Aug 4, 2020 | Recipes, Sides
SERVES 6
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HANDS-ON TIME 25 MIN, PLUS CHILLING
Yes, hot sweetcorn slathered with salty butter is good but have you tried hot sweetcorn smothered with a pancetta, rosemary and garlic butter? It is divine!
NUTRITION: PER SERVING
ALORIES – 240KCALS
FAT – 20.3G (10G SATURATED)
PROTEIN – 5.4G
CARBOHYDRATES – 8G (2G SUGARS)
FIBRE – 2.1G
SALT – 0.5G
Ingredients
6 pancetta slices, finely chopped
2 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g unsalted butter, softened
Vegetable oil to rub
Method
1. Cook the pancetta in a frying pan over a high heat for 1 minute on each side until beginning to crisp. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant and the pancetta is very crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Put the butter in a bowl, add the cooled pancetta mix and stir to combine. Chill for 20 minutes. Once firm enough to handle, spoon onto a sheet of cling film and roll up into a long cylinder, twisting the ends tightly. Wrap in more cling film and chill until firm (see make ahead).
3. Light a barbecue or heat a griddle pan. When the coals are glowing white or the pan is hot, peel back the husks from the corn and cut off or tie back with string. Rub the corn cobs all over with the oil, then grill for 8-10 minutes, turning, until charred and tender. Spread with the flavoured butter and eat straightaway.
The butter will keep, well wrapped, for up to 48 hours in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer.
A sunny white from hot Sicily has the right balance – try a fiano.
Sweetcorn with pancetta, rosemary and garlic butter
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Sweetcorn with pancetta, rosemary and garlic butter
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Jul 27, 2020 | Recipes, Sides

I’m a Filipina who grew up in NYC and now lives in Hawaii. Growing up rice was always part of the breakfast menu, actually it was part of every meal. This my have been considered weird back in the 60’s in NYC, but when my family moved to Hawaii in the late 70’s we fit right in.
Growing up we always had an electric rice cooker filled with rice in the kitchen. Left over or day old rice was fried with garlic for breakfast the next morning, we called it “Sinangag”. These days Filipino restaurants call it “Garlic Fried Rice”. Whatever you call it Filipino fried rice is delicious with fried eggs and breakfast meats, preferably Filipino cured meats like Tocino or Tapa.
My grandmothers would make fried rice every morning adding their own twist. Traditionally I think it was made by stir frying left over rice with garlic. My family added soy sauce and green onions to this mix, so that’s pretty much how we make it today.
In Hawaii which is a melting pot of different cultures the Filipino garlic fried rice has melded with other Asian versions of fried rice. On the islands an order of Fried Rice is a meal by itself covering most of the basic food groups; dairy, grains, meats, and veggies, depending on what you put in it.
I look at making fried rice like I do making Lumpia or Eggrolls; you toss in whatever you find in the fridge and call it a day. I simply build ingredients around day old rice (using fresh rice isn’t recommended as it can get too mushy). Fried Rice can be as simple as stir frying garlic and rice or as elaborate as tossing in seafood, meat, and vegetables, like what you’d find on a Chinese Restaurant menu.
If I’m serving it as a side dish then the simpler version usually works best, but if I intend for it to be a complete meal then of course I add more “stuff” in it. So today I’ll share my “recipe” for easy fried rice. Measurements really aren’t that important because it pretty much depends on how much day old rice you have. If you do decide to make it using fresh cooked rice then decrease the water when cooking so that the rice is drier and not mushy; it helps to make fresh rice in the morning and letting it “dry” a bit before making fried rice for lunch or dinner.
Easy Fried Rice
Ingredients:
Cooked White Rice – preferably day old rice
1-2 Tsp. Minced Garlic – adjust to taste
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce – adjust to taste and the amount of rice you have
Scrambled Egg chopped into pieces
Meat – I use canned Spam or Portuguese Sausage but you can use any type of breakfast meat you want like bacon or sausage – cooked and diced
2-4 Stalks Green Onions Chopped
1/2 Cup Frozen Green Peas (Optional)
2 Tbl. Oil
Directions:
Cook and dice your Egg and Meat – set aside.
Heat Oil in Wok or Frying Pan
Stir in garlic and cook about 45 seconds. Don’t let it burn – lower heat if you have to.
Add cooked rice and mix well with garlic. Break up any large clumps of rice.
Drizzle soy sauce over rice and stir in making sure it is evenly distributed. Add more a little at a time if needed. Don’t over do the soy sauce as your fried rice will be too salty.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix in to the rice evenly.
Garnish with extra green onions if desired. Serve hot.
Jun 4, 2020 | Recipes, Sides, Snacks

I love potato chips! Not the flavored ones (the flavors get more exotic each year, like Taco Flavor); just plain salty chips. Simple right?
These days potato chips don’t seem as simple as they should be. Exotic flavors aside they’re also packed with preservatives, I mean they do have to last thru shipping and sitting in the store until you get it home. And even then it can sit resealed in the bag for days depending on the humidity. So what happened to those simple natural chips that are crispy and salty? They’re pretty much a thing of the past unless you make them at home.
That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing since this Pandemic forced everyone to stay home and limit trips to the grocery store. With time on my hands and a bag of potatoes in the pantry I started making Homemade Potato Chips, and my they are delicious! We may never buy chips again!
Really it’s simple, just a bit tedious if you’re like me and make several bowlfuls. But they do store pretty well in ziplock bags, that is if you can keep enough to store. My family eats them as snacks and with their sandwiches.
All you need are 3 ingredients; potatoes, salt, and oil. I use olive oil, but Canola Oil works wells too. The trick is to heat the oil enough so that you flash fry the chips and you got to work fast so you don’t burn them. Oh, and if you really need them flavored you can toss them in garlic salt, or whatever seasoning you want as long as it’s dry. Or you can dip them in your favorite dip. But like I said I like mine just crispy and salty!
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Ingredients:
6 Large Russet Potatoes
1/2 Cup Oil – more if you need it while frying
Sea Salt or seasonings of your choice
Directions:
Scrub potatoes and peel (if you don’t want to peel them that’s ok too, just be sure they’re scrubbed clean)
Using a mandolin slicer shave the potatoes (you can choose the thickness, I prefer the thinnest setting; thicker chips don’t get very crispy and tend to get hard) If you don’t have a mandolin slicer any veggie slicer should work as long as it has a straight blade. Or if you prefer you can use a food processor just be sure you use the correct blade.
Place slices in a bowl of cold water to keep them from turning brown while you slice the rest of the potatoes.
Heat about 1/2″ oil in a large frying pan.
Place slices on paper towels – work in small batches to keep chips from burning and clumping together.
Pat chips dry – they don’t have to be bone dry just dry enough so they’re not dripping in water. Placing really wet chips in hot oil will cause the oil to pop and sizzle and may burn you.
Fry chips both sides until golden brown – about 45 seconds at most. Adjust heat if they start to burn.
Drain chips on a paper towel. Repeat until all chips are cooked.
Sprinkle with sea salt and gently toss chips to salt all the chips.
To store place in ziplock bags and keep at room temperature.
Dec 31, 2019 | Christmas, Corner, Recipes, Sides
Every family has their favourite Christmas veggie side dishes – from citrussy carrots and braised red cabbage, to cauliflower cheese, roast parsnips, and infamous brussels sprouts, we have all the recipes you need for Christmas dinner
Try our best Christmas vegetable side dishes. Here are our top Christmas dinner side dishes, from Brussels sprouts to red cabbage and roast parsnips. Plus winter greens and some indulgent gratin recipes. We also have plenty of Christmas trimmings ideas here, from pigs in blankets to the perfect gravy.
We have made Christmas side dishes easy to make, and here’s our turkey guide to cook the perfect turkey.
If you’re going all out vegetarian this Christmas, try our Christmas vegetarian recipes here.
Ingredients:
Our veggie sides use Christmas ingredients such as orange peel, cinnamon and more to add a festive touch
(This post has affiliate links)
Best-ever veggie sides for Christmas
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Best-ever veggie sides for Christmas
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