Spaghetti with (Giant!) Meatballs

This is a dish my son and I love to make together. It's simple, comfort food made from scratch. Nothing fancy, just pure, simple, fresh Italian flavours.

My son had fun mixing and making the meatballs, and we made too much, but I figured we'd eat the meatballs for breakfast this week too. You can also serve them with mushroom sauce (see post on My Mom's Hamburger recipe for the sauce here).

Don't let the picture deceive you. Those meatballs are huge; 2" in diameter!

Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

I am writing this blog post on a train from Cordoba to Barcelona. I have been in Spain for vacation for the last ten days and it has been amazing, from a historical, gastronomical and personal standpoint! The Philippines (where I grew up) was colonized by Spain for 333 years, so you can imagine that our culture--from the food, language, certain behaviors and even our names---are heavily influenced by Spanish culture.

It was great to finally try the authentic versions of some Spanish influenced Filipino dishes like lechon (roast suckling pig, which the Spaniards call Cochinillo), Callos Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stewed in tomatoes), chorizo (sausage), churros con chocolate (Spanish doughnuts with chocolate), and many, many others. Our versions of these dishes are very close, if not identical to the originals, and that was very refreshing to see.

However, what we noticed is that Spanish cuisine lacks vegetables (aside from the occasional potato and eggplant); and we missed vegetables and fruit so much!

So for this week's blog post, I'm posting a salad made from barley, cucumber and carrots. Oh vegetables, I missed you so much!

Now a little bit about this salad. I first encountered this healthy salad in a party with some Japanese friends. It's very simple and refreshing. Barley is a healthy, whole grain that is high in protein, and packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Read more about barley and its health benefits here.

Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

The salad is very simple to make. In fact, the first time we tried to replicate it at home, my teenaged son made it by himself. It's great with roasted, grilled or fried food, especially dry dishes.

Three Berry Baked Lemon Cheesecake

Yesterday was the last day to vote for the 2014 Singapore blog awards, where MySuit&Apron is competing in two categories: Best Cooking Blog and Best New Blog. Thanks so much to all of you who voted! Regardless of the outcome of the contest, I really feel honored to be selected as one of the finalists. This blog started out (and continues to be) a personal hobby which I thought of doing on New Year's Eve. It is only 8 months old, so whether it wins or not, I'm happy and proud enough as it is. :)

Actually, this week, I am on vacation somewhere in Europe--loving the food, culture and the warm but windy weather, a welcome respite from humid Singapore!  But wherever I find myself every Friday, I always make it a point to release this week's blog recipe, culled from my arsenal of draft posts. :)

This week, it's cake! I have a confession to make: I don't really like making nor eating very sweet desserts, like cakes. I normally bake cakes only if there's a party in my house, or if I have a potluck party to bring it to. Dessert is often just fruit in our household, but whenever I have to make a dessert, this one is one of my "go to" recipes.

I like desserts that have a touch of sourness and that's why I use berries a lot. This cheesecake is light and is baked, and topped with a homemade berry compote, fresh berries and lemon rind. It's delicious and not as sinful as your normal sweet cake, and it looks so impressive too!