14
October

Cleaning with Salt!

Here are very helpful cleaning tips for homemakers … using SALT!

Wok can be cleaned by scrubbing it with the use of a small amount of salt dampened with cooking oil and placed on a paper towel.

It also removes perspiration stains in clothing, most especially on men’s collar. Just pre-soak the garment in water mixed with salt. Wash the usual way.

Ovens can be very messy after oven spills. To clean, sprinkle the mess with salt and then wipe with a damp cloth.

Bloodstains can also be removed effectively by soaking the clothing in cold saltwater overnight. The following day, wash as usual.

Coffee stains can also be very troublesome. Remove fresh coffee stains by soaking the affected area with cold salt water.

Boiling saltwater can also be used to help keep our drains flowing.

 

Photo credit: Carlos Porto     Stuart Miles

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1
October

Mixed Veggies Fried Rice Recipe

 

Mixed Veggies Fried Rice

Normal households usually have left-over rice, and typically they are either re-heated or fed to the pets. However, for wives, moms, house helps and or “kitchen masters” who are wise, sensible, practical, and not afraid to experiment, left-over rice and other left-over food can be turned into a delicious dish. Fried rice is one good example!

Here’s a very popular type of fried rice that can be “tweaked” or modified to fit the circumstance of the cook. The ingredients listed below can be changed to fit, for example, the dietary needs of the people who will be eating the food.

Here’s a money-saving tip: look what’s inside your ref. You may have there left-over adobo, or friend chicken, or egg omelet, or hot dogs, meat loafs, etc. All these can be used in the fried rice. Just make sure that they are still good! Minced dried fish (“Bulad” in Bisaya or “Tuyo” in Tagalog) can also be added to your fried rice. To do this, fry the dried fish first then remove the bones and mince. Add this to the fried rice together with the eggs when almost done.

To make the food fiber-rich, greens can also be added such as shredded kangkong. The peas can also be replaced with string beans cut into very small pieces.

Well, as Gary and George of MasterChefAustraliakeep saying: a good chef can work with anything – cook with anything!

So, happy cooking everyone!

Mixed Veggies and Meat Fried Rice

Ingredients:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 6 ounces roast pork/ground pork or ground chicken
  • 4 ounces frozen medium shrimp/chorizo debilbaoor spicy sausage
  • 5 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen (if using frozen peas, thaw first)
  • 4 cups cold cooked rice

Shrimp Seasonings:

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preparation:

  • Lightly beat the eggs and set aside.
  • Dice the barbecued pork (or any meat you want).
  • Rinse the shrimp under warm running water to thaw. Shell, de-vein, and finely chop.
  • Toss the shrimp with the seasonings (the salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch).
  • Heat the wok and add 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn pink.
  • Push the shrimp up to the side and add the roast pork. Stir-fry briefly, then remove both from the pan. Clean out the pan.
  • Heat the wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Stir-fry until it begins to soften, then add the peas. Stir-fry until the peas turn bright green and remove from the pan.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the wok. Add the cooked rice, stirring to separate the individual grains. Do not let the rice brown.
  • Add the beaten egg, stirring so that all the rice grains are covered.
  • Add the roast pork, shrimp, onion and vegetables into the pan. Mix everything together.
  • Taste and season with extra salt and pepper if desired.
  • Serve hot.
Healthy Tip!
  • Fried rice, especially when using left-over rice, is best eaten immediately.

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13
September

Money Saving Tips for Homemakers Living in Cagayan de Oro City

I have been continuously thinking of topics to write in my blog; topics that would help women like me – homemakers, wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and even career women who might just need the information I will provide. So I’ve tried writing about almost all topics that interests me, because I am all those. My belief is that if the things I wrote helped me, surely there would be someone out there who will be helped just as well.

The topics just jump out from nowhere; they are not planned nor thought of seriously. When they come, they come in like water rushing into a floodgate, and more often than not, my fingers just go on clicking to the point my children would joke at me “saying the horses have been let go!” (I use the keyboard the way I used typewriters back then hahaha!)

And so this morning, while cleaning my kitchen, I saw the cucumbers, the patola, and the bananas we bought yesterday from Cogon Market – in the sidewalk, from vendors.

For Moms and wives who buy veggies and fruits, do you know that vegetables like cucumbers and patolas, as well as fruits like bananas are sold in the market at least 4 times lesser than the price in wet markets and superstores?

One (1) cucumber, for instance, will cost you around 15 to 16 pesos in the super market, while in Cogon, from a sidewalk vendor; a kilo of cucumber only costs 10 pesos.  For these two cucumbers I only paid 13.00.

Cucumbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One (1) patola, if bought from a supermarket’s vegetable section, will cost around 20 to 22 pesos, while from local vendors in the market, one piece is 10 pesos. So for these two, I only paid 20.00.

Patola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bananas are sold in Cogon market (sidewalk vendors alongOsmeña Street) at 20.00 per kilo. From super market fruits section, the same banana variety is being sold at 90.00 or higher per kilo.  For this whole bunch (add to this five pieces already eaten by my kids), I paid only 43.00.00.

 

Banana

Well, this is just FYI; money-saving tips for homemakers like me ;D

 

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