Did you know that the submarine sandwich, also known as the hoagie, hero or grinder, is said to have originated from the Italian-American communities in northeastern US in the early to mid-20th century?
It got its most famous moniker due to its shape: the cylindrical bread roll housing its hearty fillings resembles the shape of a submarine.
Its nickname, the hoagie, came about in Philadelphia in the 1950s when Italian-Americans working at the Hog Island shipyard started putting various meats, cheeses and lettuce between two slices of bread.
Subway, the largest restaurant chain in the world, specializes in subs.
From its beginnings in the Fresno, California in 1978, Subway has steadily conquered the rest of the globe, setting up shops in Asia and even appearing prominently in popular K-Dramas.
Maybe it was its high visibility in his favorite Korean dramas that drove my Hubby to start ordering sandwiches from Subway to be delivered via GrabFood whenever he gets peckish while working from home.
And why would I complain when he so generously orders subs for the rest of the fam so that everyone has something to tide us over until dinnertime.
6″ Italian (Php138). Hubby’s go-to sub is made of spicy pepperoni and salami with crisp veggies and peppers in a toasted bun.
6″ BLT (Php138). One of my mottos is “Bacon makes everything better.” Well, it surely does! Sandwich some bacon slices together with lettuce and tomato in freshly toasted buns and you’ve got a great sub!
6″ Steak and Cheese (Php184). Inspired by the classic Philly hoagie, this sub features lean and tender steak with crisp lettuce, sliced onions and tomatoes and topped with melted cheese in a freshly toasted bun.
6″ Roast Beef (Php184). Lean and tender slices of roast beef with sliced cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and peppers in a freshly toasted bun.
With these tasty and filling subs, the wait for dinner doesn’t seem so long, right?
And with Metro Manila back on moderate enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), we don’t have to leave the safety of our homes to have our subs. We can just have them delivered right to our doorsteps just by ordering from GrabFood, LalaFood or FoodPanda.
And, boy, we do all go crazy over these sweet little creations from Krispy Kreme!
Krispy Kreme has been around for over fifty years, with families in the southern United States making a trip to their local Krispy Kreme branch their weekly ritual. Then, in the 1990s, Krispy Kreme underwent a massive expansion by opening branches coast to coast.
The brand reached our shores back in 2006 when it opened its first Philippine branch in Bonifacio Global City.
Today, it is firmly entrenched in the hearts (and palates!) of Pinoy donut lovers.
To give my fam a taste of the various donut possibilities that Krispy Kreme can bring, I recently ordered a Mixed Dozen (Php470) to be delivered to our home.
This includes a box containing six pieces of Krispy Kreme’s original glazed (also know as “OG”) donuts and a box containing six pieces of assorted donut flavors.
The OG donuts are Krispy Kreme’s signature flavor, made from Krispy Kreme’s donut mix, water and yeast, which are mixed, fried and glazed in accordance to strict specifications to produce that light and fluffy donuts we so love.
As for the other six pieces, we got a variety of flavors for the fam to discover and enjoy: KitKat Chocolate, KitKat Matcha, Glazed Vanilla Cake, Double Chocolate Cake and Glazed Chocolate Cake.
So despite the still ongoing community quarantine, donut lovers can still get their donut cravings satisfied by having their Krispy Kreme donuts delivered just like we did!
Plus, here’s some good news for donut fans! From August 17 to 20, you can have six Original Glazed, three ring-filled Choco Iced Kreme Filled, a New York Cheesecake, a KitKat Chocolate and a Red Velvet delivered to your doorstep for just Php399 if you course your order online or through +63 2 88879000 (Metro Manila Hotline), thanks to Krispy Kreme’s Delivery Dozen Deal.
Do you know what else is available for delivery? A Krispy Kreme OG Card, that’s what! Get this card to start enjoying freebies such as a half-dozen OG donuts for every order of a dozen OGs, as well as a free box of three OGs on your birthday and more!
If you still haven’t thrown yourself into one of the quarantine’s most popular pastimes because you lack the time, ingredients or equipment, let me share with you some hacks that will have you donning on your apron, ready to bake.
Let’s start you off with simple treats that will surely win the hearts (and tummies!) of the youngsters and adults alike: cookies!
Cookies seem to have been originated in 7th century Persia, a little while after the use of sugar became common in the region. Through the Muslim conquest of Spain, this baked goodies spread throughout Europe. It was said to have come to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the 1620s with the Dutch word koekje latet Anglicized to “cookie.”
Since then, exciting cookie variants have been introduced, giving cookie fans more reasons to love their favorite baked treat.
Bringing these bits of sweet happiness to your home even got a whole lot easier with these beloved cookie flavors in packaged mixes from Betty Crocker.
Betty Crocker got its start back in 1921 through a sales promotion ran by Gold Medal Flour targeting home cooks. Along with the entries, flour milling company Washburn Crosby Company (the predecessor of General Mills, Inc.), received a deluge of questions about baking. The name Betty Crocker was formulated to personalize responses to these queries.
Today, Betty Crocker is considered an icon of food expertise and reliable products, offering reliable and accessible recipes, sound cooking advice and dependable products. Its trademark red spoon and the Betty Crocker brand evokes that feeling of warmth and homeyness.
Among its products are the Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes. These mixes have no colors, no artificial flavors and no preservatives, just honest-to-goodness ingredients that will enable home cooks to have freshly baked treats from bowl to oven in minutes.
And really, these cookie mixes are so easy to use; I made three flavors of cookies using just my trusty mixing bowl, a fork, a 1 1/2-in diameter ice cream scoop, and, of course, my trusty oven (preheated to 375 deg F (190 deg C).
Each 17.5oz (496g) cookie mix bag produces twenty-four 3-inch cookies, enough to sate the cravings of any cookie fan.
Chocolate Chip Cookie
This beloved cookie was invented in 1938 by chefs Ruth Graves Wakefield for the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, then a popular spot for home cooking. She chopped bits from a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie dough made with flour, butter, brown and white sugar and vanilla, and a legendary cookie was born.
The Hack: Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
Mix together the cookie mix, one stick (1/2 cup) softened butter and egg until a soft dough forms.
Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.
Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
Each cookie is chewy and bursting with sweetness, a sure hit for kids and adults alike!
Oatmeal Cookie
A descendant of the traditional Scottish oatcakes which has been around since the middle ages, the recipe of the oatmeal cookie was first published in 1896 by Fannie Merritt Farmer author of the Boston Cooking School Cook Book. When it became popular in the US in the early 1900s, it was considered a health food due to the increased fiber content from the oatmeal.
The Hack: Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix
Mix together the cookie mix, one stick (1/2 cup) softened butter, 1 tbsp water and egg until a slightly stiff dough forms.
Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.
Bake for ten to twelve minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
A bit heftier when compared to other cookies, this moist and chewy oatmeal cookie packs a lot of texture as well as flavor in each bite.
Peanut Butter Cookie
The peanut butter cookie was invented in the 1910s by George Washington Carver when he published a peanut cookbook to promote the crop. While his original recipes called for chopped nuts, these were substituted in later iterations with peanut butter, and a classic cookie fave came to be.
The Hack: Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie
Mix together the cookie mix, three tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp water and egg until a soft dough forms.
Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.
Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
From the smell of peanut butter wafting to your nostrils to the satisfying bites into salty-sweet chewiness, this cookie is a feast for the senses.
(Traditionally, fork marks are associated to the peanut butter cookie. I just forgot to apply them before baking, my bad!)
Want some more cookie hacks?
Allow the cookies to cool for one minute on the cookie sheet before removing them.
Baked too many? Store leftovers in an airtight container and reheat in a 300 deg F (150 deg C) oven for four to six minutes or until warm
Want to save some cookie dough to be baked later? Place the dough balls in a container with lid and place in a freezer. You can pop these in the oven and bake for few minutes longer.
So stock up on these cookie mixes so you can easily treat the fam to bites of cookie happiness at home.
After almost five months of being cooped up at home, I must say that I have developed a newfound respect for home-cooking.
These are the dishes that many of us grew up with and have loved over the years, the viands that we may not always list as put absolute faves but nevertheless welcome when they are presented to us on the dinner table.
The thing is, however, having the same home-cooked dishes again and again can become a drag. Blame it on the limited repertoire of many homemakers when it comes to Filipino food, or simply the lack of time to learn to cook new dishes despite being stuck at home or to replenish the pantry with the needed ingredients.
Whichever the reason, I found myself having to look for viand for my family’s lunch one weekday.
Fortunately, Aling Banang’s also offers solo servings of its dishes such as:
Pancit Canton (Php60). Pinoy-style stir-fried noodles with shredded veggies topped with Lecon Kawali pieces.
Lechon Kawali (Php60). Pork belly that is boiled, seasoned then deep-fried in a wok until the meat is tender and juicy and the skin is crispy and golden brown.
With five orders of Lechon Kawali and two orders of Pancit Canton, I was able to satisfy the lunch appetites of the entire fam for just Php420!
What’s your meal hack?
Get your own lutong bahay eats without having to sweat it out in the kitchen. If you’re in the Pasig area, order your meal from Aling Banang’s by calling +63 2 73582953, +63 921 3364640 or +63 955 6922033.
It shows snippets of life that still goes on despite the raging pandemic: the shy smiles from behind the necessary face masks, greeting each other by shaking feet instead of hands, eating out together while remaining apart, and getting used to spending time indoors, all as part of the New Normal.
My fam and I are also adjusting to the new way of being, enjoying our extended time together at home.
And while we’re both busy working from home, Hubby and I still try to squeeze in some bits of time with kiddos within our workday: our own “kitakits.”
On one such occasion, I ordered some of our favorites from McDonald’s for us to munch on during our afternoon break:
Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Hubby’s big appetite needs a big burger and this one fits the bill. A quarter-pound beef patty topped with slices of onions, pickles and melty cheese in a sesame seed bun.
McChicken Sandwich. My go-to order: a crispy fillet of chicken slathered with mayonnaise and sandwiched in a toasted sesame seed bun. It should have come with shredded ice lettuce but I guess someone left that out. Oh,well… 😒
Chicken McNuggets. For the kiddos, we got juicy and crispy ten- and six-piece nuggets accompanied by barbecue sauce. They just can’t seem to stop biting into these yummies!
French Fries. The fam’s favorite fries made with stripes straight cut from whole potatoes, deep-fried to a golden brown, salted and best enjoyed hot and crisp from the fryer.
The missing iceberg lettuce from my McChicken Sandwich, I’m not to crazy about. My enjoyable time with the fam? Luv ko ‘to!
Wanna have your favorite fast food delivered right to your doorstep? Order online at McDelivery between 6am and 9.30pm or download the McDelivery App. Due to the moderate enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), delivery will be available in selected areas.
You may also course your orders through these food delivery apps.
Download the Grab App and get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.
In between video calls, reports and other tasks that make up a frenetic afternoon at work, Hubby and I were able to squeeze in a quick, tasty and filling snack, not just for us, but also for the kiddos.
This is thanks to Yellow Cab’s ongoing promo on GrabFood.
For years now, Filipino-owned pizza brand Yellow Cab has been offering New York-style pizzas using the finest ingredients to local pizza aficionados.
This type of pizza is characterized by a large hand-tossed thin crust, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, usually sold in wide slices for takeout. If your pizza is thick and crisp on its outer edges yet soft, thin and pliable enough to be folded in half to eat, then what you’ve got is a New York-style pizza.
Through Yellow Cab’s House Pizza Time deal, the whole fam was able to enjoy a modest feast for just Php999! This consisted of:
9-inch Hawaiian Pizza. Pineapple bits on pizza may be problematic for some but not for me! I’ll take this pizza topped with pineapple, ham and bacon any day.
16 pcs Hot Wings. Crispy and juicy chicken wings coated with a spicy and tangy buffalo sauce. For me, it would have gone so well with Yellow Cab’s garlic ranch dip but I guess it was left out of our delivery pack. Still, Hubby and the kids lost no time in demolishing these chicken pieces.
Our little snack break was able to tide us over and helped keep our energy levels up until dinner time. It also gave us another reason to get spend a fee minutes with the kiddos despite our busy workday.
Have your favorite pizzas and more delivered right to your doorstep by ordering online. You may also order directly from the store nearest you by calling:
Last Sunday morning, in a bid to stop me from buying a mass-produced mac ‘n cheese packet when we went grocery shopping (or probably to flex his cooking muscles yet again!), Hubby promised me that he would make some macaroni and cheese for me and the kids.
Fast-forward to the afternoon of the same day, my Significant Other is bustling about in the kitchen (in between watching scenes from his latest Korean drama binge-fest) to make what was arguably my daughter #ExhibitA’s favorite macaroni dish.
Macaroni and Cheese (affectionately called Mac ‘n Cheese by its aficionados) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta in cheese sauce (normally cheddar). Traditionally, this dish is baked in an oven as a casserole but it may also be prepared on a stove using a saucepan. Or you can just add water to a packaged mix and zap it in the microwave.
Similar dishes have been around in Europe since the 14th century. Since then, Mac ‘n Cheese have grown in worldwide popularity, even being considered comfort food in the US.
In his valiant effort to provide the fam with a filling snack that Sunday afternoon, Hubby improvised on an existing Mac ‘n Cheese recipe he found online.
Ingredients:
2 cups of uncooked macaroni
4 cups of milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup grated processed cheese
2 tbsp butter
Procedure:
In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil.
Add the macaroni into the pot, stirring constantly for about ten minutes until the pasta is al dente. The milk would have been greatly reduced by then.
Turn off the heat, add in the cheddar and mix well.
Then add butter, parmesan and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve while hot.
I love how milky and creamy this pasta dish is. And, well, Hubby’s version is way better than the packaged mix. 🙂
Try this recipe out the next time you want a yummy snack or appetizer, or when you need to contribute something hearty to a family potluck and let me know what you think.
Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:
Sure, banana breads has become more popular lately as newly minted home bakers have tried their hands on making this ubiquitous pastry.
Well, how about another sweet incarnation of banana as a dessert, say a banana crisp?
A crisp is a dish of baked fresh fruit with a streusel topping that typically includes oats. As the dish bakes, the oats will crisp up, adding another level of texture to the dessert, hence the name.
Unlike banana breads that require overripe fruit, banana crisps need the bananas to be just ripe.
This is a makeshift banana crisp recipe that I improvised with ingredients that I already have on hand when I was struck with one of my cravings for something sweet again.
Check it out:
Ingredients:
4 bananas sliced into thin circles
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup instant oats (my substitute for rolled oats)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, softened
Procedure:
To make the topping,combine the flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt a medium bowl. Add in the softened butter and work the mixture with your hands or a whisk until crumbly. Set aside.
Evenly distribute the banana slices into two cake tins. Cut up some of the bananas to fill in the smaller spaces in between slices.
Sprinkle the topping mixture over the bananas, enough to cover the fruit.
Place inside the oven pre-heated at 205 deg C (400 deg F) and bake for ten to twelve minutes until the topping becomes firm and gets a golden brown color.
Come on, let’s list the uses for vanilla ice cream!
A dessert on its own
A topping for dessert pies and crumbles
The thing that floats in a root beer float
The thing that makes milk shakes extra decadent
The thing that’s sandwiched when you typically make ice cream sandwiches
I’m sure there are lots more that good ole’ plain vanilla ice cream can contribute to the enjoyment of foodies everywhere.
Surprisingly, I’ve been having trouble finding vanilla ice cream in my neighborhood grocery and convenience stores the past few days. And with the modified enhanced community quarantine just around the corner, I can be sure that ice cream deliveries to these local stores will be delayed.
This is quite unfortunate as I have hankering for pies and shakes that include this treat.
Since necessity is the mother of invention, I decided to make vanilla ice cream myself.
Here’s how:
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup all-purpose cream (my substitute for the 1 cup half-and-half that the original recipe called for)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
Procedure:
Combine the milk, all-purpose cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it begins to double in volume or form stiff peaks.
Mix in the vanilla mixture until well combined.
Freeze overnight.
Now, I have vanilla ice cream ready to use for pies and milkshakes!
Try this recipe out for yourself!
Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:
The Jellybeans Edit 