Notebooks

I love notebooks. Well, the traditional notebooks and not laptops but I like those too. :) I always have a notebook in my bag, even a small one where I could write notes or ideas that I wanted to blog about. I have notebooks for Spanish and for Japanese, they are your regular sized notebooks, one that kids used at school. It would be different for German though, I have a bigger notebook (size 24a) so that I can write a lot more about a topic in a page.

And since we established our own small company I have wanted those custom imprinted folio with logo that hubby has designed. I think custom design notebooks and other office stuff with personalized designs are also great should we opt for a launch. Do you know of online-printing services that offer discount for customized notebooks? Please let me know. Thanks!

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Gifting

I love doing arts and crafts. The kids share the same passion with me. Two years ago I launched the Stay at home mom project at my other blog. This project aims to show-off stuff my kids are doing from recycling or designing. Other moms joined in with their art works too and we all had fun. Some of the things we did became personalized gifts as well; paper weights, bookmarker and other small thingies. I think it becomes more personal when you give gifts you yourself make.

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Orange Chicken

You've probably had this from Chowking. I had. I tried it because this is their newest dish back when we were home. I have always enjoyed orange chicken. I thought this might be good since I think all Chowking dishes are good. ;)  I was rather disappointed to see a very small portion served before me. It didn't help that the chicken pieces were tough. I was used to having them crunchy outside but juicy inside. I can't even recall how it tastes.

So here's an ambitious attempt to mimic the said dish. This time, with tender chicken meat.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 beaten egg
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
panko breadcrumbs (optional,dish in above photo has no panko )
oil (for frying)
orange carpels (pith removed)

Orange Sauce-
1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon minced ginger root
½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons chopped green onion (optional)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Coat chicken pieces with flour, dip in egg then coat with panko. If you're not using panko then dip the chicken pieces first on egg and coat with flour.

Deep fry the chicken pieces until golden brown. Drain the oil well, or set aside on paper towels as you prepare the sauce.

In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.

Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken and add red pepper flakes. This enhances the flavor. Garnish also with green onions and orange carpels if you like. The orange carpels might be a little difficult so use the canned ones.

Happy cooking and eating!

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And I'm old...

Just when I thought I am free from the skin troubles that young adults face,I started having pimples again. I can't say that it is exactly adult acne but I'm not dropping the possibility. I am 30 and yet I feel like that time when I would be frustrated seeing one pimple pop up my face...that was 15 years ago!

We all know that healthy eating and lots of water makes the skin healthy too. So why, even with my preference of eating fruits and healthy stuff, this still happened? I blame my not taking contraceptive pills anymore. This caused hormonal imbalance making pimples show up at my back and cheeks. I have been using a waterbased cleanser for the pimples, at the moment I do not see any improvement so I took in supplements containing carotene and vitamin E, which boosts skin health as studies suggested. A good source of vitamin E, avocado, is now part of my daily diet.

There are lots of products sold in the market nowadays, I believe though that each individual's skin is unique and would respond differently to various components, that's why its best to visit a dermatologist to help you out with skin problems. Otherwise, if you opt to buy products without medication, be sure that you understand well the "ingredients" used in them.

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Salmon-Parsley Pasta

"No man is lonely eating spaghetti; it requires so much attention." -Christopher Morley

Two weeks ago I received a whole 5 kilo salmon right in our kitchen. Well, it's more of bought because I paid 50€ (60$/2,999Php) for the whole of it. This is really a steal considering such expensive fish. I usually get salmon cuts for sushi at 20 a kilo! And since it was delivered at home, I do not need to worry about losing the freshness. So I got salmon stacked in our freezer, enough to feed us through a whole winter month. (Reminds me of bears happily catching their salmon by a river!) :D

Since the kids love salmon, they won't be bored eating it as sashimi, in a soup, grilled, baked or in pasta. This is one of the simple dishes I prepare with salmon. I think I had this featured here before but with a different twist. This version has 2 or 3 more added ingredients. (lol)

Ingredients:

salmon fillet, skinned

pasta of your choice

cherry tomatoes, halved or pressed

low-fat crème fraîche

chopped fresh parsley

orange zest

salt

ground black pepper

Procedure:

Cube salmon and dust with salt and pepper. Sear the pieces and set aside.

Cook pasta per package directions.

Drain pasta and toss in tomatoes and salmon.

Mix in crème fraîche, parsley, orange zest and pepper to taste.

Top with as much salmon pieces as you want.

As the quote above says, eating spaghetti or pasta for that matter requires much attention. Add salmon to it and you need to double the concentration savoring the flavor. :)

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