"Tick tock tick tock... Everybody's waiting. It's time for me to shine."

This week's title deserves an explanation. It is a quote, you see. And the guy who said was asleep. Yup, that's right - a sleep-talker. Initially, his wife just laughed every time her husband would start talking in the middle of the night, but then she decided to share those profound thoughts with the world. If you want to read more of his sayings, just look me up on Facebook. As for me, I have been laughing my butt off this entire weekend with some of those one-liners. So how is this related to my cooking therapy, you ask. I don't know! But it's still funny :) I guess it would be interesting to imagine me doing some cooking-while-asleep, but I'm afraid I would burn down the house.

The dishes this week definitely rank up as some of the best I've done so far. I really liked the salad dip, and the soup... Well, I enjoyed the main dish. The drink is specially made for someone at Informatics. You know who you are. You will love it, I promise!

Dish # 1 - White Beans and Tuna Salad Dip

Serves 6 Time to Prepare 15 min

3/4 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked
3/8 red bell pepper
3/8 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons and 3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons capers
3 tablespoons pickle relish
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/8 (15 ounce) can white beans, drained
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

In a food processor, blend the tuna, red bell pepper, onion, cilantro, capers, relish, mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic powder until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the white beans. Garnish with parsley to serve.

My experience: I skipped the Dijon-style mustard (couldn't find it in the store). I also added white beans along with everything else in the blender, instead of mixing it later on. This dip goes really well with French bread, tortillas, or crackers.
Our verdict: A great appetizer. Worth making it for any occasion.

Dish # 2 - Potato Soup with Fish and Cheese

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 5 min Cooking Time 40 min

2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons margarine
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1-1/3 small onion, chopped
2-2/3 cups water
6-3/4 potatoes, diced
1-1/3 cups half-and-half cream
5 ounces cod fillets, cubed
1-1/3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded Muenster cheese
salt to taste

Melt the butter or margarine in a large saucepan, and add the paprika. Saute the onions in this mixture until they are soft. Add the water, bring it to the boil, and add the potatoes. Simmer gently until the potatoes are almost done. Depending on the size of the potatoes it may be necessary to add more water during cooking.
Add cream or milk and the fish; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until potatoes begin to fall apart. If they remain very firm, mash them gently in the pan with a masher or wooden spoon.
Add a little of the potato mixture to the beaten eggs, and then stir eggs into the soup. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese. Correct the seasoning, and serve at once.

My experience: I could not believe how easy it was to make such a great tasting and filling soup. Hands down, this is the best soup I've done. Ever! This is my shining moment, baby!
Our verdict: Even our kids loved this soup. Now that's a first!

Dish # 3 - Spanish Cod

Been studying Spanish Period of the Philippine history lately, so I decided to commemorate the era with some Spanish recipe :)

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 20 min Cooking Time 15 min

2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
2/3 cup tomato sauce
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup chopped green olives
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons deli marinated Italian vegetable salad, drained and coarsely chopped
2/3 dash black pepper
2/3 dash cayenne pepper
2/3 dash paprika
4 (4 ounce) fillets cod fillets

My experience: It kinda resembles the fish I cooked few weeks ago in white wine, so the process of making this dish was quite straight forward for me. I did not have the deli marinated Italian vegetable salad, so I wonder how it would have tasted with it. Still a great dish.
Our verdict: Yummy! We love fish! :)

Dish # 4 - Rosemary-Infused Watermelon Lemonade

One of the readers of this blog has requested a drink that is not so creamy. Considering that all these weeks, I've been making smoothie's with ice cream, milk or cream, it was a good change for me as well to try something new.

Serves 8 Time to Prepare 15 min Cooking Time 1 hour

2 cups water
3/4 cup white sugar
1 spring rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 cups lemon juice
12 cups cubed seeded watermelon
8 cups ice cubes

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rosemary, and set aside to steep for 1 hour.
Place half of the lemon juice, and half of the watermelon into a blender. Strain the rosemary syrup through a mesh strainer into the blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Strain into a pitcher, then puree the remaining lemon juice and watermelon. Stir the lemonade before serving over ice.

My experience: I don't know what is the point if keeping sugary-slash-rosemary water for an hour. Obviously it should cool down, but 1 hour??? Nah, my patience ran out in 15 min.
Our verdict: What a great drink! It really is perfect, and this would probably make a nice alcoholic cocktail as well, should anyone want to try. Just add some vodka or gin, or whatever. :)