Help Me Win!

I just received an e-mail that the picture I submitted was accepted for the Sony Cybershot Tx1 "Love the Night" contest. I was told that winners will be determined via online voting, and that comments made on the site will be counted as one vote. I am now asking you guys to spare a moment of your time to go to this site:

Sony Cybershot Tx1 - Hotdog Bonfire
And comment on it, as I really want to win this one. Prize at stake is a Sony Cybershot Tx1 digital camera. Please help me win. Thanks a lot!

*** Jenn ***

Paksiw

When it comes to fish, the family typically cooks it in three ways - fried, sinigang, or paksiw. If you ask me, my favorite is the paksiw, because I love sour-y foods, and I can eat using my hands. When I cook paksiw, I don't really put in water, I just cook it in vinegar and all the other ingredients... and I prefer using salt rather than fish sauce. My family would sometimes complain about my paksiw being so sour, but I found it really delicious.

If there are left over, I'd flake it the next day and make fish balls.

One weird habit in the family when we eat paksiw... We would put in some Star Margarine in our rice. I don't know, it just taste good that way.

*** Jenn ***

Ice Cream sa Plaza

We thought it was our last day in La Union, so my sister and I went back to the plaza to take pictures and eat out. After eating this kind of street food that we can only eat in La Union (I forgot what's it called, but we only got to see the kind of street food there), we saw an ice cream vendor. It's been so long since we last ate this kind of ice cream - the dirty ice cream as what the elderly called it because it's being sold in the streets - we decided to buy one for ourselves.

We only had 5 pesos left in our pockets (we don't bring much whenever we go to the plaza to avoid over spending), so we can only have the ice cream on the simplest cone, which was a good thing to have - somehow eating it on waffle cone is some sort of a sugar overload. The ice cream flavors were strawberry and mango... delicious!

*** Jenn ***

V - Vienna Sausage

According to WiseGeek.Com, "Vienna sausages are a type of sausage traditionally made in the Austrian city of Vienna. They are closely related to Frankfurters, sausages produced in Frankfurt, Germany, and food historians believe that the original Vienna sausage was probably produced by a butcher who had traveled to Frankfurt. Modern Vienna sausages are typically found in canned form in many parts of the world, and they vie with Frankfurters for the claim of being the original hot dog. Some producers also make miniature Vienna sausages which are used on appetizer platters."

Although not my favorite kind of sausage, we always make it a point to put a can or two of the vienna sausage whenever we do grocery shopping because it's already pre-cooked, and we can just open a can and eat it when we are quite lazy to cook something up. This can of sausage is made from beef, something I prefer to eat. I can just eat this straight from the can, but sometimes I would make thin slices and put it in my bread.

*** Jenn ***

Dinuguan

Whenever my sister and I were in our house in La Union, we always look forward to eating dinuguan (pork blood stew) because it just tasted better that the ones we cook in our own house. I guess the difference was with the blood, because when consumers ask for blood at the market, it's already mixed with vinegar and salt, unlike the blood available in the markets here in Manila - vendors would just give pure blood.

Aunt Julie gave us packets of frozen pig's blood to take home last November, so the whole family could eat the dish as well. I cooked this one, just to try if I can cook it or not... and it was really good. Honestly, I prefer it with coconut milk, but the family wasn't used to eating with coconut milk.

The only downside to this dish was that it was really difficult to take a picture of it! I should've tried using a smaller bowl so I could take a picture of the whole bowl... but promise, the next time I cook dinuguan, I will try to capture a better picture.

*** Jenn ***

Emperor Beef Noodles

Because the main bridge that connects Pangasinan and La Union collapsed when typhoon Pepeng visited the country, motorists had to re-route and pass by some towns in La Union. The bus then passes by Manaoag Church, so when we went there last October, the whole trip saved us an hour of traveling. The last mass was scheduled at 11PM, and since it was only past 10AM, Aunt Julie asked if we wanted to have some snacks. Chowking was the only fast food near the church, so that's where we had snacks.

I only had half a sandwich for breakfast, so I opted to have something hot. I tried their new Emperor's Beef Noodles, and even though it looked oily and it wasn't presented that good, this one's delicious. Compared to their old beef noodles, this one was much better - the beef chunks were very tender, the soup was comforting, and the noodles are cooked perfectly. Of course, my Aunt would raise an eyebrow because of that oily surface, but I just smiled about it.. I had a great meal. :)

*** Jenn ***

Jollibee Bucket

Like what I said in my personal blog, Aunt Mely and Aunt Mary were here last weekend. They called in a little late and we were already cooking lunch, so we decided to just have some fried chicken delivered. We rarely have foods delivered, so we were happy that mom asked me to call Jollibee. I don't know what's with the fried chicken - I just love it!

The bucket contained mostly wings and drumstick, but it doesn't really matter... it's delicious no matter what!

*** Jenn ***

Homestyle Fast Food

There were days when the family just feel so lazy to cook food. Especially on weekends, it's sometimes a struggle for us to think what to cook. Seeing some pork belly slices in the fridge, I thought of just marinating it in milk, garlic, calamansi juice, salt, and pepper. Then, I coated it with cornstarch (with minimal seasoning) and fried it. For the sauce, I just cooked the marinade and waited for the milk to curdle. Serving it, I cut the pork belly slices in strips. Happy that it turned out okay.

The rice in this dish was cooked by my sister - it's a simple fried rice dish with chopped parsley. Very delicious.

*** Jenn ***