Homemade: Toasted Sesame Mayo Dressing

I like Goma, the roasted sesame mayo dressing. I've only ever seen the Kewpie variety in the grocery and it can be quite expensive. The smaller bottle costs almost 200 pesos while the biggest one about 500. I thought homemade will probably be cheaper so I tried making it myself. It was a success, if I may say so myself. 

Here's the recipe I followed:

2 tbsp Kewpie mayo

2 tbsp ground  toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

I toasted grocery bought sesame seeds using a non stick pan then ground them. I think you can buy ground sesame but the freshly toasted one made a difference . Just mix every thing, it's that easy. This recipe makes about 2 servings. I made about 8 servings in one batch and stored it in a jar in the fridge.

I used the 1/2 fat Kewpie mayo variety and I couldn't tell the difference with regular mayo. For a lighter version though, you can also try using yogurt. Of course expect to taste the difference. I'll try that next time and give an update.

Ingredients

Finished product

This bottle is about 200ml. This amount cost me about 100-120 pesos to make. Cheaper and tastier than the store bought goma that costs about 200+ for 250 ml bottle.

Enjoy this with your salad. You can also use as a dip for julienned cucumber, carrot, and turnip for your healthy snack. 

Out of Town Eats in Pampanga: Chef Sau del Rosario's Cafe Fleur

Pampanga had been known for great food and great chefs. One celebrity chef that has recently decided to go back to his roots and set up a restaurant in Angeles city is Chef Sau del Rosario. He calls it Cafe Fleur. 

I had errands with my mom at San Fernando and we decided to drive to Angeles and have late lunch and also try their famous Sans Rival.

Angeles was about 20 minutes drive from San Fernando and we got a bit lost going to Cafe Fleur. Epic fail on map reading for both mom and I. Alam na san nagmana #nosenseofdirection

Finally, we found our way to the restaurant which was in front of Imerex Plaza Hotel, two streets away from the church. It looks like an old two-story white house.

It was a hot day so I ordered cold Chocolate batirol made from Davao cacao beans. It wasn't as creamy as I expected, seemed lacking milk. There were several variations of batirol including one with chili. I should probably try that next time. All choco drinks may served hot or cold.

Choco Batirol (Php 125)

I didn't quite catch the prices of the next items but will update once I get the exact prices. The pork belly on the kare kare was the best crispy pork I've tasted. The skin was crunchy while the meat remained soft and juicy. The bagoong (alamang) compliments the rest of the dish though it can stand on it's own. The peanut sauce was creamy but it would have been nice if the they added more sauce to the serving. The kare kare meal comes with rice but the serving is good for two. 

Crispy Pork Macadamia Kare Kare ( around Php 385)

Mama ordered the Sardine pasta with capers, kamias and basil. It was good. I was interested in the kamias that was supposed to be an ingredient. I was looking for that sour taste or even a hint of it, but was left hanging. Don't get me wrong, it was still a delicious dish. I was just expecting that tangy surprise, is all.

Sardine pasta (around Php 295)

To end our delicious lunch, we ordered the famous Sans Rival. We got Buko Pandan and Jackfruit versions. The foundation of the sans rival was the same for both flavors. The fruit flavors were infused in the icing. The Sans Rival was different from all the rest I've tasted before. It was really nutty good, not so much meringue and has just the right level of sweetness. 

The Jack fruit flavor is a little bit sweeter than the Buko Pandan. While the Buko Pandan was a little refreshing dessert. I will definitely go back and probably take home a whole cake next time.

Buko Pandan Sans Rival (about Php 195)

Jackfruit Sans Rival (about Php 195)

They also sell bottled Spicy choco bagoong (Php 175), Sans Rival Chips (Php 325), Spicy Tinapa, dulong and other preserved Pampanga delicacies.

Two other areas in the house is set to open soon to offer different food. Leh-leh to serve Thai cuisine. Leh-leh means "down or downstairs"in Kapampangan since it is in the first floor. The second floor to be called Ba-bo "up or upstairs" for pastries.

I added the map we used that I got from the FB page of Cafe Fleur as option to Waze.

Source : Cafe Fleur Facebook page

Angeles City Branch
L-463B Miranda St., Brgy. Sto. Rosario, Angeles City
Pampanga, Philippines

Phone Number
(+63 45) 304-1301, (+63 93) 5761-6550

Operating Hours
Monday to Thursday 11:00am - 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00am - 11:00pm
Sunday 11:00 am - 10:00pm

Breastmilk storage

As a working breastfeeding mom who pumps, there a lot of things we need to consider in milk storage like how we store, how much we store, how to maintain an inventory etc, etc. It can get overwhelming at first but you'll get the hang of it.

The most important step to make sure that your child gets purely breast milk throughout your breastfeeding days is to build your milk stash. I started pumping after my baby's first month. Between my colicky baby and learning the ropes of motherhood, adding this other task was too much for me. Things got better after 30 days and I decided to start building my milk stash.

In between feedings, I would wait about 30 minutes and pump. I would do this about 2-3 times a day and then once at night. I didn't have a whole lot of milk supply. Sometimes I get too tired and miss out on pumping. At the end of my maternity leave, I think I was able to store 5 days worth of milk for feeding my baby while I was away from work.

The next thing is to teach your baby's caregiver about storage rules. I printed out a guide and posted it on the fridge door. I was so lucky to have my mom help me out the first few months and that our helper was easy to teach.

You can use this table from Kellymom.com. It provides a good summary on how to handle you breastmilk from freshly pumped to frozen milk.

Below is a picture of all the things I use when storing my milk. See, I didn't have a huge freezer. I had allotted about half of the freezer space for frozen milk. Slowly, as my baby got older, the allotted space got smaller and smaller as I was only freezing milk that I pumped during the weekends. The milk I pump at work is stored in the chiller and is fed to the baby the next day. The milk I store and freeze during the weekend is consumed every Monday or whenever my work week starts.

I use the follow for my storage:

1. Playtex bottle liners (8 ml) - available at the mall

2. Plastic sealer

3. Pen for labelling

4. Pen and paper for easier inventory

5. Alcohol

6. Resealable plastic bags

I use bottle liners to store the milk as I thought it was the most cost efficient way to do it. Reseable milk bags can cost around 10 pesos a piece. Whereas one liner will cost about 3 pesos each. A box of liners will contain 100 pieces. All you need to do is buy (or borrow) a plastic sealer. I was able to buy mine at Office Depot for Php 700+ and used it for more than one year. 

What I do is I fill one liner with milk equivalent to one feeding and then seal it. The most I would fill the bag was 4 ml. I just find it easier to seal the 8ml liners since it was only half way full. I had an issue before when I was using the 4ml liners and milk tends to spill and we want to avoid that. Do not forget to label the bag with the date and time you pumped the milk so you know until when you can use. This becomes important if you do have a lot of milk supply and do not get to use everything you've pumped (lucky you!). Some moms donate the older milk to milk banks so nothing is wasted.

Plastic sealer (Php 700++)

Using the 8 ml liners allows me to lay the milk (as on the picture below) on the freezer "floor". It then takes only 2-3 hours to freeze it. Then I store them standing up to save freezer space. I put the bottle liners with milk inside another resealable bag to avoid contamination in case it touches the food inside the ref. We never had issues with this.

Writing down the amount of milk I pumped and the dates the milk was pumped makes it easier for me to track how much milk I still have in storage. It helps me monitor usage to make sure the oldest ones get used first. It also pushes me to go double time with pumping when we are running low on supply.

Here are some links that you can go through to help you with your milk storage. Happy pumping!

http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/

http://www.chroniclesofanursingmom.com/2009/12/milk-storage-part-i.html

http://www.chroniclesofanursingmom.com/2009/12/milk-storage-part-ii.html

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/breast-milk-storage/art-20046350

http://www.llli.org/faq/milkstorage.html

Summer Coolers, Out of town edition: Halo halo at Kabigting's

Kabigting's Halo halo, the pride of Arayat, Pampanga, was one of our stops when we were in Pampanga. A giant glass of halo-halo display greets visitors to the new restaurant. 

You order in one area of the restaurant and then give the slip of paper at the cashier. Do not forget to ask for a receipt upon paying.

This Halo-halo differs from what you are normally used to since it only has 3 ingredients, beans (halaya), corn and pastillas. What makes the halo halo really special is the pastillas made from Carabao's milk. I have not tried any other halo halo that uses this as an ingredient. In makes the whole lot creamier.

I like the corn and the pastillas, not so much the beans. It made the halo halo rich but I thought it overwhelmed everything else. I still prefer Razon's Halo halo over Kabigting's.

Kabigting's Halo halo (Php 70)

There are a lot of other merienda favorites that you can order like the pansit palabok, club house sandwich and dinuguan at puto, all at a pocket-friendly price. The pansit palabok is good too. Make sure you order this when you visit.

They also sell other delicacies like Macapuno candies and pastillas with yema. We bought Ube pastillas to take home. It was a hit especially with the kids.

Ube Pastillas con Yema (Php 150)

Kabigting's Halo-Halo
Paralaya, Arayat, Pampanga
(0949) 479 9304

My pumping scene

I have been on and off with this blog for the last few years and have amassed a lot of draft posts that never got finished. Most of these revolved on what we ate and my breastfeeding journey the past years.

I've decided to finish the breastfeeding posts. Hopefully, my experience helps a mom out there in her breastfeeding journey.

I had a full time corporate job throughout my breastfeeding days. I breastfed my son exclusively for 16 months. We had got sick on his 16th month and we were advised by the doctor to try to give him formula. He took several sips and decided he didn't care for it. We later gave him fresh milk and mixed fed since then.

I wanted to share my pumping area at my previous work. See, we didn't have a Nursing station at that office. We had a clinic that was 3 floors away and I had to get on an elevator to get there. That's time wasted. I did not want to pump at the restrooms so I decided to hijack one of the smaller coaching rooms and make it my very own pumping area. I was lucky that this was free for me to use.

To save time, I just left my pump on a chair in a corner wrapped in cloth. I also have my nursing cover handy since I can't get the shades to close fully. When it's time for me to pump (every 2 hours), I just unwrap my pump and attach new bottles for storage.

For working moms, if you can afford it, better to invest in a good double pump to save time. I got my Ameda Purely Yours from Babymama. It is a good mid range pump and lasted me my whole breastfeeding journey.

It would also be great to have a back up manual pump, in case of emergencies or if you didn't have access to electricity. You can actually put batteries on an APY but there are times when I cannot bring it with me because it was heavy and had this whole lot of attachments that go with it. Whereas, my manual Philips Avent pump plus storage bottle fit in one small convenient bag. This is what I used to pump in the car when I needed to.

My pumping paraphernalia included alcohol for sanitizing my area. I wipe down the table with alcohol every time I pump which takes about 5 seconds. In the beginning, I was pumping 4 times at work so I would bring 8 bottles with me. My sessions lessened as my baby got older and I produced less and less milk too.

By law, we only had 40 minutes additional nursing break, so I maximized my time by using alcohol on most everything instead of washing. I never washed any of my pumping attachments at the office. Everything was washed with soap at home. I only had a pair of flanges that I put in a plastic container. I then put this inside the ref at the pantry along with the milk I pump. I put my stuff in a paper bag so my office mates need not see my things with their food inside the ref.

I was afraid to do this trick I learned from Jenny of Chronicles of a Nursing Mom in the beginning, for fear that I might contaminate the milk. Tried it once and my baby was ok so I continued doing this. I would say that it made my pumping at work much easier and a lot faster. I did the same when I use my manual pump. I will just wipe the handle with alcohol once I am done and put it in my plastic container. I wipe it again before I start on my next session.

Washing each time will add about 10 minutes per session. Say you pump 3X at work, that's 30 minutes. 30 minutes of your time that can be spent with actual work so you can go home to your baby  much earlier.

My sessions could last from 15-20 minutes. I would normally set a timer to remind myself so I can manage my breaks better. If you can pump hands free, you can multi-task too with your emails. I never did work out hands free pumping (I made a DIY bra for this but it didn't work for me) but I did learn to hold up the flanges with one hand while I had my BB on the other. I would then be able to read and respond to emails while I was pumping so Yay for me! I use my nursing break and some of my lunch break to finish all my pumping sessions for the day.

In case you are curious what the picture below is about, I sit behind this door because it does not lock. Everyday, I put that Manila paper behind the blinders (I put it down before I leave) because I was afraid I can be seen from outside. There were times when people who don't know I was pumping would peep below instead of knock when they need something from me. I had my nursing cover but when it becomes too hot in the room, I take it off so I put that paper up for safety measures.

I was a pumping mama for about 19 months but continued to breastfeed at night and whenever I am with my son until he turned 30 months.

If there's a will, there's a way. Good luck on your own breastfeeding journey!

Home cooked: Beef con Ampalaya with tausi

I bought ampalaya so we have veggies for dinner when my mom came over to attend my son's moving up day. We ended up doing something else so it got stuck in the fridge for a couple of days. I thought to whip up this recipe instead of the original plan I had of just sauteing it with egg.

Again, this was my first time to cook this so I just followed the recipe I found on the internet. 

Here's the ingredients:

2 medium sized ampalaya (bitter gourd), sliced

about a cup of black beans (Tausi)

2 tablespoons corn starch diluted in water

onion and garlic for sauteing

half kilo of beef sirloin cut into strips

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soy sauced

salt and pepper to taste

What I normally do when I cook ampalaya is to soak it in water with some salt to lessen the bitterness. Got this tip from my mom. Others advise to blanch or pre-boil it but I feel that it takes away the nutrients if you boil it first.

Here's the cooking prodecure. Marinade the sirloin strips in soy sauce for about 10-15 minutes. When ready, saute garlic and onions then add the drained sirloin tips. Put in tausi and bring to a gentle boil. Add amplaya and about 2 cups of water, then cover to boil. You can then add some soy sauce and oyster sauce to the mix. Taste. Add pepper and some more salt to adjust saltiness to your liking. Ampalaya takes some time to cook. Just a few minutes before it is done though, start adding the cornstarch to thicken the sauce. 

This is a pretty easy dish that serves 5-6 persons. Enjoy!

Beef con Amapalaya with Tausi