I was as SA gal, in Patagonia, Chile for a few years. Now I am a Central American gal. I have no idea what a Pinoy cook is, hope it's a compliment. What I really am is a Necessity is the Mother of Invention person. And I meant to mention that the banana ketchup recipe was sent to me by a friend, who was tired of hearing me whine about too many bananas and only so much banana bread tolerance. It comes from the Living Well website.

Love the fajita idea but especially the spinach salad. I'll try is with squash leaves and beet greens which I always have in abundance. If I figure out how to upload attachments on this (my husbands new iPad) I will try to upload a photo of my "fogon", my outdoor wood fire kitchen where I cook and smoke meat, and generally hang out and drink beer when it's raining. The fogon is a typical detached cooking area here in Panama...lots of pioneer fun.

I just got home from a cooking class. 4 different ways to make tofu. The stir fry and the red curry were pretty good, but it was a revelation to learn that pot stickers are freakin simple to make! Ours had cabbage, carrots, shitakes and tofu inside with that wonderful sweet chili sauce.

I'm half tempted to run to the market to get the ingredients to make more right now. Except its almost 11 and Weeny is bitching about 15 hours without a pet on the head.

Can you post the recipe for the tofu pot stickers when you have a chance?
They sound great

It was definitely a compliment. Pinoy is a term that Filipino people often use to refer to themselves and their culture, and banana sauce is as ubiquitous in the Philippines as ketchup is in the US.



I'd like to see that. It's probably similar to the outdoor kitchen my SO's sister has in Cebu. It's kind of fun cooking in it, but like you say, a "pioneer" type of fun. It makes me appreciate my own kitchen a bit more

Mmmm! I'm married to a Pinoy girl and love that banana ketchup -- sweet and hot (tamis and mainit) varieties, but not as much as I love my Pinoy girl! And yes, among her many qualities is her cooking -- Fil and Am. Serap!

Banana ketchup?

I've never heard of such a thing and can't seem to separate the two distinctly different flavors in my head to even imagine what that would taste like. Kinda like trying to imagine mustard flavored ice cream.

I'm really intrigued by banana ketchup, and can't wait to make a batch according to Pgirl's recipe.

First we gotta eat our way through a pile of cherries, seedless grapes and peaches, afore they goes bad.

Then I'm gonna get some bananas and stuff.

I'm happily munching on Rainier cherries and Illinois peaches as I read this. I'm in heaven during stone fruit season. Maybe I'll make some Bellinis or Whie Sangrias with all this produce. Maybe I'll make cobblers and freeze em.

Banana ketchup is great ... and if you live near an Asian grocer, you don't have to make it to enjoy it.

Hmmm ... I sense some shopping coming up. I need some Ponzu as well ...

Don't even think of ketchup when talking Banana Catsup. It's an entirely different product, a substitute when tomatoes weren't available during WWII -- but a very tasty sauce which does NOT taste like banana. The red color comes from food coloring, at least from the Philippine variety. I don't know what Patagonia Girl's recipe tastes like. I understand there is a Caribbean variety which may have developed separately. You can buy the Philippine variety at Asian stores.

What do you do with it?

Put it on hamburgers.

What else do you do with ketchup?

Hash, baked beans, beef stew when you don't have tomato paste. I don't eat hamburgers.

All of those things can be good with it. Plus Shanghai lumpia (aka [inaccurately] spring rolls)! It will be a new flavor variety for some of your favorite foods. There's a sweet variety and a mildly hot variety.



http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/06/09/lu ... ing-rolls/

Rice, Hash Browns, scrambled eggs, hot dogs (some say no), spread a little peanut butter on a soda cracker then a dab of ketchup....YUMMMMMM!!!

If you're Filipino, you mix it with tomato sauce and put it on spaghetti.

http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/03/17/pinoy-spaghetti/

2 lbs Spaghetti
1 big bottle banana ketchup
1 big can Tomato sauce (approximately 4 cups)
½ cup Tomato Paste
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 ½ lbs Ground Meat (pork or beef)
4 pcs Hotdogs, sliced
Brown Sugar
1 medium sized Onion, diced
Cheddar Cheese
2 tbsp Salt
36 ounces Water (about 1 liter)
4 tbsp Cooking Oil

Oh yeah! That can be okay. I had to put a stop to the hot dogs in there, though.

Another bad idea (when lettuce isn't available) -- cabbage in tacos.

Wait -- cabbage is THE crunch for Baja fish tacos. Yummmmmmm!

Heh, I'd be kee-bashing fish in taco's too! Also don't like rice in my Mexican food -- it's not bad, it's just filler to me. But I do have some strange culinary tastes.

For instance, carve a small canal across the surface of a banana the long direction and fill it with green Tabasco sauce. Yummy!

They're not my favorite either. Along with hot dogs and marshmallows.




Actually, every fish taco place in Ensenada has shredded cabbage on the tables. With fish tacos (the kind with deep fried fish and white sauce) it goes well. With other kinds of tacos, not so much.

I bought some almond butter with flax seed because someone (Kimba maybe?) told me to avoid peanut butter. It's the non-hymogenized stuff. How on earth do I stir the almond butter and the oil without making a huge mess? Ellie enjoyed the first try...

I hate that! Try using a knife or spoon handle in a gentle up down churning motion to bring the solids to the top and let the oil go to the bottom. Then switch to stirring when it looks like enough of the oil has been incorporated that it isn't going to cascade over the sides. ( Except get a new spoon. ) Then store it in the fridge so it doesn't separate as much again.

I love fish (not so much deep fried) but the thought of a fish taco just ... ugh.

Yeah, I know. It's all in my head. I've heard how great they are; maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try one.

There MUST be an episode of My Drunk Kitchen that addresses this problem.

Oh, fish tacos are da bomb! Especially if the joint has a good white sauce. Yum! Try just one some time!