Good Deal!

I follow Yugadeals.com on Twitter.  I got the update from there.  The site is offering a good deal wherein you can get an Amazon Kindle Fire for P12,499 with free shipping anywhere in the Philippines.   For me this is a good deal! I got to inform my sister in law who is on the lookout for a new gadget.

image from: Yugadeals.com

You can find the specs of Amazon Kindle Fire from the website. Go and subscribe to their updates so that you can be the first to know about their latest deals.  

Garden Updates

A collage of what is happening to my mini-garden.  Things are looking good! =)

Tomatoes, Bell Peppers and Chili Peppers =)

Looking forward to the day we could harvest them. =)

A must-try recipe

Nutella Lava Cake

This is my take on the recipe that I found in Pinterest.  I repinned it to my board so that I could easily go back to it when I finally have the time to make it.  Good thing, I had the time this afternoon as Kid 1 did not have any homework.  Also, I was sort of not feeling good so I was looking for a pick-me-up thing and chocolates always does the trick for me.   This is the original link for the recipe.

I did not change anything from it and followed everything except for the cooking time.  Since Kid 1 asked for a cake, I added an additional 20 seconds to the cooking time stated.  It did come out as a cake with bits of the melted chocolate chips.  But if I was only the one eating it, I'd stick to lesser cooking time to make it more fudgy.  Well, of course, it still depends on the power of your microwave oven.  I can say that this recipe is the best among the microwave cake recipes that I have tried.  Will definitely do this again.


Nutella Lava Mug Cake

Ingredients
Serves 2-3 depending on size of mugs used
Prep 2 min, cooking 2 min

4 tablespoons self rising flour, sifted*
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 
(I used Hershey’s)
4 tablespoons caster sugar

1 medium egg

3 tablespoons Nutella

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons olive, or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)
2-3 teaspoon chocolate chips (I used 60% dark chocolate Felchlin chocolate drops, chopped)

Directions

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl. Beat well with a whisk until smooth and blended. Divide the batter between 3 small microwave safe mugs, or two medium mugs. Important thing is to fill mugs up to just ¾ full(or even 1/2 full), if not the cake will overflow when it rises. Then tip in 1 teaspoon chocolate chips into each cup and push it into the batter until completely covered.

Microwave on high power for anywhere between 30 seconds to 3 minutes.  I cooked mine for about 1 minute and 50 seconds and it came out like a moist chocolate cake.   Please note that cooking time will depend on microwave wattage.  Keep an eye on the bowls while cooking so that you do not overbake it.   The key for the perfect lava cake is not to overcook it. The cake should rise a bit, ideally with a moist, fluffy, gooey texture, and glossy, fudgy top. The longer time you cook it, the drier the cake becomes.  It is best to slightly undercook it to make it all gooey and fudgy.

* If you do not have self-rising flour in your kitchen, just combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

If you are looking for an instant chocolate fix to pick you up, this is definitely the one.   :)

Bed Weather

It's been rainy/cloudy in the city these past few days. Time to bring out those jackets and wind-breakers.  Hopefully no one in the family gets sick again.  It's really hard when the kids get sick because it means sleepless nights for me too. 

According to PAG-ASA, the cold weather is brought about by the active low pressure area somewhere east of southern Mindanao. According to their latest weather report(as of 11:00am Feb 15, 2011), this will last up until the weekend.  Hopefully the ALPA does not develop into a storm as this will aggravate the current situation in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Also, more rains means there is that threat again of the flood coming into the house again just like what happened the last time Balusong River overflowed resulting in a flash flood that caught the citizens of Davao City by surprise.  

from: http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/images/stories/weather/satpic.jpg

Hopefully that does not happen again. 

Our own Fresh Produce

We have been trying to grow our own produce for quite some time now.  Our yaya and I started by planting some hot and sweet peppers.  However, that failed as we picked the wrong place to plant them in.  Most of the plants "drowned" and died.  We were able to save a few and have them transplanted in small pots.  We also tried planting onions and garlic but to no avail.  I think the soil we have does not agree with these plants.  I also have a basil herb that needs to be replanted.

However, we did have some successful endeavors.  Our tomato plant is finally bearing fruit!!!

Organic and Pesticide-free Tomato!!!

That is just one of the several bunches of fruit that we have.  There is really something fulfilling about growing your own produce.  Hopefully, we will be blessed with more!  I am already planning to transform our small garden into a place where we can really plant more vegetables and fruits.  There is still so much to do but I know we will be rewarded =)

Giveaway!

I was browsing my twitter account when I saw the link to the blog giveaway of Chronicles of a Nursing Mom.  I knew that this would be good, so I immediately clicked on the link and was happy to find that the giveaway was food related.  Not only that, the goodies that she was giving away was something that I would be needing in 2 months!  I know its quite early for me to be hoarding this kind of stuff but hey, it pays to be prepared. I can keep them in the freezer for the meantime while waiting for the right time to eat it.  That is if I can stop myself. Hahahaha...

The malunggay cookies look really interesting and good to eat!  I was able to taste some malunggay cookies given by my relatives from Zamboanga but the taste did not appeal to me.  Weird is the only description I have of the its taste plus the fact that it did not look appealing at all! Compared to these cookies, I know that this will be something that I would really appreciate.

Mango-Malunggay Cookies
Photo from http://www.facebook.com/themarshmallowmama 

So, what are you waiting for, go to this link to find out more how you can get these goodies for free! =)

Happy New Year!

This may be a bit late but still, I wish to greet everyone a happy new year!!!! May the year 2012 bring us more blessings, happiness and peace of mind always.

The picture posted above was taken in Cebu since Davao has a city-wide firecracker and fireworks ban.  We celebrated the coming of the year by honking the car's horns and the kiddos shouting "happy new year" to the passers-by.
(photo taken during Sinulog 2011)

Unexpected Aftermath

Typhoon Sendong passed through the southern part of the Philippines over the weekend.  Weather alerts were issued as soon as the storm entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility or PAR. However, we never really learned any lessons after Ondoy and the recent Pepeng which destroyed a lot of properties and claimed a lot of lives. The latest count puts the dead at 662 and hundreds more missing.  The local government officials of the affected areas particularly Cagayan de Oro, and Iligan did not even make the necessary precautions that should have been automatic once your area is placed under a storm signal.  There were no flood warnings issued and the floods came in the dead of the night.

Nevertheless, we cannot bring back time and destruction is already upon us. I just pray for strength, especially for the people who were badly affected by this calamity.  May they remain strong and faithful to be able to weather this storm that has literally and figuratively destroyed their lives.

There are a lot of pictures of the devastation that TS Sendong did and I do not need to post it here.  What we need now is to help our fellow countrymen to be able to pick up the pieces and continue on with their lives.

Courtesy of Philippine National Red Cross

You can go to the webpage of Philippine Red Cross for information on how to donate.  I believe television networks are also accepting donations in cash or in kind for the 88,000 or so evacuees.  There are also a lot of other NGOs and private organizations mobilizing to help out these people in need.  Water, food and clothing and blankets are what they need the most now.    I hope we can share even if a little bit of our blessings to these people who have lost everything.

Rainy Holidays

This is a really very seldom occurrence.  Davao City is placed under a storm signal.  DOST-PAGASA has placed the city together with other Mindanao provinces like Cotabato, Zamboanga Provinces and Lanao Provinces under Signal #1.  Tropical Storm SENDONG is still at the sea and will make a landfall at Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.  

Here's the latest picture from DOST - PAGASA weather services

 

For more updates, you can visit the website of PAGASA.  Stay safe and dry people!

Christmas Wishlist #1

We were at the mall yesterday when we saw this nifty gadget while browsing the Samsung store.  My husband was not that happy when he learned about it.  You see, he just bought the Samsung Galaxy SII which cost him a lot and is now costing him more because of the excess GPRS charges brought about by letting the boys use it.  To date, his excess charges already reached almost 2K because the kids were downloading games from the Marketplace.  We do have wifi here in our house but sometimes, it does not reach the room at the back where they sometimes play.  Unfortunately, the little one found a way to activate the data via GPRS thus the excess usage.

Back to the gadget we saw yesterday... It was the first time we saw the Samsung Galaxy S wifi only.  It was like an IPod touch but only with bigger screen.  It's screen size is the same as the newly released Galaxy Note. I believe the screen is about 5" but of course, it is not as sophisticated as the Note. The great thing about it is that it only costs around P13,000++.  With the amount my hubby bough his SII, he could have already bought 2 of the S wifi and not have any problems with excess data charges and erupting wars every now and then on who gets to use the phone to play.  Howell....  I was suggesting that he sell his unit since it was fairly new and he can buy 2 new gadgets! Hahahahah....

However, I am still an Apple fan so I am still dreaming of owning an IPad someday.  Maybe I'll wait for IPad 3 to be released.  Rumor has it that production is already ongoing for its components and release of the product will be sometime April of 2012.  It's a wait and see game for Apple fanatics and semi-fanatics like me =)

What's on your wishlist?

Image courtesy of http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/sgs-wifi5-main.jpg

Specifications of the product can be found here

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0

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POPULARITY

Daily interest

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VOTING RESULTS

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7.6

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7.4

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686

Tablet with no support for GSM voice communication, SMS, and MMS.

This is not a GSM device, it will not work on any GSM network worldwide.

GENERAL	2G Network	N/A
	Announced	2011, February
	Status	Available. Released 2011, May

SIZE	Dimensions	141.3 x 78.2 x 11.9 mm
	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 5.0 inches (~187 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
		- TouchWiz UI - Optical trackpad - Touch-sensitive controls

SOUND	Alert types	N/A
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	Yes
		- SoundAlive enhanced sound engine

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB, buy memory
	Internal	8/16GB storage

DATA	GPRS	No
	EDGE	No
	Speed	No
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 + HS
	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB

CAMERA	Primary	3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Video	Yes
	Secondary	Yes, VGA

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)
	CPU	1 GHz
	Sensors	Accelerometer, compass
	Messaging	Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black
		- SNS integration - 8h video playback - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player - Organizer - Image/video editor - ThinkFree document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration - Voice memo - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Standard battery, Li-Ion 2500 mAh
	Stand-by
	Talk time
	Music play	Up to 60 h

MISC	Price group	Source:  GSMARENA.COM