This is an eye opener short talk at TEDx from Joe Smith. Consider this: Americans use 13 billion lbs of paper towels every year. If we can reduce by 1 paper towel per person per day, that would be equivalent to 571,230,000 million lbs of papers not used. That’s a lot of trees that we can potentially save.

Tip: At home we use those micro fiber detailing cloths. It’s absorbent, reusable and washable.

You use paper towels to dry your hands every day, but chances are, you’re doing it wrong. In this enlightening and funny short talk at TEDxConcordiaUPortland, Joe Smith reveals the trick to perfect paper towel technique.

R. P. Joe Smith served as a District Attorney in Umatilla County and nearly won a race for Oregon Attorney General without taking a single contribution over $99.99. He is a former chair of the Oregon Democratic Party and is active with several local nonprofits.

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I apologize for the long silence here.

There has been a difficult health scare in my family. When someone is sick, especially in the family, it becomes difficult to go through with the normal routine in life. My 74-year old dad, who lives with me, was not in good health. A year ago he had to go through biopsy on his left lung because of some nodules that his doctors found to be suspicious of cancer. It was benign. Last month, he went through the same process for his right lung.

When dad came back from two weeks in the hospital, he seemed to have lost his drive not only to eat but to live as well. We had a hard time convincing him to eat. He fell silent despite his doctor’s assurances that he can go back to his normal routine. Everyone in the family, especially my mom, was affected over my dad’s condition. His sickness and regular visit to the hospital took a toil on his frail body. He lost a lot of weight. He was not eating well.

With his attitude, recovery obviously became slow. To make matters worse, he went through another week of hospital confinement even before the result of the latest biopsy came out. With prayers from everyone, the result came out favorably. Just like the first one, it was also benign. He was diagnosed with non-infectious organizing pneumonia. With that settled, our goal is to bring him back to full recovery. My father is a picky eater. He loves meat more than vegetables. His nurse noticed this too and suggested to us to give him a “green drink.”

Simply blend green vegetables (especially spinach) with other fruits like strawberry, banana, pear, apple, orange, or whatever fruits that are in season. He now drinks his vegetable.

For someone who has been blogging about food, it pains me to see my father not eating well. I hope this “green drink” can do the trick and we can all go back to our routine… like blogging.

Happy New Year! Here’s hoping for a more beautiful 2012.

The birthday of my son is December 31st, the date when almost everyone is preparing to usher in the new year. He turned 17 last year, seems like a long time ago when it’s just a few days back. For the first time, we did not celebrate it with a party, opting to take a walk in New York City and a nice Texas barbecue lunch at Hill Country BBQ in West 23rd. I recommended this restaurant days earlier during a dinner that my friends and I had with a former classmate who visited New York with her family for the holidays.

If you are in New York, and craving for barbecue, try their lean moist brisket. It is moist and not chewy, a sign of a good meat. My husband ordered the pork chop and was disappointed but their barbecue sauce save the day for him. We enjoyed also the side dishes of baked beans, pickled okra and coleslaw. I had Arnold Palmer, a refreshing drink of mix lemonade and iced tea served in a mason jar. Hill Country BBQ’s brisket and pork ribs are deliriously good!

And of course, what is a birthday without a cake. I made him a Red Velvet Cake, the same one that I baked for my daughter’s birthday. This time though, I used two eight inch round pans.

Don’t be surprised, this recipe calls to mix the vinegar with the baking soda. Just a note, this recipe is adapted from a Red Velvet Cake of Better Homes and Gardens. I deviated from the recipe by using Cream Cheese Frosting instead of the Buttercream Frosting that the recipe suggested.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 of an 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter,milk and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. You may add milk a teaspoon at a time for a desired spreading consistency.

Blogging Mama’s tip:

Use a star tip (Ateco#852) to decorate the cake.

I hope your Christmas was great. I know that the reason for this season is not about gifts. There is a deeper meaning why we celebrate Christmas. Nevertheless, I received gifts from my friends and family, for which I am very thankful.

Allow me to focus on what I got from my family: an oven mittens that can withstand 500 degrees and silpat from my husband, a cookie app of Martha Stewart for my iPad and iPhone from my son, and a lovely scarf from my daughter. Thank you guys. You have definitely zeroed in on the stuff that I wanted.

By the way, here is a video on how to wear your scarf in style as the days go colder.

Two more days and we will be celebrating the New Year. I wish that we can all take the time to reflect on the past and be hopeful for the future.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! I hope you are having a blast. Not to sound too preachy but let me stress that there is a reason why we are celebrating Christmas. I have my reasons. You have yours. It can come in different ceremonies and rituals. It can be based on different inspirations.

Gift-giving has become a part of Christmas. If you’re on the receiving end, be thankful. Remember also that there is joy in giving. As a parent, I am overwhelmed with joy that my kids gave their share to the victims of Typhoon Sendong in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City in the Philippines through Red Cross and Philippine Jesuits. It was the best gift that we think we have given this year. I urge you to do your share. It doesn’t have to be money. Gifts can come in different forms and shapes. Remember them in your prayers. It’s a powerful gift.

This year, I decided to take some time and bake homemade goodies for my friends and relatives. From my kitchen to their houses, I made the following: sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, chocolate crinkles, banana muffins, and brazo de mercedes.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I cannot stress enough that there are millions of reasons to be thankful. Thanksgiving Day is also for families to gather and partake of the food to feast on just like how the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in 1621.

Just like what I planned (and mentioned in my previous post), I prepared the following Thanksgiving menu:

Fresh Vegetable Lumpia
Crown Roast of Pork with Herb Stuffing
Puree of Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
Creamy Mashed Potato
Sweet Potato Pie
Apple Pie (as requested by my daughter)
Corn on the cob (as requested also by my daughter)

I was able to accomplished all these with early menu planning, little helping hands from my daughter, and the dish washing expertise of my husband. My son? He provided the pushing in order for us to finish the cooking and baking in time for dinner.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Please take note that I will be sharing all the recipes in the coming days. I am just too ‘stuffed’ for now. You will noticed that we did not have any turkey this year. We pardoned the turkey for now.

My son was recently invited to a Junior Prom. He decided to wear his two-button suit. On his way to the prom, my daughter reminded him to button his suit.

“In wearing a suit there is a rule that you should follow. It’s THE always, sometimes, and never rule,” he commented.

Known also as ASN, this rule is actually simple to follow. It refers to your buttons from top down. The top button should always be buttoned. The middle can be buttoned while the bottom button should never be buttoned. So, since my son had a two-button suit, then he had the choice whether to button or unbutton the bottom one (apologies for the tongue twister here).

Quizzing him, my daughter asked who came up with that rule.

Trust me me because that’s how we also wear it with our suit in school,” he said.

Since this is the first Junior Prom that he attended, I learned that in the US it is customary for a guy to give her date a corsage as a sign of appreciation for inviting him. I learned from the florist from our neighborhood flower shop that corsage can either be a wrist corsage, pinned-on corsage or a hand held corsage (nosegays). The wrist corsage is popular especially for prom or any formal dance. One has to consider also the color of the dress of your date so they can match the ribbons or flowers, her age and size. You do not want your date having bulky flowers on her wrist especially if she’s petite.

So off he went to the prom looking his best and tons of reminder to remember his good manners!

Yesterday my daughter turned 13, now officially a teenager. Isn’t it that when they reach thirteen, they become a teen?

I don’t know if this transition stage on her age has something to do with coming up with her own decision of not having a party. We usually celebrate her birthdays with family and friends from school. It was different this year. She just asked for a Japanese dinner at home and a cake with red fondant flower.

Time flies that I now have two teenagers in the house. Just like any other parent, we can only hope and pray that they will grow up as responsible adults.

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In our household, All Saints Day is the time to honor our dearly departed ones. The ones who passed away ahead of us. The ones who are interceding for us. The ones who are watching over us. Wait, isn’t it that we should honor them during All Souls Day? That’s the big question.

During this day, we offer mass for them. One tradition that we’ve been doing also since we were kids is to offer food for the dead souls. My mom would usually make an Ilonggo version of Suman and place it beside the cross with lighted candle. As kids, we usually wonder when the dead souls would be coming to partake of the food that my mom prepared. We check every now and then to see if the dead souls have taken their share. Morning would come and the food would still be there. Intact. They did not like it? No one would dare eat that Suman for fear that dead souls have touched it already.

So tonight, we had Suman again for them during our evening prayers. Just like in my childhood days, the dead souls did not touch the food again. Picky dead souls? Or maybe they’re just full from all the offerings from everyone else.

As for me, I am not putting this Suman to waste. It will become my lunch tomorrow at work.

On a serious note, This is also the time to reflect on our mortality and how we live our lives here on earth. Just when we remember our dearly departed ones, it is best to always remember how they’ve touched our lives when they were still alive. It’s how we journeyed in this life that’s important. The destination would be suited on how you lived your life. You don’t want a hot place.

As my mom would always tell me, the greatness of one’s heart is far more important than anything else.

I made Halloween cake pops for my daughter’s treat at their school. Cake pops are adorable with so many possible variations for any occasions. The recipe is adopted from one of my favorite bloggers, Bakerella, the Queen of cake pops, who I personally met during her book signing in New York City last year. For my Halloween cake pops I used my Vanilla Cake Recipe and Cream Cheese Frosting.

Here’s what you need: cake, frosting, candy melts, wax paper, lollipop sticks, edible pen, cellophane bags (3″x5″), ribbon. Bakerella makes it easy for us to make cake pops with this basic instructions.

What is Halloween without the costume? Here is my daughter with her Angry Bird costume which she made in ‘collaboration’ with my husband. No major expense here, just pure imagination.

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