (and everything else) had me buy a blender. First was just for craving of fruit shakes. But 2 nights ago I thought of dropping by the supermarket and dropped in my basket were ingredients for a pesto sauce.

And today, I brought to work some cooking. I brought pesto pasta topped with extra parmesan cheese. I love the fact that finally, I have done something for craving’s worth. I have fulfilled my stomach as well and the did away with the notion that I don’t know how to cook. Best part of that is, I got to save on lunch. =)

For Pesto Sauce, here's how to make one:

Ingredients:
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts or shelled pistachios
1 large clove garlic, mashed
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
In a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse until minced the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil in a steady stream and process until emulsified. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate, until ready to serve, up to 5 days.

Have a zest with your pesto!

Isanely Wicked

Insanely Wicked. That is Wicked Kitchen for me. After finding a feature of the resto in Click the City dot com, I was intrigued. And was uberly excited about it, I couldn't pass the week not to go here.

Why wouldn't anyone be? All of the desserts in the menu are named after the 7 Deadly Sins: Anger, Pride, Sloth, Lust, Envy, Greed and Gluttony. And this is not the main course yet.

Kat and I ordered the combo meals which is served with an ice tea. What's good about it is that you get to choose from 4 pasta and then pair it with a choice of chicken entrees . We also got a piece of garlic bread and salad. Both of us got Wicked Wings and paired it with a pasta of our desire. Kat chose Chicken Mushrooms Cream while I got Seafood Aglio Olio.

My Verdict: 5 stars.
The pasta is not soggy and is al dente... Seafood Afglio Olio is fetuccini with olive oil, garlic and some herbs (I think it is spinach) with a mix of shrimps and squid. It isn't salty but you would continue diving in. The Wicked Wings is awesome! There is a fire-y kick. I don't fancy hot and spicy food but this one is getting me to rethink. One thing I need to commend is the salad (lettuce). It is sweet and fresh. Kat thinks it is dipped in honey or syrup.


Came in our dessert: Kat ordered Envy while I ordered Gluttony (which is their featured dessert in their menu).

Verdict: 5 stars
If we jokingly tell a person that he'll forget his name because of how delicious a food is, this is the truth of it. As Kat says, Envy got her speechless!!! While Gluttony had me not want to do desserts for an entire week!

Envy is a super moist chocolate cake frosted with mint green chocolate ganache. It will get you drooling with envy (Tagalog translation: naglalaway sa inggit!) wishing you have this everyday!

Meanwhile, Gluttony is a enormous chocolate chip cookie topped with a plentiful scoop of mantecado ice cream, and a drizzling of chocolate syrup. This heavenly dessert will challenge the appetite, even of a glutton.

Although price of dessert is the same of that of the main course, I think the superb taste has it justified. 2 Deadly Sins transported me to Heaven!

And now comes the part when I have to whine... of course there are bad points. Service is super bad!!! Awarded nada stars for it!!!! Waiting time for the main course is 30 minutes and we had 2 follow-ups. And then when we requested water to help us with the dessert, we had 3 follow-ups because the waiter keeps on forgetting our requests. When we asked for the bill, it took us two requests!! What is that!?!?!? We even went down to get our change because we were again waiting for entirety for it! But the waiter took our picture so that's something commendable.

It is a pity that service isn't at par with the food they serve. I Hope the pics here gives justice to it!

-o-
I brought home Ex's Lasagna for my brother.... I think his pictures also justified whatever "bitterness" fueled the owner or chef who gave the name to this good-tasting recipe. Those are candid pics of him burping and savoring the food!


xoxo