5 ways to get you inspired to cook...

Now a days, it seems to be impossible for us ( working wife ) to spend long hours in kitchen. As much as we wanted to cook, we end up sleeping/resting or just pampering ourself. So i come up with 5 ways to get me inspired to cook.

1. Clean Kitchen

( We all ) I love to stay in clean and happy environment. If our workplace is clean we tend to work efficiency.

2. Complete Ingredients

Invest on cookbooks, plan ahead. Make sure to complete your ingredients before you start cooking.

3. Good Kitchenware

Invest on kitchen appliances. It will save time and energy when you prepare your meal. One good kitchen investment is a chopper. A small one is good enough. This can help you chop ingredient that you commonly use. ie. garlic, onions, chilies etc.

4. Friends/Family

Make sure you have someone to share your finish product. Friends or family gives good conversation over good food.

5. Partner

It feels good to spend some quality time with your love one ( Husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, kids, friends etc.) It will make your cooking experience fun and unforgettable.

I dont always cook, And I cant say that I love to cook. But I love to learn. My husband and I spend most of our weekend with friends and family over dinner. It's inspiring to cook when you are surrounded with good people. Do you love to cook?

Koshihikari Japanese Rice

Delicious short grain Japanese rice.

My husband's favorite rice.
Notice the clean grains? No need to rinse.
Soaked uncooked rice in water for about 30-60 mins.
Let the rice absorb the water before cooking.

Serve it hot and steamy.
Look how the rice was so soft looking and clean even without rinsing.

What's your favorite rice?

Frenchies Premium French Fries

Frenchies quick and easy do it yourself french fries.

My husband love to eat french fries, so I (he) make it sure that we always have frozen french fries readily available in our fridge. I cant find any brand in SM supermarket except for this Frenchies Premium French Fries

Put oil. ( we use Wesson Vegetable oil )
Heat oil for about 3-5 minutes. - It's important that your oil is hot enough before putting your potatoes in.
Put frozen fries. ( Do not defrost ) - to ensure maximum crispness.

Deep fry for about 5 minutes.
Drain excess oil.

Pat dry. - we use 2 sheets of kitchen paper towel roll

Pair it with ketchup and mayonnaise. Then serve it hot and crispy.
I'll give it 5/5 star. Because we didn't have to put salt on it, the taste and the crispiness is just enough for our taste. I'm sure your kids will love them too. (: Enjoy.

Florida's Natural

I would like to share to you one of my favorite orange juice that you can find in SM supermarket.

The Florida's Natural Premium Orange Juice

I love that this drink doesn't have preservatives and pulp.
All natural and fresh. Only this product expires fast.. Like 4-6 days I think or even less. So make sure to consume it before it spoil.

Pure Wesson Cooking Oil

I notice that oil is one of the important ingredient in our cooking. We use oil in almost every recipe like frying, baking, making sauce and etc.
I love that the PURE WESSON COOKING OIL is 100% natural. 0g Trans Fat. Cholesterol free and has no preservatives.

Available in 4 variety.

• Vegetable Oil - Basically the all purpose oil. Ideal for Baking, Frying and sauteing.
• Canola Oil - Good for your heart - Stir frying, Marinades & Vinaigrettes, Baking.
• Corn Oil - Ideal for crisp, tender fried food - Deep Frying, Ethnic Food, and Baking.
• Best Blend - Ideal for frying with added benefits of canola oil - Grilling, Broiling and Frying, Marinades and Dressings, Baking.( This is not available in our local supermarket. )

How about you, What cooking oil do you use?

Chef's Candle

I was trying to look for any air freshener to help me remove stinking smell from my small kitchen. Then I found this "Home Remedies" odor eliminator at OUR HOME ( inside SM mall ) for only 279.00 Pesos.

I normally light this candle for about 15 minutes after cooking. It doesn't really totally remove the smell but it help to reduce bad odor in my kitchen. I also use this candle inside my dry food storage ( Small Cabinet ). I love that this candle doesn't produce strong scent.

How about you, how do you solve the stinking smell in your kitchen?

5 Fruits I can eat everyday

Are you a fruit lover? Some of my friends doesn't eat fruits very much, they prefer sweets. My husband are not used of eating fruits after a meal. I love fruits, when i was still living at my parents house, we never run out of fruits, my dad always stock some up.
Here are my top 5 Favorite fruits.

1. Dark Cherry

Its kinda hard to get fresh dark cherries in our country ( Philippines ) Not to mention they are expensive. But every time my parents or I go to Hong Kong, I always make sure to get some.. I can finish half a kilo of cherries in one sitting.

2. Long Stem Strawberry


Again, this is expensive in our country. Yes we do have strawberries available locally, but the problem is they are too small and sour. I prefer the Korean strawberries. Big, fresh and sweet.

3. Seedless Grapes
Peeled and seedless. That's how I want my grapes to be. I believe we don't have local grapes, Most of the grapes are imported! But I can easily get grapes from malls, groceries or even in market so no worries!

4. Philippines Mango

They are the best! I'm happy that we have mangoes whole year round. Sweet, sour it doesn't matter, as long as it is from the Philippines!

5. Pomelo
I don't have to travel or buy Pomelo's abroad. One of my favorite pomelos are from Davao ( Philippines ) They are sweet and juicy. And the good thing is, it not very expensive!

As of now, we have mangoes, pomelo, grapes, banana, lychee, longan at home sitting in our refrigerator. Yes, that's how I love fruits. How about you, Are you a fruit lover like me? Share some of your favorite fruits too.

Photo credits : Google Images

10 Things to do when your bored at home...

Since it is a rainy season in our country, we will have to deal with our self at home. We love to go to mall, but what if you cant go out due to weather, financial status or other reason. It seems like the hours get too long when we cant think of anything to do! So here are some of my ideas when I get bored and this is what I personally do.

1. Workout
You don't need to go to the gym everyday! You can turn your music on and inspire yourself to workout! Dancing is one good way of exercising. Get sweat, Detox your body.

2. Write a journal
This is a good time to express your thoughts and feelings, especially when your home and alone. You can easily clear your mind and focus on your writing.

3. Read a good book
One good way to kill time. My husband loves bringing book whenever and whatever he is doing. A book is a good companion especially when you are bored or even waiting. I don't read book often, but I always take the opportunity to read one whenever I got free time.
4. Clean your house
Start promoting cleanliness at home. Get your detergents and rugs. Do some serious cleaning! its about time! Start under your carpets.

5. Play games
Go to social networking sites. And if you don't have one, create an account. Search on Google for some free PC games.

6. Cook
You can start with simple appetizer down to desserts,There are thousands of simple and easy recipe on the internet. Get help from search engine like Google.com or Yahoo.com . Use whatever is in your kitchen or you can always re-make the leftover foods.

7. Day Dream/Take a nap
Turn your AC on and start day dreaming. Trust me, its easier to take a nap when your alone and bored.

8. Make your own SPA
Pamper yourself. Do-it-yourself SPA. This is what i love doing when I'm bored. I do facial, body scrub, foot scrub, waxing, etc.. Trust me, this is so addicting that you wish your bored everyday. And if you still have some free time on hand you can also do hair treatment.
9. Watch Movie
I know a lot of people love movies and this is how they kill time. A good TV series is also one of the good way to conquer boredom.

10. Organize closet
Yes, you heard me. Make some time to organize your closet. Remove all the unused clothes and stuff. Make some room/space. Update your closet. Donate your clothes that hasn't been worn for more than a year. Deodorize your cabinet, put some scented sheets.

I hope I was able to help you out and give you ideas to escape from boredom.
How about you, what are the things your do when your bored and home alone?

Photo credits : Google Images

Crispy Fry by Ajinomoto

Crispy Fry Breading Mix. Original Flavor

Quick and easy to prepare.

1 Pack of Crispy Breading Mix Original Flavor.
I use chicken wings without the drumette

Soak in cold water

Pat Dry - I use Kitchen paper towel.

One pack of Crispy Fry can use up to 1 kilo of chicken.
In my case I only use half pack for 12 pcs. chicken wings.

Make sure to cover all parts of chicken.

Prepare and heat oil. - Make sure your oil is hot enough before dipping the chicken.

Deep Fry for about 5 mins. or until golden brown.

Serve it hot and crispy.

I didn't make any sauce for this one. I notice that the breading mix is already tasty enough to eat it solo. I will surely buy another pack. I love the Crispy Fry breading Mix! Try it yourself! (:

5 Tips to fall asleep fast on weekdays...

Have you notice that most of us working people have hard time sleeping at night during weekdays. This is because during weekdays we tend to think a lot (work and non-work related), Our spirit and body are always tired. We always look forward for the weekends. Its like we push our self to do things that we don't normally want to do, like waking up early, prepare our-self for work, wait in traffic, and so on.. If you are experiencing this ( like I do ), Here are some tips I personally do to make me fall asleep fast.


1. Clean Bedroom
You should always make sure that your bedroom/house are always clean. This will make you feel less aggravated. This include bed sheets/linens and pillow cases. And I'm sure it will make you feel good waking up with clean surroundings.


2. Warm Bath
This will make you relax and calm your nerve. It can also help you open your mind and clear your thoughts.


3. Relaxing Scent
I personally use "Sabai-arom Urban Wellness Relaxing oil spot roller" I just roll it behind my earlobes. This scent make me feel relax. You can also use lavender oil, stress free lotion or scented candles.


4. Read a Book
Grab a book and start reading. It will make your brain tired, Hence, it will make you feel super sleepy.


5. Good Room Temperature
No one can sleep in too hot nor too cold room temperature. You will keep on waking up in the middle of the night. Make sure you set your AC in right temperature before going under your covers.

When Am having a hard time falling asleep, these tips work for me. I'm sure most of us have our own style making our self sleep. Share some sleeping tips that works best in you. (:

Photo Credit: Google Images

5 Reasons Not to get a pet...

Pets are adorable and cute. Its nice to have one or two. But pets are not for everyone! Don't let anyone talk you into having a pet if you are not sure or doesn't ready to own one. Here are my 5 reasons why I prefer NOT to have pets at home.


1. Require Attention
Pets are like toddlers, You should at least teach/train them to behave. And most of them are troublesome they require lots of care and attention.


2. Attract Pests
Pets carry germs. They can easily get fleas. And fleas are hard to get rid of the house. They fly every time your pets jumps around.


3. Noisy
They wont stop barking if they get too excited or hungry, Visitors tend to get scare when going to your house. Not to mention some family members get allergy with pet furs.


4. Cleaning is a MUST
Pets need clean surroundings, You should always make it a point to clean the bins, pens, or cages. The smell normally stays in where your pet loiter around ( in your bedroom or living room ) Most of the pets are not potty train. So you'll have to follow them around to clean their poo. Not to mention all those flying hairballs.


5. Expensivo!
They are expensive. Shampoos, Pens, Toys, Treats, Perfume, Diaper, Vitamin, Service fees, Doctor Fees, and I can go on and on for an hour!


Pets are nice to look at. But do you believe that its not for everyone? Do you own one? and if you don't have them then tell us why not?!

Photo credits : Google Images