Stay-at-Home Brunch and Dinner Recipe Ideas

Our home is somewhere in between two towns, about eleven miles both ways so we practice what we had done when we first came here. What I cooked for breakfast will sometimes overlap to lunch and dinner, and vice versa. There is no food wasted. What we cannot eat will be given to our dogs. There are eight of them, by the way.

Before we embarked to the market, we make sure the list will have all the necessities but news of the lockdown sent our wits to the stratosphere. I do not know if we bought the right things and if we bought adequate amount of food.

After three days of buying necessities such as: medicines, dry foods, vegetables, and fresh meat and fish, we are packing the refrigerator and pantry to the hilt. They literally groaned when the pantry got stocked up by different sizes of cans and jars, and the freezer housed several bags of pork and chicken plus the few pieces of bangus (milkfish) and tilapia. There are two trays of eggs, several small bags of beans, a box of instant noodles, three large packs of dry noodles, two bags of pasta and one gallon of olive oil.

We are safe for the time being. The foods will last a month or so. We refuse to be defeated by panic and not think of the following months.

Three Hotcakes on a Platter

There is an old bag of pancake mix lurking in the refrigerator. I unearthed it when I was putting the eggs and loaf bread inside.

I add a cup of almond milk to one cup of self-rising flour, instead of water. I put half a teaspoon of cooking oil into the batter, and a dollop on the pan. Covering the pan makes bubbles appear immediately. I poured about one spoon of honey over the pancake when it is done.

In ten minutes, breakfast is ready with our usual pot of coffee.

Frittata or Omelet

A leftover salad was saved in the refrigerator. It is made of kamias (or bilimbi), tomatoes, and onion--all sliced, then tossed with a pinch of salt.

Ingredients:

• Leftover salad
• 2 pieces eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 can tuna chunks, drained

How to Cook:

1. In a pan, I started to cook the leftover salad, onion, and tomato over medium heat.
2. I opened a can of tuna chunks soaked in vegetable oil and poured it on the mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, break two eggs. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Fold in the tuna mixture.
4. Pour into the pan and cook over low heat. Cover. Using a spatula, divide the omelet into quarter for easy turnover.
5. Toast the omelet quarter until golden brown. Serve hot with fried rice.

Leftover Frittata and Two Sunny-Side Up Eggs

There is a quarter omelet and left languishing in the dark corner of the refrigerator. I rescued it from spoilage and decided to re-cook it into another omelet.

I tend to throw in whatever vegetables are available. I chopped one long green chili pepper, tomato, and onion to the simmering mixture of frittata. Because I am mindful to limit our egg consumption to only three, I stir one egg for this and two eggs for slightly frying.

Team these with steaming rice and two cups of hot coffee. Our breakfast is mouthwatering!

Fried Bangus with Tomato Salad

I salted the jerked bangus and soaked them in vinegar and crushed garlic before I put them in the refrigerator overnight. They can stay in the freezer for one week.

I put a single clove of crushed garlic in the oil before frying the jerked bangus. I carefully laid the part with scales first. It lessened the splashes of hot oil during cooking.

In a small bowl, I tossed the sliced kamias (or bilimbi), cubed tomatoes, and chopped onion with a pinch of salt. I topped the fresh vegetables with slices of salted eggs.

Teamed with the usual steaming rice, we relished the simple and inexpensive lunch.

Eggplant Frittata

You'll need:

• 5 medium eggplant, roasted and skinned
• 1 cup ground pork, boiled and drained
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 long green chili pepper, sliced
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp oil each for frying

How to Cook:

1. In a large bowl, mix all vegetables, ground pork, and eggs. Add salt and pepper.
2. Mash the eggplant and combine with the egg mixture.
3. Over medium heat, pour half of the mixture in the lightly oiled pan. Cover and let cook until set. With a spatula, carefully flip over the frittata. Cover again.
4. In very small bowl, blend together the vinegar, crushed garlic, and salt. This will be the dip. There are also catsup and hot sauce.
5. Serve with hot rice.

Sarciado Tilapia

You'll need:

• 3 pieces tilapia
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 large tomatoes, cubed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup oil, for frying
• 1 Tbsp oil, for sauteing
• 1/2 cup water

How to Cook:

1. Over high heat, pour the oil in a pan. When oil is hot, place the tilapia carefully. Cover to shield yourself from oil spatters. Fry the fish until toasty brown. Set aside the fried fish.
2. In another pan, saute garlic until golden brown. Add onion and cook until transparent.
3. Drop the tomatoes and cover. Simmer until they soften.
4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash the mixture with the use of spatula. Add water and let boil.
5. Fold in the lightly beaten egg. Cover and simmer for a minute. Add the fried fish and remove from heat.
6. Serve with fried rice.

Corned Beef with Vegetables

You'll need:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 long green chili, sliced
• 1 big can corned beef
• 1 small carrot, skinned and cubed
• 1 medium potato, skinned and cubed
• 100 grams baguio beans, ends removed and cut 1/4 inch
• 1 cup meat stock
• salt and pepper, to taste

How to Cook:

1. In a stew pan over medium heat, saute garlic until golden brown. Add onion. Simmer until transparent. Drop tomatoes and long green chili. Cover until cooked.
2. Add carrot, potato, and baguio beans. Simmer for 1 minute, then fold in the corned beef. Cover and let boil, in low heat.
3. Pour the meat stock. Cover again and let simmer for 2 minutes. Serve with steaming rice.

Monggo Guisado

You'll need:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 small tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup pork, boiled and cubed
• 1 cup green monggo, boiled
• 1 cup red monggo, boiled
• 2 cups malunggay leaves
• 1 cup chicharon or pork crackling
• 1 cup meat stock
• salt and pepper, to taste

How to Cook:

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, saute garlic until golden brown and onion until transparent. Add tomatoes and pork. Cover until the tomatoes soften and can be mashed by spatula.
2. Add green monggo and red monggo. Mash them against the side of the stock pan with the use of spatula. Add the malunggay leaves. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Pour the meat stock and fold in the pork cracklings. Sprinkle a pinch each of salt and pepper. Boil for another 10 minutes. Serve hot with, or without, rice.

Vegetables with Spam

You'll need:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 can Spam, cut into strips
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 medium carrot, sliced diagonally
• 1 cup cauliflower, cut into flowerettes
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced and seeds removed
• salt and pepper, to taste

How to Cook:

1. In a wok over high heat, saute garlic and onion. Add the Spam and soy sauce. Simmer while stirring continuously.
2. Drop the carrot, cauliflower, and bell pepper. Continue stirring over high heat. Flavor with salt and pepper. Remove from the wok and serve immediately with rice.

I can say, we are kind of fortunate because we are inured to living alone. We came and lived here three years in a row. In the mountains, there are a few people living here. Some days, we do not see a soul but we are comforted to know that our neighbors lived just a few kilometers away. It is social distancing at its best.