Learning to Cook and Other Things

I just met Cora Roxas recently through her Inside Suburb blog. This lovely lady and her family, are I think currently based in China. Cora obviously loves her home and that seems to be her main avocation. That is aside from maintaining a travel related business. I was quite pleasantly surprised that she gave me, together with my soulful thoughts and little miss firefly two awards: A Perfect Blend of Friendship Award and Kind Blogger Award 2008. Thank You Very Much Cora. It is a pleasure knowing your acquaintance. And the Award in fact should be passed on back to you because YOU too deserve it! And so I'd like to pass this on to the following bloggers, all wonderful and amazingly beautiful women, inside and out and Wow they are my favorite favorites: 1. sher 2. mom wanna be 3. cora roxas 4. pinay single mom 5. elaine of d positive side 6. second cup 7. ivy agustin of chuva chaka 8. the super goddess 9. think nonsense 10. evil woobie 11. smarter than grade 5 Rock on!!...

I received this award from Sher. Sher is a Singaporean friend who now stays in Croatia with her loved one. She's a great cook. I say Chef. And I can guarantee she bakes incredible cakes and pastries. Have you seen pics of her baked goodies . Makes me drool. Sher, my friend, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! And I am happy sharing the honor with these fabulous bloggers: dine o meter , east coast life , a singaporean in london , durano and last but not the least, symphony of love. To stand side by side with these very popular bloggers makes me feel truly especial if only for a day:-) I haven't said this, but my blogs represent me in a manner of speaking because they tell stories about who I am as a person: 'living it up' in an incredible city and loving it, enjoying the fruits of my labor as a mother of my terrific children, or perhaps, serving as a friend to my children's girl and ex-friends', add to that, remaining a hopeful daughter to a most amazing mother, a...

MSG served as my friend SherX's, topic on her latest post . And I thought I would add my two cents worth to it. As described in a wikipedia entry , MSG or monosodium glutamate is a "sodium salt of the non-essential amino acid glutamic acid. It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavor enhancer". " It is a non-essential amino acid, which means that the body produces what is needed and we don’t need to make it up in our diet. The brain uses glutamic acid as a neurotransmitter". Read more of this from here . How safe is MSG really? It seems there are those who say it is okey. Just eat safe levels. But here's a worrisome article I found, and which touches on MSG. It says, "Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is not just used on Chinese food but used by most food processors to enhance the products they produce. MSG can be concealed in foods as natural flavors or as spices. Companies like it because it suppresses off-flavors, bitterness,...

News has it that some baby milk made in China are contaminated with melamine, a resin used for many plastic applications like dinnerware, plastic cups, table tops, etc., and these babies are now found to have medical problems involving their renal or kidney systems. These milk in powdered form is said to have been recalled was manufactured or processed in China, specifically, Gansu province by a company called Sanlu and is part-owned by Fontera a New Zealand company. Melamine was also said to have caused some pet foods also made from China to be recalled from U.S. supermarket counters back in 2007. From what I understand, melamine contains a protein derivative which was what was added to these infant formula. Is this now what we can call maximum product efficiency? To mix chemical substitutes to provide maximum cost efficiency? My mother used to own a small eatery and she used melamine dinner plates. At that time, and ignorant of its ill-effects, I already questioned its suitabilit...

I never tire talking about home furnishings. Maybe in my previous life I was a struggling interior designer. Be it face to face or by way of photographs and websites, I just love looking at beautiful furniture, those elegant home decor; uniquely simple but functional kitchen designs; floral and vegetable garden patches in the home; and last but not the least dazzlingly designed rugs. No, I don't really covet them. I just love to look. They always evoke a warm and happy feeling. Talk about rugs. They have been my most favorite items for the house - always add structure and warm ambiance for a small place, but at the same time defy space limitations, just like area rugs . On the other hand, rugs add a homey and cozy feeling for wide and open areas like hotels or office buildings. Can you imagine them without these rugs in their rooms and lobbies? How dry could that be? My home is over the top when it comes to rugs. My partner just can't live without them. We have them everywhere,...

I received this I Love Your Blog Award from a good friend mommawannabe .This is my first blog award ever and I am so delighted,happy and quite giddy :-) Thank you very much Jade. I love your blog too. And now I have to pass this on to some of my blogging friends. ***start copy*** The rules of the award are: 1. The winner can put the logo on her blog. 2. Link the person you received your award from. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4. Put links of those blogs on yours. 5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you have nominated. Previous awardees: Mabelle, Prily, Ate Norma, I Love Philippines Too, Shenga, Nova, WebbieStuffs, Nancy, Webloglearner, Pinay Wahm, and My So Called Life, Let's Spice Things Up, Beauty and Shop, Idealpinkrose, allin, kimchiland, Korean Food, The Paper Vision, Embrace Simplicity, Me and Mine, A Window To Our World, A Grateful Heart, Can of Thoughts, A Mother's Stuff, Housewife @ Work, MommaWannabe ibanag cooking ADD YOUR LINKS HERE. *** end copy*** An...