iz it a ziti thaz i makez?

Since I really wanted to be active on blogging again...I decided to post something today...but...

What do I post?! *haha, writer-wannabe's block*

...

Oh well, ok I guess I'll just go food blogging again. This time I'm sharing my love for cooking experience. Well better yet my 'experimentation' hobby applied to cooking. I really feel I have that 'scientist' gene in me. Everything always has to boil down to experimenting. Haha.

Contrary to popular belief that I'm a good cook, I'm kinda not confident on this. Everybody either expects me to be good or perceive me to be good because:

• 1) I am Kapampangan
• 2) Yes, I hail from a family of good cooks (even the boys in the family are)
• 3) I am quite successful with my concoctions, taste wise.
• 4) I am forever fat, thus maybe I've been eating good food haha.
• 5) Last but not the least, my mom is a great cook and she runs a carinderia business since time imemorial.

I remembered being asked, "So, what's your specialty?". I was a little dumbfounded to realize it's embarrassing I don't have one. Well, I do have specialties pala : leche flan and spaghetti. HAHAHA. How impressive. lols.... Kinda everybody knows how to cook spaghetti, and they'd say it's also their specialty. And leche flan? Are you kidding? It's basically elementary cooking.

I realize I'm such a weird cook. I love cooking but Filipino viands and specialties don't interest me. I have a good grasp on how come though. As I mentioned, my mom is a great cook. I cannot probably compete with that. She's always like right there cooking so I have nothing to worry about, haha. *The last statement says a lot about my personality: go figure* I do ask about recipes once in a while though. But I am not as eager as others when she starts blabbering on ingredients, procedure and secrets. Well, now I realize I better take some notes. This is one of the 100 reasons why I wanna go somewhere far. So that I'd be forced to learn, and cooking is definitely on the list.

Obviously if you've seen me, you'd know I love to eat. But I am not adventurous when it comes to food. Trying something new is always preluded by unexplained fear. It's a hit or miss thing always. If I love something though, I get obsessive. I'd eat whatever that is until I'm sick of it or...I'm broke. Haha. So when the addiction is making me poor that's when I start to work in the kitchen and try to make a replica of whatever food that is.

So, here are the steps on my road to experimenting:

• 1) As I mentioned, I immerse myself to the food. I devour as if there is no tomorrow. By this I am familiarized with the taste, even the underlying ones.
• 2) I research. I hunt for recipes. I look into all versions of the recipe and do a mental checklist on what I think the key ingredients are.
• 3) I scout the grocery for ingredients. I keep an eye on the unconventional ones. Since we are kinda 3rd world, a lot of ingredients in the grocery are considered fancy.
• 4) I am so stingy I wait for sales. Some ingredients are pricey so I am on the lookout for good buys.
• 5) I battle the heat of the kitchen. I try and try and try. And often I modify until I get what I want.

My last project was baked ziti. I waited for end of the season sale to buy cheese. Haha. Cheese is kinda expensive if you're used to the local cheddar prices. All else was no problemo. My one worry is that I dunno how to go about the red sauce. I am used to my meaty sweet creamy spaghetti. The just right sweet-sour Italian taste I am not so good with. The red sauce is actually still under experimentation. I chose baked ziti because I love to order and eat it wherever. Also I know my siblings and cousins like it as well. I need food tasters and my family is oh so 'laitero' so perfect!

My experiment was a success on the first run. The pasta I made was yummy. I love it that this dish is heaven to my cheese-tooth. Yes, I have a cheese-tooth. I like cheese! Sadly though I wasn't able to spot ricotta on the grocer. I don't even have an idea what it's like. But mozarella, local cheese and parmesan is good enough for me. Oh wait, I can't remember if I had romano?!

Anyways, I'm craving ziti because of this post. Besides perfecting the red sauce and getting hold of all the necessary cheeses, I also want to incorporate tuna rather than beef on the recipe so I might do that next. Oh, cheese sale please! Haha

...and then there is that pichi-pichi project I have that is always a fail...darn.



Since I'm on it let's do a cheese 101

Ricotta



Ricotta is a fresh cheese (as opposed to ripened or aged), grainy and creamy white in appearance, slightly sweet in taste, and contains around 13% fat. (ct:wiki)






Romano



Romano cheese is a type of cheese that is known for being very hard, salty and sharp. It is usually grated. (ct:wiki)





Mozarella

It is a semi-soft cheese used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes.






Parmesan



True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity/nutty taste with a strong umami flavour and a slightly gritty texture. (ct:wiki)





Eden cheese



Yum to snack on to. I like Che-vital and ques-o too and quickmelt ones. yumyum!