Meaty Eggplant Torta

This recipe is quite common, and this is a variation of the regular eggplant torta. My brother, whom we consider as the one who inherited my mother's skills in the kitchen, taught me this recipe sometime ago.

You will need the following ingredients- 5 pcs medium length eggplants, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1 finely chopped onion, 1/4 kilo ground beef (or pork), 5 pcs tomatoes chopped,
a dash of ground black pepper, 1 pkt of coarsely ground crackers, 3 whole eggs, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 4 bell peppers cut into strips, 1/2 cup of button mushrooms cut diagonally, a dash of MSG (optional), juice of 3 pcs calamansi, and salt to taste.

Boil or roast the eggplant and then peel off the skin. Flatten the skinned eggplant, letting the excess liquid drain. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredient together to make a thick paste.

In a pan, heat 3 tbsp cooking oil, then spread one of the eggplants in the pan. Put in a liberal thickness of the filling, then cook until the underside browns. Turnover with spatula to cook the other side with the filling.

Serve with hot sauce, ketchup, or mayonaise as dip. Ground beef or pork can be substituted with bits of cooked bacon, ham, or sausages.

Binagoongang Porkchop (Porkchop In Shrimp Paste)

This is one of my favorite dishes and one that I love cooking. It's simple to prepare yet quite tasty. Basically it is a variation of "ginisang bagoong" or sauteed shrimp paste.

You need the following- 1 kilo porkchop, chopped onion, chopped garlic, 7-10 pieces of tomatoes chopped, 7-10 pieces of jalapeno peppers, 4 tbsp olive or vegetable oil, & MSG (optional). Preparations beforehand are to fry until slightly browned the porkchop & to wash the shrimp paste once on a strainer to remove excess salt. In a wok, sautee the garlic, onion, & tomatoes. When the tomatoes are already soft, crush to make a paste.

Put in the pork and sautee for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the MSG according to taste and then mix in the pepper just before turning off the fire. To make the dish more spicy, the pepper can be sliced, or if you don't want it spicy substitute with bell pepper instead. A variation of the dish is to add cream. But if you are to add cream, omit the tomatoes from the ingredients.

WARNING! This dish is not fit for people who are suffering from hypertension or heart disease.