Easy Focaccia Bread

Why easy? Because it is a no knead Focaccia. Just mix the ingredient together and let it proof in the refrigerator overnight and the next day you will be rewarded with Focaccia bread.


Mine turned out looking like bread sticks aren't they? I sprinkled my Focaccia with dried oregano and rosemary. This bread smells heavenly while baking as my house was infused with the fragrant of herbs and olive oil.


Being a true Asian, enjoying my Focaccia with curry chicken just like Peony. LOL! Actually it tasted great on it's own but I wanted to serve it with my lunch and soaking up all the curry gravy.

This no knead Focaccia recipe is graciously shared by My Culinary Journal. My Focaccia didn't rise as high as her and she mentioned in her reply that she let her Focaccia rise again after she spread it on the pan and done sprinkled with herbs. So, there's her tips!

Merdeka Open House 2008: Mee and My Malaysia: Stir-fried Silver Needle Noodle (銀針粉) or (老鼠粉)

This noodle is known as silver needle noodle in Hong Kong but "Rat Noodle" (老鼠粉) in Malaysia and Singapore. These noodles are named this way because it is shaped like a needle or rat's tail. It is made of a mixture of rice flour and wheat starch or cornstarch. I have known this noodle as 老鼠粉 and it is usually served in clear soup or stir-fry in Malaysia. I used to eat this as a kid so it brings back memory of home. When I saw Florence making her own silver needle noodle, I wanted to make it too. I have all the ingredients and the recipe seem easy enough. Little did I know that making this noodle actually was quite a tedious process. The process of shaping this noodle each and every single one took me a while. I even enlisted Evy as my helper, but this helper hardly help at all. After she done with a few, she said, "Mommy, I don't want to do it anymore, my hands are tired." Oh man, my only kitchen helper, who normally loved to play with dough quit on me. So, I had to make the rest on my own. Then, I got a mishap when boiling the noodle. The instruction said boil until the noodle turned transparent. But no matter how long I boiled, it never turned transparent. At the end, I just drained it under the cold water, and after I did that, it turned transparent. But the damage was already done, my noodle was soggy and sort of stuck together even after I applied some oil on it. However, I was not going to throw all my hard work in the trash, so in the refrigerator it went (like the instruction said).


The next day when I took it out from the refrigerator, the 老鼠粉 was stuck together in a big lump. So, I had to separate each noodle by hands. I ended out with a lot of broken pieces but I went ahead and stir-fry my 老鼠粉 and the above was the result. Not too bad I would say and actually quite delicious. Not sure I would make it again soon though but will definitely make it when I have the craving again.

Ingredients:

老鼠粉/ rat noodle
Shredded carrots
Thinly cut Chinese green, or bok choy
Chopped garlics
Sliced yellow onion
Pork or chicken of your choice
Oil for cooking
(A)
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Oyster sauce
White pepper

Method:

1. Heat up oil in a wok. When heated add in meat of your choice, garlic and stir-fry until meat is 80% cooked. Add in onion, carrot and green and stir-fry until cooked. Add in rat noodle and sauces (A), stir-fry until well mixed. Serve hot!


I am serving this dish to Merdeka Open House 2008: Mee and My Malaysia hosted by Babe in the city_KL. Do visit her on Aug. 31st for the round up to celebrate the Malaysians' Independent Day. Hereby I also want to wish all Malaysians a Happy Merdeka Day!

Dong Quai Chicken Herbal Soup (當歸汤)

This Angelica soup (當歸汤) or "female ginseng" is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat gynecological ailments, mild anemia, fatigue and high blood pressure. This soup is also cooked for new mom in the last two weeks of confinement. It is also one of my favorite soups and I cook this soup 2-3 times per month. It is best for women to drink this after each menstrual cycle to revitalize. Bonus is this soup is very sweet and delicious.



Ingredients:

2 Chicken drumsticks
2-3 pieces of sliced Angelica (Dong Guai)
10 pieces of dried Polygonatum (Yok Chook)
10 red dates
1 .5 Tbsp. wolfberrie/Goji berries (kee chi)
6 dried longan
1000ml water
Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a stock pot, add in the water and let it boiled. Rinse all the herbs with water, drained.

2. When boiled, add in the chicken drumsticks and the rest of the ingredients except salt.

3. When boiled again, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 3-4 hours. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.

C'elle's Stem Cell Awareness

We have heard about the bone marrow, fat and embryonic stem cells that can be collected to possibly save our lives in the future. But have you heard about this progressing and cutting edge service of collecting stem cells through women monthly cycle or more specifically menstrual blood? C'elle's exclusive and revolutionary service provides women with this unique opportunity to collect and preserve vital stem cells in an easy, non-invasive, painless and affordable manner. Sure you want to know about the Science behinds this new exciting research. The new research shows that menstrual fluid contains self-renewing steam cells that are highly prolific and have demonstrated the capability to differentiate into many other types of stem cells such as cardiac, neural, bone, fat and cartilage, and possibly others that can be used to treat a host of life-threatening and debilitating medical conditions such as diabetes, stroke and heart disease, as well as neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's, osteoporosis and spinal cord injury, just to name a few. What is so great about C'elle is not only the processed and cryo-preserved stem cells can save your life but your first degree of family members as well, such as your brother or dad. If you have a family history of illness that might be benefiting from this stem cells research, it is so worth the investment. Come see the C'elle Client Testimonial and start making the decision to invest in your personal future health care and well being. The life you save maybe your own or your loved one! Order now to receive the special limited time promotion price offer of $499.

Arte-y-Pico Award

I received this lovely award from Sweet Jasmine at Rainbows. Thank you Sweet Jasmine! :*

Before passing this on, here are a few set rules to follow.....

1) You have to pick FIVE blogs that you consider deserve this award for creativity, design, interesting material and also contribute to the blogger community regardless of language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given him/her the award itself.

4) Award winners and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the "Arte-y-Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of the award

5) In compliance with said RULES, the award winner must show the RULES.

Now, I would love to share this award with these five lovely blogs:

My Kitchen Snippets
Kedai Hamburg
Mochachocolata-Rita
More than Words
The Adventure of my cooking diary

Auto Body Repair

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*This post is sponsored*

Love Letters Using a Pizzelle Press

Love letters or Kuih Kapit, one of my favorite Chinese Lunar New Year snacks. I was using the Cuisinart Pizzelle Press that I just bought and it only made 4" pizzelle. The size was a bit too small to fold it into a triangle or fan shape. If I rolled them into egg roll shape then it would take up a lot of storage space. So, keeping it just the way it is was the way to go for me. As you can see, it was tinted green, that was because I added Pandan extract. I simply love the smell of Pandan (screwpine leaves) so I couldn't help myself from adding some.


Pretty thin right? Of course it was not as thin as the traditionally kuih kapit but this was easier to do. You can get the kuih kapit recipe from Amy Beh (Kuali) if you are interested. I shall try the Pizzelle recipe provided by Cuisinart in my next attempt to see the difference. Oh I learned this tips of using the Pizzelle Press to make Love Letter through J from Singapore. Kuih Kapit is one of my favorite CNY cookies so I was thrilled to learn of this tips. Now owning my own Pizzelle press, I can make this thicker, non-traditional kuih kapit version anytime I feel like eating them. Great! ^.^

My Very Own Domain?

A domain I can call my own and do whatever I please with certainly sounds lovely. But choosing a domain name can be a headache as I want my readers to be able to find me and my blog without any problem. I found some tips for choosing a domain name which will surely come in handy and helpful. But with a domain name, I would need to find a web hosting website. My husband suggested me to this web hosting review website which he said will benefit me. Their rating system is based on customer satisfaction, affordability, reliability, up time and technical support with unedited reviews by real customers. Beside that, it also has useful articles for me to digest and to aid me along in my decision making. If you are looking for a new web hosting service, you can check out this host rating website.

Easy Stir-fried Shrimps

Sharing an easy home cook shrimps recipe here. It's so easy to make anyone can make it. You can add yellow onion, scallion, color bell pepper and red chili into this recipe as well. Just season to taste with more salt or soy sauce.

Ingredients:

16 shrimps, coat the shrimps with cornstarch ( I used Jumbo shrimps here)
1 small carrots, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Sauces (A)
1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
Dash of Japanese rice wine
1 tsp. sugar
salt/soy sauce to taste

Methods:

Heat oil in a wok, when hot, add in the cornflour coated shrimps & garlic. Fry until half cooked. Add in carrots. Then (A), fry until shrimps are cooked. Dish out and serve.

Charter Laptop A Day Giveaway

Man, school is starting soon! Now is the time to get everything ready and prepare yourself to start a new school year. It is also the time where you can take advantage of all the back to school deals. I have a great back to school offer that I want to let you in on, especially if you are a college student or you have kid(s) who is heading back to college. It is a Charter Laptop-a-Day Giveaway . They are giving away a free HP Compaq Presario C770US laptop each day for 30 days for those who signed up for one or more of their High Speed Internet services. In addition to that they are also giving out free Shell gas gift card for each services offered. You are automatically entered into the Charter laptop a day giveaway contest when you buy one or more of the services online. The services offered are Charter High-Speed Internet at $19.99/month for 6 months (complimentary $25 Shell gas gift card), Charter Digital Home and High-Speed Internet at $69.98/month for 6 months (complimentary $50 Shell gas gift card) and Charter Digital Home, High-Speed Internet and Telephone at $99.97/month for 12 months (complimentary $100 Shell gas gift card). After the purchase, you will be sent the free Shell gas card and is automatically entered to win one of thirty HP Compaq Presario C770US notebook. It will be such a great bonus to win a new laptop for the new school year, right? The first winner will be announced on Sept. 1st. So, best of luck to anyone who signed up for Charter's services.

Chai Po Tan (菜脯蛋) / Salted Turnips Omelet

Chai Po Tan or 菜脯蛋 is one common home cook eggs dish at my house. My husband and Evy love anything with eggs, either boiled eggs, eggs in soup, scrambled eggs, omelet or stir-fry eggs. This salted turnips omelet is something I had when I was small so naturally I love to buy and cook this for my family. Here's my recipe to share, for newbies who doesn't know how to make this easy dish. :P Good with rice or porridge!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of minced sweet salted turnips (can easily get it at Asian store)
3 eggs
2 tbsp. of chopped scallions (optional)
1/2 tsp. light soy sauce
1/4 tsp. white pepper powder
About 3 Tbsp. of cooking oil

Method:

1. In a bowl, break the eggs, add in the salted turnips, scallions, soy sauce and white pepper. Whisk until well blended. Set aside.

2. Heat wok with oil. When smoking hot, pour in the beaten eggs. Stir and flip to cook both sides. Dish out to serve.

Omega Watches

Is a designer and luxury watch something that you always dream of owning? I always love Omega brand watches, especially this Omega Constellation ladies' stainless steel pink mother-of-pearl dial diamond bezel. Isn't this a beautiful masterpiece? I simply love the pink mother-of-pearl center, so sweet, ladylike and elegant. This watch is on my wish list and hoping that I would be able to own it one day.


I am working towards this goal of mine, owning a luxury Omega watch one day. Looking at this watch motivated me in reaching my goal. I can reach my goal faster by shopping online at a site that specializing in selling brand name luxury watches and Omega watches at great discounted manufacturing list price. All of the watches are brand new and 100% authentic with serial numbers. They are able to pass down the savings to us because they buy their watches in large quantity and operate with a very low overhead. In addition, they provide free shipping in the United States. Seem like I am one step closer in reaching my goal. I can't wait to see this beautiful timepiece on my wrist. If you love designer and luxury watch too, feel free to check out this website for the wide selection of brand name watches at great deal.

*This post is sponsored*

Shaved Ice Again (Ice Kacang)

It's summer and the best way to cool off is to have some shaved ice or ice kacang. Making shaved ice is so easy these days when you own the shaved ice machine. It comes in two forms, electric or hand power. I bought an electric one few years back and it's really useful.


I used canned sweeten red beans, canned peaches and canned green jelly so making this is really easy. All I have to do is make some Gula Melaka syrup to put on top of the shaved ice. Oops! I forgot to add the evaporated milk, no wonder it didn't taste as fragrant. :P

Seeking Financial Freedom?

I don't think anyone wants to live their lives buried in debt and working to meet the required monthly payments. You don't need the stress and anxiety whenever you want to use your credit card to pay for something. You want to be stress free and financial free! You want the financial freedom that people were talking about and you want relief! If you are struggling with a large debt burden that is suffocating you and you want to change that, act now and get on a Debt Relief program and start working towards your financial freedom. Making the financial freedom a goal in your life to achieve and start working towards it, you don't have to be alone. A team of understanding, friendly and empathetic people will be there to assist you along the way. Freedom Debt Relief "Debt Reduction Program" uses debt negotiation to dramatically lower both your debt levels and monthly payments and to get you debt free in 2-3 years.

In Credit Counseling, you are repaying 100% of your debt balance plus interest charges and it can last up to 5 years for you to be debt free. Whereas, in Debt Consolidation, you just moved from an unsecured debt to a secured debt and at the same time put your personal assets at risk. As for bankruptcy, you really don't want to file for it as it will mark you for life and it's not something that you will be proud of doing. As meeting credit card monthly payments, if you are paying just the monthly payments, you are actually paying for the interest. If you owe $10,000, by meeting the monthly payments, you will be paying more than $20,000 and in 20-30 years before you are debt free. So why putting yourself in all this when you can potentially owe 40-60% less and be debt free as little as 2-3 years with the Freedom's Debt Reduction Program? Call them now for a free 10 minutes consultation and see how much you can save.

Hooray! My Edda is Weaned!

A pat on the back for me because I finally weaned my 22 months old daughter. Weaning her was fairly easy because I knew she could understand me well. At first I was thinking to only start weaning her after she turned two. But that one fine night (last week) when she wanted to have some, I didn't know what happen but I started to "TALK" to her while carrying her and looked her into the eyes. I told her she is a big girl now and she shouldn't ask for mommy milk anymore. I asked her to look at her elder sister, whether she have seen her sister asking for mommy milk or not? I told her no right because her sister is a big girl and she doesn't need mommy milk and so is she. I told her she is a big girl now too and should stop asking for mommy milk and be a big girl just like her sister. Well, she fell asleep in my arms that night without any resistant. So, I persisted with the same conversation the next day and the following day. Sometimes she just fell asleep in my arms, one or two times she would make a fuss about it but again I gave her the same speech. Now, whenever she is sleepy, she just lay down on the sofa and sleep on her own. Great huh? One more thing, she also has been sleeping through the night, so no more interrupted sleep for me. ^.*


*She is blowing a kiss to you*

My next challenge now would be to move her and her sister into a room. Since she is sleeping through the night, when ever her daddy is ready to convert her crib into a toddler bed, we are ready to move both of them. Guess now I am waiting for my hubby to get the job done (might takes forever since he doesn't like to do this kind of thing!). Sigh! Maybe have to use a cane to force him, then he will do it! LOL! (just kidding!) :P

How to Make Ground Meat from Scratch

I decided to make this post so that my daughters will know it is actually very easy to make your own ground meat at home. I figure if I don't show them, they will not know when they grow up. I noticed a lot of people only know how to purchase ground meat at the supermarket and really have no idea how to make it at home. So, if you haven't gotten a clue before, after reading my post, you will know! :D Of course I learned it from my mother when I was little, used to help her made ground meat in her kitchen.


First you will need a sharp Chinese cleaver. And then of course ground meat of your choice, pork, beef, chicken, etc. You will have to cut the meat into small pieces and then use your cleaver to chop on it. Just chop through the meat, flip it and chop again, flip the meat again and chop again until you have worked all your muscles. In the olden days, the butcher used two big cleavers to chop ground meat for his customers. This is really a good hand exercise for anyone who wants to try. Haha...


My ground pork is done after multiple times of flipping the meat and chopping. Now it's ready for seasoning for my pork balls noodle soup later.


Serving up my homemade pork balls with glass noodle (tang hoon) soup!


Who wants to try my pork ball with Thai chili? :P

I cooked my broth with 2 chicken drumsticks, 1 baked chicken cavity, 1/4 cup of yellow beans, shrimp shells that I saved, dried Chinese mushroom stems (I saved this for making broth too), 1 whole large yellow onion and 3 carrots hence my broth turned out very sweet and flavorful.

Black Glutinous Rice Dessert (Bubur Pulut Hitam)

This is my black glutinous rice takes three! Yes believe it, my third time making this dessert only. Can you tell how lazy I am? I tried the rice cooker and stove method, I tried straight from the stove method (takes very long to make the rice soft) and my third time was a charm. I used my lazy slow cooker method!

Here's how I did mine:

2 cups of black glutinous rice (soak in water for at least 8 hours)
3-qt. water
1 cup white sugar
Coconut cream to serve
One 4-qt. slow cooker/crock pot

Method:

Place washed black glutinous rice in the crock pot and cover the crock pot with water (half). Turn the switch to low. I let it cooked overnight, should be ready in 8 hours. I only checked on it at 12 hours so it developed a ring of harden black glutinous rice in my crock pot. Other than that, it's perfect (so I guess it should be stir once in a while to prevent that). After it's cooked, add sugar and stir to mix well and of course turned off the crock pot. Serve with a dollop of coconut cream, stir and enjoy! *Add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter*


Thick and gluey bowl of sweeten black glutinous rice is ready to be enjoyed! This is really bubur pulut hitam, it's so soft it turned into bubur (porridge) already! Surprisingly both Evy & Edda love this gluey & sticky black dessert!

Free Wines with Membership!

Are you a wine drinker? If yes, you would love what CA Wine Club has to offer you! When you joined, the first month is on them, you only pay for shipping and you will get to sample two bottles of award winning wines, a free 12 page color magazine, Uncorked, and discount up to 50% off on reorder! What separate this California Wine Club from the many online wine of the month clubs out there? Not only this wine club has no membership fee, you can cancel anytime, and all the wines are 100% guaranteed, what set it apart is all the wines featured in this club are personally hand selected and tasted by it's owners Bruce and Pam Boring. Each month, they travel to California's wine country searching out the small, family-owned wineries that dedicated to produce exceptional wine that would otherwise never make it to the local stores or wine shops. They meet with the families and tasting their wines and sometimes feature them in their magazine, Uncorked. You will taste the different in your first wines shipment!

A glass of red wine a day is good for us, we heard this many times. We have the option of picking either 2 whites, 2 reds or mix. The huge selection of wines in the wine shop makes my head spin, I just have no idea which to pick! But with this membership, I worry no more, because I know the best tasting award winning wines will be delivered to my house. Their motto is simple, "One friend recommending a great bottle of wine to another friend", and that is what they want to do for you. If you love and appreciate a good wine, do not hesitate, go give them a try! Click here for the special promotion.

Brilliant Weblog Award

Yes another award! I would love to thanks My Household Capers for giving me this award. It came as a surprise and I am glad that you think my blog is worthy of this award.

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.

Here are the rules to follow: When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).All the bloggers have wonderful work and content in their blog and all deserve to get this. As per the rules I would like to pass this award to my fellow bloggers mentioned below:

Dhanggit's Kitchen

Soy and Pepper

Teczcape - Escape to Food -recipes, cooking, reviews

Kedai Hamburg

More than Words

Beachlover's Kitchen

Mochachocolata-Rita

Noobcook

Enjoy ladies and do pass it along! ^.^

Use of Leftovers 4: Stir-fry Steamed Rice Rolls

Leftovers: one piece of salt & pepper pork and XO fried steamed rice rolls from a Chinese restaurant.


Turned into: Yummy plate of stir-fried steamed rice rolls with shrimp paste sauce.


I cut the steamed rice rolls into smaller pieces, added 1/4 yellow onion, 3 stalks of scallions and sliced the salt & pepper pork into smaller pieces. Heated up my wok with some oil, added in some garlic, onion and the pork, steamed rice rolls and stir-fried until warm. Added in shrimp paste in chili oil, my homemade chili in oil and dark soy sauce. Lastly added in the scallions, gave a few good stirs and dished out and served hot.

Party Food: Toothpick Fruit Mix

Dhanggit is hosting her first blog event in celebration to her precious girl's 1st birthday party and her event theme is "Perfect Party Dishes". I wanted to create a dish that is easy to prepare, stress free and easy to eat. So, I thought of this toothpick fruit mix on a melon, in this case a cantaloupe. Any melon can be used as a base and any fruit in season that won't turn brown like apple can be used as fruit on a stick. You can use decorative toothpick (like me in this case) or bamboo sticks.



What do you think? Easy party food (fruit) that guests would love right? You can use more fruit variety (play with different colors combination) if you are using a bamboo stick. In my case, I cut the cantaloupe in half, scoop the filling out with a melon scoop (I don't know how to scoop the melon out in round shape at all, *sad*) and use the red grape as contrast. I used decorative toothpicks and alternate the fruit in the toothpick and just stuck them onto the cantaloupe. Sorry for my ugly attempt, I tried.



I would love to submit my toothpick fruit to Dhanggit "Perfect Party Dishes" event as an idea to her (I bet anyone would make a prettier one than me). Do check out her round-up during the week of Aug. 15th.

Have Acne Problem?

Acne problem strikes teenager the most because of the changing hormone. I remembered my brother face was seriously affected by acne. It basically covered his whole face and he had to bear with it for years. Finally his acne was cleared after he bought some acne treatment for his face. If your teenager son or daughter is frustrated with his or her acne problem and wanted a solution to clear his or her acne, feel free to check out this acne treatment website. This site has a list of acne treatments based on the comprehensive research that was performed on all popular acne treatments. They rated and categorized these treatments based on acne fighting powder, long term benefit, ingredient quality, safety, value and customer feedback. They even have the best online price listed for your convenience. So if acne is a nuisance to you or someone you know, come take a look at what this website has to offer.

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 19 September 2008


This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does contain content which might present a conflict of interest. This content may not always be identified.


To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Cute Toasted Breads

Don't we moms want to make eating breakfast fun for the kids? I got the inspiration from Peony as she loves to make bentos and lovely toast for her grandson. Of course she used the cute Hello Kitty print for toast bread which I don't own. Then, I was thinking, wait a minute, I did buy some ice-cream sandwich molds last year at WalMart. It was on clearance for $4/pair and I just couldn't let it pass because I saw the possibility in it. Hence, I took them out from my drawer and gave it a try. It made a really nice clear print on the bread and came out great. The bonus was of course both my girls finished their toasts!



Now I know I can use this print to make pig or cow face cookies too! At first, I saw that it was great for making mini mooncakes and now I have more uses for it. I know it can be used to make cute pig and cow boiled eggs too, just need to tie it with rubber band. So, for $2 each, not too bad a toy to own right? :)

JourneyLite

What is JourneyLite? JourneyLite is a carefully designed program to support it's patients through their journey of Lap-band surgery. They have a team of qualified surgeons, nurses, dietitians, operating and support staffs to help you along in your journey to recovery and success. The lapband doctor is trained in Laparascopic surgery where several tiny incisions are made in the abdomen rather than the open approach. This approach is less invasive, require shorter recovery time and less painful. If you've struggled with your weight and none of the exercise and diet has worked for you, the Lap-Band system from JourneyLite may be for you. If lap-band surgery is something you are interested in, please check into their website and sign up for the free seminar.

*This post is sponsored*

Trash Compactor Bags

A friend of my sister is going to open her dream bakery shop soon. With the grand opening approaching, a lot has to be done. She has to make sure everything is in order, clean, all the equipment are functional and all the supplies are in stock. She bought a trash compactor for her store and she was looking for a company that offer a great value on trash compactor bags and accessories. She was so occupied with all the other details that she requested my help in finding the company that provides trash compactor bags for her. I went online again and did some research (the only way I know how) and found this website called Trash-Compactor-Bags.com that sells a wide range of name brands household trash compactor bags such as Whirlpool, GE, Broan, Frigidaire, KitchenAid, just to name a few. These bags work at top performance with the aid of their Slip-N-Grip formula, which helps to prevent the bag from slipping into the compactor. It comes in different sizes and you can purchase in bulk too. Not only that, it also sells trash compactor accessories (odor eliminating spray, deodorizer, etc) and repair parts. There is a free wine opener with every purchase offer right now so I quickly gave her the link to this store and she was so glad that I did her this favor, less headache for her and she can order it online and get her free wine opener with purchase. Wishing her all the best in her new shop and of course my sister will be there to support her.

Steamed Banana Muffins

The main purpose of this post is I want to share this tips with you. See the picture above? For those that own the oval shape silicon cups, you can actually use the round paper cups in your oval silicon cups. When you pour in the batter, it actually spread into the oval shape like mine above. I love to use paper cups because I am too lazy to clean the silicon cups, if you are like me, you will love this tips.


For some reason my steamed banana muffins actually smiling at me. It's probably because I poured in more batter and steamed at rapidly boiling water. ;)


I just love this steamed banana muffins! Hmmm...should I called this a muffin or cupcake? I like to call all my cake baked or steamed in paper cups cupcakes because they are basically cake in a cup right or cup size cake? But I read that the frosted cupcake is called a cupcake and all the unfrosted cupcake is supposed to be called a muffin? Don't know why I always associate muffin to have denser texture compared to cupcake. :P

Having a Computer Problem(s)?

I don't know about you but if I am having a computer problem like computer crashing, or system freezing, I am ready to pull my hair. I won't know how to function properly without my computer running smoothly. But now worry no more, there are online computer geeks standing by to help you and me to solve all our computer problems either online or through unlimited phone calls. They will provide computer repair and technical support over 70 software applications and hardware help. Whatever our issues, just give these geeks a call and they will make sure that our computer is running smoothly and efficiently again. There is a free initial live online chat to clarify and categorize our computer issues, after that you or me can opt for a thirty days of unlimited phone, live chat, and/or remote computer support for a reasonable flat fee. Their service will provide a complete diagnosis of the problem and give us a comprehensive solution so that we will really know what is the cause of our computer issue.

*This post is sponsored*

Use of Leftovers 3: Stir-fried Soba Noodle

Haha, my hubby was real funny the other night when he saw the leftovers from picture on the left, he asked what are you going to do with this? I made noodle soup the other night and I have a plate of extra ingredients sitting on the table just in case he wanted more (he can always add in with his noodle you see). I told him, I could make something out of it. Now, see how I turned these leftovers from a Chinese take-out and ingredients for noodle soup into a yummy plate of soba noodle.


I just boiled some soba noodle, drained and rinsed with cold water and set aside. Then, I stir-fry all the leftover ingredients in a wok with a little soy sauce and pour them on top of the soba noodle. Mix well together and season to taste with Chinese vinegar, more soy sauce, a little salt and sesame oil. This noodle can be enjoyed cold or warm.


Now, I have a plate of yummy soba noodle that didn't look one bit like eating from leftovers! Serve this up with cut chili padi (bird eye chili) or my chili in oil. Delicious!

I'm also serving this dish to Pesto Pasta Night. This week host is Michelle, from the Greedy Gourmet, do check out her blog on Friday for the round up.

Baby Shower Gifts

Seem like all the celebrities are getting pregnant these days. Where ever you look, this celeb is getting pregnant or that celeb just gave birth to twin, baby girl or boy. The pregnancy vibe must be in the air because one of my girlfriends is also getting pregnant and it will be her first baby. We were all very excited for her because she and her hubby have been trying for years. In two months it will be her baby shower and we can't wait to shower her baby with gifts. They wanted it to be a surprise so none of us know the sex of the baby so the theme will be neutral. She picked her baby's room to be the neutral color Pooh Bear theme. Any baby would love to be waking up surrounded by cute little Pooh Bear for sure. I wanted to get her something that would match well with her theme and I was searching online and found this website called Discount Kids Store that carries a wide range selection of baby shower gifts. It has gift basket, baby crib, diaper bag for mom and dad, toy chest, and other baby furniture. So, what to get for this vibrant expecting mom has been solved. I know she will be happy with the gifts I selected for her little precious.

Strawberry Cranberries Cookies

I was invited to participate in this July Key Ingredient's Cooks Kitchen contest and the key ingredient for this month is berry. Since I just bought a packet of dried cranberries, I thought that would be perfect. I wanted to make a cookie recipe and since the key ingredient is berry, I thought a strawberry flavor cookie would be great. So, I came out with this crispy Strawberry Cranberries Cookies. Well, my daughters both loved it and walloped half of the cookies before it even had a chance to cool down. My hubby later finished the rest. I hope you will like it too!


Ingredients:

(A)
1 1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
(B)
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, softened
2 tsp. imitation strawberry extract
1 Tbsp. milk
(C)
1/2 cup. sweeten dried cranberries, chopped

Method:

1. In a food processor, add in (A). Pulse to combine.

2. Then, add in (B) and pulse until a dough is almost formed. Add in (C) and pulse until combined. Take it out on a lightly flour surface and give it a few kneads and formed into a dough. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a cookie cutter. (Note: the dough will be soft, you need to transfer the cookie with a scraper or you can refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 mins. before rolling.)

3. Place on a parchment lined baking pan and bake in preheated 350'F oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown on edges.


I am submitting this recipe to Key Ingredient's Cooks Kitchen contest: July~Berry Inspired Recipe.

Keep Warm Blanket

I read that the airlines in the United States will no longer give out pillows and blankets to the passengers in order to cut cost. What?! First, they cut out the meals and now they are saving on the pillows and blankets too? Traveling during Summer is the time that we needed the blanket the most because we will be wearing in tanks and shorts and the air-conditional will be cranked up. So, what do we do when we get cold? Luckily for us that there is such a product invented just for the frequent flyers or someone who needed a blanket while traveling.



Do check out their Cabin Cuddler. It's a 6-in-1 travel blanket and pillow for all your convenience. It comes in an easy to carry tote bag that turns into your own hygienic pillow case. The patented pocket will keep your feet warm and its contour cut will covers every inch of your body plus your own inflatable pillow. You can use it anywhere you needed a blanket. This would be a great addition for my Summer camping adventure. How's the temperature here drop at night while camping in Colorado would really makes this blanket a great buy. Covering in this blanket while enjoying my marshmallows by the fireplace at night would be perfect. The offer now is buy 2 or more and gets free shipping in the continental U.S. So, if you are interested, go grab yours now!