Celeteque Facial Wash

TRC Recipe: Tortang Talong

This recipe is one of my favourites. I can eat this everyday and I love eating this as a 'left over' with fried rice and banana catsup for breakfast the following day. Pretty simple to make and ingredients are all within reach although, I must say, it involves three steps of cooking: grilling/ boiling, sauteing, and deep frying.

Here's what you need:

• Medium-sized eggplants (number depends on how many 'torta' you want to make but for 1/4 kilo of ground pork you'd be needing 2-4 medium-sized eggplants)
• 1/4 kilo ground pork
• 2-3 cloves of medium sized garlic, crushed
• One medium onion, diced
• One tomato, diced
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• Cooking oil for sauteing, 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce, salt & ground pepper to taste

Here's how:

• Grill the eggplant until the skin detaches from its meat. Carefully peel the skin so as to leave the meat. (You can also boil the eggplants if you don't have time and means to grill them but of course grilled tastes better.) Set aside.
• 
• In a frying pan, saute onion, garlic, and tomato. (Put onion first before garlic because garlic burns faster than onion)

•  Add ground pork and saute until the meat is cooked. Season with soy sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

•  In a clean frying pan, heat the oil for deep frying while preparing the next step.

•  In a bowl, beat the eggs and add in the sauteed ground pork (make sure the sauteed ground pork is cool enough so as not to 'cook' the beaten eggs.

 

• Press the grilled eggplant with the back of a fork to flatten it and top with the ground pork & beaten egg mixture.

 

• Deep fry the eggplant with ground pork mixture. Make sure the top with the ground pork is cooked well by flipping it (face down).

•   Once cooked, place on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil before serving.

• Serve with banana catsup. (I like mine toasted!)

 Enjoy!

DIY: Home-made Ham & Cheese Mini-Pizza

My 3-year-old kiddo loves pizza! Whenever I can't force her to eat rice, I'd make her a home-made ham & cheese mini-pizza. After all, my mini-pizza has carbs (the crust!), calcium (loaded with cheese which she loves!), and protein (the ham). I also let her help me prepare her mini-pizza so she can have fun too!


You don't need an oven nor elaborate ingredients to make this pizza. Even those living in a small condo unit with only an electric bread / oven toaster can make this wonderful snack for your little ones.

What you need: 

• Frozen mini-pizza crust (You can buy this at the frozen section of most supermarkets for less than P50)
• Cheese and cheese grater 
• Small ready-to-use pizza sauce (in any flavour you like) 
• Breakfast ham (cut into small squares)
• Small onion (red or white, your preference), diced
• Sliced mushroom in can

How to prepare:
1. Pre-heat your oven. Spread ready-to-use pizza sauce in each of the mini-pizza crust 

2. Top with ham, sliced mushroom, and diced onions as much as you or your kiddo wishes

3.  Finish off with grated cheese on top (again, amount depends on your liking)

4. Line the mini-pizzas in a baking pan

5.  Depending on your oven (or oven toaster), bake for 7-10 minutes. I baked this in an oven toaster for 7 minutes in medium heat setting.

6. Serve while still hot but make sure it's not too hot for your kiddo!

The finished product

Don't worry if you weren't able to consume all the ingredients. You can store the left over ingredients -- sliced mushroom (remove from can and store in an air tight container), breakfast ham, cheese, pizza sauce (remove from foil and store in an air tight container too), even the excess mini-pizza crust in the fridge so you can easily make your home-made ham & cheese mini pizza anytime your little one asks for some!


Ingredients' prices (from Shopwise Alabang):

• Cocktails mini-pizza crust 300g, 18 pieces - P45.50
• Kraft Eden filled cheese 180g - P39.95
• Del Monte Sweet Style Pizza Sauce 115g - P17.00
• Swift cooked ham 250g - P66.25
• Jolly mushroom pieces and stem 198g - P28.25

Practical Home Tip: Always running out of Ice Cubes?

Do you always run out of ice cubes whenever you need it most? I do! All the time.

I love drinking juice and making home-made drinks such as iced tea and sago't gulaman for me and my family. But since I have a small fridge (5-cu ft) since we live in a small condo, I can only afford to store one tray of ice cubes in my freezer at a time (I need the rest of the space to freeze our fish and meat). So even if I immediately replace the ice cubes I consume, I still find myself 'ice-less' most of the time!

I already thought of adding more ice cube trays but the freezer space wouldn't just allow it. Between the fish & meat to store and the ice, of course, the priority's the fish & meat. One time, I bought a bag of ice tubes from 7-11 to use in my home-made iced tea but I was left with the same dilemma -- no space to store the leftover ice! We have this ice chest at home but it melts the leftover ice tubes after 10 hours!

And then I realize there are these small spaces left in the fridge after I fill it with containers holding the fish & meat and my single tray of cubes which isn't big enough for another ice tray nor an ice bag but big enough for a few of these:

I have been making this 'ice' in ice candy bags ever since and I no longer run out of ice whenever I need it most! What's best is it adds fun to my glass of juice or iced tea by using it as 'spoon' to mix my drink. :)

Try it!

DIY Cupcake Tower in Action

I posted here the 5-tier DIY cupcake tower my Mum & I got from Divisoria made by RM Boxes for my daughter's 3rd birthday party. After I assembled the cupcake tower, I lined each layer with wax paper so it will stay neat even after use as I planned to use it again since it's pretty sturdy. I adorned the sides with bright pink ribbons (the same colour as my little girl's dress) which I also bought in one of the 'bangketas' in Divisoria for P15 a roll. The finished product, by no means, does not look DIY!

DIY cupcake tower lined with wax paper and pink ribbon (Apologies for the dark photo)

Red Ribbon 'Balloons' cake for P1,000

I ordered the 10-inch cake on top at Red Ribbon for P1,000. The cake is themed 'balloons' and the colour matched the Disney Princess theme. The cake was originally topped with a ceramic bear sitting on a chair. I did not want the bear topper but Red Ribbon could not 'customise' it for me so I had to remove it and replace it with Disney Princesses ceramic cake toppers which we also bought at Best Way for P125 for a set of five. This is also where we put the 'Happy Birthday' candles (P35 at 168 Divisioria). We opted for this rather than the number '3' since my kiddo wants to blow as many candles as possible.

And as promised, my Mum made 80 yummy Mocha cupcakes in pink and purple which she topped with pink sugar flowers (also from Best Way) and individually placed in cupcake boxes for guests to take home.

DIY cupcake by my Mom topped with sugar flower in individual cupcake box also from Best Way

DIY Cupcake Tower (5-tier) from RM Boxes

I chronicled my trip to Divisoria here to buy loot bags and loot contents for my toddler's 3rd birthday party. I initially planned to order cupcakes either from Brownies Unlimited or from a reliable cupcake supplier but Mum volunteered to bake for her granddaughter. She said it will be her gift to her. And so, we went back to Divisoria last Saturday to buy materials for the cupcakes including the cupcake paper cups, boxes (so guests can take them home) and cupcake tower. I've read about this DIY cupcake from online forums and so I decided to check it out. 

The cupcake tower (5-tier) from RM boxes but bought from Best Way along Sto. Cristo in Divisoria costs P398 for white (also available in Silver and Gold but pricier by P50-P100 bucks). I decided to go for white since I wanted to adorn it with pink ribbons. As the box said, it's DIY and very easy to assemble. It comes with a step-by-step instruction. You can customise its look to match the theme of the party or occasion by adding ribbons or lace.

Cupcake Tower Kit from RM Boxes - P398 for 5-tier in white

Back packaging

Contents inside

It comes with a detailed assembly instruction

Easy to assemble cupcake tower kit, 5-tier

I must say it's good thinking for RM Boxes to come up with a DIY Cupcake Tower Kit. It's very practical and affordable especially for those who want to make baking cupcakes a business. And the packaging looks imported!

Product name: DIY Cupcake Tower Kit

Product Description: A do-it-yourself self-assembly cupcake towert kit made of corrugated box

Size: 5 tier, good for 80 cupcakes

Price: P398 fo white

Manufacturer: RM Boxes (bought at Best Way, Sto. Cristo, Divisoria)

'The Regular Consumer' Rating: 5 stars! Great value-for-money and very convenient

Gain School Advance 1.7kg

This is a follow-up of this entry entitled Growing up! Last February, I changed my 3-year-old's milk from Gain Advance Stage 3 to Gain School Advance Stage 4.

As with a new milk introduced to her, she didn't finish a 6oz. bottle of Gain School Advance I made for her. But that didn't stop me from trying. Eventually, she got used to the taste and, in fact, now loving it. She consumes more milk now than when she was taking Gain Advance Stage 3 prodding  me to buy the bigger 1.7kg can on my next purchase.

I've been hearing it before that when you move your child's milk to a higher  'stage', the milk becomes cheaper. It may be true. The price of this Stage 4 Gain is at P1,031.50 compared to a big can of Stage 3 at P1,200+. However, I noticed that Stage 4's big can size is at 1.7kg, 100g less than Stage 3's 1.8kg. So have I really saved by moving my kid to Stage 4 milk? Barely. Computing the price per gram, Stage 4 costs P0.60 cents per gram while Stage 3 costs P0.66 cents per gram. Hmmm....

Gain School Advance Stage 4, 1.7kg, P1,031.50, SaveMore, Filinvest Mall

Product name: Gain School Advance Pre-school milk

Product Description: A growing up milk for 3-6 year old kids

Size: 1.7kg tin can

Price: P1,031.50 (at SaveMore Filinvest Mall Alabang)

Manufacturer: Abbott

'The Regular Consumer' Rating: 4.5 stars (my daughter loves it!)

Hello Kitty Lunch Box @P180

Look what I found at 168 Mall in Divisoria -- a Hello Kitty Lunch Box retailing for P180 but the seller gave it for P150 after haggling. This lunch box is microwaveable and spill-proof. Perfect for my little tot who's going to school this June!

Hello Kitty Lunch Box - spill-proof and microwaveable. P180 at 168 Mall, Divisoria

PNR Train Schedule & Fare

For those who have been asking, here posted are the PNR train schedule from Alabang to Tutuban and Tutuban to Alabang as well as the fare guide.

 

Tutuban to Alabang PNR Tran Schedule

Alabang to Tutuban Schedule

Fare Guide - South bound costs the same

TRC's Friday Fab Find

Since I'm a regular cosumer which means I love great deals and bargains, I'd like to share with you my Friday fab find ~ a sturdy aluminum trash can at 50% off! 

I always wanted one but a similar trash can can easily cost more than P1,000 to P6,000 (believe me, I, too was shocked -- a trash can for P6,000?! Come on!) I saw this about two weeks ago but hesitated in buying it 'coz I just bought a P79 plastic trash bin but I came home and always thought of how I've always wanted one. And so I decided to look for it again at SM Homeworld in SM Makati. My heart sank when it wasn't there anymore where I first saw it and the customer service assistant told me it must have been bought already since the 'sale' items in that section are all in that area. I gave up with a heavy heart and looked around for other things I needed to buy for the household including a mini-trash bin for my car when, voila, it was there just beside the shelf where I got the trash bin for my car! And the best of all is it's still at 50% off! It was waiting for me all along!

Aluminum trash bin at 50% off - P625 from P1,250; SM Homeworld, SM Makati

So what's your fab find this week? Share it with us!

TRC's Fab Find Rating: 4.5 stars (it wouldn't have been a 5 if it was at 60-70% off! hahaha)

Price: P625 marked down from P1,250 -- 50% off

Where: SM Homeworld, SM Makati

To Tutuban on a (PNR) Train!

I am re-acquainting myself to take the public transport again. Oh no, don't get me wrong. I didn't grow up like a princess being 'driven' around town in a horse carriage. Sure, I was shuttled to and from school by a private school bus but we didn't have a car when I was growing up and I was used to taking the public transportation in Manila until about a few years ago.

Now that the price of fuel is escalating non-stop, I had to cut back on fuel expenses (also one of my 'green-er efforts') somehow and spend on more important things so I've been taking the public transportation again. The last time I did, the fare was only P4 (P3.50 for students), now it's P8! Lately, I've been taking the bus, the jeep or the tricycle when I'm not in a hurry or when I don't have business meetings especially when I'm just going to the nearby mall or to the church alone.

A trip to Divi (Divisoria for the unacquainted) is something I dearly missed in my five years of 'absence' in the Philippines. Divi is a paradise for 'shoppingera-on-a-budget'. Every trip is a memorable one and brings joy and pride in every 'tawad' (no matter how small it is) you make. Best of all, everything you need under the sun is available in Divi!

I've been to Divi twice or thrice since we went back. Usually, I'd park my car in SM Manila and take a jeepney ride from there to Divi. Going back entails renting 'kuliglig' for P100 since taking the jeepney back to SM Manila would mean 'more walk' after shopping with our heavy 'shopping' bags.

Yesterday, I asked my Mom if she can accompany me to Divi to buy loot boxes / bags and loot contents for my daughter's upcoming birthday party. And since my car was on 'coding' yesterday, I informed her beforehand we'll be taking the public transport from Alabang. I gave my Mum instructions as to what time and where to meet in Alabang and asked which bus route we should take going to Manila. I was surprised when she texted back that we'll meet in front of Liana's Alabang where we'll be taking the train.  I clarified if she meant LRT/MRT and reminded her that the station of buses that would take us to MRT/LRT is in Metropolis Mall and not in Liana's. Then I realised even before she replied back that she meant taking the TRAIN as in the PNR train!

I guess most of us have had bad memories of PNR trains. Not that I've been to one before this Divi trip but, in my mind, it was a picture of dingy, dirty, smelly, uncomfortable, super-crowded-to-the-roof coaches that take 'probinsyanos' (people from the province) from Bicol to Manila and run on rail tracks with the unsightly view of 'home-along-da-riles'.

So I was taken aback when Mum told me we'll take the PNR train that goes straight to Tutuban from Alabang. She knows I'm not 'maarte' but I wouldn't compromise safety and comfort for a cheap fare. She assured me the coaches are all new, airconditioned, and comfortable. I trusted her and good thing I was in for an adventure that day! I'm glad I did!

I arrived Liana's Alabang at 7.25am and I got a text from Mum saying the train's next trip is in 10 minutes and that I should go to Metropolis because the train station is at the back of Metropolis Mall. Though I can walk beside the rail track from Liana's Alabang to the train station, she discouraged me because the road going there was slippery. The trip is every 30 minutes so if we missed the 7.35am trip means waiting for another 30 minutes which I didn't want to waste so I braved the muddy, slippery, foul smelling road beside the train track to the station. I was walking carefully when suddenly I heard the train's honk and so I dashed, ran and held my breath for as long as I could not minding what I was stepping onto. A few meters later, I already saw my Mum waving at me. Believe it or not, the train didn't catch me! We hurriedly bought two tickets to Tutuban at P20 each, boarded the train, and hoped we get out in one piece!

View from my (train) window; Sucat Station

The trip isn't a one-stop trip to Tutuban. It stops on a few stations like Sucat, Bicutan, Nichols, FTI, Pasay Road, Laong Laan and a few more but the last stop is Tutuban. I'm used to taking the MRT in Singapore and the (PNR) train ride felt almost exactly like it -- less the crowd and smell (peace!). Most of the passengers are similar to what you'd encounter in Manila MRTs/LRTs -- mostly students (from PUP Bicutan & Manila as there are train stops almost in front of their campus) and working class, less of the yuppies though.

MRT? Nope, inside one of the coaches of PNR train

New, clean, comfortable -- the new PNR train coaches

The PNR train from the outside

This even looked like the old sign inside Singapore MRTs

Last station...ready for check-up before hitting the 'road' again

Train schedule - Tutuban to Alabang

The surprisingly clean and well-maintained Tutuban PNR Station

Old train coaches on display in front of the Tutuban park, er, station

 

Overall, it was a fun and exciting journey from Alabang to Tutuban that I am so glad I took. Not only did I save on time and effort in hopping from one mode of transport to another, I also saved on fare! It was a steal to go to Divi from Alabang for P20. Plus, the temperature inside the coaches was surprisingly a lot more comfortable than I expected. My Mum even had to put on her shawl on our trip back to Alabang even if the train was packed with commuters!

Now, I have more reasons to go to Divi even every week if I please! :)

(Kudos to PNR for a job well done and I hope they extend the trip to Pacita where a lot of Makati workers live. Isn't it good to sometimes think that at least we know where "some" of our taxes go? *wink*)

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DIY Home Wall Decor

 

Okay, I must admit, I'm stingy, frugal or call it whatever you like but if I can save even a peso on a product, I'd go for it. But more than finding little happiness in saving, I love doing things on my own, using my hands and a bit of creativity (or whatever's left of it!)

So, today, I'm going to share with you the home wall decor I did myself using things I have left unused at home. I've been wanting to use these materials on something else but I guess that didn't just work out so instead of letting them lay around the house useless, I made them into something useful and cute to look at!

Here are the materials:

Wall decor sticker
Japan Home Center, P200

• Wall decor sticker bought at Japan Home Center (Festival Mall Alabang and Greenbelt 1 Makati) for P200
• Two 8x10 cloth canvas (without frame but with board support) from National Bookstore, P32.75 each
• 2 packs of 4 pieces each metal rod you'd use to support wood or glass panels in cabinets from TrueValue, P48 per pack
• Good ol' Mighty bond






Here's how I did it:

• Glue metal rods using Mighty Bond at the back of the cloth canvas. Wait for a few minutes to dry.
• Peel off flower, stem, and leaves of the wall decor sticker as directed and lay it out on the canvas.
• Glue the finished artwork using Mighty Bond on your wall and be proud of your own artwork!



Finished Artwork

I originally wanted to do paint on the canvas I bought but I realised the oil paint costs more than a glass-framed wall decor I can just buy in malls so doing a painting would defeat my purpose of cost-saving. But I still plan to do  it, for art's sake. The beauty of this wall decor using the wall decor sticker is that I can peel it off anytime I want should I want to change the look of it or should I decide to paint on it!

Will definitely update you should I decide to go ahead with the painting!

Hope you enjoyed my DIY Home Wall Decor. Share with us your own DIY Home Wall Decor!



The Face of TRC

Blogging and Blogging Some More

Long before the dotcom fever came into existence, I've already been keeping a journal -- as highschool students, we call it 'diary' -- where I chronicle my most mundane or sometimes most personal thoughts, in pen and paper!

My diary had been a witness to my heartaches and joys (mostly heartaches!). It was the only one who knew all of my secrets, a bestfriend who listened to me when I courageously declared "I don't want to be 16 when being 15 already felt this bad!" (I was nursing a broken heart back them). My diary was a two-inch notebook (definitely not the electronic type) my father gave me and I filled it with my thoughts from the first to the last page back-to-back in single space!

I was passionate about writing until my 4th year high school when my English  teacher thought my words were nonsense. (She warned us against joining frats & soros in college for she said they are bad influence. I joined a sorority in college and it was one of the best decisions I've made. The sorority & its counterpart fraternity abhor hazing and were formed to serve the people and country. She, the English teacher who thought I wasn't any good, on the other hand got pregnant! By a student! She was teaching in a catholic school! 'nuf said!)

I only got back into writing mode when my professor (+) in Writing Children's Literature in my MA class thought I have the most imaginative pieces of writing while my prof in Social Education and another (+) in Language Teaching kept all of my writing assignments when they have returned my classmates' work. :) One said she's keeping my pieces because she never gets tired reading them over and over.

Anyway, I again stopped (creative) writing when I got into my current job five years ago. I did and am still doing a lot of writing but they aren't creative writing, all technical and report writing so I always have an excuse not to blog. I've tried twice or thrice to start blogging again but I always fail like this one. Notice that the last entry was a few months ago.

Then, later this afternoon while I'm hearing mass (yes, my mind was wandering during the homily but with good thoughts, I assure you), I thought of a way to fire me up to continue blogging.

I'm dedicating this blog to a cause! 

You see, my hubby, who has a golden heart, advocates school feeding and he's suggesting to me that we adopt a school in Davao City where he's from which we will support through feeding the malnourished students of that school. So I thought, great idea! (I told you, my musings during the homily are for a good cause! I thought of another great one which I'll post later. I can post that today but who posts four different entries in her blog in one day?! *wink*) To encourage me to write and continue this blog, I will put all of the future proceeds of this blog from paid advertisements to my husband's feeding program!

Ahhh, good thinking! So readers, brace for more (and pardon the paid entries, you know it's for a good cause!) ;)

Plastic ban

Kudos to Muntinlupa City's plastic ban (that's why I love this city more & more!) It's about time!

I hope the rest of the cities in NCR follow.

It's just a matter of discipline amongst consumers and strict implementation from the local government. It maybe hard at the beginning -- to remember bringing your own bag (bringing isn't the issue but 'remembering' is the problem) -- but you'll get used to it!

As a consumer, you can implement your very own plastic ban (like I did long before Los Banos, Laguna where I graduated from college and Muntinlupa where I live implemented this local ordinance). Just always make it a point to have a recyclable shopping bag in your handbag and say no to 'plastic' especially for small items.

Every small step to a greener world counts -- big time.

Growing Up!

My daughter is turning 3 in a month's time and it is also time for her to move up -- in her growing-up milk, that is!

 

When my daughter's yaya told me that it's time to buy a new can of milk, I got excited and thought of moving my daughter up to Stage 4 of her milk, aptly named 'Pre-school milk' since she'll be going to school as a Nursery (or Casa) come June!

I've never been happier with Gain (except the last few months when I can't find a 1.8kg can, they must be changing the packaging!) When we went back to the Philippines two years ago and it was time to move her to 'regular milk' after being in hypoallergenic (HA) milk for one year, I only had one criterion in mind: that the milk brand and  manufacturer didn't have any negatives (read: kapalpakan!). At that time, it was the height of 1) melamine scanda;l 2) a leading manufacturer's huge recall due to contamination; and 3) another leading manufacturer's huge recall of their milks too due to rusty cans!

At that time, only Gain and Abbott seemed to be doing the right thing. And so there goes my decision to give Gain to my daughter until now (she drinks UHT milk in single-serve tetra pack when out of the house).

Product name: Gain School Advance Pre-school milk

Product Description: A growing up milk for 3-6 year old kids

Size: 900g tin can

Price: P641.25 (at Makati Supermart Alabang)

Manufacturer: Abbott

'The Regular Consumer' Rating: Haven't tried yet but 4.5 for its price and the fact that I'm very satisfied with Gain Plus for 1-3 yo