Vegan Cauliflower Sweet Potato Meat Loaf

I was in a plant based meeting last night and two members expressed their desire to have a good meat loaf recipe that does not crumble and also that can be shaped into a chicken leg or something. In other words, a mixture that is pliable and yet hold its structure upon baking.

I have prepared meat loaves, meat balls etc using walnut cauliflower as the meat substitute (see this vegan Filipino embutido or Filipino meat loaf recipe and the links herein for the other recipes using this meat alternative). Since I have success with this duo, I decided to use it for this meat loaf recipe which aims to be close to the classic American meat loaf.  I actually based the recipe on this meatball one and just added the cauliflower.  I also adjusted the ratios of the other ingredients as to make the mixture pliable and yet sturdy upon baking.

Since I am watching my salt intake, I skipped adding salt or Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce but you can if you want.  However, I was pretty happy with the result without them.  The nutritional yeast which has no salt at all gives that umami kind of salty taste plus that cheesy parmesan flavor.  Feel free to add more spices which I had to be wary about since I am having surgery next week. They warned against certain spices.

I like the texture of the loaf.  I was able to cut the meat loaf into slices without it crumbling.  It is moist but not too pillowy.  You can put the slice on two pieces of bread and it would hold its form.  It was pliable before baking, I did not attempt to shape it to a chicken leg. I will leave that to Linda one of the members who has that as her goal. For Nancy, I hope you like the texture.  No, it would not disintegrate as your  other recipe.  Do play herbs and spices to suit your taste. Whew! I think I found the recipe for the classic American meat loaf.

Vegan Cauliflower Sweet Potato Meat Loaf

• 1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water for 10 minutes
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cauliflower head, cut in quarters
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp dry minced onions
• 1 tsp dry minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dry oregano
• 1 cup approximately baked sweet potato, mashed
• black pepper, fresh ground according taste

Preheat oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse till well mixed.

Transfer in a small loaf pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

This recipe was provided by Karen Novak, the event coordinator at the McGinnis Sisters Specialty Grocery Store in Monroeville.  She served this cake during our October monthly book club meeting.

Paula Reed Ward, author of the book, Death by Cyanide, the Murder of Dr Autumn Klein giving a riveting account during the meeting about her experience writing the book.

This is an easy delicious cake to make with just three ingredients for the cake batter and only four for the chocolate icing. One thing more the icing can be prepared using the microwave. How easy is that.

It is a real crowd pleaser. The book club members requested Karen for the recipe after the meeting. As usual she generously obliged. I made it for thanksgiving and my picky family loved it. Just this morning I got a call from my friend Sue after our prayer meeting at her house. She loved this cake which I brought to the meeting and was wondering what that mystery ingredient she was getting a bite of while savoring the cake. Look for it in the recipe below.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

Recipe courtesy of Karen Novak, event coordinator at McGinnis Sisters Specialty Grocery Store at Monroeville 

Cake

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 1- 21 oz can cherry pie filling
• 3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the ingredients with a spoon or whisk until smooth. There might be some cherry bits left and that is okay.

Pour into a 13 x 9 pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 35 minutes. 

Top with the chocolate icing (recipe below) after taking it out of the oven.

Chocolate Icing

• 1 stick butter
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Melt the butter in the microwave or stove top. 

Add to the melted butter the milk and sugar and mix. 

Then add the chocolate chips and stir till smooth. 

Pour over the warm cake.

Maxim 78 Monroeville Prayer Group Meeting November 20, 2017

Natalie's notes on Maxim 78 are first interjected by a quote from Sr. Gerrie's 2017 calendar and a Prayer for Wisdom from a reading from the Give Us This Day book.

Natalie then conveniently provides us with the Scriptural readings and applications suggested in the Maxim flip up book. A short reflection from Marcia Allen's Maxim book is also given.

We ended the prayer meeting with a beautiful prayer, shown below, shared with us by Sr. Bernadette.

Allow me to end this blog post, with a song that was sung by the First Grade CCD students when I substituted to teach their class. I love singing it with my granddaughter Maddie complete with gestures.

Belated Happy Thanksgiving. Everyday come to think of it is a thanksgiving day. Enjoy the song. Thanks for your friendship.

Slumber, A Wonder

Deep sleep what a treat.
Vivid dreams that entertain.
How did I do that?

Paula's Prayer Meeting November 16, 2017

I missed this meeting and I thank Natalie for providing me a copy of the handout. I see that the message is about living now or today to the fullest and not waiting for tomorrow to do it.

I did not get to ask what music was played during the meeting. I chose a non religious song by the late John Denver called Today to go with the light yet highly meaningful theme of the handout. 

To reinforce the idea of the so called sacrament of the present moment, I am sharing this beautiful reflection from Richard Rohr's Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.

 The contemplative secret is to learn how to live in the now. (Saints knew and taught this long before Eckart Tolle re-taught it in our time, but many Christians still called him “New Age.” Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. already spoke of this as “the Sacrament of the Present Moment” in his classic book of spiritual direction in 1735. My book, Everything Belongs, came out in 1999, the same year as Tolle’s immensely helpful book, The Power of Now.)

The now is not as empty as it might appear to be—or that we fear it may be. Try to realize that everything that we really need is right here, right now. . . .  When we’re doing life right, it means nothing more than it is right now, because God is always in this moment in an accepting and non-blaming way. When we are able to experience that, taste it, and enjoy it, we don’t need to hold on to it nor are we afraid to let go of it. The next moment will have its own taste and enjoyment.

Because our moments are not tasted—or full—or real—or in the Presence—we are never fulfilled and there is never enough. We then create artificial fullness and distractions and try to pass time or empty time with that. God is either in this now or God isn’t in it at all. “This moment is as perfect as it can be” used to be a mantra we would repeat at the community of New Jerusalem in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Perhaps this quote from Psalm 46:10 can be your entranceway into the now, if you slow down in this way:

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

To go with this reflection, I would like to share this beautiful song by Steven Curtis Chapman "Be Still and Know That He Is God".

To all, have a good today.

Peace Amidst Uncertainties

Acceptance of what
will be will be. Knowing God
will take care of you.

Slow Cooker Corn Ball Stuffing

Emma with Nikki's son-in-law holding Nikki's corn ball stuffing during their family picnic at Johnstown, PA.

From left: Emma, Rose and Nikki at the Sister's Place luncheon 2014.

We had this for thanksgiving and everybody in my family loved it. The recipe is based on two sources, one of which was the one given to me by Nikki, a cousin of my friend Emma. She gave it to me verbally when we were at the Sister's Place luncheon in 2014. Her recipe calls for baking so I used another source to guide me in the slow cooker approach.

I first had them when I attended Emma's family reunion in Johnstown, PA and fell head over heels over them. The corn lends a sweet taste to the stuffing which adds richness and something different from the ordinary that you concoct from the store bought stuffing package.

It is very simple to make even using a loaf of bread instead of boxed or packaged bread stuffing. The use of a slow cooker makes serving it warm on a busy thanksgiving day more convenient. Just cook it and forget it and if you have a slow cooker that has a keep warm mode you are good to go. One less dish to warm up.

When I tasted the balls at the end of cooking, I felt it needed added oomph and decided to sprinkle garlic powder after cooking. I was happy with just the right enhanced taste.

Slow Cooker Corn Ball Stuffing

Adapted from this source and Nikki's recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1- 17 oz. can cream-style corn
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. poultry seasoning (recipe of homemade one below)
1- 16  oz loaf of bread, cubed
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
garlic powder to sprinkle at end

Directions

Combine all ingredients, except the butter and garlic in a bowl. Mix together. Shape into 8-9 balls. Place in crockpot. Pour butter over. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours. I cooked mine in an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting. Sprinkle garlic powder after cooking.

Homemade Poultry Seasoning

From this source

Ingredients

Makes 6 1/4 teaspoons

2 tsp dried sage
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients.

Assumptions, Expectations

Scourge of friendships, of
relationships. Have none.
You'll be happy one.

You will feel the presence

Live in the now. Here.
Worry not of the future.
Let go of the past.

Vegan Pineapple Penne Salad

This is a vegan version of a popular salad that we love in the Philippines, Macaroni Pineapple Chicken Salad, a recipe of which appeared in a past post. I simply skipped the chicken and used vegan mayonnaise instead of the regular one to make it plant based.  I assure you that you will not miss the chicken nor the real mayonnaise.

Since I did not have macaroni I instead used penne and it turned out to be a good move. The mayo and pickle relish seemed to cling more on the penne because it does not curve like macaroni plus it has ridges.

I could not stop eating this since I made it and neither did the people in my family.  These picky tasters did not even miss the chicken.

Before I forget, Happy Thanksgiving.  Thanks for reading my blog.

Vegan Pineapple Penne Salad

Inspired by this recipe 

• 1 lb penne 
• 1-20 oz can  pineapple chunks or tidbits including juice (do not drain!!)
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• black pepper to taste

Cook the penne according to package directions and drain.  Mix all ingredients together including the juice from the  canned pineapple.  Mixture will appear watery at first, but the pasta on standing will absorb the juice.  This salad must be chilled and refrigerated overnight for best result.  It cannot be frozen. 

Yes yes on a no no day

Thanksgiving is coming up reminding us to be thankful for our blessings. As the cartoon above illustrates things to be thankful for can come as surprises discovered along the way. We just need to have an open heart to see them.

Friday last week started for me as a no no day using the title of a children's book about a girl who was having a very bad day.

The day started with bad news. My MRI could not be done as scheduled since the MRI machine of the company, IRG Monroeville, who was to do it broke down. I needed it for a Monday appointment with my spine surgeon who I just saw for the first time the day before. Without it any action namely a timely surgery if needed would be delayed. I am leaving for the Philippines on January 28 next year and adequate time is needed for recovery.

I called my chiropractor who wrote the scrip for the MRI to check if it could be transferred to the UPMC Imaging Center in Monroeville. Upon calling the latter I found out their MRI was also down. Later I found out my chiropractor could not use UPMC after all to prescribe an MRI.

I called the spinal surgeon’s office if they can order the MRI that Friday.  No go. It would take time for insurance to clear it. I decided to just keep my appointment with them for that coming Monday even without the MRI.  This was deemed to be impractical by the receptionist since its purpose was to view the MRI. I broke down and begged for something to be done since the surgeon was not coming back till December first from his vacation. I told the receptionist that meant I would suffer through the holidays with pain and also hanging in the air as to what would happen next for me.

The receptionist decided to ask for options at the surgeon's office and came up with an alternative nobody had thought of, namely to find out if I could have my MRI at another branch of IRG, the imaging place that had a broken one in Monroeville. The day ended with me finally getting the MRI at their IRG Cranberry branch.

That night I checked my voice mail and found a call from the UPMC Imaging Center in Monroeville following up on my inquiry I made previously. For some reason their thoughtful gesture made me stop and realize the effort of the other people that had helped to turn the no no day to an oh yes day. I was able to find a soft spot in my heart to relish and be thankful for what I would have taken for granted. After all everything in life is how you view it. And at times it is just a matter of taking ones time to do so.

Slow Cooker Beef Satay

I wanted something different for the beef I had in the freezer. I thought of trying to see how my slow cooker will perform cooking the marinade for an Indonesian satay dish.  I added the peanut butter, a traditional ingredient for satays and added cumin and red pepper flakes for extra oomph. I was happy. My husband, my picky taster, gave it two thumbs up.

I recommend adding the sesame oil as a drizzle after cooking rather than during to preserve its taste. Do add the green onions as toppings for freshness. 

This is an easy delicious dish to prepare in case you want a break from turkey after thanksgiving. 

Slow Cooker Beef Satay

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 lbs beef, cubed ( I used London broil)
• Garnishes (green onions, sesame oil)

Place all the ingredients except the beef and garnishes in the slow cooker and mix. Add the cubed meat and mix. Cook at high for three hours or at low for six hours. I cooked mine in an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for two hours at slow cooker setting. 

Serve it over rice or pasta topped with green onions and drizzled with sesame oil.

Maddie's Pure Delight

Red polish topped with
glitter on little nails on
her chubby hands. Thrilled.

Uncertainty

Source of fear, sadness
but not when accepted with
faith, hope and prayers.

The Power of a Song

Revealed to a soul
wanting assurance all will
be well. He is here.


Note: The song is "You Are Mine" by David Haas. 

What is understanding?

Understanding starts,
as need to be understood
ends. Open hearts, minds.

Baked Vegan Embutido (Filipino Meat Loaf)

This is the vegan version of a well loved Filipino dish called embutido, a meat loaf laden with vegetables.

I recently posted an embutido recipe using ground meat wherein I used beef instead of the customary pork.  Since my success using walnut meat, here, here, and here, I decided to make a vegan version using this to substitute for the beef. The result is pretty close to the carnivore version.

Eating the vegan version conjured the same nostalgic feeling I felt eating the meat version when we had this festive looking meatloaf during fiestas and Xmas holidays.

This can be eaten warm with rice or cold between bread. So good. Blissful comfort.

Baked Vegan Embutido (Filipino Meat Loaf)

• 1 cup walnut
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 1 whole green pepper, cut into large pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers from bottle
• 1/2 cup pickle relish
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp onion soup dip mix from a box or homemade (recipe here)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water for ten minutes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup cooked sweet potato, peeled and mashed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees centigrade.

Place the first three ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse till mixed. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add to it the rest of the ingredients and mix. 

Transfer the mixture into a large loaf pan or two small ones. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes for small loaves or until done.

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

I first tasted beef stroganoff not until I was in the States. Once I had it at my late friend, Laurie's house. She paired it with a special angel cake. Laurie was a close friend together with Kathy when we worked at the now closed Marion Labs in Kansas City. Those were good old days, stressful due to the demands of our job but made fun by friends like them.

This is my vegan version that skips the cream or sour cream and used instead almond milk thickened with cornstarch. The garlic flakes and nutritional yeast enrich the dish.  It works.

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

• 1-8 oz package mushrooms, sliced 
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp dry minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup more vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp brown mustard
• 1 tbsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Add the 1/2 cup broth, the mushroom, garlic, and soy sauce in a skillet and allow the broth to boil to almost dryness. Stir till the mushroom browns. Add the milk, additional 1/2 cup  of broth, nutritional yeast and mustard. Allow the mixture to boil then add the cornstarch slurry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over noodles or as a sauce for meatballs. 

Lessons in Humility and Compassion

Nothing can humble
you more than pain, and feeling
one with those with it.


Note: Photo courtesy of Flordeliza Ongkeko.

From Longaniza to Hot Dog, Part 7. At A Crossroad

It was 1976, and it had been one and half years since I started my MS in Chemistry at George Washington University (GWU).  My round trip ticket back to the Philippines would be expiring soon and I needed to use it up.  This ticket was supposedly used on my return to the Philippines via a trip to Europe after my training course in Brazil.  An unexpected opportunity came up which made me postpone my return home and that trip. A graduate assistantship at George Washington University fell on my lap.

That summer I decided to take an American Express tour of Europe which started in England, followed by a hydrofoil crossing to France, then proceeded to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Monaco ending with a five day tour of Spain.  It was a hectic three week trip labeled by our tour guide as educational when we complained it was stressful rather than relaxing.

I had for a roommate a middle aged blond lady from New York who brought with her countless number of pills and her unhappy self.  Luckily I met a lady from Columbia, two teenagers from Mexico and another teenager from the States who I hanged out with during the trip.  Most of the people in the tour were from Spanish speaking countries because of the inclusion of Spain in the itinerary.

I remember fondly the favorite phrase of Marcella, one of the teen sisters from Mexico.  Every time we finished dinner, she loved to quip, "The night is young" pronouncing the y as a j as most Spanish speaking people pronounce it.  Due to her joie de vivre, we hit the discoteques or discoteca as she calls them most of the evenings during our trip. One of my most memorable experience of this tour is dancing the waltz at a discoteque located in a former castle in Bolzano, Italy.  We picked up our dates as we passed a café during a stroll after dinner.  I paired up with Daniel,  a blond German looking guy, who was such a good dancer during the waltz that I looked and also felt like a well trained contestant in Dancing with the Stars.  He made me look so good one of the guys wanted to switch with him.

I could go on and on with the other adventures I had but I want to focus on how two persons who happened to be chemists helped me answer two questions I had when I embarked on this trip.  I was in my twenties when another important decision came up and had to be made.  I needed to decide whether I would go home after my Masters degree at GWU or continue further for my PhD.  One of my officemates in the Philippines advised me to stay in the States because it would be hard to go back since the martial law declared by our then president, Ferdinand Marcos, was still in effect.
The decision should have been a no brainer after hearing this advice but I had two questions nagging me. 

I actually had been wanting to write about this important point in my life these past weeks for this series. I happened to have attended a one day writing course under the talented, generous hearted author/teacher Ann Cowley.  In one of the sessions, she asked us to draw a map of the street or place where the event we wanted to write about took place.  I decided in my case to draw the bus I rode during the land tour in Europe to stimulate my memory.

The image of the first of the two persons I mentioned previously easily popped in my memory. He was a typical wasp, traveling alone and barely smiled or talked.  Still I gathered the nerve to ask him the question looming over my head.  I asked him if I should go on for a PhD since the time involved was long.  He was a straight shooter and he answered the question by sharing his own experience.  Two or three years before the trip, he was finishing his MS degree and decided instead to end his graduate work with that since he thought it would take more years.  He said he regretted this decision since looking back had he decided otherwise he would have been finished with his PhD by the time he was taking this European trip.

I still had another question I wanted answered.  It was both philosophical and practical.  Is it worth finishing a PhD?

There was another person in the tour that helped me resolve this question.   His bespectacled, dark hair and Asian features appeared as I drew the bus and the seats.  He always took the first front seat since he was always the last to come back to the bus.  He was awkward and at times looked fumbling and absent minded. He was not serious looking at all which made it hard or was it otherwise to believe he has a PhD in chemistry. When I asked him the question, he took the persona of a guru and a seriousness unexpected from the laid back personality he had presented and from him, I got one of the best advices I have heard in my life.  He said, "When you take your PhD, do not take it for money or prestige or anything else.  You do it for yourself".

With these two questions dismantled like cobwebs in my head, I enjoyed the rest of the European tour with more peace and an excited expectation of that new chapter of my life that would be coming.



Note:  This is Part 7 of the series From Longaniza to Hot Dog which recounts my immigration to the United States from the Philippines. You might want to read the following:

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 1 Brooklyn and Sao PaoloFrom Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 2 Muito Obrigada and Baden Baden
From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 3 Life Changing Question
From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 4 Second Thoughts
From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 5 Places I Lived At In Washington DC
From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 6 People and Places

Wisdom from Death

Faced with death, you will
cherish the present moment.
Grateful for living.



Note:  Gleaned from Oprah Winfrey's interview with Bother David Steindl-Rast in her show, Super Soul Sunday.

Slow Cooker Chicken Guisantes (Green Peas)

Filipinos love to keep a few certain canned goods in their pantry. They are items that are hard to get or keep fresh in our country where most households did not have refrigerators when their favorite traditional recipes were first developed. Among them are evaporated milk, condensed milk, fruit cocktail, pimientos and green peas or guisantes.

This recipe is very popular in the Philippines because it is easy to prepare and masarap or delicious. The star of the dish is green peas or guisantes. I used canned ones but you can use the frozen type. This vegetable imparts a certain sweetness to the dish that distinguishes it from other similar tomato based Filipino dishes like chicken afritada.

I adapted a recipe I found from this source and tweaked it by using the slow cooker and adding vegetables like carrots and potatoes aside from the green peas.

My family loved this when I served it this past weekend. I just dumped the ingredients in the slow cooker and went about sweeping accumulated stuff from my kitchen and living room floors lest my toddler of a grandson choke on them. I do love guests coming to my house for this reason. It motivates me to clean and sweep. Ha, ha.

You will enjoy this easy no fuss recipe, guaranteed. Have plenty of cooked rice on hand.

Slow Cooker Chicken Guisantes (Green Peas)

Adapted from this source

• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 chicken bouillon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper from bottle or chopped bottled pimiento
• 2 lbs chicken thighs (I used boneless and skinless)
• 3 potatoes, peeled and cut to one inch pieces
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1- 14 oz can sweet peas, drained or frozen sweet or green peas

Place all the ingredients except the green peas in the crockpot and mix. Add the peas last so it would not get mashed during mixing or add it at last minutes of cooking. Then slow cook for 3 hours at high setting or 6 hours at low.  I cooked mine in an Aroma brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours.

Serve over hot rice. Heavenly good!

Big fat burn 

Slow Cooker Embutido or Filipino Meat Loaf

Embutido is the Filipino version of meat loaf. Typically it is made from pork and stuffed with hard boiled egg and vienna sausage or hot dog in the middle. I am using ground beef in this recipe and skipping the stuffing. But you can view how Panlasang Pinoy stuff the roll in their video.

I could not help picturing in my mind my late Tita or Aunt in English Awing making tons of embutido rolls during the Christmas holidays. She did it for my late parents who gave them to loyal customers of our gas station as thank you gifts paired with macaroni salad. Aren't these customers lucky?

My Tita Awing's real name is Aurora Cortes and she was a public school elementary teacher.  I used to tug along with her to her school or other chores she was doing when I was young.  Come to think of it this is very much what my granddaughter Maddie does with me these days.  One time I held on to a skirt of a lady thinking she was my Tita Awing. That made her laugh but I was embarrassed. I literally clung to her everywhere. She loved to cook just like my other aunts, thus it was great joy for her to help my parents during the holidays making the embutido and macaroni salad.

My Tita Awing

I took over this job of hers later when I grew up and one time I lost a band aid from my finger into the meat mixture as I was blending it. I was worried sick it went with one of the rolls given to the customer. Luckily it got into a batch for our own use. So be sure to remove band aids or loose rings from your fingers when mixing the ingredients. Ha, ha.

Otherwise this is an easy recipe made easier using a slow cooker. Traditionally the rolls are wrapped in cheese cloth or aluminum foil and steamed. I decided to forego this wrapping step since the slow cooker I am using do not respond well to aluminum being used in the metal bowl. You can however do so if using a ceramic crock pot. You will have better shaped rolls.

Typically we eat embutido sliced and warmed with rice and topped with catsup or cold between two pieces of bread. Eating this either way these past few days brought back memories. Btw my husband, my picky taster, gave this two thumbs up and he is non Filipino. I assure you will love this and will make your own memories eating it with your family.  Note this freezes well too.

Slow Cooker Embutido or Filipino Meat Loaf

Adapted from Panlasang Pinoy

• 1 cup baby carrots 
• 1 green pepper, sliced coarsely
• 1 red pepper, sliced coarsely or two pieces roasted peppers from bottle
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 2 lbs ground meat (I used ground beef)
• 2 raw eggs
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots, green pepper, red pepper and onions in a blender or food processor and pulse till finely chopped. You can also do this step by hand.

Transfer to a large bowl and add to the mixture the rest of the ingredients except salt and pepper. Mix by hand till blended. Season with salt and pepper and mix.  You can microwave a small portion and taste if you have enough salt or pepper.

Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker and shape into a cylinder.

Cook for 3 hours at high setting or 6 hours at low. I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.  Using a large spatula transfer to a serving plate.

Come Rain, Come

Pitter patter. It
does not matter. We're ready.
All sleek and shiny.

Love Made the World

Evolving through it.
We're from God's love, part of, not
apart from the whole.