Saturday morning I woke up at 7 without a problem and got on with my day. Yesterday? I slept in until 7:30! (I need to leave for work by 8:05). But luckily, being the speedy person to get ready, I made it to work on time – and hardly any traffic – wish every day was President’s Day!
Out of the 12 containers of Chobani they sent me, I only have three left, so I think I’ll be over the breakfast parfaits for a while! This one comes in at 6 WW points. (3 points for the yogurt and 3 points for 1/4 cup granola).
When it got time to run I checked weather.com – a balmy 40 degrees and sunny! I decided to do a walk/run/sprint – 2 minutes walking, 2 minutes running and 1 minute sprinting. I did that for 50 minutes!
While I was running I found a cell phone on the ground. The battery had popped off but the back was right by the phone – I was able to put it together and it turned on. When I got back to the office, I called the last person called and left a voicemail hoping I could return it to the rightful owner.
I had it sitting on my desk when it rang and it said “Mom calling.” So I answered it and the first words out of her mouth was “where did you find it?!” I explained that I found it when running and they she stopped and said “wait a second, who is this?” Turns out she thought I was one of her daughters!
I explained where I worked and she came and picked it up. You know the neighborhood I run through with the huge houses?
That’s where they live. Pretty sure I should have gotten a $100 reward – ha! But that was my good deed for the day. 😀
So this was my first attempt at making a Philippine Dish. I still don’t know much about the cuisine, but if this dish is any indication, I think I’ll love it. If you have any Philippine dishes you want to share with me, I would appreciate it!
I got this recipe from Gio at The Hungry Giant. I did make a few changes – one I used pork stew meat because it was on sale for $1.99 a pound. I also couldn’t find shrimp paste (still not exactly sure that that is!). I weighed out the pork after it was cooked and it was 18 ounces, so each serving (makes 4) 4.5 ounces of pork, 2 ounces of the sauce, with 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice and steamed broccoli is 12 WW points. WORTH EVERY ONE!
Binagoongang Pork Adobo
- 1.75 pounds raw pork (shoulder, stew meat) (will be 18 ounces cooked)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/4 cup minced garlic (his recipe called for 2 heads of garlic!)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream (his called for 6 ounces, but when I looked at the back and saw 2 tablespoons was 110 calories, I decided to scale it back to 2 tablespoons – turns out the sweet/heat balance was perfect)
Marinate the pork with the vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar for 30 minutes. Heat oil in pan. Take the meat out of the marinade, let the sauce drip back in the bowl, and brown the pork in batches.
Add garlic and peppercorn and cook for about a minute or so. Add in remaining marinade, chili flakes and water. Simmer for about an hour or until meat is tender.
Add in coconut cream and simmer for 15 more minutes. Its such a simple sauce but the flavor is the perfect balance of sweet and heat. I shared it with a co-worker who said “the flavor is spot on!” However, after reheating the pork in the microwave, a few of the smaller pieces got a bit tough. I think next time I’ll use pork shoulder, because believe me, there will be a next time!
On Sunday night Tony asked “is the menu already planned for the week?” Of course the answer was yes, but I said “what do you feel like?” His answer? Taco Salad with Fritos!
He wanted this on his taco salad too!
His salad: taco meat, black olives, tomatoes, bean dip, avocado, cheese and fritos and lettuce, the only green I can get Tony to eat:
Mine: 2 ounces taco meat, 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese, cucumber, carrots, black beans, corn, avocado, baby spinach, lettuce and my dressing was 1 tablespoon of light ranch mixed with my salsa. A delicious 8 point salad!
Check out my friend Rhonda – her husband likes spicy shit like me and she MADE HER OWN HOT SAUCE! As soon as I finish the 13 bottles I have in my house, I am making this! 😀
Don’t forget to submit your BSI – Potato Recipes! Winner gets two jars of my baja fresh salsa!
That house is beautiful! Sweet of you to pick up the phone and get it returned to the owner. Nowadays lots of people would have kept the phone to themselves. I would do the same as you by the way.
If I had to choose of the 2 salads I would have chosen yours: delicious.
Hey Lady! I have been out of touch lately. Hubby was out of town and that always puts me far behind in everything. So I think I am caught up here on your life! Tony’s nurse sounds so nice, and kinda funny too. I love Filipino cooking and this recipe sounds fantastic, I think it is paleo too! I also love lumpia- egg rolls, and suman which is a sweet rice dessert. Those yogurt parfaits are looking so colorful and good, you have done some great combinations! I think I am loving Tony’s salad, I love fritos and I have not had that kind of bean dip since I was a kid, I didn’t even think it was sold anymore- now I have to hunt for some. Yeah you should have gotten a reward or at least a cup of coffee- you are the best Biz!! Have a great week!
Tony’s taco salad looks good! (I love fritos!)
Someone found my phone a few years back, and wanted to deliver it to my home. When I said I’d meet him in town I never heard from him again! Yikes! Can you say CREEPY!! (don’t think it was Rugs though!)
Um, that’s definitely creepers!!
I happen to have a Filipino friend with a food blog! Here is the link to all her Filipino recipes: http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/search/label/Filipino%20fare (she has recipes from every culture). I asked her on facebook which one she would recommend for a beginner in the cuisine so I’ll return (or maybe she’ll come here directly) with that link when I get it. P.S. There was no link to Rhonda or her recipe.
OK, here is what Pia said: “Hi, V. Thanks for referring me to your friend. I checked her blog and read her Filipino recipe. That’s so cool, I think she needs to change the name of her recipe to ginataang adobo (hard to pronounce ha ? ). See, binagoongan is the shrimp paste which she doesn’t have on her recipe . But she still did a Filipino dish w/c a type of an adobo.” She also said she’s online with her phone only right now and can’t look up her own recipes, but she recommended looking at her older ones to try, which will probably include a lot of “older posts” clicking.
Thanks V! That’s why our filipina nurse was confused by the name – she was expecting something different, even though this was still delicious.
I am definitely going to check out her blog!!
I think I could eat taco salads everyday! Especially with avocado. That recipe looks really good. I don’t cook pork very often. For some reason it’s intimidating. This looks pretty simple though!
Oh yay! So excited to see a new cuisine in your blog. I was expecting a restaurant trip, but you actually made it in your own kitchen! I don’t think I’ve tried Filipino food yet…adobo is a great start though! 🙂
It is great to see Tony wanting to eat again, and man that Fritos bean dip is good 🙂 The pork dish looks good too, I will give it a try next time some pork goes on sale.
Thanks for the hot sauce shout out, I make it about once a week and its gone in a couple of days 🙂
Good for you and your good deed! 🙂 Mmm and everything looks amazing – taco salads are like my favorite thing!
love coconut in anythinggggg, but coconut cream is exceptionally decadant and DELICIOUS! I’d be all over this recipe, sounds fantastic.
Now I’m craving a giant taco salad!!! 🙂
My husband actually got a phone call a few weeks ago from someone saying they had found a phone and this was the last number called. It was his best friend’s iphone and the guy had found it in a park! Good for you for helping those people out – I know Jay’s friend was so grateful to the man who had picked his phone up.
I haven’t had a taco salad in so long – looks delicious!
you did do your good deed for the day! Yay…the reward is the warm and fuzzy feeling you got in returning it to it’s owner…lol Well..they know where you work, so maybe something will show up! you never know!
I don’t know a thing about Phillapine cuisine! I will be anxious to read what you are cooking up!
We have met a lot of Filipino friends while in the military, and the food that they make is some of he best! I’m very partial to lumpia 🙂
Good job girl! It always feels good to go out of your way for a stranger. I bought a coffee for a lady at starbucks the other day- made me feel good :). Now I’m totally craving a taco salad. gah!
So what kind of cell phone do rich people have? Curious minds need to know! 😀
It was actually a hand me down phone because this kid had already lost an iPhone – so it was just an LG. 😀
The pork dish sounds really good! It’s funny, one of my dad’s favorite nurses when he received his stem cell transplant was from the Philippines.
Looks good Biz. I just made beef stew over the weekend using pork stew meat because it was half the price – and tasted just as good too!
My SIL is Filipino and she has some wonderful dishes that she prepares when we are all getting together. Our favorite is Lumpia or, as the lovelies call it, Aunt Francy’s eggrolls. LOL I’ll have to see if she’ll share any of her recipes.
I’ll have to find a recipe for that Lumpia – it sounds delicious!
woohoo.. Great job getting up early to exercise. I hit what I thought was the snooze on my alarm clock today, and slept an hour later then I planned. We are having taco salad tonight. That salsa looks awesome.
Where I work people are always leaving their cell phones. I usually look in the contacts and call either Mom or Dad. That usually gets a quick response.
Have a great day!
Thanks for trying my recipe! I’m glad you tweaked it to suit your needs. Even I can admit my recipe was indulgent. hahaha! 😀
Yep, I had no idea how much fat the coconut cream had – but its the perfect balance of sweet and heat – thanks again! Although our filipino nurse didn’t think the dish was authentic – I left a container for her to take home the other day, and when she opened it, it wasn’t anything like she thought it would be, although she liked it!