Weekend Eating | Independence Day Lunch

The past months weren't as good for us as far as food choices is concerned. At home, we usually just eat whatever is available - canned goods, or cooking meat as is (fried, adobo, or paksiw). Vegetables weren't a big part of our diet...though we do eat them, it's just that, sometimes we just cook whatever is there. Anyway, we do know the importance of eating vegetables, so last Friday, I just listed some dishes I hope we could prepare and eat.

One of those dishes is Kare-Kare. This is a dish that we don't usually eat because mom used to stay away from anything with nuts, because of her arthritis. Well, during our last visit to the doctor, he said that my mom indeed has arthritis, but she could eat nuts (hers is a different kind of arthritis), so I immediately wrote this on the list. The problem then was the meat, but sister thought of something to present this classic Filipino dish...


... by combining it with another well loved Filipino dish - the Crispy Pata.

Since we don't have a big frying pan and we didn't want to use too much oil for the meat, we decided to buy a small one at the supermarket and have it cut as well as they do use electric saw to cut through bones, making a clean cut compared to the ones in the public markets that uses manual chopping, making the bones crack and shatter.

Cooking the dish, she first tackled the pata. Seasoning the water with salt, pepper and bay leaves, she let the meat boil in it and later pressure cooked it to ensure the meat would be tender. Then, she baked it for a while to take out excess moisture then she fried it 'til it became crispy.

The vegetables she blanched in boiling water 'til it reached the "just cooked" stage and dunk them in ice bath to keep them cooked yet crunchy.

Last thing was the sauce, and the pata was already time consuming as is, so she decided to just use the Mama Sita mix - the creamy one, not the powder. We prefer to use the creamy sauce mix because it had real peanuts.

Plating was better when done this way...but of course, once all pictures were taken, we did mix the vegetables with the sauce. One thing we overlooked - the bagoong. Sister just seasoned the sauce with a little salt, so it wasn't completely bland.


For dessert, I baked Caramel Custard Cake. Actually, I had no intentions of baking. Sister planned to use the cake mix we bought from MAFBEX, but it was tricky to cut the the recipe in half, so she canceled it. Seeing we have enough ingredients, I baked this, as this still fits the Filipino theme, leche flan being a favorite dessert of many Pinoys.

I still cannot share the recipe as this was a trial cake, and it didn't turn out to be 100% good...but still very good. Problem was, the custard just wouldn't set. Baking this in baine-marie method, I baked this for over 1 hour (the recipe says 40 minutes), and it just wouldn't set. I decided to dry bake them and after 10 minutes, the custard finally set. However, the long baking time dried the chiffon cake a little, and oh dear, when I cut the cake, I realized I didn't pour enough custard...it was so thin! Actually, the recipe I followed used a round pan, but we don't own one yet, so I used two loaf pans and cut the batter in half, though the custard, I just couldn't gauge the level in the pan as I poured it.

Despite the problems, it tasted really, really good. I now know how to handle this should I bake this again, and when I do, I can then share the recipe.

For us who is used to eat out during Sundays, it sure felt great to stay in the house and be slaves in the kitchen. I am not sure if we can do this every weekend, but we will try.

Casa Italia Cafe, part 2

Yesterday, desserts came first at Casa Italia Cafe. Today, I want to share something else you might want to try at their cafe, that is not the typical Italian food - Pizza and Pasta. But before I share the food pictures, a look at how beautiful their cafe looks like:


The view from where I sit.


If you're alone and just want to have a cup of coffee, I suggest you sit by the bar and watch how they make your choice of drink.


I seriously want a taste of that croissant. Reminds me of how my friend Nina says it, "kwasan."


In a way, I love the divider. It gave diners some sort of privacy, without totally blocking out the view.


Want to combine eating with school work? The cafe has wifi connection that will allow you to connect to the Internet, though I wasn't able to check if they have electric plugs around.


A closer look at the shelves. Some Italian phrases and words are easy to translate, but "Il meglio dell' Italia" means "The best of Italy."


Two very interesting things to see - coffee silos in Italian flag colors and this dining area perfect for meetings.

Now, on to the food...


Pumpkin Soup (p150). Creamy and seasoned just right, I loved this so much to the point that I asked certain things about it - does it have carrots and/or apples (something like that) because partly I want to know if I can recreate it at home. This was so good, I can just have this and be contented.


Italian Baked Chicken (p330). I was not sure if they used chicken breast or thigh fillet, but I loved that even if it was baked, it was still juicy and tender. The sauce (or gravy, as how Italians call it) wasn't tarty or sour, something I preferred, but it wasn't the sweet kind the way Filipinos usually go for.


Sole Fillet with Lemon Pepper Cream Sauce (p490). A little bit pricey for me...but I liked that they used sole fillet instead of the usual cream dory fillet. The sauce lacked that lemon flavor I wanted, but it was still a good dish overall.


Hickory Pork Belly (p430). So heavenly good! The meat was tender and screams "barbecue" through and through.


Kaffe Otto. Not my drink, but this I think would be a good way to eat a great meal. This is Casa Italia Cafe's own blend of coffe, something I will try when I dine there again.

I plan to take mom and sister there so they can taste their food, too.

Casa Italia Cafe is located at the ground floor of SM North EDSA (The Block).

The Many Ways to Enjoy Gelato at Casa Italia Cafe

Summer is already over here in the Philippines, but the thing is, regardless of the season, we just enjoy to eat iced treats. And I don't know if you can relate to this, but here at home, whenever one is down with the flu, that's when cravings for something cold and icy is strong.

Personally, I cannot eat a lot of any food product with cold milk and/or cream, but that hasn't fully stopped me from trying out different ice cream parlors and gelateria. My latest escapade was at Casa Italia Cafe, located at the lower ground floor of SM North EDSA (The Block).


Founded by Fox Hardegger, Casa Italia is a modern day interpretation of the traditional Italian bar serving wholesome menu of freshly made food, Italian beers and wine, and handcrafted premium gelato in a fast casual all-day dining setting. It originated from a gelato palour in 2010 (in Singapore), expanded into specialty coffee and comfort food place, and now has opened many branches in different countries, including two here in the Philippines. I still haven't visited the one in BGC, but the one closer to my place, I visited not too long ago.

They do offer a wide array of food choices, but this post is dedicated only to what they are most known for - the gelato. The savory food I tried at Casa Italia will be shared on a different post.



Even before you enter Casa Italia, it would be impossible not to be tempted to try out their gelato. Look at those colors! They have so many flavors to choose from, but all were churned out honestly with natural ingredients and produced absolutely free of artificial flavours, chemicals, colorants, or preservatives. Though "gelato" is the Italian word for "Ice Cream," it is generally lower in calories, fat, and sugar than traditional ice cream.


I was able to taste different flavors -

• Green Mango - Full of green mango goodness; it tasted like the real fruit, it made me crave for salt and bagoong alamang!
• Guyabano (in picture) - If I didn't know this was gelato, I would think it was real guyabano flesh smashed and refrigerated. It was that delicious!
• Ube - I was hoping it would taste like Ube Halaya, but it wasn't. Of all the flavors I tried, it was the most bland, but it could also be because I tasted it after I tasted several fruit gelati.
• Pineapple - Another very close to the real thing gelato, but this was a tad sweeter than the normal pineapple fruit.
• Choco Chili - I love that it tasted mainly of dark chocolate (very dark but very good), and the kick of chili could be felt once the gelato has melted in the mouth. 
• Roasted Rice - I understood that this is an acquired taste and at first I admit I didn't like it that much, but it kept me tasting and tasting it...until I am in love with it. If you want to try something different, I highly recommend this.

Actually, I recommend every flavor they have, but I would suggest you try something seasonal or something you don't see often, to make your gelato experience more memorable.

Casa Italia Cafe don't just offer plain gelato, they also offer different kinds of gelato-based treats:


Smoothies and Frappes

• Gelatoccino - Casa Italia's gelato and coffee in one delicious drink
• Gelato Frappe - Dairy based frappe mixed with gelato (of your choice)
• Gelato Slush - made with Casa Italia gelato sorbet
• Yogurt Smoothie - made with Casa Italia yogurt gelato

If you want any of these drinks, feel free to ask the staff for recommendation.


Gelatonini. The newest way to enjoy gelato! This one is pandolce (Italian sweet bread) panini sandwich with scoops of nutella gelato. The idea of this was taken from our everyday mamang sorbetero selling sorbetes in bread buns.

If you are into a mix of savory and sweet, they also have the Ham and Cheese Gelatonini. It's basically the same (in concept) as the one in picture, but for the filling, it has real ham and Formaggi Gelato (cream cheese and cheddar cheese flavors).


Sunny Daydream. A good-for sharing dessert, this one has an apple peach cobbler base topped with mango, melon, and raspberry gelato, as well as whipped cream, almond slivers, and Peppero sticks.


Midnight Surprise. Another good-for-sharing treat... this one has chocolate lava cake base topped with nutella, raspberry, and white chocolate gelato, as well as cookie bits, almond slivers, and Peppero sticks.


Liquoratto. A combination of gelato and liquor when you need a pick-me-up. On the left is Limoncello Liquoratto - a combination of raspberry gelato and a shot of Il Limone limoncello.  On the right is the White Velvet - a combination of white chocolate gelato and a shot of Amaretto. Actually, you may also opt for two shots of liquor, but for me, a shot will do. Between the two, I loved White Velvet more.

On the next post, I will share meals I tried at Casa Italia, but if this post made you want to try out their gelati, the shop is located at the ground floor of SM North EDSA (The Block), near the Hypermarket. For more details and future offerings, like their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/CasaItaliaPh