Learning to Cook and Other Things

Please allow me to thank the following e carders who have very kindly reserved an ec card widget space here in my cooking blog. 1. amreekia 2. mumsgotta 3. monfat48 4. insomnimusing 5. chinesemedicinenews 6. food on my table 7. my interesting files And for those who I have failed to thank in the past to all of you, my sincere appreciation!!! Thank you image courtesy of fotosearch Cheers.

Some dental crowns and and bridges from China, among other countries may be tainted with lead. "CBS investigative reporters in Columbus, Ohio, purchased 13 crowns from labs in China, Thailand and the U.S. Ten of those crowns tested positive for lead at levels ranging from 110 parts per million to 240 parts per million". Read the news article here .

I know, with prices spiralling up these days, more and more people are thinking of eating in. But if you're one of those who really love to dine out and can still afford it yet, would want to stash a little savings here and there, AAANNDD if you live in the United States try this site. PS This is not a paid ad. I was just thinking - introducing their freebies wouldn't hurt anyone. So what are you waiting for?

Conversations about TV show favorites

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,