Recipes for Dad & Mom’s First Oven

We decided to celebrate Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday on Saturday night. Sis and I spent most of the evening playing in the kitchen. I thought it would be fun to come up with a couple recipes for my dad for his special weekend.

We decided to use a couple cucumbers from the garden in an appetizer for the boys while we experimented. We served them with a yogurt-style dip, which was quite refreshing. I think I need to make a variation on this again soon…just for me. hehe

Plus, we made my balsamic-roasted chickpeas, which Sis said she’s been wanting to try.

I had a reader request (hi Divina!) for red velvet dough balls, so we decided to try making them. They turned out less like dough balls and more like…well…something entirely different.

They weren’t quite cookies, but they were sort of like cake. I decided to call them “cakies.” They were like fluffy cookies with frosting. I think they need some work still, though, so I’m not sure when I’ll post the recipe since we need to keep testing out a couple variations. Though, I suppose if anyone was interested, I could either post the recipe online anyways or email it. Let me know if you’re interested, k?

And for our last dish – Tomato Basil Farro. This side was inspired by my dad who has always insisted our family eat healthy, whole grains. Somehow, they haven’t had farro before, so I thought it would be cool to prepare it for dinner. It turned out great, and I can’t wait to share the recipe with you guys!

{the spread}

Mom steamed up a bunch of vegetables (mostly from our garden) while dad cooked the shrimp.

Since my dad was the star of the evening, we got his favorite – scallops. They’re pretty pricey, so we just got enough for him and shrimp (still not cheap but so good) for the rest of us.

{my plate}

And since one dessert is good, but two desserts are great, Sis whipped up some peach cobbler. Why not, right?

So good!

You must be wondering what this last photo is. It’s a sketch of the “oven” my mom had growing up in the Philippines. I love talking to my parents about their past and their experiences growing up, and Saturday night was no exception. Somehow, we got to talking about my mom’s early years in Zamboanga City. She lived in an open house (think windows, but no glass…just an opening) with no running water and sparse electricity. Instead of an stove/oven, they had a sort of fireplace/grill that was heated with burning wood. She said it was sort of like the ovens they use at brick-oven pizzerias. It’s so fascinating. I really wish I could go there, see where she grew up, and meet my family. Unfortunately, I’ll probably never be able to since it’s pretty dangerous for foreigners. I’d probably end up kidnapped…literally. And if you don’t believe me, check out this article – this happened last year, people.

Ah well, I’ll always have mom’s stories. And drawings.

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But, back to my dad…Check out this photo I found. It’s Dad and me from 1983 in the Bahamas…which is where I’d eventually get married. lol

Reader question: Where have you always wanted to go?