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.

I should say that it was an easy to follow project, plus the fact that I have the materials readily available at home. We had fun making it and is now looking forward to making more pop-up cards for other special occasions.

By the way, my mom was impressed and appreciated the effort we gave to her unique card. It’s always special and you feel the warmth on anything created by hand.

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.

Dollar store is a good source for cheap seasonal supplies. I was lucky to find cute cupcake liners and toppers, and a cookie cutter at Jack’s 99 Cent Store in the city. The good deal is that it just cost me only 99 cents for a Wilton brand. I can’t wait to use them for my vanilla cupcakes as dessert for our Easter lunch.

I accompanied my dad today for his medical check up. The only thing that I like in a doctor’s clinic are the magazines in the waiting room. It’s assorted. I picked Rachel Ray’s Everyday magazine April 2012 issue. I am not a fan though I am not out as well to give her a stare down just like what Martha did. The magazine is filled with easy to follow recipes but what caught my attention was the Soba-Noodles with Sesame-Lime Dressing. I usually use soba noodles for soup but not on this one.

I have most of the ingredients at home knowing how important it is to keep a well stocked pantry. I highly recommend keeping Asian noodles and pasta because you can cook these ingredients a thousand delicious ways.

I substituted napa cabbage from Rachel Ray’s recipe with white cabbage. I also used button mushrooms instead of shitake mushrooms. I also decided to pair the noodles with Tonkatsu breaded pork chop.

Here is the link for my Tonkatsu recipe.

By the way, if you want easy Japanese home cooking check out this blog.

Soba Noodles with Sesame-Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

1 package (12 oz) soba (buckwheat) noodles
Ice water
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 1/2 oz. shitake mushrooms, stems removed caps thinly sliced (2 cups)
salt and pepper
8 oz. napa cabbage thinly sliced (4 cups)
2 carrots, cut into slivers or shredded on the large holes of a box grater
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, zested, plus 1 tbsp juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, add the soba noodles, stirring to separate. Return the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the noodles are fully cooked, about 8 minutes. Drain, then plunge into an ice water bath, using your fingers to separate the noodles. Transfer to a colander and rinse with plenty of cold water until the water runs clear.; drain well.
2. In a large skillet, drizzle in 1 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Add the cabbage, carrots, scallions, lime zest and drained noodles to the mushrooms and toss well.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil with the lime juice, soy sauce and fish sauce. Drizzle over the noodles: toss gently.

We have two ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ posters in our apartment. We have two coffee mugs with the same slogan. I have a number of notepads that says the same. But what is the real story behind “Keep Calm and Carry On”?

It has been told that Pasta Puttanesca has been the recipe of prostitutes in Italy who have no time to buy fresh ingredients. They’re busy, you know… just like us in this day and age. Any ingredients available in the pantry is then added to the sauce of the pasta.

Literally, in Italian, Pasta Puttanesca means “whore’s style pasta.” Legend has it that the Italian ladies of the night may have invented this to lure customers with its aroma. Who knows? The aroma and flavor of this sauce is an intense mixture from garlic, anchovies and capers. It is best served with toasted bread or grilled baguette that will mop the aromatic sauce of this recipe.

Take note, traditionally, like in any seafood pasta dish, no cheese is served with this sauce. This is perfect for my daughter who doesn’t like cheese in her pasta.

Whatever the stories are behind this recipe, I made this easy and satisfying dish for my meatless Friday in observance of Lent. And just like any of the Italian ladies of the night, I was able to lure my family into it.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounces tomato sauce
5 anchovy filets, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons capers
1 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 Tablespoons of salt. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over low heat; cook garlic in oil until golden. Stir in anchovies. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in the capers, olives, and red pepper flakes. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Toss pasta with sauce, and serve.

Happy Hearts Day! My family does not go over the top for this celebration. But I do respect those who are into details and preparations in celebrating it with their loved ones.

For me, I will prepare a home cooked dinner and indulge in something sweet after. Nothing fancy, the most important thing, I will be sharing it with the most important people in my life. My parents, husband, and daughter. My son, however is away for a four day retreat but I know he will have a great Valentine’s Day as well.

To share the love, I baked Heart Stained Glass Cookie for my daughter’s classmates and teachers at school. I used the recipe for the No Fail Sugar Cookie of Fancy Flour. For the stained glass effect which really add drama, I crushed the Jolly Rancher (or any hard candies like Lifesaver) and sprinkle it to the hollowed-out centers of the cookies. By the way, I used a smaller heart cookie cutter to cut into the centers of cookies. Just a note, try to keep the crushed candy within the center to avoid coloring the cookie. Let the cookie cool completely before removing to avoid the candy from separating from the cookie dough. Also, line your cookie sheet with Silpat or parchment paper so cookies will not stick to the cookie sheet.

Sprinkles can be added to the cookie also for fun and color. It may not have the stained glass effect but makes the cookie look pretty. It is easy to create a heart shape using the sprinkle by pressing the smaller heart cookie cutter gently to the cookies before baking. Doing so will leave a mark or guide in the center of the cookies and it is easy to just fill it with the sprinkles.

Again, Happy Valentine’s Day!

I have this feeling that our food made the G-Men win Super Bowl XLVI. Now, if I can only learn the Victor Cruz salsa. Anyway, congratulations to the New York Giants!

Sweet Spicy Chicken

Fettucine Alfredo

Vegetable Lumpia and Lumpiang Shanghai (Pork Spring Rolls)

To date, I have already more than 90 cookbooks and I told myself not to buy anymore. But over the weekend, I cannot resist the temptation not to grab several since the $4.99 sale price of Daniel Boulud’s Daniel’s Dish was just screaming for me to take it home. With it, I also added four more since the prices ranges only from $2.00 to $3.50 except for the Everyday Food (Fresh Flavor Fast) by Martha Stewart that I paid $14.99, still a steal since the original price is $24.99.

We may be in the digital age, but when it comes to cookbook, nothing can beat skimming through the real pages and admiring the beautiful food photography. As inspired from the Everyday Food by Martha Stewart I cooked the Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry for our dinner. Since I do not have hoisin sauce, I used oyster sauce instead. I also added 2 teaspoons of sugar for sweetness as contrast to the pepper flakes.

Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain into 1/2-by-3-inch strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, sliced crosswise 1 1/2 inch thick, white and green parts kept separate
White rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup water, hoisin sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook steak until lightly browned, turning once, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining teaspoon oil to pan along with garlic and whites of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk hoisin mixture to combine; add to pan along with scallion greens.

Return meat to pan; cook, tossing to coat steak with sauce, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Serve immediately, over rice and sprinkled with red-pepper flakes, if desired.