Sinigang sa Bayabas (Guava Sinigang)

Last week I  wanted to use up some ingredients I originally bought for Nillaga, but instead, I made Sinigang (Filipino sour soup). As you can see, I "cheated" by using a Mama Sita's packet, "Sinigang sa Bayabas" ("guava" in English). They also have the "Sampaloc" flavor (Tamarind), but I like the guava better.  You can use any kind of vegetables really. I used green beans, one onion, a couple of white potatoes (not pictured), a few baby eggplants and one bunch of chard.

TC liked this one because it was a MUTANT. It also reminded me of the mutant M 'n M she gave me in a plastic Easter egg for my birthday earlier this year. We share the same twisted sense of humor.

When I bought this red Swiss Chard at North Park Produce, no sooner had I picked up this bunch ($1.19 each!) and bagged it when a man approached me and asked "How do you eat that?".

Normally, I'd be all, "WTF dude! Nice pick up line!" (Okay, I'd never say that but of course, my snarky inner dialogue is going 100 miles a minute!). The guy seemed sincerely curious, so I told him that I put it in soup. He wanted to know the details like, do I chop it up, do I leave the stems, and so on. I told him to stick it up his ass and to light a match. No, not really. I'm just checking to see if you are really paying attention and actually reading the shit that I write.

I politely told him how I made nillaga and sinigang using swiss chard (my recipe to follow). He had never seen this vegetable before so he decided that he would also buy one bunch.  Talk about the power of pursuasion, eh! He was pretty polite; he thanked me and went on his way.

If you want to be lazy like me, use a packet. It's only .89!  The picture of the packets shows fish. I like using beef shanks, country style pork ribs, or chicken.

Sinigang

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs meat of your choice (I prefer 2-3 pieces of Beef Shank with the bone because I love the marrow)
1 small chopped onion
2-3 vegetables of your choice (I used white potatoes, a few eggplants, green beans and 1 leafy bunch of greens, chopped)
1 packet of Mama Sita's Sinigang mix

procedure:
Wash the meat and boil in water (6 - 8 cups)
Skim the foam that rises to the top until the broth is clear
Add the chopped onion and the sinigang packet.
(Note - if you don't want to use the sinigang packet, use  a souring agent like lemon juice or fresh unripe guavas)
Let the soup boil then reduce to "simmer" for 30-40 minutes
Add the rest of the vegetables for 10 minutes
Add the chopped greens last.

Serve hot with white rice.

(If you don't have chard, you can use collards or if you like your greens bitter, use mustard greens.)

Lastly, easy dessert:

I saw this in the dessert section and decided to give it a go. It was not even close to matching the fktastic version we had at the San Francisco Ferry Building, at Frog Hollow Farms. Their pear frangipane tarte was amazing like Metallica, Ronnie James Dio and AC/DC rolled into one. This version (while passable), was like a mediocre cover band that performs at the local county fair or titty bar. That being said, I still want to try the pear frangipane tarte at San Diego Desserts!