Happy Holidays from Mike and Katie!

FILIPINO SPAGHETTI MEAT SAUCE

Here’s my tried-and-true spaghetti sauce. What makes Filipino spaghetti sauce so unique is the HOT DOGS. Trust me it’s yummy! I learned this recipe from my cousin, and after some experimentation it’s evolved into the recipe you see before you. I hope you enjoy it as much as Katie and I have!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of grass-fed ground meat

4-6 grass-fed, nitrate-free hot dogs

1 can/box of diced tomato

1 onion, diced

1 carrot stick, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 cup chopped mushroom

2-4 cloves of garlic, diced

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 tbsp sriracha

Italian seasoning (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Black pepper (to taste)

4 tsp raw or vegan cane sugar, or to taste

A splash of red wine

Approximate cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Serves 4 people

Dice one onion and two to four cloves of garlic. Sweat them for about five minutes in a pot over low-to medium heat with about one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. While that’s sweating, dice up one carrot stick and one celery stalk, and chop about one cup of mushrooms. When the onions and garlic have a nice golden shine to them, toss in the carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Raise the heat to above medium and let it all simmer for another two to three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Next, toss in your grass-fed ground meat with a dash of salt. While that’s cooking, slice up your grass-fed, nitrate free hot dogs. The amount is up to you. I like it with a lot of hot dogs so I use at least four, but it’s all up to you. You can cut them in rounds, or how I like to with the blade of your knife slicing the hot dog at an angle so your rounds come out more oblong. Once your ground meat is cooked through/browned, drop in the box/can of diced tomato. Let that simmer for one to two minutes stirring occasionally and then add in the hot dogs. Continue to stir occasionally and add in your seasoning: Two to three teaspoons of sriracha (depending on how spicy you want it); a few twists of black pepper; three to four heavy shakes of Italian seasoning; four teaspoons of raw or vegan cane sugar (depending on how sweet you want it); a splash of red wine; and an extra splash of olive oil if needed to round out the flavors. Let that all simmer, stirring occasionally to let all the flavors come together. Continue to taste until it’s to your liking, it’s done! Serve over pasta with a bottle of wine and enjoy!

SINANGAG (FILIPINO FRIED RICE) AND SCRAMBLED EGGS

Ingredients:

1-2 cups 1-day-old rice

2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

2-3.5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 pinches of salt

4 cage-free eggs

Approximate cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Serves 2 people

Dice up two to three cloves of garlic (depending on how big your cloves are) while heating up about two to three tablespoons of oil in a wok/large pan. Sweat the garlic in the wok on low heat with a pinch of salt until brown (around 2 minutes). Turn the burner up to high and toss in your rice. Mix around the rice with the garlic using a spatula or wooden spoon. The rice should fry for about ten to fifteen minutes. Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk them up, seasoning with a pinch of salt. Once the rice is done, pour it onto a plate, put the wok back on the burner, and add a few drops of olive oil to it. Then pour in your eggs, using your spatula to move the eggs around and scramble them up. They should take no more than two minutes to cook. Then serve that over your rice. Done!

FILIPINO ICE CREAM SANDWICH

When I was young, I told my mom I wanted an ice cream sandwich, like the ones you buy in the store. Well, in the Philippines ice cream sandwiches are quite different. My mom took a scoop of vanilla ice cream, placed it in a hamburger bun, and said, “You want ice cream sandwich? Here!” Now, store-bought ice cream sandwiches just can’t compete!

Ingredients:

Vanilla ice cream

Potato buns

Simply take a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and place it in a potato bun. I like potato buns because they’re sweet and soft. Squeeze down the potato bun so the ice cream smushes toward the ends of the bun. And eat! So good!