Face Spa Treat...Right from the Kitchen

I love experimenting in the kitchen. Whipping up a good meal from scratch gives a certain satisfaction, especially if you have no idea what you're making in the first place. From testing on edible treats I've moved on to sampling different kinds of kitchen ingredients I can use to make my own facial masks at home. Face masks, especially the natural, so-called organic ones, cost quite a lot and can be quite disappointing once they come out of the pot. Since I believe Mother Nature provides us with just the right ingredients for everything, I've compiled a list of the best natural, homemade ingredients for face masks and tested mixing and matching them. Read more about the best recipes for homemade facials.

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Cardillo Heaven

I just managed to recreate my favorite aunt's fish cardillo recipe... and it was just heaven! Takes me back 15 years ago when I would eagerly watch and wait while Auntie Ellen cooks and serves the steaming hot dish to me and my famished cousins (well, not so famished really, more like hungry after 5 hours straight of playing outside ;p)

(photo taken right after making cardillo...yum yum yum!)

Cardillo is one of my favorite dishes because it is tasty, healthy, and very easy to prepare. Plus it has lots tomatoes and eggs in it... two of my favorite foods ever :) You can read my five-step guide to making sumptuous fish cardillo here.

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Leftover Pork Binagoongan (Pork with Shrimp Paste) Recipe

My aunt's coming over later, and I want to cook something special for her. I only have a half-full jar of bagoong I bought a few months ago, a piece of leftover breaded pork from last night, a few veggies (eggplant, sitaw or string beans, a lone tomato), and week-old frozen gata (coconut milk). The solution? Pork binagoongan.

I've never really tried cooking this particular dish before, but it's one of those viands I often buy when I'm eating carinderia (small food stall full of the sweet goodness of home cooking)-style. Here's how I made mine:

1. Add about a teaspoon cooking oil in a heated shallow pan. Add chopped onions (1 medium sized) and garlic (about 3-4 cloves). Add a bit of salt and pepper to get the seasoning started.
2. Add sliced tomatoes and bell pepper to the pan after the garlic has become slightly brown. Saute until the tomatoes start to become slightly more red (a minute or two will do)
3. Add cubed pork slices to the pan. Since I used previously cooked leftover pork, I didn't need to saute this for long. Add vegetables, starting with the ones that cook longer first (in this case, string beans). Mix a bit then cover and let sit for 5 minutes or until everything's decently half cooked.
4. Add the bagoong or shrimp paste. Mix well.
5. Add the coconut milk. Mix well until the milk boils a bit.
6. Lower the flame, add a chilli or two, then mix one last time before turning off the fire.

Voila! Leftver pork binagoongan done. My aunt actually liked the dish, and I didn't even tell her it's from leftovers lol. For pictures and more decent step-by-step instructions to making pork binagoongan, go here.

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