I won a free invite to the Sweet Surrender Dessert Expo!

Yesterday I received a sweet surprise from Boy Kuripot himself! My FB message states...

Congratulations Sarah, you won an invitation to the Sweet Surrender Dessert Expo on November 13 for joining Boy-Kuripot's Sweet Surrender promo! Your name will already be at the guest list at the event venue. Just present your ID at the registration counter and mention that you are one of the Winners from Boy Kuripot - Boy Kuripot

This is definitely one of my firsts! And I really would love to be at the said event so as I could share them to all of you. But sadly I have to pass this one out. :(

Last Thursday my mom received a call from one of my aunts in the province giving us a very sad news. My dear lola had just passed away that morning.

Because of this we have to compromise our schedules to book for an immediate ticket to fly south of the Philippines. To all who can read this, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my dear Lola Martha. I know that wherever she is, she's at peace.

As a thank you note to Boy Kuripot and the people behind Sweet Surrender Dessert Expo, I will post the event's link here (that's all i can do for now, really):

http://boy-kuripot.blogspot.com/2010/11/sweet-surrender-dessert-expo.html

So go there guys and be part of that sweet event :)

Want to Lose Weight? Follow these simple Lowfat Diet Tips

For those seeking for some weight loss solutions without undergoing the knife, a change of lifestyle is the best way to go, and embracing a lowfat diet is part of a healthy living.

A lowfat diet allows a smallest amount of dietary fat which comprises 15% of the total calorie requirement of the person. The normal fat percentage is 20 to 35% of total calorie requirement per day. This diet is prescribed to persons with liver disorder, gallbladder problem, hyperlipidemia (increased blood lipid level), and heart disease. This is not a No-fat diet but a lowfat diet. A right amount of fat is important in the body's use of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E an K.

Some tips to follow when planning a lowfat diet:

1. Avoid pork, fatty meats, animal fats, and animal skin.

2. Substitute meat with fish or with legume and grain combinations.

3. Eat more unrefined or unprocessed foods.

4. Increase vegetable and fruit intake except avocado. Avocado is rich in fat.

5. Eat fruits instead of rich cakes and sweets for dessert.

6. Drink fruit juice instead of full cream milk, milk shakes, malted milk and chocolate drinks.

7. Use and drink only soymilk, skim, lowfat or nonfat milk. Whole milk and full cream milk products such as cheese and ice cream are fat-rich.

8. Boil, bake, broil as often as desired. Limit frying and sauteeing.

9. Deep fry rather than fry with little oil when frying is unavoidable. In deep frying, the food absorbs less oil (when it is hot) than frying with little oil. Place fried foods over paper towels to reduce oiliness.

10. Saute once in a while provided just enough oil is used to saute onion and garlic.

11. Prefer plain rice over fat rich bakery products.

12. Eat regularly. A 3 meal a day diet is recommended. Eating between meals encourages intake of fat rich snack foods.

13. Eat a good, heavy breakfast and a light supper always.

14. Minimize dining out. Commercial food preparations are generally rich in fats, salt, spices and sugar.

15. Choose lowfat soups like vegetable soup. Limit creamy soups.

16. Take note of salad dressing and sauces. These are usually fat rich.

17. Avoid coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals.

Want to cook healthy recipes? Why not try cooking the dishes in a Paleo Cookbook and discover how to create healthy and tasty meals in your own kitchen!

How to properly use your Tefal Pressure Cooker

Yesterday mom bought out another amazing cookware from Tefal - the Clipso Easy Pressure Cooker. It features one hand locking and opening system, a triple layer sandwich base that guarantees an even heat distribution, 5 independent safety devices, ergonomic in design, high quality stainless steel, the nutrients and aroma stays in the ingredients and does not dispersed around home, aside from stovetop it is also suitable for induction.

The manual suggested some recipes to make. More importantly all Tefal owners should keep in mind these tips on the proper use of Tefal Pressure Cooker:
1. Supervise carefully during use especially with children around.
2. Do not leave food in the Pressure Cooker.
3. Never use bleach or chlorine cleaning products.
4. Do not use a sharp or pointed object.
5. Replace the lid seal once a year.
6. The Pressure Cooker must only be cleaned once it's cool and empty.
7. To move the Pressure cooker, only use the two handles.
8. Never undo screws situated on the inside of the lod.

Follow these simple tips and your beloved Tefal cookware will surely last a long time!

Tefal Clipso Easy Pressure Cooker

For some Frequently Asked Questions you may visit their website at www.tefal.com.au

Recipe: Menudo

Ingredients:

1/2 k pork meat, cubed
1 c liver, cubed
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp achuete seeds
1 tbsp garlic, macerated
1/3 c onion, chopped
1/2 c tomatoes, sliced
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper

Procedure:
1. Render off color from achuete seeds, discard seeds.
2. Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes; add pork and cook until done
3. Add potatoes and little stock if dry.
4. Add liver when potatoes are done; season and bring to a boil.
5. Serve hot for 6.

Recipe: Yema

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 can condensed milk
2 tbsp. butter
grated lemon peel

Procedure:
1. Cook egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon peel and butter until it turns into a thick paste on top of double boiler.
2. Form into balls.
3. Make s syrup of:

1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbsp butter

Let it brown. Dip each yema ball into the syrup and let cool in buttered cookies sheet. Wrap in colored cellophane.

Eating Sugarcane

I first tasted sugarcane when I was really young. When we travelled back to the province and a distant relative handed me a stick like food and told me I can eat it. I can see sticks of sugarcane all over the place and I saw mom and my aunts munching several of them. It was something unfamiliar to me at that time and I was quite hesitant. I tried it anyway.

Sugarcane is considered a grass. Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters (six to nineteen feet) tall.

Yesterday, we finally tried the sugarcane planted in the backyard. The taste reminded me of that when I had my first bite several years ago. But the sugarcane then tastes a lot sweeter, I guess it also depends on where it is being cultivated.

sugarcane

Recipe: Homemade Biko Rice Cake

Yesterday I tried to help mom and our househelper make a yummy homemade biko - a Filipino rice cake served during special occasions. So here goes the cooking process :)

Ingredients: 

1 k malagkit rice (glutinous rice)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups coconut milk

caramelized brown sugar

cooked malagkit (glutinous) rice

Malagkit rice mixed with caramelized brown sugar

Procedure:

1. Cook the malagkit rice in a rice cooker

2. In a frying pan over low heat fire, cook the coconut milk with continuous stirring until thick and forms what is called the latik. Set is aside the latik and leave the oil from the coconut milk.

3. Add 1/2 kilo of  brown sugar and stir continuously until it caramelized (still over low heat fire). 

4. Add the cooked malagkit rice over the caramelized sugar and mix.

5. Add the latik over the biko rice cake and set aside some for toppings

Homemade Biko Rice Cake

This by far my friends is the cheapest and easiest process in making a homemade biko, I mean with just 3 ingredients you can have a great afternoon merienda/dessert treat to share with your family and friends!