Chefie’s World

August 2, 2008

I know you get the pattern…when I am away and busy, I don’t get to post since my mind, soul and body is fully concentrated on what I have to accomplish. This past week, I cooked for a very special family, meals for a healthier and better life. Less fat, sodium and sugar, more of the complex carbohydrates, none of the junk associated with ready made food, so none of those coming from the can or the powdered form. I was very fortunate I was given almost two months to prepare for this endeavor and it came out very well. I was able to interpret usual Filipino dishes into their more healthful form. I was also overwhelmed that I am able to just be myself and create dishes that are delicious for this family. I truly enjoyed that they loved my cooking, sometimes as one gets old and don’t get that much encouragement around him, nor the necessary support from immediate people, events like this make me, look down and feel my feet on the ground, and I realize that life is more meaningful with this simple happiness….Out of pure love this family wanted to take care of a sick person to become better and they called on someone like me to cook for him and in process they shared a wonderful family. This really makes me think and realize what life really means and how food affects everyone.
How food is so emotional, how so many thoughts and feelings are entangled within in…how truly magnificent it can be….food will always be a part of me and for this family, I will always be a part of them because a part of myself I have fully shared….that is the main reason I started all this, in the process I also learned how family can mean so much, how I am blessed and skilled in this job I have taken into heart. My hands are really in pain after working all these days nevertheless what I am feeling is joy that is incomparable to what others have. I will forever cherish these five days…

During the five days of endless of cooking, I never felt tired, I always enjoyed picking up the spoon to taste the sauce or trying to reach for that ingredient to add to the dish I am cooking, in the process when one is fully inspired by the good people around you, I created this special dish…..I hope that you too will cook it for the special family you have….

Chicken in Tomato 7Up Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pc whole chicken, cut up into 12 pcs
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsps finely chopped garlic
1 ½ cups sliced onions
¾ cups 7 UP
½ tbsp dried basil leaves
1 cup tomato sauce
½ tbsp Lea and Perrins sauce

Procedure:

Season chicken pieces in freshly ground pepper and low sodium salt. Set aside.

Heat olive oil and add in garlic, cook until aromatic.
Put in sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add chicken pieces. Toss well.
Cook for 20 minutes until fat has been rendered. Pour in 7 Up and tomato sauce.
Sprinkle dried basil and Lea & Perrins sauce. Let boil and simmer until some of the fat appears. Taste and season if needed. Cool then chill in the refrigerator. Remove fat that solidifies on top of the stew.

Note: Please remove the skin of the chicken if you must. Season only with low sodium salt and use fresh ground pepper to the fullest.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 11:12 pm and is filed under personal, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.