quack-in-the-box

and other random thoughts that pop

[quack-in-the-box]

Carioca

3 cups Glutinous Rice Flour

2 1/4 cups Water, divided

1 cup Brown Sugar

Put Glutinous Rice Flour and 2 cups water in a bowl. Mix well to form a soft and pliable dough.

Scoop a spoonful of dough and roll in your palms to make a ball. You may also form round flat shapes, whichever you prefer.

Repeat procedure with the rest of the dough.

Poke through each ball using a skewer or fork to allow steam to escape and prevent bubbles.

Deep fry balls in hot oil for about 5-8 minutes. Remove from pot using a slotted spoon.

Drain excess oil using paper towels. Set aside.

For the caramel coating, put 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in a pan. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil without mixing.

Add carioca balls and mix until fully coated. Turn off heat.

Arrange balls in a single layer on a wire rack or plate. Allow to cool.

Serve in a plate or on skewers. 😊

*Yields 20 balls.

[quack-in-the-box]

Sardine Sisig

(2 Recipes)

2 cans Sardines in Tomato Sauce

2-3 Eggs, beaten

1 medium Onion, chopped

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 blocks Tofu, fried and medium diced (optional)

3 pcs Green Chili Peppers, sliced

Scallions, chopped (optional)

Liquid Seasoning

1 tbsp Soy Sauce (for sisig without tomato sauce)

Butter and Cooking Oil for sauteing

Salt and Pepper to taste

With Tomato Sauce

Heat oil in a pan. Fry diced tofu until crisp. Remove from pan. Set aside.

In the same pan with about 1 tbsp of oil used in frying tofu, add 1 tbsp butter until melted.

Saute garlic and onion for a minute.

Add sardines including the sauce. Slightly mash the sardines and cook for another minute.

Add 2-3 beaten eggs and continue stirring until well-cooked.

Toss in fried tofu, green chili peppers and scallions.

Add liquid seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped green chili pepper. Serve hot. 😊

Without Tomato Sauce

Drain sardines. Flake then set aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry diced tofu until crisp. Remove from pan. Set aside.

In the same pan with about 1 tbsp of oil used in frying tofu, add 1 tbsp butter until melted.

Saute garlic and onion for a minute.

Add flaked sardines and cook for another minute.

Add 2 beaten eggs and continue stirring until cooked.

Toss in fried tofu, green chili peppers and scallions.

Stir in soy sauce and liquid seasoning.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped green chili pepper. Serve hot. 😊

*Makes 3-5 servings.

[quack-in-the-box]

Corned Beef Misua

1 can Corned Beef

2 packs or 100 grams Misua

1 medium sized Sayote or your preferred vegetable, sliced

1 small Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Tomato, diced

Malunggay leaves

4 cups Water

Oil or Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil or butter in a pan.

Saute onion, garlic and tomato.

Add corned beef and sayote. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add water, malunggay and misua. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add more water if needed.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot. 😊

*Makes 4-5 servings

**I’m not that good at plating 😅 but I guarantee that this dish is a must-try 😋

[quack-in-the-box]

Potato Skin Chips

Do not throw away those potato peelings!

Make sure to wash the potatoes thoroughly before peeling.

In a bowl, make a simple breading mixture of flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper.

Toss in the potato skins until well-coated with breading.

Deep-fry until crunchy.

Serve with your favorite dip. 😊

[quack-in-the-box]

Veggie Balls

A healthier alternative to meatballs!

3-4 pcs Potatoes,peeled and quartered

1 medium sized Carrot, grated

Spring Onion, chopped

1 small Onion, minced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

3-4 tbsp. Cornstarch

Salt and Pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a pot with water and a teaspoon of salt. Boil for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and drain.

Mash potatoes in a bowl.

Add in grated carrot, spring onion, garlic, and onion.

Season with salt and pepper. You may add other spices and herbs if available. (I added a pinch of five-spice powder.)

Add cornstarch.

Mix until well-combined.

Shape into small balls and freeze for 10-15 minutes to hold its form while frying.

Deep-fry until golden brown.

Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.

Serve with your favorite dip. 😊

[quack-in-the-box]

[quack-in-the-box]

Spanish Sardines Pasta

250 grams Penne Rigate or any pasta

2 cans Spanish Sardines

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 medium sized Onion, chopped

1 medium sized Tomato, diced

A handful of Sweet Basil, chopped (optional)

Spring Onion, chopped (optional)

1/2 cup Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to packaging instruction. Drain and set aside.

Pour and heat the spanish sardines’ oil in a pan. Saute onion, garlic and tomato.

Add the spanish sardines and sweet basil. Slightly mash the fish. Season with salt and pepper.

Add cheese.

Add in the cooked pasta. Mix and toss.

Plate and sprinkle some cheese. Garnish with spring onion and sweet basil. 😊

*makes 4-6 servings

*The herbs are homegrown and this recipe will work without them.

[quack-in-the-box]

Lumpiang Sardinas

2 cans Sardines in Tomato Sauce, drained and flaked, sauce reserved

1 onion, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. kinchay or coriander, chopped

1 carrot, minced

Tofu, fried and slightly mashed

Scallion, chopped (optional)

1 small singkamas, minced (optional)

1/2 tsp. liquid seasoning (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lumpia wrappers

For the lumpia sauce:

Sauce from the 2 cans sardines

1 tbsp. cornstarch diluted in 3 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. calamansi juice

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp. sugar (add more if you like it sweet)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients for the lumpia filling. Mix until well combined.

Put 1 tbsp. of the lumpia filling on the center of the wrapper. Roll halfway then fold the sides to prevent spilling of the filling and roll again until it’s fully wrapped. Seal the edge with a dab of water.

Repeat the procedure to the rest of the filling and wrappers.

Fry until golden brown.

Lumpia Sauce:

Combine the sardines sauce, water, calamansi juice, sugar, salt and pepper in a saucepan then bring to a boil. Pour the cornstarch slurry and continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Serve with Lumpiang Sardinas. 😊

*yields 18-20 rolls

[quack-in-the-box]

Tuna Nuggets

2 cans San Marino Corned Tuna or any canned tuna

2 packs Skyflakes Crackers, crushed

3 tbsp Flour

1 Onion, minced

1 Egg

Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated.

Use a spoon to scoop into bite size pieces. You may also freeze the mixture for 10 minutes for easier shaping (I skipped that part.)

Fry until golden brown. Serve with your favorite dip. 😊

[quack-in-the-box]

Feel safe in your own skin

Embrace each scar and blemish

Be perfect in all your imperfections

No amount of eye bags or freckles can put you down

Don't be obsessed with wanting to be liked

Their opinion is their opinion

And yours is what matters most

Make-ups and filters are nothing more than Enhancers of what already is

A timeless art

You are your own kind of beautiful

Be bold

Be free

[quack-in-the-box]

Who cares?

I woke up

To an ordinary day

People pass by

The kids play in the park

The world is already awake

Which day is it today?

I don't know

Who cares, anyway?

I carry on

With my daily life

Everyday is always the same

I know I'm missing something

My weary mind is spinning

I don't know

Who cares, anyway?

Sometimes I feel like giving up

And I want to get out of here

What am I thinking?

Am I supposed to be in tears?

I've had more crying than I want

For another hundred years

The day ends

And I'm home again

Is this my place?

I know it's not, but then,

I'm so tired of searching

Am I where I want to be?

I don't know

Who cares, anyway?

[quack-in-the-box]

Something old, Something new

We are moving in to a new apartment. Still trying to sort everything out. Chaos everywhere. You have to actually clear a path each time you walk across a room to avoid getting lost in the jungle.

Moving from one place to another is truly a tedious task. Or maybe I'm just being dramatic since the new house is just a block away. The weariness is taking its toll on me though. It takes days to pack everything up. And it will definitely take stressful months of unpacking and getting settled in.

The only good thing I see in moving out is the trip down memory lane the moment you start digging through your long forgotten antique trunk, in which you will find relics of ancient times. Old letters. Photos. Out of town souvenirs. Tattered shirts and baggy pants you can't part with. Unfinished artworks. Highschool scrapbooks. Stuffed toys given by your ex which you can't let go of simply because they are ducks. Missing necklace. Old perfume bottle you kept because the scent is nostalgic. Dried pressed roses in books. Old phone. Old library card. And all sorts of old stuff. Heck, you will even come across payslips from your old job.

Who would have thought life could be this hard when everything seems easier back then. Oh, well. You really shouldn't mix damn ninjas into a trunkful of memories. I'm going to miss this place. Sigh. Now, back to work.

Honestly, I don't even know where to start. I still need to pack/unpack but orders are piling up in the shop. Really, I deserve a pat on the back for being multi-tasker. This job frequently releases my inner Gal Gadot. I can still tend the shop on top of caring for the three naughty munchkins and keeping the house. Remember the munchkins I mentioned before? Yeah, they are cute alright, but they are also a handful bunch. Sadly, the gremlin has to go since pets are not allowed here. But that's ok because my mom adopted it and she lives two doors down. That means we get to see the gremlin everyday.

What I like here in the new place is the view from the rooftop despite the urban din in the busy streets below. It's also refreshing to finally see the skies after years of only having neighbors' walls as your everyday backyard ambience.

So I guess settling in won't be a problem for a long time. It's going to be a fresh start for us. The beginning of a new beginning. With a heart full of excitement and a little anxiety, I'm ready to turn the page to the next chapter of this book called Life.

[quack-in-the-box]

"There is always a sadness about packing. I guess you wonder if where you're going is as good as where you've been."

~ Richard Proenneke

[quack-in-the-box]

Hello.

My name is Leny a.k.a. lil.toughcookie. I’ve been a member for a while now but I haven’t entered any posts yet so this is going to be my first. Although I’ve done blogs before, it still sets my heart all aflutter while writing this.

I blog (or indulge myself in social media) mainly to escape reality and at the same time, to keep track of myself and every one else.

For starters, I’m a bookworm. I adore Anne Rice, thus my moniker. I jump-start my day with coffee. I'm a certified Potterhead. A casual gamer. A very hearty eater (voracious is such a strong word so I’d go for hearty). I have three adorable munchkins and an obnoxious gremlin for a dog. Movies, music and the beach are my forms of relaxation.

What to expect from this blog? Well, for one, I’m a frustrated artist so you might see posts of some of my so-called “works”. I’m a hobbyist crafter turned pro. My crafts are far from perfect but since I’m making money out of it then it must be something. I love working with beads and wires. I also collect dolls and miniatures that I use for making simple (mostly sixth scale) dioramas. It’s my sort of stress reliever whenever I feel too tired to deal with the world. So there.

Hope you get to pick up a thing or two from my blog. I’m open to comments and suggestions for improvement.😊