Category Archives: Cooking

Baked Garlic Butter Salmon Recipe: A Must-Try

Lately, we have been eating a lot of meat. So I decided to cook something different. It should be something that my choosy son, Zach, could and would eat.

Since it is a holiday here in Japan today (the Autumn Equinox Day), I had time to cook. I decided to have fish with lots of vegetables for lunch. I went through my recipe notebook and I saw my Baked Salmon Recipe.

I found this recipe while browsing the internet last April. We were quarantined at home due to the State of Emergency that was declared in Japan. I was then looking for a new recipe to try because I was so bored at home that all I did at that time was cook/bake, eat, watch TV, sleep, and repeat. Although the recipe was a total success when I gave it a try, I completely forgot about it and I even forgot to share it here in my blog…sorry!

Anyway, the original recipe had only broccoli as the side veggie. I love veggies so I put all the veggies which I think would go well with the salmon: broccoli, asparagus, and green beans. I would have put some potatoes but I was worried that they might not cook well because the salmon fillets need less time in the oven. Perhaps next time, I will find a way to add those potatoes in.

Well, enough with the chitchat! Here is one recipe that is healthy and oh so yummy! We finished everything in just one sitting! I’m sure your family will love it as much as we do. Happy cooking!

Baked Garlic Butter Salmon

  • 5-6 pcs salmon fillets
  • broccoli florets
  • asparagus
  • green beans

For the Garlic Butter Sauce

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp light brown sugar
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp  dried thyme
  • ½ tsp dried rosemary
  • salt and ground pepper to taste
  • 1 pc lemon, halved
  • dried parsley for garnish
  1. Preheat oven to 200°C
  2. Cover the pan with oven paper. You can also grease the pan with cooking spray but I prefer using the oven paper because it’s less messy and it’s easier to clean.
  3. Arrange the vegetables and salmon fillets on prepared pan
  4. Rub minced garlic over each fillet then set aside
  5. In a mixing bowl whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, and rosemary
  6. Pour the butter mixture over the salmon and veggies
  7. Take half of a lemon and squeeze lemon juice over everything
  8. Season with salt and pepper
  9. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork 
  10. Serve with lemon slices

Buttered Steam Cake (Puto) Recipe with Cheese

IMG_2766

Sorry for the long hiatus. There’s just too much that is going on in my life right now and so my brain does not want to function normally lately. Stress can do that to the brain, you know. I have a lot of information that I want to share but the moment I’m in front of the laptop, the words won’t just come out. This isn’t the usual writer’s block that they always talk about. When a person is too stressed out and too anxious, the brain focuses more on the stressor or the source of anxiety that other things which used to be enjoyable becomes a task that needs to be accomplished — like, writing in a blog. And that’s what I don’t want to happen: I don’t want my writing or my blogging becomes a mere task. So as long as I can help it, I will make this as something that I enjoy doing.

Anyway, Halloween is over which means that Christmas is just around the corner. The church that we always go to held its annual Christmas Boutique and Bake Sale recently. Every year for three years now, I volunteer to bake cookies for the Bake Sale. But this year, aside from cookies, I also made some steam cakes which are very famous in Pampanga, my hometown in the Philippines. By the way, these steam cakes are commonly known as puto in the Philippines.

So for today, I will share the recipe that I use to make puto. I already forgot where I got this recipe from but I have been using it for so many years now.

IMG_2758

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients starting from the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix well.

2. Add the butter, evaporated milk, egg, and water. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

3. Pour the mixture in individual puto molds.

4. Pour the water in the steamer.

5. Arrange the molds in the steamer then steam for about 20 minutes.

6. After 20 minutes, remove the cover of the steamer and top each puto with cheddar cheese then continue steaming (with the cover on) for 2 minutes.

7. Remove the puto from the mold and arrange in a serving plate.

IMG_2764

See you on my next blog…enjoy cooking!

Quick Stir-fry Mushroom Recipe

I have been unwell for the past couple of days because of my unpredictable migraine. But this morning was the worst…my head hurt very bad that I thought I will be wheeled away in an ambulance stretcher again just like what happened before. So I had to inform my co-teachers that I will be absent today.

Fortunately, it was just a migraine and I was breathing normally so I didn’t have to be rushed to the ER. Before, I had the migraine plus palpitations plus chest pains plus high blood pressure and hyperventilation. So Sophie, my daughter, had to call 119 for an ambulance. It’s good that today was different because I hate the ER big time! And it’s not because of the doctors or nurses…it’s just the atmosphere of gloom that the room has.

Anyway, we were supposed to be discussing about mushrooms with the kids today and I was supposed to cook these mushrooms in butter while they watch. I bought the ingredients yesterday but since I didn’t go to work today, I decided to cook them for my late lunch.

Here are the ingredients:

img_2373-1.jpg

Directions:

1. Wash the mushrooms. These mushrooms come in clusters so you have to separate them and put them in a strainer to drain.

2. Mince the garlic. Set aside.

3. When the frying pan is already hot, put 30 grams of butter. Then add the garlic.

3. After a few minutes, add the mushrooms. Then add the remaining 10 grams of butter.

4. Stir well. Water will come out from the mushrooms so do not worry about the butter getting really dry.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When it was done, it actually tasted really good!

img_2365-1

Now off to bed I go again. I need all the rest I can get for this migraine to go away.