Mama Jess' Gluten-Free Spaghetti Squash Crust Pizza

Ingredients for the Crust

1/2 large spaghetti squash 

1 cup part skim mozzarella, shredded

1 egg

2 egg whites

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp basil, dried

1 tsp oregano, dried

salt & pepper to taste

Toppings

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/4 onion, diced

1/2 cup Mama Jess Garden Good Pasta Sauce

1 cup fresh arugula

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, part skim, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti squash first. To do this, simply cut it in half, scoop out and discard seeds. Next place face down in a shallow pan with a bit of water, then bake for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Pull it out of the oven and let cool, then scrape out the flesh with a fork. 

Increase oven to 400 degrees. Line pizza pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine spaghetti squash, mozzarella cheese, egg, egg whites, garlic, spices, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined. Set aside for about 5 minutes. Drain any liquid forming at the bottom of the bowl. Press squash mixture evenly into parchment paper lined pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. While the crust is baking, saute the mushrooms and onion until mushrooms are soft and onions are translucent. Remove from heat. Remove pizza crust from oven when crust appears dry and golden.

Spread Garden Good sauce over the crust. Sprinkle your onion, mushrooms and arugula over sauce. Top with cheeses. Return to 400-degree oven and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and edges of crust are browned. Cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into the pizza. Tip: It may be easier to lift the parchment paper off of the pizza pan and place on cutting board.

Pork Asado Recipe

In other places, this dish might be called braised pork. In the Philippines, it’s just asado. It’s a sweet-salty pork dish that most kids like.

Ingredients:

• about 1/2 kilo of pork cubes (with fat)
• 1 cup Silver Swan Lauriat soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• some garlic
• some onions
• some black peppercorns
• some water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 star anise
• 1/2 cup white or brown sugar
• chopped spring onions

Procedure:

1. Put together the first 7 ingredients in a deep pan. Cover the meat with water. Simmer in low heat for like an eternity, or until the meat is fork tender.

2. Add the bay leaf and the star anise. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes more.

3. Add the sugar and mix the ingredients. Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with lotsa rice.

How to Make Pickled Slaw

Pickled slaw makes an ideal topping for burgers and other grilled meats. Here’s a speedy recipe for homemade pickled slaw:

1. Finely slice cabbage, carrots and red onions. Place everything in a bowl.
2. Dress 2 cups of these vegetables with a mixture of ¼ cup white vinegar and 2 tsp. sugar.
3. Place the pickled slaw on top of your favorite grilled meat or burger. Try this recipe on Korean-Style Beef Burgers. You’ll love it!

Image credit: www.funkyfeatherfarm.com

Wasabi Mayo Recipe

Wasabi mayo is ideal for Asian style grilled meats or burgers. Try this spread on Korean-Style Burgers for added zing and kick!

Image source: www.feelingnibbish.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. wasabi paste
• 2 tsp. ginger seasoning paste
• 2 tsp. soya sauce, preferably with less salt
• ¼ cup regular mayonnaise (recipe for homemade mayonnaise)

How to: Just mix everything together and keep the prepared mayo on a ceramic dish. You can make more for future use. Store it in a clean container and place in the fridge. Use within 24 hours.

Ilocano Bulanglang Recipe

Ilocano bulanglang

Ingredients:

* leftover inihaw na liempo
* leftover inihaw na tambakol
* chopped garlic, onions, and tomatoes
* okra, talong, sitaw, kalabasa, ampalaya (your usual pinakbet veggies)
* 1 siling haba
* bagoong isda

How I did it:

Simmer garlic, onions and tomatoes in water. Upon boiling, add bagoong isda and continue to simmer. I like to let all their flavors blend first for like 5 minutes. Add the veggies. Pour some water (just enough to let the vegetables cook). Cover and cook in high heat. Mix the vegetables once in a while. When they’re almost done, add the finger chili then layer the liempo and tambakol pieces on top. Remove from heat.

What’s your version of bulanglang? Feel free to share.

Pork Sinigang Recipe

Here’s how I prepare my version of pork sinigang. So EASY!

Ingredients:

* 1/2 kilo pork ribs or pork cubes with fat
* 1 medium onion
* 2 medium red tomatoes (whole)
* sinigang mix good for 1 liter
* string beans (sitaw)
* eggplant
* okra
* kangkong stalks
* finger chili (siling haba)
* 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil
* 3-4 tablespoons of patis
* water

How to cook sinigang:

1. Sear the meat in hot cooking oil** until they turn brown. Cover the meat with water and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is fork tender. Remove scum and add water as needed.

2. After simmering for an hour, add the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes turn soft and then break them with a ladle. (I enjoy seeing the bloated tomato burst with seeds and flesh! Yummy lycopene!) Flavor with patis then simmer for another 5 minutes.

3. Time to use the trusty sinigang sa sampalok mix! Really, it’s just a matter of pouring the granulated mix on to the broth. Can’t be easier than that. :o)

4. Throw in the chopped vegetables – onions, sitaw, okra, talong. Cook the veggies on high heat. When nearly cooked, add in the kangkong stalks and finger chili. Sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” once then turn off the stove and remove the pot from leftover heat.

5. Serve with rice and sawsawang patis.

** Why sear the meat? Searing seems to bring out the flavor of the meat. At the same time, it allows the liquid blood to turn into semisolid mass (coagulation, or something like that) and be part of the scum that you skim off every now and then. I try to rid the meat of excess blood as much as possible so it wouldn’t smell of, uh, blood. :o)

This recipe was first published in my personal blog. Read more about my pork sinigang experience!