Pear, Sage, and Arugula Cheese Sandwich

I have always been a big fan of eating bread with random cheeses and fruits. The combinations are usually in the form of Brie, goat cheese, Fontina, or sharp cheddar with grapes, apples, or pears. They are not always made in the form of a sandwich, but more like a bread/cheese/fruit plate. However, a few summers ago when I was in San Francisco with my friends Kaelee and Heidi, we came upon this super delicious sandwich with pear slices, some cheese that tasted like Fontina, and some leafy greens.

It is high time that I recreate that sandwich! How about some pear slices, goat cheese, sage, and arugula altogether in one delicious bite?

You got it! So incredibly good, you would not tire of eating it! A big part of the trick is to use really good bread. Some good heavy bread, French bread, or sourdough… life is too short to eat crappy bread anyway.

Make sure to use ripe pears, there’s nothing quite like this precious teardrop shaped fruit that will surprise you with either a sweet crisp or a juicy bite. When paired with goat cheese, it is a match made in heaven! Creamy, salty, and sweet all in one. Just a note, I have used Fontina for this sandwich and it is really good too! Sage also plays a big part in this sandwich. It gives off a distinct pungent and earthy taste that somehow seals the bond between the goat cheese and pear.

The finishing touches to this sandwich involve a certain peppery and bitter leaf…Yes, arugula! I love adding arugula in this sandwich… it makes everything come together. That fresh crunch amidst the softened pears and the melted, creamy cheese is refreshing. And also, what’s a sandwich without a leafy green, right?

The combination of all these great ingredients in one sandwich is too delicious for words. You’ll just have to make it for yourself to believe.

Pear, Sage, and Arugula Cheese Sandwich (Makes 2 sandwiches)

4 slices of good bread, preferably whole wheat or sour dough

goat cheese or Fontina cheese
fresh sage leaves
ripe pear, sliced thinly
arugula

Move an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet generously with butter.

Using a knife, cut off thick slices of good bread. Spread goat cheese or lay slices of Fontina cheese on both bread faces.

Place the sage leaves on top of the cheese on both faces of the sandwich. Cover the sage leaves with pear slices (again on both faces of the sandwich) so as not to burn them in the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes or just until the cheese melts and the pear slices turn moist.

Take the bread out of the oven and turn the oven off. Place 3-5 arugula leaves on one sandwich face. Close the sandwich and enjoy it while still warm!

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Now then, on to some good reads!

I am fully immersed in work now… This is it until June 2013! My summer days spent reading books on the couch or on the treadmill are over. But, I made a vow to keep on reading throughout the school year. It will keep me sane!

So, I wanted to share with you the books that I read over the past few weeks and my thoughts on them… If you have been contemplating about reading these books, then I hope you find my book reviews helpful.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory – Intriguing, scandalous, and scintillating. This is the story of the widow, Elizabeth Woodville, who became King Edward IV’s queen, and her family’s struggle to keep the throne of England. A historical-fiction account of love, court life, and family rivalry. To be honest though, as interesting as the story is, it didn’t have the same effect on me as The Other Boleyn Girl series did. (If you haven’t read those books by the same author, Philippa Gregory, go grab them and prepare to be addicted.)

How to Love an American Man by Kristine Gasbarre – I started out not too impressed with this book, but it grew on me and I actually found it to be very charming. Kristine Gasbarre shares some lessons on how to be a proper woman and what to look for in a man. Most importantly, what she’s really telling us is to learn how to love ourselves first before truly loving someone else. A great how-to-love book written by a modern-day woman, who gets love advice from her old-school grandmother.

Trash by Andy Mulligan – A story about poor dumpsite boys, looking for “treasures” in the trash mountains of the Philippines. One day, these boys unearth a clue to a dangerous treasure. A quick read told by the boys and their unknowing accomplices, who in their own unsuspecting ways helped the boys go on their suspense-filled adventures to solve a mystery. I can tell that the author has done some good research on the country and its culture and perhaps may have even befriended some dumpsite kids. The characters in the book demanded my attention and I felt like I had to watch over them to make sure they don’t get themselves in any more trouble. In my opinion, the writing wasn’t super great but the plot, the characters, and the setting are very real.

The Summer We Came to Life by Deborah Cloyed – this is a bittersweet story that will remind you of the power of everlasting friendship here and in the afterlife (if you believe in such things). After reading this book, you will want to give each of your childhood best friends a call or write them a love letter, or just give them a great big hug.

Read on my friends... there is no other leisure activity better than reading!

Veggified Fried Eggplant: Filipino Style (Rellenong Talong)

Rellenong Talong or Veggified Fried Eggplant (I totally made this name up) is by far one of my most favorite Filipino dishes. Talong is the Tagalog word for eggplant. Rellenong came from the Spanish word, relleno, which means stuffed. The suffix, ng, in the Tagalog language is the same concept as adding ed to stuffed. Filipinos adapted many other Spanish words in the same manner and turned them into Tagalog words.

 

No one does Rellenong Talong quite like my mom, who is an excellent cook and never once glances at recipes. My mom cooks from experience, memory, and taste. Everything always starts with an estimate and she tastes as she goes. But always, to be on the safe side, she recommends not overdoing on salt or other seasonings. When a dish is lacking in seasoning, you can always add more, but if it has too much, it’s pretty much ruined. 

Everyone who leaves home for college and then comes home for long weekends or holidays always request their moms to cook their favorite dishes. This Rellenong Talong, which is somewhat like a vegetable filled eggplant omelette, was one of my frequent requests. Hmmm… this just now struck me as odd, considering that I didn’t particularly like eggplant as a kid. However, when eggplants are fried and transformed into this dish, I could devour it in an instant.

Rellenong Talong recipes include different vegetables and some ground meat. My mom’s, as far as I can remember, has always been a vegetarian version. I like it like that. The ingredients that she adds always change depending on what we had at home. It can be one or a combination of the following: onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, green onions.

I tried my best to conjure my mom’s recipe from memory instead of just calling to ask her how she made it. Knowing her too well, she would not be able to give me a straight answer because she is not a believer of recipes. So, I made this from instinct and sweet memories of home.

First, you start with steaming the eggplants to get them soft. The eggplants are then mashed with a fork and sprinkled liberally with salt to prepare them for being turned into an omelette, ideally. I say ideally because mine did not quite turn into an omelette. Never mind that though… I would not do it any other way because the flavor and all the other ingredients that went in made it taste so darn good!

 

 

Now the fixings, I added tomatoes, bell peppers, and chives into the beaten egg seasoned with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and fish sauce. The sweet, crunchy, and juicy vegetables were the perfect complement to the salty eggplant.

 

The trick here is to cook the eggplant and veggies in super-hot oil. The egg is supposed to act as a binder, but I think of it as an ingredient to add to help the mashed eggplants turn brown faster. Like I mentioned above, this dish did not turn out into an omelette and part of the reason may be because I only used one egg. I wanted to showcase the eggplant because it is the main ingredient here, but feel free to use two or more eggs. One is just perfect though, I promise. It’s really no biggie if it falls apart, there’s no need to fret about looks here because you would not want to sacrifice the deliciousness of the tomato and bell pepper add-ins for beauty. 

 

I am not quite sure how to describe this dish except to tell you to trust me when I say it is very good. DFJ, my super American boyfriend, raved about it and I hope you will like it too. This is the kind of dish that reminds me of home… the smell of eggplant frying in hot, hot oil wafting from the kitchen makes my heart swell with love and brings back memories of my family gathered at our dining table for meals. 
 

 

This is what Rellenong Talong is: homey, delicious, and satisfying… a Filipino classic.   

Just so you know, rice is a must. It would not be a Filipino dish without rice to go along with it, so go ahead and cook some, ok? Also, make sure you have some soy sauce with a small splash of fresh lime juice on the side, it makes the dish even better!

 

Veggified Fried Eggplant aka Rellenong Talong (Makes 2-3 servings)

2 long eggplants
¼ tsp salt

1 large egg
2 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp fish sauce
¼ tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large tomato, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 heaping tbsp fresh chives, minced

olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce
a small squeeze of fresh lime juice

Place whole eggplants in a steamer. If the eggplants are too long, cut them in half. Steam the eggplants in a large steamer over medium heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat to medium low. The eggplant is ready when it turns wrinkly and easily yields when poked with a fork. The whole steaming process takes 30-35 minutes.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients while waiting for the eggplant to be ready. Place egg, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, and pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat well. Add the diced tomato, bell pepper, and minced chives. Mix everything well together.     

When the eggplants have softened enough, turn the stove off and carefully move them onto a cutting board. Mash and flatten the eggplants with a fork. If the skin is hard, it will naturally slide off. However, if it is soft it will not easily slide off and does not have to be removed. Sprinkle the mashed eggplants all over with ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Coat the bottom of a large, nonstick pan with olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place the mashed eggplants in the pan and immediately pour the egg-vegetable mixture over them. Cook one side for about 15 minutes. Carefully flip the eggplants and chopped vegetables on the other side and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Make sure that both sides are ever so slightly burned, with just hints of dark brown. The slight charring makes it taste really good.

For the dip, pour a tablespoon of soy sauce in a small, dipping bowl and add a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice.

Serve warm over white rice and enjoy! 

Summer Cake

You know that sweet feeling of success when you take a warm bite of something you baked from scratch and it is even better than what you expected? I love that feeling as much as I love the delicious bites!

On Sunday afternoon, I made this cake while listening to some old school 80s Cardio on Pandora. Just me in the kitchen… with my cooking journal, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, yogurt, summer fruits, some whisks and spatulas, and mixing bowls. It’s the best kind of day: I slept in; made pancakes; went on a morning hike with my friend, Anna; went to a yoga class; didn’t have to stress out about going to work the next day (Labor Day weekend); enjoyed an afternoon movie with DFJ; and have nothing better to do but bake. What more can a girl ask for?

The makings of this cake have been on my mind since the night before I baked it. It had to be made because this is the kind of cake that I often dream of and would never tire of eating. I used a combination of whole wheat flour and dark rye flour which I initially assumed would cause it to turn out dense. But I was wrong. There is some heft in the cake, definitely, but along with it is the softness and springiness from being moistened by the Greek yogurt and buttermilk. The amount of sugar is just right and the sweetness is enough to make your heart flutter and smile. The orange zest gives it a fresh scent and you taste hints of it in every bite. This is why I have a thing for adding orange zest to most things I bake.      

There’s another addition in this cake too… basil. The basil from the planter that my friend gave me is blooming like crazy, so I wanted to put the herbs into good use. Frankly, I hardly tasted it in the cake and this was with full concentration, eyes closed and all senses alert. But it’s there! It adds some nice green specks and has tons of health benefits (it contains beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin K, iron, etc.). So if you have basil on hand, put it in. If not, your taste buds won’t miss it but your body could probably make use of what this good herb has to offer.   

Stone fruits… I love them. Peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, you name it. There were some plums and peaches that begged to be used and that’s what I plopped on top of the cake and they added the perfect touch of sweet, juicy bites. But you can use any stone fruits here, or any fleshy fruit for that matter. The trick is not to dig it deep into the cake. Just let the fruit slices nestle on top, when the batter cooks and the cake rises, it will just form around the fruit and cradle it. 

Just like the summer season, this Summer Cake is lovely… absolutely lovely. It is so simple but so good…  it tastes like comfort, love, and home. A cake to wake up to and enjoy with coffee, to come home to after school, to shove in your face before or after working out, to eat with ice cream after dinner during Netflix time, a cake to bake for someone you love.

Summer Cake

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp orange zest
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
2/3 cup whole Greek yogurt
¼ cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp basil leaves, loosely packed, chopped thinly crosswise
 
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup dark rye flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

2 plums, sliced

1 small peach, sliced
 
a tad of butter to grease the pan
 
Pour the brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and rub the orange zest in using your fingertips. Add the butter. Using a hand held electronic mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the egg, yogurt, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until the mixture is smooth. Throw in the basil leaves and mix on low, just enough to spread out the leaves into the mixture.

In a separate mixing bowl, pour in the whole wheat flour, dark rye flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well until everything is sifted thoroughly.

Pour in the dry mixture a half a cup at a time into the wet mixture and mix on low until everything is well incorporated.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a round cake pan well with butter.

Carefully move the batter into the cake pan and make sure it is spread evenly on the pan. Arrange the fruit slices on top, alternating between plum and peach slices. Do not worry about snuggling the fruit slices into the batter, just let them sit on top, they will eventually be at level with the cake when it rises.

When the oven is ready, bake the cake for 58-62 minutes. Turn off the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. After 20-30 minutes, when the pan is cool enough to touch without hot pads, move the cake onto the cooling rack. First, cover the cake pan with a plate. Carefully flip the pan and let the cake fall onto the plate upside down. Gently remove the cake pan and place the cooling rack over the cake (which is the bottom of the cake). Flip the cake one more time so now the cake is sitting on top of the cooling rack, right side up. Let the cake cool completely, about an hour, before moving it to a serving plate or cake stand.

Enjoy with a nice latte or cup of tea and a good book!

The Hunger Games

I read The Hunger Games series over the past month and just finished the third book, Mockingjay, last weekend. My heart kept pounding hard long after I read the last page and I stayed awake in bed just trying to wrap my head around the whole series of events that happened in all three books.

Yes, I am super late to the Hunger Games party but better late than never, right? Last school year, the student helpers in my classroom during 6^th hour kept talking about how awesome this series is, but I never got around to reading the books until my book club voted to read The Hunger Games for August. That was it, I was hooked and read Catching Fire and Mockingjay soon after.  

I spent hours on the couch, the treadmill, and my bed reading these books. The characters drew me in. Many times I would find myself wanting to reach my hand out to help them or close my eyes to give myself a break from all the suspense and take a breather. All three books had me on edge, I never knew what was coming next.

In the world created by Suzanne Collins, the author, Panem is a post-apocalyptic America composed of 12 districts and a capitol and revolves around an annual event called the Hunger Games, where 24 teenage tributes fight for their survival.

I found this idea for a young adult story very interesting and unique. A fantasy world that is technologically futuristic, but morally backwards. At some level it's an exaggeration of today's societal ills (picture high-school bullying, youth violence, and reality TV). If you've only seen the movie or heard about the story from friends, it might seem just violent and graphic, but there’s definitely more to it. The series shows readers a glimpse of what the world will look like in the future if we don’t take care of it, a look at how hard life can be when the government does not support its own people, a lesson on the sacrifices and losses that wars cause, and the importance of family and friends. This trilogy is action-packed and thought provoking, with deep symbolism that opens itself up to many different interpretations. The deeply troubled characters will haunt you, don't say you haven't been warned! I still think about what fate could have brought to them had they made different choices.  

This is a quote that stood out to me among all the three books. I rewrote the first sentence so as not to give away the ending of the story to those who have not read it yet.

What I need to survive is not a fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.
– Katniss Everdeen, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins